Chongming Xianzong

Chapter 446 Honggu enters the mountain and Changxi comes out of the clan
————— Chongmingzong, Beast Garden

Elder Duan Anle, the Beast Taming Elder, stood with his hands behind his back, watching Duan Yunzhou, who was also nearing the age of elephant taming, use a beast talisman to tame a golden-eyed leopard.

Because Zhou Xinran's path to immortality was hopeless in previous years, and Duan Anle failed to establish his foundation and could not cultivate, the couple had three more children within ten years.

Unfortunately, even though both husband and wife are Qi Refining cultivators, the probability of their offspring inheriting spiritual roots is still not high.

Apart from their eldest son, Duan Yunzhou, who possessed spiritual roots, the couple's other son and two daughters did not have this affinity for immortality. They had no choice but to send them to Chongming City after they were a little older, entrusting them to the care and protection of the city lord's mansion and the main branch of the Duan family.

Although the two were heartbroken, it was something that even a Nascent Soul cultivator could not do. After preparing a lifetime of wealth and honor for their three children, there was nothing more they could do, so they could only focus on cultivating their eldest son.

Fortunately, Duan Yunzhou's spiritual roots are superior to those of his father and mother. Although his three spiritual roots are not outstanding in the current Chongming Sect, they can still be ranked in the middle to upper range. With the careful guidance of Duan Anle, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, his future prospects will surely be stronger than the latter.

The Golden-Eyed Leopard isn't considered a particularly powerful demonic beast; even when fully grown, it often struggles to break through to the second rank. Moreover, the one facing Duan Yunzhou was still immature, only a mid-rank first-order beast. Although Duan Yunzhou expended some effort, he ultimately managed to subdue the creature smoothly using a beast talisman.

Duan Anle wasn't exactly a strict father. He could understand that Duan Yunzhou had always cultivated peacefully within the sect, unlike his parents who had to fight and battle with magical weapons at the age of ten.
Therefore, even though he saw that Duan Yunzhou's skills were inferior and far inferior to his own at the same age, Duan Anle did not show any eagerness. After all, if all his hard work over the years was to be followed by the next generation, then all his hard work would have been in vain.

It is said that the true core members of families like the David clan, the Liaoyuan Gui family, and the Yukun Han family often do not study Taoist methods before reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, and they do not even come into contact with the various arts of cultivation. They spend their days chanting scriptures, contemplating the mysteries, and comprehending the principles.

For these types of disciples, all offensive techniques are taught by specialists after they have reached the Foundation Establishment stage, which can achieve twice the result with half the effort. Good.
These real people seemed to appreciate this matter quite a bit, which led many noble children of slightly lower social standing to follow suit. However, this matter was something that only wealthy families could afford, and it did not spread throughout the entire David Dynasty.

Chongming Sect was, after all, just a small sect located in a border state. Even though Headmaster Kang had worked hard to build up some merit over the years, it was still slowly getting better. It was impossible for him to be so lenient with his disciples.

Although Chongming Sect still has fewer disciples than other Foundation Establishment sects, the number of usable manpower it possesses is enough to make even pseudo-Core Formation forces like Shishan Sect in Puzhou envious.

Compared to the years when they first acquired the spiritual land, Chongming Sect's manpower was no longer stretched thin.

In response, Ye Yaoling, the steward of Yulin Hall, suggested to Pei Yi that the five-year training period for new disciples at Yulin Hall be extended to seven years. The latter agreed wholeheartedly, since most of the immortal talents who had participated in the Chongming Sect's Ascension Conference in previous years were only six or seven years old.

When the five-year term ends and they graduate from Yulin Hall to become outer disciples, they are often only eleven or twelve years old. Even if they have entered the Dao, their temperament is still far from mature. If they are allowed to grow wildly at this crucial time of foundation-laying, it may have a long-term impact on them.

In the past few years, some disciples had just left Yulin Hall when they were assigned to various places. While this relieved Chongming Sect's immediate crisis, it was probably not a good thing for these disciples in the future.

Pei Yi's temperament is much more impatient now than before. He had already mentioned this matter in a small discussion ten days ago. Headmaster Kang was quite interested, but before he could speak, the matter was put aside.

However, regardless of whether this matter can be carried out, it has nothing to do with Duan Yunzhou, who is now fourteen years old. He does have a talent for beast taming, which was evident when he was cultivating in the Yulin Hall. At the age of ten, he had already become a first-class low-grade beast master.

Therefore, Duan Anle did not care about public opinion and selected Duan Yunzhou to enter the Beast Garden and gave him the task of serving the disciples of the Beast Garden.

Now it has been three years since Duan Yunzhou entered the Beast Garden. He can be said to have become proficient in his duties and is not far from being able to take charge on his own in the future.

However, compared to Duan Yunzhou's mastery of beast mastery, his combat skills were not much like his father's, but rather somewhat similar to his maternal family's. That's why Duan Anle wanted to take advantage of the time to relax while switching cultivation techniques to give him a good workout.

Duan Yunzhou looked somewhat disheveled at this moment, but Duan Anle did not reprimand him. Instead, he encouraged him, saying, "It's not bad, but there is still a gap compared to your Uncle Kang. You need to catch up."

"Father, which Uncle Kang is it?"

This child didn't even inherit Duan Anle's inner beauty, and his question sounded a bit silly. Duan Anle shook his head and laughed for a while before explaining with a faint smile, "Is there any need to ask? He is far inferior to any of them."

As soon as Duan Anle finished explaining Duan Yunzhou's mistakes in the battle against the Golden-Eyed Leopard, Kang Changxi and He Chang arrived together.

Duan Anle's face lit up with joy. He mentioned Duan Yunzhou and asked him to come and pay his respects to his two senior uncles.

After accepting the punishment, He Chang laughed and said, "I couldn't find Brother Duan earlier, so I had to bother you, Senior Brother." He then handed over a black beast token with a Qilin mark: "Senior Donkey, I still need Senior Brother Duan to help me extend this period of time."

In recent years, the Golden-Haired Donkey has been exclusively used by He Chang, which is already an open secret among the cultivators of Chongming Sect. Duan Anle naturally wouldn't ask any more questions. He simply picked up a spiritual seal, dipped his talisman brush in spiritual ink, and wrote down the immortal seal script.

As Duan Anle began writing, he did not forget to speak to the former: "Recently, a small group of Cloud-Stepping Steeds have been afflicted with an epidemic. Even after I asked Senior Dragon to administer a potent medicine, they have not recovered."

There's no other way now, so I can only ask the younger generation to temporarily separate them and see if things can turn around after letting them roam freely for a while.

If that still doesn't work, then we'll just have to slaughter him early and give him to the sons-in-law working in Xiaohuan Mountain as a treat. Hey, didn't Junior Brother He just return? Why are we being summoned again?

The Qilin mark on the beast token lit up along with the immortal seal. He Chang's smile faltered when he heard Duan Anle's question. He took the beast token, hung it on his waist, and then said, "Junior brother thought that if he could do more errands, it would be good to prepare for the sect's small test for future advancement to true disciple."

Duan Anle clearly admired He Chang's words, and said with a laugh, "Junior Brother is quite farsighted. These days, the sect's small tests set by Uncle Pei every year are becoming increasingly difficult. There is an inner disciple in the Array Hall who is unlucky and his skills are indeed a bit lacking. He has been a late-stage cultivator for three years, but he still hasn't mastered the true teachings. If this continues, I'm afraid it will delay his future."

He Chang's popularity was far inferior to Duan Anle's; the latter was a free spirit and well-liked among his fellow disciples, and this was the first time he had heard such news. However, he wasn't as worried as Duan Anle had seemed with his previous perfunctory words. He accepted the beast token and was about to speak when he heard Kang Changxi beside him ask:
"Senior Brother Duan, this time I will also be going with Brother Chang, and we will need a mount. Last time I heard from the Beast Master that Senior Brother Duan recently captured a blue-armored earth tiger in the Cold Crow Mountain and tamed it as a mount. I wonder if any fellow disciples are available to rent it out. If not, I hope Senior Brother will take care of me and rent it out to me."

Duan Anle shook his head and said, "There are no fellow disciples who have come out yet. Moreover, Senior Long is a bit different from what Junior Brother said. This Green Armor Earth Tiger was not captured by me. Rather, it was captured by Junior Brother Yuan with the Crimson Guard after the head of a small family in Cold Crow Mountain reported that this beast was extremely cruel and harmed mortals."

However, this beast is extremely ferocious. Junior Brother Wei Gu tried it once before, and even with his ninth-level Qi Refining cultivation, he struggled to subdue it using his beast token. Junior Brother, would you like to try again?

Kang Changxi laughed and replied, his young age already exuding a heroic spirit: "Haha, the Dragon Beast Master told me that this Azure Armored Earth Tiger retains a trace of the blood essence of a third-tier demon school, which may allow it to be freed from the constraints of bloodline and advance to the demon school in the future. That's why I came here specifically to find it. Since no fellow disciples have offered it, how could I not give it a try?"

Since even his master's own son had said so, Duan Anle had no reason to refuse. However, he still had to give a few words of advice: "Although this Azure Armored Earth Tiger also has the bloodline of a demon, it is far inferior to the strange senior that Master tamed. If you are just curious, use it for a while as a way to pass the time, and don't expend too much effort."

Kang Changxi smiled slightly, bowed, and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Senior Brother."

Seeing Kang Changxi's enthusiasm, Duan Anle stopped trying to persuade him. He lightly tapped a dark-colored animal-shaped ring hanging at his waist, and the old soldier in rough clothes on the ring's inscription seemed to come alive, puffing out his mouth and blowing a bronze whistle, which sounded quite crisp and pleasant.

After the crisp whistle sounded, several more cries of cranes could be heard in the distance.

The Duan family father and son didn't take it seriously, but Kang Changxi and He Chang both turned their heads to look. They saw eight red-headed cranes with wingspans of about ten feet and blue feathers flying over from a distance, carrying iron chains in their beaks.

Below the eight iron chains was a steel cage, inside which was locked a ferocious beast. Because the steel cage was covered with various talismans, the spiritual light was mixed and confusing, so even though Kang Changxi was dozens of feet away, he still had some difficulty seeing the beast's face clearly.

Flying to the group of cultivators, the red-headed cranes loosened their sharp beaks. The steel cage, which must have been as heavy as a small mountain, fell slowly like a leaf, without even stirring up much dust.

Duan Anle took out a handful of pills and threw them into the air. The red-headed cranes devoured them in a few breaths.

"At the very least, they are all top-grade first-tier red-headed cranes, and even the top-grade red-headed cranes are already second-tier low-grade. Senior Brother Duan has been quiet for the past year or two, and everyone thought he was focusing on switching to cultivation techniques, but no one expected that he had already advanced to the second tier in the path of Beast Master. No wonder even Mother said that among all the senior brothers, Senior Brother Duan is the most steady."

Kang Changxi's thoughts were interrupted by a ferocious roar. Duan Anle flicked his fingers, and the talismans on the steel cage leaped up one by one. The cage door suddenly collapsed, revealing a ferocious beast with thorns on its back.

The ferocious tiger, crouching on the dark red rock, slowly raised its head, its turquoise vertical pupils narrowing into two slits. Coin-sized, bluish-gray scales spread from its forehead to its tailbone, each scale edged with a dark, moss-like copper patina. Its short, thick snout was flanked by whiskers that dangled like broken bronze chains, leaving fine trails in the sand with each twitch of its nostrils.

As it turned its eye sockets covered by bone spurs, its hexagonal irises seemed to be swirling with thoughts, but after seeing the beast token in Duan Anle's hand, the ferocity in its eyes subsided somewhat.

When Duan Anle handed the beast token to Kang Changxi, he was still worried and whispered, "This beast has not yet been completely tamed by any means. Its wild nature has not been eliminated. Even if you hold the beast token, the requirements for your divine sense are still very high."

"Junior Brother, if you find it difficult, please don't push yourself. This beast is indeed quite capable. Last time, when Junior Brother Yuan led the Crimson Guards to arrest him, even the second patriarch of the Yang family of Hongshan was nearly injured."

In most cases, apart from beast masters, other cultivators need to use beast talismans or beast tokens to control demonic beasts. Even if a cultivator manages to subdue a demonic beast captured from outside and extract its soul threads to make a beast token, it is not something that just anyone can control.

There are countless examples of those who, lacking virtue to match their position, suffer the wrath of beasts. Duan Anle naturally had to give Kang Changxi a good warning to prevent him from being careless.

"A mere first-tier top-grade demonic beast can injure a Foundation Establishment cultivator?"

Duan Anle frowned. He could hear the excitement in Kang Changxi's tone, and a little regret arose in his heart. He leaned closer to the latter almost imperceptibly, just in case.

"Divine sense?" Kang Changxi, holding the beast token, stepped in front of the blue-armored earth tiger, who was pretending to be meek and submissive. He was quite bold; he tugged at the tiger's whiskers, which were as thick as grains of rice, and lifted its enormous head to meet its gaze.

The two pairs of eyes, one large and one small, were so close that they were only inches apart. Even He Chang, who was standing to the side, was almost startled and jumped up by Kang Changxi's bold move.

Duan Anle frowned, about to speak, when he saw the Green-Armored Earth Tiger, who was about to retaliate, being sent flying by Kang Changxi's punch. One punch after another, though it was a cliché, Kang Changxi's fists rained down on the Green-Armored Earth Tiger.

Even though they knew this junior brother had remarkable talent in body refinement, the two junior brothers beside them were still quite shocked. Although the Azure Armored Earth Tiger's strength had greatly diminished after its ordeal, it was still a force that most Qi Refining Ninth Level cultivators would find difficult to defeat. Unexpectedly, it was Kang Changxi, a young man who was not even as old as a dancing elephant, who took the initiative and suppressed it without any power to fight back.

Duan Yunzhou, standing to the side, was also amazed and couldn't help but murmur, "How can we possibly catch up?"

Kang Changxi was unaware that a fellow disciple of the same age was admiring his actions. He only looked at the pleading Qingjia Dihu and sighed, "If only I could learn Father's Full Moon Contemplation Method, I'm afraid I wouldn't have to expend so much effort."

However, his low spirits quickly dissipated. He flipped over and leaped onto the beast's back, urging He Chang, "It's getting late, Brother Chang, let's set off quickly."

—Half a month later, Liangyi Sect and Chongqian Peak
"Junior Brother Peng has not returned yet?" Pu Honggu looked displeased. This old cultivator rarely got angry, and when he was so sullen, even Li Yun, the current sect leader of the Yi Sect, who was standing below him, did not dare to speak loudly.

He didn't know why the Grand Elder was so anxious about Peng Daoren's whereabouts, and dared not ask a question. He could only cautiously speak based on his own speculation:
“He went out a month ago and hasn’t returned. However, my junior brother just sent Jiang Yuan, the peak master of Black Sand Peak, to check on Senior Brother Peng’s corpse-raising ground. The two third-tier bronze corpses are fine and are still absorbing evil energy. It seems that Senior Brother Peng shouldn’t be in any serious trouble.”

Li Yunshang could not speak with certainty, after all, given Peng Daoren's background, he would not feel at ease leaving a soul lamp in the Liangyi Sect Hall.

Therefore, having no other choice, Li Yunshangxiu had to use this method to determine the latter's life or death.

Pu Honggu felt a little relieved. After all, it was rare for a Golden Core cultivator to disappear for several years. However, before Peng Daoren went out, he had assured him that he would return in ten days. But a whole month had passed in the blink of an eye, and Peng Daoren still hadn't sent back any news. Pu Honggu couldn't help but be nervous.

After all, this Taoist Peng still had the responsibility of communicating with the demon school. Even if this matter was privately instructed by Bai Canhong, the master of the Star-Picking Pavilion, once it was exposed, colluding with demon cultivators would be an unforgivable crime!

Even if Bai Canhong has some sense of responsibility and wouldn't sacrifice the Liangyi Sect to protect the king, the situation of Zhaixing Tower would likely become extremely awkward after the incident.

In these turbulent times, if the Star-Picking Tower is truly implicated and becomes the target of public criticism, the Two Elements Sect will certainly not have an easy time either.

Moreover, does the owner of the Star-Picking Pavilion truly have the responsibility to take on this task?
Pu Honggu was filled with unresolved worries, but he knew that haste would be useless. He knew that he must not lose his composure, especially at times like these. So he turned to Li Yun and instructed him, "Send more disciples to inquire about Junior Brother Peng's whereabouts. Don't be stingy with spirit stones at Wuwei Tower. I don't need any guarantees from them, just promise to search diligently."

If She Fu still tries to use 'seclusion' as an excuse, then I won't give her any face. Within half a year, no matter how well those cowardly individuals hide, I guarantee that within the counties and prefectures under the jurisdiction of the Two Elements Sect, there won't be a single place for their Fearless Pavilion!

Li Yun's opinion on the Fearless Tower coincided with Pu Honggu's. The so-called number one spiritual sect in Shannan Dao was nothing more than a lowly, frivolous force.

The rumors among the people were incredibly exaggerated, but for a major sect leader like Li Yunshangxiu, there was not the slightest reverence for the Fearless Tower. If it obeyed, he would grant it a favor; if it did not, he would launch a large-scale purge. It was not a troublesome matter at all.

So Li Yunshang bowed and replied, "That woman has always been sensible, so I suppose she wouldn't disobey my senior brother."

Even after giving his explanation, Pu Honggu was still somewhat uneasy. Leaving aside whether his collusion with demon cultivators had been exposed, there were still several unclear aspects to the refining method of the Crimson Celestial Life-Extending Pill, which he needed to discuss with Daoist Peng.

However, such a private matter was not something that could be discussed with Li Yunyan, nor could it be done in front of the latter in a way that would appear too eager. So, after clearing his throat, the Grand Elder of the Liangyi Sect changed the subject:
"Is Jiang Yuan still the current leader of Black Sand Peak? If I remember correctly, Junior Nephew Jiang's lifespan is coming to an end, isn't it? In that case, does Junior Brother Sect Leader have a preferred candidate for the next leader of Black Sand Peak?"

Li Yunshang was surprised to find that his senior brother, who always took charge of operations, would suddenly bring up such a trivial matter as the selection of the head of the side peak. He almost showed surprise in his eyes.

However, having served as the sect leader for the past century, he had already considered this matter carefully. After thinking for a while, he replied, "As is customary, the best candidates will be chosen from among the peak members. Black Sand Peak was originally a new lineage established by Senior Brother Peng after he joined the sect. As Senior Brother Peng's first disciple, Junior Nephew Jiang Yuan has also made great contributions over the years."

Therefore, the junior brother favored Song Xueqiao, one of the three peak masters of Black Sand Peak, to succeed him as peak master, but he had not yet had a chance to discuss it with his senior brother and senior brother Peng.

"Song Xueqiao? That name does ring a bell for me. Is he also Peng Shi's younger brother?"

"He is indeed a disciple of Senior Brother Peng. He was already a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator sixty years ago, and now that he has accumulated enough merit, he is about to use spiritual objects to form a pseudo-core."

"Highly confident?"

“Nephew Song’s preparations are quite sufficient, perhaps 30% successful, which is not low,” Li Yunshangxiu calculated for a while, then whispered, “Oh, this boy once fought with the Black Shoes Daoist, and the outcome was undecided. He is worthy of being cultivated.”

Pu Honggu raised an eyebrow and murmured, "The Black-Shoeed Taoist?"

Although the two elders of the Liangyi Sect had never met the Black-Shoeed Daoist, the latter had been causing trouble in Shannan Dao for so long that his name was already imprinted in Pu Honggu's mind.

Even a fake elixir isn't bad. After he emerges from seclusion, please have my junior brother bring him to see me."

"Yes, I respectfully see you off, Senior Brother."

Li Yun breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Pu Honggu leave Chongqian Peak. If it weren't for the fact that rotating the position of sect leader was an ancestral rule established since the founding of the Liangyi Sect, and that the people of Chongqian Peak were hoping that he would take on this responsibility, Li Yun would really not want to sit in the position of sect leader of the Liangyi Sect.

He was originally a man of quiet and unassuming nature. If things were still peaceful and uneventful as they were in the past, that would be fine. But he had to contend with so many people in this position, which was proving to be a bit overwhelming.

Moreover, the higher-ups have already tacitly approved of the Kuang family's involvement in Shannan Road. How can a mere junior cultivator like him possibly stop them?
The disciples of the side sects also had many complaints. These minor cultivators were blinded by their own limited knowledge and were completely ignorant of the situation. They actually believed that the loss of the Hongyi Sect, their staunch ally, and the fact that the five prefectures of Jing, Yun, Ye, Pu, and Ding had broken out of the Liangyi Sect's territory were both due to the incompetence of their sect leader.
Feeling wronged, Li Yunshang withdrew his gaze, sighed deeply, and murmured, "This position will be handed over in a few years anyway. Let's see if the successor has the ability."

However, Li Yunshangxiu was unaware that the moment he withdrew his gaze from Pu Honggu's back, the Xuan Bird runes on the latter's brocade robe suddenly shone brightly.

A pair of wind wings sprouted from the old cultivator's back, and then quickly turned him around, heading straight towards Cold Crow Mountain.

(End of this chapter)