Weihu Mountain

Three months later.

In a cave on the back mountain of Silver Sword Peak.

Li Xuanxiao took a deep breath and looked at the three poisonous scorpion puppets before him.

Driven by his spiritual power, the scorpion puppets swiftly began to move.

The greatest problem with the scorpion puppets right now was that their movements were not agile enough, and they were not fast enough.

The poison Li Xuanxiao refined now could already harm cultivators at the great completion of the Foundation Establishment Realm.

But the question was, how could he make a Foundation Establishment cultivator at great completion fall victim to his poison?

After all, not everyone was as brainless as Murong Mo.

Li Xuanxiao drew a huge question mark on his plan.

Then there was his swordsmanship.

He had only cultivated the Shu Mountain Sword Canon to the fourth level.

He had been stuck there for half a year already. During those six months, his Shu Mountain Sword Canon had not improved in the slightest.

Had I really become slack?

His peers said: the pressure was mountain-sized.

If reaching the fourth level of the Sword Canon counted as slacking off, then what did that make them?

Spending every day eating, drinking, whoring, and gambling?

Suddenly, Li Xuanxiao sensed an intruder entering the maze formation he had set up.

The next moment, Li Xuanxiao vanished from the cave and appeared outside the maze formation.

"Potato, potato, I'm sweet potato!"

His junior sister's voice came from within the maze formation.

Li Xuanxiao dispelled the maze formation.

"Senior Brother, as you instructed, I got the mission for you!"

Zhao Lu waved her hand. A Jade Token lay in her palm.

Li Xuanxiao nodded and took the Jade Token.

A line of small characters surfaced on it: Mission details: eradicate the Tiger Demons of Weihu Mountain.

A complete route map was included as well.

"Alright, I understand. Report the sect's recent situation to me."

Zhao Lu pursed her lips and took out her little notebook.

"Latest news from the sect: Eldest Senior Brother Xue Yun has been found. It is said that someone saw him in Yun Province, drinking himself into drunkenness alone."

"The discussions about the rumors concerning you have died down somewhat lately. After Senior Sister Su Wan entered seclusion, Jiang Luoshui stopped stubbornly searching for you as well."

Li Xuanxiao nodded.

He became even more certain that Jiang Luoshui liked Su Wan.

She could not stand seeing Su Wan like someone else.

But after he and Su Wan had cleared the air, Jiang Luoshui probably would not keep pestering him.

When that time came, no one would care about the rumors anymore.

Zhao Lu continued, "There's one more thing. Third Senior Sister has returned from her travels, but she brought someone back with her."

"What kind of person?"

"I don't know. Even Third Senior Sister doesn't know his true identity. Apparently, he has lost his memory."

"Amnesia? A man?"

Zhao Lu nodded. "And a very handsome man, at that. Of course... he's not as handsome as you, Senior Brother~"

Li Xuanxiao ignored the latter half of her words.

An unfamiliar man with amnesia...

That sounded a little suspicious.

"It is said that his amnesia is connected to Third Senior Sister, which is why she brought him back to Shu Mountain."

Li Xuanxiao's eyes shifted slightly. He gave Zhao Lu a few more instructions.

Then he left the back mountain of Silver Sword Peak.

He went straight to find Third Senior Sister, wanting to see this so-called amnesiac man with his own eyes.

A handsome man of unknown identity with amnesia—this combination always left Li Xuanxiao feeling uneasy.

When he arrived at Third Senior Sister's residence on Silver Sword Peak, however, he learned that the sect master had summoned her.

Li Xuanxiao waited until nightfall without seeing any sign of Third Senior Sister. Nor did he want to go to Tongtian Peak and have other disciples spread gossip.

So he decided that it would not be too late to ask Third Senior Sister about the matter after finishing the task at hand.

Afterward, Li Xuanxiao left Silver Sword Peak alone.

Weihu Mountain stood lofty and perilous, shrouded in clouds and mist.

It was said that two powerful Tiger Demons, already refined into spirits, lurked within Weihu Mountain!

Back then, these two Tiger Demons had merely been ordinary wild beasts of the mountains. Yet by a twist of fate, they had encountered an immortal passing through this place.

Seeing that they possessed considerable spiritual nature, the immortal casually pointed at them, granting them a cultivation method and opening the path to intelligence.

At first, the two Tiger Demons knew gratitude. They honestly cultivated according to the immortal's teachings, striving to restrain their wild natures and desires, wishing only to attain the righteous fruit as soon as possible.

However, as time passed, their strength continuously grew, and the ambition and desire in their hearts began to spread like wild grass.

Gradually, they became more and more unscrupulous.

The present-day Weihu Mountain had become a forbidden ground.

Any merchants or travelers passing through who unfortunately entered this region would, more often than not, meet a cruel end.

The two Tiger Demons mercilessly treated these innocent people as food, indulging in the thrill brought by slaughter.

A deafening peal of thunder rang through the sky, and raindrops as large as beans poured from the dense black clouds.

This made the already rugged mountain road exceptionally difficult to traverse.

Rainwater flowed down the slopes, gathering into rushing streams that relentlessly battered against the travelers' legs.

"Senior Brother, let's take shelter from the rain at that Mountain God Temple. This mountain road is too difficult to walk."

The woman in green said.

The tall man was named Zhou Yan, while the woman in green was called Bai Xue.

Both were disciples of the Xuantian Sword Sect.

Though the Xuantian Sword Sect could not compare to Shu Mountain in heritage, its strength was by no means lacking.

The two had come this time to slay the Tiger Demons.

The senior brother and junior sister entered the dilapidated Mountain God Temple, only to find that others had already taken shelter from the rain inside.

They were two young monks.

"Zhou Yan and Bai Xue of the Xuantian Sword Sect."

The two young monks introduced themselves as well. One had the Buddhist name Qingfeng, and the other Qingming.

They came from Fahua Temple.

In these deep mountains and ancient forests, with tales of demons and ghosts, no one would come here in the dead of night merely to admire the scenery.

After a brief exchange, both sides learned that they had come for the same target.

They were all here for the mission anyway. As long as they killed the evil Tiger Demons, that was enough.

There was no need to compete. More people simply meant another measure of security.

Thus, the four sat down and chatted merrily.

The moonlight was thick, while wind and rain raged outside.

None of the four noticed that within this dilapidated Mountain God Temple—

The lifeless clay statue of the god was secretly watching them with its eyes.

Li Xuanxiao, disguised as the clay statue, stirred slightly inwardly. Through their conversation, he had already learned their identities and their purpose for coming here.

As for why Li Xuanxiao was hiding here, it was naturally because he had been the first to arrive at the Mountain God Temple.

He had originally intended to wait by the tree stump for the hare, patiently awaiting news of the two Tiger Demons here.

Unexpectedly, before the Tiger Demons arrived, he first encountered four fellow cultivators.

Still, this was not exactly a bad thing.

Of course, it was not a good thing either.

Li Xuanxiao was not used to fighting side by side with others.

Besides, these four were all quite strong. Dealing with those two Tiger Demons should be more than enough for them.

With that thought, Li Xuanxiao decided to observe a while longer.

If they could resolve the Tiger Demons smoothly, he would leave silently without drawing attention.

If not, he could strike the Tiger Demons from the shadows and catch them off guard.