Chapter 1207 - I Want To Go Home!

Liu Wuxie possessed deep knowledge of the language of beastkind, yet he had not practiced the Beast-Taming Art. Instead, he relied on wit and insight to subdue them.

On Anlu Star, for instance, he had won over the Astral Moon Bird with sheer ability, persuading it to escort them away willingly.

The obstacle lay in his cultivation. Though he understood the Beast-Taming Art, he lacked the strength to practice it. Knowing the beast language and mastering the Beast-Taming Art was a vastly different endeavor altogether.

The former allowed communication, while the latter allowed one to seize an astral beast's primordial spirit, bind it with a contract, and compel obedience.

"You also know the Beast-Taming Art?" He Yingwu blurted out, his mouth falling open in surprise. The revelation left him staring in shock, as he never expected that Liu Wuxie was capable of wielding such a skill.

They stood back-to-back, ensuring the twelve elders could not overhear their exchange. Even He Yingwu kept his expression hidden from those outside.

Years ago, Liu Wuxie had crossed paths with the Beast Master Gate. The sect master himself taught him the Beast-Taming Art, but Liu Wuxie never practiced it afterward. Now, he finally brought it forth, intending to familiarize himself with it.

Closing his eyes, he sank into cultivation. Strange texts surfaced within his soul sea and formed the script of beastkind civilization. He lingered in meditation for three days before finally rising on the fourth. When he opened his eyes, bizarre laws shimmered within their depths.

"Interesting," he murmured. "I didn't expect the changes to be so profound after merging the Beast-Taming Art with faith energy. If I continue, it might even evolve into the Great Beast-Taming Art, allowing me to summon astral beasts to serve at my command."

He had practiced the art as a precaution. Hunting a handful of astral beasts would cost him only a single day. The rest of his time could be dedicated to cultivation. With the Nine Heavenly Dragon Forms already at a bottleneck, he knew he would need to step into the Origin Conversion Realm to attempt the fourth form.

"Let's hunt astral beasts," Liu Wuxie declared. Combat was the best crucible for tempering his new mastery.

......

Elsewhere in the range, Mu Heng struggled against a massive astral beast, his longsword flashing as he invoked the Nine Heavenly Dragon Forms to subdue it. He had already forced nine beasts into submission within four days.

𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Once Mu Heng restrained the beast, Zhao Zhen and Zhao Hai produced a spiritual talisman, igniting it and embedding runes into the creature's body.

Its eyes dulled and lost their light, as though someone hollowed them out. This was not the Beast-Taming Art, but hypnosis—a crude method that bent the beast's will only for a short span before it broke free.

"How many more do we need?" Mu Heng asked, weariness etched on his face.

"One more," the brothers answered, excitement gleaming in their eyes. "Then we can summon the others."

Without Mu Heng's strength, the brothers could never have subdued so many astral beasts, each equal to the Origin Conversion Realm. Gathered together, such a horde could trap even higher-level Origin Conversion cultivators.

At first, Mu Heng doubted them, but after he witnessed their methods, astonishment struck him as well. He fought with all his might to subdue the beasts, yet the brothers merely used talismans to control them.

The hunt pressed on.

......

Deeper in the mountains, Liu Wuxie finally encountered a formidable astral beast barring his path.

He Yingwu stiffened instantly. The aura alone was overwhelming, like a mountain bearing down from the heavens. Before them loomed a mature Jadestone Centipede, five meters tall and two meters thick, its body rising like a living wall.

The centipede bellowed, ink-green venom dripping from its jaws. Each drop hissed as it fell, eating through the earth itself. Ordinary men would perish instantly if bitten.

However, Liu Wuxie showed no fear. He advanced calmly, without even unsheathing the Heretic Blade.

He Yingwu tried to stop him, but it was too late.

Halting just five meters from the beast, Liu Wuxie stood within striking distance. One move from the centipede could end him, as its power rivaled the first-level Origin Conversion Realm.

For days, the twelve elders stopped paying him attention and dismissed his quiet cultivation. Now, their eyes returned to him.

"What is he doing? Is he seeking death?" one elder from the Heavenly Martial Institute asked, bewildered. Why would he approach instead of attacking?

Provoked by his audacity, the Jadestone Centipede reared up, raising over a hundred claws in a grotesque display that made the skin crawl.

It growled low, venom streaming to the ground. The poison dissolved the leaves on contact and burned scorched holes into the earth.

Liu Wuxie suddenly understood why this land was called the "yellow zone." Poison saturated the underground veins, and every beast here carried venom in its bloodline. Even the plants had long since adapted, staining the entire terrain a yellow hue.

"Ding Yi, what is he doing?" the other three Heavenly Martial Institute elders demanded.

"I don't know," Ding Yi admitted with a bitter smile. From the beginning, Liu Wuxie had been unfathomable, and that had only grown worse.

"He's courting death. Watch him die," Huang Shan sneered.

The centipede struck, its claws lashing like blades, and the wind howled with eerie force.

At such close range, dodging was nearly impossible. Only the Nine Heavenly Dragon Forms might save him, yet Liu Wuxie stood firm, making no move to evade.

The stench of venom blew across the space as the claws descended.

He Yingwu's heart raced as he desperately wished to intervene.

Just as the claws were about to reach him, strange runes appeared before Liu Wuxie, sinking directly into the centipede's soul sea. The beast froze, claws suspended inches from his chest.

"What?" gasped the elders outside. Even Ding Yi looked as though he had seen a ghost.

He Yingwu's sword slipped from his grasp as his jaw fell open. His comprehension was shattered at the sight.

"What is happening?" the Dharma Institute elders muttered, one rubbing his eyes as though waking from a dream.

"He must have practiced sorcery!" a War Dragon Institute elder exclaimed, steadying his shock.

The others nodded. To them, only sorcery could explain such a phenomenon. Yet even they, experts of the Primal Origin Realm, suddenly felt like children taking their first steps compared to Liu Wuxie.

"We all underestimated him," Ding Yi admitted with a rueful smile. They had assumed the centipede would kill him, yet reality had twisted far beyond expectation.

And then, matters turned utterly absurd.

At a flick of Liu Wuxie's finger, the Jadestone Centipede began to dance. Its countless legs moved in perfect rhythm, almost graceful, leaving the elders gaping.

"I can't take this anymore—I want to go home!" one War Dragon elder sobbed, but no one mocked him; instead, they nodded in agreement. They, too, wanted to leave.

He Yingwu wiped the sweat from his brow, unwilling to watch the absurd sight.

The centipede shifted from dancing to hopping, and then it clumsily mimicked martial techniques. Liu Wuxie was actually teaching an astral beast how to perform a martial technique!

The beast showed no resistance. Golden runes branded into its soul sea bound it to Liu Wuxie's will, compelling obedience. After two hours of this spectacle, the centipede collapsed, drained of strength.

Summoning the Heretic Blade, Liu Wuxie ended it with a clean strike, severing its head and retrieving its beast core. His mastery of the Beast-Taming Art grew sharper through the practice.

"Mu Heng is in trouble now," one Heavenly Martial elder muttered with a sly grin. They struggled desperately to control ten astral beasts, yet Liu Wuxie tamed one with effortless ease.

This trial tested not just hunting speed, but mastery over control—and Liu Wuxie had just proven his.

When Shen Yue woke up and learned that Mu Heng was faltering, her eyes rolled back and she fainted again.

"Senior Brother Mu Heng, we've done it! We can summon the other astral beasts to lay siege to Liu Wuxie!" Zhao Hai exclaimed, barely containing his excitement.

In recent days, Mu Heng gathered just over fifty disciples from the War Dragon Institute. The majority of the disciples refused to provoke Liu Wuxie after witnessing his strength.

A handful of Dharma Institute disciples also joined, drawn by the spectacle of the brothers' beast-taming. They came to watch, certain they would not need to risk themselves.

On the seventh day, Liu Wuxie stopped after taming twenty astral beasts. His grasp of the Beast-Taming Art had become increasingly refined.

Rumors spread like wildfire, saying that Mu Heng had amassed a force of astral beasts and planned to use them against Liu Wuxie. The tale drew crowds of disciples, trailing quietly in their wake.

Just then, the earth shook. A thunderous rumble rolled across the range as hundreds of astral beasts gathered into a horde. Liu Wuxie lifted his gaze toward the distant mountains, and a faint smile curled across his lips.

"So, they're finally coming..." he murmured.