Beast Taming: I Have an Immortal Mansion

Chapter 153 - 133: Establishing a Marketplace

A pang of sorrow struck Fang Qingyuan when he heard Jiang Kui’s question. He hadn’t expected her to still remember the excuse he’d given back then. He nodded and replied,

"It’s been taken care of, no problems now. Besides, my cultivation has reached the Eighth-Layer of Qi Cultivation—even a little before Zhang Yuan managed it."

Jiang Kui smiled at his words, but then her face suddenly scrunched up, and beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.

Seeing her in so much pain, Fang Qingyuan asked with concern,

"How are your injuries? Why aren’t they healing?"

Jiang Kui took a few moments to catch her breath before replying,

"It’s a poison. That day, I was leading a team into the Wilderness Forest to deliver supplies to our sectmates on the front lines. But we were targeted by several Foundation Establishment Demon Beasts and fell into an ambush. I fought desperately and managed to escape, but I was struck by the innate poison of one of them."

Hearing this, Fang Qingyuan frowned and asked,

"Couldn’t Lechuan and the others do anything?"

Jiang Kui answered weakly,

"Too much time had passed. By the time Lechuan intervened, the poison had already seeped deep into my system. He tried a few things, but they weren’t very effective. Now, the residual poison is completely entangled with my Spiritual Power—they’re indistinguishable. According to him, the only way to completely remove it is with a Tier Four Elixir, the Jade Dew Dust Cleansing Pill. But that pill is extremely rare. Only a Nascent Soul Cultivator can refine it, and there are none for sale anywhere."

"The Jade Dew Dust Cleansing Pill?"

Fang Qingyuan murmured the name. He’d never even heard of this Tier Four Elixir before, but he knew now that obtaining it would become one of his goals.

"Then what are your plans now?"

Jiang Kui shook her head and took Fang Qingyuan’s hand.

"I’m practically useless now. Thankfully, Lechuan is taking my past contributions into account and hasn’t continued to pressure Yuanling Mountain. In fact, he has to give me face for my past deeds. Staying here will only drag you all down. I plan to return to the Jiang Family in Qinan City. I want to see if there’s any hope for a cure in the Qi Yun Territory."

Fang Qingyuan only knew a little about Jiang Kui’s origins. He knew she came from the Qi Yun Territory and wasn’t native to the Southern Border, but she was always reluctant to speak of her past.

Now that she had mentioned the Jiang Family of Qinan City, Fang Qingyuan asked curiously,

"The Elder Dean was from the Qinan Jiang Family too, wasn’t he? Why would he travel thousands of miles to the Southern Border and become the dean of the Beast Taming Sect’s Southern Border Tianshan Villa?"

Jiang Kui sighed.

"The Elder Dean fell in love with the wrong person. He fell for a female disciple of the Beast Taming Sect and, against his family’s wishes, eloped with her. He ended up estranged from his family and came to the Southern Border. And so, decades later, he got his wish and became a broken old man."

Jiang Kui’s explanation was brief, but those few words were enough for Fang Qingyuan to piece together a terribly cliché drama in his mind. It seemed Jiang Kui needed to unburden herself, perhaps fearing she wouldn’t have another chance to talk with him after today. She continued,

"Thirteen years ago, Lechuan and Zhao E Lian, along with Wei Tong, orchestrated a grand scheme. They plotted to kill the Elder Dean’s Spirit Beast, effectively clipping his wings. They were afraid of him. He had been running this place for decades and commanded immense respect. They were outsiders, ’parachuted in’ from headquarters. If the Elder Dean decided to oppose them, their hands would be tied. Yet they never even bothered to speak with him; they just launched their plot. That’s the arrogance of the people from Zongshan."

"The Elder Dean had never been ambitious, especially after his wife passed away; he’d lost his drive long ago. In truth, if Zhao E Lian had just asked, the Elder Dean would have willingly stepped down. But things ended in the most tragic way possible. After his Spirit Beast was killed, the Elder Dean went to Zongshan and took his own life to prove his innocence. Zhao E Lian was severely reprimanded and nearly thrown in jail. He ultimately lost his post, which Lechuan conveniently took over."

Jiang Kui looked exhausted after her explanation. Learning the truth of what had happened all those years ago, Fang Qingyuan couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of melancholy. Zhao E Lian had been defeated by his own arrogance, and Wei Tong was now dead as well. If Jiang Kui hadn’t brought them up, these old, dusty stories would have remained forgotten.

Seeing the weariness on Jiang Kui’s face, Fang Qingyuan said a few more words before leaving the house to let her rest. Outside, he found Zhang Yuan curled up in a corner, fast asleep.

Zhang Yuan had been on edge ever since Jiang Kui was poisoned. Now that Fang Qingyuan was back, he could finally relax. The exhaustion hit him all at once, and he had conked out, sleeping soundly.

Zhang Yuan slept for three straight days. When he finally woke up, he discovered the whole atmosphere on Yuanling Mountain had improved.

When Shen Wenyan had been around, a suffocating tension had permeated Yuanling Mountain. But now that Fang Qingyuan had returned and driven him off, the mountain felt like its old self again.

Once Zhang Yuan was awake, Fang Qingyuan pulled him aside to get an update on the war. Jiang Kui’s letters had mentioned the Southern Border Beast Taming Sect’s progress, but the front lines were constantly shifting, and Fang Qingyuan’s information was three months out of date.

Over the past year and a half, the allied forces of the Southern Border Beast Taming Sect had steamrolled through the enemy lines. They had slain three Golden Core Demon Beasts: the Sealing Mountain King, the Flying Eagle King, and the Water Drawing King. Only one, a cunning giant turtle, had wisely retreated at the very start of the war, leaving its three dim-witted companions to bear the brunt of the assault.

After killing those three, Huo Gan and his Companion Beast had dragged this Land Realm’s Nascent Soul Demon Beast out from its underground lair and severely wounded it. The Nascent Soul Demon Beast was no match for him and fled deeper into the Wilderness Forest. Huo Gan was still in pursuit, and no one knew when he’d be back.

The war was nearing its end. As for Shen Wulei and the other captured disciples of the Beast Taming Sect? Thanks to Huo Gan’s unyielding stance, the demon beasts had thrown their severed heads before the army’s formation at the very start of the fighting.

In addition to Shen Wulei, the Southern Border Beast Taming Sect lost another Foundation Establishment cultivator. Tallying up the casualties over the year and a half of fighting, the sect had lost two Foundation Establishment cultivators, over twenty Qi Cultivation Disciples, and a host of War Beasts.

But the spoils were also considerable. The Beast Taming Sect acquired a massive amount of materials from demon beast corpses, all sorts of spirit plants and herbs, and even rooted out several dozen hidden Demonic Dao and Ghost Dao cultivators. They also claimed the bodies of the three Golden Core Demon Beasts and, most importantly, a vast new territory.

The Southern Border Beast Taming Sect had cleared the Wilderness Forest of its demon beasts, so this land, once a demonic domain, was now considered the sect’s new territory. However, because the war was waged without the Great Zhou Academy’s approval, the participating Cultivation Clans and sects would not receive an official Fiefdom Decree.

The territory stretched a thousand miles long and five hundred miles wide. Though the most powerful demon beasts had been killed, it would still take decades of work to make the area safe enough for mortals to inhabit.

Mortals couldn’t move in, but Cultivators could. A place this vast held a fortune worth hundreds of millions, if not billions, of Spirit Stones.

The Beast Taming Sect’s rewards were simple: land distributed according to merit. While their decree didn’t carry the same official weight as one from the Great Zhou Academy, the Southern Border Beast Taming Sect was the undisputed power in this region, and their word was reliable.

With this development, Yuanling Mountain was no longer a remote outpost. Due to the newly conquered Land Realm, it now sat at the strategic midpoint between Celestial Gate Mountain and the new territory.

’No wonder Shen Wenyan was so desperate to get his hands on Yuanling Mountain,’ Fang Qingyuan thought. ’He must have foreseen its future value long ago.’

As soon as Zhang Yuan finished his report, Fang Qingyuan declared decisively,

"Shen Wenyan is obsessed with Yuanling Mountain; he won’t give up after being sent away. We need to make two moves. First, we need to get Jiang Kui settled safely. Second, we have to establish a Marketplace here before he does. The last thing we need is him building one just to spite us."

After listening to Fang Qingyuan’s analysis, Zhang Yuan asked,

"A Marketplace? Can just the few of us really pull that off?"

Fang Qingyuan smiled.

"Of course not. With Jiang Kui injured and out of commission, our strongest fighters are only at the Qi Cultivation realm. The Beast Taming Sect’s name is big enough to deter other Cultivation Clans or sects from causing trouble, but it won’t stop rogue cultivators from trying to take a piece of the pie. That’s why we need to bring in outside help. We need to find some experts."

Zhang Yuan scratched his head. All this scheming was making his brain hurt. He decided to stop trying to figure it out and just asked directly,

"So, do you have anyone in mind?"

Fang Qingyuan smiled confidently.

"The She Family!"

The She Family. Zhang Yuan understood immediately. He had met members of the She Family back when Lechuan was backing up Wei Tong. They had left a strong impression on him because the She Family had a reputation for being fierce fighters.

Come to think of it, Fang Qingyuan had a long history with the She Family. His first major battle had been fought alongside them against Shandu. Later, the She Family had used their connection to him to get in touch with Zhao Liangde, allowing them to break away from the Wei Family and relocate to the Southern Border Beast Taming Sect’s territory.

The Wei Family, it seemed, was still at war with the Luo Family. For years now, the Wei Family had been locked in constant conflict. They always won, but every victory was a pyrrhic one, leaving them weaker and weaker.

This time, the She Family had followed the Beast Taming Sect into battle against the Wilderness Demonic Beasts. In the past decade, they’d fought in no fewer than a hundred battles. You could call them professional soldiers.

Having named the She Family, Fang Qingyuan continued to lay out his plan for Zhang Yuan.

"I have a rough plan for the Marketplace, but it won’t happen overnight. We’ll have to take it step by step. For security, I’ll invite the She Family and offer them a ten percent stake. We’ll give Lechuan thirty percent and Zhao Liangde ten percent. That leaves fifty percent for us. This way, if any other powerful figures show up, we have shares we can use to bring them in. And if Shen Wenyan tries to stick his nose in our business, Zhao Liangde will be responsible for pushing him back."

’The shares for Lechuan and Zhao Liangde are non-negotiable. Without the backing of our superiors, our Marketplace would be dismantled as soon as it’s built. The She Family are just hired muscle; they have the least leverage of all the parties and are easily replaceable. Ten percent is more than generous for them.’

Having allocated the shares, Fang Qingyuan continued to muse, "Building a full Marketplace from the ground up isn’t easy. Perhaps we could start with a Ruins Marketplace—a periodic market held every five, seven, or ten days. Maybe even once a month. As long as we build a good reputation, given Yuanling Mountain’s prime location, we won’t have to worry about attracting people."

Zhang Yuan nodded repeatedly at this analysis, then asked,

"What’s the plan for Jiang Kui?"

Fang Qingyuan fell silent for a moment.

"Yuanling Mountain isn’t a good place for her to recover. She wants to go back to the Qi Yun Jiang Family. They have abundant resources and many skilled people—it’s not a place the Southern Border can compare with."

"When will she leave?"

"As soon as possible. Within the next three to five days."

"Should we all see her off?"

"No. She doesn’t want to cry."