Beast Taming: I Have an Immortal Mansion

It’s best not to disturb a lion while it’s eating.

This principle also held true for the Yuanhou Lion Dance, a being with Divinity Transformation Cultivation near its peak. Even if only a wisp of its divine consciousness had appeared here, it was not something a mere Nascent Soul could provoke.

And so, the instant the crimson Blood Arrow came flying, the lion’s head formed from the swarm of silver insects abandoned its feeding on Chu Hongshang and turned toward the blood-colored projectile.

Without a sound, the arrow in which the Bow-holding Nascent Soul had placed so much hope abruptly vanished from before the Yuanhou Lion Dance. When it reappeared, it was already behind the creature.

This wasn’t the Yuanhou Lion Dance using some Secret Technique to dodge the arrow. Instead, the arrow seemed to have passed right through space itself, emerging from an entirely different location.

And with that, the Bow-holding Nascent Soul’s fate was sealed.

When the Bow-holding Nascent Soul sensed Tu Ling’s aura vanish, he assumed Chu Hongshang was responsible. Thus, the Blood Arrow he had originally aimed at Fang Qingyuan was redirected toward her.

The arrow carried an imprint of his divine consciousness; the Bow-holding Nascent Soul Cultivator’s main objective was to get a look at the situation.

But he didn’t know that sometimes, a single glance can be fatal.

The Yuanhou Lion Dance was attacked, and fury surged within it. ’It has been years since anyone dared to strike at me. How dare this person?’

The head of the Yuanhou Lion Dance, formed from the swarm of silver insects, flickered as one. When it reappeared, it was directly in front of the Bow-holding Nascent Soul Cultivator.

It had crossed nearly thirty miles in an instant. Such a Divine Technique was beyond comprehension.

"What—?!"

Those were the Bow-holding Nascent Soul’s last words. The Yuanhou Lion Dance gave him a gentle sniff, and in the next moment, a dazed-looking soul was pulled from the top of the Bow-holding Nascent Soul Cultivator’s head.

The soul bore a strong resemblance to the Bow-holding Nascent Soul, but it was only the size of a two or three-year-old infant. This was the Nascent Soul he had painstakingly cultivated for nearly a thousand years, and it flew right into the Yuanhou Lion Dance’s mouth and nostrils.

The astonishingly powerful longbow, no longer controlled by its master’s energy, fell to the ground with a CLATTER.

The Yuanhou Lion Dance didn’t even spare it a glance. After devouring the Bow-holding Nascent Soul’s soul, the thousands of silver insects vibrated in unison again, as if letting out a contended burp.

Having devoured the Bow-holding Nascent Soul’s soul, the Yuanhou Lion Dance turned its attention back toward Chu Hongshang, fully satisfied. It still coveted her soul.

In the Yuanhou Lion Dance’s opinion, when it came to the palatability of souls, Chu Hongshang’s was the finest among the four Nascent Soul Cultivators.

Just as the Yuanhou Lion Dance’s head turned to leave, it swiveled back, its gaze fixed on the chest of the fallen Bow-holding Nascent Soul. It sensed an uncomfortable feeling of being watched coming from that spot.

....

「Qi Yun Main Mountain, Si Liang Peak.」

Inside a spacious Quiet Chamber within a cave residence, three figures sat in meditation.

Before them stood a Water Mirror taller than a man, its surface shimmering with images.

Suddenly, a phantom lion’s face materialized on the screen. It was an ancient lion with long, silvery-white fur. Its eyes were barely open, and its sculpted, statuesque face seemed ordinary at first glance, yet it exuded the majesty of a king of beasts.

They knew they were separated by a hundred thousand li, and that this place was protected by the Qi Yun Grand Array. No matter how formidable the Old Lion was, it couldn’t possibly harm them from such a distance. Even so, seeing the lion’s visage, the three men felt a chill run down their spines.

In a single confrontation, Tu Ling and Yu Jiao—the Bow-holding Nascent Soul—had been killed, just like that.

’Those were two Nascent Soul Cultivators, each a hegemon in their own right. How many Nascent Soul Cultivators were there in the entire Cultivation Realm? And now two of them had died so easily.’

Setting aside the political fallout from Tu Ling and Yu Jiao’s deaths, one of the three men was most concerned with a single question: was Chu Hongshang dead or not?

"’So that’s the Yuanhou Lion Dance. Wasn’t it supposed to be in a deep slumber? Why would it suddenly appear?’"

"’Speculating is pointless. We need to think about how to placate the Yu Family. They’ve lost a Nascent Soul Cultivator; they won’t let this go easily. Hetong, what are you looking at?’"

Gao Hetong stared intently at the Water Mirror, ignoring his two companions’ discussion. He watched as the head of the Yuanhou Lion Dance loomed closer and closer, as if it intended to pass right through the mirror and into their room.

’Impossible, right?’

Gao Hetong muttered to himself. But the Yuanhou Lion Dance’s gaze was definitely not right. The way it was looking at the Water Mirror... it had clearly discovered them. Its eyes weren’t looking at nothing; its gaze was sweeping over the three Nascent Soul Cultivators within the Quiet Chamber.

Then, Gao Hetong saw it clearly: a hint of a smile touched the corners of the Yuanhou Lion Dance’s mouth.

In the next instant, the surface of the Water Mirror began to ripple like surging waves.

As if breaking the surface of water, the head of the Yuanhou Lion Dance slowly emerged from the light of the screen. Though it was only a phantom, a Spirit Body, an overwhelming and terrifying pressure flooded the chamber, crushing any thought of resistance.

"AH! Quick, destroy the ’Ten Thousand Miles Soul Mirror’!"

As one of them cried out in alarm, Gao Hetong moved decisively, preparing to shatter the Ten Thousand Miles Soul Mirror. The artifact was priceless, but he had no time to worry about that now.

But before he could even raise his hand, he felt everything around him fall silent.

The shouts of his two companions stopped abruptly. Only their open mouths gave any indication that they were still trying to scream.

In that moment, this small pocket of the world felt like a tiny fly trapped in amber.