Taming

The Black Bear looked suspiciously at Lu Xiaotian's actions, nudging the Wolf Yao Beast on the ground with its paw towards Lu Xiaotian's feet. Then, drooling, it turned towards the now fragrant roasted meat, its stout body anxiously circling the roast.

Lu Xiaotian irritably took the cooked Wild Boar meat off the fire and threw it to the Black Bear, then began to process the two wolf corpses with his dagger.

Watching the Black Bear snatch the roasted meat he threw and devour it greedily, Lu Xiaotian rested his chin on his hand and fell into thought. After a long while, he glanced at the gluttonous Black Bear and his eyes suddenly lit up.

Three mornings later, at a cliff with an extremely narrow passage, a roasted, fragrant wild chicken suddenly appeared. About the time it takes an incense stick to burn, the roasted wild chicken was snatched away by a Mountain Eagle.

"Damn feathered beast."

Angrily, Lu Xiaotian discovered an eagle's nest below the cliff, with several Mountain Eagles frequently appearing and disappearing. He had no choice but to find another similar terrain and place another piece of roasted meat.

Half an hour later, a snow-white Fox Yao Beast snatched the roasted meat in one bite. The Black Bear, under Lu Xiaotian's command, hadn't even had time to block the Fox Yao Beast's escape route when Lu Xiaotian felt a white shadow flash before his eyes, and the Fox Yao Beast had disappeared from the cliff.

A few days later, two Wolf Yao Beasts were instantly killed by the Black Bear, who couldn't react in time.

This process repeated. Three months later, a slender youth appeared, leading a giant Black Bear, and a Leopard that staggered as it walked, appearing very small compared to the Black Bear. Around the Leopard's neck, just like the Black Bear's, was an ancient silver ring.

Lu Xiaotian breathed a sigh of relief. It had taken him over three months, but he had finally captured his Spirit Beast. Even though this Leopard was only equivalent to the Qi Refining Second Layer, Lu Xiaotian was still very satisfied. If not for the Black Bear's help, he wouldn't have been able to capture a Leopard Spirit Beast stronger than himself with his own Power.

What disappointed Lu Xiaotian was that in the past few months, he had searched several miles around and only found one Spiritual Grass similar to the previous one. It seemed Spiritual Materials were quite scarce in the canyon.

"Down!" Lu Xiaotian, excited about his newly acquired Spirit Beast, returned to his Cave Mansion. Taking advantage of the dim night outside the cave, he began training the Leopard Spirit Beast overnight.

However, this Leopard was full of wildness. It lay down in front of the Cave Mansion, lazily raised its head to glance at Lu Xiaotian, then closed its eyes and pretended to sleep. It completely ignored the human who appeared much weaker than itself.

"Ignoring me, huh? Then you're in for some trouble."

Lu Xiaotian's expression turned cold. According to the Beast Taming Technique, there were usually two ways to train Spirit Beasts. One was to start training from a young age. Such young beasts had high obedience and could execute all sorts of commands from the Beast Tamer very well.

However, Lu Xiaotian didn't have any young beasts, and the growth period for young beasts was too long. During their growth, some Spiritual Materials were also needed. Lu Xiaotian himself didn't have enough Spiritual Grass to Cultivate, so how could he have the Energy to raise a young beast?

As for the other method described in the Beast Taming Technique, it was to subdue an already grown Yao Beast. Since the Yao Beast was already formed, it had a wild and untamable nature. Usually, subduing such a Yao Beast required not only risk during capture but also even greater Energy spent on training after capture.

The Leopard Spirit Beast before him, equivalent to the Qi Refining Second Layer, looked at the weak Lu Xiaotian with disdain.

Lu Xiaotian's lips curled. In the Thunder Blade Sect, he was just a Menial Laborer. Even though the Black Robe Old Man had brought him to this mysterious canyon and taught him some Cultivation techniques, the Black Robe Old Man still treated him as a mere errand boy. The Black Bear was the Black Robe Old Man's Spirit Beast, possessing considerable Strength. Did this Leopard think it could also rise above him? Dream on.

Lu Xiaotian formed a hand seal and chanted incantations.

At this moment, the ancient silver Spirit Beast Ring on the Leopard's neck burst with silver light. Lu Xiaotian felt the Method Power within his body surge into the Beast Spirit Ring like a tide. As the Spirit Beast Ring radiated light, it began to slowly shrink.

"Awooo."

The Leopard howled in pain and rolled on the ground. After a moment, cold sweat broke out on Lu Xiaotian's forehead. The Leopard's Strength was still above his. If not for the Spirit Beast Ring encircling its vital point, Lu Xiaotian would have been unable to subdue it.

Even so, there was still a defiant look in the Leopard's eyes.

Even though the Leopard writhed on the ground in pain, it showed no intention of surrendering.

A cold glint flashed in Lu Xiaotian's eyes. Although the Beast Taming Technique mentioned that taming was a long process, especially for captured adult Yao Beasts, removing their wildness was not a task for a single day. However, Lu Xiaotian also learned from the Beast Taming Technique that even Beast Spirit Rings had varying qualities. Inferior Beast Spirit Rings could not withstand prolonged infusion of Method Power and might even break after repeated use. Lu Xiaotian was unsure of the grade of the Spirit Beast Ring the Black Robe Old Man had given him, but in just this short while, the silver light of the ancient silver Beast Spirit Ring itself had dimmed considerably. It was likely not a good quality item.

Thinking of this, Lu Xiaotian gritted his teeth, took out the medicine bottle he carried, and swallowed a Qi Gathering Pill. A vast and pure spiritual energy dispersed within his body. Although it was similar to the spiritual energy produced by directly consuming Spiritual Grass, the spiritual energy from the pill was more immense and much gentler. If the spiritual energy from Spiritual Grass were this potent, he might not have been able to control it, and it could have injured his meridians by clashing within his body.

After consuming the Qi Gathering Pill, the pallor on Lu Xiaotian's face, caused by his nearly depleted Method Power, immediately returned to a healthy complexion.

As Lu Xiaotian's hands shifted in a hand seal, the spiritual energy from the dispersed Qi Gathering Pill found an outlet and flowed continuously into the Beast Spirit Ring.

The Spirit Beast Ring emitted an even more powerful silver light, further shrinking rapidly.

"Submit, or die!" Half an hour later, Lu Xiaotian looked coldly at the Leopard, which was rolling on the ground and on the verge of death.

"Awooo."

The Leopard howled, perhaps sensing its situation after a period of struggle, and obediently lay down on all fours before Lu Xiaotian.

Lu Xiaotian stopped outputting Method Power. By now, more than half of the Qi Gathering Pill's medicinal power had been consumed, and Lu Xiaotian felt a pang of pain. Fortunately, he had completely subdued this low-level Spirit Beast. It had taken a considerable amount of effort.

Lu Xiaotian, though mentally exhausted, still sat down and refined the remaining medicinal power of the Qi Gathering Pill within his body.

Above the canyon, the bright moon hung high. In other places, the moonlight was as clear as water. However, within the canyon, mist permeated the air. In front of the Cave Mansion at the valley entrance, Lu Xiaotian's body had accumulated a layer of white vapor.

The Black Bear snored soundly at the cave entrance, while the Leopard, worn out from the day's torment, lay listlessly a few yards away from the Black Bear.

Under the shroud of mist, the man and two beasts remained until late at night. As the last bit of spiritual energy from the pill was completely refined, Lu Xiaotian opened his eyes with lingering dissatisfaction. The path of cultivation was truly long.