Chapter 314 - 290: Divine Beast Secret Realm

Chapter 314: Chapter 290: Divine Beast Secret Realm

Jiang Zuo didn’t return home for two days, but his absence went unnoticed.

Two days was too short a time to matter to a Cultivator.

Even Tantai Feixue, the one who shared his bed, didn’t think much of it.

And so, Jiang Zuo returned home as if nothing had happened.

It was the same for Ge Fangrong.

He acted as if nothing had occurred, not even contacting Jiang Zuo after his return.

The first thing Jiang Zuo did upon returning was send an order to his Puppet Body, instructing it to use the Black Tortoise Dao Sect to help gather the missing materials for the Spirit Vein extraction Array.

Jiang Zuo had secretly collected some materials over the years, but to avoid suspicion, he was still missing quite a few.

However, with the help of the Black Tortoise Dao Sect, gathering these materials wouldn’t take much time.

’Given the terrifying talent I’ve shown the Divine Wood Sect, I wonder if they’ll consider possessing me.’

’It’s hard to say about the people from the Divine Wood Sect, but if they still have a way to contact the Upper Realm, the chance of someone from there possessing me is quite high.’

Alone in his room, Jiang Zuo carefully mulled over the events of the past two days.

Although he had supposedly been brainwashed by the Divine Wood Sect, how could brainwashing be more reliable than possession? The chance of being possessed was not small.

But with Wu Zhonghai serving as a cautionary tale, the Divine Wood Sect should have some reservations.

After all, his master was supposedly from the Upper Realm and might have methods to prevent possession.

If a possession attempt failed, it would mean certain death.

The people from the Upper Realm, however, probably wouldn’t have such concerns.

Jiang Zuo had been with Bai Ling and Gu Wei before and knew they had both descended to this realm by using their Divine Sense to possess the bodies of its inhabitants.

They had absolute confidence in their ability to possess others and didn’t worry about failure in the slightest.

However, Jiang Zuo also knew that descending to possess someone wasn’t something that could be done on a whim. Otherwise, descenders from the Upper Realm wouldn’t be so rare in the Cultivation Realm.

That was why Jiang Zuo needed to finish refining the Spirit Vein extraction Array before that could happen.

As long as the Array Flags were refined and the Inscriptions were carved, the time required for deployment would be drastically reduced.

"Husband, how are you at the late stage of the Three Flowers Realm?"

During their dual cultivation that evening, Tantai Feixue finally noticed something was off about Jiang Zuo’s Cultivation.

"I had a small fortuitous encounter."

Jiang Zuo said offhandedly.

’A small fortuitous encounter?’

Tantai Feixue was speechless.

She knew it couldn’t have been that simple!

It might be one thing for others, but she knew very well that Jiang Zuo’s Qi Sea was far larger than that of ordinary Cultivators, requiring an immense amount of Spiritual Qi to break through.

For him to break through a Small Realm in just two days, this "encounter" must have been heaven-sent.

But, as was her habit, she didn’t press for details.

She was already at the late stage of the Dao Fruit Realm. No matter what happened, Jiang Zuo couldn’t possibly break through to the Manifestation Realm before her.

Jiang Zuo coveted the Upper Realm’s Spiritual Energy Infusion technique and wondered if he could obtain it from the Divine Wood Sect.

But Jiang Zuo also had a vague sense that this Spiritual Energy Infusion technique wasn’t so easy to get.

It definitely wasn’t something that could be achieved simply by setting up an Array on a Spirit Vein.

Otherwise, all the major sects in the Cultivation Realm would have surely set up such Arrays.

Jiang Zuo wanted to continue on as usual without making any changes.

But in his rush to refine the Spirit Vein extraction Array, Jiang Zuo felt he was severely short on time.

The time for taming Spirit Beasts was essential, and the time for treating them couldn’t be cut too much either. Jiang Zuo could only squeeze time from other activities.

And those "other activities" seemed to only be his dual cultivation with Tantai Feixue... and the activities that followed.

Cultivation wasn’t a particularly urgent matter for Jiang Zuo anyway, so he first cut their dual cultivation time in half, then reduced it to a third.

Tantai Feixue was initially very calm, but when their dual cultivation time was cut to just a third, her cultivation speed plummeted by more than two-thirds.

How could she, who was used to a cultivation speed several times faster, possibly accept this?

’Has Jiang Zuo grown tired of me? Is he planning to find a new Dao partner outside?’

This thought made her restless.

But she didn’t dare say anything to Jiang Zuo directly. After all, she had no bargaining power with him.

She knew it was impossible for Jiang Zuo to let her go now. If she stayed by his side but couldn’t even dual cultivate with him, it would be a huge loss.

After some thought, Tantai Feixue gritted her teeth and secretly bought some very daring outfits.

Every now and then, she would change into one and parade in front of Jiang Zuo.

Beneath these clothes, her stunning figure became incredibly alluring.

Jiang Zuo didn’t have time for such things, but she paraded around so much he grew irritated, grabbed her, and ravaged her fiercely.

"Stop letting your imagination run wild. I have things to do for the next few years. We’ll talk about dual cultivation after I’m done."

When they were finished, Jiang Zuo gave Tantai Feixue, who was sprawled on the floor, a hard slap on her rear.

"Oh."

Tantai Feixue responded softly.

Jiang Zuo thought they had cleared the air, but who would have known that Tantai Feixue would act as if she hadn’t heard a thing, continuing to tempt him every day with new tricks.

Jiang Zuo knew she wanted to dual cultivate, but he deliberately refused to give her what she wanted.

To put it simply, when the mood struck, they only did the deed without cultivating.

He thought that after a while, Tantai Feixue would realize the difficulty and back down.

But she stubbornly continued to tempt him.

To avoid wasting time, Jiang Zuo was forced to multitask, refining simple Array materials while they were getting it on.

To think his ability to multitask would have to be used for this... It left Jiang Zuo utterly speechless.

But, he had to admit, doing things this way felt as blissful as an immortal’s life.

And though he wasn’t worried about Tantai Feixue telling anyone, Jiang Zuo still explained that he was Learning about Arrays recently and was just practicing with some simple materials.

Tantai Feixue didn’t doubt him. In truth, she didn’t really care.

She had always deliberately avoided learning too many of Jiang Zuo’s secrets, lest she get any bad ideas.

If she ever had such ideas and Jiang Zuo found out, she would be finished.

Half a year after returning from the Cyan Wood Secret Realm, Ge Fangrong finally contacted Jiang Zuo.

Just as Jiang Zuo had initially proposed, Ge Fangrong asked for his help in taming Spirit Beasts.

Jiang Zuo could see that the Divine Wood Sect still had designs on the Spirit Stones he received each year.

They probably wanted him to spend less on Spirit Beasts and give more Spirit Stones to the Divine Wood Sect.

However, Jiang Zuo had already prepared an excuse, saying his Pocket World Spirit Treasure was still undergoing a transformation and required a large number of Spirit Stones.

If it was interrupted now, the Spirit Treasure would suffer irreversible damage.

Seeing this, Ge Fangrong gave up on the idea.

In the blink of an eye, more than three years passed with Jiang Zuo and the Divine Wood Sect maintaining this relationship.

During these three-plus years, besides having Jiang Zuo secretly help tame Spirit Beasts, Ge Fangrong hadn’t asked him for anything else.

However, Jiang Zuo had subtly and deliberately left a clue.

"Ge Fangrong? So that Master Gu is now secretly taming Spirit Beasts for the Divine Wood Sect?"

"Could it be that the Divine Wood Sect killed Cold Crow Wanderer?"

"If that’s the case, it’s no wonder the Divine Wood Sect suddenly wants to get involved in the Immortal City’s affairs."

"Hmph! So that’s the Divine Wood Sect for you. If I had known this Master Gu would do this, it would have been better for us, the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect, to approach him for an alliance!"

You Changheng snorted coldly as he looked at the report from his subordinate, then spoke with a hint of regret.

’What happened to being a Hidden Clan? Why did he go running to the Divine Wood Sect?’

You Changheng was filled with regret, but at this point, there was nothing he could do but remain vigilant.

Jiang Zuo had no intention of making any immediate moves against You Changheng and the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect. He just wanted You Changheng to know that he was now one of the Divine Wood Sect’s people.

Later, depending on the situation, he might find an opportunity to frame both sects.

You Changheng was no longer planning to move against Jiang Zuo rashly, but a few months later, an unexpected guest came calling.

"What a rare guest. To what do I owe the pleasure of Young Friend Helian’s visit?"

You Changheng asked with a smile, looking at his visitor.

The visitor was a young man, but his Cultivation was shockingly at the early stage of the Dao Fruit Realm.

"Elder You, my father sent me to visit you. We have an important matter to discuss."

Helian Yuyang cupped his hands and replied respectfully.

"Oh, Clan Leader Helian? Go on, what is it?"

With a wave of his hand, You Changheng activated a shielding Array.

"Elder You, to tell you the truth, our Helian Family is actually in control of a Divine Beast Secret Realm."

"Inside the Secret Realm, there is a Vermilion Bird Divine Beast!"

"However, our Helian Family now has only three chances left to open this Divine Beast Secret Realm."

"My father sent me this time to invite the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect to enter the Divine Beast Secret Realm with us."

"The condition is that Elder You can help persuade that Master Gu to go as well."

Helian Yuyang didn’t waste any words, getting straight to the point.

"Heh, your real goal is to get Master Gu to go, isn’t it?"

"But since you have a Divine Beast Secret Realm, if you went to Master Gu, he would have no reason to refuse."

"Why come to me and offer a piece of the pie?"

You Changheng chuckled upon hearing this.

A Divine Beast Secret Realm was indeed tempting.

However, the Helian Family’s actions seemed strange no matter how he looked at it.

"We also considered approaching Master Gu alone, but this Divine Beast Secret Realm isn’t something our family can open whenever we wish."

"It just so happens that the time to open it has arrived."

"If we were to rashly approach Master Gu, he might not agree."

"If we miss this window, we don’t know when the next chance to open it will be."

"Our Helian Family intends to re-establish ourselves in the Cultivation Realm, and we wish to be in the same boat as the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect. This Divine Beast Secret Realm is a small token of our sincerity."

Helian Yuyang explained with calm confidence.

You Changheng stroked his chin, thinking quietly.

He had heard that the Helian Family intended to re-establish a foothold in the Cultivation Realm. Wanting to build a good relationship with the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect was understandable.

Never mind asking for his help to persuade Master Gu; even if they could convince Master Gu themselves, they would likely have used it as an opportunity to ask for his help anyway.

After all, the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect wasn’t a group you could befriend just because you wanted to.

But with a Divine Beast Secret Realm on the table, the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect would certainly have to accept this favor.

"Alright, I’ll take you to meet this Master Gu!"

With this thought, You Changheng nodded in agreement.

You Changheng decided to ignore the Divine Wood Sect and pretend he knew nothing of the relationship between them and Master Gu.

He could use this matter to see just how far the relationship between Master Gu and the Divine Wood Sect had progressed.

Jiang Zuo was a bit surprised when You Changheng suddenly showed up at his door with someone.

Nevertheless, he led them into the parlor to host them.

"A Divine Beast Secret Realm?"

Jiang Zuo’s eyes lit up when he heard the reason for their visit.