Beast Taming: I Have an Immortal Mansion

Chapter 229 - 174: Foundation Establishment’s Foundation

On the way back to Yuanling Mountain, Fang Qingyuan flew on his magical artifact, thinking about the *True Insight into the Nether Qi Eating Technique*, the cultivation technique passed down to him by Lechuan.

Beside him, Situ Jingyu and Jinbao sat on one side of the Magical Artifact Flying Boat. They watched the engrossed Fang Qingyuan and exchanged a look.

Fang Qingyuan had been in this engrossed state for a long time. Even as Yuanling Mountain came into view, he remained immersed in his contemplation.

Fortunately, Fang Qingyuan wasn’t a cultivation fanatic who would lose himself completely in his studies. Sensing the Yuanling Mountain Land Realm ahead, he pulled his mind away from the Qi Eating Technique and returned to the present.

Upon arriving before Yuanling Mountain, a crowd knelt to welcome him. Now that Fang Qingyuan had reached the Foundation Establishment stage, his status had risen another level. Even those who had once been proud of their own standing now knelt with the utmost sincerity.

Although he had only been away from Yuanling Mountain for two years, Fang Qingyuan had the distinct feeling that a lifetime had passed. He supposed it was an emotion born from crossing the threshold of the Foundation Establishment Stage and surviving a Life and Death Tribulation.

He hadn’t returned in two years, and Yuanling Mountain had changed a great deal. The most significant change was the academy.

This academy, which Fang Qingyuan had once established on a whim by modeling it after the universities of his past life, had now become increasingly famous and massive. The students alone numbered five to six thousand; including teachers, handymen, and guards, the total population was well over ten thousand.

Furthermore, various vendor stalls and shops had sprung up around it in the blink of an eye, turning a corner of Yuanling Mountain into a Land Realm even more bustling than the Yuanling Square Marketplace.

Fortunately, Zhang Yuan had used an Array to partition the area, keeping the commotion from the mortal students far away from the upper reaches of Yuanling Mountain. Otherwise, he and the other Cultivators would have no peace for their cultivation.

Besides the academy, other areas of Yuanling Mountain had also developed well, becoming much more prosperous than when Fang Qingyuan had left.

These changes were all for the better. After a quick look to get a general understanding of the situation, Fang Qingyuan dismissed the crowd and returned to the second-tier, middle-grade Spiritual Land on the mountaintop with Situ Jingyu and Zhang Yuan.

As he arrived before his house, his eyes caught a glimpse of Jiang Kui’s quiet, adjacent courtyard. He sighed inwardly and stepped into his own.

Inside the small courtyard, tiny Bodhi fruits were forming on the Cyan Jade Bodhi Vine. Their bright green color suggested they were still quite sour.

Fang Qingyuan had Situ Jingyu and Zhang Yuan take a seat at the small table in the courtyard, while he busied himself in the kitchen.

’It’s been a long time since I last cooked,’ Fang Qingyuan thought. ’My skills have probably gotten a bit rusty. But the ingredients from the Immortal Mansion are all very fresh, so enjoying their natural flavor should be good enough.’

In recent years, Yinbao had spent more time apart from Fang Qingyuan than with him. Seeing him now, the creature in the Beast Cage was overjoyed and practically bouncing with excitement.

Fang Qingyuan prepared a large amount of Spiritual Food for it, and Yinbao ate until it was humming with contentment. Seeing this, Jinbao also tugged on Fang Qingyuan’s sleeve, asking for its share.

After appeasing the two Spirit Beasts, Fang Qingyuan, Situ Jingyu, and Zhang Yuan began to enjoy the meal. Fang Qingyuan was gazing at the fresh Spirit Plants and assorted meats simmering in the pot on the table when he suddenly felt something cold on his cheek. He looked up to see a crystalline snowflake drifting down.

’It’s snowing,’ he thought. ’How is this snowy night so similar to that one from ten years ago?’

......

Situ Jingyu left. At Fang Qingyuan’s request, she had guarded Yuanling Mountain for a year, and with her present, the mountain had remained safe and stable.

Including the three months she had spent on the trip to Black Sand City and the days following Fang Qingyuan’s breakthrough to Foundation Establishment, Situ Jingyu had been away from her sect for almost a year and a half.

This was the longest Situ Jingyu had ever been away from her sect, her master, and the familiar Earth Cave Fire Domain in her entire life. Now that Fang Qingyuan had successfully reached Foundation Establishment, she had no reason to remain.

As Situ Jingyu departed, Fang Qingyuan gave her fifty Top-grade Spirit Stones, which was the payment he had promised.

Although Situ Jingyu hadn’t ended up exerting much effort—since the Golden Core Spirit Beast, Heiye, had handled everything—Fang Qingyuan felt the payment was due. Having a Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator work for him for a year, on top of having her travel thousands of miles, was well worth fifty Top-grade Spirit Stones in his opinion.

Situ Jingyu had no objections to the Spirit Stones. She accepted them readily and departed just as briskly, not even allowing Fang Qingyuan to see her off for more than a few steps.

After Situ Jingyu left, Fang Qingyuan immersed himself in the affairs of Yuanling Mountain and the Yuanling Square Marketplace. By the time he had sorted everything out, winter had already passed.

In the blink of an eye, another year had passed. Time flew by, but Fang Qingyuan’s state of mind was much calmer now. He no longer sighed wistfully with the passing of each year as he once had.

His Innate Qi Divine Techniques Talent gave him enough confidence to face the passage of time with a calm heart.

Taking advantage of the peak trading season before the new year, Fang Qingyuan secretly sold off the Longevity Elixirs from Chu Duo, exchanging them for thirty Top-grade Spirit Stones. Combined with his previous savings and the dividends from the Yuanling Square Marketplace and Yuanling Mountain over the past two years, his total number of Top-grade Spirit Stones was now back to over one hundred and twenty.

Meanwhile, after several months of study, Fang Qingyuan had gained new insights into the *True Insight into the Nether Qi Eating Technique* that Lechuan had passed down to him.

This Qi Eating Technique was of a high grade—an Earth Tier Middle Grade cultivation technique. While not a primary manual for cultivating Magical Power, its methods and principles for discerning different types of primordial qi were vast and profound.

Even from his preliminary studies, Fang Qingyuan felt he had benefited greatly. The cultivation technique was beneficial to his Innate Qi Divine Techniques, allowing him to more accurately absorb the primordial qi from the world and filter out any impurities.

In other words, this was a manual perfectly suited for his Innate Qi Divine Techniques. Cultivating it would speed up the conversion of Innate Primordial Qi. Lechuan must have put a great deal of thought into choosing this cultivation technique for him.

’Perhaps this is Lechuan’s way of compensating for what Chu Duo forced him to do,’ Fang Qingyuan mused. ’As my master, he couldn’t outright refuse, so he specifically found this cultivation technique to make it up to me.’

Fang Qingyuan wasn’t sure if his guess was correct, but it was clear Lechuan had no intention of spelling it out. It was a tacit understanding between them, and Fang Qingyuan naturally wouldn’t be so tactless as to demand a clear explanation.

Fang Qingyuan had only recently acquired the Qi Eating Technique and had just reached the entry-level. As for the Foundation Establishment volume of the *True Scripture of the Five Spirits Transforming Baleful Qi and Refining Form*, he had to continue cultivating it step by step. At his current aptitude with his Five Elements Spirit Root, breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Second Layer would still take another eight years.

’These things can’t be rushed. Aside from these two cultivation techniques, I also need to practice some techniques that are only available to Foundation Establishment Cultivators.’

’The Five Elements Techniques I learned before were all for the Qi Cultivation Stage. Although their power is much greater now that I’m at Foundation Establishment, they still can’t compare to techniques designed specifically for this stage. Besides, with the small five-colored tree in my sea of consciousness, I should be able to learn those new techniques much faster than I’d expect.’

’Besides techniques, I also need to replace some of my Magical Artifacts and robes. Right now, my most valuable Magical Artifact is the Ten Thousand Beasts Qiankun Banner from Lechuan. It can serve as my primary artifact, but I still need two backups.’

’I also need to find some powerful Foundation Establishment Talismans to build up my reserves. I can’t just whip out my Innate Divine Techniques at the start of every fight. Then there are the Elixir Pills to speed up my cultivation—that’ll be a major expense. I don’t mind taking several years to advance a layer, but faster is always better.’

’Oh, right. I need to start preparing that Body Refining Technique I was considering. If my Body Refining had been successful back then, even if Lechuan hadn’t arrived, my physical toughness would have let me hold on for another six months to a year. I wouldn’t have ended up on the verge of death from weakness.’

As Fang Qingyuan calculated all this, he realized that while his net worth seemed substantial, his current one hundred and twenty-odd Top-grade Spirit Stones might not be enough to mold himself into a Foundation Establishment Cultivator with deep reserves and no weaknesses.

After thinking all this through, Fang Qingyuan suddenly remembered his plan to travel to the Qi Yun Territory to acquire Elixir Pills for Jiang Kui. It was about time he set off.

He hadn’t even finished sorting out the countless tasks at hand when terrible news arrived: two of the senior martial brothers who had gone to explore the Black River Secret Mansion had perished. Now, he wouldn’t be able to leave after all.