Beast Taming: I Have an Immortal Mansion

Chapter 207 - 163: Golden Core External Aid

The backup magical artifact used by the Pig-faced Foundation Establishment Cultivator was of a high grade—a Second-Order Middle Grade Magical Artifact in the shape of a golden blade. It blazed with fierce flames hot enough to melt stone and metal. Even with Jinbao’s Copper Skin and Iron Bones, blocking it head-on was still a struggle.

Although Jinbao’s combat power was comparable to a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, it was still very young, having been born only a little over a decade ago. Despite its exceptional talent, it was currently only a Tier One Middle Grade, equivalent to a human in the Mid-stage Qi Refining realm.

The magical artifact was stopped by Jinbao’s palm. It had intended to pierce straight through Jinbao’s body, but after a grating, teeth-jarring sound, the artifact whipped free from Jinbao’s grasp. It flew out and circled in midair, whistling sharply as it prepared to strike at Fang Qingyuan again.

Jinbao shook its slightly scorched palm and stared intently at the magical artifact, its usual lazy demeanor completely gone.

To protect Fang Qingyuan, Jinbao was on high alert. It activated all four of its talents, and its combat power instantly surged.

When its first strike failed, the Fire Sword quivered in the air and conjured dozens of illusory copies. All of them shot toward Fang Qingyuan, glowing with fiery light and looking identical, but only one was real.

This was a special ability inherent to the magic sword, something akin to "Myriad Sword Illusions." It was a common feature for most sword-type artifacts, designed to confuse an enemy before launching a sudden, vicious attack.

However, this trick was completely useless against Jinbao. It possessed the Golden Eye of Truth, a Divine Technique that made the illusions appear laughably fake. With a casual swat of its paw, Jinbao struck the true target. The dozens of illusory sword lights instantly dissipated, leaving only a single, twisting Fire Sword struggling violently in Jinbao’s grasp.

With Jinbao protecting him, Fang Qingyuan didn’t have to worry about his own safety for the time being. He would only need to focus on the magical artifact if Jinbao could no longer hold out.

In addition to wielding the magical artifact, the Pig-faced Cultivator waved his hand, summoning several Fire Pythons that slithered toward Fang Qingyuan. Clearly, he was a cultivator with a Fire Spirit Root.

Fang Qingyuan ignored the Fire Pythons, leaving them for Jinbao to deal with. He focused solely on channeling his Five Elements Techniques, blanketing the area around the Pig-faced Cultivator.

The Pig-faced Cultivator had initially dismissed the techniques Fang Qingyuan cast. ’What kind of threat could a mere Late-stage Qi Refining cultivator pose to me?’ he thought. But when the techniques manifesting all five elements surrounded him, the Pig-faced Cultivator realized he had underestimated his opponent.

Poisonous vines, seemingly with a will of their own, coiled around the Pig-faced Cultivator’s entire body. Even though he constantly shifted his position, he couldn’t completely avoid them.

This was because the pressure bearing down on him had suddenly increased seven- or eightfold, making every movement a struggle. Furthermore, a phantom White Tiger watched menacingly from the side, lunging at him periodically. Although the Pig-faced Cultivator immediately scattered it, the phantom would reform in just a few breaths, putting him under immense pressure.

On top of that, the concentration of Water Spirit energy around him surged, materializing into countless ice butterflies. They fluttered about his body, periodically landing on him and self-destructing, which significantly weakened the effectiveness of his Fire Element Technique.

Four of the five elements were used against the Pig-faced Cultivator. Fang Qingyuan applied the last one, fire, to Jinbao, increasing its fire resistance so it could better deal with the Pig-faced Cultivator’s fire-element magical artifact.

For a time, the Pig-faced Cultivator was completely unable to get the upper hand on Fang Qingyuan. But Fang Qingyuan knew that if the battle dragged on, he would be the one to lose.

The Pig-faced Cultivator looked to be in a sorry state, but that was only because Situ Jingyu had caught him by surprise and snatched his main combat artifact. Forced to use a backup, he couldn’t even exert seventy percent of his full power.

’On my side, I have Jinbao, a Spirit Beast whose power rivals a Foundation Establishment Cultivator. My own Magical Power, amplified by the Five Elements Flow, is four to five times greater than that of other Late-stage Qi Refining cultivators. And thanks to my Soul Dao Technique, my Divine Sense is nearly as strong as his. That’s why I can anticipate his moves and react naturally.’

’But the gulf between Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment isn’t so easily bridged. I lack a finishing move, a one-hit kill. And in terms of Magical Power reserves, even with four to five times the power of my peers, I’m still far behind a true Foundation Establishment Cultivator.’

’A Foundation Establishment Cultivator’s Magical Power is roughly twenty times greater than that of someone at Late-Stage Qi Refining Perfection.’

’On top of that, this Pig-faced Cultivator is at the peak of Early-stage Foundation Establishment. If this stalemate continues, the odds are that I will be the one to lose.’

’If I want to beat him, I can’t get into a contest of Magical Power. I have to catch him by surprise and finish it in one blow, just like Huo Hu did. But how many people in this world are like Huo Hu?’

Despite this, Fang Qingyuan wasn’t the least bit flustered. Although his total Magical Power was inferior to the Pig-faced Cultivator’s, the broader situation on the battlefield was in his favor.

Situ Jingyu’s fight was the core of this battle. As long as she was victorious, capturing the Pig-faced Cultivator would be a simple matter.

The Pig-faced Cultivator was clearly aware of this. A hint of agitation crossed his face. He had thought he could easily dispatch this junior, Fang Qingyuan, and then go help his brother deal with that madwoman. He never expected a Qi Cultivation Cultivator to be this troublesome.

When he glanced over at the fight between the Bull-faced Cultivator and Situ Jingyu, the Pig-faced Cultivator’s brow furrowed. The Bull-faced Cultivator was clearly no match for her. Though the Bull-faced Cultivator looked terrifying, like a Demon Fiend that had crawled out of the depths of Hell, he was being completely suppressed by Situ Jingyu, unable to put up any real resistance.