Beast Taming Clan: I Have a Jade Book Chapter 984 - 685: Enemy Luring Tactics and the Desert Sea Situation

At Longxing Oasis, the sun blazed with unrelenting scorching heat.

Flashes of intertwining spiritual lights accompanied the rise of a colossal grand array over the entire oasis.

A Yellow Dragon shadow loomed above the grand array, its majestic dragon head radiating supreme dignity as it swayed across the oasis.

This formation was none other than the Tier Four High-Grade Thick Earth Yellow Dragon Array.

With the grand array fully activated, countless Golden Core and Purple Mansion cultivators descended boldly into the main hall.

Among them, Jia Mingyuan declared:

"Jiaxing Pass has been completely annihilated, not a single survivor left."

Bitterness twisted his face.

Outstanding Jia Family members had perished there, including the family's ancestor, Jia Zeyuan.

He stood as the Jia Family's strongest prospect for breaking through to Nascent Soul Body Cultivation.

"Reports from Yan Kingdom confirm that most sects' Nascent Soul cultivators have headed to Celestial Horse Sea Domain. The leftover Nascent Soul experts show no signs of major sect actions, pointing to a Golden Core force!"

"It's probably the Ling Family, though their power doesn't quite match up!!" Zhang Taichu interjected this time.

By now, the teleportation array had vanished, rendering further debate pointless.

The Tier Four Top-Grade Spiritual Vein was already in place; it needed just a little more to link with the spirit vein group and form a Tier Five Spirit Vein. Would they abandon it and force an exit?

Furthermore, Zhang Taiji was still attempting his breakthrough to Nascent Soul. Even after dragging him out of seclusion by force, the backlash left him in recovery.

Without a Nascent Soul cultivator invading, this Tier Four High-Grade grand array could gravely wound any foe.

"Medicine King Valley might be backing the Ling Family in secret—they've been quietly probing spirit puppets for ages!"

"I suspect the Ye Family's hand in this too. We've pushed the narrative of them operating from Beast Desolate Wasteland, and the attacker likely hails from there as well, judging by the massive uproar in Cyan Cloud Sea Domain. We only riled up Chenjing Sea, leaving Celestial Flood Dragon Sea untouched!" Zhang Helin, the Zhang Family's Purple Mansion Patriarch, voiced this.

"The Ye Family seems improbable; our Jia Family has traded with them for years, keeping ties strong and cordial!" Jia Mingyuan countered with evident disagreement.

"Yet most spirit beast meat flowed into Desert Sea—wouldn't that raise suspicions?" Zhang Helin pressed on.

"In that case, keep spreading the story that the Ye Family originates from Beast Desolate Wasteland to draw eyes away. That's the only way to safeguard our two families' foundations in Yan Kingdom!" Zhang Helin urged once more.

"Do you believe they're only after our Desert Sea?"

"If I'm right, the Ling Family has already dispatched forces to Celestial Abyss Mountain, and the Jin Family—even Illusion Peak—might be moving on Yong’an Peak!" As Zhang Helin warned, tension gripped Jia Mingyuan instantly.

Without a teleportation array, they couldn't reinforce that front.

Most alarmingly, both Jia Mingyun and Zhang Yongxin had already perished.

In the Cultivation Realm, Golden Core Clans hold power, but lacking a Golden Core spells doom for such a clan.

The Zhang Family fared better; Fire Peak lost only Zhang Yongxin, but the Jia Family had sacrificed numerous Purple Mansion cultivators.

At Celestial Abyss Peak now, just one Purple Mansion cultivator remained.

"Simply pinning it on the Ye Family won't suffice; Qinghe Sect has long accused them, yet endless probes into Taihang Commandery yielded nothing. Either the Ye Family truly isn't from Beast Desolate Wasteland, or they conceal themselves profoundly—perhaps with a mini world like ours or another hidden sea domain. Better to directly rumor-monger about Taiyi Sect; Qinghe Sect will back it fiercely. Taiyi Sect's fall would leave plenty of breathing room for our families!" Golden Core cultivator Zhang Taichu proposed this.

These words hung in the air.

Every eye sparked with sudden excitement.

After all, Taiyi Sect relied solely on True Monarch Zi Ming as its top powerhouse, and crucially, they knew Medicine King Valley backed Taiyi Sect—not for marrying Fairy Linghong, but to groom her as Taiyi Sect's future Sect Leader!

"Set it in motion fast, or we'll miss the window—deploy the Blood Pattern Boundary Book right away!" Zhang Taichu pressed urgently.

The Blood Pattern Boundary Book outshone even the Sound Transmission Talisman in dominance, capable of reaching across realms for communication.

Bear in mind that Desert Sea and Eastern Domain form a single vast region, though separated by enormous distances.

"Moreover, order them to prepare the genius clansmen who have already withdrawn for immediate evacuation!" Zhang Taichu pressed on with his commands.

Having issued his directives, his eyes turned toward Jia Zehai.

"Jia Daoist, this is now a desperate fight for survival between our two families. I, Zhang Taichu, swear a solemn Heavenly Dao Oath that regardless of what comes next, West Desolate Sect will forever be guided by Zhang Jia. Thus, I urge Jia Daoist to unleash every single spirit puppet this time!" After handling Eastern Domain affairs, Zhang Taichu refocused on the crisis at hand.

For their sake, should Zhang Taiji achieve Nascent Soul breakthrough, expanding the oasis further and even refining Spatial Jade to build a teleportation array could become reality.

Yet the key condition was wiping out all these invading enemies first.

Successfully reaching Nascent Soul and founding a sect right in Desert Sea.

"Since they haven’t struck immediately, they’re probably just Golden Core cultivators—maybe only five or six. With you and me, plus the spirit puppets and my family’s Brother Taiji, victory is within reach. Even if they grow overconfident, we could draw them into combat and crush them utterly!" Zhang Taichu balled his fist, making a ruthless sign of total annihilation.

A savage glint flashed in his eyes.

Just then, Jia Zehai nodded in agreement.

From Zhang Taichu’s divination, it appeared Zhang Taiji had escaped major backlash, likely unscathed.

Pretending to seclude himself was probably a ploy to bait the foes into assaulting Longxing Oasis at this moment.

Therefore, deploying their Jia Family’s secret weapons could turn this dire situation around flawlessly!

Naturally, these were just his speculations.

Right now, they had no alternatives left.

...

Hills Oasis stood as a modest haven in the Desert Sea, its size rivaling a large county from the Eastern Domain, so named for its perch atop a towering hill.

Around the oasis’s edges rose wooden barriers crafted from commonplace sandthorn wood.

In the Desert Sea, sandthorn wood proved utterly ordinary, featuring dark trunks and spiky branches that resisted drought while warding off beasts and bugs effectively.

Past the dense sandthorn groves stood a ten-meter-tall city wall forged from golden-white sandstone.

Beyond those walls, clusters of sandthorn trees mingled with lofty firs, all drought-hardy spirit woods sheltering myriad buildings where mortals dwelled in droves—this formed the outer city.

Deeper inside lay the inner city.

Entry to the inner city was reserved strictly for cultivators and nobles.

Blessed by a spirit vein, the inner city boasted landscapes as stunning as those in the Eastern Domain.

The sole distinction was the fiercer blaze of the overhead sun.

Right now, a middle-aged man guided a camel toward the inner city.

At the inner city gates, mortal martial artists stood vigilant.

Qi Refining cultivators could soar straight in on swords; mortals alone used the gates, requiring either a noble’s token or a clan decree from the Zhang and Jia Holy Race.

"Stop right there, black man! Got a token? How dare you charge in like that?" A group of burly martial artists in official garb swiftly blocked him.

Out of caution, their tone held a hint of politeness.

"Sirs!" At being called sirs, they swelled with instant haughtiness.

Hands planted on hips, chins thrust high, brows knit tight, they radiated dominance.

"Sirs, I seek the Immortal Master—there’s a strange tree at my home that radiates Immortal Energy."

"Immortal Energy? Know what happens if you’re fooling an Immortal?" The mention of an immortal tree made their built-up aura falter a bit.

Before they finished questioning, a figure descended from the wall.

"Lead me to it?" Clad in simple yet lavish fabric, this flyer was unmistakably a true Immortal Master.

"Great Immortal Master!" The mortal martial artists bowed frantically.

The black man moved to bow too, but the Immortal Master surnamed Gu halted him.

"No need for that— just guide me there. But if it’s a lie, my duster happens to need a few more souls!" Cultivator Gu warned sternly again.

The black man bobbed his head vigorously and started leading the camel.

"Leave the camel here; no one dares touch it. If it’s truly an immortal tree, you could even live inside the inner city!" Cultivator Gu shot a fierce look at the martial artists, then summoned his flying sword.

Allowing the black man to climb aboard the flying sword too, they soared off towards a farmer's dwelling.

Before long, they landed in the courtyard.

"Where is the tree?" The cultivator surnamed Gu raged furiously.

"Please don't get angry, Immortal Master; the immortal tree is inside the room!" The black man hastily responded.

Right when the cultivator surnamed Gu prepared to check, his neck abruptly froze in place.

A strong grip seized his throat, dragging him straight into the room.

All at once, a horrifying Divine Sense surged into his mind.

Seconds later, the cultivator surnamed Gu collapsed onto the ground, his gaze turning empty and lifeless.

This black man was none other than Ye Jingcheng disguised, choosing to pose as a mortal because locals without spirit roots mirrored the Ye Family's plight; those with spirit roots were wed into the Zhang or Jia families, or turned into lowly gate guards or miners, suffering endlessly under the two clans' iron rule.

Gatekeeping cultivators at the castle probably lacked the Zhang and Jia families' clan jade books and Divine Sense Ban Arrays.

Performing a Soul Search directly was entirely possible.

With his cultivator's experience, he possessed sharp discernment.

Via the Soul Search, Ye Jingcheng grasped the overall structure of the Desert Sea at last.

The Desert Sea stretches enormously, rivaling the size of the Yan Kingdom.

Yet, vast deserts dominate most of it, leaving oases scarce and sparse.

Longxing Oasis stands as the grandest, stronghold of the Zhang and Jia families—a wondrous marvel from the past century in the Desert Sea, covering tens of thousands of miles and dwarfing small hill oases by hundreds of times.

Following that come the four major oases: Yuanling Oasis, Poplar Oasis, West He Oasis, and Taiyuan Oasis.

Countless small oases resembling the hill ones dot the region in hundreds.

In these tiny oases, Foundation Establishment marks the peak cultivation level; larger ones boast Purple Mansion experts at the top; mighty Longxing Oasis harbors Golden Core powerhouses, revered as Golden Core Saint Monarchs.

Saint Monarchs, needless to say, are mere pompous titles exalted by the Zhang and Jia families.

There are four such figures, aligning perfectly with the Ye family's earlier speculations.

Even though Jia Zeyuan had fallen, Ye Jingcheng braced himself for four, perhaps five, Golden Cores.

Given the Zhang and Jia families' long-standing dominance, each boasting an additional Golden Core seemed entirely plausible.

Moreover, Tier Four Spirit Puppets loomed as threats, demanding a solid plan to shatter their arrays.

In the meantime, prior to striking Longxing Oasis, Ye Jingcheng needed to absorb his recent spoils, allocate the three magical treasures, and boost his battle strength.

Just then, while Ye Jingcheng pondered deeply, the Beast Communication Pattern suddenly released far richer Fire Attribute Spiritual Energy.

This development thrilled Ye Jingcheng immediately, signaling the Red Flame Fox's breakthrough into Tier Four!

Ascending to Red Fox Demon King!

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