I'm Just a Beast Tamer

Chapter 124: Chapter 121: Substantial Gains

In a stroke of luck, Liu Xuan Cheng had been knocked to the ground by the Treasure-Devouring Celestial Toad beforehand, allowing him to survive the fatal explosion.

However, one glance at Liu Xuan Cheng’s injuries told Jiang Zuo that he only had moments left to live.

Unless Jiang Zuo spent several hundred years of his lifespan to save him, Liu Xuan Cheng only had enough time to say his last words.

After living in seclusion on the Nameless Island for over seventy years, Jiang Zuo’s lifespan had reached more than 1800 years.

But the thought of him spending hundreds of years of his life to save a stranger was out of the question.

Liu Xuan Cheng lay quietly on the ground, his eyes shifting to look at Jiang Zuo.

He practiced Dual Cultivation of Body and Technique, so his physical body was far more robust than that of other Cultivators at his level.

Normally, while his injuries were severe, he wouldn’t have died from them as long as he could stop the bleeding.

But the Treasure-Devouring Celestial Toad’s attack carried a faint Power of Rules. His wounds wouldn’t stop bleeding, and with such extensive injuries, blood was gushing from his body like a fountain.

Before long, he would die of blood loss.

In fact, from the moment he hit the ground, he’d sensed that someone else was hiding inside the temple.

But that person was just a mortal. The two from the Lv Family had arrived first and killed the bandit leader, Ma Daquan, so it was perfectly normal for this person to be frightened and hide.

Only now, after this disastrous turn of events, when this person emerged to frantically gather Spirit Stones and appeared to have a storage bag, did Liu Xuan Cheng realize something was off about him.

As a possibility dawned on him, he couldn’t help but laugh, his eyes fixed on Jiang Zuo, who was looking back. "This whole affair... was it your scheme?"

Cultivators always looked down on mortals, yet here he was, schemed against and killed by one.

He, of all people, had never imagined he would die because of a mortal.

’How ironic,’ he thought.

"I’m just a mere mortal. How could I possess such skills? I was just passing by."

Jiang Zuo shook his head again and again.

Although Liu Xuan Cheng looked as good as dead, things had nearly gone south. Who knew what tricks the man might have up his sleeve in his final moments.

Jiang Zuo was still shaken. There was no point in being smug with a dying man.

"Never mind. I’m about to die. I’d like to ask you, young friend, if you ever go to the Cultivation Realm, to please bury my ashes where my Liu Family resides. As payment, I will remove the restriction on my storage bag and give you everything inside."

Liu Xuan Cheng didn’t press the issue. He spoke quickly, knowing his time was short.

"I can agree to that. However, I have a few questions for you."

Jiang Zuo agreed without much hesitation.

"In that case, I thank you, young friend."

With great difficulty, Liu Xuan Cheng extended his remaining left hand, pulled a storage bag from his robes, wiped away his personal restriction on it, and tossed it to Jiang Zuo.

"Inside the storage bag, there’s a small map of an area dozens of miles east of East Divine Mountain. Follow the markings on the map, and you’ll find my Liu Family’s burial ground."

"It’s just a desolate, mountainous area that few people visit. Once you find it, you’ll know it by the large number of tombstones."

"My time is short. What is it you wanted to ask, young friend?"

It seemed Liu Xuan Cheng had long considered the possibility of his own death and had prepared the map in advance.

"What kind of place is the Cyan Wood Secret Realm? Is it dangerous?"

Jiang Zuo didn’t pick up the storage bag from the ground, merely asking his question.

"I’ve never been inside the Cyan Wood Secret Realm, but it’s a small-to-medium-sized Secret Realm that only Cultivators below the Dao Foundation realm can enter. It’s said to be a Secret Realm for passing down the Cultivation Techniques of the Divine Wood Sect. Only the Divine Wood Sect and a few other sects with close ties to them are qualified to enter."

"For Divine Wood Sect disciples, the level of danger is very low. I’ve never heard of any incidents involving mass casualties."

"However, if an outsider were to obtain a key to enter the Secret Realm, they would have to be careful. The Divine Wood Sect is extremely domineering and wouldn’t allow a stranger into their legacy’s Secret Realm."

Liu Xuan Cheng said, his tone carrying a slight warning.

"And what about the person who cultivated the Life Essence Returning Skill to open the gate? If they enter the Secret Realm, will they meet with some misfortune?"

Jiang Zuo thought for a moment before asking anyway.

’Liu Xuan Cheng doesn’t seem to be from the Divine Wood Sect. If there really is some kind of trap, he probably doesn’t know about it.’

"Misfortune? Not at all! On the contrary, anyone who successfully cultivates the Life Essence Returning Skill holds an extraordinary status in the Divine Wood Sect. Regardless of their Cultivation, as long as they master the skill, they are guaranteed to become an Inner Sect Disciple!"

"Rumor has it that about a hundred years ago, something happened to the Divine Wood Sect that caused a sharp decline in the number of Cultivation Jade Stones they could acquire. That’s why news of one appearing in the Mortal Territory was enough to attract disciples to fight over it."

Hearing Liu Xuan Cheng’s answer, Jiang Zuo finally understood why the people who came this time were so much stronger than before.

"Do you know what kind of Secret Techniques can be obtained in the Cyan Wood Secret Realm?"

Jiang Zuo asked.

"How could I possibly know? Even among the Divine Wood Sect disciples, only those qualified to enter it would have that information."

Liu Xuan Cheng shook his head.

Jiang Zuo followed up with a few more questions, which Liu Xuan Cheng answered one by one.

Then, in the middle of an answer, his voice slowly faded into silence.

He never again mentioned his request for Jiang Zuo to return his remains for burial.

He knew that if Jiang Zuo was willing to help, he would do it without being told again.

If he wasn’t willing, then saying it again would be pointless.

Once he confirmed Liu Xuan Cheng was dead, Jiang Zuo finally picked up the storage bag from the ground.

Inside the storage bag was a single Flying Ship Magical Artifact, a dozen or so Talismans, and some healing pills.

There were also a few changes of clothes and the leather map Liu Xuan Cheng had mentioned.

Other than that, there were just over thirty thousand low-grade Spirit Stones.

Jiang Zuo couldn’t tell if this was considered rich or poor.

However, given the power Liu Xuan Cheng had displayed, Jiang Zuo felt this was quite poor.

He had probably traded most of his treasures for resources to heal his injuries; otherwise, his wealth should have been far greater.

Including the low-grade Spirit Stones dropped by the Treasure-Devouring Celestial Toad, Jiang Zuo calculated that he had gained nearly seventy thousand low-grade Spirit Stones in total—a considerable haul.

He had now learned most of what he needed to know about the Cyan Wood Secret Realm.

While Liu Xuan Cheng’s words might not be entirely accurate, the detail about only Cultivators below the Dao Foundation realm being able to enter was likely correct.

This fact alone made Jiang Zuo feel that the Cyan Wood Secret Realm was significantly less dangerous.

That thing, the Innate Spiritual Soil, had already finished frantically absorbing the residue from the Treasure-Devouring Celestial Toad’s explosion. Now it was rolling around, searching for and devouring stray Spirit Stones in the corners that Jiang Zuo had missed.

Jiang Zuo found the thing and picked it up off the ground.

Despite having absorbed so much, the Innate Spiritual Soil’s appearance hadn’t changed in the slightest.

’This thing... is it really not alive?’

Jiang Zuo was highly suspicious.

But he had no proof. At least, according to the Beast Taming System, this thing couldn’t become a Pet Beast.

Shaking his head, Jiang Zuo couldn’t be bothered to overthink it and tossed it back into his storage bag.

Now that he understood its properties, Jiang Zuo had long suspected that this thing was an expert at wrecking other people’s property.

For example, if he found a place rich in Spiritual Qi, or some Spirit Vein Ore...

He wondered what would happen if he just tossed this thing in.

Since no one else had arrived, Jiang Zuo went to a spot further away and found places to bury the bodies of Liu Xuan Cheng and the Lv Family uncle and nephew.

He buried Liu Xuan Cheng’s storage bag next to his body. Someday, when he felt the time was right, he would honor his promise, take the man’s ashes back to the Cultivation Realm, and have them interred with his kin.

As for the Lv Family uncle and nephew, their storage bags had vanished completely in the Treasure-Devouring Celestial Toad’s explosion, their contents obliterated along with them.

Jiang Zuo didn’t bury their bodies out of kindness, but simply because he didn’t want to leave any clues behind.

After burying the bodies, Jiang Zuo returned to the temple. He used his immense strength to utterly demolish it, then set it ablaze, leaving no trace that he had ever been there.

Of course, he didn’t forget to retrieve the Jade Stone he had given to Ma Daquan.

After all that was done, Jiang Zuo retrieved the Seated Mountain Eagle that had been acting as his lookout and vanished without a trace.

「One day later, at dusk.」

Two Outer Disciples from the Divine Wood Sect, having accepted a mission, rushed cheerfully to Ma Daquan’s lair.

They had accepted a mission to find the Cultivation Jade Stone. While the official reward was nothing compared to the value of finding a Cultivation Jade Stone for themselves, it was still very tempting.

The two of them had been lucky to land such a mission.

But when they entered Ma Daquan’s lair and heard someone mention that they were the third group to come looking for Boss Ma, their expressions immediately changed.

They rushed to the cliffside temple, only to stare, ashen-faced, at the temple that had been reduced to ruins.

...

’To get to the Bu Family, my best bet is to follow Bu Yuehua’s advice and search the Ancient Beast Forest, north of the Daze Dynasty.’

’Cao Kingdom... never mind. I barely knew anyone there, and those I did are likely long dead by now.’

Jiang Zuo traveled alone, moving through the mountains with brisk, powerful strides.

Riding the Seated Mountain Eagle would have been faster, but out of an abundance of caution, he chose to travel on foot.

Jiang Zuo ran nonstop, pausing only to ask for directions.

「One month later.」

After passing through numerous kingdoms, Jiang Zuo successfully entered the Daze Dynasty.

The Ancient Beast Forest was also known as the Daze Forest, and Jiang Zuo found out its location without much trouble.

Jiang Zuo had assumed finding the Bu Family would be difficult, but to his surprise, there was a Bu Family Town right on the edge of the Daze Forest.

Most of the town’s inhabitants shared the surname Bu. The majority practiced martial arts and made their living by hunting in the Daze Forest.

The town also had a Bu Family Martial Arts Hall that taught martial arts to the residents.

In addition to those named Bu, the town also had plenty of outsiders, especially Martial Artists who intended to make a living hunting in the Daze Forest.

By this time, Jiang Zuo’s apparent age had dropped to his early forties.

He hadn’t forgotten what Bu Yuehua once said: the younger you are, the greater the benefits you can receive from the Bu Family.

Bu Yuehua wouldn’t have said that for no reason, but being too young wouldn’t be good either. His early forties felt just right to Jiang Zuo.

Upon learning that the town’s martial arts hall also taught the Blood God Skill, Jiang Zuo immediately went to pay a visit to its master.

"An ancestral token!"

The hall master’s pupils shrank the moment he saw the ancient Wooden Token Jiang Zuo presented.

But looking at Jiang Zuo’s apparent age, he was reluctant to believe it.

A Grandmaster in his early forties who had authentically cultivated the Blood God Skill... no matter how he looked at it, it seemed impossible.

"Sir, this is indeed a token of our Bu Family. A Grandmaster of the Blood God Skill who holds this token may enter the Bu ancestral land. However, before that, I must confirm your Cultivation. If there are no issues, I will immediately notify the ancestral land to send someone to escort you."

The hall master said politely to Jiang Zuo after a moment’s thought.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!