I'm Just a Beast Tamer

Jiang Zuo returned to Taihao Peak with the little fox.

Yu Subai and Bu Yuehua followed along as well.

However, after a brief tour of Taihao Peak, they both departed.

The grand ceremony was approaching, so Luo Taidong also left to attend to other matters.

The entirety of Taihao Peak was, as usual, left with only Jiang Zuo and his pack of Spirit Beasts.

The little snow-white fox curiously sized up Jiang Zuo. Its large, nimble, and intelligent eyes made it clear that it was quite smart.

Jiang Zuo stroked the little fox’s soft fur, then called over Great Black, Xiaoqing, and his other Spirit Beasts to play with it.

Yu Subai had asked him to look after the little fox, and the creature did indeed have some issues.

However, that wasn’t the real reason Yu Subai had sought him out.

Just now at the villa, Yu Subai had sent him a voice transmission, telling him that someone had infiltrated the Black Tortoise Dao Sect to steal this little fox.

She had entrusted the little fox to Jiang Zuo’s care to lure that person out.

The Black Tortoise Dao Sect and Luo Taidong were already aware of this matter, and she had made preparations with the sect.

Jiang Zuo just needed to look after the little fox as he normally would, without worrying about any danger.

Jiang Zuo recalled what Luo Taidong had told him on the way over. After a moment of thought, he agreed.

’Using this little fox as bait to draw the snake from its hole... I really am the most suitable candidate.’

’Besides, since both the sect and Luo Taidong have approved this, the situation is probably not that simple.’

’Given my current state, whoever is lured out is unlikely to pay me any mind. The chances of me running into danger are low.’

Nevertheless, Jiang Zuo silently made his own preparations.

’An agreement is an agreement, but I don’t plan on getting too close to this fox.’

’If danger strikes, I’ll just have to apologize to it.’

’But then again, what kind of bloodline does this little fox have?’

’Someone is actually willing to risk making a move inside the Black Tortoise Dao Sect to steal it?’

’And I’m hiding on Taihao Peak, which is protected by an Array.’

’Although the Array can’t compare to the sect’s grand Array, it’s not so easily broken.’

’The price to quickly breach Taihao Peak’s Array, in particular, would be considerable.’

’A single misstep could mean losing both the prize and one’s life.’

’Is this little fox really that valuable?’

Jiang Zuo glanced at the little fox, a bit puzzled.

The little fox was probably a Tier 2 Spirit Beast, a little over ten years old.

No matter how he looked at it, its bloodline seemed quite ordinary.

At first, the little fox was very wary of Great Black and Xiaoqing when they appeared, but after sensing their friendliness, it happily started playing with them.

Shaking his head, Jiang Zuo instructed Great Black and the others not to take the little fox too far. Then, he settled his mind and resumed his research on Talismans.

Time passed, and soon it was the middle of the night.

Although most Cultivators didn’t need to sleep at night, many things were still inconvenient to do after dark.

By midnight, the bustling Black Tortoise Dao Sect had quieted down considerably.

「VIP Guest Villa.」

"Senior Sister Yu, Saint Heir Qiao Dingfeng of the Jasper Pool Immortal Sect is here to see you!"

Bu Yuehua entered the room and spoke respectfully to Yu Subai, who was meditating with her eyes closed.

"Qiao Dingfeng? They really found someone I can’t refuse to see."

"I understand. Please show Young Master Qiao to the main hall."

Yu Subai chuckled softly.

In the Jasper Pool Immortal Sect, whenever a disciple of supreme talent appeared, they had a chance to be chosen as the current generation’s Holy Son and Saintess.

As this generation’s Saint Heir, Qiao Dingfeng’s aptitude was naturally astonishing.

Like Yu Subai, he had already reached the late Dao Fruit Realm in his early three hundreds.

This time, he was also representing the Jasper Pool Immortal Sect, attending Gu Yunkui’s promotion ceremony at the Black Tortoise Dao Sect.

Since he had come to visit, Yu Subai couldn’t easily refuse him.

Otherwise, she might offend Qiao Dingfeng and the Jasper Pool Immortal Sect.

Although the Jasper Pool Immortal Sect wouldn’t retaliate against the Spirit Seal Sect over something like this, they might kick them while they were down somewhere down the line, should the Spirit Seal Sect ever find itself in peril.

"Fairy Yu, it’s been a long time. Compared to a few years ago, you’ve become even more ethereal."

Qiao Dingfeng was as handsome as a jade tree in the wind, his every move exuding an air of elegance and nonchalance.

Moreover, he possessed outstanding talent and a profound Cultivation. Countless beautiful female Cultivators secretly cast flirtatious glances his way, hoping to become his Dao partner.

But Qiao Dingfeng had no interest in ordinary women; he remained completely unmoved by the many beauties who threw themselves at him.

Later, he heard that Fairy Yu of the Spirit Seal Sect was, like him, considered one of the monstrous geniuses most likely to break through to the Manifestation Realm.

At first, Qiao Dingfeng was rather dismissive. After all, with his talent, how could there possibly be anyone in the world who could compare to him?

Until one day, he met Yu Subai and was instantly thunderstruck by her heavenly beauty. He felt that this woman was fated to be with him, that she was destined to be his Dao partner—a match made in heaven.

Unfortunately, Yu Subai remained completely unmoved by his various hints, acting as if she hadn’t noticed them at all.

Qiao Dingfeng finally cast aside his pride and pursued her openly, but Yu Subai rejected him without a shred of hesitation, stating clearly that her heart was set on the Great Dao and she had no time for matters between men and women.

Qiao Dingfeng, of course, did not give up. On the contrary, he felt that this made Yu Subai all the more worthy of his pursuit.

If she were too easy to win over, Yu Subai would be no different from any of those ordinary female cultivators.

And so, whenever he had the chance, Qiao Dingfeng would appear before Yu Subai to try and win her favor.

Originally, Qiao Dingfeng hadn’t known Yu Subai was at the Black Tortoise Dao Sect. When he found out that evening, he had immediately rushed over in high spirits.

"Young Master Qiao, you flatter me. What brings you to see me so late at night?"

Yu Subai said with a faint smile.

She had already rejected Qiao Dingfeng, and although he hadn’t given up, he still tried to win her favor every time he saw her.

But Qiao Dingfeng had never used his status as the Jasper Pool Immortal Sect’s Saint Heir to do anything untoward. From beginning to end, he had always maintained a gentlemanly demeanor.

Therefore, while Yu Subai found Qiao Dingfeng troublesome, she never embarrassed him.

"This... wasn’t it you, Fairy Yu, who invited me here?"

Qiao Dingfeng froze upon hearing her words.

"I invited you?" Yu Subai’s eyes narrowed.

"That’s right. A female cultivator from the Spirit Seal Sect just brought me a formal invitation, saying that you had something to discuss with me, Fairy Yu."

Qiao Dingfeng nodded. He extended his hand and produced a formal invitation.

However, before Yu Subai could take it for a look, the invitation suddenly released a pale yellow light.

The pale yellow light instantly enveloped the entire villa.

"This is... an Imprisonment Technique?"

Qiao Dingfeng’s expression changed abruptly.

At this point, how could he not understand that he had been used?

Normally, it would be impossible to trick him like this.

But right now, he was in the Black Tortoise Dao Sect, which was filled with people from various sects and even had a great Cultivator at the Manifestation Realm like Gu Yunkui. He had assumed no one would dare cause trouble.

And when he saw that the messenger was from the Spirit Seal Sect and that Yu Subai wanted to discuss something with him, he had let his guard down and been exploited.

"Fine! Just fine! I’d like to see who’s so bold as to play me for a fool!"

Qiao Dingfeng was inwardly furious, and his face turned cold.

In the instant before Qiao Dingfeng took out the invitation and activated the Imprisonment Technique...

「Taihao Peak.」

Jiang Zuo had been practicing with his Talismans.

But suddenly, he felt the Array on Taihao Peak tremble violently.

The Array, which should have been able to withstand several attacks from a Dao Fruit Realm Cultivator, was shattered in an instant!

A chill went down Jiang Zuo’s spine. He shot to his feet, realizing that the person Yu Subai mentioned had been lured over by the little fox.

The little fox was just outside, not far from him.

Jiang Zuo ignored the little fox and spread his Divine Sense, searching for the intruder.

Almost at the same moment the Array broke, a figure first locked onto the little fox, then shot forward like a phantom, intending to seize it.

’A Dao Fruit Realm Cultivator!’

Jiang Zuo was horrified when he detected the intruder with his Divine Sense.

The attacker was actually a Dao Fruit Realm Cultivator!

’The Black Tortoise Dao Sect isn’t a place a Dao Fruit Realm Cultivator can just sneak into.’

’Especially since I only brought the fox back this afternoon, and this person found the opportunity to strike tonight.’

’This means the attacker is one of the guests who came for the ceremony.’

’And they probably have quite a few accomplices.’

If it had been a Three Flowers Realm Cultivator, Jiang Zuo might have considered trying to intercept them to prevent the little fox from being captured.

But against a Dao Fruit Realm Cultivator, Jiang Zuo had no intention of throwing his life away.

’If Yu Subai and the sect don’t have other arrangements, then they can’t blame me for being powerless.’

The Dao Fruit Realm Cultivator, for their part, had no intention of paying Jiang Zuo any mind, focused solely on capturing the little fox.

However, when the attacker was still about halfway to the little fox, a cold voice rang out.

"Hmph! I wonder who Your Excellency might be?"

"A dignified Dao Fruit Realm Cultivator, causing trouble under a mask and breaking my sect’s Array... I’ll have to ask you to stay and offer an explanation!"

An old man appeared silently, blocking the intruder’s path.

"Yin Zhongkun! Hmph, it seems you were indeed prepared, just waiting for me to walk into your trap."

The intruder said in a hoarse voice, making it impossible to identify them.

Seeing Second Elder Yin Zhongkun make a move, Jiang Zuo couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

’It seems the sect was prepared after all. Elder Yin Zhongkun must have been hiding on Taihao Peak this whole time.’

"It’s good that you know. Surrender now! Since I am here, you have no chance of succeeding!"

Yin Zhongkun said flatly.

With a flick of his hand, he was already casting Magic at the intruder as he spoke.

"Heh heh, I wouldn’t be so sure!"

But the intruder seemed to have anticipated this, their movements even faster than Yin Zhongkun’s.

A Talisman was suddenly activated, and an inexplicable pressure instantly descended upon the surrounding few miles.

"What kind of Talisman is this?"

In that instant, Yin Zhongkun felt as if he were trapped in a mire, his movements becoming extremely sluggish.

But the crucial thing was that the person opposite him seemed unaffected.

Only a moment passed before Yin Zhongkun returned to normal, but by then, the intruder had already bypassed him and arrived in front of the little fox.

「VIP Guest Villa.」

"This Magic is interesting. Even I couldn’t detect anything unusual."

"But if they think they can trap me with this, they’re dreaming."

When the Magic from the invitation appeared, Yu Subai showed no sign of panic, as if she had expected it.

After a faint smile, she produced a Talisman, and a void-like rift appeared before her.

Yu Subai took one step into it, and her figure vanished from before Qiao Dingfeng’s eyes.

"Void Shifting?"

Seeing this, Qiao Dingfeng’s expression changed drastically.

He considered his own talent to be no weaker than Yu Subai’s, but he possessed no such astonishing ability!

「Taihao Peak.」

Just as the intruder was only a dozen or so meters from the little fox—truly just a single step away...

Yu Subai strolled out from the void!