Beast Taming: I Have an Immortal Mansion-Chapter 57: Adding a Backup Plan

Fang Qingyuan entered the main hall and found all the upper echelons of the Southern Border Beast Taming Sect present. He couldn’t help but wonder, ’Could it be that Lechuan and the others already know about this?’

It turned out Fang Qingyuan was overthinking things. Upon seeing him, Lechuan spoke.

"You said Black River Square was ablaze with fires and filled with the deafening sounds of battle. Did you see this with your own eyes?"

Fang Qingyuan affirmed without hesitation.

"Yes, it’s true. I was originally at the Turtle Breeding Pool looking after the Medicinal Turtles, but a few days ago, a flock of White-headed Vultures came to steal them. I had no choice but to request the help of a Golden Claw Silver Grey Flying Eagle. I ended up with the carcasses of three White-headed Vultures and thought I’d take them to Black River to sell, since they don’t fetch a good price at the Celestial Gate Mountain Marketplace. So I..."

Just as Fang Qingyuan was explaining, Zhao Liangde, who was standing beside him, glared with his small eyes and snapped,

"Get to the point!"

Seeing this, Fang Qingyuan quickly got to the heart of the matter and continued,

"I had just bought some Spirit Wood in Black River Square and was about to leave when I heard waves of battle cries coming from behind me. My cultivation is low, so I didn’t dare to linger. I gave a few fellow cultivators a ride and fled all the way back here, coming to report at the first opportunity. I estimate that Black River Square is probably still in chaos right now."

After hearing this, Lechuan’s brows furrowed tightly. He then asked Fang Qingyuan for more details, and Fang Qingyuan told him everything he knew, not only mentioning the matter with Duoluo Cheng but also explaining what had happened with the Qi Yun siblings.

After a long moment, Lechuan finally said,

"The Vast Collection Pavilion currently occupies a large portion of Black River Square. After this turmoil, the master behind the Vast Collection Pavilion probably won’t be able to sit still. Ah, it looks like Black River is going to be chaotic for a while."

As soon as he said this, the expressions of the Foundation Establishment Disciples below turned grim. Black River Square was right next to Celestial Gate Mountain. If that place fell into chaos, could they really avoid being affected?

After Fang Qingyuan finished speaking, he didn’t dare to leave without a signal from Lechuan. It was Zhao Liangde who waved a hand, dismissing him.

But just as he was leaving, Fang Qingyuan spoke up again.

"Uncle Zhao, I was wondering if our Beast Taming Sect will be sending anyone to Black River Square to check on the situation? If so, could they help me check on that pile of Spirit Wood I stored in the warehouse at the docks? I was in such a hurry to run that I didn’t have time to load it..."

The moment Fang Qingyuan said this, all the Cultivators in the hall laughed, and even Lechuan’s furrowed brow relaxed a little.

But before Fang Qingyuan could finish, Zhao Liangde couldn’t listen anymore. He shouted,

"Is this something you should be thinking about? All you care about is your own stuff? Scram!"

Just as Zhao Liangde was scolding Fang Qingyuan, Lechuan unexpectedly spoke up.

"Alright, Liang De, don’t scare him. The boy came to report at the first opportunity, which is a meritorious act. He also lost some spirit materials. How about this: later, go and get twenty Middle-grade Spirit Stones for him as a reward."

Hearing Lechuan’s words, Fang Qingyuan was overjoyed. ’If I had left just now,’ he thought, ’I probably wouldn’t have seen these twenty Middle-grade Spirit Stones.’

’Just for that little reminder of mine, Lechuan casually tossed out a reward that made coming here at the first opportunity completely worth it.’

’Besides, which of the Cultivators here wasn’t thirty or forty years older than me? Lechuan is nearly two hundred years older! My words and actions just now must have seemed childish in their eyes.’

Having received his reward, Fang Qingyuan departed cheerfully. After he left, a new round of discussions began in the main hall.

...

When Fang Qingyuan returned to the docks, he saw Yinbao spinning around in circles by itself. His eyes swept the area, but he didn’t see any sign of Xiaowu.

So, Fang Qingyuan asked,

"Where’s the little girl who was on your back? Didn’t I tell you to watch her carefully? How could you lose her when I was only gone for a little while?"

Questioned by Fang Qingyuan, Yinbao grew flustered and began WHIMPERING anxiously. It looked so aggrieved that it seemed on the verge of speaking to defend itself.

After a long while and some communication, Fang Qingyuan finally learned that not long after he’d left, a Late-stage Qi Refining Female Cultivator had found Xiaowu and prepared to take her away.

It seemed Xiaowu knew this Female Cultivator, but at first, she was unwilling to go. Later, after the Female Cultivator said something to her, Xiaowu cried and then followed her onto a Tier Three Flying Shuttle, heading in the direction of the Central Plains.

Learning this, Fang Qingyuan breathed a sigh of relief. ’It’s good that she’s gone. Saves me the trouble. It wouldn’t have been appropriate to bring a little girl like that home with me. But I couldn’t just ignore her either, especially since we knew each other and I accepted ten middle-grade stones from the shopkeeper. I would have felt guilty. Now that Xiaowu has gone to the Central Plains, it’s much safer there than here in the Southern Border.’

Putting the matter out of his mind, Fang Qingyuan mulled things over for a moment and decided against returning directly to the Turtle Breeding Pool.

The Turtle Breeding Pool was over a hundred li from Celestial Gate Mountain. If a wandering Tribulation Cultivator happened to pass by, he wouldn’t be able to fend them off with just that Tier One Upper Grade array.

He might as well hide out on Celestial Gate Mountain for a few days and wait for this storm to blow over. The only inconvenience was for the Golden Claw Silver Grey Flying Eagle, which would have to keep watch for him for a few more days.

Fortunately, the Golden Claw Silver Grey Flying Eagle’s speed was astonishing; even an ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator would have a hard time catching it, so its safety was more or less guaranteed.

But when he recalled the killing intent from Duoluo Cheng, Fang Qingyuan’s expression immediately soured. ’If I hadn’t chosen to give a ride to those two from the Qi Yun Sect, I’m afraid I would have been in deep trouble.’

’Originally, I thought that if I didn’t stir up trouble, didn’t get involved in fights or conflicts, and didn’t even stop to watch a commotion, I could live a safe and steady life.’

’But now it seems that even just going out to buy something can be life-threatening. That mindset of seeking stability and focusing solely on cultivation has to change.’

’Before, I relied on Yinbao’s flight speed, thinking that even if I couldn’t win a fight, I could still escape. But against a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, Yinbao’s speed is completely inadequate.’

’I must have a skill that allows me to escape from a Foundation Establishment Cultivator. Only then can I feel at ease. To achieve this, I’m willing to accept a slight delay in my cultivation speed.’

With this in mind, Fang Qingyuan made his decision. After settling Yinbao, he turned and headed for the Scripture Pavilion.

Inside the Scripture Pavilion, Fang Qingyuan looked at the various Cultivation Techniques, all sorted by category, and began to ponder. ’The technique I’m about to learn should meet a few criteria.’

’First, once mastered, the technique must allow me to evade the Divine Sense of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator and conceal my presence.’

’Second, the technique can’t be too advanced. Otherwise, with my Qi Cultivation Stage cultivation base, I most likely won’t be able to learn it.’

’In this Cultivation World, high-level Cultivation Techniques are often profound and vast in their concepts. Without reaching a certain realm, it’s impossible to comprehend them. Forcing oneself to practice them yields minimal results for maximum effort. Stagnation would be a minor issue; there are precedents for people suffering from qi deviation and going mad.’

’Take, for example, the Beast Taming Mountain’s legacy technique, *The Celestial Mansion’s Scripture of Nine-fold Truth*. It’s a Great Divine Technique that points directly to the fundamental principles of cultivation. Even if it were placed right in front of me, I wouldn’t dare practice it. It would be dangerous for me to even glance at it.’

’The best option would be a Cultivation Technique that Qi Refining Cultivators can practice, but one that has specific requirements for Spirit Root aptitude. For instance, a technique that requires a middle-grade Wood Spirit Root, or an upper-grade Water Spirit Root, something like that.’

’Techniques like that have strict requirements. Cultivators who don’t meet the conditions find them difficult to learn and master, but those who do can make rapid progress. And since my Immortal Mansion can enhance my Spirit Root aptitude, whatever Spirit Root conditions are needed, I can just slowly upgrade them to match.’

Having come to this realization, Fang Qingyuan understood his needs. He then looked at the vast sea of jade slips before him and began to make his selection.