usatvline Chapter 224 - 169: Changes on All Sides
Chapter 224 - 169: Changes on All Sides
In the hazy state between sleep and wakefulness, during the early morning hours, a clear mist flowed past the railing, draping a gauzy veil over the scenery. The colors of the world blurred together, creating a unique charm.
The patches of tender green in the distance, in particular, were the perfect touch of life.
Fang Qingyuan leaned against the railing, his gaunt cheeks sunken. As he gazed at the distant scenery and felt the morning mist, his mood suddenly improved a great deal.
Fang Qingyuan was still on Celestial Gate Mountain. Although he had reached Foundation Establishment, his mind had been lost in the illusion of the Five-Colored Blood Pearl for too long. If Lechuan hadn’t broken down the door, Fang Qingyuan likely would have starved to death from going without food for so long.
Such a death would have been the biggest joke in the Beast Taming Sect’s thousand-year history, a humiliation Lechuan could not afford.
Fang Qingyuan’s body was still weak and he had lost a lot of weight. He needed to recuperate slowly. Under these circumstances, it wasn’t a good idea to make the arduous journey back to Yuanling Mountain.
He had been away from Yuanling Mountain for over a year anyway; a little more time wouldn’t make a difference. Fang Qingyuan planned to wait until after Lechuan held the Foundation Establishment ceremony and the disciple acceptance ritual for him before returning. It wouldn’t be too late then.
Situ Jingyu and Jinbao were busy preparing for Fang Qingyuan’s Foundation Establishment ceremony. Zhang Yuan had already gone back. After bringing Yinbao to see that Fang Qingyuan was fine, he had rushed back to Yuanling Mountain without stopping. They couldn’t leave Yuanling Mountain entirely in the hands of outsiders now.
’Now that I’ve reached Foundation Establishment, my position is more secure than ever. If the powers around Yuanling Square previously gave me some face primarily due to my status, they will now have to consider my cultivation level as well. That will certainly give me more room to negotiate.’
’What’s more, I’m about to become Lechuan’s closed-door disciple. This change in status is bound to affect how others see me. In any case, it’s all for the better.’
Upon entering Foundation Establishment, all sorts of changes followed, and all sorts of people’s gazes were now focused on him. Fang Qingyuan used his health as an excuse to hide here, seeking some peace and quiet.
However, some things couldn’t be avoided for long—for instance, his debt to Heiye.
Heiye’s figure flickered into view from a mountainside pavilion. He had been staying by Fang Qingyuan’s side these past few days. The official reason was to protect the weak, future disciple of Lechuan from being harmed by malicious outsiders. In reality, he was just sticking close to Fang Qingyuan to make it easier to collect his debt.
Seeing Heiye, Fang Qingyuan spoke slowly.
"Zhang Yuan has already returned to Yuanling Mountain with the goods. He should be able to sell off those Magical Artifact Spiritual Materials within a month. What do you think, Senior Brother Heiye?"
Fang Qingyuan used to address Heiye as "Senior Uncle," but since Lechuan had decided to take him as a disciple, Fang Qingyuan’s seniority had risen a generation. Although Heiye was a Golden Core Demon Beast, his master was Zhao Liangde, so Fang Qingyuan naturally changed his form of address to "Senior Brother."
Heiye clearly didn’t mind the change in address. He crouched on the railing, his gaze not on Fang Qingyuan but also fixed on the distance. After a long moment, he said in a low voice,
"That’s fine. A little longer doesn’t matter. You’re about to become the Music Master’s disciple. If you have any questions, even ones that might be awkward to ask, now is the time."
Fang Qingyuan’s heart stirred at Heiye’s words. ’This is obviously at Zhao Liangde’s instruction. There are some things Lechuan can’t say outright, and Zhao Liangde can’t gossip about his own master behind his back. Heiye is doing this to remove any obstacles between me and Lechuan, to eliminate any unnecessary estrangement.’
Although Lechuan was the Southern Border Beast Taming Sect Master, he and Fang Qingyuan weren’t very familiar with each other. The gap in their statuses was immense, and Fang Qingyuan had never served under Lechuan for long, having always been out making his own way. This master-disciple relationship, formed halfway, could hardly compare to that of a disciple like Zhao Liangde, who had followed Lechuan since childhood.
However, the talent Fang Qingyuan had awakened this time was simply too good for Lechuan to let go. Sending Heiye to speak with him now was a gesture of goodwill.
Fang Qingyuan understood the unspoken meaning and immediately asked,
"How did the Elder Dean die back then? And what role did the Music Master play in it?"
Heiye visibly flinched at his words. He whipped his head around to look at Fang Qingyuan, clearly stunned. It was incredibly bold of Fang Qingyuan to ask about such a taboo subject right off the bat.
But he had already made the boast. Recalling Zhao Liangde’s instructions that nothing was off-limits, Heiye began to speak.
"Back then, the Music Master and Zhao E Lian, acting on the orders of the Zongshan Huo Family’s old ancestor, Huo Gan, came to the Southern Border to prepare for the Centennial Pioneering War by plotting for the Wei Family’s land. At the time, Wei Tong was unwilling to move. So, Zhao E Lian pulled some strings, using the Companion Beasts of the Elder Dean and a few others as bait to frame Wei Tong, leaving him unable to defend himself until he eventually gave in."
"But Zhao E Lian didn’t expect Wei Tong to use the situation to his advantage and directly kill the Elder Dean’s Companion Beast, along with several Cultivators from the other courtyards. Zhao E Lian was a few moments too slow to intervene, and the consequence was that the Elder Dean went to Zongshan and took his own life to make his stance clear, bringing the whole issue out into the open."
"In the end, Zhao E Lian was reprimanded and demoted to a desolate branch courtyard, while the Music Master took over everything. The Huo Family also paid a hefty price to smooth things over."
After hearing Heiye’s explanation, Fang Qingyuan’s face remained calm, but a storm of emotions churned within him.
’Jiang Kui has always been hung up on the Elder Dean’s death. Now that I’m going to be Lechuan’s disciple, I’ll have to strike a balance between the two.’
’When I was a nobody, it was Jiang Kui who recruited me. More than half of Yuanling Mountain belongs to her in name. She hates Wei Tong and Zhao E Lian. While she’s polite to Lechuan on the surface, she still holds a lot of resentment in her heart.’
’Now that I know the inside story and understand the role Lechuan played, I can face Jiang Kui with a clear conscience in the future.’
Having sorted through these thoughts, Fang Qingyuan’s attention was drawn back to the Pioneering War that Heiye had mentioned. Calculating the years, he realized more than eighty years had passed since the last one. The next Pioneering War was just around the corner.
"Senior Brother Heiye, do you know which Land Realm the next Pioneering War will be in?"
Heiye let out a few scornful laughs.
"I wish I knew. That’s something for the Divinity Transformation ancestors up top to decide. We just have to listen. To put it bluntly, we members of the Southern Border Beast Taming Sect are just spare chess pieces in the grand scheme of things. They’ll use us if we’re useful, and leave us idle if we’re not."
Hearing this, Fang Qingyuan felt he had been overthinking things. The Pioneering War was a grand event involving even Divinity Transformation Cultivators. As someone who had just entered Foundation Establishment, he was nothing more than a pawn.
’Perhaps calling myself a pawn is an overestimation. Small fry would be more accurate.’ While Fang Qingyuan was trying to place himself, Heiye spoke again.
"Any other questions?"
Fang Qingyuan pushed the matter of the Pioneering War to the back of his mind and asked curiously,
"It’s been so long, but I’ve never seen the Music Master’s Companion Beast. I hear its cultivation is very high."
Heiye’s mouth twitched. He hesitated for a few moments before saying,
"The Music Master’s Companion Beast is at the early-stage Nascent Soul realm. It’s just busy with matters at Zongshan and has never come to the Southern Border. The Le Family is a major family at the Beast Taming General Mountain..."
As Heiye continued to explain, Fang Qingyuan came to understand. No wonder he had never seen Lechuan’s Companion Beast. It turned out the difference in their cultivation levels was too great for Lechuan to command it.
Lechuan came from an extraordinary background. The Le Family had deep roots in the Southern Border, and their ancestors had even produced a Nascent Soul Cultivator. However, in the last few generations, including Lechuan’s, the line of Nascent Soul Cultivators had been broken, leaving only a Nascent Soul Companion Beast to hold down the fort.
Whether demon beasts or spirit beasts, their cultivation speed was much slower than that of humans. However, their lifespans were much longer than those of Cultivators at the same level.
Barring any accidents, a Nascent Soul Demon Beast could live for four or five thousand years—twice as long as a human Cultivator. Lechuan’s Companion Beast had already served several generations of Le Family Patriarchs. Its seniority was far greater than Lechuan’s, and in its eyes, Lechuan’s words didn’t carry much weight.
As a result, although Lechuan had a Companion Beast, he couldn’t command it. When he truly needed it to act at a critical moment, he had to bribe it with Spirit Stones to keep it happy.
Hearing this, Fang Qingyuan sighed. Lechuan seemed so glorious on the surface, but he never would have guessed that things were so frustrating for him behind the scenes.
Afterward, Fang Qingyuan asked about many other secrets of the Beast Taming Sect, and Heiye answered them all. Now that Fang Qingyuan was one of them, there was no need to hide most things from him.
After hearing all these inside stories, Fang Qingyuan felt a mix of emotions. He had originally thought the Southern Border Beast Taming Sect was the undisputed hegemon of the Southern Border. But the more he learned, the more he realized they were trapped, unable to move. They wanted to continue expanding, but had no path forward.
To the north was the territory of the Nanchu Sect, a vassal of Qi Yun that boasted one Nascent Soul and three Golden Core Cultivators. The Southern Border Beast Taming Sect couldn’t touch them.
To the west was Qi Yun’s territory, with a few smaller sects scattered in between as a buffer zone. That was also off-limits.
Only the south and east were open for expansion. But to the south, Jiuye Square was under Nanchu’s protection. Moreover, the dense forest beyond Jiuye Square hid numerous Demonic Cultivators. If they were to conquer Jiuye Square, they would inevitably have to deal with Demon Cultivators, which would mean getting their hands dirty.
To the southeast lay his own Yuanling Mountain. They had conquered a good amount of territory there ten years ago, but a decade later, mortals still couldn’t survive in the dense forests. It couldn’t even be considered semi-tamed land. Decades of development and internal effort were still needed before it could become truly habitable land.
As things stood, the Southern Border Beast Taming Sect was stuck, able to do little more than guard its own small plot of land.
After understanding all this, Fang Qingyuan felt a brief moment of disappointment, followed by joy. If he didn’t have to conquer new territories, he could just cultivate peacefully. He had only just reached Foundation Establishment; he didn’t want to be ordered to fight to the death with others any time soon.
After their conversation, Heiye’s figure flickered once more and vanished without a trace. His talent leaned toward stealth. Even though Fang Qingyuan had reached Foundation Establishment and his Divine Sense was several times stronger than it was during Qi Cultivation, he still couldn’t detect Heiye’s comings and goings.
Seeing Heiye disappear, Fang Qingyuan paid him no mind. He closed his eyes, appearing to be resting and recuperating his spirit. In reality, his spiritual soul had slipped into the Immortal Mansion to check on the changes that had occurred there since he reached Foundation Establishment.