Beast Taming: I Have an Immortal Mansion

Chapter 194 - 157: 5 Beasts and 5 Spirits, Part 2

Fang Qingyuan was content with the Metal Spirit manifesting as a tiger. However, for the final Water Spirit, he planned a modification. Instead of a simple tortoise, he wanted to transform it into the composite form of a tortoise and a snake: the Xuanwu.

During the lull while stabilizing his cultivation realm, Fang Qingyuan began to address the quality of his Water Spirit Root. Among his five elements, it was the only one that remained mid-grade.

Over the past year and a half, Fang Qingyuan had directed Shopkeeper Jiang of Yuanling Square Marketplace and Shopkeeper Wan of Treasure Pavilion to acquire Water Element Spiritual Materials in large quantities. The expense was considerable, but the results were excellent. Nourished by these spiritual materials, his Water Spirit Root’s quality had now reached a value of twenty-nine.

He was confident that when the Five Elements Flow cycle reached the Water Spirit, his Water Spirit Root would inevitably reach the quality of a Top-grade Spirit Root. Last year, Yuanling Square Marketplace had generated an income of thirty Top-grade Spirit Stones for him, and the adjacent Black Market had brought in another five. After deducting the portion owed to Yuanling Mountain, Fang Qingyuan’s annual income was a solid thirty Top-grade Spirit Stones.

It was this wealth that gave Fang Qingyuan his confidence, allowing him to purchase Water Element Spiritual Materials so lavishly that it left even the shopkeeper of the Treasure Pavilion stunned.

As these thoughts crossed his mind, Fang Qingyuan tilted his head to look at the Three-legged Little Golden Crow, his Fire Spirit, perched on his shoulder. A sudden idea struck him. ’Shouldn’t this Three-legged Little Golden Crow be doing something that befits its status? That would be the only way for it to grow properly.’

The inherent duty of a Three-legged Golden Crow was to become a great sun and illuminate the land, and his Immortal Mansion, it seemed, was missing precisely that.

The *True Explanation of the Five Spirits Transforming Baleful Qi and Refining Form* stated that Spirit Beasts refined from Spiritual Power should be encouraged to behave like natural living beings. Only then could they grow faster and develop a true life aura. ’But as it is now,’ he thought, ’if my Three-legged Golden Crow just sits on my shoulder, when will it ever become a Spirit Beast with a genuine life force?’

At this thought, Fang Qingyuan hesitated no longer. With a flicker of his Divine Sense, he connected to the Immortal Mansion within him, and his divine soul slipped inside.

The Immortal Mansion looked just as it always had. Although an unknown light source illuminated the land, Fang Qingyuan always felt that this light wasn’t from a proper sun, a fact that had always left him with a nagging doubt.

Upon entering the Immortal Mansion Space, Fang Qingyuan didn’t act rashly. Instead, he slowly closed his eyes and began to call out to the Fire Spirit Golden Crow he had just created.

Normally, Fang Qingyuan’s physical body couldn’t enter the Immortal Mansion, as the mansion itself was anchored to his body. And while the Fire Spirit Golden Crow was a part of him, it was also an independent entity. The mechanics were complex, but all Fang Qingyuan saw was a flash of fiery light. A three-inch-tall little Golden Crow materialized within the Immortal Mansion, tilting its head as it landed on the shoulder of his divine soul.

’It worked!’

Fang Qingyuan was overjoyed. If the Three-legged Little Golden Crow could enter, it meant the other four beasts—the four spirits—could as well. With the help of these Spirit Beasts, his ability to utilize the Immortal Mansion would certainly reach a whole new level.

Gazing at the nascent Fire Spirit Golden Crow, Fang Qingyuan reached out to communicate with it using his Divine Sense. As his consciousness connected with the Golden Crow’s body, he felt as if he had plunged into a world of fire. Within that inferno, a familiar consciousness slowly began to make contact with his own.

It felt familiar because it was like meeting a younger version of himself—the consciousness of a one or two-year-old, completely oblivious to the ways of the world.

After communicating with the little Golden Crow, it flapped its wings and flew straight up into the sky of the Immortal Mansion, only stopping when it reached an altitude of a hundred zhang.

This was the highest point one could reach in the Immortal Mansion. Any higher, and there was a transparent barrier that separated the space within the mansion from the darkness outside.

Once the Fire Spirit Golden Crow reached this height, its tiny body began to radiate light and heat, erupting with astonishing fiery power.

The rays of light, carrying warmth, shone down upon the land of the Immortal Mansion. The Spirit Plants and purple bamboos unfurled their leaves and branches, as if scrambling to absorb the Golden Crow’s sunlight.

In just a few moments, Fang Qingyuan could feel the Wood Spiritual Power in the Immortal Mansion begin to slowly rise. The rate of increase was now fifty percent faster than before.

Fang Qingyuan was delighted by the Golden Crow’s powerful effect. However, with the Three-legged Golden Crow playing the role of the sun and releasing light and heat, its consumption of Fire Spiritual Power increased dramatically.

If this continued, without Fang Qingyuan replenishing its Fire Spiritual Power from the outside world, it wouldn’t be long before this little Golden Crow sun extinguished itself.

But Fang Qingyuan wasn’t worried. He knew this was only because he hadn’t completed his five-element transformation. Once all five beasts—the five spirits—were gathered in the Immortal Mansion, the Five Elements Flow would begin. The Five Elements Spiritual Qi within the mansion would automatically balance itself, and the Golden Crow would no longer risk being extinguished from a lack of Fire Spiritual Power.

Leaving the little Golden Crow to play its role as the sun, Fang Qingyuan walked to the edge of a small lake and peered into its depths.

Ten zhang directly above the lake’s surface, streams of water materialized from thin air, forming a waterfall that crashed down into the lake below, sending up bursts of spray and mist.

Looking closer, he could see that the space ten zhang high was not empty. A single, pitch-black droplet of water hovered there, endlessly gushing forth the stream. This spectacle was created by his Tier Three Water Spiritual Material: a drop of Profound Yuan Heavy Water.

This drop of Profound Yuan Heavy Water came from Sea Gate Island, which Fang Qingyuan had purchased while hiding from Huo Gan in the Chaotic Star Sea Region. A single drop was said to be capable of creating an entire oasis. Fang Qingyuan was using a special technique to make it release its power slowly, nurturing his Water Spirit Root to push its quality past the threshold of thirty.

This lake had originally been a pit for holding magma. After the Immortal Mansion completely absorbed the magma, Fang Qingyuan repurposed it, turning it into a lake for absorbing water-aspected spiritual power.

The small lake, several mu in area, could never be filled, despite the constant waterfall pouring into it. This was because as the water flowed in, the Immortal Mansion absorbed it from below. The Water Spirit Power contained within the streams was completely drained by the mansion.

Swarms of Scorpion-tailed Bees would occasionally come to the lake to collect water, which they would then sprinkle over the Spirit Plants. The bees would also tend to the Iron-Seeking Rat enclosures nearby, feeding the creatures inside.

After many years of being nurtured within the Immortal Mansion, the intelligence of the Scorpion-tailed Bees had increased dramatically. While an individual bee’s intelligence was low, when they gathered, they seemed to form a hive mind, becoming even smarter than a Border Collie.

Even without Fang Qingyuan’s explicit commands, the Scorpion-tailed Bees took excellent care of the Spirit Plants and Iron-Seeking Rats in his absence, saving him a great deal of effort.

Fang Qingyuan had a theory about this change in the swarm. Besides the influence of the Immortal Mansion itself, the other key factor had to be the Golden Jade Bee Queen.

Ever since her last advancement, the Bee Queen had been in a deep slumber; it had now been three years. She had barely woken at all during that time. Such a long advancement period had made Fang Qingyuan extremely anxious at first. However, after observing her condition and seeing no negative changes, he could only let nature take its course.

Besides, the Beast Taming Sect had a theory for such situations. If a Spirit Beast’s advancement took an unusually long time for no apparent reason, it could only mean one thing: the Innate Divine Technique it was awakening was so powerful that the Spirit Beast couldn’t handle it all at once. It could only absorb the impact through a prolonged slumber.

Connecting this to the fact that the Scorpion-tailed Bees were becoming more intelligent, Fang Qingyuan suspected that the Divine Technique the Bee Queen was gaining from this advancement was likely something extraordinary.

After checking on the Bee Queen, Fang Qingyuan glanced at a corner where a Crystal Coffin lay hidden behind some Black-stemmed Ophipogon. He then left the Immortal Mansion Space and returned to his Quiet Chamber. Over the next six months, Fang Qingyuan methodically created the rest of his spirits: the bear-shaped Earth Spirit, the tiger-shaped Metal Spirit, and finally, the Water Spirit Xuanwu.

The moment the Three-Inch Xuanwu revealed its form, an inexplicable call welled up in Fang Qingyuan’s mind. It sent a tremor through his entire body, and he felt an overwhelming urge to dash toward its source.

’This is my Foundation Establishment Opportunity.’ After receiving the signal, although Fang Qingyuan was thrilled, he didn’t rush off. He wasn’t some unconnected Loose Cultivator; he had matters to attend to. Besides, a Foundation Establishment Opportunity wasn’t just a boon—it was also fraught with danger. He had to be fully prepared.

Thus, Fang Qingyuan wrote several letters and gave them to Zhang Yuan, with instructions to open them only if he failed to return after a long time. Afterward, he paid a visit to the Black Market and spent a long time in discussion with the Black Hand Leader. In the end, he tossed the leader a storage bag to purchase several items.

With his preparations complete, Fang Qingyuan chose a time when no one would notice. Taking only Jinbao with him, man and beast set off on the path to find his Foundation Establishment Opportunity.