Chapter 178 - 151: Body Cultivator Senior Sister (Part 2)

After the disciple entered the Fire Toad’s mouth, he shifted around inside for a moment before poking his head out to say,

"Come on in, Senior Brother Fang! There’s a lot of space in the Fire Toad’s mouth. It’s a brood pouch that evolved for raising its young. There’s more than enough room for us."

Fang Qingyuan found the sight of the Earth Cave Fire Domain disciple with just his head sticking out uniquely comical. He glanced back at Jinbao, who also wore a conflicted expression, clearly reluctant to enter a giant toad’s mouth.

However, when the other disciple also ducked inside and both heads sticking out of the Fire Toads turned to look at him, Fang Qingyuan grabbed Jinbao by the scruff of its neck and brought it to the last remaining Fire Toad.

Upon seeing Fang Qingyuan, the Fire Toad automatically opened its massive mouth. Fang Qingyuan tossed Jinbao in first, then leaped into the Fire Toad’s mouth himself.

The moment he entered the Fire Toad’s mouth, Fang Qingyuan found it was quite different from what he’d imagined. He had expected it to be horribly rancid, but instead, it carried a faint, buttery fragrance.

It was also very clean inside, though the Fire Toad’s massive tongue was in the way. Fang Qingyuan pushed the tongue aside, pulled the furry Jinbao over, and used it as a pillow to lie down comfortably.

"Settle in, Senior Brother. We’re heading out now."

A voice reached Fang Qingyuan’s ears, and he then sensed the Fire Toad he was in begin to move.

Fang Qingyuan extended his Divine Sense. A moment later, he perceived the Fire Toads jumping one by one into a massive subterranean tunnel. After traveling for about fifteen minutes, the tunnel grew increasingly hot, with the temperature soaring to seventy or eighty degrees.

Then, a vast expanse of fiery red came into view. Dark red magma surged up from below, occasionally crashing against the cavern walls and sending waves of molten rock splashing back into the flow.

Upon seeing this, Fang Qingyuan quickly withdrew his Divine Sense. His face flushed red—a sign that fire poison had tainted his Divine Sense.

Thankfully, the Jade Pendant at Fang Qingyuan’s waist emitted waves of cool energy just in time to dispel the fire poison. The Earth Fire outside the Fire Toad was truly ferocious, and the poison it bred was even more potent. Even with Divine Sense comparable to that of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, Fang Qingyuan had nearly fallen victim to it.

After an unknown amount of time, just as Jinbao was about to fall asleep, the Fire Toad suddenly stopped, standing perfectly still.

Then the Fire Toad opened its mouth, and Fang Qingyuan instinctively grabbed Jinbao and leaped out. At the same time, the two disciples from the Earth Cave Fire Domain emerged from their own Fire Toads.

Once outside, Fang Qingyuan had no time for words, captivated by the scene before him. A massive stone structure stood upon a platform of rock, surrounded by a boundless ocean of magma.

Fang Qingyuan looked up and saw a huge glowing orb embedded in the center of an Array, casting white light all around. The rest of the vast ceiling was just dark rock. Seeing this, Fang Qingyuan understood he was now deep underground, at some unknown depth.

The surrounding magma churned and roiled, yet none of it encroached upon the ground where Fang Qingyuan stood, clearly held back by an Array. Furthermore, he couldn’t feel much of the intense heat, which must also be thanks to the Array.

"Senior Brother Fang, let’s go inside. Our master is already waiting."

"Then I’ll be in your hands, junior brothers. Please lead the way."

The two disciples from the Earth Cave Fire Domain led the way, with Fang Qingyuan and Jinbao following step by step toward the center of the complex.

By the time they reached an unremarkable three-story building, Fang Qingyuan was beginning to understand why the two disciples seemed so destitute. On the short walk over, he had barely seen any other disciples of the Beast Taming Sub-Sect.

Moreover, the entire complex had a rustic air—in other words, it was unmaintained and appeared dilapidated.

’Few disciples, a dilapidated sect, and no sign of mortals living and procreating.’ Considering all this, he figured even a small sect in the Southern Border would seem grander.

"The Master is inside. You can just go in, Senior Brother Fang. We two have some chores to attend to, so we won’t accompany you. Farewell."

After leading Fang Qingyuan to the location, the two disciples were about to leave, but Fang Qingyuan spoke up.

"Wait a moment, you two. It was a lot of trouble for you to come all that way to pick me up, and I feel bad about it. As it happens, I brought some local specialties from the Southern Border. Please, take them and give them a try."

After speaking, Fang Qingyuan took two jade boxes from his storage pouch. They contained Water Spirit Medicinal Grass from the Southern Border. While not priceless treasures, they were still worth seven or eight hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones.

At first, the two disciples were too embarrassed to accept, but Fang Qingyuan insisted, pressing the boxes into their hands before turning and entering the building.

After Fang Qingyuan and Jinbao went inside, the two disciples opened the jade boxes. Their eyes immediately went wide.

"Senior Brother, this Spiritual Medicine can’t be cheap, right? I feel like this is worth a year of my allowance."

"You’re wrong about that. Why only one year? I feel like it could be two."

"Is it really okay for us to accept such a valuable gift? We just ran an errand and got two years’ worth of allowance. It just doesn’t feel right."

"He gave it, so we’ll take it. You can tell this Senior Brother Fang is a rich man. So generous... ’What a good guy.’ Why is there such a huge difference between us, when we’re all Qi Cultivation Disciples from the Beast Taming Sub-Sect?"

"I don’t know about that, but I do know that if we don’t put these away and Eldest Senior Sister sees them, we’re screwed."

"Ah, right, right! Let’s go, quick! I think I hear Eldest Senior Sister’s voice."

At that, the two disciples tried to make a quick getaway, but a voice froze them in place.

"What are you two whispering about behind my back? Feeling like you want to ’spar’ with your Eldest Senior Sister?"

"Eldest Senior Sister!"

The two disciples looked with pained expressions at a figure in a distant corner. As the figure approached, a shadow fell over them.

They saw a Female Cultivator, a full two meters tall, with rippling, well-defined muscles. She casually rested a hand on each of their shoulders, and their knees couldn’t help but go weak.

"Who did you bring here? We haven’t seen an outsider in years."

Facing their bear-like Eldest Senior Sister, the two disciples didn’t dare hide anything. They told her about Fang Qingyuan’s arrival and showed her the Spiritual Medicine they had received.

The Eldest Senior Sister’s face lit up when she saw the Spiritual Medicine. She said,

’A rich young master from the Southern Border, eh? I wonder if he needs a bodyguard. It’s dangerous walking in the Fire Cave. If he pays me some Spirit Stones to buy ingredients for my medicinal broths, I bet I could advance my Fire Phoenix Technique to the next level.’

Seeing their Eldest Senior Sister scheming to get something out of Fang Qingyuan, the two Cultivators felt a twinge of guilt, having just benefited from his generosity. But under her intimidating presence, they immediately started nodding furiously in agreement.

After speaking, the Eldest Senior Sister let go of the two skinny Qi Cultivation Cultivators and found a spot near the door to squat down, planning to offer her services the moment Fang Qingyuan came out.

Time trickled by. Just as the Eldest Senior Sister was thinking of going inside to check on her master, she saw him—her usually stern and unsmiling Master—cordially holding a strange Cultivator’s hand, saying animatedly,

"Nephew Fang, you really shouldn’t have gone to such expense! With Senior Brother Zhao’s letter, I would have helped you find a Spirit Beast with all my effort regardless. This wasn’t necessary."

Fang Qingyuan smiled and replied,

"It’s just a small token of my appreciation, as a junior should offer. Besides, if I’m to capture a Spirit Beast under your guidance, Martial Uncle, a few Spirit Stones are nothing."

While they chatted happily, the Eldest Senior Sister was squatting off to the side, trying her best to hide. Given her enormous frame, however, it was hard for the two not to notice her.

"Come, come, Nephew Fang, let me introduce you. This is my eldest disciple, Situ Jingyu. Don’t mind her burly appearance; it’s the result of her body cultivation technique. When she first joined the sect, she was so fair and delicate. How did she turn into... well, this, in the blink of an eye?"

The Master seemed to dote on Situ Jingyu, as he began to playfully chide her right in front of Fang Qingyuan. But when he saw the look on her face, he quickly changed the subject.

"Ah, so, you’re going into the depths of the caves to capture a Spirit Beast. The terrain there is complex, a labyrinth of crisscrossing tunnels. It’s easy to get lost. How about this: I’ll have my eldest disciple accompany you. Don’t let her appearance fool you—she’s already reached Foundation Establishment. With her by your side, I’ll rest easier."