Beast Taming: I Have an Immortal Mansion

Chapter 326 - 263: A Spirit Pet’s Daily Life

Inside the Immortal Mansion, Jinbao was absorbed in his smithing. The hammer, weighing over a thousand pounds, was as light as a reed in his hands.

Beside him, Windmill Iron Ore was piled up like a small mountain. With a casual scoop, Jinbao grabbed a handful and tossed it into the furnace before him.

As the ore entered the furnace, it exploded in a shower of sparks. Some flew onto Jinbao’s arm, but they only glanced off his black-and-white fur before falling away harmlessly.

Opposite Jinbao, a pillar of fire shot out from Nanli. This once-Golden Core beast had now been reduced to a mere tool-bird, providing the flames for the forge.

A moment later, as the amount of molten iron increased, Jinbao picked up the crucible, poured some out, and then continued to hammer away with all his might.

Only after hammering over a hundred pounds of molten iron into a finger-sized piece of Windmill Iron was the task finally complete.

"You two, come and eat."

The Bee Queen’s voice echoed in the minds of Jinbao and Nanli from afar. Upon hearing it was mealtime, Nanli excitedly strode off on its two long legs, heading straight for the Purple Bamboo Forest.

Jinbao, however, had lost his former impetuousness. He put away his hammer and tidied everything up before making his way toward the Purple Bamboo Forest.

In front of the now sprawling, ten-plus-acre Purple Bamboo Forest, there was a secluded path for the Bee Queen to come and go.

But Jinbao’s current size was far too large; he obviously couldn’t fit down the small path.

However, this was no problem for Jinbao. As he approached the forest, his body shrank bit by bit while he walked. By the time he reached the path, he was only about a meter long.

At this small size, Jinbao had a cute and cuddly appearance. Only his eyes were filled with a sharp clarity.

After traversing the short, winding path, Jinbao arrived before the Bee Queen’s hive.

There, the Bee Queen had already wriggled out of her hive and come to a simple pavilion, where she had laid out a full table of various foods left for her by Fang Qingyuan.

There was cooked Sea Beast Flesh, a basket of fresh, first-tier Spirit Fruits of various kinds, and a large bowl of fragrant Spirit Rice.

Walking over to his stool, Jinbao sat down, picked up the bowl of Spirit Rice, raised his chopsticks, and began to enjoy his meal.

The Spirit Rice was first-tier Sea Cucumber Rice, and a single bowl cost three Low-grade Spirit Stones. Although there were only a dozen or so pounds of Sea Beast Flesh, each pound cost one Low-grade Spirit Stone. As for the Spirit Fruits, the basket was worth five Low-grade Spirit Stones.

The cost of this simple meal was enough to make a Qi Refining Cultivator’s heart ache. Even an ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator couldn’t afford to eat like this regularly.

But this was just a daily routine for the three Companion Beasts.

After eating two or three pounds of Sea Beast Flesh, Nanli was full. It lazily found a place to lean against, closed its eyes, and began to slowly digest the Spiritual Power within its body.

The Bee Queen, meanwhile, sipped her Flower Nectar and chatted casually with Jinbao in their minds.

"Jinbao, how much more iron do you have to forge before Master lets you go out and play?"

Jinbao swallowed a mouthful of meat and focused his mind to form a reply:

’I dunno either. Master said I have to finish all that iron ore, but lately, it feels like the more I forge, the more of it there is.’

The Bee Queen sighed. Ever since Jinbao had secretly eaten the master’s Spirit Fish, none of them had been allowed to go outside and play.

’Not that I want to go out,’ she thought, ’but there’s a big difference between not wanting to and not being allowed to.’

Sipping her Flower Nectar, the Bee Queen suddenly suggested:

"Let’s go see Yinbao. I wonder how it’s doing."

Hearing this, Jinbao suddenly felt his rear end ache. He quickly shoveled down the rest of his Spirit Rice, not leaving a single grain, then grabbed a pile of Spirit Fruits and hastily left.

Watching Jinbao’s departing figure, the Bee Queen’s small face wrinkled slightly. She then looked over at Nanli, only to find it had already fallen asleep.

The Bee Queen suddenly felt bored. She summoned a group of Scorpion-tailed Bees, ordered them to clean up the area, and then wriggled her way back into her hive.

After the Bee Queen left, Nanli’s eyes snapped open. It rolled them around once, then also scurried away.

In an instant, only a swarm of Scorpion-tailed Bees remained, diligently cleaning up the mess.

...

Outside the Immortal Mansion, Fang Qingyuan was busy with something: he was searching for a suitable cultivation site.

The Five Elements Undying Body, one of his trump cards for survival, had long been perfected at the Qi Refining Realm. It was now time to plan for its cultivation at the Foundation Establishment level.

However, cultivating the Five Elements Undying Body required a special environment—a desolate land rich in a single one of the five spiritual elements.

In the Cultivation Realm, places like this were often already occupied. As for the unoccupied ones, their Spiritual Power was usually lacking.

Currently, Fang Qingyuan had already spent some Spirit Stones to arrange for several Qi Refining Cultivators to find him an Extremely Spiritual Land that hadn’t been claimed by other Cultivators. Even if the Spiritual Power there was a bit thin, Fang Qingyuan found it acceptable.

’The Spiritual Qi issue can be solved with an Array,’ he thought. ’All I need is a place where I won’t be disturbed or noticed.’

A few days later, after seeing off several Qi Refining Cultivators at the Spring Flower Building, a plan began to form in Fang Qingyuan’s mind.

The Cultivators he had just met were all Loose Cultivators he had hired to scout for training grounds. They had lived around Iron Wind Island for many years and knew the local terrain like the back of their hands.

For the generous sum of Spirit Stones Fang Qingyuan offered, they had even traveled thousands of miles into the deep sea, searching for unknown islands on his behalf.

Now, after a process of elimination, there were a few suitable locations, but Fang Qingyuan wasn’t about to go check them out so carelessly.

So, he summoned Tuoba Ye.

Tuoba Ye had been with Fang Qingyuan for a year now. During that time, as the first mate of the *Changqing*, his income had been substantial.

Moreover, thanks to the perceptive abilities of Fang Qingyuan’s Mind Map, the *Changqing* had made several huge hauls, allowing its entire crew to make a fortune.

This was especially true for Tuoba Ye. His current situation was a world apart from a year ago—not in terms of his cultivation, but his wealth.

Arriving in the room, Tuoba Ye bowed respectfully to Fang Qingyuan.

Seeing Tuoba Ye’s demeanor, Fang Qingyuan asked softly,

"How long have you been stuck at Qi Refining Perfection?"

A bitter feeling arose in Tuoba Ye’s heart. He had already been at Qi Refining Perfection when he first started following Fang Qingyuan, and he was still there now.

"Four years and five months. I haven’t dared to attempt a breakthrough. I failed to seize my Foundation Establishment Opportunity back then, and my foundation isn’t strong enough to force it. I can only remain stuck here, unable to advance or retreat."

Cultivators who failed to seize their Foundation Establishment Opportunity were the norm in the Cultivation Realm. Those who succeeded in their Foundation Establishment thanks to such an opportunity were all exceptional talents of their generation.

Tuoba Ye came from a humble background and lacked the resources to support a forced breakthrough, a common plight for Loose Cultivators.

Failing a breakthrough to Foundation Establishment, even if it didn’t kill you, would damage your cultivation foundation. What was even more terrifying was that while you were weak, malicious eyes would be watching you, and you never knew when the first person would be unable to resist stepping forward to tear you to pieces.

This was just one example of how difficult it was for Loose Cultivators to survive. Without the protection of a sect, they needed far more resources to advance.

But now, Tuoba Ye’s opportunity had arrived. Fang Qingyuan needed a Foundation Establishment Cultivator to scout for him. Whether it was leading an expedition to Fire Melt Island or investigating a potential cultivation site, a Foundation Establishment Cultivator was far more useful than one at Qi Refining Perfection.

And so, seeing the bitter expression on Tuoba Ye’s face, Fang Qingyuan smiled faintly.

"Prepare yourself to face Foundation Establishment."