I'm Just a Beast Tamer

"Senior, what do you mean by that?"

Jiang Zuo looked toward the source of the voice and saw a grayish-black skeleton lying against the trunk of a large tree up ahead.

Within its eye sockets, a small cluster of pale blue flames flickered.

"It means exactly what I said. It should have been impossible for anyone else to reach this place."

"The people from the Celestial Eye Black Pupil thought that with their Array present in this forest, nothing could go wrong."

"But they never expected that this Secret Realm is on the verge of collapsing. A strange transformation has already quietly begun within it, but they remain completely unaware."

"As a result of the Secret Realm’s transformation, the Celestial Demon Power they gathered in this forest has also begun to change."

"Where you stand now is a place that even the most devout followers of the Celestial Eye Black Pupil could never reach."

The old skeleton said with a chuckle.

Upon hearing this, a thousand thoughts instantly raced through Jiang Zuo’s mind.

’The Secret Realm is on the verge of collapse?’

’It’s not impossible. When Luo Taidong mentioned the Celestial Eye Black Pupil, he did say they occupy abandoned Secret Realms.’

"Ironically, the only ones who can make it this far are those who haven’t been brainwashed by the Celestial Eye Black Pupil."

"Young man, how did someone as young as you manage it?"

The old skeleton spoke again before Jiang Zuo could say anything.

"Senior, watch what you say. I am the most devout follower of the great Master of the Black Eye."

Jiang Zuo rebuked him righteously.

’God knows if this skeleton is some kind of trap.’ He couldn’t possibly admit to anything.

"Haha, not bad. You’re very clever. If I were still alive, I would insist on taking you as my disciple!"

"A pity I’m already nothing but dry bones in a tomb, with only this wisp of a soul barely clinging to existence."

The old skeleton laughed before continuing with deep regret.

"Senior, who are you? How did you end up here?"

Jiang Zuo asked curiously.

"Me? I was once a disciple of Leiyin Temple, by the name of Leichan. But anyone who knew me is likely long gone from this world."

"As for why I’m here... haven’t you noticed that these bones of mine are different from ordinary ones?"

the old skeleton said with a laugh.

At his words, Jiang Zuo took a closer look at the skeleton and was shocked to discover that its bones were covered in faint, black, mystical characters.

The entire skeleton was radiating an inexplicable power.

"The Celestial Demon Power in this forest, the one used for brainwashing... it comes from your bones, Senior?"

Jiang Zuo couldn’t help but be startled.

"That’s right. After I was brainwashed by the Celestial Eye Black Pupil organization, I committed many terrible, unforgivable deeds."

"Even after I broke free from their mind control, I was too ashamed to return to the outside world, so I remained hidden within one of the Celestial Eye Black Pupil’s Secret Realms."

"Then one day, the Celestial Eye Black Pupil held a sacrificial ritual inside the Secret Realm. Afterward, a single drop of Celestial Demon Blood materialized out of thin air."

"At the time, the self-proclaimed Sect Leader of the Immortal Sect wanted to use this Celestial Demon Blood to temporarily achieve a breakthrough and wield power beyond the Manifestation Realm."

"I knew this was my chance for redemption. When no one was paying attention, I lunged forward and seized that drop of Celestial Demon Blood."

"In the end, I was killed, and my entire skeleton was refined into the tool they use for brainwashing."

"But what they didn’t know was that I had already cultivated a Bodhi Relic. A remnant of my soul hid inside it, so I never truly perished."

Leichan recounted slowly.

He had committed many heinous acts while brainwashed, but by sacrificing himself to thwart the Celestial Eye Black Pupil’s plan, he had finally found release, free from his burdens.

"Senior, did you call me over because you have some last words you wish to entrust to me?"

Jiang Zuo asked.

He was inclined to believe Leichan’s story.

If the Celestial Eye Black Pupil had suspected him, they wouldn’t have gone to such elaborate lengths.

"No. The people of my era are long gone, and I have no lingering regrets."

"But I’m overjoyed to have met you, because it means my meager existence these past several thousand years has finally gained some meaning!"

"Though these bones of mine have emanated Celestial Demon Power for thousands of years, I have simultaneously used the Relic I cultivated to slowly condense the World-Purifying Buddha Light, which can dispel that very power!"

"All you have to do is destroy these bones, and you can retrieve my Relic."

"Then, you just need to gather as many people as you can, present the Relic, and the World-Purifying Buddha Light will restore all the brainwashed Cultivators to their senses!"

Leichan said, his voice trembling with excitement.

’The World-Purifying Buddha Light... It can restore everyone to their senses!’

A glint appeared in Jiang Zuo’s eyes as he heard this.

’If I can really do that, escaping this Secret Realm will be much simpler.’

"If I do as you say... what will happen to you, Senior?"

Jiang Zuo asked after a moment of thought.

"I will naturally cease to exist in this world."

"But after lying in this godforsaken place for thousands of years, surely you don’t think I have any attachment left for this world."

𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

"For me, this is merely a release."

Leichan said with a faint laugh.

"Very well. After this junior finds the Spirit Seeds and breaks through to the Divine Body Realm, I will come back for you, Senior."

Jiang Zuo said after a moment of consideration.

’I have no idea if destroying Leichan’s remains will trigger some strange phenomenon,’ he thought. ’There’s no need to rush retrieving the Relic.’

Leaving Leichan behind, Jiang Zuo began searching the surrounding area for the best Spirit Seeds.

’This young man is extraordinary. He heard everything I said, yet he remained completely unmoved.’

’Thousands of years have passed... Which sect could have cultivated such a genius disciple?’

Leichan mused to himself after Jiang Zuo had walked away.

With the help of the Gourmet Innate Spiritual Soil, Jiang Zuo found the Spirit Seeds he needed without much effort.

He already possessed the Cyan Wood Spirit Core and the Phoenix Blood Dried Branch, so he only needed to find Spirit Seeds with metal, earth, and water attributes.

With the assistance of the Gourmet Innate Spiritual Soil, Jiang Zuo eventually found a golden fruit, a piece of ochre-colored bark, and a blue leaf that was icy to the touch.

Then, Jiang Zuo sat down and began circulating his technique to refine the Spirit Seeds.

The process was remarkably similar to when he had established his Dao Foundation.

Jiang Zuo activated five different Cultivation Techniques in succession, refining each of the five Spirit Seeds into a unique stream of Spiritual Qi, which he then absorbed into his body.

Then, as Jiang Zuo watched, these five streams of unique Spiritual Qi descended into his Qi Sea, settling onto their corresponding plots of the Dao Foundation.

After they fused with the Dao Foundation, vast amounts of Spiritual Power above his Qi Sea condensed into rain and began to fall.

Like Pangu splitting heaven and earth, this spiritual rain fell for an unknown length of time.

Finally, within Jiang Zuo’s Qi Sea, five sapling sprouts of different colors broke through the soil on each of the five elemental plots of his Dao Foundation.

The moment they sprouted, a vast, astonishing, and endless torrent of Spiritual Power surged from within them, fusing with Jiang Zuo’s physical body.

In an instant, Jiang Zuo felt his physical body become significantly stronger.

For a normal Cultivator, reaching this stage would have marked a successful breakthrough.

But the changes within Jiang Zuo’s Qi Sea hadn’t stopped.

After breaking through the soil, the five saplings, nourished by the spiritual rain, did not grow straight up as they would for an ordinary Cultivator.

Instead, they all grew diagonally toward the very center of Jiang Zuo’s Qi Sea.

Eventually, the five saplings began to intertwine, weaving around one another as they grew upward.

The moment they intertwined, Jiang Zuo felt a violent tremor run through his body.

His physical body, which had already been strengthened, received another massive boost!

In that moment, Jiang Zuo felt an indestructible sense of solidity from his physical body.

He also felt his Body Freedom Technique, which had been stagnant for a long time, improve dramatically in that same instant.

He was now only a single step away from breaking through to the next stage!

Jiang Zuo felt as if his body contained infinite power. Forget Dao Foundation Cultivators; he felt he could now easily crush even a Divine Body Cultivator.

Previously, when Jiang Zuo cultivated all five elements, he had felt that aside from having a terrifyingly larger amount of Spiritual Power than others, there was nothing particularly special about it.

But now, the true power of cultivating all five elements was finally on display.

Jiang Zuo had the strong feeling that he would now have nothing to fear, even if he were to face a Three Flowers Realm Cultivator.

Opening his eyes, Jiang Zuo exhaled.

He realized he had been in seclusion for over three months to complete this breakthrough.

There were still many Spirit Seeds nearby, and Jiang Zuo didn’t hold back. He let the Gourmet Innate Spiritual Soil feast to its heart’s content while he collected some of the better-quality Spirit Seeds for himself.

Spirit Seeds were not easy to come by in the outside world.

Selling them could fetch a good number of Spirit Stones.

"It seems you have successfully broken through."

"Come. I have waited for this day for far too long."

Leichan spoke the moment Jiang Zuo returned to him.

Jiang Zuo wasted no words. A Spiritual Sword appeared in his hand, and with a single swing, Leichan’s skeleton shattered with a loud CRACK.

A Relic, radiating a sacred light, rolled out from the pile of shattered bones.

Jiang Zuo carefully picked it up and placed it in a separate storage bag.

As for the bones on the ground,

Jiang Zuo thought for a moment, then gathered them up as well, putting them into a storage bag and tossing it into his Pet Beast Spirit Garden.

He wanted to use them for an experiment.

He had Great Black transplant a few Black Lotuses to a corner of the Spirit Garden and then pile these bones at their roots.

The Black Lotuses had been growing in the Pet Beast Spirit Garden for nearly two hundred years but had never bloomed or borne fruit.

Now that he had found these bones, he might as well put them to use.

It would be ideal if they made the Black Lotuses bloom and bear fruit, but it didn’t matter if they didn’t.

If anything strange happened within the Pet Beast Spirit Garden, he could always remove the bones later.

After leaving the Daoist Forest and seeing nothing amiss, Jiang Zuo headed back to his residence.

Although he now possessed the strength and means to leave, and even had rare treasures like the black fat worm and the Buddha Light Relic, Jiang Zuo was in no hurry to depart.

He wanted to continue his dual cultivation with Sikong Bing and wait until he was close to the Perfection stage of the Divine Body Realm. It wouldn’t be too late to leave then.

As for the Secret Realm’s impending collapse, Jiang Zuo knew it wouldn’t happen that quickly.

If the Secret Realm were truly about to be destroyed, it was impossible that the Celestial Eye Black Pupil organization wouldn’t notice.

Jiang Zuo’s ascension to the Divine Body Realm didn’t cause much of a stir in the Secret Realm, but Wei Rulin was, of course, immediately aware of the result.

’Not bad. He’s finally reached the Divine Body Realm.’

’Sikong Bing and Zhou Yong lived together for so many years but failed to produce an heir.’

’Leaving her here will only allow those two to continue indulging in dual cultivation. Send her to the Second Divine Site. Then, find a new Dao companion for Zhou Yong so he can produce an heir sooner.’

’Also, have him put more effort into the Taming Technique for third-rank Spirit Beasts.’

With that, Wei Rulin made arrangements for both Sikong Bing and Zhou Yong.