Since he still had some time, he also studied the First Rank Beast Taming Art.
It was a Magic Formula for controlling Spirit Beasts. It introduced many different ways to do so, all of which ultimately had the same purpose: controlling Spirit Beasts.
The best way to get along with a Spirit Beast was to form a contract and cooperate with each other. This method, however, could not bring out the Spirit Beast's full power, though it could allow the two sides to benefit from each other.
For example, they could share talents, bloodlines, strength, divine abilities, and so on.
Another option was to make the Spirit Beast acknowledge you as its master. With this method, the Spirit Beast completely surrendered. It was less flexible, but could unleash tremendous power, since the Spirit Beast and its master could combine into one. However, it could not benefit its master in return.
Another method was to bind a Spirit Beast with divine sense. In theory, you could bind an unlimited number of Spirit Beasts.
That was, as long as your divine sense was strong enough. Every time you bound a Spirit Beast, your divine sense weakened a little. If it became too weak, the Spirit Beasts might turn on you. They could even take your place as master—a truly dangerous prospect.
The book also covered how to raise ordinary Spirit Beasts and how to identify them.
After getting a general understanding of it, he left the Practice Room.
By the time he came out, two months had passed. Seeing Baili Qiuyue with such a big belly that she could barely move, looking as though she was about to give birth at any moment, he was badly startled.
If he had stayed inside any longer, he would have missed the birth of their child. That would have been a terrible regret.
"Dear, I'm sorry I came out so late. I got too absorbed in cultivating and lost track of time!"
Lu Wanyuan explained apologetically to Baili Qiuyue.
"All right. If you'd taken any longer, the baby might have started calling you Daddy before you even showed up. That would have been a problem!" Baili Qiuyue said quickly.
She looked at Lu Wanyuan and continued, "This is our first child. We can't afford to have any regrets. You can't go into seclusion to cultivate again. I think the baby will be born in the next few days, so you must be there by my side as its father!"
"Of course. I understand. I won't go anywhere. I'll stay by your side!"
Lu Wanyuan nodded at once and patted his chest to reassure her.
"Over these past two months, Lu Wanting and the others said the Silver Moon Spirit Carp in the pond have dwindled rapidly. There are only a few hundred left, and the strangest thing is that one of the five big Silver Moon Spirit Carp has gone missing. No one knows when it disappeared."
Baili Qiuyue glanced at Lu Wanyuan and spoke slowly.
"Mm, I know."
"Huh? Why aren't you surprised at all? You sound as if you already knew what was going on."
"That's right. When I came out of seclusion last time, I went to investigate and found out a few things. That's what made me hurry back into seclusion. I'll go take a look later. If it's still in the pond eating fish, I won't go easy on it. I'll catch the little thief!"
"What? A thief? No way! Our residence is so heavily guarded. How could someone else get in here to steal things?"
Baili Qiuyue asked, looking puzzled.
"When I say thief, I don't mean a person. Come with me. You can stay on the bank while I investigate the pond properly."
With that, Lu Wanyuan helped Baili Qiuyue slowly toward the fishpond.
"All right, stay here. Don't get too close to the pond; it might be dangerous. I'll go have a look over there!"
Lu Wanyuan pointed toward the Spirit Spring in the pond.
Baili Qiuyue nodded.
Then Lu Wanyuan headed toward the Spirit Spring and took a millstone-sized rock out of his Storage Bag.
With a deafening splash, water sprayed everywhere as he sealed the mouth of the Spirit Spring tight. The spring water was trapped inside and not a drop flowed out.
While in seclusion, he had kept thinking about this. To catch the Spirit Beast stealing fish, he first had to block its way home, so it couldn't escape back there.
That way, it would have nowhere to go, and he could catch the turtle in a jar right there in the pond.
"Dear, what are you doing? You've completely sealed off the Spirit Spring!"
Baili Qiuyue asked from the bank, her face full of confusion.
"Haha, I'll explain in a bit. Just stay here and watch the show!"
But before he had even finished speaking, a loud splashing came from the pond.
A fierce wake appeared in the distance and sped toward the Spirit Spring's opening.
Seeing this, Lu Wanyuan didn't hesitate. He immediately cast Earth Shield Spell.
With a roar, water flew everywhere as murky sludge sprayed in every direction.
The impact sent the pond water surging and trembling.
A solid earthen wall rose before him, completely enclosing him. It seemed nothing outside could possibly get through it!
The next instant—thump!
Then Lu Wanyuan felt the earthen wall in front of him shudder. It looked ready to collapse.
The thing that had just sped over had rammed straight into the Earth Shield. He hadn't expected its impact to be so powerful.
The Earth Shield's light flickered wildly, then began to fade.
Seeing this, Lu Wanyuan quickly poured spiritual power into the shield. A powerful stream of spiritual energy surged from his Dantian, traveled through his meridians and into his palm, then flowed into the shield, keeping it from crumbling.
Only then did he get a clear look at the Demonic Beast that had rammed him. It was a huge turtle, thrashing its four limbs and churning the water into a muddy mess. Water splashed everywhere, and murky sludge kept flying onto the banks.
From the look of it, the creature was furious, blazing with rage.
It was probably because Lu Wanyuan had blocked its way home.
It had simply been out for a meal. Who would have thought someone would block its way back? Anyone would be furious.
When its first collision failed, the turtle launched another attack. Fortunately, Lu Wanyuan had come prepared this time, so it didn't gain an advantage. The earthen wall held firm and blocked it again.
After several more full-force attacks, the turtle still couldn't break through the wall in front of it!
Then, apparently deciding to eat every last Spirit Fish in the pond, it turned and rushed toward the fish nearby.
Seeing its intentions so plainly, how could Lu Wanyuan let it gobble up the remaining fish? If it ate them all, he wouldn't be able to find any more of this kind later. He had bought every last Spirit Fish at the stall.
With that thought, he immediately cast Thorn Spell. He chanted the incantation, his hands rapidly forming hand seals. In an instant, several thumb-sized Azure Vines sprouted between his fingers, their sharp thorns shooting toward the enormous turtle.
The Azure Vines poured endlessly from his hands and quickly caught up with the turtle as it tried to flee. The next moment, they wrapped around it like a dumpling and dragged its round body back.
Lu Wanyuan immediately swept his arm out and flung the tightly wrapped turtle onto the pond bank like an iron ball. It landed upside down, flailing its four limbs as it tried to right itself.
He jumped onto the bank and approached the turtle. He cast Fireball Spell, then used up an Entry, "Fire Attribute Magic Power Amplification 2x." In an instant, the walnut-sized fireball grew to the size of an adult's fist. A terrifying, violent force pulsed within it, and waves of heat rolled through the air. The sludge on the turtle's shell dried and cracked. The turtle had been pierced by the sharp thorns and bleeding profusely, but now its blood had dried up.
"I don't care whether you understand me or not. If you won't submit and nod, I'll throw this fireball at you. I'll roast turtle meat today!"
As he spoke, Lu Wanyuan stood ready for anything.
Fortunately, the turtle wasn't stupid. Seeing the look on Lu Wanyuan's face, as if he meant to kill it, it nodded at once.
"Open your mind. I'm going to place a soul seal in your mind!" Lu Wanyuan shouted.
Perhaps it heard the hostility in his voice. The turtle hurriedly opened its mind.
Lu Wanyuan immediately placed a soul-binding seal in its mind.
Before you continue