Identity Speculation, Beginning Qi Refining with the Yin Yang Two Caves Scripture! (Please Bookmark, Please Vote)

West City, Beishan Yin Mansion.

"Father."

Entering the quiet chamber, Beishan Hu said, "Your son has arranged lodging for Young Master Xia Mang."

"Mm."

Beishan Yin looked at his son, somewhat puzzled.

In his view, once Beishan Hu returned, he should have first vented his dissatisfaction.

He should not have had anything kind to say about Xia Manggan, either.

Now that there were no outsiders around, why was he still addressing him as "Young Master"?

"Tell me every word you exchanged with him and every detail of what happened," Beishan Yin said.

"Yes." Beishan Hu immediately recounted everything in detail, from the time they left Cave of Carefree until he escorted Xia Manggan into his sleeping quarters.

At the end, he once again marveled at Xia Manggan's extravagance in feeding his spirit beast.

"A spirit beast resembling a Flood Dragon?" Beishan Yin's eyes lit up as he hurriedly asked, "Did he say what species it was?"

Among beast-type members of the Monster Race, the Dragon race possessed the noblest bloodline.

Their progenitor, the Ancestral Dragon, had even been one of the most powerful great beings in the entire Three Realms.

Although the Ancestral Dragon had long since perished in the river of history, the Dragon race remained a top force that could not be ignored within the Three Realms.

Therefore, any creature with Dragon blood was bound to be a divine beast, and its bloodline would not be of low rank.

At the very least, it would be a divine beast that could only take human form upon reaching the Wanxiang level.

The nobler a divine beast's bloodline, the rarer its origins would be.

If they could learn the species of Xia Manggan's Flood Dragon spirit beast, it would undoubtedly be easier to infer his background and identity.

"He did not say." Beishan Hu shook his head. "But I examined it carefully and memorized the appearance of that spirit beast called Ah Huang."

As he spoke, Origin Force flew from Beishan Hu's fingertip, forming a Water Mirror in the air before them.

Ripples spread across the Water Mirror, quickly condensing into the image of a reddish-yellow little snake. It then gradually expanded into a Flood Dragon more than a hundred feet long.

It perfectly recreated the scene he had witnessed earlier.

"Th-this is a Heaven-Eroding Yellow Dragon!" Beishan Yin was shocked. "It is not a Flood Dragon, but a type of true dragon! Its bloodline is incomparably noble, and it can only take human form upon reaching the Heavenly Immortal realm!"

"What? It can only take human form at the Heavenly Immortal realm?" Beishan Hu was stunned as well.

He had only heard of such divine beasts in legends and had never seen one before.

He had never even heard of anyone being able to keep a divine beast of that level as a spirit beast.

"That's right, it is a Heaven-Eroding Yellow Dragon. The last time I went to the royal capital to pay respects to Young Master Shaoyan Nong of the Shaoyan Clan, he had just acquired a spirit beast, a Red-Scaled Horned Dragon. It was one of the Dragon race's branches, but its bloodline was far less noble than that of a true dragon. It only needed to reach the Primordial Spirit stage to take human form."

Beishan Yin said firmly, "Young Master Shaoyan Nong had been extremely pleased and proud at the time. He discussed all kinds of Dragon race divine beasts from the Three Realms with his retainers. I happened to be there, which was why I was fortunate enough to learn of the Heaven-Eroding Yellow Dragon."

"Even Young Master Shaoyan Nong, one of the four young masters of the Great Xia Royal Capital, only has a Red-Scaled Horned Dragon that takes human form at the Primordial Spirit stage as his spirit beast. Yet Young Master Xia Mang has a Heaven-Eroding Yellow Dragon that takes human form at the Heavenly Immortal realm..." Beishan Hu swallowed. "His identity..."

"Heaven-Eroding Yellow Dragons are extremely rare in the Three Realms. According to Young Master Shaoyan Nong, they only exist within the Yinglong Great World. What do you think his identity is?"

Despite having cultivated for several centuries and holding a high position within the Beishan Clan, Beishan Yin's heart still could not help pounding wildly.

"A Heavenly Immortal! The elder backing Young Master Xia Mang is at least a Heavenly Immortal prince of the imperial clan! And one of the highest-ranked ones at that. Only such a person would have the qualifications to obtain a juvenile Heaven-Eroding Yellow Dragon as a spirit beast for his most valued direct descendant."

Beishan Yin's voice had grown somewhat hoarse.

That was a Heavenly Immortal!

The Xia Clan Great World might not produce even one in a million years.

Their Beishan Clan had been able to endure from the era of ancient gods and demons until now, continuing to occupy Anchan Commandery, because their family ancestor was a Heavenly Immortal.

But even the Beishan Clan's Heavenly Immortal ancestor—

Before the Heavenly Immortals of the imperial Xia Mang Clan, especially those Heavenly Immortal princes who ranked near the top and helped the Xia Emperor govern the realm, he would still have to bow his head.

Moreover—

Beishan Yin had an even more shocking speculation.

But that speculation was simply too terrifying.

So terrifying that he only dared entertain it in his heart and did not even dare tell his biological son directly.

"Hu'er. It seems that becoming Young Master Xia Mang's follower is your good fortune. From now on, you must properly understand your place. No matter what he asks of you, if there is anything you cannot accomplish, come find me immediately."

Beishan Yin's tone was incomparably solemn. "He is traveling alone now. It is possible that he is undergoing some sort of trial and needs manpower, which is why he accepted you as a follower. Once he completes his trial and becomes an important figure in the entire Great Xia Dynasty... by then, not only you, even I would never be able to get close to him."

As he spoke, he could not help recalling the scene from his last visit to Young Master Shaoyan Nong in the Great Xia Royal Capital.

Shaoyan Nong was merely a candidate successor for Duke Yushen, the next clan leader of the Shaoyan Clan, yet all the retainers and followers around him were powerful Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals.

If Beishan Yin had not used the name of the Anchan Marquis Mansion, he likely would not even have been able to meet Shaoyan Nong.

And compared with Shaoyan Nong, Xia Manggan was a close blood relative of a Heavenly Immortal prince from the imperial Xia Mang Clan—and an unparalleled monster who had already entered the Great Dao at the Purple Mansion realm.

The nobility of his status, the prominence of his future power...

Shaoyan Nong simply could not be compared with him!

Within another residence in West City.

In a dim space.

Beishan Baiwei stood respectfully before a burly, tall bald man.

The bald man sat cross-legged atop a huge crimson boulder.

Even while seated, he emitted the terrifying aura of a peerless demonic beast.

And as Beishan Baiwei spoke, that aura grew increasingly stronger.

"So you are saying that Beishan Yin deliberately put on an act in order to make Beishan Hu become Xia Manggan's follower?"

The bald man frowned deeply, lost in thought.

"Yes, Father." Beishan Baiwei replied respectfully. "I did not understand it at first, but after thinking it over, I came to feel that Beishan Yin had deliberately arranged everything."

This bald man was Beishan Baiwei's father, Beishan Heihu, a candidate to become the next Marquis of Anchan. Within the Beishan Clan, his power was overwhelming and no less than Beishan Yin's.

"If Xia Manggan were merely an unparalleled genius, then even the very best students of the Black-White Academy would not make Beishan Yin act like this. It can only be because of his imperial identity." Beishan Heihu muttered to himself. "But there are many people in the world with the surname Xia Mang. How could he be certain that Xia Manggan's identity was worth..."

Beishan Baiwei waited silently at the side.

"Baiwei." Beishan Heihu suddenly said, "You said Xia Manggan first went to Cave of Carefree together with Qu Changqing of the Zhenhua Sect?"

"Yes." Beishan Baiwei hurriedly replied, "Young Master Qu even bought him a top-grade human-rank magic treasure."

"Mm." Beishan Heihu nodded lightly. "Tomorrow, go find Qu Changqing and probe into Xia Manggan's background."

"Understood." Beishan Baiwei answered. "What about the matter of Ji Ning that I told you about?"

"Let him stay. You may provide him with resources and intelligence as you see fit."

A smile appeared on Beishan Heihu's face. "You handled things well today. You did not neglect a friend by your side merely because you had encountered someone even more outstanding, with an even more extraordinary background. Ji Ning's talent is also far from ordinary, and he comes from humble origins. Befriending such a person will be even more helpful to you. Tomorrow, I will go meet him as well."

"Yes." After responding, Beishan Baiwei saw that his father had nothing else to instruct him on, so he left the dim space.

Only Beishan Heihu remained, sitting cross-legged alone with contemplation in his eyes.

Beishan Yin has gone to the royal capital several times in recent years. I heard that he even met that young noble of the Shaoyan Clan... Could he have obtained some information from the Shaoyan Clan?

Compared with his old rival Beishan Yin, Beishan Heihu knew that his weakness was having too little outside support.

Furthermore, most of those supporting him were elders from the military branch of the clan.

Unlike Beishan Yin, who had the support of more elders and connections with many of the top clans of the Great Xia Dynasty.

Never mind. We will wait until Baiwei gathers the intelligence. Outside support is ultimately external strength. In the end, everything must be fought for through one's own strength.

Beishan Heihu stopped thinking about it. Opening his mouth, he expelled countless flames.

In the blink of an eye, the flames formed a massive black fire serpent around his body.

...At the same time.

Xia Manggan was also preparing to cultivate within a quiet chamber.

This time, he was going to cultivate one of the three techniques imparted to him through empowerment.

...the Yin Yang Two Caves Scripture.