His gaze lowered slightly, his face dark as he stared fixedly at Su He and muttered, "Neither a demonized beast nor a mutated beast. This is a divine beast!"
At the very least, it possessed a Divine Beast Bloodline.
Beasts had only two paths of cultivation: becoming demons or becoming mutated beasts. Divine beasts were not cultivated into existence—they were born of bloodline! Dragons, phoenixes, qilin, divine turtles, Golden Crows, Moon Toads...
There were countless divine beasts in the legends, but almost none could be found and seen with one's own eyes.
Junior Brother Lu's teeth ground with a bang. "Why did a divine beast appear after I had already chosen my lifebound beast?!"
Su He watched him and slowly stepped back.
This person bore hostility toward him, an extremely deep hostility. The kind that led to a never-ending battle! It made no sense! "You didn't appear earlier or later—you appeared only after I chose my lifebound beast? Am I, Lu Ming, not worthy of you?"
Lu Ming came from Beast Taming Valley of the Azure Origin Sect. Their branch did not focus on sword arts or talisman arts, but on taming beasts and cultivating lifebound mutated beasts. The beast was oneself, and oneself was the beast.
Lu Ming had contracted his lifebound beast just three days ago: a white tiger with exceptional talent. But no matter how gifted an ordinary mutated beast was, could it surpass a Divine Beast Bloodline? Three days!
He was only three days too late! Had he discovered this turtle three days ago, he would have risked his life to take it as his lifebound beast!
But it was too late!
Under the Beast Taming Method, one person could only contract one lifebound beast per realm. With Lu Ming's talent, he would not reach the next realm for hundreds of years no matter what.
Hundreds of years—Lu Ming could not wait that long! And Listening Sea Lake contained a turtle with a Divine Beast Bloodline. Such news could not be kept under wraps. Beast Taming Valley would learn of it sooner or later, and someone would sooner or later choose this turtle as their lifebound beast.
But I am Beast Taming Valley's First True Disciple of this generation!
Lu Ming's teeth itched with hatred.
He took out a Talisman Brush and drew talismans in midair, slapping them toward the top of Su He's head.
No one could take away my divine turtle! Even if it cannot become my lifebound turtle, it can only be my beast pet! Slave Beast Seal, Life and Death Talisman, cage... Let me see who dares to take it. If someone still dares to take it as a lifebound beast after this, I, Lu Ming, would not mind gaining another servant.
A lifebound beast and its master shared one heart and one origin. If the lifebound beast was another person's soul-contracted beast pet, then its master would not be able to escape either.
Su He could not understand these talisman scripts, but alarms blared in his heart. His beastly instincts told him that if those talismans branded him, he would be better off dead.
Su He turned and ran, but the spirit talismans caught up to him, one after another stamping toward his forehead. Yet just as they were about to touch him, a talisman mark atop Su He's head brightened, shattering all of Lu Ming's beast-pet talismans.
It was the talisman mark Su Hua Nian had left on him over a month ago.
It had no great effect. It merely prevented others from taking Su He as a beast pet.
Lu Ming's face instantly turned the color of eggplant.
It was merely an ordinary warning spirit talisman, yet it could shatter his talismans. The one who had left the Warning Rune possessed unfathomable cultivation.
Damn it!
Some Second Generation Ancestor must have discovered this divine turtle long ago, yet lacked the ability to contract it as a lifebound beast. That was why he had asked an elder to leave a talisman mark on the divine turtle, intending to return and contract it once his cultivation was sufficient.
How selfish!
He discovered a divine beast yet did not report it to the sect. If he had reported it, the divine turtle would certainly have been taken in by Beast Taming Valley, and the disciples of this generation could have competed fairly to tame it.
The victor merely needed to give the discoverer a generous reward.
He knew that if it were placed in Beast Taming Valley, I would tame it before he could, so he hid it here.
Who had helped this junior? Elder An? Elder Qiu? The other two elders of Beast Taming Valley would not have done it. If there was anything good, they would only think of me. Or had it been some senior from another branch of the sect?
Despicable!
With the divine turtle taken from him, Lu Ming's face darkened further. He could not forcibly take it as a beast pet, or he would trigger the Warning Rune. If a disciple who had already chosen a lifebound beast broke through an elder's warning rune and forcibly took a beast pet, he would offend that elder to the bitter end.
A vicious glint flashed through Lu Ming's eyes.
Since he could not take it, he would destroy it! If his white tiger could devour this divine turtle, its talent would certainly improve greatly.
A lifebound beast and its master shared weal and woe. If the white tiger improved, then so would he. His path of cultivation would become a little smoother.
With an elder's warning talisman present, he could not foolishly send the white tiger over to eat it directly. He needed to devise a method.
Lu Ming stood quietly by the lake for a moment, and his eyes gradually lit up.
Feng Ya Ya! The Sect Leader's Little Princess! For some reason, she had been lingering in Beast Taming Valley these past few days. He heard that she had made an appointment with someone outside, and that the hundred-day deadline was nearly up. She was waiting there for the person she had arranged to meet.
Beast Taming Valley was the closest place, so she had clung to Beast Taming Valley.
She was a little girl who had never grown up, with an immature mind, yet her cultivation was not low. With only a small trick, he could make her turn Beast Taming Valley upside down and release all the beast pets.
As long as the white tiger seized the chance to escape, swam along Elephant Water, and happened to encounter a divine turtle young cub, then accidentally bit it to death and ate it... that would not be an unacceptable mistake, would it?
This was merely a mutated beast's instinct! Beasts devouring one another was their nature! It would be best to secure proof that he was elsewhere as well—for example, being confined by the Law Enforcement Hall for committing an offense...
Perfect!
After all, if he was confined, he could not leave even if he wanted to. How could he possibly order the white tiger to commit wrongdoing?
Of course, for the white tiger's safety, it would be best to tamper with this divine turtle first. Lu Ming waved his Talisman Brush, and a talisman landed on Su He's turtle shell.
He deliberately avoided the turtle head where the Warning Rune was located.
"One Myriad Force Talisman and one Location Talisman will be enough." The more talismans he used, the easier it would be to leave traces. The Location Talisman would track it, while the Myriad Force Talisman would activate upon encountering the white tiger. No matter what methods the turtle possessed, once it was crushed motionless beneath the spirit talisman, it could only let the white tiger devour it.
"Stay put and wait for my white tiger to eat you."
After saying that, he sneered and left by Sword Control. Matters should be done sooner rather than later. He first had to find a way to hold Yu Lin back and prevent him from coming to teach the crocodiles again. Yu Lin would discover the spirit talismans he had left on the turtle shell.
Lu Ming moved at tremendous speed. Su He narrowed his eyes and watched him leave.
Sure enough, beastly instincts were the most trustworthy thing. That man had no good intentions! No wonder Su He had disliked him at first sight. He carried a scent that beasts rejected.
This man must frequently come into contact with all kinds of beasts, but most beasts had left traces of their displeasure on him.
Saliva, urine, rank fur...
From memory, Su He drew the spirit talismans Lu Ming had left on his turtle shell.
He could not recognize the first spirit talisman at all. The second used an Earth Essence Rune as its core. Su He could not understand its exact purpose.
Any spirit talisman related to the earth used an Earth Essence Rune as its core. For example: gathering Spiritual Energy, sorting out Earth Veins, increasing rice yields, Earth Escape...
Combined with what Lu Ming had muttered, the talisman Su He did not recognize at all should be the Location Talisman. The one centered on the earth should be the Myriad Force Talisman.
As its name implied, it weighed ten thousand jun. It should serve to suppress, seal, or restrict.
Suppress me, then let the white tiger come devour me?
A cold gleam flashed through Su He's eyes. Recalling Lu Ming's earlier actions, that Lu Ming had likely wanted to take him as a beast pet, only to be blocked by the rune Su Hua Nian had left behind. Since taking him as a pet failed, he now wanted to destroy him.
Your second uncle's third uncle! What did I ever do to provoke you? Su He turned around and went to snatch the crocodiles' prey.
He would devour several prey animals that had undergone quality improvement, build up the energy inside his body, then molt and shed the turtle shell that had been branded with spirit talismans.
Then...
It was only a white tiger. Without spirit talismans restraining him, killing it would not be difficult. If that did not work—Su He looked at the hundreds of Su Family Crocodiles on Crocodile Beach. Even if your white tiger is a mutated beast, I refuse to believe that hundreds of crocodiles cannot kill you! Then, Su He looked towards the sword light that had slashed across the sky, leaving behind only a faint glimmer.
When Su He fought beasts, even when danger surrounded him and he had nearly died several times, he had never hated any wild beast. Yet toward Lu Ming alone, for some reason, he felt that unless he crushed Lu Ming to death, his thoughts would never flow freely.
Sturgeon, two points.
The quality was insufficient. He threw it back to the crocodile pack.
Rabbit, one point.
Wild wolf, three points.
Su He snatched prey from one crocodile after another. The Su Family Crocodiles looked utterly confused, not knowing what had happened to their king today. He had proactively come to steal their prey again, yet after taking it, he did not eat it and instead threw it back.
The moment he tossed the same prey back, it immediately released an enticing fragrance, sparking a frenzy of competition among the crocodiles.
Not until he had snatched prey from the twelfth crocodile.
Spotted deer cake, four points, quality.
Su He left nothing behind and devoured the little fawn whole. Its blood was warm, heating his entire body. Two hours later, Su He slowly closed his eyes.
Before you continue