Beast Taming Clan: I Have a Jade Book

Chapter 1514: Chapter 1091: 5 Minutes 12 Seconds, 5 Major Factions

The Spirit Mountain where the Xiaoshan Prefecture Market was located was Xiaoshan. The entire mountain was matchlessly majestic, thrusting straight into the clouds like a sharp sword.

Beside Xiaoshan were Puppet Mountain and Profound Mountain.

These were the two Spirit Mountains controlled by the Profound Puppet Sect.

Among them, Puppet Mountain was the core Spirit Mountain of the Profound Puppet Sect, housing only the disciples of the sect’s branch. Meanwhile, Profound Mountain was a Spirit Mountain used for renting out cave dwellings.

On Profound Mountain, the Spiritual Energy remained extremely dense. Coupled with its proximity to the Market, it was naturally highly sought after.

Most importantly, it was large enough in area.

When the Ye Family acquired their own Spirit Mountain in the future, they could do the same.

At this moment, the conference convened by Mansion Master Lu had concluded. Ye Jing Hu and the other Golden Core cultivators went to catch up, holding a Purple Mansion Golden Core trade fair.

Ye Jingcheng, on the other hand, followed Xuan Kui True Monarch to Puppet Mountain.

Across Puppet Mountain, there were numerous varieties of Spirit Puppets. This made Ye Jingcheng unavoidably somewhat surprised and curious.

Compared to the legacy of the Eight Desolates Sect’s Kuihuang, the Spirit Puppets of the Profound Puppet Sect were not inferior in the slightest. Furthermore, they possessed distinct characteristics; in terms of the eight great Spirit Puppet classifications, they were absolutely superior.

The overall caliber of Cultivators in the Profound Puppet Sect was not lacking either. Just on this single branch mountain, Ye Jingcheng spotted over twenty Purple Mansion Cultivators and four or five Golden Core Cultivators. Moreover, if his senses were correct, there was also a dense fluctuation of Spiritual Energy on the mountain, seemingly belonging to someone breaking through to the Nascent Soul realm.

The foundation of the Profound Puppet Sect still made Ye Jingcheng exclaim in admiration.

Initially, he had underestimated them a bit, considering the Ye Family already possessed three Nascent Soul Combat Powers. But he estimated that the Profound Puppet Sect had definitely hidden their core Combat Power as well. Otherwise, if they truly only had one Nascent Soul cultivator, they wouldn’t dare to occupy Wangqing Prefecture and Xiaoshan Prefecture.

Thinking more carefully, he figured that the other three Nascent Soul Powers probably had many hidden trump cards as well.

“Does Qianchen Daoist also understand Spirit Puppets?” Xuan Kui True Monarch asked with a smile, looking at Ye Jingcheng’s curious expression.

“I can’t say I understand them, but I previously happened to own a few Spirit Puppets that helped me survive several crises,” Ye Jingcheng answered sincerely.

When they reached the mountain peak and landed before a massive palace, the latter invited Ye Jingcheng inside. Inside, the palace was very deserted and extremely simple, a stark contrast to its magnificent exterior.

“I’ve made a fool of myself in front of you, Qianchen Daoist. This palace has always been empty.”

“Xuan Kui Daoist is the esteemed Grand Elder of a Sect. Such frugality is worth learning from for all of us. There is no reason to be laughed at.” Ye Jingcheng waved his hand.

When the other party took out Spirit Tea, Ye Jingcheng also drank a cup but did not bring up other matters, only sharing his insights on the tea. He then took out some Tier Four Mingxin Tea in return.

At this time, both of them knew that whoever spoke first would always suffer a bit of a disadvantage.

“Has Qianchen Daoist met the Lord Governor after breaking through?” Xuan Kui True Monarch finally took the initiative to speak.

“I haven’t had the chance yet,” Ye Jingcheng shook his head, indicating that he had just broken through.

“Since you haven’t met him yet, I will inform you, Qianchen Daoist. In the Southern Wilderness Province, every time an additional Nascent Soul Power emerges, a Nascent Soul grand gathering is held anew. This gathering is not only for fellow Daoists like us but also for the younger generation. And this gathering determines the selection of Mansions for the future,” Xuan Kui True Monarch stated.

Upon hearing this, Ye Jingcheng began to show deep interest.

The Ye Family was currently developing in Wangqing Prefecture, Xiaoshan Prefecture, and Tianshu Mansion, and their layout was mostly complete. If they were forced to move to other Mansions at this time, it would inevitably delay their development.

“Of course, not every Mansion is arranged this way. Out of the twelve Mansions, each Nascent Soul Power can choose a fixed Mansion. Naturally, this choice isn’t made by us, but by the Mansion Masters.

“The remaining seven Mansions are what we will compete for,” Xuan Kui True Monarch continued eloquently. “At the same time, because there are two extra Mansions, the competition for them will naturally be the fiercest. So, to fight for them, the younger generation of Golden Core Cultivators must display enough Combat Power.”

“What does Xuan Kui Daoist mean by this?” Ye Jingcheng asked.

“My Profound Puppet Sect will give up Wangqing Prefecture. As for Xiaoshan Prefecture, we can cooperate fully. Once we secure it, our two forces can split it. As for whether you want to seize Tianshu Mansion, that is entirely up to you.” Xuan Kui True Monarch finally revealed his primary objective.

With these words, Ye Jingcheng finally understood.

The competition for the Mansions was in an arena format. Among the five Nascent Soul Powers, at most two could occupy three Mansions. Furthermore, the participants in the arena wouldn’t be Nascent Soul Cultivators like them, but rather young Golden Core juniors under two hundred years of age, engaging in a title-defense format.

Ye Jingcheng had previously revealed two Demon Kings. Clearly, Xuan Kui True Monarch intended to cooperate with the Ye Family because of this. After all, as long as these Demon Kings hadn’t reached Tier Five, using them wouldn’t be a rule violation, and they could be counted in the defense battles.

Coupled with the Spirit Puppets of the Profound Puppet Sect, it wouldn’t be difficult for the two sects to secure five Mansions.

“Xuan Kui Daoist, among the other major forces, who is the strongest?” Ye Jingcheng didn’t agree directly but instead asked another question.

“Among the four great Nascent Soul Powers, the strongest is naturally the Mountain Map Liu Family. Next is the Liuyun Sect, and the weakest should be the Profound Lake Jiang Family.

“If you want Tianshu Mansion, Daoist, you might have to put in a lot of thought.

“Of course, in my opinion, similar to Tianshu Mansion is Qing Jun Mansion, which also has quite a few Teleportation Arrays. Moreover, the Liu Family’s desire to control Qing Jun Mansion isn’t as strong. After all, weapons have no eyes during the arena battles, and all factions must accept the results,” Xuan Kui True Monarch added.

The warning hidden within was genuine enough.

Unlike before, when the four Nascent Soul Powers each held three Mansions, having five Nascent Soul Powers now meant the distribution would no longer be even.

Having just heard Mansion Master Lu’s plans, Ye Jingcheng was well aware of exactly how much authority a Nascent Soul Power wielded within a Mansion. A Nascent Soul Power would claim half of the shops in the Market, the rent for which amounted to an enormous sum. Additionally, they could develop Spirit Mountains and establish clan grounds near the Market.

This was vastly superior to establishing a Temporary Market.

For the Ye Family, there was good news and bad news. The bad news was that they might fail in the competition for the Mansions and end up with the worst ones. The good news, however, was also obvious. As long as they succeeded in the competition, it would bring in far more Spirit Stones than opening shops and Restaurants.

In return, a Nascent Soul Power merely needed to protect the Market when it faced danger. At the same time, they had to provide their utmost support when the Mansion Master mobilized the entire Mansion for an operation.

If the Ye Family could occupy Tianshu Mansion, they might even get a share of the profits from the Teleportation Arrays.

This was also why Xuan Kui True Monarch advised Ye Jingcheng against competing for it. He clearly believed that Ye Jingcheng’s Celestial Sand Sect, even with the aid of Demon Kings, would not be a match for the Liu Family.

At the same time, the Profound Puppet Sect’s calculations were quite shrewd. Given the relationship between the Ye Family’s Celestial Sand Sect and Prince Wang, Prince Wang would definitely choose the Celestial Sand Sect. Therefore, Xuan Kui True Monarch settled for the next best option—sharing Xiaoshan Prefecture with the Ye Family.

“How exactly does Xuan Kui Daoist plan to split it?” Ye Jingcheng asked.

“We’ll base it on performance in the arena. Each force will send out at most three people. Whoever performs better will take sixty percent,” Xuan Kui True Monarch replied.

“Alright, then it’s a deal.” After asking a few more details, Ye Jingcheng nodded.

Although the Ye Family had a high chance of winning since they could use Demon Kings, Ye Jingcheng had now taken an interest in Tianshu Mansion. Conspiring for one Mansion alongside the Profound Puppet Sect would be much safer.

As for a single sect seizing three Mansions, the Ye Family didn’t want to be in the limelight that much. However, two and a half Mansions wouldn’t draw as much attention.

Of course, the only question now was how Prince Wang, Mansion Master Xiao, and the Righteous Sect viewed the Ye Family. If the Righteous Sect turned out to be like the Penglai Sect—not worth cooperating with—then all of this would naturally just be empty talk.

Since the other party had already probed him in this manner, Ye Jingcheng naturally wouldn’t assume that whoever arrived would be as easy to talk to as Xu Huai True Monarch.

“Xuan Kui Daoist, may I ask how many Hall Entrances and Spirit Peaks the Righteous Sect is divided into?” After pondering for a while, Ye Jingcheng finally asked.

“The Righteous Sect has neither Hall Entrances nor Spirit Peaks. It is an alliance, functioning as a small alliance within a greater one.” Xuan Kui True Monarch’s answer caught Ye Jingcheng somewhat by surprise. He truly hadn’t known these details beforehand.

“Within the Righteous Sect, there are currently five main alliance factions. They are the Zheng Huang Sect, which primarily operates in the Central Emperor Province; the Blood Red Sect, which advocates fighting to the death against the Profound Celestial; the Daozi Sect, which is close to the Purple Sun Immortal Sect; the White Jade Sect, which has the most Cultivators; and the Cyan Wood Sect, which never takes sides.

“Prince Wang, Mansion Master Xiao, and Xu Huai True Monarch all belong to the Blood Red Sect, while the current Mansion Master Lu is considered part of the White Jade Sect…

“And the faction that Divine Monarch Zheng Yuan currently belongs to is the Zheng Huang Sect.

“At present, across the entire Righteous Sect, the power of the Blood Red Faction cannot be underestimated. Therefore, the White Jade Sect had ideas, because what determines the strength of a faction is ultimately the number of Nascent Soul Cultivators. Naturally, this includes the Nascent Soul Cultivators of Affiliated Forces like us. I could barely be considered part of the Blood Red Faction as well,” Xuan Kui True Monarch explained.

Hearing this, Ye Jingcheng understood everything.

“Thank you for informing me, Xuan Kui Daoist,” Ye Jingcheng cupped his hands. As he spoke, he poured another cup of Mingxin Tea for Xuan Kui True Monarch. “Xuan Kui Daoist, do you know which Elder of the sect Prince Wang and Mansion Master Xiao are currently hosting?”

“It seems you’ve already guessed it.” Xuan Kui True Monarch couldn’t help but smile awkwardly and bitterly. “Xu Huai True Monarch has gone into Seclusion. The one who has come is Xingyuan True Monarch, who is also a Great Cultivator. Moreover, this person is the master of the current State Governor, so please do not blame the two Mansion Masters for being powerless to help, Ye Daoist…”

As for what followed, Xuan Kui True Monarch kept his mouth firmly shut.

He didn’t want to know how much power the Celestial Sand Sect had hidden, nor did he wish to know what background they truly possessed. He only needed to wait for the results. At least in his eyes, the Celestial Sand Sect and True Monarch Qianchen were worth befriending and wooing. As for matters above his level, he couldn’t control them. Nor did he have the ability to.

As the setting sun outside the palace was about to dip below the horizon, the dim red light began to fade.

Xuan Kui True Monarch finally flicked his sleeve and said, “Additionally, barring any accidents, Mansion Master Xiao will serve as the State Governor of the Southern Cloud Province. If the Celestial Sand Sect wishes to develop in the Southern Cloud Province, this might be an opportunity.”

Hearing this, Ye Jingcheng nodded.

Regardless, he still needed to prepare a gift. It was just that facing Xingyuan True Monarch next might be slightly troublesome.