Beast Taming: I Have an Immortal Mansion

Chapter 314 - 252: 3 Core Theories

Fang Qingyuan entered the familiar courtyard alone. He had already recalled Yinbao into the Immortal Mansion dozens of miles away from Iron Wind Island. For now, Fang Qingyuan didn’t want anyone to know of Yinbao’s existence.

Five long years had passed. According to the expected timeline, the campaign in the Southern Border had probably already begun.

A war of expansion was a major event that could affect an entire realm, but the Iron Wind Islands were far from the mainland’s heartland. The repercussions of the war wouldn’t reach here for the time being.

During those five years, Fang Qingyuan had no contact with the Southern Border. He had no idea how Lechuan, Jiang Kui, and everyone else were doing.

Pushing those thoughts aside, Fang Qingyuan turned his attention back to himself. He had just over seven years until he had to advance to the Foundation Establishment Fifth Layer; there wasn’t much time left.

In the past two years, Fang Qingyuan had made no headway with the Longevity Pill Theory. A pill theory on the level of the Nine Celestial Techniques was not something a Cultivator of his current standing could even begin to grasp.

Longevity encompassed far too much; it wasn’t something a single Innate Qi Divine Technique could even scratch the surface of. For Fang Qingyuan, with a lifespan of less than a century, trying to comprehend even a fraction of it was a fool’s dream.

After much thought, Fang Qingyuan had ultimately decided to abandon the few longevity-related pill theories Lechuan had told him about years ago.

He couldn’t bear the thought of forming his Golden Core using a pill theory below the fifth grade. If he didn’t have the Immortal Mansion, that would be one thing. But with such a heaven-defying opportunity in his hands, he was unwilling to settle for a Golden Core of such low quality.

Now, he had chosen three other potential pill theory paths. In terms of potential, they were all far broader than the ones Lechuan had found for him.

The first was to use the Five Elements Technique he had been practicing all along, following the path of five-elemental evolution. Combined with his Lifebound Talent, the Five-Colored Light, the final quality of his Golden Core should be second-grade, or perhaps even first-grade.

However, the Five-Colored Light was a gift from an unknown external entity, and he didn’t have a deep understanding of it. Moreover, far too many people walked the path of the Five Elements Dao. According to a secret Lechuan had shared, the more Cultivators who walked a certain Dao, the harder that path became.

The second was to use Divine Soul Dao Skills, following the Soul Dao Golden Core route. Thanks to the Immortal Mansion, he could practice Soul Daoist Techniques inside it without risk. Combined with ’God-Slaying Intent,’ a technique specializing in attacking the divine soul, his Soul Dao Divine Techniques were also astonishing. The final quality of the Golden Core would likely be second-grade.

Unfortunately, in this realm dominated by the Great Zhou Academy, Soul Dao cultivation was a heretical path that couldn’t see the light of day. Along with demonic, corpse, ghost, and monster cultivation, it was a thorn in the Great Zhou Academy’s side—something they wished they could eradicate completely.

And if he committed to the Soul Dao path and formed a Golden Core in that vein, it would mean Fang Qingyuan would have to abandon all the progress of his early life, give up his status as a disciple of the Beast Taming Sect, and spend the rest of his days hiding from the Great Zhou Academy’s pursuit. He would become a Demon, the very kind of person he himself was once supposed to hunt.

As things stood, Fang Qingyuan could practice Soul Daoist Techniques as long as he didn’t use the Yin City Black Law Talisman; it was unlikely he would be discovered.

But forming a Golden Core was different. A Golden Core was the external manifestation of a Cultivator’s entire life’s work up to that point. It would be difficult to hide it from Cultivators of the same realm, and his path would be exposed without a doubt the moment he fought someone.

Fang Qingyuan had no desire to be hunted to the ends of the earth by a Nascent Soul Level Inspector Envoy from the Great Zhou Academy. He still wanted to rely on the powerful backing of the Beast Taming Sect and live his own quiet life in peace.

The first two paths both had their respective flaws. The last one, however, perfectly avoided these shortcomings. The only awkward thing was that it was originally the talent of his Bee Queen, Fang Ruoxi: the Voice of All Things.

The third path was to use the Mind Map created by the Voice of All Things and walk the Heart String Golden Core Path. After using the Voice of All Things talent continuously over the years, Fang Qingyuan had gained a deeper understanding of it.

Telepathy, Mind Map, emotional precognition, mental conversations...

All these abilities were just like those of an Outer Celestial Demon toying with minds. It was just that Fang Qingyuan’s application of them was still quite shallow; he hadn’t yet grasped their essence.

As Fang Qingyuan’s first contracted Spirit Beast, he was able to use a portion of these Divine Techniques thanks to the restrictions he had implanted within the Bee Queen.

But if he wanted to apply them with more power and finesse, the set of restrictions he had used before was not enough.

Therefore, Fang Qingyuan needed to go to the Beast Taming Sect and obtain an Earth Tier or higher Beast Taming Heart Method.

After weighing these three pill theory paths for achieving his Golden Core, Fang Qingyuan felt he had reached a new level of clarity.

Still, he needed a deeper understanding of all three Daos before he could make a final decision. It would be best to finalize his pill theory before reaching late-stage Foundation Establishment. That way, he would have ample time to perfect it when he began Core Formation.

...

Half a year passed in the blink of an eye. Fang Qingyuan looked at Yinbao and said solemnly,

"Since you’ve already made your preparations, there’s no turning back. If you take this Elixir Pill and fail to advance, you’ll only have a few years left to live."

These words were a deliberate attempt to scare Yinbao and make it take this advancement more seriously. Even if Yinbao failed its breakthrough to Foundation Establishment, at worst it would suffer a severe loss of vitality. With his Innate Qi Divine Technique, there was no way Yinbao would die suddenly.

Over the past six months, Yinbao had eaten all of the Horse Mackerel Meat. Its body now contained an extremely abundant amount of energy. Adding to that the Elixir Pill refined by the Bee Queen from the heart of a Sea Spirit Whale, Yinbao had at least a fifty percent chance of successfully breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Realm this time.

A determined look flashed in Yinbao’s eyes. Compared to the lazy, listless creature it was two and a half years ago, it was like a completely different manta ray.

"Good. Now, go to sleep peacefully."

With a flick of his finger, Fang Qingyuan sent a fist-sized Elixir Pill into Yinbao’s mouth. After swallowing the pill, Yinbao was excited at first, but only a moment later, a heavy drowsiness washed over it. It closed its eyes helplessly as its body began to fall toward the ground.

Fang Qingyuan used his Magical Power to gently catch Yinbao, placing it in an evolution pool he had meticulously prepared for it.

The pool was mixed with some Spirit Liquid that Yinbao’s skin could absorb, serving as an extra precaution.

Looking at the slumbering Yinbao, Fang Qingyuan offered a silent blessing.

’Grow strong, old friend.’

With that, Fang Qingyuan pointed a finger, and the Array around the area rumbled shut, leaving only a silver-white Flying Manta Ray floating adrift in a deep pool.

...

"Fellow Daoist Jia, are you satisfied with this Beast Hunting Ship before you?"

Shen Wan Jun, accompanied by Uncle Hua with White Hair, was looking around a Beast Hunting Ship about a hundred feet long with Fang Qingyuan.

This was a Beast Hunting Ship that Shen Wan Jun had found for Fang Qingyuan. Although it was of the most common type, its value was still considerable.

The ship’s original owner had unfortunately died while hunting sea beasts, and the crew had also suffered heavy losses. His family, unable to support its upkeep, put it up for sale.

The ship had been severely damaged and was only just dragged out after half a year of repairs. Now, it lay quietly in the bay, waiting for potential buyers to inspect it.

Fang Qingyuan strolled across the deck of the scarred Beast Hunting Ship, running his hand over the marks left from its last battle. For some reason, his thoughts suddenly drifted to the Southern Border Yuanling Mountain.

’They must be fighting on Yuanling Mountain right now, too,’ he thought.