The Master of Beasts

The young girl, having received orders from her Young Miss, hurried to find Chen Jiuge and his companions' stall.

The girl spread her hands to block the trio, who were about to close up shop, and said, "Wait, you can't go."

Chen Jiuge looked at the unfamiliar girl with a questioning expression. "Fellow Daoist?"

"My Young Miss invites you to the Lin Family," the girl said softly, retracting her hands as she realized her posture was somewhat unseemly.

"Not interested. I won't go." Chen Jiuge had no intention of getting involved with the local powers. To be precise, during this experiential training, he had been deliberately avoiding any entanglement with other forces.

No matter what the girl said, Chen Jiuge remained unmoved. She followed him all the way to the Fengming Building but was stopped by the Cultivators guarding the gate. Only then did the girl stamp her feet in discouragement.

However, she also breathed a sigh of relief. If this Cultivator was unwilling to meet the Young Miss, didn't that mean there was no risk of her deceptive, high-quality makeup skills being exposed?

With a heavy heart, the girl returned to the Lin Family. She shook her head at Lin Ziyuan and said, "Young Miss, he doesn't want to come."

After repeated inquiries, Lin Ziyuan grew somewhat annoyed. She had extended a personal invitation, and yet he had declined. It was a significant loss of face.

Chen Jiuge didn't care whether he had given someone face or not. In any case, the popularity of the Sword Scabbard Demons and Grinding Stone Demons at his stall was particularly satisfying. He was especially pleased to see the typically dispassionate Sword Cultivators suddenly reveal expressions of shock.

How could a Cultivator be so cold? It looked so discordant.

In order to make the world of Cultivators a better place and to harmonize Fengming City, Chen Jiuge took advantage of the window before the shops raised their prices on these two types of Spiritual Beasts to carry out a massive sweep. He planned to astound Fengming City with his Spirit Beast Breeding over the next five years.

Five years flew by quickly, and it was only a few months until the Spiritual Energy eruption at Heavenly Sword Mountain.

At this moment, Fengming Immortal City was a gathering place for a tremendous number of Sword Cultivators. Among them were not only Loose Cultivators but also members of smaller forces and, occasionally, disciples from Major Sects who came to join the excitement.

Chen Jiuge encountered one such individual.

"Fellow Daoist, I believe that with your abilities, you shouldn't be wasting them on these Low Rank Spiritual Beasts. You have much greater potential," the middle-aged Cultivator said with a serious expression.

"Fellow Daoist, if you want to buy a Spiritual Beast, I welcome you. But as for other matters, we aren't that familiar, are we?" Chen Jiuge declined politely.

The middle-aged Cultivator heard this, just shook his head, and then introduced himself, "I know you are Chen Jiuge. My name is Qin Ming. Now we know each other."

Chen Jiuge's mouth twitched. Were all these Sword Cultivators so strange? What kind of introduction was that?

"Fellow Daoist, I come from Myriad Swords Mountain. I would like to invite you to breed higher-grade Sword Scabbard Demons and Grinding Stone Demons for us," Qin Ming said earnestly.

Chen Jiuge waved his hands repeatedly, indicating his refusal, but Qin Ming simply stood by the stall and didn't leave.

Looking at the serious-faced Sword Cultivator, Chen Jiuge stroked one of the most beautiful Sword Scabbard Demons and asked, "Fellow Daoist thinks I'm wasting my time breeding them?"

Qin Ming looked at the high-quality Sword Scabbard Demon in Chen Jiuge's hands and said, "Yes. With your abilities, you should at least be breeding Higher Rank Sword Scabbard Demons to fully utilize your talent."

Chen Jiuge shook his head. "What do you think of the Sword Scabbard Demon in my hands?"

"Naturally, it's excellent, but its Grade is a bit lacking."

"I've heard that most Sword Cultivators start nurturing their Lifebound Spirit Swords from the lowest Rank. Why can't Sword Scabbard Demons do the same?" Chen Jiuge retorted.

"Because it is a Spiritual Beast. We Sword Cultivators don't need any external force—they just need to nurture our Spirit Swords well."

"Aren't your words a bit too much, Fellow Daoist Qin? So what if it's a Spiritual Beast?" a young Cultivator, who was selecting a Sword Scabbard Demon at the stall, interjected with dissatisfaction.

"He Jiansi?" Qin Ming recognized the young Cultivator.

"That's me. You're still as extreme as ever, Qin Ming. It looks like your experiential training was another failure," He Jiansi said, clearly disagreeing with Qin Ming's view.

"Fellow Daoist Chen, let's have a drink sometime. I really liked what you said—why can't Sword Scabbard Demons grow together with Spirit Swords and Sword Cultivators?" Having finally chosen a snow-white Sword Scabbard Demon, He Jiansi put down some Spirit Stones, offered this remark, and departed.

Over these five years, Chen Jiuge had developed Sword Scabbard Demons suitable for Spirit Swords of various attributes, resulting in a rich diversity of colors among them.

"Fellow Daoist Qin, I need to close up shop now," Chen Jiuge began to pack up his stall.

Pausing for a moment before leaving, he turned his head and said, "Fellow Daoist Qin, I believe that whether it's swords or Spiritual Beasts, as long as you care for and trust them with all your heart, they will give you an appropriate return."

Qin Ming looked at the sword in his hand, then at Chen Jiuge's retreating figure, suddenly recalling words his ancestor had once said to him.

"Qin Ming, maturity is not something you can possess just by changing your appearance to look middle-aged. You are too obsessed. It's true that Sword Cultivators focus on the sword, but what about everything else? Can't Sword Cultivators use other Magic Artifacts? When you're on the verge of death, won't you use other Spells?"

"Go out and see the world. When you understand, then return to the Qin Family."

Actually, this was not the first time Qin Ming had gone out for experiential training. Including previous instances, he had been wandering outside for many years.

As the most talented individual of his generation in the Qin Family, many of his peers had already become immortals. Qin Ming himself, however, was still stuck in his Heart Demon Tribulation, unable to break through. If not for possessing the Heavenly Sword Saint Body with a sword heart, he would have perished under the Heart Demon Tribulation long ago.