Chapter 33: Insufficient Strength, Making Up with Spiritual Talismans

Lu Ye had initially thought he encountered an extraordinary fierce creature, but after actual contact, he realized this large tiger might not be as formidable as he had imagined.

It had stayed at the cave entrance, hesitant to venture deeper. If its strength truly surpassed Lu Ye's significantly, why would it waste so many words?

That was the first point.

Secondly, failing to acquire elixirs from Lu Ye, it then sought spirit stones, and when that didn't work, it demanded healing pills, rather like a thief who never leaves empty-handed.

From this, Lu Ye concluded that despite its imposing presence, the tiger was likely just a facade.

Lu Ye took out the healing pill and placed it at his feet, as a final test.

As expected, the tiger was unwilling to approach Lu Ye, simply telling him to throw the healing pill over.

Having confirmed that the tiger was not as powerful as he had imagined, Lu Ye felt relieved. His goal now was simple: kill the tiger and eat its meat!

Undeniably, this was a demon beast with cultivation. If he could kill and consume it, it would surely be more beneficial than eating many ordinary wild beasts. Perhaps opening his nine orifices would depend on this very tiger.

Lu Ye had never been someone to simply abide by rules; otherwise, he wouldn't have led Manager Yang into the mine shaft filled with the Yuan-magnetic field in the first place.

He would prepare for potential dangers and actively seize any opportunities that arose.

The Fire Snake Talisman was activated, fiery light swirling as it attacked the large tiger. Simultaneously, Lu Ye charged forward, sword in hand.

However, just as he moved, he felt his shoulder sink, as if something was pressing down on him, causing him to hunch and nearly fall to his knees.

At the same time, a sharp shriek pierced his ears. Instantly, he felt as if someone had brutally smashed his head with a hammer, leaving him completely disoriented, with golden stars dancing before his eyes.

He propped himself up with his sword in one hand, forcing himself to stay upright, while simultaneously activating the spiritual energy within his eight spiritual apertures to protect his body. In an instant, a layer of fiery light seemed to burn on his skin, imbued with faint streaks of gold.

His five-element affinity was primarily fire with secondary gold, so the spiritual energy in his body would manifest with the luster of these two attributes.

A shrill scream erupted, and the heavy pressure on his shoulder instantly vanished. Although his head was still somewhat dazed, he had recovered significantly.

What astonished him, however, was that he had just been ambushed!

The attacker was not the large tiger, but someone else entirely!

He had been at the bottom of the cave, with the tiger blocking the entrance, and had been interacting with the tiger the entire time, with no sign of anyone else.

Thus, he had never expected an ambush from behind. Fortunately, the attacker's strength seemed unremarkable; he had merely activated his protective spiritual energy to repel them.

As the pained scream echoed, Lu Ye abruptly turned his head, vaguely catching sight of an inexplicable mass disappearing into the rock wall out of the corner of his eye.

There was no time to investigate the attacker's identity, as a pungent gust of wind enveloped him; the large tiger had already lunged forward.

The Fire Snake Talisman hadn't killed the tiger, merely scorching its fur, indicating that the tiger indeed possessed cultivation.

There was clearly no time to activate another talisman now. Lu Ye had missed the best opportunity to strike, so he could only deliver a fierce sword slash, simultaneously activating his spiritual energy to imbue the longsword with a sharpness spiritual pattern!

During this period, he had used Manager Yang's longsword to kill many fierce beasts. Unfortunately, as he hadn't learned any swordsmanship, his attacks primarily consisted of chops and slashes.

A longsword enhanced with sharpness was incredibly sharp; during his fight with Zhou Cheng, Lu Ye had cleaved Zhou Cheng's equally high-quality accompanying sword in half with a single strike.

However, the tiger's bones seemed even sturdier than Zhou Cheng's sword. Lu Ye's slash struck its shoulder blade but failed to sever its body completely. Instead, he was thrown off balance by a powerful impact.

Lu Ye took a few steps back with the momentum, pulling back his longsword as tiger blood splattered.

Before he could make another move, his chest went numb, struck by a tiger claw that tore away a layer of skin and flesh.

The pain did not hinder Lu Ye; instead, it sharpened his senses. In this confined space, the struggle between man and tiger was extremely perilous, with life and death possibly decided at any moment.

However, this exchange of blows greatly reassured Lu Ye, as his assessment had been correct.

The tiger's cultivation was indeed not as profound as he had imagined. This was not an insurmountable foe; with proper execution, killing the tiger and eating its meat was imminent!

The large tiger roared and lunged at Lu Ye again. Simultaneously, a wailing sound, like ghosts howling and wolves crying, suddenly echoed through the cave, disrupting Lu Ye's focus.

This was a trick employed by the hidden enemy.

Lu Ye ignored the hidden assailant, focusing solely on the tiger's movements. The moment it leaped, he crouched low, stomped his foot, and slid out from under the tiger.

As the two figures crossed paths, Lu Ye thrust his longsword sharply upwards, striking the tiger's soft underbelly. He had expected this single strike to disembowel the tiger, but to his surprise, a faint golden light suddenly emanated from its abdomen. Even with the sharpness-enhanced longsword, he only managed to breach that layer of light's defense, failing to severely injure the beast.

When he stood up again, the positions of the combatants had swapped.

Originally, Lu Ye was deep inside the cave, with the large tiger blocking the entrance, but now the situation was reversed.

Moreover, this exchange revealed to Lu Ye that while the tiger's strength wasn't exceptionally high, it wasn't low either; he estimated it was slightly stronger than himself.

However, he held a sharp weapon, which could also be enhanced with spiritual patterns, giving him a slight advantage.

But continuing this fight would inevitably lead to a mutually destructive outcome.

With this thought, Lu Ye reached into his storage bag and pulled out a spiritual talisman.

If strength was insufficient, talismans would compensate. The thirty talismans prepared for him by the sect master were not mere decorations, and Lu Ye had no intention of conserving them. If not used now, then when?

However, before he could activate the talisman, a clear, crisp voice urgently rang out: "Surrender! Spare my life!"

Lu Ye lowered his gaze. Hearing such words during a life-or-death battle undoubtedly dampened his fighting spirit. Spiritual energy surged in the hand clutching the talisman, and he growled, "Get out here!"

From the rock wall deep within the cave, beside the large tiger, a figure slowly emerged. The figure was not solid; it appeared to be a convergence of spiritual energy.

After emerging, the figure gradually solidified, becoming indistinguishable from a normal person.

It was, in fact, a slender and beautiful girl, with long black hair cascading to her waist, dressed in a white gown. A small black mole beneath her eye added a touch of allure. She appeared to be about sixteen or seventeen years old.

After stepping out, the girl stood next to the large tiger, timidly looking at Lu Ye with an expression as if she had done something wrong.

Lu Ye frowned, "What are you?"