Clan Cultivation: Starting from Beast Taming

Even if there were no flaws, they would use cliche criticisms like being too rigid or inflexible to bring him down.

And although the shopkeeper knew what he was up to, he still had to make some concessions in certain areas.

After all, Formations were truly hard to sell, and it was common for customers to nitpick and press for lower prices in business dealings.

After a long bout of haggling, Zhou Chun finally purchased the "Minor Eight Gates Golden Light Formation" for fifteen thousand Spirit Coins.

Relative to Magic Artifacts, the price was exorbitant, which was one of the reasons why Formations were hard to move.

Fortunately, Zhou Chun knew how to set up the "Minor Eight Gates Golden Light Formation," and even if it became unnecessary after taming the Wood Charm, he could still resell it at a discounted price, ensuring he wouldn't lose too much.

Having purchased the Formation, Zhou Chun didn't linger in the Marketplace for long and quickly returned to the Hongyu Peak Stronghold.

Since then, Zhou Chun turned over all stronghold affairs to Lin Wan'er and focused on setting up the "Minor Eight Gates Golden Light Formation" on an isolated peak, dedicating himself to taming the tough Wood Charm.

Taming an adult Demon Beast wasn't much different from how ordinary humans tamed animals; it was essentially a mix of various forms of torment and tough love.

After sealing off a region with the "Minor Eight Gates Golden Light Formation," Zhou Chun released the Wood Charm from its seal and subjected it to physical and mental torment every day, with a combination of the stick and the carrot.

Honestly, if it weren't for the high value of taming the Wood Charm, Zhou Chun would not have attempted to contract and domesticate such a powerful adult Demon Beast.

Because taming a Demon Beast this way meant he had to be constantly on guard against it turning on him.

If Zhou Chun was ever seriously injured and lacked the strength to suppress the Wood Charm, it was highly likely it would bite back at that opportunity.

Many cultivators from the Zhou Family had been greedy for the convenience brought by directly taming adult Demon Beasts as Spirit Pets and met their ends in times of peril, with their pets not only failing to protect them but actually being the ones to kill them.

After such incidents grew in number, the Zhou Family strictly forbade younger clan members from taking shortcuts and forcibly attempting to domesticate adult Demon Beasts.

As the Clan Leader, Zhou Chun strictly speaking, was also violating the clan rules by forcibly taming the Wood Charm this time.

Time slowly passed, and the Hongyu Peak Stronghold did not experience much change, whether from the absence of the four Foundation Establishment cultivators or the addition of Zhou Chun.

He often kept a low profile, rarely making appearances in front of others, and even for the three Foundation Establishment cultivators like Fu Changqing, it wasn't easy to get a glimpse of him.

The lower-ranked Loose Cultivators, while aware that the person truly in charge of the stronghold had changed, didn't care much about it; in fact, they were even more pleased.

Because not only did Zhou Chun refrain from taking a share of the stronghold's income, he also unilaterally improved their conditions, allowing them to receive more Spirit Coins annually.

The Huoyang Hermit, who had previously been antagonistic toward the Hongyu Peak Stronghold, had also not caused any further trouble.

Thus, without realization, Zhou Chun had spent over a year at the Hongyu Peak Stronghold.

One day, after activating the "Eight Gates Golden Light Formation," Zhou Chun released the Wood Charm sealed in the tree branches again.

After a year of suffering and torment without replenishment from the forest, the Wood Charm now looked weak and feeble.

At first, it would fight Zhou Chun and try to escape whenever released.

But after countless failed attempts, it simply laid down and gave up as soon as it saw the shining golden light of the Array Protective Shield around it.

After all, it had come to realize that no matter how much Zhou Chun tormented it, he was not going to kill it.

"Lu'er, oh Lu'er, it's been over a year, have you still not come to your senses? Do you still think you haven't suffered enough?"

Looking at the Azure Deer lying on the ground, Zhou Chun was somewhat troubled.

He had underestimated the difficulty of taming an adult Demon Beast, as well as the intensity of the Wood Charm's rejection towards him.

Throughout the year, he had used all kinds of methods—whether massaging the Azure Deer with Golden Qi or locking it in a dark room, not allowing it to come out for a breath of air for a whole month—to no avail in making the Spirit Monster bow and submit.

Even though the Wood Charm had given up resisting like a loss, it still refused to submit to him.

"If one year isn't enough, then two. If two years aren't enough, then three. I refuse to believe I can't break you!"

Clenching his teeth, Zhou Chun waved his hand and took out the "Flame Sparrow Pot" Magic Artifact, to start with a "hot wash" for the Azure Deer.

It was fortunate that the Wood Charm was a being without flesh and blood; otherwise, given Zhou Chun's relentless methods, it would have been unable to withstand the torment long ago.

This also stood as the most important reason why Zhou Chun had not yet managed to domesticate it.

After another two hours of fiery torment, Zhou Chun once again sealed the Azure Deer back into the tree branches.

He then released all the Demon Insects and began practicing the Insect Expelling Technique.

Over the past year, as he did not have to spend as much time on clan duties as at home, Zhou Chun, aside from his daily cultivation and meditation to solidify his Cultivation Level, also had a lot of spare time to do other things.

And he had invested most of that spare time in practicing the Insect Expelling Technique, outside of taming the Wood Charm.

During the capture of the Wood Charm, the mature "Mystical Armor Golden Feathers" undoubtedly played a significant role, fueling Zhou Chun's enthusiasm for learning the Insect Expelling Technique even further.

He looked forward to the day when he could command thousands of mature "Mystical Armor Golden Feathers" against his enemies—that day, he reckoned, he might even stand a chance against an average early-stage Purple Mansion cultivator.