Beast Taming: I Have an Immortal Mansion-Chapter 33: A High-Five as a Pledge

The Spirit Beasts of Beast Taming Mountain came from many sources. Some were transferred from its various branches, some were bred and raised in-house, while others were captured from the Wilderness Forest.

Whenever Loose Cultivators or Cultivator Clans encountered a rare and unusual Spirit Beast, their first instinct was to capture it and sell it to Beast Taming Mountain.

The White Ape before Fang Qingyuan was one such case. It wasn’t a Spirit Beast native to the Beast Taming Sect; the previous dean had purchased it from another sect.

When the White Ape was first bought, it was still at the Qi Cultivation Stage. Seeing that its fur was pale and unlike that of an ordinary ape, Dean Jiang suspected it was a mutated species and bought it on a whim.

The White Ape later proved its worth by breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Stage. However, due to its difficult personality, not many disciples were willing to rent it.

After Fang Qingyuan finished speaking, he waited a long while before the White Ape finally gave a slight nod of approval.

After long periods of interaction with humans, Foundation Establishment Stage Spirit Beasts could understand human language but were unable to speak. They had to advance to the Golden Core Stage and refine the Horizontal Bone in their throats before they could form words.

Of course, this didn’t apply to certain Spirit Beasts with unique physiologies, such as avian Spirit Beasts like parrots or mynas.

Perhaps due to the natural laws of this world, it was incredibly difficult for Spirit Beasts to shapeshift. Only at the Divinity Transformation Stage could a Spirit Beast take human form; otherwise, even those at the Nascent Soul Stage were stuck cultivating in their original bodies.

Furthermore, Spirit Beasts couldn’t use external tools like Magical Artifacts, which was why a Spirit Beast was generally no match for a Cultivator of the same stage.

It made sense. How could a Spirit Beast, relying solely on its physical body and Innate Divine Techniques, possibly stand against a Cultivator fully equipped with Magical Artifacts, Talismans, Arrays, and Elixir Pills?

A few Spirit Beasts with exceptionally powerful bloodlines could hold their own, but they were so rare they weren’t worth mentioning here.

Fang Qingyuan’s face lit up when he saw the White Ape agree. If it had refused, his only other options were the great python or the flying eagle next door.

Since he already had the Silver-backed Manta Ray, Fang Qingyuan had put the flying eagle out of consideration for now. As for the great python, he simply wasn’t fond of it.

As the White Ape followed Fang Qingyuan out of the enclosure, Tian Ziyi came up to them. He handed Fang Qingyuan a Token and began to speak:

"This Token is the White Ape’s Soul Detention Order. It contains a sliver of its soul. If the order is destroyed, the ape will either go insane or be reduced to a mindless fool."

’Those who are not our kin will surely have different hearts.’ When it came to purchased Spirit Beasts like the White Ape, the Beast Taming Sect had plenty of ways to keep them in line.

Within the Beast Taming Sect, unless a Spirit Beast had been raised by a Cultivator since birth, the sect would use all sorts of measures to ensure it wouldn’t even dare to think of resisting.

When Fang Qingyuan took the Soul Detention Order and examined it, he saw a tiny white ape sleeping with its eyes closed inside the white, jade-like Token.

Noticing Fang Qingyuan’s curiosity, Tian Ziyi explained: 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

"With this Token, you can command the White Ape. If it disobeys, you need only channel a trace of Spiritual Power into the Token to inflict unimaginable pain upon it."

Hearing this, Fang Qingyuan was inwardly astonished. ’Isn’t this just a version of the Tightening Spell?’

’It seems that no matter the time or place, methods for controlling and taming Spirit Beasts always come down to brute force in the end.’

’But with this Token in my hand... given the White Ape’s Foundation Establishment Stage cultivation, how could I possibly stop it if it tried to snatch it away?’

Whether Tian Ziyi had noticed Fang Qingyuan’s concern or simply made it a point to tell every disciple who borrowed a Spirit Beast, he continued speaking:

"Don’t worry about the Spirit Beast snatching the Token. This Soul Detention Order is just a copy; the true original is kept under watch in the Dean’s Grand Hall. Without a few Golden Core experts to seize it, it can’t be stolen."

Tian Ziyi’s voice was loud and clear as he said this, showing no regard for the White Ape standing behind Fang Qingyuan.

After hearing this, Fang Qingyuan glanced back at the White Ape and found its expression unchanged, showing no discernible emotion.

’Does it no longer care, or is it burying its resentment deep within its heart?’

Fang Qingyuan couldn’t be sure, so he stopped dwelling on it. He put away the Soul Detention Order, handed Tian Ziyi the writ he had received from Lechuan to serve as a record, and then led the White Ape out of the Beast Cage.

...

In a rugged mountain range south of Celestial Gate Mountain, a White Ape over six meters tall and the size of a small building was leaping from peak to peak.

It crossed mountain streams with a single bound and scaled sheer cliffs as if they were level ground.

As the White Ape moved, beasts scattered and birds took flight in alarm. Listening to the constant rumbling in his ears, Fang Qingyuan, sitting on the White Ape’s shoulder, felt helpless and had to shout loudly:

"I say, Senior White Ape, you’ve been running for a solid hour. How about we take a break?"

However, the sound of the wind from their passage instantly drowned out Fang Qingyuan’s voice. Just as he assumed the White Ape hadn’t heard him, he felt it slowly come to a stop.

The White Ape stopped atop a cliff. After Fang Qingyuan climbed down, it threw back its head and let out a thunderous roar.

A short distance away, Fang Qingyuan rubbed his ears. He waited for the White Ape to quiet down before stepping forward to speak:

"I understand how you feel. It must be great to finally get out and not be stuck in that suffocating enclosure. But now that you’re out, you have to listen to me. Otherwise, I’d rather return you than have a powerful War Beast that won’t obey orders."

At this, Fang Qingyuan glanced at the White Ape’s face. He saw it was listening intently and knew he had gotten through to it.

Although Fang Qingyuan held the White Ape’s Soul Detention Order, he had no intention of using it recklessly. A weapon inspires the most fear when it remains an unused threat.

The more the Soul Detention Order was used, the less effective it would become. Furthermore, if it provoked the White Ape’s rebellious streak, the gain would not be worth the loss.

The best method was to use a carrot-and-stick approach, encouraging the White Ape to cooperate willingly. This would prevent a great deal of trouble and future complications.

After the White Ape nodded, Fang Qingyuan continued:

"I don’t know how my fellow disciples treated you, but I consider myself a reasonable person. I won’t force you to do things you don’t like, and you’ll have time to do things you enjoy. But there is one condition: your responsibility is to keep me safe."

This was the ’grace’ part of his approach. Although the White Ape was a Foundation Establishment Stage Spirit Beast, its intelligence wasn’t much higher than an ordinary Cultivator’s. Coupled with its limited contact with people, its mind was likely quite simple.

After he said this, Fang Qingyuan did indeed see a hint of joy on the White Ape’s face. It was no longer as placid as before.

’It seems freedom is what every living creature yearns for,’ he thought, ’especially a Spirit Beast whose body and soul are completely controlled by the sect.’

Seeing the White Ape’s expression become animated, no longer as wooden as before, Fang Qingyuan extended his palm toward the ape and said:

"Then let’s strike our palms together as a vow to earnestly keep our promises."

And so, high on the cliff, amid the biting mountain wind, one tiny hand and one giant palm pressed together.