I'm Just a Beast Tamer

A system notification appeared. The Fire Phoenix Egg fell into Jiang Zuo’s hands. At the last moment, the Fire Phoenix Feather that had flown out flashed with light and merged into the Fire Phoenix Egg.

Jiang Zuo didn’t notice these details at the moment. He stared at the notification before him, finding it hard to stay calm.

A Fire Phoenix! 3,000 Beast Soul Power! A Tier-5 Beast Pattern!

Even someone like Jiang Zuo couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement upon seeing these things.

The 3,000 Beast Soul Power, in particular, was an incredibly rare find!

It was far more than all the Beast Soul Power he had painstakingly collected in the past combined.

’Now I have enough Beast Soul Power for Great Black’s third bloodline enhancement, and Xiaoqing can undergo its first one too.’

𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Jiang Zuo was thrilled.

Great Black’s third bloodline enhancement required three hundred Beast Soul Power. Xiaoqing was even more terrifying—its first enhancement alone would cost one thousand.

Xiaoqing could be enhanced immediately, but Great Black still needed the blood of a Tier-2 Mutated Spirit Beast.

However, Jiang Zuo didn’t know how long Xiaoqing’s bloodline enhancement would take. He had no intention of doing it inside the Phoenix Blood Secret Realm, lest some accident occur.

While Jiang Zuo was still excited about his gains, an angry, low cry came from the Black Giant Fish in the distance.

It also knew the Fire Phoenix Egg inside the Array was a treasure. Seeing Jiang Zuo take it away, it became enraged.

Jiang Zuo chuckled, not bothering to engage with it. With a flash of movement, he swam directly back to the shore, leaving the Black Giant Fish roaring furiously in the lake.

’This Fire Phoenix Egg originally didn’t have enough accumulated energy to hatch. But just now, as the lingering will of the Fire Phoenix Feather dissipated, the Phoenix Power contained within the feather also merged into the egg.’

’With this power, I feel like the Fire Phoenix Egg will be able to hatch after some time.’

Jiang Zuo felt the Fire Phoenix Egg in his hand, a pleasant surprise washing over him.

He had initially wondered why the Fire Phoenix Egg was placed inside an Array in the Phoenix Blood Secret Realm.

Now, he had a good idea of the reason.

The Fire Phoenix Egg was undoubtedly found by the ancestor of the Phoenix Feather Sword Pavilion. However, during the great war beyond the heavens, the egg wasn’t actually ready to be laid. The Fire Phoenix, facing death, was forced to lay it prematurely.

The Phoenix Feather Sword Pavilion’s ancestor obtained the Fire Phoenix Egg and, knowing it couldn’t hatch, set up an Array in the Phoenix Blood Secret Realm to let the egg slowly nurture itself and absorb the phoenix blood power within the realm over the ages.

If Jiang Zuo hadn’t possessed that Fire Phoenix Feather, he wouldn’t have been able to hatch the Fire Phoenix Egg anytime soon, even after obtaining it.

But the residual power on the Fire Phoenix Feather had fundamentally replenished the Fire Phoenix Egg’s origin essence.

It could be said that Jiang Zuo had lucked into a massive windfall.

The ancestor of the Phoenix Feather Sword Pavilion had likely laid this plan more than ten thousand years ago, intending it as a boon for the Sword Pavilion. In the end, it was Jiang Zuo who benefited.

But Jiang Zuo felt no guilt about accepting this windfall.

The Fire Phoenix Feather could be considered the Fire Phoenix Egg’s mother. He had been entrusted by the mother to find her offspring.

It was only natural that it belonged to him after he found it!

’A Tier-5 Beast Pattern, Bloodbath Rebirth.’

After stowing the Fire Phoenix Egg, Jiang Zuo looked again at the Tier-5 Beast Pattern.

’It’s just as the description said, a bit like Phoenix Nirvana.’

’But if this were a Phoenix Nirvana Beast Pattern, it would definitely be higher than Tier-5.’

’Although Bloodbath Rebirth has a similar effect to Phoenix Nirvana, it’s actually much inferior.’

’Bloodbath Rebirth consumes the power of an Ancient Bloodline. While the user becomes stronger, it also means the potential of their Ancient Bloodline is basically exhausted.’

’Without the power of an Ancient Bloodline, even if you still have the Blood Rebirth Beast Pattern, you can’t activate the Bloodbath Rebirth effect again.’

’Compared to Phoenix Nirvana, which allows for repeated rebirths, each one making you stronger, this is leagues behind.’

’Still, Bloodbath Rebirth is an extremely powerful ability. It’s like giving a Pet Beast an extra life. If necessary, you could even intentionally get injured to trigger Bloodbath Rebirth, activate the effect of the Ancient Bloodline, and achieve a breakthrough.’

’And for me, it’s even more important.’

’If I can fully comprehend this Beast Pattern, I should be able to gain at least one Character Formula for rapid injury recovery!’

Jiang Zuo gazed at the Blood Rebirth Beast Pattern, a flurry of thoughts flashing through his mind.

The prospect of studying this Tier-5 Beast Pattern was extremely tempting to him.

But when he thought about how many Cultivation Techniques he had to practice, leaving him with very little time to study Beast Patterns, Jiang Zuo couldn’t help but sigh.

His Blood Qi Avatar could help with minor tasks, and even assist in practicing some low-tier Magic.

But it couldn’t help with his own Cultivation and Enlightenment.

He could only take it one step at a time and worry about the rest later.

It was a frustrating problem to have—too many good things on his hands.

’Next, I’ll go get the Fire Element Spiritual Soil and the Fire Element Spirit Seed first. Everything else can wait!’

With a flash of movement, Jiang Zuo headed toward the entrance point of the Phoenix Feather Sword Pavilion in the Phoenix Blood Secret Realm.

The Sword Dao inheritance, the Divine Sword—Jiang Zuo wasn’t particularly interested in any of it.

Their appeal was nothing compared to the Fire Element Spiritual Soil and Spirit Seed.

According to Nangong Daoist Lord, it was highly likely that a rather high-quality Fire Element Spiritual Soil had already formed in the Phoenix Blood Secret Realm.

The Phoenix Blood Secret Realm opened once every sixty years, and only five disciples at the Perfection stage of Qi Cultivation could obtain Fire Element Spiritual Soil as a reward after passing a talent assessment.

But during the eight hundred-odd years that the Phoenix Blood Order was lost, no disciples from the Sword Pavilion had been able to enter and obtain the Fire Element Spiritual Soil.

After such a long time, a high-quality Fire Element Spiritual Soil should have formed.

But in the thousands or even tens of thousands of years that followed, no disciple from the Phoenix Feather Sword Pavilion was ever seen obtaining an exceptionally top-grade Fire Element Spiritual Soil.

Nangong Daoist Lord believed that as time went on, the requirements for a disciple to be rewarded with that Fire Element Spiritual Soil became increasingly stringent.

Eventually, it led to a situation where no one could obtain that top-grade Spiritual Soil.

After all, according to the rules set by the Phoenix Feather Sword Pavilion’s ancestor, if an exceptionally outstanding Spiritual Soil was produced but the disciple undergoing the assessment failed to meet the requirements, the best Spiritual Soil would be withheld until the next session.

Normally, if the Secret Realm hadn’t been inaccessible for eight hundred years, this kind of situation would have occurred only occasionally, given the talent of the disciples recruited by the Phoenix Feather Sword Pavilion.

But that eight-hundred-year gap had caused a massive, unforeseen change in the ancestor’s rules.

Jiang Zuo possessed a Five Elements Spirit Body; when it came to talent, he feared no one.

Besides, Jiang Zuo had a way to cheat.

The Fire Phoenix Egg!

Soon, Jiang Zuo arrived before a wide, open bluestone plaza.

The moment Jiang Zuo stepped onto the plaza, he sensed a massive Array beneath the bluestone.

The core of the Array was the ancient, tall stone stele in the center of the plaza.

Knowing the Array under his feet was used to condense and form Fire Element Spiritual Soil, Jiang Zuo strode toward the tall stone stele.

This kind of stele was almost identical to the one he had encountered in the Bu Family’s Blood Mist Forest, only much larger.

Arriving before the tall stone stele, Jiang Zuo held the Fire Phoenix Egg, circulated his Nine Flames Reincarnation Technique, and reached out to touch the stele.

As Jiang Zuo’s palm landed, the stone stele immediately erupted in a brilliant, blood-red light.

Following that, a piece of Spiritual Soil saturated with a dense, blood-colored aura flew out from the top of the tall stele and landed in Jiang Zuo’s hand.

’This doesn’t look like Innate Fire Element Spiritual Soil. Could it be Phoenix Blood Spiritual Soil?’

Jiang Zuo couldn’t help but speculate as he looked at the blood-colored Spiritual Soil in his hand.

He didn’t know which was better, Phoenix Blood Spiritual Soil or Innate Fire Element Spiritual Soil.

But Innate Fire Element Spiritual Soil was a treasure one could only stumble upon by chance, not seek out. Jiang Zuo hadn’t been fixated on obtaining it.

Getting this piece of Phoenix Blood Spiritual Soil now saved him the trouble of having to find one when he reached the Perfection stage of Qi Cultivation.

If he had to search then, it would be difficult to find even Spiritual Soil on par with this Phoenix Blood Spiritual Soil.

’I’ve got the Fire Element Spiritual Soil. The Fire Element Spirit Seed is on Luofeng Mountain, adjacent to the Sword Tomb.’

’I’m not in a hurry for the Fire Element Spirit Seed. I’ll swing by the Sword Dao Inheritance Stele first, since it’s on the way.’

Jiang Zuo thought.

The Sword Dao Inheritance Stele was another boon for the Sword Pavilion disciples who entered the Secret Realm.

As long as one had Sword Talent and gained the recognition of the Inheritance Stele, they could receive a Sword Dao inheritance.

The assessment was simple and not dangerous. It was basically over in a short while and wouldn’t waste any time.

Soon, in a grassy field, Jiang Zuo spotted a tall, grayish-white stone stele from a distance.

Unlike the stele in the plaza, this grayish-white one had a massive sword mark on it.

The stele looked as if it had been struck horizontally by a giant sword, almost cleaved in two.

As Jiang Zuo drew slightly closer, he felt a powerful Sword Intent wash over him.

The closer he got to the stele, the stronger the Sword Intent he felt.

Someone without a certain level of strength wouldn’t even be able to get near the stele.

However, within the intense Sword Intent radiating from it, Jiang Zuo could clearly sense several small paths where the Sword Intent was not as strong.

Even if someone was weak, as long as they could find these paths, they could approach the stele.

It seemed these small paths were part of the assessment for one’s aptitude in the Sword Dao.

Jiang Zuo thought for a moment and decided to follow the path with the weakest Sword Intent.

Although this path had the weakest Sword Intent, it was also the hardest to find.

The Sword Dao Stele was surrounded by a large grassy field. Jiang Zuo meandered through the grass for a while before finally arriving in front of the stele.

In front of the Sword Dao Stele were several stone prayer mats.

He summoned Xiaoqing and Great Black and had them stand guard.

Only then did Jiang Zuo sit down on the stone mat at the head of the path.

Then, Jiang Zuo felt himself enter a blank, white space.

He was sitting on the ground, and before him lay five Five-Colored Iron Swords.

Across from him stood an old man with the air of a sagely immortal.

The old man waved his hand, and the Five-Colored Iron Swords flew up from the ground, circling around him.

The old man’s figure flickered, and the Five-Colored Iron Swords danced up and down in unison.

Jiang Zuo vaguely sensed that the dancing iron swords were demonstrating the mysteries of various Sword Techniques.

Even though Jiang Zuo had already opened his Sea of Consciousness and his Divine Sense was not weak, he started to feel dizzy after watching for only a short while.

He didn’t know when, but the old man had finished his demonstration, and the Five-Colored Iron Swords landed once again in front of Jiang Zuo.

Jiang Zuo knew it was his turn to demonstrate.

With a thought from his Divine Sense, Jiang Zuo also waved his hand like the old man, and the Five-Colored Iron Swords all flew up from the ground.

However, Jiang Zuo only managed to clumsily imitate the old man and flourish the Five-Colored Iron Swords a few times before his Divine Sense gave out.

His vision blurred, and he found himself back outside the stele.

"Looks like I don’t have much Sword Talent," Jiang Zuo muttered.

If it were a matter of Five Elements aptitude, he feared no one.

But as for Sword Talent, that was another story.

He was just about to leave when he suddenly realized that a Sword Dao inheritance seemed to have appeared in his mind.