Beast Taming: I Have an Immortal Mansion

Chapter 173 - 148: This Is Extortion

Despite facing numerous Foundation Establishment Cultivators, Fang Qingyuan, a mere Late-stage Qi Refining cultivator, showed no fear. His sect gave him the confidence to stand his ground, and the hidden Golden Core Black Panther nearby gave him even greater courage.

So, to the others present, Fang Qingyuan spoke with a casual air:

"The Li Family hired the Wen Family’s Three Evils to plunder my trade routes, kill my Cultivators, and slaughter my mortals. I have only come today to seek justice."

As soon as he said this, the voices of several Cultivators died down. However, one of them was still agitated and roared in anger:

"The Li Family has always been respectable and kind! How could they possibly do something like this? There must be a misunderstanding."

Fang Qingyuan looked at the man, his tone turning cold.

"What misunderstanding? I have both witnesses and physical evidence. Do you think you can simply deny everything by claiming it’s a misunderstanding?"

"Even so, there’s no need to lead an army to attack the Li Family! Is there anything that can’t be resolved by sitting down and talking? If that’s not enough, just make the Li Family pay more Spirit Stones."

Seeing that this man was still spouting nonsense and urging him to be magnanimous, Fang Qingyuan couldn’t be bothered to engage him. Instead, he turned his gaze to the elderly Late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator at the head of the group and said:

"Elder Yuan, what is your take on this? Do you think I’m making a mountain out of a molehill?"

Elder Yuan’s full name was Yuan Chujun. He was the cultivator with the highest cultivation, the longest life, and the most seniority in Jiuye Square. One could even say that building Jiuye Square from the ground up was all his handiwork.

Although Yuan Chujun appeared ancient and decrepit, his eyes dim with age, no one present dared to underestimate him. After hearing the question Fang Qingyuan posed, Yuan Chujun spoke slowly:

"The Li Family brought this upon themselves. They’ve committed no small number of evil deeds over the years. I’ve warned and disciplined them before, and I thought they had turned over a new leaf. I never imagined they would continue with such schemes behind our backs. Now that they’ve picked a fight they can’t win, they have no one to blame but themselves for the outcome."

At these words, the Foundation Establishment Cultivators who had accompanied Yuan Chujun were stunned. They had expected him to step forward and protect the Li Family, but instead, he had just sold them out.

Seeing their expressions, Yuan Chujun felt a bitter pang. ’It’s not that I don’t want to protect the Li Family. No matter how outrageous their actions, this is still an internal matter for Jiuye Square. How can we let an outsider come here and grind one of our own into the dust? If word got out, wouldn’t that be a huge loss of face for Jiuye Square?’

But the circumstances were beyond his control. The moment Fang Qingyuan arrived in Jiuye Square to capture the Wen Family’s Three Evils, the Southern Border Beast Taming Sect had already exerted its pressure. Two entire Beast Taming Arrays were assembled on the border of Jiuye Square’s territory.

Furthermore, the Nanchu Ancestor they served, Chu Duo, had explicitly ordered them not to get involved.

Although Jiuye Square had more than a dozen Foundation Establishment Cultivators, they didn’t dare offend the Southern Border Beast Taming Sect. After Ancestor Chu Duo gave his command, Yuan Chujun understood they had no choice but to concede.

The other Foundation Establishment Cultivator Family Masters were not fully privy to this news. A few of the more witless ones still believed that with their superior numbers, the group from Jiuye Square could surely drive away the Cultivator from Yuanling Mountain before them.

"Elder Yuan, you can’t do this! If they fall, we’ll be next! If the Li Family is destroyed right under our noses, how will Jiuye Square ever hold its head high again?"

The crowd immediately erupted, swarming around Yuan Chujun to plead their case. Fang Qingyuan simply stood to the side, watching the drama unfold as if he were a mere spectator.

"Enough! Haven’t we lost enough face already?"

With a thunderous shout, Yuan Chujun’s eyes flew open, radiating an astonishing aura like that of an old lion. The surrounding Foundation Establishment Family Masters were instantly cowed into silence. He scanned the crowd, then continued:

"You have to own up to your mistakes. Now that it’s come to this, what can I do? If any of you are close to the Li Family and want to stick your neck out for them, I have no objection. But don’t ask me to save them. I don’t have the gall."

Having said his piece, Yuan Chujun fell silent. Seeing this, the Foundation Establishment Family Master who had been shouting the loudest grit his teeth. He was from the other family that had colluded with the Li Family to hire the Wen Family’s Three Evils. Realizing he couldn’t sway Yuan Chujun, he understood that if the Li Family fell, he would be next.

As he looked at Fang Qingyuan—a mere Late-stage Qi Refining cultivator acting like the center of attention in front of a crowd of Foundation Establishment Cultivators—the man’s heart filled with indignation.

’So what if some of your mortals were killed?’ he thought. ’Is there any need to be so relentless? Just because he’s a disciple of the Beast Taming Sect, he thinks he can be this arrogant. Today, I’ll teach him that in the Cultivation Realm, strength is what truly matters. Even a member of the Beast Taming Sect must learn humility before a Foundation Establishment Cultivator!’

With this in mind, the Foundation Establishment Family Master secretly readied a second-tier, mid-grade Magical Artifact—a Soul-Loss Nail-Head Arrow. Seizing a moment when She Xi Yu beside Fang Qingyuan was distracted, he flicked his wrist and sent it flying straight at Fang Qingyuan’s face.

He was going to obliterate Fang Qingyuan’s smug face. ’If Fang Qingyuan dies here, right in front of Yuan Chujun,’ he reasoned, ’then even if Elder Yuan wants to stay out of it, he’ll be forced to intervene.’

’There’s no escaping this later anyway, so I might as well take a gamble now,’ he thought. He had acquired this second-tier, mid-grade Soul-Loss Nail-Head Arrow from a reclusive Demon Cultivator in the Wilderness Forest. It was the perfect weapon for an ambush. Forget a mere Late-stage Qi Cultivation cultivator like Fang Qingyuan; even an unsuspecting Early-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator would be unable to dodge it.

"Watch out!"

"Don’t!"

By the time She Xi Yu realized what was happening, it was too late. He could only roar in fury, scrambling to gather his Spiritual Power for an interception, but it was a futile effort.

Although Fang Qingyuan’s Divine Sense detected the attack, his body couldn’t react in time. In that critical moment, the Wood Spirit Dragon Form materialized, shielding him from the blow.