Beast Taming: I Have an Immortal Mansion-Chapter 89: The Battle of Clan Annihilation

A quarter of an hour later, She Xi Yu saw Fang Qingyuan open his eyes and asked:

"Steward Fang, how much longer must we wait here? Are we the only ones assigned to this mission?"

Hearing She Xi Yu’s question, Fang Qingyuan reassured him:

"Don’t worry, Patriarch She. I know about as much as you do, but there will definitely be more people than just us. Others are still on their way."

After Fang Qingyuan finished speaking, She Xi Yu breathed a sigh of relief. ’He had been worried that only his own family’s disciples would be participating. Since other Cultivators were coming, the She Family could afford to coast again.’

Half an hour later, a group of Cultivators flew in from the distance, heading straight for Fang Qingyuan’s Illusion Array. As they drew near, a Late-stage Qi Cultivation Cultivator called out:

"Is that Junior Brother Fang Qingyuan ahead? I am Li Fire. Please come out for a word, Junior Brother."

Hearing this, Fang Qingyuan flew out of the Illusion Array with Zhang Yuan and She Xi Yu, stopping before Li Fire to speak:

"So it is Senior Brother Li Fire. Did you also receive a secret order from Uncle Zhao?"

Li Fire was a Core Disciple of the Southern Border Beast Taming Sect, a station higher than Fang Qingyuan’s, but at this moment, he couldn’t afford to put on airs.

Zhang Yuan was not originally part of this operation. He had simply been worried about Fang Qingyuan’s weak combat skills and feared something might go wrong. Since he had not yet taken up his post as an inspection steward, he decided to tag along.

Zhang Yuan was now a Late-stage Qi Cultivation Cultivator. As soon as he completed his promotion mission, he would become a Core Disciple, so he felt no need to be overly deferential to Li Fire because of status.

Moreover, Zhang Yuan positioned himself just behind Fang Qingyuan, projecting an air of deference to him. Flanked by the Foundation Establishment Cultivator She Xi Yu, Fang Qingyuan cut a rather imposing figure.

Li Fire collected his thoughts and said: 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

"That’s right. I also received Uncle Zhao’s secret order and have brought over twenty members of the Wang Family to assemble here. It seems that this time, Uncle Zhao intends to crush our target with overwhelming, thunderous force."

Fang Qingyuan smiled.

"I wouldn’t dare to guess Uncle’s intentions; I’m merely following orders. Senior Brother Li, since you’ve arrived, why not enter the Illusion Array first so we can devise a plan? We’ll have a greater chance of success when the time comes to act."

In response, Li Fire gave a slight smile.

"No rush. There’s still one more family that hasn’t arrived. Let’s wait a bit longer."

「...」

Waiting was always long and tedious. To pass the time, Fang Qingyuan played with Jinbao inside the Illusion Array.

Jinbao had an extraordinary background, born with four Innate Divine Techniques. Over the past year, Fang Qingyuan hadn’t just fed it bamboo; he had also given it plenty of Magical Artifact fragments and Gold Attribute Spiritual Materials to eat.

Now, Jinbao’s Gold-Devouring Iron-Chewing and Golden Spirit Body abilities were beginning to show their effects. Its body was now far tougher than that of an ordinary Tier One Lower Grade Spirit Beast.

In the past year or so, Jinbao had done more than just eat. It had also gotten into a few scuffles with other Spirit Beasts, but it had never been in a real battle.

This time, Fang Qingyuan planned to let Jinbao join the fray if the situation permitted, hoping to cultivate its fighting spirit early.

To prevent any information from being leaked, only Beast Taming Sect disciples like Fang Qingyuan and Li Fire knew the target of this operation.

The other Cultivators from the vassal families were brought along merely as hired muscle.

Ten minutes later, another group of Cultivators flew in from the distance, also led by a disciple from Beast Taming Mountain.

With all three parties gathered, Fang Qingyuan did a quick, silent headcount and realized there were now sixty to seventy Cultivators present.

Among them were three at Foundation Establishment, over a dozen at Late-stage Qi Cultivation, and about thirty at Mid-stage Qi Cultivation. Cultivators at Early-stage Qi Cultivation were actually the fewest.

The combined combat strength of so many Cultivators was more than enough to steamroll a small sect.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Fang Qingyuan, Li Fire, and the last Core Disciple to arrive, Xie Wood, conferred. They concluded that a direct, frontal assault was the most prudent approach.

Although it would be more time-consuming and didn’t quite fit Zhao Liangde’s desired "overwhelming, thunderous force," it was the safer option. There was no need to take unnecessary risks.

Just moments before, Xie Wood had proposed a strategy: have Fang Qingyuan use his authority as an Operation Manager to lead ten Cultivators inside under the pretense of delivering supplies, then stage an attack from both inside and out.

But Fang Qingyuan had rejected it flat out. ’They could just push through with brute force, so why take such a risk? And most importantly, why should he be the one to do it?’

’If the enemy activated their own Array, the small group led by him would be trapped inside.’

Seeing Fang Qingyuan’s refusal, Li Fire and Xie Wood couldn’t really object, so they each returned to their own groups to begin final preparations.

Fang Qingyuan did the same. He returned to the Illusion Array, gathered everyone, and said:

"Our target is the Sen Family, stationed west of Shandu. Their Patriarch is an Early-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator, with about twenty Qi Cultivation Disciples, and no more than five Late-stage Qi Refining cultivators. With our three groups combined, our combat strength is overwhelming. As long as we’re careful, this mission should pose little danger.

I’ve just discussed the terms with the two senior brothers. For this battle, any loot from a solo kill belongs to the individual. For a group kill, the loot will be divided equally. Additionally, some people will be assigned to guard the perimeter and intercept any who slip through the net. Cultivators who take on that duty will be compensated afterward..."

Fang Qingyuan went on, covering many details, only stopping his instructions when he saw the other two groups begin to move. He rose and waved his hand.

"Move out!"

This operation was meant to be stealthy, so Fang Qingyuan didn’t bring a large Camel Beast like Yinbao, choosing Sword Flight instead.

The group flew for about ten li, and soon a mountain peak, enveloped and protected by an Array, appeared before them.

There were several such peaks along the border with the joint forces of the Luo Family and the Artifact Talisman Alliance, all mutually supporting one another.

For the Luo Family to attack Shandu, they would first have to deal with these peaks, pulling them out one by one like nails.

Otherwise, with these peaks stuck in the way, the Luo Family would find their movements restricted. But what had been designed as a measure against the Luo Family was now about to be tested by their own side first.

According to the information Fang Qingyuan received before the operation, the Sen Family’s Mountain Protection Array had three layers. The first two were provided by the Beast Taming Sect; both were Tier Two and possessed astonishing defensive power, enough to withstand the frenzied bombardment of several Foundation Establishment Cultivators for half a day.

But such a powerful Array was no cause for concern, because the Beast Taming Sect had left a backdoor.

Just then, Fang Qingyuan saw Li Fire, holding a Token, lead twenty Cultivators through the barrier as if strolling into his own courtyard. They rushed in in the blink of an eye.

Seeing this, Fang Qingyuan no longer hesitated. Following behind She Xi Yu, he also took out a Token and led his people charging headfirst inside.

The first two layers of the great Array were as effective as paper, offering no resistance at all. It wasn’t until the third layer, an Array set up by the Sen Family themselves, that any defense was mounted.

But lulled into a false sense of security by the first two layers, the Sen Family hadn’t used a very high-quality Array Disc for this third layer. It was merely Tier One Upper Grade. While its effects were decent, it clearly couldn’t withstand the assault of sixty to seventy Cultivators. It held for a mere ten minutes before shattering completely.