Chapter 512: Alarmist Remarks

Hall Master Han was incredibly frustrated.

For three long years, he had accompanied this creature. Whatever it wanted to eat, he would rush forward to help kill it. Whatever valuable items it desired, he would spare no effort to find. He followed it around like a subordinate, all just to earn its gratitude, hoping that when the time came for its final taming, it would remember their bond.

Yet, this creature, upon seeing something good, completely forgot everything and directly tried to snatch it.

Damn! It was utterly ungrateful.

If he had known it would act this way, why bother going through so much trouble for so long!

"Activate the formation!"

Seeing the creature's aggressive stance with no intention of stopping, Hall Master Han knew this was no time for despondency and let out a low cry.

Building rapport and negotiating conditions for taming... since the creature wasn't responding to that, they had no choice but to resort to the last option! That meant throwing civility aside and forcibly subduing it with the most violent methods.

This was a last resort because the Demonic Astral Beast was incredibly powerful. Capturing it alive without injuring it was extremely difficult, even with the numerous members of the Beast Hall. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been in such a sorry state three years ago.

Although Hall Master Han believed that three years of companionship, coupled with the allure of benefits, would make it submit, he had still prepared for the worst by secretly setting up a formation here in advance, just in case. Unexpectedly, they actually had to use it.

"Yes, sir!"

Several elders nodded simultaneously, their bodies swaying as they split into four directions. Their true qi surged, and they made a grabbing motion in the air.

Boom!

Hundreds of meters in front of them, a dense fog arose. The Demonic Astral Beast, charging straight ahead without any precautions, immediately fell into it.

"It's a containment formation!"

Having studied the Way of Heaven formations, Zhang Xuan's current understanding of formations, even without external aid, was no less than that of a peak four-star formation master.

"The Iron Chain Confinement Formation!"

Recognizing it, Jin Conghai's pupils slightly constricted.

"Correct!" Zhang Xuan nodded.

The Iron Chain Confinement Formation, created by a peak four-star formation master over a thousand years ago, utilized the natural environment and the wild spiritual energy within it to form intertwined chains. Any life form caught within would be instantly enveloped, making escape, let alone breaking free, extremely difficult. It was a peak four-tier containment formation!

"It seems Hall Master Han put in a lot of effort to capture this creature!" Zhang Xuan sighed with emotion, seeing the formation continuously operate.

A formation of this caliber wasn't something that could be set up on a whim. It required a formation master to first survey the terrain, locate suitable places to bury the formation flags, and then painstakingly hide each flag underground without leaving any trace on the surface, ensuring the Demonic Astral Beast wouldn't discover them. Even with a peak four-star mastery of formations, this entire process would take at least ten days to half a month.

"Indeed, if I'm not mistaken, for three years, he wasn't just appeasing this large creature; he was secretly putting in a lot of work," Pavilion Master Sai said with a wry smile.

This formation couldn't be completed in a single day and required the cooperation of a peak four-star formation master. For these three years, he had thought his old friend was genuinely just trying to appease the Demonic Astral Beast, but now it seemed that wasn't the case. It was likely that after their setback three years ago, he devised this plan: appearing to curry favor with the creature but secretly arranging for the formation to be laid out as a precaution.

"That's perfectly normal," Zhang Xuan waved his hand. "Before a beast tamer succeeds, they must first consider failure. If they can't even think of that, they wouldn't be able to reach four-star rank!"

Even high-level beast tamers couldn't succeed every time, especially when dealing with such fierce and arrogant spirit beasts. Hall Master Han had failed once. If he were foolish enough to rush in and reveal his intentions without any preparation, hoping to tame the creature, he wouldn't deserve to be the Hall Master of the Beast Hall or a peak four-star beast tamer.

As they conversed, the Demonic Astral Beast, trapped in the formation, finally realized it had been tricked. It roared in fury, its violent power striking out in all directions, causing the ground to tremble.

"It's useless!"

Hall Master Han snorted, stepped forward, and with a flick of his wrist, a light screen appeared before them, displaying the full image of the Demonic Astral Beast. With their cultivation reaching the Transcendent Mortal realm, where true qi transforms into primal qi, they could employ some unimaginable techniques. This light screen, similar to the walls in the formation corridor, allowed for clear observation of the situation within the formation and enabled outsiders to communicate with those trapped inside.

The spiritual energy gathered by the formation formed thick iron chains, firmly locking the Demonic Astral Beast. This enormous creature, which had just been incredibly arrogant and had caused countless experts in the Kingdom Alliance to be wary, now had a ferocious expression, trying to break free but powerless.

"I told you, it's useless! Stop your futile struggles!" Seeing its furious roars and raging anger, Hall Master Han smiled faintly, his voice projecting into the formation.

Hearing this, the Demonic Astral Beast became even more enraged. After three years of interaction, it had relaxed its guard against humans; otherwise, a formation couldn't have been set up right at its doorstep without its notice. Unexpectedly, this relaxation had led to its current predicament. Its heart was filled with surging hatred, wishing it could tear Hall Master Han apart and devour him.

"This is a peak four-tier formation. Although you are strong, without knowing how to break it, it's almost impossible for you to get out. Let's continue our earlier discussion: as long as you agree to become my spirit pet, all the things I promised before will still stand. If you don't agree... you should understand your current situation. There's a very high chance you will be killed," Hall Master Han said.

This was the last resort, and he truly didn't want to use it. Because if he did, even if the Demonic Astral Beast submitted later, it would be under duress, obeying commands without putting in effort, leading to an awkward situation for both parties. But since the creature stubbornly refused to submit and even tried to seize treasures, he had no choice but to resort to this.

The Demonic Astral Beast's eyes were bloodshot with rage, seemingly filled with anger at his words.

"No need to rush your decision. I have time to wait for your answer!" Seeing its attitude, Hall Master Han shook his head, showing no urgency. Since the creature was already trapped, he was prepared to spend more spirit stones to tame it. The talk of killing it was merely a threat, because if it died, three years of hard work would be wasted.

The Demonic Astral Beast was filled with anger. It struggled desperately a couple of times but found itself firmly locked, unable to break free. It reluctantly stopped moving, slowly closing its eyes, lost in thought.

"Hall Master, what do we do now?"

Seeing this enormous creature no longer trying to escape but instead becoming quiet, the elders who activated the formation exchanged glances and approached him simultaneously.

"What else can we do? We can only wait. Elder Hu, bring out the Deer Pack Beast and roast it until it's cooked. Make sure its aroma drifts into the formation. I don't believe this creature, with its greedy nature, can resist!" Hall Master Han said.

The Deer Pack Beast naturally contained a rich medicinal fragrance, and if roasted, it would certainly be tantalizingly appetizing. As a gluttonous spirit beast, it would be strange if the Demonic Astral Beast could resist. It had to be said that Hall Master Han's research into beast taming had indeed reached a masterful level: first temptation, then coercion, and now even enticement. If it were an ordinary spirit beast, it would surely have succumbed long ago and submitted immediately.

"Yes, sir!" Elder Hu nodded, took out the Deer Pack Beast, and was about to start roasting it when he saw the two-star beast tamer not far away shaking his head with a helpless expression. A faint voice drifted over: "I advise you not to roast it!"

Elder Hu frowned. "Why not?"

Hall Master Han and the other elders looked over, displeased, not expecting a mere two-star beast tamer to interject. The weakest among those present were early four-star beast tamers, and at this moment, they all felt that roasting the Deer Pack Beast was the best decision, as there truly wasn't another method. Yet, this person said it wouldn't work. What did he mean?

"No particular reason, I just worry that you won't be able to handle the situation after it's roasted!" Zhang Xuan shook his head, saying no more. Although he was a master teacher, he wasn't someone who meddled in everything. Moreover, the other party hadn't shown him much respect.

"It's just roasting a Deer Pack Beast; what situation could we possibly not handle?" Seeing that the fellow had nothing substantial to say and was just speaking idly, Elder Hu coldly snorted. So many four-star beast tamers weren't saying anything, yet you, a mere two-star, are carelessly interjecting? You truly don't know your place.

"If you won't listen to advice, then so be it!" Zhang Xuan sighed. He had said what needed to be said. If they weren't willing to listen, that was their business and had little to do with him.

"Putting on an act, fear-mongering!" Elder Hu flicked his sleeve. The others were also displeased. Especially Hall Master Han; if it weren't for Pavilion Master Sai's presence, he would have reprimanded him long ago. "Just a mere two-star beast tamer, what could he possibly know, daring to interject here recklessly? How ill-mannered!"

With a cold expression, he waved his hand dismissively. He had originally found it strange that Pavilion Master Sai called Zhang Xuan a friend, but now it seemed Zhang Xuan was merely an ill-mannered, glib-tongued fellow. "Can't handle the situation?" he thought. "It's just roasting a Deer Pack Beast. At most, it will be too fragrant and irresistible. What else could possibly happen?"

"Yes, sir!" Elder Hu nodded and, along with several other elders, set up a bonfire and began to roast the meat. To tame the Demonic Astral Beast, they had been in the mountains for many days, so they still had their basic cooking supplies.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Before long, the bonfire blazed, and the Deer Pack Beast was placed on it, sizzling as its aroma gradually spread. The Deer Pack Beast, having grown by consuming natural spirit herbs, was inherently rich in spiritual energy. When roasted, its fragrance was even more intense. As soon as the aroma wafted, everyone instinctively sniffed the air, their mouths watering.

"Let's retreat further back!" Seeing the aroma emerge, Zhang Xuan shook his head.

"Retreat?" Pavilion Master Sai and the others were startled.

"Yes, at least several hundred meters away. Otherwise, I'm afraid you might suffer an unprovoked disaster!" Speaking lightly, Zhang Xuan was the first to walk backward. As soon as he moved, Zhao Ya, Zhao Feiwu, and the others followed suit. Pavilion Master Sai's face was full of embarrassment. After a moment of hesitation, he also followed.

"This fellow..."

Seeing this group turn and leave, fearing an unprovoked disaster, Hall Master Han's veins throbbed on his forehead, and he almost couldn't contain himself. He was already annoyed about being unable to tame the enormous creature, and now this person kept speaking discouraging words, fueling his rage even further. "A mere two-star beast tamer, putting on a profound and enigmatic expression, what big-tailed wolf are you pretending to be!"