Chapter 157: Beast Taming Technique

Inside the cabin, the two people were struck with horror. Immediately after, a streak of white light flashed rapidly toward Liu Junhuai's throat.

Unflustered, Liu Junhuai waited until the white light was right in front of his eyes before his two fingers materialized with the speed of lightning.

"Hum, hum, hum..."

The flying knife, clamped tightly between his two index fingers, continued to vibrate and hum incessantly.

Following the launch of the flying knife, the figures of a man and a woman sprang into motion. The speed of the two late-stage Golden Core assassins had reached a truly abnormal level. With just a few passing breezes, Liu Junhuai felt their attacks already bearing down upon him.

A sudden burst of explosive power surged from within Liu Junhuai's body. This tyrannical force swept through the space around him, instantly silencing all other energies, and at that very moment, he vanished completely.

The next instant, both assassins simultaneously felt a colossal force slam heavily into their backs.

"Bang!" "Bang!" Two resounding thud echoes rang out.

Struck simultaneously by Li Huai, their bodies flew outward before crashing heavily onto the ground. Instantly, his palm wind transformed into finger force.

"Puff! Puff!" Amidst the muffled impacts, the two could no longer move a muscle!

Without wasting words, Liu Junhuai grabbed the pair and executed a teleportation, returning instantly to the Che Shangguan estate.

Fang Yexu's spiritual consciousness had long since detected Liu Junhuai's return. He strode forward quickly, his eyes silently inquiring about the identities of the two captives.

"Thud!" "Thud!" The two were dumped onto the ground. "Hall Master Fang, these two are assassins sent by the Blood-Slaying Alliance to assassinate Che Shangguan. They haven't been thoroughly interrogated yet, so please arrange for an interrogation as soon as possible!" Seeing disciples of the Sect Alliance drag the two figures away, Liu Junhuai detained Fang Yexu.

"Hall Master Fang, these two were dispatched personally by the mysterious female leader of the Blood-Slaying Alliance. Every move we made in the Myriad Form Sect was within their grasp. It seems an even more covert enemy has infiltrated our ranks!"

"In that case, we can be certain that the suspects originally anticipated to arrive at Longwhale Island will no longer show up. The damned Blood-Slaying Alliance is truly pervasive!"

"Not necessarily! I eavesdropped on their conversation. While they might be clear about the movements of myself and the Sect Alliance, they know nothing of the two Hall Masters' backgrounds; otherwise, they wouldn't have dispatched merely two Golden Core assassins. It seems the hidden mole has nothing to do with the domain governor's entourage heading to the Myriad Form Sect. They are still uncertain of the exact information we possess. The problem likely lies among the newly joined disciples! These must be thoroughly investigated, especially the disciples who knew of our trip to Longwhale Island—they must be screened one by one! Whoever is meant to come should still appear, because there is another possibility: the Blood-Slaying Alliance has already given up on Che Shangguan and intends to silence him."

Gathering his thoughts, Fang Yexu said, "Let's set that aside for now; once we interrogate these two, everything will become clear. It turns out to be a good thing that you didn't participate in the interrogation. In just this short while, you've brought me two key figures—these are the two closest to the leader of the Blood-Slaying Alliance. We are bound to harvest some results, and I am eagerly looking forward to it!"

Liu Junhuai laughed, "I originally intended to slack off, but I lucked into an easy gain. These two assassins' second target was actually me—an order directly given by that female leader. It seems I, Liu Junhuai, have finally made a name for myself, managing to rank first on the Blood-Slaying Alliance's assassination list! Hall Master Fang, pay special attention to the female assassin. Her conviction has already wavered; she originally planned to flee far away after killing Che Shangguan. She is already terrified!"

Fang Yexu nodded and said, "Good! We will use her as our breakthrough point. Go and rest for a while; I will notify you if anything comes up."

Seeing the eager expression on Fang Yexu's face, Liu Junhuai could not help but remind him, "Do not lift their restrictions just yet. Beware of the poison fangs hidden in their mouths!"

***

Fang Yexu smiled, waved his hand, and hurried back into the interrogation room in a few strides.

Longwhale Island spans tens of thousands of mu. Since last night, a radius of several hundred miles around the Che Shangguan estate has been designated as a restricted zone. Even the upper crust of Longwhale Island cannot enter at will; it is open exclusively to arriving guests, with the public announcement being that Che Shangguan is hosting very special VIP guests.

Decorations have already begun on the main stage of the grand sect hall, complete with lanterns and colored streamers, ensuring no suspicion is aroused.

Gong Hehao had already planted dozens of informants at the entrance of the restricted zone, ensuring that the moment any guest arrived, word would reach him immediately.

Thus, Liu Junhuai felt entirely at ease finding a room to calm his mind and study the manual on Beast Taming Arts.

As it turned out, the Beast Taming Art is a cultivation technique that utilizes spiritual consciousness to control beasts. In ancient times, fierce beasts roamed the earth in vast numbers, immensely cruel and bloodthirsty. To survive and evolve, humanity engaged in continuous, bloody battles against these violently tyrannical creatures. Gradually, some individuals discovered methods to control beasts using spiritual consciousness.

The Beast Taming Art is one of the few rare esoteric arts passed down through the ages. It enhances beast tiers by strengthening spiritual consciousness; the more abundant one's spiritual consciousness, the stronger and more numerous the beasts one can control.

The beast-driving and beast-taming techniques existing in contemporary society are merely branches of the Beast Taming Art.

True Beast Taming Arts directly employ spiritual consciousness to manipulate animals. When practiced to an advanced level, one can even control multiple targets simultaneously or alter an animal's instinctual consciousness at will.

The cultivation stages of the Beast Taming Art are divided into six realms: Beast Disciple, Beast Master, Beast Monarch, Beast Immortal, Beast Deity, and Beast Sage.

The Beast Disciple realm is the initial threshold of practicing the Beast Taming Art. Once the incantations of the art can circulate within the body, the Beast Disciple realm is successfully achieved.

However, the Beast Disciple realm can only manipulate the actions of tiny wild animals and lacks the ability to actively tame them. Moreover, this kind of manipulation can only last for the duration of half an incense stick. That Zhao Santai was probably nothing more than a Beast Disciple.

Only upon breaking through to the Beast Master realm can one truly comprehend the profound depths of the Beast Taming Art. A Beast Master can freely control beasts whose strength is inferior to their own, determining the number and size of the beasts based on the magnitude of their spiritual consciousness. Furthermore, this realm refines a portable Beast Taming Ring—a pocket dimension used to house tamed beasts.

Advancing further to the Beast Monarch realm allows one to directly control the souls of beasts, enabling permanent control over a single creature with arbitrary transfer regardless of distance.

The Beast Immortal realm is extraordinary indeed; practitioners in this realm can alter the shape, size, and attack methods of beasts at will, and even mimic the sounds and auras of various creatures.

Liu Junhuai felt a surge of secret joy. This Beast Taming Art was a magical secret technique left over from antiquity, long since vanished from the cultivation world. It was only a pity that this jade slip recorded the cultivation incantations for the first four realms alone.

Even so, Liu Junhuai was immensely satisfied. Should he cultivate to the Beast Immortal realm, he would gain several-fold or even dozens offold greater assistance out of thin air, infinitely multiplying his combat capabilities.

Once he successfully carved out a beast space, he would henceforth be able to summon or dismiss battle beasts into that space at will.

The Spirit Communication Mantra is a technique enabling communication between two different living beings. This is also the foundation of the Beast Taming Art; only by first mastering the Spirit Communication Mantra can one converse with other creatures, and subsequently enlist their aid in battle or other tasks.

With his divine sense probing into the jade slip, Liu Junhuai began practicing the Spirit Communication Mantra. He studied the incantations with utmost concentration, slowly imprinting, absorbing, fusing, and comprehending the esoteric principles contained within his mind's memory layers.

***

The Spirit Communication Mantra was relatively simple and easy to learn. In less than an hour, the entire incantation was deeply engraved in Liu Junhuai's sea of consciousness.

Next came the formal initiation into the Beast Taming Art. Just like the Spirit Communication Mantra, as the incantation penetrated deeper into his sea of consciousness, the intricate patterns and runes became thoroughly mastered. Unawares, Liu Junhuai stepped into the Beast Disciple realm.

Liu Junhuai stood up, took a deep breath, and released his divine sense. His hands continuously traced runes in the void. With every stroke, ripples resembling water waves formed in space, and simultaneously, these ripples stained with fresh blood transformed into an eerie, glowing red talismanic seal.

The runes grew increasingly complex. Gradually, the speed of void-tracing accelerated, and the runes transformed into dense, abstruse symbols capable of devouring one's soul with a mere glance.

As the flurry of intricate hand seals slowed down, only a cluster of red talismanic seals remained suspended in the void.

Liu Junhuai hastily forced out a mouthful of fresh blood, spraying it into the cluster of red seals. Instantly, the void rippled violently, and the red seals flared brilliantly, transforming into a slender thread of red light that dived directly into Liu Junhuai's sea of consciousness.

Pleasantly surprised, Liu Junhuai had not expected his very first attempt at refining a talismanic seal to succeed. It appeared that entry into the Beast Taming Art was exceptionally straightforward, though naturally, the initial effects would not be overly ideal.

His intention was to push his cultivation directly to the Beast Master realm before attempting practical application. With his own formidable spiritual consciousness, he wouldn't need to resort to eavesdropping via mosquitoes like Zhao Santai.

Cultivating the Beast Master realm was not as effortless as before. While the method was somewhat similar, the incantations and techniques required to be comprehended were a hundred times more complex.

He had practiced less than ten percent when Fang Yexu arrived.

As Fang Yexu entered the room, Liu Junhuai immediately noticed the broad smile plastered across his face, telling him instantly that the interrogation had yielded results.

"We were all overthinking it; the Blood-Slaying Alliance really had no clue what specific intelligence we held. Their decision to send assassins this time was made long ago, right after you annihilated the Yanfu Palace. The Blood-Slaying Alliance has already decided to write off certain inconsequential pawns. It seems the Sect Alliance's blows have made that female leader doubly cautious—she certainly doesn't want to become a sinner against the entire Blood-Slaying Alliance." Fang Yexu's face still beamed with lingering smiles.

Liu Junhuai asked with a puzzled expression, "Then how did the Blood-Slaying Alliance know we were coming here?"

"Mostly guesswork. It's quite easy to figure out: only three or five high-ranking members of the Blood-Slaying Alliance remain in the Western Region. Knowing which direction the Sect Alliance's party headed makes it simple to deduce. Clearly, the fact that we managed to capture Huan Jingrao shows that the Blood-Slaying Alliance hadn't yet managed to notify others who had direct contact with him!"

"Does that mean they also didn't have time to notify Guan Shaoqing, the Second Elder of the Hall of Hell? We and the Blood-Slaying Alliance are racing against time; it all depends on who seizes the initiative first."

"Mm, that's entirely possible! Let's prepare for two scenarios. If Guan Shaoqing fails to arrive today, the Sect Alliance must head to the Hall of Hell tonight to execute the capture plan!"

***