Chapter 1294: Beast Taming Institute

Chapter 1294: Chapter 1294: Beast Taming Institute

The night wind brushed past her cheeks, Liu Xuanji, relieved of much of her woes, stood on a high mountain outdoors feeling quite refreshed. She looked up at the sparse stars and moon in the sky; it was deep night after interrogating Ding Zhiyi and the others and followed Mao Xiang here. At this point, it should be nearing 1 a.m., Liu Xuanji turned to Pei Yan behind her and asked, "Pei Yan, can you tell us now what exactly we are here to do? And why did you invite Brother Jin from the Dragon Realm and this Miss Long?"

The person who came secretly from the Dragon Realm and hid among the Tiger Wine Guard was none other than Jin He Xuan, Clan Leader of the Golden-winged Roc Race, and Long Jin, the daughter of the current Dragon King and disciple of the Ancestral God. Seeing Liu Xuanji unable to hold back, finally asking about this matter, Pei Yan laughed but didn’t answer, instead countering, "Well, this is quite a long story. Have you all heard of the Nine-Turn Dragon Phoenix Pendant, this divine artifact?"

"Nine-Turn Dragon Phoenix Pendant?" Liu Xuanji and the sect leaders exchanged puzzled glances, unsure of this item, yet Tian Feiming of the Mo Sect pondered for a moment before speaking leisurely, "I have seen records of this item in the sect’s chronicles. It is said to be a divine artifact crafted by the Gongshu Family for the Dragon Breeding Institute in the Ancient Immortal Garden. I heard that this item was extremely costly and difficult to create, harming many objects that gather Spiritual Qi between heaven and earth, with methods so cruel that it was deemed unacceptable by the world. Shortly after its emergence, the Ancient Immortal Garden was struck heavily, and the Dragon Breeding Institute, which possessed this item, was one of the gardens suffering the most severe attacks, with virtually no survivors, and the item has remained missing ever since. Alas, our sect recorded this part of the secret history to warn our disciples not to go to extremes in any affairs; one must revere heaven and earth and not lose their principles in quest of powerful artifact refining."

"Elder Tian is truly well-informed and knowledgeable! This divine artifact is connected to the Dragon Breeding Institute! And I coincidentally heard this secret history while in the Dragon Realm; for more details on its origins, let’s let Miss Long Jin, who once told me this story, explain to everyone here." Pei Yan praised Tian Feiming with a smile, then stepped aside to let Long Jin introduce herself to the crowd.

Long Jin, feeling a bit nervous, recounted to the group the story she once told Pei Yan about the Nine-Turn Dragon Phoenix Pendant. After listening to this secret history, everyone nodded; then, Supreme General of the Jinwu Guard, Wangchaizong, immediately understood Pei Yan’s intentions and pointed to a large academy located in the mountain nook to inquire, "So you’re suspecting that this place, the lower courtyard of the White Deer Institute, is connected to the Dragon Breeding Institute?"

Having arrived here, there was no need to hide anything; Pei Yan nodded and responded, "Yes! This is the Beast Taming Institute of the White Deer Institute because beast taming requires rearing a large number of spirit beasts. Firstly, because it covers a wide area, and secondly, fearing that the spirit beasts might harm people uncontrollably, this Beast Taming Institute is located far from the main sect of the White Deer Institute outside. The disciples in the institute are also few, less than a hundred! Back when I first returned to the Daoist Plane and heard my superior’s investigation on the White Deer Institute, I linked this place with the story Miss Long and I talked about."

"This is indeed a questionable point; but connecting them in this groundless manner seems a bit forced. If there really is no relationship between the two, your situation would be quite awkward." Master Fu Wentian of the Clear Wind Talisman Transformation Sect, alongside the Mo Sect, were able to remain outside the chaos; hence, Sect Leader Fu Wentian took a more rational stance from an observer’s perspective and voiced his concern upon hearing Pei Yan’s words.

Pei Yan also acknowledged this with a sigh, saying, "Yes, I know this too. So, this should have been a last resort during hopeless times, but this string of events has pushed it earlier."

As he spoke, Pei Yan turned to Liu Xuanji with a bitter smile, "Elder Liu, you best pray this lower courtyard exposes a flaw tonight, because if tonight passes without success, we will be entirely at odds with the White Deer Institute. To prevent them from retaliating in desperation, we can only enforce a comprehensive lockdown under insufficient evidence for a detailed investigation. By then, Spirit Lord might, to ensure fairness, have to subject the Hongjun Sword Furnace to similar fate as they too hold suspicion. But rest assured, I will conduct a fair investigation and won’t wrongfully accuse the innocent."

Liu Xuanji and Mo Baiqi exchanged a look, each growing worried. Whether Pei Yan would conduct an unbiased handling, they didn’t know; let’s say Pei Yan truly managed unbiased handling, and they prove their innocence eventually. Even then, the Hongjun Sword Furnace would suffer a major reputational blow because, just as Liu Xuanji once told Pei Yan, all the Six Mansions of the Immortal Palace and even the major sects extending to the Daoist Plane — what sect hasn’t engaged in shameful deeds? A full-scale search would bring all filth to light, causing Hongjun Sword Furnace’s reputation to plummet.

"Uh~, Pei Xiaoyou, how certain are you about this matter?" Mo Baiqi hesitated for a moment before stepping forward to ask.

Pei Yan, realizing the other party’s concern, smiled and said, "Elder Mo, I’m not pursuing the White Deer Institute without reason! The White Deer Institute entered the investigation group’s perspective precisely due to the incident recorded in Fan Ruyi’s battle with people from the Eighteen Hells. Back in the day, those who conveyed the information of one of the Eighteen Hells’ footholds to Fan Ruyi were people from the White Deer Institute. Later, during this battle, members of the White Deer Institute died to save Fan Ruyi. Perhaps out of guilt, to make amends, Fan Ruyi used his influence within the Celestial Sword Manor to recruit the families of those saving him into Fan Family’s affiliated families. From then on, the progeny with exceptional talents from these families could enter Celestial Sword Manor to become disciples. And according to the list of disciples from Celestial Sword Manor’s record during the Blood Fury attack on the Celestial Prison event, amongst those who operated the Immortal Palace Transmission Array, bringing Blood Fury and Eighteen Hells enemies into the Immortal Palace, we found members from these two families and their recommended disciples.

"Fan Ruyi! Oh, I remember that incident was about five to six hundred years ago, so the White Deer Institute started the layout back at that time?" Situ Maocai from the Unmoved Thunder Sect reminisced about this event with emotion.

"Indeed! Fan Ruyi crossed boundaries into the Foundation Plane and killed innocents twelve years ago for us; converting it to the Daoist Plane, the event would be three to four hundred years ago. The time Fan Ruyi got ambushed was even long before this, because those two who traveled with Fan Ruyi back then were not inner courtyard disciples of the White Deer Institute, their family backgrounds were not prominent either. So when they were integrated into Fan Family’s affiliated families, only a small number of people acquainted with that past and documents recorded in the Celestial Secret Pavilion knew of their initial White Deer Institute affiliation.

At this point, Pei Yan glanced at Liu Xuanji. At least this secret, Hongjun Sword Furnace was aware, but when Celestial Sword Manor encountered trouble, not only did they stay silent, they chose to kick them while down."

Seeing Liu Xuanji display a trace of shame on her face, Pei Yan stopped giving him a hard time and turned his head aside with a smile, "This matter sparked our interest in the White Deer Institute, and subsequent investigations revealed more suspicious points."