Beast Taming: I Have an Immortal Mansion

Chapter 265 - 209: Great Increase in Cultivation

Inside the Quiet Chamber, Fang Qingyuan stared eagerly at the fish in Huo Bai’s hands. Eating just one of these Spirit Fish could shave off seven or eight years of arduous cultivation; it was impossible for him not to be tempted.

Unfortunately, most of these forty-nine Purple Spirit Crystal Fish were reserved for Huo Bai’s Companion Beast. He would be lucky to get even a few for himself.

Huo Bai couldn’t help but chuckle at Fang Qingyuan’s expression. He thought for a moment, then said to Lechuan,

"Qingyuan performed a great service by relaying the intelligence. If it weren’t for his information, I would never have found these Spirit Fish. How about this? Out of the forty-nine, let’s give him five."

A flash of joy crossed Fang Qingyuan’s face when he heard he could get five. Five Spirit Fish would be enough for him to quickly break through his current realm and advance to the Third-Layer Foundation Establishment.

Lechuan nodded at Huo Bai’s words. For Huo Bai to offer Fang Qingyuan five Spirit Fish was a gesture of respect toward him. Otherwise, with his status as a Golden Core Cultivator, Huo Bai could have simply tossed Fang Qingyuan one or two and been done with it.

Besides, the Spirit Fish had different effects on Cultivators of varying cultivation levels. For an Early-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator, a single fish could cut down their arduous cultivation by seven or eight years.

But for a Late-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator, one fish would only cut that time by three or four years.

Moreover, the more one ate, the less effective the Spirit Fish became. After consuming ten or more, the effects were barely noticeable.

Huo Bai’s Companion Beast, a White Tiger at the Late-stage of Foundation Establishment, required even more time for its cultivation and thus naturally needed a greater number of Spirit Fish.

Seeing that Lechuan agreed and had no objections, Huo Bai pointed at the bowl-shaped Magical Artifact. The next moment, five plump purple fish flew out, each encased in a layer of water, and hovered in midair.

Fang Qingyuan understood this was his reward, but instead of hastily putting them away, he observed the Spirit Fish closely.

Once out of the Huo Bao Magical Artifact, the Purple Spirit Crystal Fish weren’t very large. Each was about the size of a knifefish, completely transparent, with a faint purple light glowing from within.

This was due to a Crystal Core inside each Purple Spirit Crystal Fish. The core was the primary source of the fish’s ability to enhance a Cultivator’s cultivation.

In other words, although the Purple Spirit Crystal Fish was a living creature, it could also be considered a potent medicine refined by nature itself.

After Fang Qingyuan inspected the five Spirit Fish and confirmed there were no issues, he summoned his Ten Thousand Beasts Qiankun Banner and stored them inside.

Purple Spirit Crystal Fish were extremely delicate, dying the moment they left the water. Though they seemed to be swimming merrily in Huo Bai’s bowl-shaped Magical Artifact, they wouldn’t survive for long outside of it.

The Ten Thousand Beasts Qiankun Banner was already connected to Fang Qingyuan’s mind. With the five fish inside the banner, he could examine them with his Divine Sense, which provided a much clearer view than his naked eye.

He paid no mind to the conversation between Lechuan and Huo Bai, instead immersing his consciousness in the banner to study the fish in detail.

The Purple Spirit Crystal Fish was a high-grade, Tier Two Spiritual Object. A Spiritual Object of this grade was already quite precious.

If sold at auction, it could be the final, headline item. Spiritual Objects were different from spiritual materials and Spirit Plants; they were true rarities, exceptionally scarce.

Inside the Ten Thousand Beasts Qiankun Banner, the five Spirit Fish seemed unnatural, wrapped in their spheres of water. Their movements had slowed considerably.

Fang Qingyuan understood that the environment inside the Ten Thousand Beasts Qiankun Banner couldn’t compare to their natural habitat. If the Spirit Fish remained inside for too long, they might drop dead at any moment.

And a dead Spirit Fish would be far less effective.

After Lechuan also received a share of the Spirit Fish from Huo Bai, the matter was concluded. Now, they could each go about their own business.

After distributing the Spirit Fish, Huo Bai patted the head of the White Tiger behind him, then rose and departed.

After he was gone, Lechuan looked at Fang Qingyuan.

"Qingyuan, how have I treated you all this time?"

A shiver ran down Fang Qingyuan’s spine. He gave a dry laugh.

"I will never forget your kindness, Master, but the Spirit Fish are not up for negotiation."

Lechuan snorted.

"I was actually planning to give you two more, but if that’s how it is, then forget it."

’So you were going to give them to me, not take them from me! You should have said so, Master!’

"Seeing as how hard your disciple has worked, Master, please have mercy!"

"You rascal. The Spirit Fish aren’t very effective for me anymore. I’ll give you three more. Give one to Luo Kun. He personally went deep behind enemy lines to get this information, so he deserves one as a reward. With a total of seven Spirit Fish, you should be able to reach the Third-Layer Foundation Establishment."

......,

「A month passed in the blink of an eye.」

On a small peak in the back mountains of Celestial Gate Mountain, Fang Qingyuan sat cross-legged in a pavilion, feeling the cool morning mist envelop him.

The aftermath of his last trip to the Barbaric Wilderness to deal with the Demon Cultivators was now settled. The corrupted Cultivator had been executed. As for the mastermind behind it, a Late-stage Golden Core Demon Beast, the Southern Border Beast Taming Sect could do nothing for now. They could only mark it down to be dealt with during the coming territorial war.

This sort of drama, with demon beasts attacking human encampments, played out every few years.

These incidents mostly occurred in newly pioneered territories, where the Golden Core Demon Beasts were desperate to drive out the invading Cultivators.

The beast tide Fang Qingyuan had encountered wasn’t even that large, led only by a few Foundation Establishment Demon Beasts. During the territorial wars, some beast tides were even led by Nascent Soul Demon Beasts in person.

The Southern Border Beast Taming Sect had to be prepared for this when they conquered this eight-hundred-li expanse of territory ten years ago.

Fang Qingyuan had now returned to Celestial Gate Mountain. Over the past month, he had handled most of his pressing matters and had asked Lechuan to take on some of his duties. Only then did Fang Qingyuan manage to free up some time to prepare for consuming the Purple Spirit Crystal Fish on the Tier Three Spiritual Land of Celestial Gate Mountain.

After double-checking the Arrays he had set up around him, Fang Qingyuan submerged his Divine Sense into his Immortal Mansion.

Jinbao was still in a deep slumber, and the Bee Queen was playing with the few Five Elements Illusion Beasts. Meanwhile, Yinbao was being kept in the sect’s Beast Cages, living a decadent life of eating, sleeping, and then eating some more.

Fang Qingyuan barely used Yinbao all year round now. But crucially, as Fang Qingyuan’s mount, its status had risen with its master’s. In the sect’s Beast Cages, the disciples all waited on Yinbao like it was a lord.

Some even tried to curry favor with Fang Qingyuan by bringing beautiful female camel-rays to please Yinbao. As a result, Yinbao was living a very pleasant life.

Thinking of Yinbao’s weight gain, Fang Qingyuan sighed softly. Then, with a mere thought, he retrieved a Purple Spirit Crystal Fish from the pond in his Immortal Mansion.

’One fish is worth seven or eight years of arduous cultivation. I hope it doesn’t disappoint...’

Staring for a moment at the lively, wriggling Purple Spirit Crystal Fish, Fang Qingyuan rolled it into a ball and swallowed it in a few quick bites.

The Spirit Fish wasn’t large to begin with; rolled up, it was only about the size of a goose egg. Fang Qingyuan finished it off in just a few bites.

As the Purple Spirit Crystal Fish entered his mouth, there was no trace of blood or a fishy smell. Instead, it dissolved into a sweet dew that seeped into his core.

This was his first time consuming a medicinal treasure to boost his cultivation since achieving Foundation Establishment.

The Purple Spirit Crystal Fish was indeed different from the Elixir Pills Fang Qingyuan had taken before. After it transformed into a sweet dew, a pleasant, jade-like chime first echoed within his Dantian Qi Sea, sending a tingle through all the True Essence in his body.

Then, the sweet dew merged into him, like welcome rain after a long drought. His True Essence began to flourish, increasing at a rate visible to the naked eye.

Furthermore, this sweet dew didn’t disappear all at once.

After he refined one wave of it, another would spontaneously generate throughout his body.

This process continued for a full half-month.

Half a month later, Fang Qingyuan’s eyes snapped open, and a brilliant gleam shot out, illuminating his surroundings.

A long moment passed before the brilliant gleam in his eyes began to fade. He carefully savored the changes within his Dantian Qi Sea.

’In just half a month, my True Essence Magical Power has surged dramatically. The First-Layer of Foundation Establishment, which originally would have taken me about ten more years to perfect, is now more than halfway there. It won’t be long before I reach completion.

It truly is a high-grade, Tier Two treasure, to have boosted my cultivation so much in such a short period.

My body and meridians just need time to absorb it all. Sigh, my constitution is still too weak. If I had cultivated the Five Elements Undying Body to the Foundation Establishment Realm, I could have eaten three of these Purple Spirit Crystal Fish at once without issue. As it is, I’ll have to recover for some time before I can consume another.

I finally managed to get some free time. As long as Master Lechuan doesn’t come looking for me, I’ll just focus on my cultivation. The work outside is endless, but my own cultivation level is what’s most important. I should just seize this opportunity and see if I can break through to Mid-stage Foundation Establishment in one go.

If I reach the Mid-stage Foundation Establishment, then even with my lack of seniority, many other Cultivators will have to acknowledge me. After all, in the Cultivation Realm, strength is what truly commands respect.’

With this in mind, Fang Qingyuan closed his eyes again. Seven days later, he took out another Spirit Fish and popped it into his mouth.