Ten Thousand Years in Seclusion

Looking at the Crimson-Scaled Beast in front of him, Qi Tian suddenly remembered the commission from the Hundred Herbs Hall.

It had clearly described the beast as "suspected to have only recently broken through to the second rank." So how had it reached the late stage of the second rank in such a short time?

That rate of advancement was unusual.

He asked, "Did you come across some kind of opportunity?"

The Crimson-Scaled Beast tilted its head. Its huge, bell-like eyes were filled with confusion. Clearly, it hadn’t understood him.

Qi Tian tried another question.

"How did you get stronger? How did you reach the late stage of the second rank so quickly?"

The Crimson-Scaled Beast still looked completely lost.

Qi Tian thought for a moment and tried a different approach.

First, he pointed at the beast.

"You."

Then he puffed out his chest and flexed his arms, trying to look as strong as possible.

"Get stronger."

He then raised a hand to his mouth and mimed chewing.

"Did you... eat something?"

This time, the Crimson-Scaled Beast seemed to understand.

It nodded.

Qi Tian’s eyes lit up.

"Is there any left?"

The Crimson-Scaled Beast nodded again.

"Then take me there."

The Crimson-Scaled Beast had just started shaking its head when Qi Tian raised his hand.

Smack!

The beast’s head snapped to the side. Stars swam before its eyes, its ears drooped, and it immediately dropped to the ground, trembling.

"Are you going or not?"

The Crimson-Scaled Beast let out a pitiful whimper and hurriedly nodded.

Qi Tian immediately put away the Isolation Formation Plate and suppressed his aura back down to the seventh layer of Qi Condensation.

He patted the beast on the head.

"Lead the way."

The Crimson-Scaled Beast immediately turned and headed deeper into the forest.

Qi Tian hurried after it.

Qi Tian followed the Crimson-Scaled Beast for roughly half a zhu of incense before arriving at a secluded cave entrance.

The entrance was small, but a faint crimson demonic aura hung over it, drifting like a thin mist. Within ten zhang of the cave, the grass and trees had withered and the earth was cracked, clearly scorched and eroded by the Crimson-Scaled Beast’s demonic aura. It had claimed the area as its territory. Any ordinary demonic beast that caught the scent would know the place was already occupied and would not dare trespass.

Countless animal bones lay scattered around the entrance. Some had weathered until they were white, while others still had traces of blood on them. Tiger bones, wolf bones, and deer bones were piled together, along with the remains of several first-rank demonic beasts. Yet there was not a single human bone among them.

The night was deep, thick clouds blotting out the moon and leaving the forest black as ink. But Qi Tian’s cultivation was profound, and his vision in the dark was exceptionally sharp. Nothing inside or outside the cave escaped his notice.

His gaze swept over the bones scattered across the ground, and he gave a slight nod.

It seemed this beast wasn’t completely stupid. At least it knew where to draw the line.

The Hundred Herbs Hall’s commission only said that it had attacked herb gatherers. There had been no mention of any deaths. If a cultivator had actually died in this beast’s jaws, it would have long since attracted the attention of high-level cultivators, who would have come to hunt it down. There would have been no reason for the commission to end up as a mission for Falling Cloud Sect disciples.

Qi Tian followed the Crimson-Scaled Beast into the cave.

The passage twisted deep into the darkness. After walking several dozen zhang, a faint red glow suddenly appeared ahead.

Qi Tian looked up.

Deep inside the cave, a small tree about half a man tall grew beside the rock wall. Its trunk was translucent like jade, and three fist-sized fruits hung from its branches. They were crimson from stem to skin, radiating an astonishingly rich spiritual aura.

A flicker of surprise crossed Qi Tian’s eyes.

"Bloodfire Spirit Fruit!"

The fruit was almost useless to human cultivators, but it was a spirit fruit that could greatly aid demonic beasts in raising their cultivation.

No wonder the Crimson-Scaled Beast had advanced so quickly, going from a newly broken-through second-rank demonic beast all the way to the late stage of the second rank in such a short time.

Qi Tian narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at the Bloodfire Spirit Fruit Tree.

This thing was worth quite a bit.

He immediately stepped forward, intending to dig up the entire tree by the roots.

"Roar..."

The Crimson-Scaled Beast immediately blocked the tree, baring its teeth as it let out a low warning growl.

"Not letting me?"

Qi Tian raised an eyebrow and lifted his hand.

Smack!

He slapped the beast across the head again.

He hadn’t used the strength of Foundation Establishment, but the Crimson-Scaled Beast’s head still snapped to the side, stars flashing before its eyes.

"Don’t make me kill you first and then dig it up."

The Crimson-Scaled Beast’s aggression vanished instantly. It slowly lowered its head, unwilling but helpless, and whimpered twice before finally stepping aside.

Qi Tian began digging up the tree with his bare hands. He plunged both hands into the soil, sending spiritual power into the ground to loosen the earth and rocks around the roots. Then he gave a sharp pull, uprooting the entire tree with the soil still clinging to its roots.

He casually stuffed it into his storage pouch.

But the moment the tree entered the opening, it was repelled by an invisible force. The leaves quickly wilted and curled, while the three Bloodfire Spirit Fruits dropped to the ground with a series of soft thuds.

Qi Tian frowned.

He had forgotten. An ordinary storage pouch couldn’t hold living things.

He didn’t have a jade container for storing spirit herbs and spirit fruits, so he had no choice but to first wrap the three Bloodfire Spirit Fruits in spiritual power and place them inside the pouch.

However, this method could only preserve them for a limited time. Once the spiritual power was depleted, the fruits would lose their spiritual essence and eventually rot.

As for the tree...

Qi Tian thought for a moment, then looked at the Crimson-Scaled Beast’s back.

He found several tough vines and beckoned to the beast.

The Crimson-Scaled Beast’s entire body stiffened. But under Qi Tian’s indifferent gaze, it could only resign itself to its fate and obediently lie down.

Qi Tian tied the fruit tree to its back, secured it firmly, then patted the beast on the head.

"Come down the mountain with me. Don’t worry. I’ll spare your life."

They walked out of the cave into a night as dark as ink.

Qi Tian glanced back at the Crimson-Scaled Beast, which was carrying the fruit tree with its head hanging low.

"Don’t even think about running. Otherwise, you’ll die."

The Crimson-Scaled Beast let out a low whimper and didn’t dare make the slightest move.

And so, Qi Tian raced ahead while the Crimson-Scaled Beast followed close behind with the tree on its back.

When they were nearing the foot of the mountain, Qi Tian spotted a group of people gathered there in the distance. It was several junior brothers and sisters from the Falling Cloud Sect, along with the people from the Beast Tamer Association.

"Junior Brother Qi! Are you all right?"

Zhuang Lili spotted Qi Tian from afar and ran toward him.

Qi Tian was unhappy about her calling him "Junior Brother," but seeing the concern on her face, he smiled.

"I’m fine."

Zhuang Lili had only run a few steps when she suddenly froze.

She had finally seen the enormous crimson figure behind Qi Tian.

The others noticed it as well. In an instant, the sounds of weapons being drawn rang out one after another, and everyone backed away together as though facing a formidable enemy.

"Don’t be afraid. I’ve already tamed the Crimson-Scaled Beast."

Qi Tian didn’t stop walking.

As if they could possibly not be afraid.

Zhuang Lili was already backing away repeatedly, her face pale.

The young man surnamed Duan stared wide-eyed at Qi Tian and blurted out, "You’re only at the seventh layer of Qi Condensation. How could you possibly tame a late-stage second-rank demonic beast?!"

Qi Tian had already prepared an excuse, so he answered without hesitation.

"Demonic beasts have been friendly toward me since I was a child. Maybe... I’m blessed with a Beast-Affinity Physique?"

The Beast-Affinity Physique was one of the special physiques. Others included the Profound Yin Physique and the Nine Yang Physique. All of them were even rarer than Variant Spiritual Roots, with perhaps not a single one appearing in a thousand years.

"A Beast-Affinity Physique?!"

Everyone stared at Qi Tian in stunned disbelief.

"Maybe."

Qi Tian shrugged.

He slowly walked closer, but afraid of frightening them any further, he stopped and turned to beckon to the beast behind him.

"Uh... that... Little Red, come over here."

The Crimson-Scaled Beast lowered its head and trudged toward him one step at a time, dragging the Bloodfire Spirit Fruit Tree on its back.

Qi Tian reached out and patted it on the head.

"See? It’s very close to me."

Zhuang Lili swallowed and said in a trembling voice, "But... it’s shaking. It looks terrified..."

"No," Qi Tian said without batting an eye, looking down at the Crimson-Scaled Beast. "It’s just too excited."

He patted the beast on the head again.

"Little Red, isn’t that right?"

The Crimson-Scaled Beast shuddered all over and hurriedly nodded again and again, trembling even more violently.

Soil from the fruit tree’s roots and leaves rustled down from its back.