I'm Just a Beast Tamer

The Blood Qi Avatar was silent and could fly. Cloaked by the night, Sikong Bing didn’t notice it at all.

After her whereabouts were exposed last time, Sikong Bing was being much more careful.

Four months had passed, but it was clear that the targets Sikong Bing selected now had their guard up.

Sikong Bing lurked in a safe, dark place for a long time but was unable to find an opportunity.

In the end, she could only give up and return the way she came.

But as she passed through a patch of woods, a figure suddenly appeared up ahead, seemingly watching her.

Sikong Bing was startled, her heart thrown into a panic. She thought she had walked into an ambush.

Although she was disguised in dark clothing, that would be of no use at this point.

Sikong Bing prepared to fight to the death, but to her surprise, the figure ahead moved its hand, tossing a cloth bag in front of her. Then, without a word, the figure flickered and vanished without a trace.

’What... What does this mean?’

Sikong Bing was utterly bewildered.

After a moment of thought, Sikong Bing picked up the cloth bag from the ground.

’If this person wanted to harm me, they wouldn’t have to go through such trouble. All they’d need to do is make some noise, and I would be completely unable to escape.’

’This is... a Technique that can remove the brainwashing control?’

After taking out the contents of the bag and giving them a quick glance, Sikong Bing’s heart leaped in shock.

’Inside this Secret Realm, there’s someone else besides me who isn’t under the brainwashing’s control!’

’This person knew about my predicament and specifically delivered this Jade Pendant and the Moonlit Night Heart-Purifying Technique to me!’

’Who... could this person be?’

Filled with doubt, Sikong Bing returned to Jiang Zuo’s residence.

The first person she suspected was Jiang Zuo.

Jiang Zuo was arguably the person she had interacted with the most over the years, and the one she was most intimate with.

But after she returned and observed Jiang Zuo’s condition, she shook her head.

Jiang Zuo showed no signs of having woken up from the control, so it couldn’t be him.

’If it’s not him, then who could it be?’

’Someone who was with her in the Alchemy Workshop?’

’But there didn’t seem to be any suspicious candidates.’

After agonizing over it for a long while, Sikong Bing still couldn’t identify a single suspect.

Shaking her head, Sikong Bing stopped dwelling on it.

Under the cover of night, Sikong Bing cultivated the Moonlit Night Heart-Purifying Technique for a while and found that it was indeed effective.

’I still have three years. That should be enough time to break free from the brainwashing control.’

’Since I won’t be controlled, I don’t have to take any more risks for now.’

’First, I’ll advance to the Divine Body Realm. Once I reach the Divine Body Realm, I’ll have a much better chance in a fight, even if I’m exposed.’

Sikong Bing thought to herself.

’By using Dual Cultivation with him, I could even consider reaching the Perfection stage of the Divine Body Realm before I think about how to leave.’

’If I’m lucky, maybe I won’t have to find a way out myself. I might be sent out of the Secret Realm as a Warrior.’

Gazing at Jiang Zuo lying on the bed, even more ideas surfaced in Sikong Bing’s mind.

A threefold cultivation speed was something she would never have again once she returned to the Cultivation World outside.

At three times the speed, it wouldn’t take her long to cultivate to the Perfection of the Divine Body Realm.

Once she reached the Perfection of the Divine Body Realm, few within this Secret Realm would be her match, and her chances of leaving would increase dramatically.

’So, after I completely break free from the brainwashing control, should I give this Jade Pendant and Cultivation Technique to this Zhou Yong?’

After careful consideration, Sikong Bing shook her head.

’This Zhou Yong is a devout, brainwashed believer. If he were to get the Jade Pendant, feel something was amiss, and report me, I’d be finished.’

’Even if I were to give it to him, I would have to wait until my Cultivation reached the late stage of the Divine Body Realm.’

’At that point, even if something unexpected happened, I would have the power to stop him.’

Seeing that it was about time for Jiang Zuo to wake up,

Sikong Bing lay back down on the bed, planning to pretend they had slept together all night.

Jiang Zuo’s words from their last encounter had made her wary, so she intended to make the act as convincing as possible.

But when Jiang Zuo saw her get into bed with her clothes off, he immediately dropped all pretense of politeness.

’She received such a huge favor from me; she ought to give something back in return, right?’

He pretended to have just woken up and then "noticed" Sikong Bing.

Before Sikong Bing could react, Jiang Zuo pulled her underneath him.

Sikong Bing was instantly filled with regret. ’If I’d known this would happen, I never would have gotten on the bed.’

With her worries assuaged, Sikong Bing spent the following days basically just practicing Dual Cultivation with Jiang Zuo.

However, every two months, Sikong Bing would still drug Jiang Zuo.

It wasn’t because she still needed to venture out, but simply to maintain the facade that they were sleeping together.

If Jiang Zuo was in a good mood, he’d pay her no mind and let her knock him out. If he was in a bad mood, he’d skip dinner and have her for his meal instead.

Sikong Bing gradually grew accustomed to this occasional aspect of their relationship.

And so, a year later, Sikong Bing’s Dao Foundation reached the Perfection stage.

After informing Jiang Zuo, Sikong Bing applied to go to the Dao Seed Forest to find a Spirit Seed and attempt a breakthrough.

Four months later, Sikong Bing broke through to the Divine Body Realm.

"Sikong Bing broke through to the Divine Body Realm! Her cultivation speed is a little too fast!"

Wei Rulin received the news at almost the exact same time.

For most brainwashed cultivators, once they reached the Divine Body Realm, their future assignments would be considered.

"She and Zhou Yong are practicing a Dual Cultivation Technique, so it’s normal for her to be a bit faster," a subordinate reported.

"Zhou Yong also said he has been focused on his Cultivation lately. He says he’ll be able to break through to the Divine Body Realm in about seven more years."

For the sake of his Cultivation, Jiang Zuo had neglected his Spirit Beast taming duties for quite some time.

He knew the higher-ups of Celestial Eye Black Pupil wanted him to reach the Divine Body Realm as soon as possible, so he had simply filed a progress report.

"Sikong Bing is an Inner Sect Disciple of the Celestial Sound Sect. It’s not surprising that she knows a Dual Cultivation Technique."

"Zhou Yong will likely need to continue relying on their Dual Cultivation, so for now, let her stay and help him with his Cultivation."

Wei Rulin nodded.

After Sikong Bing reached the Divine Body Realm, the strength of her physical body increased dramatically, as did the amount of time they could sustain their Dual Cultivation sessions.

Previously, their Dual Cultivation sessions could only last for a month at a time.

Now, they could cultivate for nearly three months in a single session.

Not only that, but Jiang Zuo also discovered that his own cultivation speed had noticeably increased again.

He originally needed another seven years to reach the Perfection of his Dao Foundation, but now, he would need less than six.

Sikong Bing was even more astonished to find their cultivation speed had increased yet again.

But she said nothing; she too found such a rapid cultivation speed captivating.

Meanwhile, Jiang Zuo vaguely sensed that Sikong Bing’s attitude toward him seemed to have changed. She no longer seemed to reject him as overtly as she had in the beginning.

After one Dual Cultivation session, Jiang Zuo tried inviting Sikong Bing to a "real" round of dual cultivation. To his surprise, she agreed without much hesitation.

Jiang Zuo didn’t know what Sikong Bing was thinking, but since she was willing, he wasn’t about to force himself to act like a gentleman.

And so, after each three-month Dual Cultivation session concluded, Jiang Zuo and Sikong Bing would engage in a thoroughly satisfying "battle."

As for Sikong Bing, her reasoning was simple.

Her relationship with Jiang Zuo had been initiated entirely by her.

Now that they had a physical relationship, being coy or putting on airs was not in her nature.

Since she planned to continue her Dual Cultivation with Jiang Zuo, this sort of thing was inevitable.

Trying to rely on the drug to maintain the facade was no longer feasible; continuing to use it might lead to her being exposed.

That being the case, she might as well accept it gracefully.

In any case, she had already decided that once she left this place, she would treat it as if none of this had ever happened.

This wasn’t a difficult thing to do. Within the Celestial Sound Sect, there was an Emotion Cutting Technique. With it, all these events could be treated as nothing more than a passing cloud.

Perhaps with this mindset, Sikong Bing let go of many of her inhibitions.

When her "battles" with Jiang Zuo reached a critical point, she would even play along, occasionally provoking his bestial side.

And so, six years passed in a flash.

On this day, after their Dual Cultivation Technique session ended, Jiang Zuo’s Dao Foundation reached the Perfection stage.

Probing inward with his Divine Sense, Jiang Zuo saw a five-colored expanse of land within his Qi Sea, like a majestic mountain range stretching across it.

Jiang Zuo felt a powerful sense that this land was desperate to give birth to some form of life.

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

’As long as I have a Spirit Seed, my path to the Divine Body Realm will be unbelievably smooth!’

A moment like this called for a celebration.

So, Jiang Zuo pulled Sikong Bing over and continued their "dual cultivation."

A long time later, Sikong Bing, dripping with sweat, asked, "Are you getting ready to break through to the Divine Body Realm?"

The two of them had now spent nearly twenty years together, and Sikong Bing could now vaguely discern some of Jiang Zuo’s thoughts.

And after so many years together, they no longer called each other "husband" or "wife."

"Mhm, I’ll go in a bit."

Jiang Zuo nodded.

After another intimate moment with Sikong Bing, he set off for the Dao Seed Forest alone.

’Just how strong will he be, my Dual Cultivation partner, after he breaks through to the Divine Body Realm?’

Sikong Bing wondered to herself as she watched Jiang Zuo’s departing figure.

After all these years together, Sikong Bing could naturally tell that the Cultivation Technique Jiang Zuo practiced was astonishing, and the Dao Foundation he had built must be terrifyingly powerful.

For one thing, in the past six years, she had almost reached the mid-stage of the Divine Body Realm.

Meanwhile, Jiang Zuo had only just reached the Perfection of his Dao Foundation.

Moreover, during her "battles" with Jiang Zuo over the years, Sikong Bing had clearly noticed that her stamina was inferior to his.

And she was a Divine Body Realm Cultivator, a whole major realm above Jiang Zuo.

Yet when it came to physical prowess, she was actually inferior to a Dao Foundation Cultivator.

Sikong Bing already had many doubts in her heart, but she didn’t say anything.

...

「Dao Seed Forest.」

As its name suggested, this was a forest that specialized in producing Spirit Seeds.

Entry into the Dao Seed Forest required an application and prior approval.

Jiang Zuo’s application was approved almost immediately.

Upon entering the Dao Seed Forest, Jiang Zuo immediately sensed that something was amiss.

’Another brainwashing ground. And this time, it’s direct spiritual pressure.’

’No wonder they don’t normally let people in. Anyone who entered rashly without knowing the truth of this place, even someone who had already broken free of the mind control, would be brainwashed again.’

’When Sikong Bing came here, she still had that jade buddha standing guard in her Sea of Consciousness, and she also had the Jade Pendant and the Purifying Heart Technique, so she was able to come out unscathed.’

’But the Spirit Seed she obtained probably wasn’t very good. She couldn’t have lingered here for long.’

’For me, however, this forest’s spiritual pressure is nothing to worry about.’

Jiang Zuo walked silently through the Dao Seed Forest.

He took out the Gourmet Innate Spiritual Soil, intending to use it to judge the quality of the Spirit Seeds.

Celestial Eye Black Pupil had placed an unknown number of Spirit Seeds within the Dao Seed Forest.

When Jiang Zuo noticed that the spiritual pressure grew stronger the deeper he went, he knew that the best Spirit Seeds must be in the very depths of the forest.

The Celestial Eye Black Pupil organization clearly didn’t consider aptitude when bestowing Spirit Seeds, only loyalty.

Anyone who could make it to the deepest part of the forest, even if they weren’t particularly loyal to begin with, would be brainwashed into a devout believer by the time they arrived.

"Oh? Someone actually made it this far?"

Jiang Zuo had walked to the deepest part of the Dao Seed Forest.

But before he could find a Spirit Seed, an old man’s voice suddenly spoke.