The Master of Beasts

Chapter 479 - 99_2

"Jiang Mansion"

Looking at the five-colored, glowing signboard before him, Jiang Ming couldn’t help but murmur.

Chen Jiuge stared intently at the two stone lions at the entrance, as well as the guards, and was secretly astonished.

The stone lions at the entrance were all cast from Biluo Vitality Stones. The quality might not have been as high as those seen on the street earlier, but these were Biluo Vitality Stones, after all. The value of these two stone lions, each standing several zhang tall, was simply immeasurable.

The guards at the entrance were enveloped in silver-white Spirit Armor. The subtle fluctuations of Spiritual Energy indicated the armor was at least a Seventh Rank Magic Artifact, and the aura it emitted was that of True Monarch Cultivation.

True Monarch level guards! The strength of the Jiang Family is somewhat terrifying!

Only after Jiang Kui presented a Token were they led inside. Gazing at the stunningly beautiful mansion, the four couldn’t stop looking around, which earned them a warning from Jiang Kui.

In the main hall, a middle-aged man with a dignified, square face sat on a chair made of Purple Patterned Dragon Wood. Two Dragon Balls of exceedingly high quality spun and collided endlessly in his hands. This man was Jiang Wudao, the current Family Head of the Jiang Family.

"Uncle Jiang Kui, your mission failed?" Jiang Wudao asked, his tone steady.

A hint of a bitter smile touched Jiang Kui’s lips. "It’s a bit complicated. In short, I was fooled by those little rascals."

Jiang Wudao nodded expressionlessly and casually pointed at the four. "What’s the situation with these people?"

"It’s like this..." Jiang Kui began, then proceeded to give a rough explanation before respectfully stepping to the side.

CLACK, CLACK, CLACK.

The sound of the Dragon Balls colliding echoed continuously in the hall. The heavy pressure caused Chen Jiuge’s heart to sink, and his desire for power surged fiercely once more.

"Jiang Xueyao, Jiang Ming, since you are considered members of the Jiang Family, go to the family grounds to train. At your age, with such a poor foundation and low Cultivation, you are truly a disgrace to the Jiang Family."

"Zhu Ying, Chen Jiuge, since Uncle Jiang Kui recommended you to me, I won’t be unreasonable. You two will manage one of the shops in the city together. As long as the profits are sufficient, you will be well rewarded."

"Uncle Jiang Kui, come with me. The specific details still need to be explained to the old ancestors at the family grounds."

Jiang Fu was the Jiang Family’s head steward, responsible for all miscellaneous affairs in the Jiang Mansion. The arrangements for Chen Jiuge and Zhu Ying had been personally decreed by Jiang Kui, so it naturally fell to him, the head steward, to handle them.

"I may just be a servant of the household," Jiang Fu said, walking ahead with his hands clasped behind his back, "but I am older than both of you and possess a higher Cultivation. Some of what I have to say may not be pleasant to hear, but I must speak to you about these matters."

"Firstly, our Jiang Family is a renowned major clan within Muling Immortal City. We have countless ancestors, and our Clan Leader is a true Golden Immortal of great power. Therefore, you need not fear oppression from others outside. However, you must not tarnish the prestige of our Jiang Family."

"Secondly, you two are currently considered only peripheral disciples of the Jiang Family. The shop granted to you by the Family Head is a place for you to establish yourselves and settle down, so you must properly repay the main family."

"Thirdly, do not act recklessly under the banner of the Jiang Family. If I discover any such behavior, you will be severely punished."

After speaking, Jiang Fu released a wave of pressure, forcing Chen Jiuge and Zhu Ying to involuntarily bend at the waist.

A Heavenly Immortal! A steward is actually a Heavenly Immortal! Chen Jiuge screamed internally.

The three of them proceeded in silence and eventually reached the entrance of a shop.

The towering pavilion stood one hundred zhang tall, its front doors shut tight. The characters "Friend of Spiritual Beasts" on the signboard were faded, and the two stone lions at the entrance had turned a dull, ashen white.

"This is the shop you will be managing from now on." Jiang Fu looked at the two youngsters with a mixture of emotion and complexity, not very hopeful about their ability to successfully run the Friend of Spiritual Beasts.

Tossing down a main and a deputy Token and delivering the initial resources, Jiang Fu then walked away, swaying from side to side.

"How should we divide these?" Chen Jiuge looked at the two Tokens, feeling a little embarrassed.

Zhu Ying, however, straightforwardly picked up the Deputy Pavilion Master’s Token and said indifferently, "You are a Beast Master and a True Immortal; naturally, you are the Pavilion Master."

The two of them dripped blood onto the Tokens, claiming them as their own. Hazy beams of light shot out from the Tokens, and the tightly shut doors slowly creaked open.

"Oh my, the Friend of Spiritual Beasts is open again!" a neighboring shopkeeper selling Elixirs exclaimed curiously.

"TSK, TSK, TSK, two youngsters. One is a True Immortal, the other isn’t even that. Has the Jiang Family run out of people?"

"Quite interesting. I wonder how long it can last this time."

The re-activation of the Friend of Spiritual Beasts caused quite a stir, alarming all the nearby shopkeepers. The families backing those who could open shops in this vicinity were all top-tier powers, at least not much weaker than the Jiang Family.

Being new to the area, Chen Jiuge had no wish to incite conflict over verbal disputes. With a smile, he cupped his fists in salute to the shopkeepers and then, along with Zhu Ying, quickly entered the pavilion.

Once the heavy doors closed behind them, the shopkeepers, who had gathered hoping for a spectacle, each sighed and returned to their own stores.

The Friend of Spiritual Beasts was vast, divided into front and back courtyards. It featured towers a hundred zhang tall, each divided into just three levels. According to the information transmitted by the Token, these three floors were mainly for displaying samples of Spiritual Beasts.

Ordinary Spiritual Beasts from First to Eighth Rank were placed on the first floor. The second floor housed rare Spiritual Beasts with the potential to become True Immortals. The third floor displayed Spiritual Beasts possessing Divine Beast bloodlines.

The three levels in the back courtyard primarily provided lodging for Attendants, managers, and slaves—slaves on the first level, Attendants on the second, and managers on the third.

Between the front and back courtyards lay a Light Gate, which led to the most valuable part of the entire Friend of Spiritual Beasts—a massive Five Elements Secret Realm.

"A Five Elements Secret Realm. It seems the Yin Yang Deer can no longer be cultivated here," Chen Jiuge lamented.

In such a Five Elements Secret Realm, apart from Five Element Spiritual Energy, other types of spiritual energy could not exist. The Yin Yang Deer primarily required yin and yang energies, so it seemed he would have to find a new way to cultivate them.

"Are you confident?" Zhu Ying asked, her eyes glinting.

"It shouldn’t be a problem. With the help of the Five Elements Secret Realm, cultivating Five Elements Spiritual Beasts shouldn’t be too difficult."

"Good. Those resources Jiang Fu sent, apart from the Spirit Stones, include a good amount of Five Elements Spiritual Grass and Five Elements Spiritual Beasts."

"However, I’ll take the Spirit Stones for now," Zhu Ying said quickly. "A large shop like this requires a lot of manpower. I’ll leave the Spiritual Beast matters to you."

Chen Jiuge nodded silently. Zhu Ying had experience from managing the vast Snow Concubine Hall, so these matters were naturally best left to her.

After assigning tasks, Chen Jiuge could hardly wait to enter the Five Elements Secret Realm.

"ROAR!"

A fierce tiger, wreathed in flames, pounced towards Chen Jiuge. Wufu’s soybean-sized eyes twinkled with Spirit Light as his sharp claws left five slender wounds on the attacking tiger’s soft belly.

"Stop," Chen Jiuge commanded, halting Wufu’s attack.

His mind connected with the Token, and information about the secret realm streamed into his Sea of Consciousness.

How strange, truly strange! This Five Elements Secret Realm is quite peculiar! Chen Jiuge looked at the sparse Fire Element Spiritual Grass on the ground with mixed emotions.

It turned out that this Five Elements Secret Realm wasn’t a natural secret realm where the Five Elements Qi was Perfect. Instead, like the Dragon Lake Secret Realm, it had been established by a Golden Immortal using vast resources and Great Divine Power.

The state of the Five Elements in this realm and the Five Elements Spiritual Beasts living here were intimately linked. The more numerous and stronger the Five Elements Spiritual Beasts, the more the Five Elements environment thrived. Consequently, the Spiritual Beasts would grow faster and possess greater potential.

The Jiang Family mainly dealt in Spiritual Ore in Muling Immortal City and had not revealed any capabilities in the aspect of Guardian Beasts. Therefore, the Friend of Spiritual Beasts and this Five Elements Secret Realm were neglected and left to become derelict.

Should I say, as expected of a reclusive great family? They probably don’t even care for this Five Elements Secret Realm, Chen Jiuge thought with a wry smile.

Jiang Fu had been reasonably courteous. He delivered a considerable number of Five Elements Spiritual Beasts, though most were Third or Fourth Rank juveniles, with few above Fourth Rank. In contrast, there was a large quantity of Five Elements Spiritual Grass Seeds—probably because seeds weren’t very valuable.

As nearly ten million Spiritual Beasts surged into the secret realm, Chen Jiuge distinctly felt the Five Elements Secret Realm become more active, like a dying man parched with thirst who finally savored a sip of sweet dew.

"Still not enough, not enough."

Chen Jiuge gritted his teeth and released the Five Elements Spiritual Beasts from his treehouse one by one. These Spiritual Beasts had all been accumulated by Chen Jiuge bit by bit; every one of them was a top-quality specimen with excellent potential.

Among them, Spiritual Beasts at the Great Divine Power level numbered in the tens of thousands. There were also thousands at the Divine Storage Realm and several hundred at the True Monarch Level. Their quality completely outclassed the inferior Spiritual Beasts Jiang Fu had sent.

The Netherworld Tiger shook its head and settled down quietly next to Chen Jiuge.

Patting the massive tiger’s head, Chen Jiuge instructed, "I’ll leave you in charge of this place."

With a snort, the Netherworld Tiger nodded in agreement.

The Netherworld Tiger is Dark Fire Attribute, but that still counts as one of the Five Elements, right? Chen Jiuge mused, observing that the Netherworld Tiger showed no signs of discomfort.