Yuan Ming stood still, his gaze fixed on the swamp and the purple maple forest, his eyebrows raised.

It was just an island, yet the environment was so complex and ever-changing. The terrain and vegetation in each area were completely different. If it was naturally formed, it would be too coincidental.

“It seems that someone did this intentionally. Could it be Master Heimu?”

Master Heimu’s remains were on this island. With his abilities, he could indeed do such a thing. Moreover, according to the records in that manual, he was indeed a person with extraordinary imagination.

Thinking deeper, those fierce beasts on this island were probably captured by Master Heimu. No wonder they were so rare.

Yuan Ming quickly shook his head and moved forward.

Whether it was done by Master Heimu or someone else, it had nothing to do with him. He just wanted to capture a suitable spirit beast.

After walking through the swamp for a while, Yuan Ming found it difficult to move due to the muddy ground. He took out the skin of a toad and used the Fur Transformation technique to transform into a toad form.

During these days, he had already investigated the origin of this toad skin. It came from a water-dwelling fierce beast called the Black Vein Poison Toad, which was more suitable for moving in this damp and muddy environment than transforming into a white ape.

Since reaching the first level of the Death Moon method, his resistance to the backlash of the Fur Transformation technique had greatly increased. He no longer needed to be as cautious as before, and the aura caused by transforming into a black toad was much weaker than that of the white ape skin.

After transforming into the form of a black toad, Yuan Ming’s movements became much more agile. His feet were no longer stained with mud, and he could easily pass through water puddles.

He was quite satisfied and quickened his pace.

At this moment, some large-leaved green plants appeared in front of him, with several pink bowl-shaped flowers blooming in the middle. They looked like lotus flowers, and a faint fragrance wafted in the breeze.

Yuan Ming was about to get closer to take a look when suddenly his head felt dizzy, and his legs became weak.

“The flower fragrance is poisonous!”

His heart trembled, and he immediately stepped back.

A green shadow shot out from under the green lotus leaves and bit his calf. It was a flat-headed green snake.

Yuan Ming forcefully leaped backward, barely avoiding the snake’s attack, and pointed his right hand to cast a spell.

Threads of green light appeared on the nearby plants, and the stems suddenly came to life, pouncing towards the green snake.

The green snake was also startled and hurriedly dodged left and right. The stems surrounded it from all sides, and the green snake had nowhere to escape. It was soon entangled.

The stems intertwined and formed a cage in the blink of an eye, imprisoning the green snake inside.

The green snake had spiritual power fluctuations and was not weak, but these stems were no thicker than a finger. In theory, they should break with a single struggle. However, no matter how the green snake twisted its body, it couldn’t break free. Instead, it was entangled tighter and tighter, completely immobilized.

Yuan Ming retreated a considerable distance, completely away from the pink lotus flowers, and sat down cross-legged, circulating the Nine Elements technique, trying to neutralize the toxin.

After reaching the sixth level of Qi Refinement, his mana had become more abundant, and it could penetrate into his internal organs. As his mana circulated, the dizziness and weakness quickly subsided, and he soon recovered.

Only then did Yuan Ming stand up and look at the immobilized green snake, his gaze flickering.

This cage was the Wood Prison technique, and it was the first time he had used it in actual combat.

Unlike the Wood Thorn technique, the Wood Prison technique relied on nearby plants to imprison the enemy. Therefore, the power of this spell depended to some extent on the type of plants used.

These stems were fragile, yet they were able to trap the green snake. If other sturdy trees were used to cast the Wood Prison technique, the imprisonment would undoubtedly be stronger.

Yuan Ming raised his hand, and several wooden thorns emerged from near the pink lotus flowers, crushing the flowers into pieces. The fragrance in the air quickly dissipated.

He waited for a while in place before walking over, grabbing the green snake’s head, and chanting a spell.

Strands of black energy surged out from his palm, growing more and more, gradually engulfing the green snake’s head.

At the same time, faint silver patterns appeared on Yuan Ming’s forehead, quickly spreading towards his arm.

With a light sound of “pu,” the black energy in his palm danced wildly, transforming into black tentacles that drilled into the green snake’s head.

The green snake suddenly showed a painful expression and kept struggling.

However, Yuan Ming’s hand was like an iron clamp, firmly holding the green snake. The black energy in his hand became denser, drilling into the green snake’s head faster.

The green snake’s painful expression intensified, and it let out a hoarse cry.

As time passed, there was a sudden light sound of “peng” from the green snake’s head, as if something had burst open. Its body became limp and lifeless.

Yuan Ming’s expression froze, and he let go of his hand.

“The Beast Taming technique is indeed difficult. I have been as careful as possible, but I still destroyed this snake’s soul.” He sighed.

During these days, he had been practicing secretly and believed that he had become extremely proficient in the Beast Taming technique. Unexpectedly, when he actually tried to use it, he found that it was completely different.

The key to the Beast Taming technique was to subdue the beast’s consciousness, but the soul was inherently fragile. A slight carelessness would result in it being directly killed.

“It seems that I need more practice.” Yuan Ming thought to himself and continued forward.

Half a day later, in a place in the swamp where the water and grass were lush.

Yuan Ming used the Wood Prison technique to imprison a half-human-tall gray fox fierce beast. He pressed his palm on the fox’s head, and black energy rushed into it.

The gray fox cried out in pain, trembling uncontrollably.

Yuan Ming paid no attention and continued chanting the spell.

This was his fifth attempt to tame a fierce beast. The previous four attempts had all failed, and the fierce beasts’ souls had burst open.

However, with each failure, Yuan Ming would summarize his experience and become more skilled in using the Beast Taming technique. He felt that success was getting closer and closer.

Time quickly passed for fifteen minutes, and the gray fox was still struggling in pain, but its soul had not burst open.The ferocity in its eyes gradually weakened, and after a while, it finally let out a low growl, conveying a sense of submission.

“Finally, it’s done!” Yuan Ming’s eyes lit up with joy, but he suddenly stopped his spellcasting, withdrew his palm, and the wooden cage that had trapped the grey fox also dispersed.

The grey fox regained its freedom, and after a moment of confusion, it turned and fled into the distance, disappearing into the depths of the swamp in the blink of an eye.

Yuan Ming watched the grey fox escape without making any move.

According to the bone script given to him by the Three Caves Master, controlling a spirit beast with the Beast Taming Technique involved the power of the soul. Qi Refining cultivators had weak souls and could only control one spirit beast.

This grey fox was just a mid-level first-grade fierce beast with no special abilities, so Yuan Ming naturally wouldn’t choose it as his spirit beast.

He continued to move forward, searching for a fierce beast that suited his preference.

The swamp was much larger than the previous Purple Maple Forest and Black Pine Forest, and it was home to many fierce beasts. Unfortunately, their strength was quite average, all at the lower and middle levels, far inferior to the Four-Eyed Golden Ape, the Black Giant Crow, and the Earth Traveling Demon he had encountered before. They were not worth being tamed as spirit beasts.

Until nightfall, Yuan Ming was unable to find a suitable target for taming.

He was not in a hurry, nor did he leave the place. He took out a tent and set up camp in a relatively dry area to rest.

Because he was in a strange environment, Yuan Ming didn’t sleep that night. He meditated with his eyes closed, and nothing unexpected happened.

The next day, Yuan Ming set off again.

The number of puddles in the swamp ahead was decreasing, and the dry areas were increasing.

“I’m finally leaving this area.” Yuan Ming’s face relaxed slightly, and he quickened his pace.

The swamp was full of mud and stench, and the environment was extremely harsh. He was quite happy to be able to leave here.

After walking about a mile, Yuan Ming suddenly stopped.

Ahead was a patch of green lotus leaves, dotted with large pink flowers. It was the highly poisonous lotus he had encountered before.

Unlike the few green lotuses he had seen before, the area of this lotus patch was unusually large, occupying the entire area ahead. Even with Yuan Ming’s vision, he couldn’t see the end. Thousands of pink lotus leaves stood tall among them, swaying in the wind.

Yuan Ming stopped in his tracks when he saw the pink lotuses from afar.

With so many lotuses gathered, the concentration of the flower’s poison would undoubtedly be much higher than before. It would be troublesome if he was affected.

Yuan Ming decided to go around the lotus patch.

Just then, a “hiss” sound came from the lotus patch, followed by dozens of green snakes slithering out. They were the same green snakes he had encountered before, and they all rushed towards Yuan Ming.

Yuan Ming’s face changed slightly, but he didn’t take it too seriously and turned to retreat into the distance.

With such a wide distance, the green snakes couldn’t possibly catch up with him.

Sure enough, the green snakes chased him for a while and then stopped. They hissed at Yuan Ming for a while and then returned to the lotus patch.

Yuan Ming raised an eyebrow. The hissing of the green snakes just now seemed to carry a threatening message, as if warning him not to approach.

“I was quite far from the lotus patch just now. I shouldn’t have entered the attack range of those green snakes, but they were so alert. Could there be something in the lotus patch?” A hint of curiosity arose in his heart.

After thinking for a moment, Yuan Ming shook his head and gave up the idea of investigating.

The lotus patch was full of flower poison and those green venomous snakes. He had no means to deal with these dangers, so it was better not to meddle.

Yuan Ming walked along the edge of the lotus patch and moved forward.

Caw, caw, caw…

A harsh cry came from the swamp behind him. It sounded like some kind of bird, sharp and long. The caller was obviously not small.

“A bird-type fierce beast!” Yuan Ming frowned and quickly hid in a nearby dense grass patch.

In the Hundred Thousand Mountains, any movement could not be underestimated. A powerful beast might suddenly appear. Besides, he had an incense burner in his hand, which could allow him to fly away at any time. He was not afraid of ordinary terrestrial fierce beasts, but he was quite wary of bird-type fierce beasts.

Just as Yuan Ming had hidden himself, a huge white figure flew out from the depths of the swamp, passing right over his head.

Yuan Ming saw that the white figure was a giant eagle several tens of feet long. Its eyes were as big as copper bells, its claws were black, and its feathers were snow-white. Its size was not inferior to the Black Giant Crow he had seen before. It was obviously a kind of raptor fierce beast.

The giant white eagle glanced at the grass patch where Yuan Ming was hiding with its pale yellow eyes, but it didn’t pay any attention to him. It headed straight for the center of the lotus patch and disappeared in an instant.

Yuan Ming stood up from the grass patch and looked up at the sky.

“That white eagle seems quite strong, and its vision is also very good. It could spot me even through the mist. It seems like a good spirit beast, but it’s too fast. Even with the incense burner, I couldn’t catch up with it, let alone subdue it.”

(End of the chapter)