I'm Just a Beast Tamer

Chapter 109: Chapter 107: Tracking, Keeping Away

Jiang Zuo prepared to put the counted Spirit Stones into his storage bag.

But when he opened the storage bag, Jiang Zuo was dumbfounded.

The batch of over two thousand Spirit Stones he had just put in—how was nearly a third of it already gone?

Damn it!

’Is this Innate Spiritual Soil devouring my Spirit Stones?’

Jiang Zuo took a closer look. It was indeed that rock-like object called the Innate Spiritual Soil, and it was frantically devouring the Spirit Stones!

In just a short time, it had already swallowed several hundred!

Jiang Zuo hastily took the thing out.

If he didn’t have the Beast Taming System and know that this thing wasn’t a living creature, Jiang Zuo would be letting his imagination run wild right now.

’Are all Innate Spiritual Objects like this?’

Jiang Zuo was inexperienced, so he could only assume so.

But that didn’t seem quite right. If that were the case, the guy he killed wouldn’t have stored it together with Spirit Stones and other items.

Inside that storage bag, this thing had probably devoured an unknowable amount of Spirit Stones already.

Guan Shiping’s storage bag must have contained at least twenty thousand low-grade Spirit Stones, but this thing had devoured a huge chunk of them.

The thought made Jiang Zuo grind his teeth in frustration. If it hadn’t secretly devoured so many, he would already have half the Spirit Stones needed for the Spirit Garden.

’I wonder if this thing devours other items too?’

Seeing so many things scattered around, and figuring it would be a waste to just leave them, Jiang Zuo picked up the Innate Spiritual Soil and tested it on them one by one. This way, he would know in the future what could be stored with it and what couldn’t.

Magical Artifacts, Talismans, materials, medicinal pills...

Jiang Zuo tested them all with the Innate Spiritual Soil.

He quickly determined that the thing only devoured natural Spiritual Objects.

Whether it was medicinal herbs or raw materials, as long as it was a natural Spiritual Object, it would devour the Spiritual Qi or other auras contained within.

After having their essence devoured, the Spiritual Objects became lifeless and extremely fragile, shattering with the slightest pressure.

Holding the object, Jiang Zuo was silent.

’Is this thing really Innate Spiritual Soil?’

’Why does it feel a bit like the Heaven and Earth Sealing Spirit Array?’

It was even more outrageous than the Heaven and Earth Sealing Spirit Array. After all, the array only absorbed Spiritual Power and Demonic Power.

This thing, aside from not absorbing living creatures and man-made objects, seemed to spare almost nothing else.

’I really am too inexperienced.’

Jiang Zuo shook his head.

He tossed all the Spirit Stones into the Pet Beast Spirit Garden, then placed the Innate Spiritual Soil back into the storage bag. The thing finally quieted down, sitting motionless in a corner of the bag.

Jiang Zuo then used his Power of Destruction to break open the remaining two storage bags one by one.

The results were quite surprising.

Ye Kailan, the female disciple from Liuyun Sect who had seemed so formidable, only had a little over five thousand low-grade Spirit Stones on her.

However, the other female disciple, the one who looked completely harmless but had been the first to attack him at the critical moment, had over thirteen thousand Spirit Stones.

That was almost as much as Guan Shiping.

’It really is true that you can’t judge a book by its cover.’

Jiang Zuo sighed with emotion once again.

The two storage bags also contained some medicinal herbs and materials. Jiang Zuo took out the Innate Spiritual Soil and let it devour them.

He didn’t bother with the remaining items scattered on the seabed.

Although he had discarded a lot of things, Jiang Zuo’s gains this time were still enormous.

Over thirty thousand low-grade Spirit Stones and a large pile of Heaven and Earth Primordial Power Ore. Raising Pet Beasts in the future would be much easier now.

...

Putting Xiaoqing away, Jiang Zuo changed direction and continued onward, moving stealthily southeast along the seabed.

As he glided through the water as freely as a fish, Jiang Zuo felt a sense of relaxation and glanced at his own Lifespan.

Lifespan: 36/238!

After raising the Seated Mountain Eagle for twenty years, Jiang Zuo’s Lifespan had increased dramatically. Even after deducting the Lifespan sacrificed to the stele and consumed by practicing the Life Element Birth and Destruction Technique...

His Lifespan had once been over 800 years.

But this time, to kill three Dao Foundation Cultivators—especially the two strikes that killed Guan Shiping and his junior brother—he had instantly consumed four hundred years of his Lifespan.

Afterward, he consumed even more Lifespan to kill the female Cultivator, heal his injuries, and break open the storage bags. In total, he had used up over six hundred years.

You could say he was right back where he started.

"I really can’t be reckless anymore," Jiang Zuo sighed.

An Inner Breath Grandmaster killing a Dao Foundation Cultivator—he wondered if it was an unprecedented feat.

Regardless, Jiang Zuo had undoubtedly taken a huge risk this time.

Jiang Zuo reflected deeply. He could never do something like this again.

If the Power of Destruction hadn’t been as effective as he’d imagined, he would have been in grave danger.

After all, there had been five Dao Foundation Cultivators.

...

「Five days later.」

Several streaks of light descended one after another over Fire Mist Island.

"Elder He!"

The first to arrive was a portly Taoist, an elder from the same sect as Shi Butong and his junior brother.

Following him was a female Cultivator.

Shi Butong didn’t recognize her, but his elder addressed her as "Fellow Daoist Kong," a female Cultivator with the surname Kong.

Both the portly elder and Fellow Daoist Kong were at the Divine Body Cultivation level.

But the final arrival gave Shi Butong a huge shock.

When this person landed, both the portly elder and Fellow Daoist Kong respectfully stepped forward, addressing him as "Sect Leader Ying" and "Elder Ying."

This person was the Sect Leader of the Yellow Dao Sect, Ying Zhengyang, a Cultivator at the Three Flowers Realm.

Shi Butong secretly sent a voice transmission to Elder He and learned that Guan Shiping was actually an Inner Disciple that Ying Zhengyang had just recently accepted.

It seemed their relationship was more than just master and disciple; upon hearing of Guan Shiping’s death, he had actually rushed over in person.

’Guan Shiping really died an unjust death,’ Shi Butong thought. ’With Ying Zhengyang as his master, he must have had a lot of good things on him.’

’If he hadn’t been ambushed by that mortal, there’s no way he would have died.’

Ying Zhengyang’s expression was grim. Without exchanging many pleasantries, he directly had Shi Butong lead him to inspect the bodies.

The four had only been dead for a little over five days, and thanks to Shi Butong’s deliberate preservation, they looked no different than when they had just died.

"Elder Sister Ye Kailan died from a stream of Innate Evil Qi from a Spirit Beast, but I have no idea how Elder Brother Guan Shiping and the others died."

"After thinking about it, I suspect the Spirit Turtle was raised by that person. Elder Brother Guan Shiping captured his Spirit Turtle, which is what made him take such a desperate risk."

Under the watchful eyes of the three powerful elders, Shi Butong and his junior brother recounted the events of that day.

"A Spirit Turtle born with a strand of Innate Evil Qi, and one that was nurtured within the Heaven and Earth Sealing Spirit Array at that... Who could resist taking it?"

The female Cultivator surnamed Kong shook her head.

"The two from my sect likely died from the Power of Destruction from the Life Essence Returning Skill."

After examining the states of the bodies, Ying Zhengyang’s expression showed no change as he spoke calmly.

"The Life Essence Returning Skill? But if this person is a mortal, to kill two Dao Foundation Cultivators... wouldn’t that consume at least three hundred years of Lifespan?" the portly elder said in astonishment, finding it hard to believe.

"It does indeed look like the Power of Destruction from the Life Essence Returning Skill. For a mortal to kill a Dao Foundation Cultivator, there are few methods other than the Power of Destruction."

Fellow Daoist Kong carefully examined the chests of Guan Shiping and the other disciple and agreed with the assessment.

"The other disciple from my sect seems to have died from a special Magical Artifact. But isn’t this person a mortal? How could he use a Magical Artifact?"

But looking at the gruesome death of the last female Cultivator, Fellow Daoist Kong frowned.

It wasn’t just her; even Ying Zhengyang couldn’t figure it out.

However, they didn’t doubt Shi Butong and his junior brother’s claim that the person was a mortal.

One person might be mistaken, but for all six of them to believe it... that had to be the reason the ambush succeeded.

Besides, if that person wasn’t a mortal, why would he use the Power of Destruction to kill?

That was hundreds of years of Lifespan.

Cultivators were desperate to extend their Lifespans; who would casually squander several hundred years?

"Could it be related to the Divine Wood Sect? The Life Essence Returning Skill is rumored to have close ties to the Divine Wood Sect, and they possess techniques similar to its Power of Destruction," the portly elder mused.

"The Power of Destruction can be explained that way, barely. But what about the Magical Artifact? Without Spiritual Power, how could he activate a Magical Artifact?"

Fellow Daoist Kong shook her head.

’A Lifebound Spiritual Artifact?’

The thought flashed through the portly elder’s mind, but he dismissed it before even speaking.

A Lifebound Spiritual Artifact could indeed be partially activated without Spiritual Power in a crisis, using some of its abilities.

But they were all saying the person was a mortal, which made a Lifebound Spiritual Artifact even more impossible.

"Let’s put that aside for now. My disciple had a Magical Artifact on him that I helped him refine. The killer made off with the storage bags, and if he hasn’t gone too far, I can find him," Ying Zhengyang said.

"Excellent!"

The portly elder and Fellow Daoist Kong were both delighted.

Ying Zhengyang took out a Talisman and recited an incantation.

The Talisman instantly burned, turning into a wisp of green smoke.

"Found him. This way!"

Ying Zhengyang’s figure blurred, and he flew west of Fire Mist Island.

This was the exact direction Jiang Zuo had fled when he jumped into the sea.

The portly elder and Fellow Daoist Kong followed closely behind.

Before long, Ying Zhengyang stopped over a patch of sea and then dove headfirst into the water.

The portly elder and Fellow Daoist Kong had no choice but to follow him down.

Soon, the three of them were staring with grim expressions at the items scattered all over the seabed.

Talismans, Magical Artifacts, medicinal pills...

Aside from the Spirit Stones, it seemed all the belongings of the four disciples had been left here.

The Magical Artifact that Ying Zhengyang had marked was among them.

’Looks like we won’t be finding this mortal,’ the portly elder thought to himself.

This person was undoubtedly extremely cautious and careful. His background was likely fake and completely untraceable.

He had lived on the island for twenty years, only leaving once during that time.

Now, in this vast ocean, the man had escaped via the seabed, and within the Mortal Territory covered by the Heaven and Earth Sealing Spirit Array.

No matter what methods they had, tracking him would be impossible.

However, the portly elder didn’t really care if they couldn’t catch him.

After all, it wasn’t his disciples who had died.

He was just a little interested in that mortal, that’s all.

...

Jiang Zuo had no idea that among those discarded items, one had truly been marked by a powerful expert.

After fleeing Fire Mist Island, he had been traveling continuously along the seabed, never once surfacing.

He only let Xiaoqing out to stand guard when he rested.

Along the way, Jiang Zuo encountered many islands, but he never approached them. Instead, he actively moved away.

Just like that, Jiang Zuo traveled along the seabed for nearly a full year.

He had no idea how far he had gone.

One day, he came across another island in the middle of the sea. Only then did Jiang Zuo stop and go no further.

He was probably safe here.

If he wasn’t safe here, then he wouldn’t be safe no matter where he went.

After circling the island and confirming there were no signs of human presence, he prepared to settle down.

However, for the first two months, Jiang Zuo remained extremely cautious, not daring to make any big moves.

He dug deep into the ground in several locations on the island, creating tunnels to the seabed and preparing several escape routes that would allow him to jump into the sea at a moment’s notice.

Two months later, seeing that no one was pursuing him, Jiang Zuo finally relaxed and began his life on the island.

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