Beast Taming Clan: I Have a Jade Book

The month of March was nearing its end, and Tianshu Mansion had entered the autumn season.

Atop the mountain, a red maple tree blazed like a cluster of Celestial Fire, swaying vibrantly in the high winds. Mansion Master Luo’s palace sat directly beneath it. The palace was not particularly luxurious; its most striking feature was the Floral Bird Screen standing at its very center. The screen was painted with incredibly lifelike flowers, birds, insects, and fish.

A moment later, three figures suddenly emerged from the screen, stepping out as if they were figures from a traditional ink painting. The two men and one woman were Ye Jinghu, Ye Yunxi, and Mansion Master Luo.

Mansion Master Luo was quite advanced in age and carried the appearance of a shrewd old man. However, he put on no airs of a senior and was exceptionally approachable.

”You two Daoists are too polite. This old man should have been the one to visit, yet you’ve brought such a generous gift,” Mansion Master Luo said with a smile.

”You are the one being too polite, Mansion Master Luo. You are the senior, and we are the juniors. It’s only natural for juniors to visit their senior. How could a senior come to see juniors?” Ye Jinghu replied.

Beside him, Ye Yunxi cupped her hands in agreement. After chatting for a while longer, the two took their leave.

This visit to Mansion Master Luo wasn’t for any specific business. It was purely a courtesy call to pay respects to the local authorities, just as Ye Jingcheng had done when he first entered Xiaoshan Prefecture. However, stepping into Mansion Master Luo’s palace had been truly eye-opening for the pair.

Inside the palace lay a Spatial Treasure known as the Floral Bird Screen. Within this treasure lay pavilions, lakes, and thousands of fire maple trees. The trees were currently in their blazing red prime, presenting a sight far more breathtaking than the single maple tree in the Tianshu Prefecture Market.

More importantly, Ye Jinghu was very familiar with Wood Demons. Within that spatial realm, there were at least three Wood Demons, including a Tier Four Late-stage Wood Demon King whose Cultivation was nearly on par with Mansion Master Luo’s. This suggested that Mansion Master Luo’s true strength was likely much higher than they had imagined. Still, they understood that for someone overseeing a domain as wealthy as Tianshu Mansion, it would be highly abnormal if Mansion Master Luo were merely ordinary.

”If Aunt Jingyu had been there, she probably would have gained something from it,” Ye Jinghu said, looking at Ye Yunxi as they exited the palace. He still felt that those red maple trees had an extraordinary origin. The vitality within that space seemed far more abundant than normal.

”I also sensed that Array is no trivial matter. As expected, none of the Mansion Masters in the Righteous Sect are ordinary,” Ye Yunxi replied. ”Moreover, the Righteous Sect’s Mansion Master system does have its merits. It allows the Righteous Sect to cultivate more outstanding Cultivators.

”In the future, our Ye family might need to adopt a similar approach in the Desert Sea, arranging for Purple Mansion Cultivators to oversee multiple Oases.”

”That’s still a long way off,” Ye Jinghu chuckled, though his eyes clearly held a sense of yearning.

Ye Jingcheng was currently at the Early Stage of Nascent Soul, but the Earth Dragon Demon Emperor had already reached the Middle Stage of Nascent Soul. Given Ye Jingcheng’s Cultivation speed and the talents of his five Spirit Beasts, breaking through to Divinity Transformation was highly possible. When that time came, the Ye family truly might become the tenth Immortal Sect of the Great Yu Realm.

After pondering this for a moment, the two headed toward the Liu family’s palace. Having paid their respects to the Mansion Master of Tianshu Mansion, they also needed to visit the Liu family. In the short term, the Ye family did not want to sour relations with the other Nascent Soul Powers. Although the Ye family had backing from figures like True Monarch Xuhuai, the entrenched local powers were no weaklings, and the Ye family still needed to tread carefully.

Little did the two know, the moment they departed, an old man walked into the palace. The old man looked somewhat similar to Mansion Master Luo, except he had a hooked nose, whereas Mansion Master Luo’s nose was slightly flat. This man was Mansion Master Luo’s twin brother.

The public only knew Mansion Master Luo as an unfathomable figure who never offended other Cultivators, yet acted with swift and decisive lethality when he struck, letting no one escape his grasp. What they didn’t know was that ”Mansion Master Luo” was actually two people practicing two different Cultivation Techniques—one operating in the light, and the other in the shadows.

”Brother, this Celestial Sand Sect has quite the ambition. Should we report this to State Governor Liu?”

”Rather than saying the Celestial Sand Sect has grand ambitions, it would be more accurate to say this Ye family has a formidable background,” Mansion Master Luo explained with a wry smile. ”If my guess is right, the fact that they dispatched a Golden Core Cultivator to Tianshu Mansion means either Master Qianchen’s family now has a Nascent Soul Cultivator, or Master Qianchen himself has broken through to the Nascent Soul stage.”

”This...” The hook-nosed old man was puzzled. In his eyes, Ye Jingcheng had only been at the Middle Stage of Golden Core when he entered the Earth Immortal Realm. How could he have possibly obtained a Nascent Soul Treasure Medicine? And how could he have made consecutive breakthroughs to reach the Nascent Soul stage in the short span of about one Jiazi? Besides, even Mansion Master Wang hadn’t broken through that long ago.

”Anything is possible. He went from the Early Stage of Golden Core to the Late Stage of Golden Core in just fifty years. That feat alone would make him a top-tier genius even at the Righteous Sect’s headquarters, not to mention he annihilated the Cyan Spring Sect.”

”Brother, are you referring to the Cyan Spring Sect’s Five Demons Nascent Soul Secret Technique?”

”It’s also possible that someone else in the Ye family broke through to the Nascent Soul stage, but it’s far more likely to be Master Qianchen. The Divine Monarch Ancestor is currently very interested in the Ye family. Otherwise, why do you think Master Xuxuan has been so partial to them?

”However, which scenario it is doesn’t matter anymore. We should know the truth in a few days,” Mansion Master Luo shook his head and looked at his brother. ”Focus on your Cultivation. This world is not far from chaos. The Penglai Demon Sect, the Profound Celestial Demon Sect, and the Jinguang Temple... over the years, it seems they have grown dissatisfied with merely occupying the Eastern, Western, and Southern Domains.

”The Divine Monarch Ancestor has also been spending more and more time wandering the world.”

The region under the Liu family’s purview encompassed three Mansions: Tianshu Mansion, Qing Jun Mansion, and Profound Heart Mansion. Although the Liu family’s Clan Mountain was located at Mountain Map Lake in Profound Heart Mansion, their influence in Tianshu Mansion was in no way inferior.

The Liu family’s Spirit Mountain in Tianshu Mansion stood right beside Tianshu Mountain. Its height was only about a hundred feet shorter than Tianshu Mountain itself. While a hundred feet might sound like a significant difference, both Spirit Mountains were actually tens of thousands of feet tall, rendering the gap negligible.

For ordinary people, ascending the Liu family’s Spirit Mountain was no easy task. It was only because Ye Jinghu and Ye Yunxi carried the Jade Mirror given by Mansion Master Wang that they managed to enter a palace perched atop a massive willow stump on the Spirit Mountain, where they met the Liu family’s branch Patriarch, Liu Shiqing.

Liu Shiqing possessed a Late-stage Golden Core Cultivation and was considered one of the Nascent Soul Seeds of the Liu family. He was polite enough to the two, though naturally, his attitude wasn’t overly warm. After all, Ye Jinghu and Ye Yunxi had crossed Mansion borders to enter the Liu family’s territory.

”Has Daoist Ye come out of Seclusion?” Liu Shiqing looked at Ye Jinghu and finally asked as they were about to leave.

”My brother should be coming out of Seclusion in a few years,” Ye Jinghu replied, before he and Ye Yunxi bid their farewells.

Watching the two walk away, the placid look in Liu Shiqing’s eyes shifted into one of helplessness.

Inside a courtyard of the Xiao family, several Purple Mansion Cultivators were gathered. Ascendant Leiyuan, dressed in a Spirit-Blocking Robe, was also present. With only his eyes exposed, he cast casual glances at most of the Xiao family Cultivators, but when he looked at Xiao Yuanquan, his gaze held genuine respect.

Years ago, it was the Xiao family’s Xiao Yuanquan who had saved his life. Since the man had saved him, he wouldn’t mind even if Xiao Yuanquan were to take his life back now. It was precisely because of this debt that he had agreed to make a move against the Ye Talisman Sect.

”Senior Yuanquan, the doors of the Ye Talisman Sect have remained tightly shut. Unless an accident occurs this time, this junior is extremely confident,” Ascendant Leiyuan said.

The ”accident” he referred to was, of course, Xiao Shao’en. While the Xiao family’s strongest in Talisman Making was the Golden Core Cultivator Xiao Yuanquan, its greatest talent was undoubtedly Xiao Shao’en. If he were to step in, the Ye Talisman Sect might actually be forced to produce those Spirit Talismans.

”Don’t worry, I have already forced Shao’en into Seclusion,” Xiao Yuanhong hastily added from the side. Despite his explanation, his expression remained slightly sour.

Unlike before, when the Xiao family’s decisions were made by a rotation of Mansion Masters—with his own authority as Patriarch bearing a bit more weight—now that Xiao Yuanquan had broken through to the Golden Core stage, the family had essentially become his one-man show.

”Yuanhong, how are the arrangements with the Profound Origin Pavilion, the Liu family, and Mansion Master Luo coming along?”

”Everything is settled. Master Li from the Profound Origin Pavilion has agreed to go observe with us. His mastery over Spirit Talismans is equally impressive. Additionally, we’ve contacted the Liu family’s Liu Yuyuan. By offering him a twenty percent share of the Spirit Talisman profits, he’ll definitely stand on our side to secure resources for his future Core Formation,” Xiao Yuanhong nodded.

In truth, they didn’t particularly want to target the Ye Talisman Sect; they merely wanted to use this Talisman Conference to draw a comparison, showing everyone that when it came to Spirit Talismans in Tianshu Mansion, the Xiao family was the only one that mattered.

”And the Talisman Conference? How are the preparations?”

”Everything is arranged. We’ve also invited Cultivators from neighboring Mansions and sent out the notices a month ago,” Xiao Yuanhong continued to nod.

Xiao Yuanquan immediately looked at Ascendant Leiyuan. His meaning couldn’t have been clearer.

The Xiao family had prepared everything; they were only waiting for Ascendant Leiyuan to build the momentum.