I'm Just a Beast Tamer

Cultivation requires a Spirit Root, but mortals born within the Heaven and Earth Sealing Spirit Array can’t possibly develop one?

Huangfu Xi was stunned.

Jiang Zuo could have told him all this himself.

But Jiang Zuo knew that even if he had, Huangfu Xi wouldn’t have just believed him. He would have tried to verify it.

Once he started seeking proof, if someone with ulterior motives noticed, they might come to investigate.

If that happened, Jiang Zuo would very likely be exposed.

Jiang Zuo still needed to raise the Venus Fish and didn’t want to give up halfway.

Knowing that saying more was pointless, he simply hadn’t said anything at all.

Mo Daoist was a Cultivator Huangfu Xi had found after immense hardship. Coming from him, the words carried far more weight than if Jiang Zuo had said them.

"No! Teacher, you’re definitely not telling the truth!"

"My eyes aren’t ordinary. They can see a person’s life force!"

"Mo Daoist’s life force is much stronger than a mortal’s, but it’s only about ten feet wide!"

"But Teacher... your life force is so vast this entire Inquiry Immortal Hall can’t contain it!"

"It’s something no mortal could possibly possess!"

But even now, Huangfu Xi still refused to believe it.

He finally revealed his reason.

Hearing this, Jiang Zuo fell silent for a moment.

Just now, when Huangfu Xi said he appeared like a blazing sun in his eyes...

Jiang Zuo had only assumed his eyes could perceive a person’s Cultivation or combat strength.

He was so much stronger than Mo Daoist that a huge disparity was normal.

But he never expected that what Huangfu Xi could see was life force.

In terms of life force, probably only old monsters with lifespans of around three thousand years could compare to Jiang Zuo.

No wonder Huangfu Xi didn’t believe him.

Anyone who could see Jiang Zuo’s life force would never think he was a mortal.

As for why Huangfu Xi had this ability, Jiang Zuo already knew without him needing to say it. It came from a Venus Fish in Wangyue Lake.

He had likely obtained this ocular ability from an old Venus Fish in Wangyue Lake when he was still very young.

The time Huangfu Xi collapsed in his courtyard was probably no coincidence; it was likely intentional on Huangfu Xi’s part.

Listening to Huangfu Xi from the side, Mo Daoist was trembling, drenched in a cold sweat.

"I see. Huangfu, since you have this ability, I’ll be honest with you."

"My life force is indeed much stronger than a normal person’s, but just as Mo Daoist said, I am not a Cultivator."

"Like you, I cannot practice Cultivation. When my lifespan reaches its end, I will die just the same."

"My life force is strong only because I promoted to the Innate realm long ago and have even cultivated to the legendary realm above Innate."

"You might have silently blamed me for teaching a Cultivation Technique to Hong Shang and helping her cultivate to the Grandmaster Realm."

"While I’ve paid you no mind."

"It couldn’t be helped. The method I used to help Hong Shang was a Dual Cultivation Technique, which can only be practiced between a man and a woman."

"As for you, the most I could do is pass on a Cultivation Technique and let you cultivate on your own."

"But for you, that would be rather meaningless."

Jiang Zuo said after a moment of thought.

The realm "above Innate" was a lie, but it wasn’t an exaggeration to describe Jiang Zuo’s current state as such.

After all, even if there really was a Martial Dao realm above Innate, it couldn’t possibly compare to him.

"Above Innate..."

Huangfu Xi was dumbfounded.

He still wanted to refute Jiang Zuo, to make him admit he was a Cultivator who could set him on the path of Cultivation.

But Mo Daoist had no reason to lie.

’So, Teacher really only has such a powerful life force because he has cultivated to a legendary Martial Dao realm.’

At this thought, Huangfu Xi’s expression dimmed.

"From now on, you’re on your own."

Jiang Zuo said no more. He picked up Mo Daoist and walked out of the Inquiry Immortal Hall.

"Take care of His Majesty. And remember, not a word of what happened tonight gets out. Otherwise, all of you will be in mortal danger!"

Jiang Zuo instructed Eunuch He and the others waiting outside before leaving with Mo Daoist in tow.

"Yes, Imperial Physician Zhou! I will make sure everyone keeps this secret!"

Eunuch He hastily agreed.

He had always been curious why the emperor valued Imperial Physician Zhou so highly.

Even if Imperial Physician Zhou had saved the emperor’s life and acted as his mentor, the emperor was a peerless genius of his generation; such deference seemed excessive.

It wasn’t until tonight that he finally understood.

Jiang Zuo carried Mo Daoist back to an unoccupied pavilion next to his residence.

"Alright, talk. Why did you come to the Mortal Territory?"

Jiang Zuo didn’t beat around the bush and asked Mo Daoist directly.

No matter how down on their luck, a Cultivator wouldn’t come to the Mortal Territory unless they had a reason.

"If I tell you, will you let me go?"

Mo Daoist asked cautiously.

"Yes, but not right away. I’ll be leaving this place in a year or two. I can let you go then."

Jiang Zuo glanced at Mo Daoist and said.

"You’re not lying to me?"

Jiang Zuo had agreed so readily that Mo Daoist found it hard to believe.

"I always keep my word. You can choose not to believe me."

Jiang Zuo said flatly.

"I’m searching for this otherworldly object."

After a moment’s thought, Mo Daoist took a fist-sized metal ore from his storage pouch.

"What kind of metal is this?"

Jiang Zuo took it and examined it.

"I don’t know. I’d have to take it back to the Cultivation Realm and ask someone to find out."

Mo Daoist shook his head.

Jiang Zuo secretly tried to channel his energy to absorb the Gold Qi from the metal ore.

He was then shocked to discover that the Gold Qi within the ore was astonishingly abundant.

The moment he absorbed just a tiny bit of it, the Gold Qi in his body erupted like dry tinder meeting a blazing fire.

This metal ore could be used as an awakening item for a Metal Attribute Spirit Root!

Jiang Zuo was delighted. He hadn’t expected such a windfall.

"Do you have any companions?"

After stowing the ore, Jiang Zuo asked again.

"There are other Cultivators searching for this ore, but I am alone."

Mo Daoist hesitated for a moment before speaking.

He worried that Jiang Zuo might kill him on the spot after learning he had no companions.

But he didn’t dare lie. If he did and Jiang Zuo saw through it, it would give him an excuse to kill him.

To Mo Daoist’s relief, Jiang Zuo only took all his belongings—not even leaving his clothes—before putting him in an empty pavilion under guard.

With everything confiscated, Mo Daoist’s losses were severe.

But he was lucky just to be alive.

’As long as I’m alive, I can make a comeback! When I get back to the Cultivation Realm, I’ll find the Divine Wood Sect and tell them what I know. I’ll get back everything I lost!’

’If I’m lucky, I might even be able to get on the Divine Wood Sect’s good side!’

Mo Daoist thought to himself.

...

After that night, Huangfu Xi fell into a slump for quite some time.

He didn’t pull himself together until nearly half a year later.

Meanwhile, as Jiang Zuo’s bed-sharer, Liu Hongshang increasingly sensed that he was preparing to leave.

"Imperial Physician Zhou, are you going somewhere?"

One day, she could no longer hold back and finally asked.

"Yes. In another half a year, I’ll be leaving."

Jiang Zuo nodded.

Even if Liu Hongshang hadn’t asked, he would have told her himself in a little while.

"Imperial Physician Zhou, can you take me with you? No matter where you go, I am willing to follow by your side!"

Liu Hongshang said hurriedly.

Although she had been serving Jiang Zuo all these years, Liu Hongshang felt deeply that she would probably never find another person in the world who treated her so well.

The thought of Jiang Zuo leaving her behind filled her heart with a tremendous sense of reluctance.

"All good things must come to an end. The place I’m going is not suitable for you."

"After I’m gone, you’ll be completely free. You can do whatever you want then."

"If you want to live a little longer, then work hard on the Cultivation Technique I taught you and strive to break through to the Innate realm."

Jiang Zuo pulled Hong Shang in front of him, stroking her beautiful hair as he spoke with a smile.

After promoting to the Grandmaster Realm, Liu Hongshang had never slacked in her Cultivation over the years. Her Cultivation level had surpassed that of a Huajin Grandmaster many years ago.

At her age, as long as she could cultivate to Grandmaster Great Perfection, she would have a good chance of breaking through to the Innate realm.

As for taking Liu Hongshang with him, Jiang Zuo had considered it.

But in the end, he shook his head.

Especially after seeing Huangfu Xi’s obsession with Cultivation, Jiang Zuo had come to a deeper realization.

The path to immortality was fraught with hardship. It was not a journey to be embarked upon lightly, and he absolutely could not let his guard down.

"Then, Lord Zhou, can you leave me with a child?"

Liu Hongshang was crestfallen, but then she gritted her teeth and asked.

’A child?’

Jiang Zuo froze.

For him, it would be an easy matter.

’But if I had a child, could I really just abandon them?’

Obviously not.

And after a child would come grandchildren, great-grandchildren, an endless line of descendants.

Just the thought of it extinguished any such ideas in his mind.

Naturally, Jiang Zuo would not agree to Liu Hongshang’s plea.

But Liu Hongshang didn’t give up.

From that day on, she launched a frenzied offensive against Jiang Zuo, seemingly determined to make him leave a child behind.

Even after being together for so many years, Jiang Zuo nearly lost control and let her succeed.

Under Liu Hongshang’s relentless assault, more than half a year passed in the blink of an eye.

『Celestial Dao rewards the diligent! Through continuous nurturing of the Venus Fish, you have obtained the Venus Fish Racial Ability ’Ability Transfer’!』

——Ability Transfer: A unique Racial Ability of the Venus Fish. Consume lifespan to transfer one of your own abilities (other than this one) to another person. Depending on the strength of the ability, a minimum of one hundred years of lifespan is required. If lifespan is insufficient, you will die on the spot.

Finally, on this day, the long-awaited system notification appeared before Jiang Zuo’s eyes.

’So, Ability Transfer consumes lifespan, and quite a lot of it at that.’

’No wonder that old Venus Fish died on the spot after transferring its eye ability to me.’

’However, the description doesn’t say that the ability disappears from the user after being transferred. Could it be that the same ability can be transferred to multiple different people?’

Jiang Zuo pondered as he looked at the ability’s description.

However, he had no way to test it right now.

He had plenty of lifespan to spare, but he wasn’t willing to give up any of his current abilities.

If his guess was wrong, losing some lifespan would be a small matter, but losing an ability would be a serious problem.