The black bear watched Leo's actions with suspicion, using its paw to nudge the wolf beast carcass closer to Leo's feet. Then, drooling, it turned towards the already mouth-watering roasted meat, its bulky body anxiously circling back and forth around it.

  Irritated, Leo took the cooked boar meat and tossed it to the black bear. He then began processing the two wolf carcasses with his dagger.

  Watching the black bear grab the thrown meat in its mouth and devour it ravenously, Leo rested his chin on his hand, lost in thought. After a long while, he glanced at the greedy black bear and suddenly, his eyes lit up.

  Three days later, at dawn, in a place with an extremely narrow passage near a cliff, a roasted pheasant, fragrant and tempting, suddenly appeared. About the time it takes for an incense stick to burn later, the roasted pheasant was snatched away by a mountain eagle.

  "Damnable feathered beast!"

  Frustrated, Leo discovered there was an eagle's nest under the cliff, with several eagles coming and going. He had no choice but to find another similar location and place another piece of roasted meat there.

  Half an hour later, a snow-white fox beast grabbed the meat with its mouth. Before the black bear, driven by Leo, could even block its escape route, Leo only saw a white flash before his eyes, and the fox beast vanished from the cliff area.

  A few days later, two wolf beasts were instantly crushed to death by the black bear, which couldn't stop its attack in time.

  This process repeated. Three months later, a lean young man could be seen, accompanied by a giant black bear and a panther that walked with a wobble, appearing quite petite compared to the bear. Around the panther's neck, just like the bear, was an ancient silver ring.

  Leo let out a sigh of relief. After over three months, he had finally captured his own spirit beast. Although this panther was only equivalent to the second level of Qi Refining, Leo felt quite satisfied. Without the black bear's help, relying on his own strength alone, he could never have captured a panther spirit beast stronger than himself.

  However, what disappointed Leo was that over these months, searching the surrounding area of several miles, he had only found one spirit plant similar to the one before. It seemed spiritual items were quite rare even within this canyon.

  "Lie down!" Overjoyed with his new spirit beast, Leo, taking advantage of the dim twilight outside the cave dwelling, eagerly began training the panther spirit beast that very night.

  But this panther was fiercely wild. Lying lazily in front of the cave, it merely lifted its head to glance at Leo, then closed its eyes again, feigning sleep. It paid no heed to this human who seemed much weaker than itself.

  "Ignore me, and you'll suffer."

  Leo's face turned cold. According to the Beast Taming Art, there were generally two ways to tame spirit beasts. One was to raise them from infancy. Such young beasts had high obedience and could effectively carry out various commands from their master.

  However, Leo had no access to young beasts. Moreover, the growth cycle for young beasts was too long, requiring additional spiritual resources during their development. Currently, Leo didn't even have enough spirit plants for his own cultivation, let alone the energy to raise a young beast.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  As for the other method described in the Beast Taming Art, it involved subduing fully grown beasts. Since these beasts were already formed, they tended to be wild and difficult to tame. Capturing such beasts not only required taking risks during the capture itself but also demanded even greater effort in taming them afterward.

  The panther spirit beast before him, equivalent to the second level of Qi Refining, looked down upon the lowly Leo with disdain.

  A faint, cold smile touched Leo's lips. In the Thunder Blade Sect, he was merely a menial laborer. Even though the black-robed elder had brought him to this mysterious canyon and taught him some immortal cultivation techniques, the elder still treated him like an errand boy. The black bear was the elder's spirit beast, quite powerful. Did this panther also think it could lord over him? Dream on.

  Leo formed a hand seal with both hands, murmuring an incantation.

  Suddenly, the ancient silver Spirit Beast Ring around the panther's neck erupted with a silvery light. Leo felt the elemental energy within his body surge like a tide into the Beast Spirit Ring. As the ring's glow intensified, it began to slowly constrict.

  "Awoo!"

  The panther howled miserably, writhing on the ground. Moments later, cold sweat beaded on Leo's forehead. The panther's strength surpassed his own. If not for the Spirit Beast Ring fastened around its vital neck, Leo would have been utterly incapable of forcing its submission.

  Even so, the panther's eyes still held a rebellious, untamed glint.

  Despite rolling in agony on the ground, the panther showed not a hint of willingness to submit.

  A cold glint flashed in Leo's eyes. Although the Beast Taming Art mentioned that taming was a long-term process, especially for captured adult beasts—eradicating their wild nature wasn't a task for a single day—he also understood from the manual that even Beast Spirit Rings varied in quality. Inferior rings couldn't withstand prolonged infusion of magical power. After repeated use, they might even break. Leo wasn't sure about the grade of the Spirit Beast Ring given by the black-robed elder, but in this short while, the silvery glow of the ancient silver ring had already dimmed noticeably. It likely wasn't of high quality.

  Thinking this, Leo gritted his teeth, took out the medicine vial he carried, and swallowed a Qi Gathering Pill. A vast, pure, and gentle wave of spiritual energy dissolved within him. Although similar to the energy produced by directly consuming spirit plants, the energy from the pill was much more substantial and considerably milder. If the raw energy from spirit plants were of this magnitude, it would likely be uncontrollable, rampage through his meridians, and cause injury.

  After taking the Qi Gathering Pill, the paleness caused by his nearly depleted magical power immediately vanished, replaced by a healthy flush.

  As Leo's hand seals changed, the spiritual energy released by the dissolving Qi Gathering Pill within him instantly found an outlet, continuously pouring into the Beast Spirit Ring.

  The Beast Spirit Ring erupted with a silvery light stronger than before, contracting even more violently.

  "Submit, or die!" Half an hour later, Leo coldly stared at the panther, now writhing weakly on the ground, barely alive.

  "Awoo..."

  The panther whimpered miserably. Perhaps sensing the futility of further struggle, it obediently lay down on all fours before Leo.

  Leo ceased outputting his magical power. By now, most of the Qi Gathering Pill's efficacy was consumed. Leo felt a sharp pang of regret, but at least he had fully subdued this low-level spirit beast. It had taken considerable effort from start to finish.

  Although mentally and physically exhausted, the relieved Leo still sat down to refine the small remaining portion of the pill's energy within him.

  High above the canyon, the bright moon hung suspended. Elsewhere, the moonlight was clear as water, but within the canyon, mist billowed. Outside the cave entrance at the canyon mouth, Leo's body was already covered in a layer of white moisture.

  The black bear lay snoring at the cave entrance. The panther, having endured several bouts of torment that day, lay listlessly several yards away from the bear.

  Under the shrouding mist, the human and two beasts remained until deep into the night. Only after the last trace of the pill's spiritual energy was fully refined did Leo reluctantly open his eyes. The path of cultivation was truly long.