Chapter 41: Don't Treat the Fried Dough Stick as Not a Weapon

Lu Yang, sword in hand, grabbed Qi Wu by the neck and threw him backward. "There's a door behind you," he urged, "Hurry and run!"

Qi Wu was thrown three or four meters in the blink of an eye. Just as he was about to hit the ground, an invisible force lifted his body, allowing him to land steadily.

"Thank you for saving us, Senior Immortal!"

With that, he immediately led Ah Yue and the others, fleeing the temple without a moment's hesitation. They couldn't discern the cultivation levels of Lu Yang and the tiger demon. They only knew that any cultivator battle, regardless of who won, would inevitably affect the surroundings. With their mortal bodies, even a slight impact would mean spending the rest of their lives either bedridden or buried.

The tiger demon's fur bristled, and the character "King" on its forehead glowed faintly. Its intent was to tear Lu Yang to shreds, and its attacks became even more ferocious.

"I'll help you!"

The other two mountain deity statues stirred. One, holding a scripture, appeared refined and scholarly. The other emanated light from its entire body, like an enlightened monk who had forged an immeasurable golden physique!

Man Gu hefted the scripture he held, finding it far too light. He put it away and then pulled out two thick Great Xia dictionaries from his robe.

"These feel much better."

Man Gu had been taught since childhood that the Barbarian race was a fighting people, and that weapons were not limited by form; anything at hand could become a weapon. At this moment, books were the handiest.

"Knowledge is power!"

Wielding the two dictionaries like bricks, he slammed them towards the tiger demon's forehead. The demon was momentarily bewildered, never having encountered such a weapon.

Meng Jingzhou needed no weapon; his body was the strongest. He transformed into a golden figure and charged at the tiger demon. The accompanying spirits behind the demon let out a shriek as their bodies began to sizzle and smoke. His Pure Yang spiritual root proved miraculously effective against spirits!

Terrified, the spirits no longer obeyed the tiger demon's commands. They fled from the temple, disappearing into the curtain of rain.

The tiger demon had never been so enraged. While it didn't desire conflict with cultivators, that didn't mean it feared them. It could easily tear these arrogant youngsters to shreds and flee elsewhere, where no one would find it. What a pity to abandon this auspicious place, Songshan.

Realizing this, the tiger demon unleashed its full power. Its tail swept at Lu Yang with a whistling sound; if Lu Yang had continued his attack, he would have undoubtedly sustained serious injuries!

Lu Yang made a swift decision, retracting his sword and retreating. The tiger's tail slammed into the ground, shaking the entire temple.

The three looked solemn. "It has already formed a nascent Golden Core!"

To form a Golden Core, cultivators must first manifest a nascent Golden Core. Only when this core fully solidifies from its ethereal form does one officially enter the Golden Core stage. The tiger demon before them was clearly in the process of forming its Golden Core, indicating extraordinary strength!

"I am a mighty expert at the Half-Step Golden Core stage! How dare a group of Foundation Establishment brats try to harm me!"

"Half-Step Golden Core?" Lu Yang looked at Meng Jingzhou; he hadn't heard his senior sister mention such a term.

Meng Jingzhou, ever the pragmatist, explained, "It means they haven't formed a Golden Core yet, but they consider themselves too grand to be lumped in with Foundation Establishment cultivators. So they force themselves into the Golden Core category, even though true Golden Core cultivators don't even give them a second glance. It's quite pathetic, really."

The good-natured Man Gu added, "It's understandable that Brother Lu isn't familiar with it. Our sect's senior disciples scorn such a concept. Why bother with a 'from illusory to real' process for forming a Golden Core? Only mediocre cultivators do that; true talents form their Golden Cores directly."

The earnest Lu Yang looked at the tiger demon with pity. "He is quite pathetic, indeed."

The tiger demon's fury intensified, its eyes bloodshot. Its proudly cultivated strength had been dismissed as worthless by these three youngsters. The most infuriating part was that these were their genuine thoughts! At least they could have pretended!

The tiger demon unleashed its oppressive aura, intending to suppress the three first. To its surprise, none of the three were affected. Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou even scoffed, "We've faced the oppressive aura of a Nascent Soul stage great demon with ancient dragon blood. How could your pressure affect us?" As for Man Gu, his ancient barbarian blood made him impervious to any oppressive aura. The Barbarian race reigned supreme in ancient times precisely because they feared nothing. They were utterly savage.

The tiger demon abandoned its attempt to stand on two legs like a human. It lowered its front paws, crouched on the ground, its chin resting near the earth, its tiger eyes fixed intensely on the trio.

Boom—

The tiger demon pushed off powerfully with its hind legs, launching itself like a cannonball directly at the three. Lu Yang barely managed to block the tiger demon's sharp claws with his Qingfeng sword held across his chest. Lu Yang spun and retreated, just barely deflecting the tiger demon's immense force.

Unlike the Skin-Painted Ghost they had previously encountered, whose advantage was its elusive nature and not its attacking prowess (once its identity was exposed, victory was easy), the tiger demon was different. The demon race is inherently known for its formidable physical bodies. Given that the tiger demon's cultivation was nearly an entire major realm higher than theirs, it was remarkably difficult for Lu Yang to block that attack with his sword without sustaining any injury.

Meng Jingzhou and Man Gu attacked from left and right, a pincer movement. Runes flashed in the tiger demon's blood, and it transformed into a gust of wind, soaring above them and delivering a fierce claw strike to both. As clouds follow dragons and wind follows tigers, the tiger demon could inherently control wind-based magic, a natural ability stemming from its bloodline!

Meng Jingzhou, unable to brace himself in mid-air, met the tiger demon's strike with a palm of his own. Man Gu protected his chest with a dictionary, but half of it was torn to shreds by the tiger demon's claws.

Lu Yang seized the opportunity, striking with his sword in an unstoppable flurry. His longsword, like a bolt of lightning, reached the tiger demon in an instant. He thrust several times, but alas, the tiger demon's fur was too thick; Lu Yang's sword couldn't pierce it. The tiger demon was about to burst into laughter, intending to mock Lu Yang for his overestimation, unable to even breach its defenses. To its shock, several surges of sword energy suddenly erupted within its body, causing blood to gush out. The points of eruption were precisely where Lu Yang had struck!

Hidden sword energy! Lu Yang didn't need to pierce his opponent; his goal was to inject sword energy directly into its body! This was a weakness of the demon race compared to body cultivators: while their physical bodies were formidable on the outside, their internal organs and blood were incredibly fragile!

The tiger demon recoiled, unwilling to clash head-on with Lu Yang's sword any longer. To its surprise, Lu Yang was relentless. The tiger demon dodged his raised sword in his right hand, but then he pulled out a fried dough stick with his left hand and smacked the tiger demon right on the head! The tiger demon could have easily dodged it, but seeing its opponent pull out a mere fried dough stick, it relaxed its guard, secretly chuckling at how childish Lu Yang was, grabbing anything when desperate. It was then utterly stunned by the impact. What kind of fried dough stick was that?!

Meng Jingzhou transformed into a colossal mountain. Taking advantage of the tiger demon's stunned moments, he aimed a powerful ram at its waist. The tiger demon might have appeared cunning and experienced, but in reality, it was riddled with weaknesses. It adhered to a principle of non-aggression, always choosing to escape rather than fight. It had barely clashed with anyone since it began cultivating.

The tiger demon stumbled from the collision. Man Gu seized the chance, aiming a blow directly at its eyes. The tiger demon hastily turned its head to dodge, but the strike landed on its cheek, tearing off a patch of fur. The tiger demon instinctively whipped its tail, striking Man Gu. Man Gu pushed off in the direction of the tail's swing, sustaining little injury. Lu Yang instantly thrust several swords and followed up with a few more strikes from the fried dough stick, forcing the tiger demon to retreat repeatedly.

After a series of exchanges, the three actually gained the upper hand. The tiger demon realized that despite their youth and seemingly lower cultivation, these opponents exhibited profound capabilities, hinting at a powerful backing. Thoughts of retreat began to emerge in its mind.

The three would never allow the tiger demon to escape. If they let this tiger return to its mountain today, countless more lives might be lost tomorrow. It must not escape!

"Don't push your luck!"

The tiger demon roared, seething with rage. The three sensed that the demon intended to fight to the death and secretly prepared themselves. The tiger demon's eyes widened, and it let out a thunderous roar towards the outside of the temple, playing its final card: "Wife, someone's trying to kill me!"