Beast Taming: I Have an Immortal Mansion-Chapter 106 - 104: Jinbao, Get ’Em!

A depth of twenty-five zhang underground was the limit Fang Qingyuan could dive to after casting the Golden Light Earth-Traversal Divine Movement Technique once.

This was already nearly a hundred meters below the sand on the surface; an ordinary Cultivator’s Divine Sense would never be able to probe this deep.

When a Late-stage Qi Refining Cultivator extended their Divine Sense, they could only observe a distance of a dozen or so zhang, and even that was only achievable in an unobstructed environment.

Now, through the thick sand and earth, the Divine Sense of a Late-stage Qi Cultivation cultivator could only probe about seven or eight zhang down. A Foundation Establishment Cultivator could go deeper, but based on the speed of the cultivators who had just been pursuing him, Fang Qingyuan judged that these two were definitely not Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

But even if they were only at Late-stage Qi Refining, he still had to avoid them. Out here in the wilderness, not knowing if they were friend or foe, Fang Qingyuan always erred on the side of extreme caution.

Fang Qingyuan felt that a depth of twenty-five zhang was still not safe enough. He waited for some of his Spiritual Power to recover, preparing to cast the Golden Light Earth-Traversal Divine Movement Technique one more time to dive fifty zhang underground. Only then would he feel somewhat at ease.

Normally, Fang Qingyuan could have cast the Earth Escape Technique consecutively, but Yinbao’s size meant he would waste a great deal of Spiritual Power.

In this world, there were only storage pouches, but no Spirit Beast Bags. While there were some Magical Artifacts capable of holding Spirit Beasts, every single one was priceless and far beyond Fang Qingyuan’s current means.

As for stuffing Yinbao into his Immortal Mansion, Fang Qingyuan had considered it before. But when he tried to pull Yinbao into the Immortal Mansion, he made the embarrassing discovery that his soul strength was insufficient.

Ever since Fang Qingyuan obtained the Immortal Mansion, he had to expend Soul Power to move anything in or out of it. The smaller the item and the less Spiritual Power attached to it, the less Soul Power he would consume. But the larger the item and the more Spiritual Power clinging to it, the more Soul Power he would expend.

Previously, Fang Qingyuan had also wanted to place the corpse of the Nascent Soul Giant Beast from the base of Qingfeng Mountain into his Immortal Mansion. But the moment he extended his soul, he was painfully stabbed by the Gold Spirit Power on the beast’s surface. He couldn’t even withstand it, let alone try to envelop the corpse with his soul.

That was why after obtaining the Soul Daoist Technique, the Yindu Black Law Soul-Binding Spell, Fang Qingyuan had begun practicing it. His main goal was to strengthen his soul so that in the future, he wouldn’t have to watch helplessly as a great treasure slipped through his fingers.

Right now, Yinbao was as large as a house. The strain on his soul to pull it into the Immortal Mansion was too great to bear, and he didn’t want to leave Yinbao to face danger alone, so his only choice was to have it use the earth escape technique with him.

’Maybe those two are just passing by?’ Fang Qingyuan comforted himself with the thought. Hiding underground gave him a strong sense of security. All his time spent practicing this Earth Escape Technique hadn’t been a waste; it was finally proving its worth.

Jinbao was in Fang Qingyuan’s arms, staring blankly with its large, dark-ringed eyes. Being underground was a novel experience for it as well.

Yinbao, on the other hand, was completely flustered. It had flown through the sky and swum through the water, but it had never been buried underground before. Now, it could finally say it had.

Fang Qingyuan closed his eyes and meditated, focusing on absorbing the Spiritual Power from the Spirit Stone in his hand. In about another ten minutes, he would be able to burrow deeper one more time.

But just then, Fang Qingyuan’s Divine Sense stirred. He discovered a strange creature in the earth ahead, swimming back and forth through the surrounding soil.

Yes, he had sensed it correctly. The creature moved through the earth as if it were water. The dense soil rippled like waves around it, turning almost illusory wherever it passed and allowing it to roam freely.

Seeing this, Fang Qingyuan frowned. He had never seen this creature before, but he had read about a similar one in the sect’s complete bestiary of Spirit Beasts. ’Could it be an Earth-Drinking Demon Earthworm?’

For a moment, Fang Qingyuan couldn’t be sure. However, his Divine Sense clearly perceived that this creature, which resembled an Earth-Drinking Demon Earthworm, was heading straight for him.

His mind immediately connected it to the two cultivators above, and his expression changed. He had a bad feeling. The appearance of this Earth-Drinking Demon Earthworm was too suspicious, and its objective was too obvious. Who would believe it was just some wild Spirit Beast?

At this thought, Fang Qingyuan took a Golden Spear Talisman from his storage pouch and prepared to activate it, intending to give the Earth-Drinking Demon Earthworm a harsh lesson.

But just as the Earth-Drinking Demon Earthworm got close to Fang Qingyuan, it hesitated, not daring to come closer, as if it were afraid of something.

Seeing this, Fang Qingyuan felt a surge of confusion. ’What is this Earth-Drinking Demon Earthworm waiting for?’

The next moment, he found out. An immense pressure bore down from directly above, nearly shattering Fang Qingyuan’s technique on the spot.

Feeling this sudden change, Fang Qingyuan was both shocked and furious. Before he had time to think, the next wave of pressure arrived.

After two such impacts, Fang Qingyuan nearly coughed up blood. His Divine Sense detected the Earth-Drinking Demon Earthworm in front of him, and he instantly understood. The reason the creature hadn’t advanced was that it was simply acting as a beacon.

Without this Earth-Drinking Demon Earthworm, the cultivators above could only take wild guesses at his position, not target him with such precision, as if they could see him perfectly.

Under this pressure, Fang Qingyuan made a split-second decision. He released the Golden Spear Talisman in his hand. Instantly, a golden spear formed from Gold Spirit Power materialized and shot toward the Earth-Drinking Demon Earthworm.

Unfortunately, the golden spear met with heavy resistance underground, and its speed was severely reduced. The Earth-Drinking Demon Earthworm dodged slightly and avoided it.

Aside from being startled by the golden spear, it was completely unaffected.

However, startled as it was, the Earth-Drinking Demon Earthworm moved a little farther away from him, but it was no use. The pressure from above arrived right on cue.

The third impact. Fang Qingyuan felt the chaotic Spiritual Power in his body and knew he couldn’t stay underground any longer. ’If it weren’t for that damned Earth-Drinking Demon Earthworm, I definitely could have ridden this out.’

There was no other choice. Fang Qingyuan summoned his Turtle Shell Spirit Shield, enlarged it to protect his entire body, and then leaped out onto the surface with Jinbao.

The moment Fang Qingyuan’s figure appeared, the Tier Two Lower Grade Turtle Shell Spirit Shield flared with brilliant light, blocking a sneak attack from two Magical Artifacts.

Only then did Fang Qingyuan see two cultivators standing before him, watching him with cold, sinister eyes.

Both cultivators were at the Late-stage of Qi Cultivation. Fang Qingyuan examined their robes but found no identifying marks. Moreover, both wore masks over their faces—one of a chicken, the other of a snake.

Seeing them, Fang Qingyuan’s heart sank. Before he could speak, the Snake-faced Cultivator spoke up.

"So the little mole hiding in the dirt finally decided to come out. What do you think? My little pet is pretty amazing, isn’t it?"

The other, the Chicken-faced cultivator, said:

"I didn’t expect you to have a Second-order Magical Artifact. Who would’ve thought you were so loaded? Just hand over your storage pouch, your Magical Artifacts, and these two Companion Beasts, and I swear to the heavens, I will absolutely let you go."

Hearing their words, Fang Qingyuan snorted coldly. With a wave of his hand, over a thousand Scorpion-tailed Poison Bees appeared out of thin air and swarmed toward the Snake-faced Cultivator.

These Scorpion-tailed Poison Bees were the fruit of the Bee Queen’s hard work over the past few years. Currently, inside his Immortal Mansion, he had over a thousand Worker Bees, eight hundred Soldier Bees, and another five hundred Scorpion-tailed Bees with the ’Pigeon Poison’ Innate Divine Technique. The ones Fang Qingyuan had just released were only the ordinary Worker Bees; he was keeping the Soldier Bees and the Pigeon Poison bees hidden as an ace up his sleeve.

Seeing so many poisonous bees flying toward him, the Snake-faced Cultivator immediately panicked and cried out:

"This guy has a Magical Artifact for storing Spirit Insects! Get over here and help me! Use a Fire Technique!"

Ordinary cultivators generally couldn’t carry so many Spirit Insects. Two or three hundred was already considered a lot. Any more than that, and without a suitable storage-type Magical Artifact, the Spirit Insects would be difficult to keep alive.

Furthermore, Spirit Insects have low intelligence, and over time they might stop obeying commands and turn feral. Therefore, having a suitable Magical Artifact that could hold a large number of Spirit Insects was the greatest desire of any cultivator who raised them.

The Chicken-faced cultivator frowned when his snake-faced companion called for help. Though reluctant, he raised his hand and conjured a wall of fire, pushing it toward the swarming Scorpion-tailed Bees.

Seeing this, Fang Qingyuan grabbed Jinbao by the scruff of its neck, hurled it forcefully toward the Chicken-faced cultivator, and yelled:

"Jinbao, go! Smash that guy’s chicken head for me!"

As Jinbao flew through the air, its expression was still a bit dazed. But upon hearing Fang Qingyuan’s command, its large, dark-ringed eyes instantly turned sharp.

Jinbao let out a "ROAR!" The next moment, a giant bear nearly two zhang tall appeared out of nowhere, stirring up a vicious wind as it pounced toward the Chicken-faced cultivator.

The pressure from a giant bear as tall as a two-story building was immense. The Chicken-faced cultivator had never imagined that the previously harmless-looking Jinbao could become so enormous.

This transformation was all thanks to one of Jinbao’s Innate Divine Techniques: [Size Manipulation: Allows it to change its body size, up to ten times its original form.]

Jinbao was born with this Talent. Now, after two and a half years of practice, it had masterfully grasped this Divine Technique. The transformation from a soft, cuddly cub to a ferocious giant beast took but an instant.

Seeing Jinbao attack, the Chicken-faced cultivator could no longer spare a thought for the Snake-faced Cultivator. He first summoned his own Magical Artifact, then slapped various Protective Talismans on his body, all while popping Elixir Pills into his mouth. He used every defensive measure he had.

Even so, the Chicken-faced cultivator felt it wasn’t enough. He gritted his teeth and pulled a small, pitch-black dagger from his storage pouch, gripping it tightly, ready to unleash it at a moment’s notice. The pressure Jinbao was exerting on him was simply too immense.

But in the very next instant, as soon as they clashed, the Chicken-faced cultivator’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Jinbao swung its fist and smashed it into his Tier One Upper Grade Magical Artifact, almost knocking it clean out of the air.

Faced with such a powerful blow, the Chicken-faced cultivator was in disbelief. ’Is this really the power an Early-stage Qi Cultivation Spirit Beast should possess?’

Looking at the might of the giant beast before him, if you told the Chicken-faced cultivator this bear was a Foundation Establishment Stage Spirit Beast, he would have believed you.

Little did he know that since birth, Jinbao had been constantly nourished by the Gold Attribute Spiritual Materials Fang Qingyuan had found for it. This allowed Jinbao’s other Talent, [Gold-Swallowing and Iron-Chewing], to develop to its full potential.

As a result, the effects of its Golden Spirit Body were also remarkable. Combined with the Gold Spirit Power coursing through its body, clashing head-on with a Tier One Upper Grade Magical Artifact with its bare paws was a simple matter.

"Snake, hurry up and help me!"

Under Jinbao’s oppressive assault, the Chicken-faced cultivator finally cried out for help. However, when he glanced over, he discovered that the Snake-faced Cultivator’s situation was hardly any better than his own.