Chapter Fifty-Four: The Remnants of the Beast Taming Sect

Inside the cave, it was dark and damp.

At its deepest point, a man sat cross-legged. His hair was wild as weeds, hanging in disarray, his clothes tattered and filthy beyond measure.

All along the cave walls hung countless pelts: tiger, wolf, bear, leopard—beasts of every kind, their skins draped upon the stone. But furthest to the outside, there was something more ghastly still—layer upon layer of human skins.

Suddenly, a faint sound echoed; a wolf darted into the cave, trembling violently, a bleeding gash across its flank.

“Lost me another human skin, have you?”

The man’s head remained lowered as a rasping voice issued from him.

“Human skins are easy enough to come by, but refining them is no simple task. Especially those blood pills I feed you all—each must be made from the flesh and blood of the same skin, and such materials are rare.”

He reached out a withered hand, gnarled as old bark, and stroked the pelt of a wolf beside him, savoring the warmth of its fur. He spoke slowly, “Last time, it tossed away a human skin and was struck by an arrow, utterly disgraced. I sent it to avenge itself, and when it returned, I flayed it. You saw it then… Now, what should I do with you?”

The evil wolf’s green eyes brimmed with terror. It cowered low, trembling uncontrollably.

The strange man extended his hand, stroking the wolf’s head, tapping its skull. “What happened? If you were wounded by an ordinary man, I’ll shatter your skull…”

The wolf whimpered, almost like a frightened pup.

At that moment, the faint light at the cave’s entrance was suddenly blocked by a figure.

“Because it ran into me.”

A voice came from outside, clear as a mountain stream, yet laced with a chilling coldness.

The strange man lifted his head, his pupils contracting. “A practitioner?”

“So you know there are practitioners in this world?”

---

Qingyuan stepped into the cave, his gaze sweeping over the walls. Dozens of human skins hung there, and instantly killing intent surged in his eyes. “You’ve acted with reckless abandon, murdering and skinning innocents—a grievous sin. Now you go further: you tame these monsters, clothe them in human skin, send them among the townsfolk to find suitable girls, abducting them to fuel your evil practices. Such crimes shatter families, tear fathers from daughters, and bring ruin. You shorten your own years and forfeit any virtue you might have gained. No practitioner would tolerate you…”

“Or is it that you can’t stand to see virtue escape you?” The strange man let out a dry, owl-like cackle. “Heaven cannot bear my existence, so you kill me to uphold justice. I hear that’s a good deed, increases your lifespan, builds your merit, augments your fortune…”

He raised his head and grinned maliciously. “But… just you alone?”

“And what if it’s just me?” Qingyuan drew an iron staff from his robe, speaking slowly. “Do you really think I don’t know your secrets?”

The strange man paused, surprised. “You know me?”

“You’re hardly a great figure. I don’t know your name, but your lineage—I’ve heard of it.”

Qingyuan continued, “If I didn’t know this, just the fact that you turn beasts into men would have made any ordinary practitioner avoid you. It’s only because of this that, with merely a Second Heaven cultivation, you’ve managed to run amok for so long.”

The strange man brushed the matted hair from his brow, his eyes gleaming. “Only beasts of at least Third Heaven can transform into men. Ordinary practitioners, feeling their skills lacking, wouldn’t dare confront me. But how did you deduce my lineage from that?”

Now that the man had swept aside his filthy hair, Qingyuan saw he was not as aged as he first appeared—nearing sixty, but his hair was so dust-laden it seemed black and dull.

“If it were truly a beast devouring people, would any villagers from Gu County have survived the chase?” Qingyuan sneered. “If it was a monster, how was it wounded by an arrow? Perhaps that hunter was skilled, but he was later killed by the wolf in revenge, so he clearly wasn’t so accomplished. As for beasts taking human form, that’s just the Beast-Taming Sect’s wicked art, isn’t it?”

The strange man chuckled. “So you’re not bluffing—you truly know my lineage. And who are you, then?”

“What does it matter who I am?” Qingyuan stood at the entrance, voice calm. “The Beast-Taming Sect—using birds and beasts as tools—wasn’t necessarily evil, but you always dabbled in crooked arts, skinning humans to let your animals pass as men; and in your cultivation, you use human blood and souls, harming countless innocents. In the end, you drew Heaven’s wrath and were destroyed by a celestial child, your sect wiped out.”

He raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t expect to see a remnant today—did you stumble upon this inheritance by chance, or did you escape the disaster by luck all those years ago?”

“You really do know much about my sect.” The strange man’s tone was wistful. “The past is but dust now. My Beast-Taming Sect was once a renowned order, flourishing at its peak, but we provoked Heaven, and the celestial calamity fell. Decades pass, and the world changes; few even among practitioners recall us. It’s rare to meet someone who remembers. Well then, for old times’ sake, I’ll flay you and refine your skin into a pill…”

He spoke with melancholy, tacitly admitting he was one who survived by chance.

When he finished, he clapped his hands sharply.

From all around the cave, countless wolf howls rose, long and unending.

---

Each one was a wolf that had gained spiritual power.

“All these years I’ve skulked about like a rat, ever wary of those who covet my sect’s secrets, never daring to show myself among men, speaking only to these beasts. Chatting with you now, I find myself in high spirits.”

The strange man let out a laugh. “But did you think I spoke with you just for conversation?”

Qingyuan replied, “You were stalling, calling these wolves here.”

“Exactly,” the man growled.

“And you think I was just here to chat with you?” Qingyuan gripped his iron staff and glanced at Gu Cang. “These spiritual wolves are also a menace. If I kill you and they escape, they’ll just wreak havoc elsewhere. So, I can only wait for you to summon them all—then wipe them out in one stroke…”

“You… how arrogant!”

The strange man rose to his feet, grinning savagely. “Just the two of you? Even if both of you are Second Heaven practitioners, what can you do against dozens of spirit-beast wolves?”

“Not much,” Qingyuan replied. “But your end has come. You’ll never reach immortality, but you’re lucky to have been born in these times; once the celestial investiture ends and the underworld is established, perhaps you’ll get to be reborn in your next life.”

The air in the cave turned frigid.

Their auras clashed.

Their eyes met, each filled with murderous intent.

But there was no heaviness in Qingyuan’s gaze—only a barely contained eagerness.

“So, one of the remnants Senior White Crane didn’t finish off all those years ago has finally crossed my path.”