Chapter 265: Mutual Destruction

Xiong Sanquan believed that a First-Level Qi Refining cultivator controlling a Sixth-Level Qi Refining beast was no big deal—that was because his Beast-Taming Dao had reached the pinnacle, and he viewed the matter from the height of a Fusion-stage cultivator.
It was like a Fusion cultivator suppressing their cultivation to First-Level Qi Refining and still defeating a Sixth-Level opponent.
Different altitude, different understanding—performance at the same realm would vary drastically.
To cultivators in the Tongu World, this was fundamentally impossible.
At first, Yu Feng thought so too. But after hearing just a few lines of Beast-Taming theory from Xiong Sanquan, his mind opened up, the puzzle of Beast-Taming unraveled, and he began to believe it was possible.
He treasured this learning opportunity deeply, doing his best to memorize and digest Xiong Sanquan’s teachings.
His repeated deaths had taught him that the more he knew, the better his chances of survival.
“There are three Sixth-Level Qi Refining demon beasts.” Jiang Li had noticed that these three were the initiators of the beast tide. Before the tide took form, controlling these three would cause it to collapse on its own.
The first one they located was a tiger demon beast, already leading a small group of beasts.
They wandered near the official road, and many had fallen victim to its jaws.
“That’s the one. I’ve been eaten by it before,” Yu Feng whispered, subconsciously rubbing his neck.
Previously, when rushing from the village to the town, he’d been delayed and ran into this tiger demon. One bite and his neck was snapped.
“A cocky tiger demon like this in the Nine Provinces would’ve already been used to brew Tiger Bone Wine,” Xiong Sanquan commented from the side. Attacking humans—this tiger could have ten lives and it still wouldn’t be enough.
“And Tiger Bone Balm,” Bai Hongtu added.
“Tiger-skin cushions.”
“Tiger-fur coats.”
“Tiger fang pendants.”
“Roaring like a tiger.”
“Tiger leaping, dragon soaring.”
“You two ever take anything seriously?!” Jiang Li glared. Sure enough, wherever Bai Hongtu went, the topic went off track.
Yu Feng formed hand seals with both hands—ring, middle, and thumb upright, pinky and index curved inward—and pressed them to his brow, rushing toward the tiger demon.
The tiger had never seen such an arrogant cultivator before. Just First-Level Qi Refining, yet charging straight at it—clearly tired of living.
No need for the tiger to act; the lesser beasts behind it all howled and lunged toward Yu Feng.
“Duck, sidestep, take a step forward to the right, jump up hard, tilt your head…” Jiang Li gave precise commands.
Yu Feng followed every instruction, barely dodging each incoming attack. Only a strand of his hair was clawed off.
He knew that without Jiang Li’s direction, he’d probably have died a dozen times before even reaching the tiger.
The tiger roared, but Yu Feng pressed his palm against its lower jaw, forcing it upward and clamping its mouth shut.
Before the tiger could react, Yu Feng tapped its forehead with his sealed fingers—right in the center of the “王” symbol.
The tiger demon resisted the branding, roaring within its Spiritual Platform, trying to break free.
It came down to a battle of wills.
But compared to Yu Feng, what was the tiger’s willpower worth?
After two brief struggles, the tiger bowed at Yu Feng’s feet.
With the alpha subdued, the rest of the beasts followed.
Yu Feng hadn’t expected Xiong Sanquan’s Beast-Taming method to be this effective.
With the tiger under control, he led it toward the other two Sixth-Level Qi Refining beasts. Having mastered the technique, the wolf and sparrow demons were also easily subdued.
“Huff… huff…” Yu Feng was panting hard. His spiritual energy was limited—controlling three beasts was his max.
Still, he didn’t forget his manners: “Thank you, Sect Master Xiong, for your guidance.”
Xiong Sanquan waved it off. “It was nothing.”
“Don’t relax yet—it’s not over. The Blood Sea Sect people are almost at the village,” Jiang Li reminded.
“Blood Sea Sect?” Yu Feng only knew that after the bandits left, a group of cultivators who practiced the Blood River Technique came to use villagers’ remains for cultivation. He hadn’t known they were from the Blood Sea Sect.
The Tongu Continent wasn’t a kind place. Several sects practiced the Blood River Technique.
Yu Feng had heard the name “Blood Sea Sect” before. Their sect master was a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
“But didn’t we get the communication talisman they used to contact the bandits? Why would Blood Sea Sect still show up?”
“Because the bandits contacted them before entering the village. They said it would be done in five days and told them to come then.”
Upon hearing this, Yu Feng hurriedly sent the three newly-tamed beasts and the rest of the small ones back toward the village.
“What kind of job is this—nobody’s even dead?”
“Mortals really can’t be trusted.”
“They dare deceive us?! We’ll tear them to pieces and refine them into my banner!” Three pale-faced cultivators, looking weak but carrying Soul-Guiding Banners, Blood Drums, and Scent-Seeking Flags, were furious with the bandits.
They needed human blood for their cultivation but found killing troublesome, so they had the bandits do it. Who knew the bandits would even mess that up?
They deserved death!
These three planned to slaughter the village clean, then deal with the bandits.
“Don’t let them know you’re from the village. Even if you kill them, Blood Sea Sect will hold a grudge against the villagers,” Jiang Li reminded while on the move.
He believed the villagers’ deaths were part of Yu Feng’s death tribulation. To protect them and his parents, Yu Feng needed to sever ties with the village.
Yu Feng understood and used beast pelts to disguise himself as a wild man.
“Blood Sea Sect scum—give me your lives!” Yu Feng commanded the tiger to lunge at the three.
“Who are you? We’ve got no feud with you—why attack us?” The three were shocked. This youth was a rare Beast-Tamer with many demon beasts. Even with spiritual treasures and at Eighth-Level Qi Refining, they weren’t confident of winning.
Yu Feng grinned cruelly. “No feud? Your sect’s senior brother stole my tiger cub! As long as he doesn’t return it, I’ll kill any Blood Sea scum I see—one by one, a group by group!”
He made it all up.
“A misunderstanding, a huge misunderstanding! Our senior brother didn’t take your cub. If you don’t believe us, you can confront him yourself,” the three said quickly. They suspected their senior might have done it, but for now, they’d deny everything.
“Then killing you is also a misunderstanding. Kill!” Yu Feng’s hatred toward these three was no less than toward the bandits. If not for them, the bandits might never have come.
These three were ruthless cultivators. Seeing that reconciliation was impossible, they activated their spiritual treasures and began fighting the beasts.
They targeted Yu Feng as the weakest, hoping to capture him and extract the Beast-Taming method—but under Jiang Li’s guidance, they couldn’t touch him.
The Soul-Guiding Banner, Blood Drum, and Scent-Seeking Flag released their power—ghostly howls, thunderous booms, a thick red mist filled the air, the battlefield drenched in blood and haunting auras.
Although the three held spiritual treasures and had higher cultivation realms, the demon beasts had powerful bodies that compensated for the gap. The sheer number of beasts rivaled even the might of those treasures.
Both sides were evenly matched, neither able to gain the upper hand.
In the end, the demon beasts and the Blood Sea Sect disciples perished together—not a single one survived.
…
“Hmph, who killed my disciples!” The Blood Sea Sect Master flew into a rage upon seeing three soul tablets break—clearly indicating their deaths outside.