I'm Just a Beast Tamer

The shadowy young man knew there was no way Jiang Zuo could escape. He didn’t spare Jiang Zuo a glance, merely casting a look at the great cultivator of the Manifestation Realm who was rushing over from Sword Casting Manor. Before the man could arrive, the youth’s figure vanished on the wind.

The great cultivator from Sword Casting Manor arrived, but he was a step too late.

"Manor Master Ou!"

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Several cultivators in the crowd recognized the great cultivator and bowed respectfully.

Sword Casting Manor had only one great cultivator of the Manifestation Realm: Manor Master Ou Tielin.

Ou Fanghai also looked quite sturdy, but he paled in comparison to Ou Tielin.

Ou Tielin was built like an iron tower, and his body radiated a scorching aura.

Even from several hundred meters away, some of the younger cultivators with lower cultivation levels could feel scorching waves of heat constantly washing over them.

This phenomenon occurred because Ou Tielin had abruptly halted his cultivation to rush over.

The mere residual power emanating from him was more than an ordinary cultivator could bear.

One could only imagine how terrifying it would be if he were to unleash his full power.

Ou Tielin merely nodded to the cultivators before striding over to Jiang Zuo’s side.

"Manor Master Ou, please, take a look at my disciple! What’s happened to him?"

Luo Taidong said anxiously.

If there was anyone present who could save Jiang Zuo, it had to be Ou Tielin.

Jiang Zuo’s eyes were shut tight. He sat cross-legged on the ground, a faint black gas emanating from his body.

Chains of black runes had appeared on his skin.

Jiang Zuo was unaware that a Great Power of the Manifestation Realm had arrived. His entire consciousness was focused inward.

Once he was struck by the black light and realized it wasn’t an instantly fatal spell, Jiang Zuo calmed down considerably.

His lifespan was, in theory, nearly infinite, and he had even escaped the chains of the Celestial Eye Black Pupil in the past.

He cultivated the Cyan Wood Nirvana Skill, and he had the Mysterious Stele in his Sea of Consciousness to rely on.

As long as it wasn’t instant death, no matter what kind of situation he encountered, Jiang Zuo was confident he could handle it.

’This black light is composed of three types of power.’

’A peculiar Divine Sense Power, an incredibly potent High-Tier Spiritual Power, and a special Power of Imprisonment.’

’Now, my Sea of Consciousness, Qi Sea, and physical body are all filled with these three powers.’

’Anyone else would have been completely crippled by these three powers.’

’It wouldn’t matter how high their cultivation was or how strong their body and Divine Sense were.’

’But my situation is different...’

Jiang Zuo carefully assessed his condition.

In his Sea of Consciousness, the Mysterious Stele was anchored in the very center. Although the foreign power occupied most of his Sea of Consciousness, the core of it remained empty.

Furthermore, the world of his visualization was also unaffected.

Simply put, aside from the addition of a powerful, foreign Divine Sense Power, his Sea of Consciousness was functioning as usual.

He could still use his Divine Sense, and his Meditation Cultivation would not be a problem.

This wasn’t the first time Jiang Zuo had encountered such a situation.

When Wu Zhonghai of the Divine Wood Sect had tried to possess him, the situation had been quite similar.

The only difference was that this foreign Divine Sense Power was far stronger than Wu Zhonghai’s meager Divine Soul.

So, just like before, this gave Jiang Zuo another way to train his Spiritual Power.

Next was the Qi Sea.

Jiang Zuo’s astonishingly vast Qi Sea was now also filled with the black power.

This black power was trying to invade and corrode Jiang Zuo’s Dao Foundation and the saplings growing within it.

However, whether it was because his Dao Foundation was simply too vast or because he possessed a Five Elements Spirit Body, the power’s corrosive effect was minimal.

And the five small, intertwined saplings were emitting a faint light of their own.

Upon closer inspection, this light was a swirling, interwoven glow of the five elements.

Although faint, this five-element light kept the black power at bay, preventing it from advancing another inch.

His Dao Foundation was largely unaffected, as was his Divine Body.

In other words, Jiang Zuo could still cultivate and use his Spiritual Power.

However, it was unlikely he could cultivate normally.

The reason was simple: the black light contained an incredibly potent Spiritual Power, and his body was saturated with it.

Until he depleted this foreign Spiritual Power, he would be unable to absorb any more into his body through cultivation.

However, after seeing the situation with his physical body, Jiang Zuo found a solution.

His physical body was actually the most affected.

The black light had formed chains that were woven throughout his very flesh.

In this state, a person would normally be unable to use their physical strength. No matter how powerful their body, they would be reduced to the level of an ordinary person.

However, Jiang Zuo had a faint feeling that these chains weren’t completely binding.

He made a small attempt to cultivate the Body Freedom Technique and discovered that he could seemingly snap the black chains with just a little effort.

That meant he could cultivate the Body Freedom Technique, strengthening his physical body while simultaneously consuming the uncontrollable Spiritual Power within him.

’This... Is this a blessing in disguise? A shortcut to cultivating the Body Freedom Technique?’

Even back in the Secret Realm, Jiang Zuo had been thinking about cultivating the Body Freedom Technique to increase his physical strength.

The Five Elements Yin Yang Skill he practiced placed extreme demands on one’s physical body. If his body wasn’t strong enough, it would be impossible to withstand the simultaneous practice of five different Cultivation Techniques.

After advancing to the Divine Body Realm, Jiang Zuo could already feel that his physical strength was insufficient.

Without improving his physical strength, he could not continue to progress in the Five Elements Yin Yang Skill.

Having grown accustomed to a cultivation speed several times faster than normal, how could he possibly bear returning to a regular pace?

But cultivating the Body Freedom Technique required vast amounts of Spiritual Power to temper the body, an extremely time-consuming and laborious process.

Now, with so much excess foreign Spiritual Power in his body, things had suddenly become much simpler.

...

While Jiang Zuo was still meditating and inspecting his internal condition, Ou Tielin walked over and carefully examined his state.

"These are a form of Daoist Shackles, forged by refining the dark, negative essence of an entire Secret Realm’s creatures and Spiritual Objects. They have the effect of binding one’s Spiritual Power, sealing one’s Divine Soul, and imprisoning one’s flesh!"

"A pity. This young man’s path on the Dao is severed. He is beyond saving. Even the legendary Divine Doctor Lu could do nothing for him."

Ou Tielin said regretfully, looking at the chains of black runes on Jiang Zuo’s body.

With that, he departed in a flash, not waiting for Luo Taidong to say a word.

Daoist Shackles!

Luo Taidong’s heart trembled.

Ou Tielin’s subsequent words, in particular, caused his heart to sink into the abyss.

"Daoist Shackles!"

"His body, Divine Sense, and Spiritual Power are all sealed. That’s a death sentence!"

"Well, what else would you expect from something called Daoist Shackles?"

"The Celestial Eye Black Pupil is so shameless! A great cultivator of the Manifestation Realm stooping to personally take revenge on a mere Divine Body Realm cultivator!"

"The Black Tortoise Dao Sect finally produces a genius, and he gets crippled just like that."

The surrounding cultivators murmured amongst themselves as they looked at Jiang Zuo, from whom a faint black gas was still emanating.

Just a moment ago, they had been marveling at the monstrous genius the Black Tortoise Dao Sect had produced, certain its rise was imminent.

Who would have thought fate could be so cruel? In the blink of an eye, that same monstrous genius had been crippled.

"At least he’s still alive," someone sighed. "All those disciples from the other sects who didn’t make it out of the Secret Realm are dead."

Many people fell silent at these words.

"Celestial Eye Black Pupil... they truly live up to their reputation as an Ancient Evil Cultivation Organization. To commit such an act that angers both gods and men, they are truly ruthless!"

"An Evil Cultivation Organization like that should have been wiped from the face of the earth long ago!"

"That’s right! From this day forward, I declare myself an irreconcilable enemy of the Evil Cultivators of Celestial Eye Black Pupil!"

For a moment, cries to denounce Celestial Eye Black Pupil rose from all around.

However, most cultivators knew that seeking revenge on Celestial Eye Black Pupil was easier said than done.

The reason Celestial Eye Black Pupil was so brazen and acted with such impunity was that they were confident in their hiding place within some unknown, abandoned Secret Realm, fearing no one.

Having figured out his own situation, Jiang Zuo breathed a sigh of relief and let his Divine Sense return to the outside world.

As he listened to the surrounding discussions, an idea sparked in his mind.

’Although I was in some danger, this has turned out to be a blessing in disguise.’

’More importantly, for a long time to come, unless I expose my true strength again, no one will think of targeting me.’

’After all, my path on the Dao is supposedly severed, and my Spiritual Power, body, and Divine Sense are all sealed.’

’If I were to get into a fight, I’d be only slightly stronger than an ordinary person, perhaps not even a match for someone at the Qi Cultivation stage.’

’Few people would be willing to offend the Black Tortoise Dao Sect over someone like me.’

At this thought, Jiang Zuo felt a wave of relief.

"Junior Brother, are you... Are you okay?"

Seeing Jiang Zuo open his eyes, Yu Ying asked anxiously.

He had subconsciously started to ask if Jiang Zuo was alright, but feeling the question was inappropriate, he quickly rephrased it.

Luo Taidong stood to the side, his expression even more complicated as he looked at Jiang Zuo.

The past few hours had felt like a journey from heaven to hell for him.

"I’m fine. Let’s go back to our room before we talk."

Jiang Zuo worried that if he stayed any longer, he might accidentally reveal a flaw in his act. It was best to leave as soon as possible.

With the Secret Realm destroyed and over six hundred disciples from various sects dead, the surrounding cultivators were in utter chaos.

Ou Fanghai was too preoccupied to attend to them. In the end, the ones who followed Jiang Zuo back to his room were Luo Taidong and Yu Ying.

The Little Monk Lingxu and Ou Mingquan, a disciple from Sword Casting Manor, also came along.

"Brother Zhou, please don’t give up so soon. My master should arrive in two or three days. I have Master Leichan’s Relic with me. When my master gets here, there might be a way to remove these Daoist Shackles."

The Little Monk Lingxu said earnestly.

"My Master Ou said the same thing," Ou Mingquan nodded and added. "He said you shouldn’t be in a hurry to leave, Junior Brother Zhou. Many esteemed seniors will be visiting Sword Casting Manor in the coming days. Perhaps one of them will have a solution."

The hope was slim, but perhaps a way could be found to mitigate the effects.

「Meanwhile, in another room.」

"Senior Sister Zhao, is there really nothing that can be done about the Daoist Shackles on Zhou Yong?"

"I remember our sect has all sorts of unique Dual Cultivation Techniques. Isn’t there some Magic Skill that could alleviate his condition?"

Sikong Bing asked, unwilling to give up hope as she looked at another young female cultivator.

"Junior Sister Si, I know you have a kind heart. But no matter how powerful the Dual Cultivation Techniques of our Celestial Sound Sect are, they aren’t omnipotent."

"Manor Master Ou already said that not even Divine Doctor Lu could save him. He’s incurable. You should just give up."

Senior Sister Zhao said coolly.

...

After lingering in Jiang Zuo’s room for a while, Luo Taidong and the others left one by one, leaving Jiang Zuo to rest alone.

Once he was alone, Jiang Zuo silently began to circulate the Body Freedom Technique to confirm his suspicions.

As he circulated the Body Freedom Technique, the black chains on his body snapped one after another with a series of muffled CRACKS.

The potent, foreign Spiritual Power began to circulate along with the technique, tempering Jiang Zuo’s body.

Jiang Zuo cultivated for the entire night.

’The effects of this Spiritual Power are a bit too good!’

Jiang Zuo did a quick check and found that the results of a single night of cultivation had far exceeded his expectations.

However, as soon as Jiang Zuo stopped cultivating,

the black power within him once again formed chains of black runes across his body,

making it look as though nothing had changed at all.