Beast Taming Clan: I Have a Jade Book

In the Tianshu Market, the autumn wind gradually began to howl, blowing through the valley with a loud WHOOSH. The sky had begun to darken, with only a few faint rays of sunlight remaining.

The streets that were normally packed with Cultivators were sparsely populated today, whereas the usually quiet streets were now teeming with a sea of people. Every Cultivator had gathered in front of the Ye Talisman Shop.

At this moment, the shop’s doors remained tightly shut. Lei Yuan Ascendant stepped out from the crowd and landed in front of the entrance. A look of mockery flickered in his eyes, though his face still wore a facade of anger, acting as if he had truly been scammed by a failure in refining talismans.

”People of the Ye Talisman Sect, come out! I paid the deposit. Since you failed in refining talismans, you must compensate me with five times the Spirit Stones!” Lei Yuan Ascendant shouted angrily.

His voice was booming, even amplified by a Secret Technique. Normally, he wouldn’t dare cause such a clamor in the Market. However, he knew that the Xiao Family had contacted the Profound Origin Pavilion, the Liu Family, and even Mansion Master Luo—the local tyrant of the Tianshu Mansion. With such backing, what did he have to fear?

Sure enough, despite his loud shouting, no Golden Core Cultivators came out to scold him immediately. This inadvertently emboldened him even further.

CREAK! With the sound of the opening doors, Ye Jingtting and several others finally revealed themselves. However, contrary to the furrowed brows everyone expected, their expressions were completely relaxed. They even looked back at the crowd with a hint of mockery.

”It’s so early in the morning. I thought it was some wild bird squawking,” Ye Jingtting said flatly.

Her words almost made Lei Yuan Ascendant fly into a blind rage. He had always had a terrible temper since childhood, and the peril his family had once faced was directly linked to his high-profile arrogance. Being insulted like this, he naturally couldn’t bear it.

”Little girl, you spoke arrogantly back then, and today you insult me again! Once we leave this place, I will challenge you to a life-and-death duel. We will sign a Life and Death Contract! I’ll make sure you understand that a Purple Mansion Cultivator cannot be humiliated!”

”Oh.” Ye Jingtting looked up, a meaningful expression crossing her face.

Although Lei Yuan Ascendant was a Purple Mansion Independent Cultivator, he was only at the Early Stage of Purple Mansion. Ye Jingtting believed that ordinary Cultivators at the Middle Stage of Purple Mansion were no match for her. Today, for an Early Stage of Purple Mansion Cultivator to lose his head and demand a Life and Death Contract with her was truly quite amusing.

Of course, she didn’t have much interest in targeting Lei Yuan Ascendant. He was merely at the Early Stage of Purple Mansion. Right now, the Ye Family didn’t even care much for an ordinary Golden Core Peak Cultivator, let alone a brainless Loose Cultivator like him.

Ye Jingtting took out the Spirit Talismans one by one. A full set of fourteen different Spirit Talismans appeared before everyone, not a single one missing.

”Sure enough, this Ye Talisman Sect still has some tricks up their sleeves,” Xiao Yuanhong, who was watching from a distance, said with overflowing confidence. Even though the Ye Talisman Sect had actually produced the talismans, he was determined to teach their Cultivators a lesson today and show them how the worldly affairs of the Cultivation Realm truly worked.

As he spoke, he glanced at Steward Liu, Liu Yu Yuan of the Liu Family, and then looked towards Master Li, who represented the Profound Origin Pavilion in the distance. The three of them stepped forward together. Xiao Yuanhong then looked at the other Golden Core Influences. Seeing that no one was willing to stick their neck out for the Ye Talisman Sect, he finally set his mind at ease.

”These Spirit Talismans are indeed Spirit Talismans, but their quality is quite ordinary. Why don’t you demonstrate their power to prove their worth?” Xiao Yuanhong’s calm voice rang out.

Beside him, Liu Yu Yuan and Master Li also stepped forward.

”There are indeed some issues. Furthermore, we suspect that you didn’t refine these yourselves, but rather bought them elsewhere,” Liu Yu Yuan said. He had been promised twenty percent of the future profits of the Xiao Family’s Talisman Shop, so he naturally stood on their side.

At that moment, Xiao Yuanhong even saw Mansion Master Luo, the Branch Family Head of the Liu Family in the Tianshu Mansion, Liu Shiqing, and Master Xuan Jing of the Profound Origin Pavilion rushing over from a distance. He couldn’t help but shoot Liu Yu Yuan and Master Li an approving glance.

”Master Li, Liu Daoist, I never expected the two of you to be so highly regarded within your respective factions. It seems I was ignorant. I will definitely send over congratulatory gifts in a couple of days,” Xiao Yuanhong said with absolute confidence. He even shot Ye Jingtting a gloating look.

However, to his confusion, the faces of Master Li and Liu Yu Yuan instantly turned the color of pig’s liver, fluctuating between a sickly pale and a dark purple.

At this moment, he finally sensed that something was wrong. An ominous feeling spontaneously welled up from the bottom of his heart. He could only transmit a message to Xiao Yuanquan. However, Golden Core Cultivator Xiao Yuanquan, who had agreed to support him from the shadows, was nowhere to be seen. The Transmission he sent sank like a stone in the ocean, yielding no response whatsoever.

”Who is causing such a ruckus, and for what reason?” Mansion Master Luo asked.

”Lord Mansion Master, this junior’s heart was blinded by greed! This junior deserves ten thousand deaths!” Lei Yuan Ascendant begged for mercy profusely. He even dropped straight to his knees, kowtowing toward Ye Jingtting and Mansion Master Luo.

As a Loose Cultivator, he naturally wasn’t stupid. He understood that if Mansion Master Luo was targeting them right now, it meant that the Mansion Master was on the same side as the Ye Talisman Sect. With this realization, how could he dare to continue spouting nonsense?

Right then, the crowd noticed several more people walking out from the Ye Talisman Sect. The two leading the group were quite young, resembling the young lords and ladies of prestigious families. Yet, when one sensed their auras, they were as deep and unfathomable as an abyss. Astonishingly, they both emanated the presence of senior Golden Core True Masters. These two were none other than Ye Jing Hu and Ye Yunxi.

”Mansion Master Luo, Patriarch Liu, Xuanji Daoist, it is a pleasure to meet you...”

”This...” Hearing this exchange, Xiao Yuanhong became even more dumbfounded. If he had known earlier that the Ye Talisman Sect possessed such a formidable background, he would have long ago made Xiao Shao’en bring the Xiao Family’s Spirit Talisman Secret Manual as a betrothal gift to marry Ye Jingtting. At this moment, he was thoroughly consumed by regret, and his heart bled in agony.

”Xiao Daoist, you claimed that the quality of these Spirit Talismans was ordinary. I wonder if the Xiao Family has any of higher quality?” Liu Yu Yuan said. Glancing at his granduncle, he felt an overwhelming urge to murder Xiao Yuanhong.

To pick a fight with the Ye Talisman Sect when they had such a monstrous background—and to drag him down with them! Naturally, at this point, he could only push all the blame onto Xiao Yuanhong. It was better for one person to die than for several to perish together.

”If you can’t produce them, then you’ve wrongfully accused them. Also, Lei Yuan Ascendant is an Honored Guest Elder of your Xiao Family, isn’t he?” Liu Yu Yuan’s next sentence nearly scared Xiao Yuanhong half to death. Currently, Lei Yuan Ascendant was the one handling many of the Xiao Family’s assassinations and cover-ups. That was absolutely not something that could be spread around.

”Luo Hao, investigate this thoroughly. See if any spies from the Profound Celestial Demon Sect have infiltrated the Tianshu Mansion. If anything goes wrong with the Tianshu Mansion’s Teleportation Arrays, I will hold you solely responsible,” Mansion Master Luo commanded the Purple Mansion Cultivator standing behind him.

These words drained all the color from Xiao Yuanhong’s face, leaving it ashen. Being investigated for colluding with Demon Cultivators was practically a death sentence. The Xiao Family simply couldn’t prove their innocence, and even if they could, it would be useless.

His body went limp where he stood, overcome by an overwhelming sense of helplessness. He glared resentfully at the other Xiao Family Elders. After all, it was these very elders who, alongside Xiao Yuanquan, had harshly criticized his descendant earlier. Yet, he found that those men looked even more terrified and helpless than he did.

***

”Master Li, you came today?” While Liu Yu Yuan was quick to switch sides and shift the blame, Master Li was noticeably slower to react. Faced with Master Xuan Jing, the Supreme Elder of his own Sect, his response seemed somewhat hesitant.

But precisely because of this hesitation, before he could even speak, Master Xuan Jing interjected, ”Did you report your outing to the Sect? Since you acted without authorization, step down from your position as Hall Master. Go to the Yuanfu Mountain Ore Veins and take charge of mining affairs. The Sect still highly values you.” Master Xuan Jing deliberately emphasized the word ”values.”

Master Li felt as though the sky had collapsed. This excuse was utterly absurd; it was as trivial as being punished for stepping out the door with the left foot instead of the right. But he had to admit, he was done for.

The only silver lining was that Mansion Master Luo, Patriarch Liu, and the Supreme Elder of their Profound Origin Pavilion had shown up a little early. Otherwise, if they had waited until he and Liu Yu Yuan started extorting the Ye Talisman Sect together, the two of them wouldn’t have been able to survive even if they begged for their lives.