Chapter Eighteen: The Beast Taming Ring

Chen Yi had no time to inspect the remaining items in Li Li’s spatial ring, for the commotion from their battle might have alerted the other two; they would arrive at any moment. To increase his odds of survival, Chen Yi began circulating his cultivation method, restoring his vital energy.

Before long, the sword-wielding youth and the archer appeared before Chen Yi.

“I didn’t expect you to possess such strength—to have actually killed Li Li. It appears you’ve consumed the Heavenly Dragon Fruit and now wield the power of the Heavenly Dragon bloodline,” the sword-bearer said coldly. “But that’s just as well. Once we kill you, we can extract the Heavenly Dragon bloodline from your body.”

Wu Tian, the youth with the sword, spoke with venom as he gazed at Li Li’s lifeless form. Although Chen Yi had slain the strongest among them, Wu Tian felt no fear. He was certain that Li Li’s defeat had been due to his ignorance of Chen Yi’s consumption of the Heavenly Dragon Fruit, causing him to underestimate his foe, which led to his death in a moment of Chen Yi’s unleashed power.

Even so, Wu Tian believed that even if Chen Yi possessed the strength to kill Li Li head-on, he and Zhang Liang together could easily defeat Li Li, and even hold their own against a cultivator at the ninth level of the Qi Refining stage. Wu Tian simply did not believe that Chen Yi, a mere cultivator at the sixth level, could rival someone at the ninth. At best, with the Heavenly Dragon bloodline, he might reach the eighth level.

“Rainbow Piercing the Sun!”

Seeing Wu Tian’s contempt, Chen Yi unleashed the most powerful strike of his Illusory Light Sword Technique. Three sword lights shot toward Wu Tian’s throat. Wu Tian swung his sword to counter them, but to his astonishment, his blade passed right through the sword lights—they were like phantoms. Yet the chill at his throat told Wu Tian these sword lights could truly take his life. There was no time to react; he would pay dearly for underestimating Chen Yi.

At the instant the sword lights were about to pierce his throat, a golden arrow flew from the distance, shattering the sword lights in a flash before embedding itself in a nearby tree. Zhang Liang, seeing Wu Tian in peril, had loosed his bow at the critical moment, saving Wu Tian’s life.

After witnessing Chen Yi’s true strength, Wu Tian and Zhang Liang knew they were no match for him. Without hesitation, they turned to flee.

“Sword Becoming the Rainbow!”

“Rainbow Across a Thousand Miles!”

But Chen Yi gave them no chance to escape. He activated the full power of his Heavenly Dragon bloodline and unleashed the Illusory Light Sword Technique at its most fearsome. Twelve sword lights, flickering between illusion and reality, swept toward his two foes. Desperate, they employed their most formidable techniques. Wu Tian’s sword became a shield, fending off the sword lights, while Zhang Liang, with his final arrows, unleashed the “Nine Beads in the Sky”—nine golden arrows aimed at the incoming sword lights. Their coordination was seamless, a testament to frequent battles fought together.

The nine arrows struck at the shifting sword lights, shattering three of them, while the remaining lights evaded destruction by turning intangible. In the blink of an eye, the remaining nine sword lights crashed against Wu Tian’s sword shield, shattering it instantly. Only three sword lights remained.

Seeing the sword lights break Wu Tian’s defense, Zhang Liang immediately used his movement technique, darting into the depths of the forest and abandoning Wu Tian to save himself. Chen Yi made no move to stop him, confident that Xiaotian, lying in wait, would not let the arrowless archer escape.

When Wu Tian realized he’d been abandoned, he threw down his sword and begged Chen Yi for mercy. Yet when Chen Yi drew near, Wu Tian lashed out with both fists in a last-ditch attack.

Chen Yi had remained vigilant, knowing that one as ruthless as Wu Tian would never truly surrender. Seeing the fists coming, Chen Yi drew the Rainbow Sword and pierced Wu Tian’s throat in an instant. The blade tip passed clean through; Wu Tian was dead. Chen Yi had killed again, but this time he felt none of the terror or revulsion of his first kill.

After Wu Tian’s death, Xiaotian dragged Zhang Liang’s corpse from the depths of the forest. Zhang Liang’s body bore fresh claw and bite marks—a savage end, but well-deserved for the smiling tiger.

Chen Yi found two more spatial rings on Wu Tian and Zhang Liang, filled with spirit herbs, spirit stones, and monster cores.

Within their spatial rings, he also discovered a Beast-Taming Ring—a special spatial artifact designed for storing living monsters. Ordinary spatial rings could only store inanimate objects, never living beings. The value of a Beast-Taming Ring far surpassed that of a regular spatial ring; even a low-grade one with less than five zhang of space would fetch at least three hundred spirit stones.

It was clear that Li Li and his companions had gone to great lengths for the Golden Flood Dragon Serpent Egg, even purchasing such an expensive item. The arrival of the Beast-Taming Ring resolved one of Chen Yi’s main concerns: where to keep the precious egg. He’d hesitated to store it in his spatial ring, fearing it might kill the embryo. Carrying it openly was equally risky, as its immense value would surely attract thieves.

Even three cultivators at the eighth level of Qi Refining, bold enough to run rampant in the outer sect when working together, had paid dearly for a Beast-Taming Ring to safely hide the egg from prying eyes. This alone spoke to the egg’s extraordinary worth. A newly hatched Golden Flood Dragon Serpent already possessed the strength of a fourth-level Qi Refining cultivator, and with luck, could grow to break through the Qi Refining stage entirely—becoming a Foundation Establishment beast. Chen Yi’s task was to find a hatchling not long out of its shell.

Such monster eggs, with the potential to reach the Foundation Establishment stage, were exceedingly rare in the cultivation world. After all, among a hundred thousand Qi Refining cultivators, perhaps only a thousand might ever reach the next stage.

Moreover, the Golden Flood Dragon Serpent possessed a trace of dragon blood, making it nearly invincible among those at the same level.

Chen Yi dug a deep pit to bury the three corpses, lest monsters of the mountains feast upon their remains. Then, he and Xiaotian, carrying their spoils, returned to the cave.

Inside, Chen Yi retrieved the hidden Golden Flood Dragon Serpent Egg and the last remaining Heavenly Dragon Fruit. He placed the egg in the Beast-Taming Ring and the fruit in his spatial ring.

He had no intention of consuming the final Heavenly Dragon Fruit himself, nor giving it to Xiaotian. Such rare treasures had miraculous effects the first time they were taken, but yielded little benefit thereafter. Both he and Xiaotian had already eaten one, so to consume another would be a waste.

Instead, Chen Yi planned to feed the last fruit to the Golden Flood Dragon Serpent once it hatched. A beast with dragon blood was well worth nurturing, and only such a creature would fully unleash the Heavenly Dragon Fruit’s greatest potential.