Beast Taming: I Have an Immortal Mansion

Chapter 312 - 251: Blood Essence and Blood Longevity (Part 2)

Then, with a WHOOSH, the spiritual light of the runes morphed into sinister black flames that blazed upon the chain! Every crackling spark was a Talisman that assailed yin souls and baleful qi!

The black flames rose and flickered quietly at the bottom of the sea, completely unaffected by the water. These flames were merely the external manifestation of a Divine Soul Spell; their essence was not fire at all.

Fang Qingyuan had carefully considered his decision to use a Divine Soul Curse Technique to attack these Hippocampi. Hundreds of meters underwater, the power of the other four of the Five Elements Daoist Skills would be severely diminished upon being cast.

A Nine-Radiance-level Daoist Technique might only end up being slightly more powerful than a High-level Daoist Technique, which was nowhere near enough to handle this school of Hippocampi, each comparable to the Foundation Establishment Stage.

As for Water Element Daoist Skills, the Hippocampi possessed astonishingly high resistance. Over the past two years, Fang Qingyuan had seen this school fight its enemies more than once; High-level Water Daoist Skills barely seemed to scratch them.

Given the circumstances, only a Soul Curse could deliver a clean, fatal blow. Otherwise, if he scared them off, this school of Hippocampi wouldn’t dare return to the area for at least a decade.

Once the chain took form, Fang Qingyuan held one end while the other extended endlessly, crossing several hundred meters in the blink of an eye to silently ensnare the school of Hippocampi.

The Hippo Leader finally sensed the danger. It let out a sharp cry of warning, and in an instant, the dozen or so other Hippocampi scattered in all directions.

The Hippo Leader, however, charged straight for Fang Qingyuan. As it surged forward, a thousand Ice Spikes coalesced from the surrounding seawater and shot toward him.

The Hippo Leader’s counter was sound, yet Fang Qingyuan had anticipated every move.

But the Black Flame Chain multiplied in an instant—one became two, two became four, and four became thousands. In less than a breath, it had formed a colossal net of Black Flame Chains that enveloped a three-hundred-and-eighty-zhang radius.

This area corresponded exactly to the range of Fang Qingyuan’s True Knowledge Circle. Within this domain centered on him, the massive net of Black Flame Chains swept through everything.

Despite the rapid drain on his spiritual consciousness, Fang Qingyuan’s expression remained unchanged. His Soul Power was profound; even with the Black Flame Chain at full strength, he could maintain it for over a quarter of an hour.

He paid no mind to the Thousandfold Ice Spike technique unleashed by the Hippo Leader.

As the Ice Spikes closed in, a spectral form with the head of a turtle and the tail of a snake leaped out before Fang Qingyuan. In a flash, it transformed into a colossal Ice White Jade Turtle, shielding him from the attack.

The Ice Spikes could pierce steel, yet they couldn’t penetrate the Ice White Jade Turtle’s carapace. They merely got stuck on its back, with not a single one managing to get near Fang Qingyuan.

The Water Spirit Xuanwu was even more effective here at the bottom of the sea.

Seeing its thousand-odd Ice Spikes blocked, the Hippo Leader knew Fang Qingyuan was not someone to be trifled with. It instantly altered its charge, veering off in another direction to make a swift escape.

But it was too late. The Black Flame Chain spread faster than its senses could even register.

The Hippo Leader suddenly felt its body grow heavy. Looking back, it saw that a Black Flame Chain had pierced through its torso, lodging itself firmly within.

The chain struck its body, yet not a single drop of blood was shed. As the Black Flame flared, innumerable Soul Path Curses resounded in unison. The next moment, the Hippo Leader’s mind felt as if it had been struck by a Siege Hammer. It was instantly disoriented, unable to process anything, and its last glimpse was of its kinsfolk meeting the same fate.

....

Fang Qingyuan retracted the Black Flame Chain. All thirteen Hippocampi had been caught in one fell swoop, each one impaled by a chain.

Of the thirteen, only five were at the Foundation Establishment level. The Hippo Leader was equivalent to the Mid-stage Foundation Establishment, while the other four were only at the Early-stage.

The remaining Hippocampi were only in the Qi Refining Realm, and a few were still immature juveniles.

This school of Hippocampi wasn’t weak, but much like a herd of cattle on the savanna, their first instinct when encountering a predator was to flee; they lacked the courage to stand and fight.

That would only change once their intelligence reached a higher level and they developed a sense of teamwork.

The few Qi Refining juveniles had been knocked unconscious by the Black Flame Chain. Fang Qingyuan considered for a moment, then pulled the chains from their bodies and released them into the distance.

’I can’t just wipe them all out with a No-Return Net,’ he thought. ’These few Qi Refining juveniles are no use to me anyway. I’ll just release them back into the sea and let them grow up.’

The Black Flame Chain had left a special imprint on the divine souls of the young Hippocampi, which meant he would be able to sense them if they ever came too close in the future.

The released juveniles panicked and fled in the blink of an eye.

Without the protection of their elders, there was no telling how many of the young would survive. Still, Fang Qingyuan felt it would be worth it if even one managed to reach the Foundation Establishment Stage. Maintaining biodiversity was, after all, a core value of the Beast Taming Sect.

After letting the young Hippocampi go, Fang Qingyuan surveyed his catch with a smile. With a flick of the chain, he drew the remaining Hippocampi into his Ten Thousand Beasts Qiankun Banner.

After confirming nothing had been missed, Fang Qingyuan and Yinbao broke the surface of the water and set a course for Iron Wind Island.

...

Along the way, Fang Qingyuan began to take stock of his spoils. The Hippocampi weren’t particularly large beasts, but each one was far more valuable than the Cyan Stone Bone Fish he had hunted before.

The Hippocampus Bone, the creature’s spine, was its most essential and valuable part. Once properly processed, it was considered a Tier-2 mid-grade Water Attribute Spiritual Material. A single one could fetch seventeen to eighteen Top-grade Spirit Stones on the market.