The Master of Beasts

Chapter 489 - 104

The Old Jade Flood Dragon is a unique existence within the Jade Flood Dragon Secret Realm; it was born from the core of the Secret Realm. Every time the Secret Realm is opened, the new Jade Flood Dragons that emerge are descendants of the Old Jade Flood Dragon. Although they are not born in the traditional sense, they share the same bloodline.

The most critical point is that the Old Jade Flood Dragon’s strength is at the peak of True Immortal Thirty-Three Heavens. If it were not suppressed here by the Heavenly Immortals of the Five Elements Sect, it likely could have triggered the Heavenly Tribulation and ascended to become a Heavenly Immortal.

"When the Jade Flood Dragon Secret Realm opens, the Old Jade Flood Dragon cannot leave either. So, I never thought I would encounter the Old Jade Flood Dragon, and thus I sneaked up and ambushed it," Jia Ke said with a dejected look.

Upon hearing this, Chen Jiuge didn’t quite know what to say. What a misfortune! But why was the Old Jade Flood Dragon able to go out?

Jia Ke seemed reluctant to bring up his sad past. He stood up and circled the captured, small, horned beasts in the courtyard, then picked up some broken jade pieces from the ground.

"Brother Chen, you aren’t trying to cultivate these Jade Beasts, are you?" Jia Ke asked in surprise.

Chen Jiuge silently nodded. "As a Beast Master, if I don’t study a Spiritual Beast like the Jade Beast, wouldn’t this trip be for nothing?"

"That’s true, but Brother Chen, don’t waste your time anymore. Once, a Heavenly Immortal Realm Beast Taming Master studied them. These Jade Beasts are simply transformations influenced by the power of the Jade Flood Dragon Secret Realm."

"In reality, their true forms are just ordinary Spiritual Beasts, not even as valuable as Jade Beasts," Jia Ke revealed.

"If you have the ability to revert these Jade Beasts, you might as well rear White Jade Fish. It’s said that these White Jade Fish are imbued with Dragon Energy, and there’s quite a chance they could transform into Flood Dragons."

"I see."

The atmosphere then fell into silence. The two were merely acquaintances from a shared meal, at most calling each other brothers on the surface, and they didn’t have much in common.

BOOM!

A sudden explosion attracted their attention. Jia Ke looked towards the direction of the explosion with a grave expression. "It’s Little Heavenly Immortal power fluctuations—it’s Tian Yue."

Seeing the bewildered look in Chen Jiuge’s eyes, Jia Ke explained, "Every time the Jade Flood Dragon Secret Realm opens, the Earth Lineage of the Five Elements Sect sends a Little Heavenly Immortal to ensure the safety of the sect disciples in the Secret Realm. This time it was Tian Yue."

"How strange. Who in the Jade Flood Dragon Secret Realm could challenge Tian Yue? Something is very wrong here," Jia Ke expressed his confusion.

Since he couldn’t figure it out, Jia Ke, a man of surprising action, decided to go see for himself. He also invited Chen Jiuge to come along, but Chen Jiuge refused.

After Jia Ke left, Chen Jiuge quickly took care of the Spiritual Beasts in the courtyard, murmuring, "I can’t stay here any longer; time to find another place."

He gathered all the Jade Beasts and White Jade Fish into the treehouse. Then, he activated the Contract Token in his Sea of Consciousness to notify his Spiritual Beasts that were outside to return as soon as possible.

Before a quarter hour had passed, Jia Ke returned.

He entered the courtyard carrying the unconscious Tian Yue. He looked around the empty yard and then at Chen Jiuge, who seemed ready to leave, and asked confusedly, "Brother Chen, are you leaving?"

Though it was awkward being caught in the act, Chen Jiuge nodded in confirmation.

"Leaving, huh?" Fire Spirit’s unreserved voice came from outside the courtyard. Then, pawing at the ground with a vigilant look, it asked, "Hey, who are you people?"

The Netherworld Tiger, meanwhile, crouched down, ready to pounce at any moment.

Tian Yue, his face covered in blood, suddenly looked up at Chen Jiuge and said weakly, "There’s been a mishap in the Secret Realm. With your current level of Cultivation, you’ll encounter trouble if you run into those men in black. If you don’t want to die, just stay here."

Jia Ke and Chen Jiuge exchanged glances, and Jia Ke whispered, "Brother Chen, listen to him. Tian Yue might seem naïve, but he’s actually very shrewd. He’s somewhat trustworthy; we should listen."

"Alright."

「.......」

The massive Five Elements Flying Boat landed outside Earth Spirit Immortal City. Inner Sect Elder Luo Hao, leading the investigation into the fallen disciples, entered the City Lord Mansion with a grim face.

"Liu Taihong! Liu Taihong!" Luo Hao called out unceremoniously, despite both being Golden Immortals.

This was partly because of the deaths of disciples under his charge, and partly due to their respective strengths and statuses. Luo Hao was the foremost among Inner Sect Elders. This meant that, excluding the Sect Master and the nine Elders, his strength and status were the highest. Of course, this didn’t include the sect’s hidden old immortals.

And Liu Taihong was merely an ordinary Inner Sect Elder who might not have hoped to reach Golden Immortal status in his lifetime if not for a fortunate chance encounter.

"Elder Luo?" Liu Taihong responded in surprise.

CRASH! A heap of shattered Life Plates floated between them. Luo Hao said coldly, "Liu Taihong, are you aware that there has been a mishap in the Jade Flood Dragon Secret Realm?"

Liu Taihong looked at the names on the Life Plates, his face instantly turning pale. "How could this be? Are these all the Life Plates of the disciples who entered the Jade Flood Dragon Secret Realm?"

"Never mind. Open the Jade Flood Dragon Secret Realm for me. I need to send people in to investigate." Under a Golden Immortal’s Divine Thought, no inner thoughts could be hidden. Luo Hao was quite confident, seeing right through Liu Taihong, who had only recently broken through.

"Yes, Elder." Liu Taihong respectfully took the command.

Actually, the Five Elements Sect didn’t have that many disciples. Those with established Life Plates were all Inner Sect Disciples, the only ones considered true members of the Five Elements Sect. In total, all Inner Sect Disciples numbered only around one hundred thousand. Losing over a hundred at once was an exceptionally rare event.

It should be known that nurturing an Inner Sect Disciple with True Immortal Cultivation from scratch to True Immortal level took at least several thousand to ten thousand years, and the resources expended were innumerable.

"Elder Luo." Miao Pan arrived shortly afterward and hastily bowed in greeting upon seeing Luo Hao.

"Third Saintess? Wen Wan of the Miao Family? What are you doing here?" Luo Hao inquired.

Hearing this, Miao Pan explained her reason for being there.

"I see. Since the sect has decided to spend resources to cultivate your strength, then do not disappoint the sect’s hopes. Cultivate diligently."

"If your Cultivation is too inferior, some people in the sect might not be too pleased." Luo Hao scoffed twice, seemingly showing contempt for some within the sect.

"This disciple understands." Miao Pan nodded in agreement.

Luo Hao was a neutral Elder in the sect. He did not express any opinion regarding whether to treat Miao Pan as a resource production machine or to cultivate her into a powerful cultivator.

Above Earth Spirit Immortal City, the sealed entrance to the Secret Realm once again let down a column of light. Luo Hao waved his large hand, and two figures stepped forward.

The two were Luo Hao’s Direct Disciples and also his foster sons, Luo Yi and Luo Xin.

The pillar of light rapidly ascended, encapsulating the two men. Luo Hao murmured, "The Jade Flood Dragon Secret Realm can accommodate up to the True Immortal Thirty-Three Heavens Cultivation level. Luo Yi and Luo Xin have reached the realm’s limit of accommodation; there probably won’t be any problems."

「...」

「Jade Flood Dragon Secret Realm, Temporary Courtyard」

Tian Yue awoke. Thanks to a heavy infusion of Spiritual Medicine and leveraging his strong self-healing ability, he barely regained the ability to walk.

At the stone table, Tian Yue gulped down the Immortal Tea. Looking at the two people before him, he felt extremely frustrated.

"Jia Ke of the Jia Family. Your family once saved one of our sect’s Inner Sect Elders, which is how you obtained the Token to enter the Jade Flood Dragon Secret Realm."

"Chen Jiuge, formerly a Guest Elder of the Jiang Family. Due to your strong ability in Spirit Beast Breeding, particularly specializing in cultivating Five Elements Spiritual Beasts, you were recommended by the Third Saintess, Miao Pan. Now, you should be completing the task of becoming a disciple of the Eight-direction Saint."

"I’m not mistaken, am I?" Tian Yue spoke word by word.

"You’re absolutely right."

"As expected of the First Senior Brother of the Earth Lineage!"

Chen Jiuge and Jia Ke both offered a compliment.

"Now an accident has occurred in the Secret Realm, and I need your help!" Tian Yue declared resolutely.

Chen Jiuge looked hesitant, his eyes unfocused. "This... uh... that...?"

Jia Ke was even more straightforward. "Senior Brother Tianyue, it’s not that we don’t want to help. But I’m only at Triple Heaven, and he’s at the Seventeenth Heaven. Fighting an enemy who could injure you? Isn’t that just courting death for us?"

"That’s because they ambushed me! And it wasn’t just a few—several dozen of them attacked together!" Tian Yue said, his heart aching at the thought. To counter-attack and kill those people, he had lost a great number of treasures.

"As long as you help me rescue the other Five Elements Sect disciples trapped in the Secret Realm, I will certainly reward you."

"Jia Ke, right? Your Jia Family is just an ordinary merchant family. You most likely came here this time for the Jade Flood Dragon. As long as you help rescue the Five Elements Sect disciples, I can let you take back a Jade Flood Dragon with exceptional talent."

"Chen Jiuge, you too. The requirement for being a Registered Disciple of the Eight-direction Saint is to acquire a Jade Flood Dragon in the Jade Flood Dragon Secret Realm. If you rescue enough disciples, I will give you enough Jade Flood Dragons to make you a Direct Disciple of the Eight-direction Saint!"

Jia Ke hesitated for a moment, then shook his head to decline. "Senior Brother Tianyue, compared to the Jade Flood Dragon, I prefer being alive."

Chen Jiuge, however, asked, "Senior Brother Tianyue, how many Jade Flood Dragons are needed to become a Direct Disciple of the Eight-direction Saint?"

"At least three."

Only three? That’s not a problem at all. Chen Jiuge relaxed internally. However, his face showed a strained expression as he awkwardly declined.