Chapter 382: You Compete and Fight

The desolate wilderness had no roads, and the mountains and forests were covered in tall grass and rocks. The horse couldn't gallop freely; it could only advance slowly, a pace not much faster than He Lingchuan walking himself.

Leading his horse over a low slope, a sudden alarm rose in his heart, as if a tangible threat was right beside him.

He had been targeted.

He Lingchuan continued leading his horse, showing no change in expression. The protective mirror in his embrace said to him, "Hey, there's trouble."

He quietly shushed it.

Just then, a rustling sound came from the bushes to his right rear, like wind through shrubs or a rabbit darting through grass.

He Lingchuan inwardly thought, "Here it comes," and with a backhand flick, he threw something, then instantly rolled under the horse's belly.

Leaping from the bushes was a striped tiger, weighing at least six hundred catties. This massive creature, springing from between the blades of grass, surprisingly made only a faint sound.

The saying "the wind follows the tiger" truly held.

But just as it lunged behind He Lingchuan, it saw something flying towards its nose. It swiped with its paw, and its sharp claws tore through the object.

With a soft pop, the object exploded, sending yellow smoke everywhere.

This was followed by an indescribable stench that hit it squarely in the face.

A tiger's sense of smell is over ten times more acute than a human's, so the foul odor, unbearable even for people, was like a direct blow to its head.

Ignoring everything else, it lurched forward a few steps to escape the smell, then lowered its head and began to retch.

This physiological reaction was impossible to control.

A figure flashed through the yellow mist. He Lingchuan held his breath and charged out, his Fusheng Saber aiming for the tiger's neck.

Just as the tiger was about to fall, an earth-shattering roar erupted from the bushes, and another striped form lunged out, directly colliding with He Lingchuan.

Both fell to the ground together.

There were actually two tigers, ambushing him one after another.

The tiger's roar was soul-shattering, erupting close by. He Lingchuan felt as if thunder had struck next to his ear; his heart and liver trembled violently, and his body inevitably stiffened.

This was the tiger demon's innate "terror" ability; more timid prey would be scared to death.

In an instant, they were rolling on the ground together.

The massive tiger's head was just a foot away, its wide-open mouth large enough to fit two human heads. Its ten claws were like switchblades, each a foot long, extending with a whirring sound to rake across his body.

If struck, it would result in minor disfigurement at best, or a ripped abdomen at worst.

But just then, a red light flashed on He Lingchuan's body. The tiger's claws scraped against him as if on metal, producing a grating, piercing sound.

Simultaneously, the protective mirror on his chest vibrated slightly.

Its master-protection function had automatically activated.

He Lingchuan's stiffness lasted only for an instant. His spirit had long traveled between the heavens and the underworld, making him more resilient than ordinary cultivators. Although caught off guard by the tiger's roar, the state of terror was dispelled in less than a second, and his body regained its agility.

Seeing another claw strike, He Lingchuan raised his saber to block, barely managing to deflect it, then drew back with a reverse swing.

The tiger's paw was injured.

If the tiger hadn't retracted its paw so quickly, half of its forepaw would have been gone.

The two separated on contact. He Lingchuan used the momentum to roll backward, and a throwing knife shot out.

The tiger, with its sharp eyes and swift paws, batted away the knife, its movement so fast it left an afterimage.

Taking advantage of this, He Lingchuan raised his hand and shot out a grappling hook.

As the tiger lunged forward again, he used the rope to leap, pushing off the tree trunk twice, and landed on a high branch above.

The other tiger, hit by the scent bomb, had now also shaken off its negative effects, only occasionally shaking its head.

The lingering impact of the stench still made it shudder internally.

The two tigers reunited. The tigress roared at it repeatedly, calling it "useless," while the male tiger could only flatten its ears and endure the scolding.

It paced twice under the tree, then looked at He Lingchuan and suddenly said, "Leave the Emperor's Dew, and I'll spare your life."

He Lingchuan spread his hands. "I drank it all."

"Nonsense! You don't have the scent of someone who's consumed it!"

The tigress roared, "Eat him now, it's not too late!" It was just dawn, and all creatures had just consumed the Emperor's Dew; capturing and eating him would still provide a great boost.

He Lingchuan said blandly, "I thought demons in Beijia were reasonable."

The tiger laughed loudly. "First, look at your feet. If you want to be reasonable, go back to the city!"

In this desolate wilderness, especially right after the Emperor's Dew had burst forth, sharp fangs and claws were the only truth!

It embraced the tree trunk and shot upwards, moving as fast as it ran on the ground.

All the big cat needed was a pair of wings to be an all-around master.

He Lingchuan threw another pair of darts. The tiger didn't dodge, and the darts surprisingly couldn't pierce its hide.

He Lingchuan frowned.

These two beasts hadn't used any supernatural abilities. He Lingchuan had thought they were holding back, but it turned out they had put all their skill points into enhancing themselves.

Such power-type demons preferred to strengthen themselves.

As the saying goes, "the greatest truth is the simplest." As long as their hide was thick, claws sharp, and speed fast enough, the diverse arcane arts of cultivators were like paper in front of them.

Fortunately, He Lingchuan had already pulled out his protective mirror from his embrace, shaking it a few times at the tiger.

They were very close now, and the daylight was bright. The tiger immediately saw its large head reflected in the mirror.

Looking in a mirror was nothing new for a tiger demon, but the tiger in the mirror suddenly winked at it and leaned in to sniff.

The tiger was startled. This... this didn't seem to be itself.

It looked like another tigress, with a round enough face, large enough eyes, and sharp enough teeth.

Most importantly, she looked much younger and more beautiful than its rough-looking mate behind it.

It was instantly stunned.

The tigress sprang past it. Seeing it falter again, she angrily clawed its hind leg. If this imbecile hadn't fallen for the trick earlier, the couple would now be sharing the Emperor's Dew!

She ignored why her mate was frozen and opened her mouth to bite He Lingchuan's heel.

Just then, two figures suddenly leaped from another large tree, landing directly on the tigress.

The two shan spirits, possessed by evil spirits, had successfully ambushed her!

Both creatures were heavier than adult humans, striking the tigress's waist like cannonballs. Caught off guard, she rolled to the ground along with the two shan spirits.

They tangled in a brawl, the roars of the tiger and the cries of the shan spirits echoing to the heavens, as dry branches and mud splattered on the ground.

The shan spirits were no match for the tigress after all. In just three rounds, one had its neck bitten through. The evil spirit possessing it immediately flew out and returned to the mirror.

During this time, He Lingchuan, still in the tree, also shot two sleeve arrows at the tigress. These magical artifacts, personally refined by Master Li Fubo, had excellent armor-piercing effects and finally were not repelled by the tiger's hide.

The tigress was hit by an arrow in her back and another in her front leg. Beyond the immediate damage, the wounds burned like fire, causing her to yowl continuously in pain.

He Lingchuan also saw a row of large blisters quickly forming around the tigress's wounds, like mushrooms on a tree stump, and nodded repeatedly in satisfaction.

He had applied the cave spider venom, gifted by Zhu Erniang, to the sleeve arrows. If the blisters weren't lanced and drained within a few breaths, the spider venom would spread through the bloodstream, dissolving muscles and paralyzing the prey.

At this point, he also jumped to the ground and engaged the tigress in combat.

As soon as he entered the fray, the combat pace drastically accelerated. The tigress had no time to extract the venom; her body quickly became heavy, and she could barely lift her paws.

She could only call for the male tiger's help.

The previously stunned male tiger indeed leaped down from the tree and pounced towards He Lingchuan.

The tigress felt a surge of relief, but to her surprise, as the male tiger ran past her, it suddenly turned around, pounced on her, and in a couple of moves, bit through her windpipe and twisted her neck!

The tigress died with wide-open eyes.

She couldn't see the evil spirit that had possessed the male tiger.

The male tiger had previously been enchanted by the mirror, its mind in disarray, which greatly increased the evil spirit's success rate in invading it.

He Lingchuan approached the tigress, allowing his protective mirror to absorb its soul, shaking his head as he remarked, "It seems you two didn't have a good marital relationship."

Although the male tiger was controlled by the evil spirit when it killed its mate, it hadn't fiercely resisted the possession. Even now, it was still licking its lips, as if savoring the taste of fresh blood.

Seeing He Lingchuan stand up, the mirror reminded him, "Hey, search it! It might still have some Emperor's Dew hidden!"

The large fangs of tiger and leopard demons could often store items. Even if the tigress had consumed the Emperor's Dew last night, only a few hours had passed, so using its carcass for alchemy would still be excellent.

He Lingchuan, however, glanced up at the sky. "No need. Let's leave it for the guests below."

Several white cranes were already circling in the sky, seemingly observing the scene below.

The spiritual rain had stopped.

If he were to collect his spoils and leave now, he didn't know how many interferences he'd face.

When the tiger had lunged and he had thrown the scent bomb, his mount had long since vanished.

The terrain wasn't suitable for horses anyway, so losing it wasn't a pity. He Lingchuan left the tiger carcass, activated his movement technique, and plunged into the jungle.

Before leaving, he didn't forget to toss his eyeball spider onto a nearby tree trunk, ordering it to lie in wait and observe the spectacle.

The trees above were tall, and the undergrowth below was dense, completely concealing the stealthy traveler's tracks.

The male tiger had also disappeared into the forest.

The crow perched nearby grew anxious. It wanted to follow He Lingchuan but dared not get too close, so it merely flew in circles overhead, trying to locate him.

The battle below ceased. The crane demons circled a few more times before descending and began to peck at the tigress's carcass.

Creatures that had consumed the Emperor's Dew last night now had flesh and blood imbued with spiritual energy. Normally, these crane demons would never get a chance to feast on a tiger's carcass.

However, they fed without manners, loud and boisterous, not understanding the art of quietly profiting. Thus, they quickly attracted the vultures.

Then, over twenty ape demons arrived, drawn by the sound. Each of them was as large as a shan spirit.

Their nature was domineering; they wanted to feast alone, so a major battle erupted between them and the bird demons.

A quarter of an hour later, the ground was littered with corpses. Only a few bird demons remained, barely able to flap their wings and fly away. Three berserk apes were also dead, and seven were injured.

As victors, however, they could feast not only on the tiger's carcass but also on the bird demons' bodies.

Afterward, humans appeared.

No one knew how many conflicts over food and acts of slaughter had occurred that day at Three Hearts Lake, a place usually rarely visited by humans.

Normally, demons and humans might not be so aggressive and wild, but under the influence of the Emperor's Dew, they were all bloodthirsty today, heedless of retreat, fighting to the death.

He Lingchuan was glad he had escaped early.

Staying would have meant endless waves of attacks, a challenge beyond his capacity as a stranger in this land.

At this time, the black-clad youth and his party finally arrived at the shore of Three Hearts Lake.