Beast Taming Star Journey

The pitch-black entrance resembled the maw of a giant beast, seemingly ready to devour any creature that approached. I took a deep breath, raised my torch, and stepped into the cave first. Su Yao followed closely behind, while the Lead Boy trailed behind, looking slightly nervous. The Bismuth Beastmaster walked in the middle, occasionally reminding us to watch our step and explaining what he knew about the passage.

“This passage is a secret passage left over from the construction of the ancient temple, used to facilitate the transport of offerings and some… things that cannot be seen in the light of day.” The Bismuth Beastmaster lowered his voice, as if afraid of disturbing something. “Therefore, it is full of traps and mechanisms; the slightest carelessness will lead to utter destruction.”

His words made the boy with lead turn even paler, and his hand holding the sword trembled slightly. I patted his shoulder, signaling him not to be nervous. "With Senior Bismuth here, we'll be fine."

The passage was cold and damp; the torchlight illuminated only a small area, leaving endless darkness beyond. The occasional dripping of water echoed through the narrow passage, adding to the eeriness. We proceeded cautiously, each step taken with extreme care.

"Watch out!" the bismuth beast tamer suddenly warned. I immediately stopped and followed his gaze, only to see several metallic glints flashing on the ground ahead.

“It’s a trigger-activated crossbow mechanism,” the Bismuth Beastmaster explained. “Once you step on it, it will trigger a hidden crossbow bolt.”

The boy with the lead breathed a sharp breath, a cold sweat breaking out on his back. I commanded my tamed beast, a nimble night cat, to scout ahead. The night cat carefully navigated around the traps and found a safe path. Following the night cat's lead, we successfully avoided the crossbow bolts.

"Amazing!" the lead-clad boy exclaimed sincerely. "Brother Nongyu, your beast taming is truly intelligent!"

I smiled but remained silent, continuing to cautiously observe our surroundings. Along the way, the Beastmaster, with his familiarity with this secret passage, had informed us of the locations of some traps and mechanisms beforehand, allowing us to escape danger unscathed. Sometimes it was poisoned needles hidden in the walls, sometimes pitfalls in the ground, and once, we almost triggered a rockfall trap. But each time, my beast, with its keen senses and agile movements, helped us pass safely.

Watching us defuse crisis after crisis, the boy with lead looked at me with admiration. He was originally just a novice, and this adventure was undoubtedly a huge challenge for him. My composure and excellent performance in controlling the beast gave him tremendous confidence.

After walking for about an hour, the passage finally opened up. We arrived at a huge underground cavern, its ceiling inlaid with luminous minerals that illuminated the entire cave. In the center of the cavern stood an ancient stone door. The door was carved with intricate patterns and exuded a mysterious aura.

"Once we pass through this door, we won't be far from the artifact protection zone..." the Bismuth Beastmaster said, his tone tinged with seriousness, "but this door..."

Before he could finish speaking, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly came from behind him...

The torches flickered, casting intermittent light on the stone walls of the giant cave. The bismuth beastmaster's tone was still grave when a flurry of footsteps sounded behind him, interspersed with several beast roars. Oh no! It's the mercury beastmaster!

I turned around abruptly and saw the Mercury Beastmaster, along with the Thallium Beastmaster and several of his men, charging menacingly towards us. Their beasts, several ferocious cheetah-like creatures, let out low growls, their green eyes gleaming with a bloodthirsty light in the firelight.

"Damn it, how did they find this place?" the lead boy exclaimed.

"The beast tamer must have used some kind of tracking spell!" Su Yao sneered, drawing her longsword. "Nong Yu, you go first, leave this to me!"

"Want to leave? Not so easy!" The Mercury Beastmaster sneered. "Today, none of you will leave here alive!"

Having said that, he gave a command, and several cheetah-like beasts pounced on us. Su Yao was fearless and went to meet them, engaging in a fierce battle. I, on the other hand, commanded Night Cat and the other beasts to protect Lead Boy and Bismuth Beastmaster.

Chaos erupted inside the cave, a cacophony of shouts, roars, and clashing weapons. I directed my tamed beasts in battle while cautiously observing my surroundings. Those cheetah-tamed beasts were incredibly fast and possessed formidable attack power; even Su Yao, despite her high level of martial arts, was struggling to defend herself.

Just then, a cheetah, circling around Su Yao's attack, pounced on me. I quickly dodged, but its sharp claws still grazed my arm. The intense pain made me gasp.

"Nong Yu!" Su Yao exclaimed, her eyes filled with worry. She fought off the enemy in front of her, wanting to come and support me.

However, at that moment, another cheetah took advantage of her distraction and viciously tore a deep wound into her shoulder. Blood instantly stained her clothes.

"Su Yao!" My eyes widened in fury, a surge of intense anger rising within me. I commanded Night Cat to block the cheetah beast attacking Su Yao, then rushed to her side and helped her up.

"I'm fine..." Su Yao said, forcing herself to endure the pain, "You should go quickly..."

"Don't speak!" I tore off a piece of my clothing with heartache to bandage her wounds. My hand gently touched her skin; her face flushed, and her eyes were filled with love. The sounds of fighting all around seemed to fade away, leaving only our breaths and heartbeats.

"Cough cough..." The Bismuth Beastmaster coughed twice, breaking the brief silence. "We need to get out of here quickly, the passage is about to collapse!"

I then realized that due to the fighting, loose rocks were falling from the cave ceiling. We had to get out of here as soon as possible!

I supported Su Yao, and under the cover of the bismuth beast tamer and the lead youth, we ran towards the stone gate. The mercury beast tamer and his men gave chase, but suddenly several enormous bats appeared in the passage, blocking their path. These bats seemed to have been awakened by the earlier fight and were extremely ferocious, forcing the mercury beast tamer to divert some of his men to deal with them.

We seized the opportunity to pass through the stone gate and enter another passage. This passage was narrower and steeper than the previous one. We climbed upwards along the passage, and finally, a glimmer of light appeared before us.

We climbed out of the passage and found ourselves in a wide-open valley. In the center of the valley stood an ancient temple, surrounded by a faint golden light.

“That’s the area protected by the divine artifact…” the bismuth beast tamer said, pointing to the temple.

However, at the temple entrance, a man dressed in a silver robe and holding a golden staff stood quietly. His eyes were calm, yet he exuded a powerful aura.

Tin messenger...