The Master of Beasts

Chapter 485 - 102

"I have two choices for you," Wen Wan said. "The first is to join the Miao Family as a Guest Elder. The second is to enter the Five Elements Sect and become a Registered Disciple of the Holy Daughter’s Senior Brother."

Chen Jiuge bowed his head in deep thought and frowned. "What’s the difference?"

"Becoming a Guest Elder of the Miao Family simply requires you to cultivate a certain number of Spiritual Beasts. There won’t be many restrictions on you in normal times. The more Spiritual Beasts you raise, the greater your reward will be."

"If you join the Five Elements Sect, you’ll be like the ordinary disciples of the sect. But you will need to pay a certain price, since Her Highness’s Senior Brother is no ordinary individual," Wen Wan explained.

After pondering for a long time, Chen Jiuge cupped his fists and said, "What price do I need to pay?"

Joining the Five Elements Sect was something Chen Jiuge had considered for a while. Unfortunately, the sect only recruited cultivators who hadn’t yet become immortal. Cultivators who had achieved True Immortal status already had their paths set and were not welcomed by the Sect.

"Join the Five Elements Sect? Well, it seems the foundation of the Miao Family is indeed too weak," Wen Wan laughed self-deprecatingly, then laid a pitch-black Jade Pendant on the tea table.

"This is a requirement from Her Highness’s Senior Brother, the Eight-direction Saint. It has a task recorded on it. As long as you complete it, you can become his Registered Disciple. The deadline is one hundred years," Wen Wan said earnestly.

Chen Jiuge pocketed the Jade Pendant and replied with a carefree smile, "Okay."

"Hmm, there’s another piece of good news. We’ve found your Contracted Spiritual Beast. Based on the information you provided, it should be the little one called Yue Meng."

"However, it is in the Demon Domain—an ancient Moon Rabbit and also an Alchemy Master. We need time to prepare because the risks in the Demon Domain are too great. By the time you complete the mission, we should also be able to bring it back," Wen Wan said with a smile.

In fact, the choices Wen Wan offered Chen Jiuge today were largely out of consideration for Yue Meng. A Low-Rank Beast Master, even with strong nurturing capabilities, could only bring in some Spirit Stones at best, not to mention that the Spiritual Beasts Chen Jiuge nurtured were of low Grade.

But an ancient Moon Rabbit was different. Possessing a Bloodline at least equivalent to a Divine Beast, combined with its status as an Alchemy Master, this was a Moon Rabbit with its bloodline abilities fully activated; its value was immense.

"Aunt Wen, are we done?" Miao Pan was growing impatient.

"We’re done, we’re done," Wen Wan said indulgently.

"Regarding today’s events, they must not be disclosed. Since you’re planning to become the Registered Disciple of the Eight-direction Saint, it’s best to prepare to complete his task as soon as possible," Wen Wan reminded.

"Understood."

Watching Miao Pan pull Wen Wan away, frolicking among the Spiritual Beast group like an escaping rabbit, Chen Jiuge looked down at the Jade Token in his hand and chuckled softly. Immortal power surged into it, activating the token.

SWOOSH.

A stream of information entered his mind, and a Token jumped out from the Jade Token.

"Jade Flood Dragon Secret Realm? Three Jade Flood Dragons?" Chen Jiuge was somewhat surprised. He had thought it would be a potentially lethal mission, and yet it was just this. It seems the Eight-direction Saint isn’t too harsh after all!

...

The Jade Flood Dragon Secret Realm was located in Earth Spirit Immortal City. Jade, in essence, is also considered a type of stone.

The Jade Flood Dragon Secret Realm was slightly different from other Secret Realms; it was very safe. The Five Elements Sect had been exploring the Jade Flood Dragon Secret Realm for a million years. Aside from the initial chaos where disciples fought and killed each other, leading to many casualties, no one had died due to the Secret Realm itself since then.

Safety also implied that resources within the Secret Realm weren’t very abundant. The most valuable thing inside was the Jade Flood Dragon. This type of Mutant Flood Dragon wasn’t very powerful in combat compared to other Flood Dragons, but its value was quite high.

First was its appearance. Like jade, this Flood Dragon was obviously much more beautiful than Black Flood Dragons, Fire Flood Dragons, and the like. It was also more gentle, naturally becoming a favorite among cultivators, especially female cultivators.

Second was their strength. Jade Flood Dragons were average in power. Compared to other Flood Dragons, their attack power was significantly weaker, practically at the bottom of the Flood Dragon Realm. However, their defense was excellent, quite literally top-tier, which made them one of the most popular Companion Spiritual Beasts.

Lastly was their ability. The Jade Flood Dragon was a unique type of Flood Dragon. It didn’t just take like other Flood Dragons; instead, it constantly refined its body, expelling impurities. These impurities were top-grade spiritual materials for cultivators, extremely useful for both Alchemy and medicine refining, and they came in large quantities.

「Earth Spirit Immortal City」

As the opening time of the Jade Flood Dragon Secret Realm drew closer, more disciples from the Five Elements Sect gathered in the city. Conflicts among cultivators became increasingly intense, and sporadic brawls between Five Elements Sect disciples could often be seen on the streets.

The Five Elements enhance and inhibit each other. Those whose elements were harmonious were fine, but those whose elements clashed often wished they could kill each other on sight, like the Five Elements Sect disciples before him.

A Firebird made of flames rose slowly behind a haughty youth in red, its fierce shriek piercing the air. Not to be outdone, a youth in blue conjured a Blue Water Buffalo behind him, which let out a deep moo.

BOOM!

Water and fire collided, producing a violent explosion. The fierce shockwave made Chen Jiuge reflexively raise his hand to shield himself. Both cultivators had a cultivation of at least the True Immortal Tenth Layer Heaven, ranking them as elite disciples within the Five Elements Sect; their strength was not to be underestimated.

CRUNCH, CRUNCH. Wufu, having reduced his size, munched on a Spirit Fruit while exclaiming in admiration, "How impressive!"

Chen Jiuge squinted his eyes and agreed, "Indeed, very impressive."

The power generated by those two Magic Techniques was indeed formidable, and that wasn’t even their full strength. With my current abilities, I would have suffered at least a minor injury from that exchange, Chen Jiuge thought.

"Hmph, not as good as my Celestial Fire!" Huoling, the Celestial Fire Steed, snorted disdainfully, a few searing sparks jetting from its nostrils.

The Green Rhombus Snake and the Netherworld Tiger exchanged glances without speaking. Their foundations were still much weaker compared to Wufu and Huoling; they had only recently broken through to the True Immortal First Layer Heaven.

The white mist cleared, and the red and blue figures continued to intertwine, their immortal power surges growing stronger, indicating they were truly incensed.

Suddenly, the sky darkened as an immense yellow palm descended from above. The fluctuations it emitted were terrifying, making Chen Jiuge break out in a cold sweat.

BOOM!

With a press of the palm, the flames and water streams were instantly annihilated.

"Junior Brothers, this is Earth Spirit Immortal City. How about giving your Senior Brother some face?" a young man, one zhang tall with a simple, honest face, said in a deep voice. He stood atop the back of the hand condensed from earth and stone.

"Since Senior Brother Tianyue has spoken, of course, we must give face," the seemingly most unruly youth in red was the first to concede.

The youth in blue looked somewhat unwilling but softened his tone. "This time, for Senior Brother Tianyue’s sake, I’ll spare your life."

"Heh, it’s still too early to tell who will win or lose. We’ll settle this in the Secret Realm."

"Who’s afraid of whom?"

From a tavern above, Chen Jiuge wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and whispered, "Such terrifying power! And those immortal power fluctuations were clearly also within the True Immortal Realm."

"Fellow Daoist, is this your first time visiting Earth Spirit Immortal City? That was Senior Brother Tianyue, the leading disciple of the Five Elements Sect’s Earth Lineage."

Chen Jiuge looked in the direction of the voice and saw a flashy young man sporting a pink headband, nonchalantly wielding a fan embroidered with patterns of court ladies, strolling over.

GULP.

The young man unceremoniously poured himself a cup of Spiritual Wine and downed it. Noticing the surrounding Spiritual Beasts glaring at him, Jia Ke cupped his fists and said, "I am Jia Ke. And you are, Fellow Daoist?"

"Chen Jiuge. Fellow Daoist Jia, what did you mean just now?" Compared to the wine, Chen Jiuge was more interested in learning about this Tianyue.

"A ’false Daoist friend’?" Jia Ke looked slightly uncomfortable. "Brother Chen, perhaps just call me Brother Jia."

"Tianyue hails from the ancient Tian Family. He was born with an Earth Spirit Sacred Body and is the eldest son of the direct lineage of the Tian Family’s Nine Veins. Moreover, he is protected by Golden Immortal Great Powers among his direct elders."

"It is said that Tianyue’s master, the head of the Earth Lineage, has some connection with Tianyue’s elders, which is how he joined the Five Elements Sect. His cultivation is now above the True Immortal Thirtieth Layer Heaven. I’m not sure of his exact level; after all, True Immortals beyond the Thirtieth Layer Heaven are on a completely different plane from other True Immortals," Jia Ke remarked with emotion.

"I see," Chen Jiuge mused.

Reaching the True Immortal Thirty-Three Heavens is like ascending step by step to the heavens. With each layer passed, one awakens a small Divine Skill most suitable for oneself, and the last three layers awaken a Great Divine Power of infinite might. Hence, True Immortals with a cultivation above the Thirtieth Layer Heaven are also known as Little Heavenly Immortals!

I didn’t expect a leading disciple to have such high cultivation.

"Indeed. After all, it is the Five Elements Sect," Jia Ke chimed in, his tone unreadable.

After mooching a meal and some wine, Jia Ke left quite suavely.

Back at the inn, Chen Jiuge lay on the soft bed, his expression shifting rapidly. Finally, he laughed freely. "Whatever!"

Whether it was the youth in red, the youth in blue, or Tianyue and Jia Ke whom I saw later, I’m no match for any of them.

If this were any other Secret Realm, I would’ve WHOOSHED away in no time. But the Jade Flood Dragon Secret Realm is different. This realm, developed by the Five Elements Sect for so long, doesn’t allow infighting.