Reigning Supreme in countless worlds With Beast taming

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Beside the spiritual well, Qin Feng walked over and leaned in to take a few glances into the well.

However, apart from seeing his own reflection of a handsome youth in the clear well water, he saw nothing else.

Straightening his collar in the water's reflection, Qin Feng withdrew his gaze and looked towards his father, preparing to ask about the Swallowing Sky Toad again.

As a novice cultivator, he was very interested in all the knowledge about the cultivation world.

However, when he looked at his father, he suddenly paused.

Because he noticed his father's face was a bit ashen.

"What's wrong, Father, did that Swallowing Sky Toad escape?"

Qin Feng asked.

In his mind, it was possible that the Swallowing Sky Toad had depended on its small size to squeeze into a tight tunnel under the spiritual well to evade the Green-Eyed Spirit Snake's pursuit.

The Green-Eyed Spirit Snake was so large that many small tunnels couldn't accommodate it.

Qin Long's face was grim. He took a deep breath and whispered, "That little thing did escape, but it wasn't because the Green-Eyed Spirit Snake couldn't catch it. We just can't pursue it any further."

"Why?"

Qin Feng asked in surprise.

"Because the Swallowing Sky Toad fled to the surface, and that area is the Huang family's stronghold in the northern part of the city."

Qin Long smiled bitterly, "I didn't expect that the underground stream from this spiritual well would connect to the Huang family's Sword Washing Pond."

"Ah?"

Qin Feng was stunned, "The Huang family's Sword Washing Pond?"

He looked puzzled, not expecting such an outcome.

The Huang family in the northern part of Kun City was a vassal of Taiyi Mountain Golden Light Cave.

Although Taiyi Mountain Golden Light Cave was a Sword Cultivation Sect, the Huang family did not establish their foothold in Kun City through Sword Dao.

The Huang family truly relied on their sword forging skills to survive.

Of course, their sword forging inheritance was quite ordinary, with few masterpieces.

It was said that the Huang family's most powerful elder once forged a flying sword of spiritual artifact level twenty years ago. After offering it to Taiyi Mountain Golden Light Cave, they received a reward.

The truth of this matter was uncertain. According to Qin Feng's father, Taiyi Mountain Golden Light Cave wouldn't regard the Huang family highly just because of a single spiritual artifact-level flying sword.

Moreover, since then, that Great Elder of the Huang family had never forged another spiritual artifact flying sword, leading many to speculate in private that the elder might have been exceptionally lucky that time.

The entire Qin family believed this, and hearing it often, Qin Feng thought the same.

The Huang family controlled a small refined iron mine in a mountain in the northern part of the city. Each year, they could forge dozens of magic swords and other magic artifacts, selling them in their shop in Tieling County to exchange for cultivation resources, which was completely different from the Qin family's focus on farming the spiritual fields.

Usually, the two families mocked each other. The Qin family called them blacksmiths, while the Huang family ridiculed them as farmers. Both families could hardly see eye to eye and rarely avoided verbal sparring when they met.

However, the conflicts between the Qin and Huang families were limited to verbal disputes and rarely escalated to physical fights.

It was not that they didn't want to, but their strength was similar. Fighting recklessly would only result in casualties, which was not worth it.

Yet, fierce battles were not absent. About a hundred and twenty years ago, several promising young members of the Qin family died in succession, leaving only one Foundation Establishment cultivator to hold the fort. The Huang family seized the opportunity to attack, nearly exterminating them.

It wasn't until Qin Guanbao, who had advanced to Foundation Establishment in his sect and had the formidable Shadow Leopard spiritual beast, returned with a few sect mates, that the Qin family managed to withstand the Huang family's offensive.

If not for Qin Guanbao's timely return upon receiving the news, the Qin family might have been annihilated, and their three hundred acres of spiritual fields would have become the foundation of the Huang family's rise.

The Qin family, too, did not miss opportunities to hit the Huang family when they were down.

After all, not only the Huang family coveted the Qin family's three hundred acres of spiritual fields, but the Qin family also eyed the refined iron vein occupied by the Huang family.

In Kun City, with limited resources, development necessitated suppressing the other side.

But when the strengths were comparable, both families exercised restraint, as they both had hidden trump cards beyond the Foundation Establishment cultivators on the surface. A slight misstep could lead to disaster.

Thus, usually, they only exchanged words and rarely engaged in combat.

Unless the stakes were high, there was no need for a deadly fight that would leave both sides weakened and others benefiting.

This "others" referred to the Wang family in the western part of Kun City.

The Wang family, vassals of the small sect Fog Hidden Sect, could not afford to offend either side. They usually played the mediator, smoothing things over between the two families.

Of course, secretly, they hoped the two families would fight until both were dead, leaving Kun City to their domination.

The Sword Washing Pond was located within the Huang family's most important Sword Casting Valley, which was considered their fundamental territory, with many Huang family cultivators residing and forging magic swords there.

Qin Long dared not let anyone find traces of the Green-Eyed Spirit Snake because everyone in the Huang family knew it was his spiritual beast.

If someone saw it, they would undoubtedly think he had intentionally infiltrated the Huang family's stronghold and spied on their secrets, which could lead to significant trouble.

So, as soon as he saw the scenery outside the pond, he immediately let the Green-Eyed Spirit Snake dive back into the water and return the way it came.

Watching the several-zhang-long Snake agilely emerge from the spiritual well and coil beside Qin Long, Qin Feng couldn't help but ask, "Father, if we didn't catch the Swallowing Sky Toad this time, what if it comes back to steal spirit fruits again?"

"No problem."

Qin Long gathered True Yuan in his hand, pointed like a sword, and inscribed several runes on the well's edge. Then he took a scale from the Green-Eyed Spirit Snake.

He cast a spell, embedding the scale among the runes, immediately emitting a faintly vicious aura.

Qin Long smiled, "The Swallowing Sky Toad is also a sensitive demon beast. This scale, activated by my spell, will emit the Green-Eyed Spirit Snake's aura. As long as this scale is here, that Swallowing Sky Toad won't dare appear."

"That's good."

Qin Feng watched his father casting spells with great interest and felt an itch to try it himself.

Unfortunately, with his current Qi Refinement level, apart from summoning the Dragon and Tiger Illusion, he could only perform the simplest small spells like Wind Control, Fire Manipulation, Divine Movement, and Light Body.

Reaching his father's level was still a distant goal.

After embedding the Green-Eyed Spirit Snake's scale on the well's edge, Qin Long took out an ointment with a pleasant aroma and gently applied it to the spot where he had removed the scale from the snake's back.

This was a blood-activating and muscle-growing spiritual medicine passed down from the Beast Taming Sect. With this ointment and the Green-Eyed Spirit Snake's strong recovery power, new scales would grow in a few days.

Waving his hand to collect the Green-Eyed Spirit Snake into the spiritual beast bag, Qin Long led his son out of the Spirit Fruit Garden.

"How did it go, how did it go? Did you catch that Spiritual Toad?"

The moment they appeared, they were surrounded by the Fifth Elder and others, who asked repeatedly.

"No."

Qin Long shook his head, "It ran away."

"Ah?"

The Fifth Elder looked disappointed, "With your cultivation, you couldn't catch it? How much more spirit fruit will it ruin in the future?"

"Uncle, don't worry. I have already cast a spell on the spiritual well and left a scale of the Green-Eyed Spirit Snake. As long as its aura lingers, the Spiritual Toad won't dare come out."

Seeing the Fifth Elder's dismay, Qin Long quickly comforted him, "Moreover, I have already discovered the Toad's whereabouts, and the Green-Eyed Spirit Snake remembers its aura. We can find it next time.

Uncle, rest assured, whether we catch it or not, I can guarantee that the Spiritual Toad won't dare enter the Spirit Fruit Garden again."

"Oh, that's good."

Hearing this, the Fifth Elder and others finally felt relieved.

Amidst their gratitude, Qin Long and Qin Feng bid farewell to the Fifth Elder and returned to their family residence.

"Feng'er, you go back by yourself. I'm going to speak to the clan leader about this."

Qin Long instructed, "Remember, do not disclose the underground stream connecting to the Huang family's Sword Washing Pond, or we will surely face trouble in the future."

"Don't worry, Father, I understand."

Qin Feng nodded, indicating his understanding.

If the Huang family knew, they would certainly be suspicious.

They relied on artifact refining and sword forging, lacking stealth methods, but the Qin family could raise spiritual beasts. If a water element spiritual beast infiltrated Sword Casting Valley through the underground stream to attack, they couldn't bear such losses.

Qin Feng believed his father was reporting this to the Old Family Master to reserve a trump card.

If disputes arose with the Huang family later, they could take the initiative through the underground stream and catch the Huang family off guard.

"""