Beast Taming Immortal Clan

Chapter 240 Give or Die: Circumstances Force Me [Please Subscribe]

Red-eyed dragon vulture, dragon claw giant lizard, dragon scale horse.

The demonic beasts that the Zhou family brought back from the White Dragon branch altar were mainly these three types.

Each of these three types of monsters has its own unique characteristics.

The Crimson-Eyed Dragon Vulture is a flying demonic beast that can carry multiple cultivators at once, making it an excellent mode of transportation for Foundation Establishment cultivators.

The dragon claw monitor lizard is enormous and adept at carrying heavy loads, capable of carrying twenty to thirty people for a day's journey of thousands of miles. It is a great helper for quickly transporting people and large quantities of goods.

The Dragonscale Horse is similar in size to the Inkscale Steed, but its speed and endurance are much greater. It also has excellent swimming ability, allowing it to swim across large rivers and lakes. In addition, it possesses considerable combat power, making it an excellent mount for solo travel.

Of the fifty-seven demonic beasts that the Zhou family brought back from the White Dragon branch altar, the Crimson-Eyed Dragon Vulture was the fewest, with only nine, while the Dragon Claw Giant Lizard ranked second in number, with fifteen.

The most numerous were the Dragon Scale Horses, totaling thirty-three.

Dragonborn beasts are inherently fierce, and even the relatively docile dragon-scaled horses are still eager to fight.

Therefore, these monsters cannot live together with the other monsters in the Zhou family's beast garden for the time being, lest they mistake the other monsters for enemies and hunt them down.

So, on Zhou Daoquan's advice, Zhou Chun and the others placed the three kinds of demonic beasts in three different locations.

The Crimson-Eyed Dragon Vulture was placed on the most remote Hexagonal Peak, guarded by the Sixth Elder Zhou Jiapeng and his men. His spirit pet, the Golden-Winged Iron-Feathered Eagle, was barely able to keep the flock of ferocious birds in check.

The dragon claw monitor lizard was placed in the forest at the foot of Baozhi Peak and guarded by the Fifth Elder Zhou Jiahe and his men.

The largest number of Dragonscale Horses were placed in a hilly valley between three mountain peaks. No elders were assigned to guard them; only the Vajra Spirit Monkey was tasked with watching over them and preventing them from escaping the area.

With a major battle looming, the Zhou family has neither the time nor the energy to tame these demonic beasts. They can only temporarily settle them down and let them get used to their new environment.

We'll take our time to train them after the war is over.

Therefore, even the people who usually feed them are still the three Dragon Transformation Sect cultivators who were brought back.

Fortunately, these dragon-born monsters are mostly carnivorous, and even the dragon-scaled horses eat half meat and half grass.

Otherwise, the Zhou family would have to spend a lot of manpower just to prepare food for these monsters.

After settling the demon beasts, Zhou Chun and the others sorted through the spoils of the Southern Expedition. The spiritual herbs that needed immediate processing were all registered and placed at Hundred Herbs Peak for professional handling. The rest were temporarily sealed in the family treasury for later disposal.

In short, don't carry these miscellaneous items in your storage bag next time you go out.

After arranging the most pressing matters, Zhou Chun helped handle some family affairs while awaiting the verdict of Zhang Shi'an by Zhou Mingde and Zhou Daoyi.

"Zhengchun, arrange for someone to go to the Zhang family and deliver this jade slip to Zhang Kaida, the family patriarch. He'll know what to do!"

Inside the Zhongping Hall, after Zhou Daoyi came down from the mountain cave, he handed a jade slip made by Zhang Shi'an to Zhou Chun and explained the arrangements.

From his words, Zhou Chun immediately guessed what they had been talking about in the mountain cave.

So he reached out and took the jade slip, saying, "So, you want the Zhang family to pay a ransom to redeem our people?"

"Yes, it wouldn't be good to actually kill someone at this time. If we lock them up, we'd have to arrange for someone to guard them!"

Zhou Daoyi sighed slightly and nodded in response.

"That guy is really lucky; he just happened to come across a time when he needs manpower."

Zhou Chun shook his head and didn't say anything more. He immediately took the jade slip and went to find the Third Elder, Zhou Daoquan, asking him to make a trip to the Zhang family at Tiantai Mountain to deliver a message.

Because of the speed of the operation, the Zhang family was still unaware that their Supreme Elder, Zhang Shi'an, had been captured on the spot by the Zhou family.

It wasn't until Zhou Daoquan arrived at Tiantai Mountain with the jade slip personally made by Zhang Shi'an and handed it to Zhang Kaida, the Zhang family patriarch who had returned earlier, that the Zhang family learned of this matter.

Undoubtedly, this news was a bolt from the blue for Zhang Kaida and the Zhang family cultivators, leaving them completely stunned.

Zhang Kaida naturally knew that his own Grand Elder had his eye on the Zhou family.

However, he never expected that Zhang Shi'an and Fu Mingtao's operation would not only fail, but their own Supreme Elder would also be captured alive by the Zhou family!

If the jade slip hadn't detailed the various treasures the Zhang family possessed, and if Zhang Kaida hadn't known that the Zhou family wouldn't try to fool him with something so easily verifiable, he would have suspected it was a treacherous scheme by the Zhou family.

"The letter has been delivered by Zhou. Fellow Daoist Zhang, you can decide for yourself what to do next!"

Zhou Daoquan looked at Zhang Kaida, who was completely dumbfounded and shocked, and felt secretly pleased. After leaving a few words, he left the Zhang family.

Zhang Kaida didn't say anything to stop him to ask anything; he just stared blankly as he left.

Only after Zhou Daoquan had walked far away did Zhang Kaida seem to come back to his senses, and he suddenly gritted his teeth and shouted, "The Zhou family, what a Zhou family!!"

He then hurriedly arranged for people to search for information everywhere, while he himself summoned all the senior members of the Zhang family to discuss the matter of redeeming the people.

The Zhou family didn't have much time; the relevant items had to be delivered to Jiufeng Ridge within five days, or they would kill the hostage!

However, if they really did as Zhang Shi'an said on the jade slip and sent all those things to the Zhou family, the Zhang family would suffer a great loss.

So whether or not to do it the way Zhang Shi'an suggested, Zhang Kaida himself couldn't decide on his own. He had to convene an elders' meeting and have all the family elders vote on it.

However, Zhang Kaida knew very well that if Zhang Shi'an really fell into the hands of the Zhou family, the Zhang family would have no other choice but to obediently pay money to ransom him.

That is indeed the case.

At the Zhang family elders' meeting, the main focus of the discussion was not whether or not to redeem the person, but whether the news was true and whether the Zhou family could reduce the ransom.

There were even some Zhang family elders who had the wild idea that, at a time when the whole country was fighting against the beast tide, the Zhou family would certainly not dare to harm a Purple Mansion stage cultivator like Zhang Shi'an.

They believed that when the three major sects re-enlisted the Purple Mansion cultivators from their respective families to the battlefield, the Zhou family would have no choice but to obediently release Zhang Shi'an.

Zhang Kaida shook his head in disapproval of such remarks, both in his heart and outwardly.

He didn't think the Zhou family would be so obedient.

After all, Zhang Shi'an was caught red-handed attacking the Zhou family, a fact that can never be cleared up.

Even if the Zhou family killed Zhang Shi'an, it would be perfectly reasonable, and no one could say anything about it.

When the three major sects learn of this, they will at most reprimand the Zhou family for being ignorant of the bigger picture and disregarding the overall situation.

The constant bickering and arguing about whether or not to redeem the people according to the Zhou family's conditions has yet to yield a definite result.

All the arguments stopped immediately after the people who went out to gather information brought back news that the Zhou family had a third-tier dragon.

The Zhou family actually had a third-tier azure dragon hidden away!

When Zhang Kaida learned of this news, he was extremely shocked and horrified.

"No wonder! No wonder Zhou Daoyi refused to release his Azure Cloud Python spirit pet to participate in the battle at the Hundred Clans Assembly!"

"So, the reason the Zhou family suddenly expelled all outsiders from the mountain gate was because that Azure Cloud Python evolved into a third-tier Azure Dragon within the Zhou family's mountain gate?"

Zhang Kaida suddenly felt a sense of enlightenment, and he suddenly understood many of the doubts that he had never been able to understand before.

Unfortunately, it's too late for him to know these answers now!

If he had known the answer earlier, he would never have continued to be an enemy of the Zhou family, and he would never have thought of seeking revenge against the Zhou family!

"That despicable Zhou family! They deliberately concealed this information, feigning weakness to lure our Zhang family into attacking them. It's all part of their conspiracy!"

An elder of the Zhang family couldn't help but curse aloud, his face filled with anger and fear.

Many people are like this: when they do something wrong, they won't admit it's their mistake, but believe that others made them do it wrong.

It's a classic case of blaming the latrine for being too smelly when you can't poop!

But they only dare to curse like that within the Zhang family.

In truth, these elders of the Zhang family are all terrified of the Zhou family.

Zhang Kaida also saw this, so after calming his mind, he sighed and said, "Alas, let's do as the Supreme Elder says. Consider it a loss to avoid disaster!"

Upon hearing this, the Zhang family elders exchanged glances, and none of them voiced any further objection, which was considered an admission of their agreement.

The situation is beyond their control; the Zhou family has indeed seized their weakness, leaving them with no choice but to compromise.

Moreover, based on the information we have now, even if they disagree with the Zhou family's demands, the Zhou family has indeed shown great magnanimity by releasing Zhang Shi'an.

After the war ends, when the Zhou family settles accounts with the Zhang family, will the Zhang family be able to defeat the Zhou family?

So after the elders' meeting approved it, Zhang Kaida immediately opened the family treasury to select items, and called on the family cultivators to donate money. Finally, the ransom was raised within three days.

He didn't dare to delay for a moment and hurriedly took the ransom to Jiufeng Ridge.

When Zhang Kai arrived at the Zhou family's residence at Jiufeng Ridge, the Zhou family was entertaining the visiting Daoist Mingxia.

This time, Daoist Mingxia came to the Zhou family on behalf of Qinglian Temple to inquire about the third-tier azure dragon.

At a time when the Zhou family is at war with the Dragon Transformation Sect and the Flood Dragon Clan, the sudden emergence of a third-tier Azure Flood Dragon has attracted considerable attention.

Although they had a general idea of ​​the origin of the Zhou family's third-tier azure dragon, Qingweizi, the abbot of Qinglian Temple, still sent Mingxia Daoist, who had a close relationship with the Zhou family, to inquire about the matter.

This was something the Zhou family had anticipated.

Therefore, when faced with Mingxia Daoist's question, Zhou Daoyi directly said, "Fellow Daoist Mingxia, you are wise. My spirit pet, the Azure Cloud Python, possesses the bloodline of a dragon and has the potential to transform into a dragon."

"Zhou was lucky enough to obtain a treasure that would help it transform into a dragon, and it indeed lived up to its potential. After refining that treasure, it successfully reverted to its ancestral bloodline and evolved into a blue dragon, also breaking through to the third rank!"

Upon hearing his answer, Daoist Mingxia looked at him meaningfully and said, "The treasure that Fellow Daoist Zhou mentioned that helps in transforming into a dragon, could it be the inner core of a third-tier Azure Dragon?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Daoyi, without changing his expression, countered with a question: "Is it absolutely necessary for me to answer this?"

Daoist Mingxia paused slightly, then smiled faintly and said, "Of course, Fellow Daoist Zhou does not have to answer. The abbot only asked me to determine the origin of the Zhou family's dragon. Since it is indeed the result of the bloodline of Fellow Daoist Zhou's spirit pet, the Azure Cloud Python, returning to its ancestral form, then my task is complete."

After saying that, he turned his gaze to Zhou Chun.

Then he said softly, "Young friend Zhou has not sought our sect's help to remove the dragon bloodline within him. Could it be because he has already cultivated the Dragon Transformation Sect's foundation transformation technique, converting his golden dragon bloodline into a blue dragon bloodline?"

"Your insight is truly remarkable, and I admire you greatly."

Zhou Chun bowed respectfully to him and readily admitted to the matter.

Upon seeing this, Daoist Mingxia couldn't help but ask again, "So, was that foundation transformation technique also given to you by Fellow Daoist Lu Ran?"

"Yes, it was indeed I who later sought out Senior Lu Ran and obtained this technique!"

Zhou Chun nodded and admitted it.

This matter cannot be hidden from people, and there is no need to hide it any longer.

Upon hearing his admission, Daoist Mingxia suddenly became solemn, looking at the Zhou family members with a stern tone and saying, "Before I came here, the abbot specifically instructed me that the Zhou family must be careful about the scale of their trade with Lu Ran, and not disregard everything for the sake of profit!"

"Furthermore, any rare aquatic treasures acquired by the Zhou family in the future, aside from those for the Zhou family's own use, should be sent to our sect for selection and purchase. Only those that our sect does not want can be sent to the market for sale!"

"There's one more thing. The beast tide is currently approaching. Since the Zhou family has the power and means, they should do everything in their power to resist it, perhaps allowing Lu Ran to gather more information about the beast tide!"

After he finished speaking, the Zhou family members all frowned.

The requirements at the beginning and end are all fine, but the one in the middle is a bit excessive.

It's obvious to anyone with a brain that the price offered by Qinglian Temple for those rare aquatic treasures sent there would definitely not be as high as the price the Zhou family would have paid if they had sold them themselves.

As a result, the Zhou family suffered a huge loss of profits.

Moreover, if all the good goods are taken by Qinglian Temple, how can they exchange some rare and precious aquatic treasures for some equally rare and precious elixirs?

However, it was clear from Mingxia Daoist's tone that he was only informing them of the matter, rather than discussing it with them.

This shows that they had no room for negotiation; they had no choice but to accept!

Circumstances are beyond our control!

Zhou Mingde sighed inwardly, then nodded solemnly and said, "I understand. From now on, the Zhou family will strictly control the scale of trade with Fellow Daoist Lu Ran, and will send all the rare aquatic treasures obtained as tribute to Qinglian Temple!"

At this point, he shook his head slightly and said, "However, we only have a cooperative relationship with Fellow Daoist Lu Ran, and we cannot order him around. Moreover, with the beast tide raging in the wilderness, it is not easy for us to contact him. We cannot guarantee whether we can get any more information from him."

After hearing his answers, Daoist Mingxia simply said, "That's alright, just do your best."

Having said that, he waved his whisk and said, "Alright, my mission is complete. I won't bother you any longer. Farewell!"

Then he really left, and never inquired about the Zhou family's capture of Zhang Shi'an from beginning to end, as if he knew nothing about it.

This is the first update today. I can't guarantee there will be a second one, mainly because it's too cold!! But if there aren't two updates today, there will definitely be two tomorrow!

(End of this chapter)