Beast Taming: I Have an Immortal Mansion

Chapter 317 - 255: Special Spiritual Object

Fang Qingyuan walked out of the captain’s cabin, his face cold. As a newcomer to the Beast Hunting Sea Ship business, he was most afraid of being bullied. To prevent this from happening in the future, Fang Qingyuan felt he had to make his stance clear.

Tuoba Ye had looked a little panicked, but the moment he saw Fang Qingyuan, he was inexplicably filled with confidence.

"Activate the Offensive Array. We’re going to reason with them."

Fang Qingyuan ordered coldly. The Changqing had three main Arrays: tracking, pursuit, and combat.

The combat Array was rarely activated. After all, once such an important Array was turned on, the Spirit Stones it consumed would flow away like water.

The combat Array was mainly used to deal with tough-to-handle Foundation Establishment Sea Beasts. With the combat Array active, the Changqing could severely injure or even kill a Foundation Establishment Stage sea beast, even when operated by Qi Refining Cultivators.

Such was the power of an Array, the crystallization of humanity’s wisdom in cultivation.

Arriving on the deck of the Changqing, Fang Qingyuan looked through the Protective Shield at the other Beast Hunting Ship in the distance.

Based on its size, the other vessel was much larger than his own, probably close to two hundred feet long.

A Beast Hunting Ship of that size was typically overseen by a Late-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator. Meanwhile, the strength he openly displayed was only that of the Early-stage Foundation Establishment.

The higher a Cultivator’s cultivation, the larger their Beast Hunting Ship. This was an unwritten rule in the Iron Wind Islands.

Without the corresponding strength, attempting to captain a large ship would easily lead to being lost in the vast, boundless sea.

Fang Qingyuan narrowed his eyes. Seeing the other party’s belligerent display, he muttered:

"Tuoba Ye, find a way to teach them a lesson, so they don’t think we’re scared."

Tuoba Ye nodded, then asked:

"And after that?"

In his Mind Map, Fang Qingyuan sensed the other party’s combat strength: one Late-stage and two Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivators. He curled his lip and pragmatically replied:

"Of course we retreat. What else? Stick around to get beaten up? With the temptation of these Spirit Fish, they won’t chase us relentlessly."

Fang Qingyuan voiced these shameless words without hesitation. He wasn’t about to get into a life-or-death struggle over a moment of anger. Tripping them up a little would be enough to vent his frustration.

Since Fang Qingyuan had given the order, Tuoba Ye had to comply. He thought for a moment, then dragged out a pile of dark, greasy-looking objects from the lowest cargo hold.

"This is Thousand Bull Shark dung. If we scatter it in the sea, it can drive away some of the more ferocious fish. Since they won’t let us catch any, they won’t be catching much either."

Tuoba Ye gave a wicked grin and prepared to dump the Thousand Bull Shark dung into the ocean.

Just then, Fang Qingyuan stopped him.

"Don’t be so direct. Use a delay. Wait until we’re far away before releasing the dung."

Tuoba Ye slapped his forehead, feeling he hadn’t thought it through. ’I don’t do enough bad deeds. I lack experience.’

So, Tuoba Ye took out a few Talismans, forming a watery Protective Shield. He placed the Thousand Bull Shark dung inside it and then kicked it overboard.

"In one hour, the Talisman will break. When that happens, the Yellow Belly Fish will smell the Thousand Bull Shark and flee for their lives. No matter how skilled the other crew is, they won’t be able to catch more than a few."

After Tuoba Ye explained his idea, he received Fang Qingyuan’s approval, and the pent-up frustration in his heart dissipated considerably.

Fang Qingyuan looked at the other Beast Hunting Ship. Above, two large words were written: ’Shun Chang.’

’Hmph. I’ll remember you, Shun Chang Trading House. This isn’t over.’

「...」

After the Changqing was far away from the area, Tuoba Ye asked in a low voice:

"Captain, should we head out into the deep sea for a bit? Otherwise, if we just stay in these coastal waters, we’ll easily run into situations like the one just now."

Fang Qingyuan shook his head at the suggestion. ’The deep sea is too dangerous. For now, it’s enough to just wander around these coastal waters.’

The effective fishing grounds around the Iron Wind Islands already covered a radius of nearly a thousand miles.

Although in recent years there were too many ships and not enough fish, leading to constant competition over hunting grounds, his real goal wasn’t to make money from Spirit Fish, but simply to launder his Spirit Stones.

’Right now, safety comes first. I haven’t reached the point where I’d disregard danger for the sake of Spirit Stones.’

Rejected by Fang Qingyuan, Tuoba Ye was a little disappointed. But he quickly adjusted his mood and began to earnestly search for the next school of Spirit Fish.

「...」

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, three months had passed. During that period, the Changqing returned to the Iron Wind Main Island four or five times, each time selling its catch of Spirit Fish for Spirit Stones.

In the end, Fang Qingyuan did the math. In those three months, he had earned five Top-grade Spirit Stones.

It seemed like a decent income, but when he remembered the twenty Top-grade Spirit Stones he had to repay each year, Fang Qingyuan suddenly felt like he’d been working for nothing.

Thankfully, Shen Wan Jun hadn’t added any interest. Otherwise, if things continued like this, Fang Qingyuan would sooner or later find his expenses exceeding his income, eventually leaving him with no way out.

These few days were a rest period for the Changqing. Fang Qingyuan also gave himself a short break and went to the Spring Beauty Building to relax.

Wan Sancai accompanied him as usual, but this time, he brought Fang Qingyuan a surprise.

"Brother Jia, please take a look. I acquired this item at my shop from a fellow fisherman, trading some Blood Qi Pill bait for it. I know my own judgment isn’t the best, so I’ve brought it specially for you, Brother Jia, to appraise."

Inside the private room, Wan Sancai mysteriously took out a wooden box. Inside was a dark, glossy seed.

’A seed?’

Fang Qingyuan’s interest was piqued. His Immortal Mansion was vast now, and whenever he saw something that could be planted, he wanted to try growing it inside the Immortal Mansion to see what would happen.

Having just ginseng and Wooden Sunflowers was fine for a few dozen acres of land. But if his cultivation improved again and the Immortal Mansion expanded further, he couldn’t possibly plant the entire Land Realm with just ginseng and Wooden Sunflowers.

Fang Qingyuan took the seed and examined it carefully in his hand.

As soon as the seed was in his hand, Fang Qingyuan felt like he was holding a lump of iron. The seed was extremely heavy, its density immense.

Fang Qingyuan searched his memories, but after thinking for a long time, he couldn’t find any information on a similar item. And he had read the Southern Border Beast Taming Sect’s treasured *Comprehensive Beast Taming Spiritual Objects* back at Celestial Gate Mountain.

’It’s a novel species. I just don’t know what tier it is. Judging by its characteristics, it’s most likely a Tier Two Spirit Plant.’

After examining it for a moment, Fang Qingyuan made a preliminary judgment. He casually stored the seed in his Immortal Mansion and then began chatting idly with Wan Sancai.

Seeing Fang Qingyuan accept the seed, Wan Sancai beamed with delight. He would occasionally bring interesting Spiritual Objects to give to Fang Qingyuan, which was one of the reasons why he, a mere Qi Refining Cultivator, maintained such a good relationship with him.

After a pleasant chat, the unpleasantness from the Beast Hunting Ship gradually faded away. Wan Sancai’s little shop was doing booming business and could now provide Fang Qingyuan with three Top-grade Spirit Stones every month.

The Blood Soul Pills, in particular, were in such high demand they couldn’t keep them in stock. This type of Elixir Pill, capable of strengthening the soul, was very rare on the market.

Although the amount a single Blood Soul Pill could enhance one’s soul was small—it took several dozen to expand an Early-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator’s True Knowledge Circle by about ten feet—this rate of improvement was not much worse than what a Cultivator could achieve through their own painstaking practice.

After finishing his chat with Wan Sancai, Fang Qingyuan leisurely returned to his small courtyard.

When he habitually entered his Immortal Mansion, he discovered that a thick vine was shooting up from the ground, growing with extreme vigor.