Black Tiger Beast

The distance of several dozen kilometers, with the speed of sword riding, Su Changqing arrived at this mountain range in about an hour.

"It seems this is the Nine Yin Mountain I was looking for."

Su Changqing curiously observed the mountain range below from high in the sky.

The mountain range was exactly as Master Shui Yue had described.

The terrain was incredibly steep, with treacherous cliffs and dense mists shrouding the mountains, obscuring everything below the towering peaks.

Most peculiar were the roars of ferocious beasts that occasionally echoed, striking fear into the heart.

A mortal would surely find it difficult to climb, let alone survive within, and only cultivators who could ride swords could enter.

Su Changqing felt no fear. He stepped onto his flying sword and passed through the clouds, heading directly towards the mountainside, where he landed in a relatively open area.

As soon as he landed, he saw a small, peculiar deer with four antlers. Indeed, there were many spirit beasts and monsters. However, this little deer he encountered for the first time seemed harmless and ran away, startled by him.

Su Changqing wasn't in a hurry to find the Desolate Orchid Water Lily. This was his first time leaving the sect, and he wanted to seize the opportunity to relax.

Afterward, a young man in white was seen wandering alone through the treacherous Nine Yin Mountain, enjoying the scenery and occasionally picking medicinal herbs recorded in ancient texts.

"Right, speaking of which, ever since I started cultivating, I haven't had a real fight. I'm about to break through, and I don't know my true level."

"Why not find a demon beast to test my skills?"

Su Changqing muttered to himself as he walked, suddenly remembering this.

The thought made Su Changqing's hands itch, and he eagerly wanted to practice his skills immediately.

Su Changqing hurried off, wanting to find a demon beast to satisfy his desire.

However, after taking only two steps, he heard a rustling sound from the grass. Just as Su Changqing was about to investigate, a giant dark shadow leaped out from the grass.

"Roar!"

The giant dark shadow let out a sky-shattering roar, shaking the trees and grass. Countless birds and spirit beasts, intimidated by the roar, scattered and fled. The roar echoed through the cliffs.

Su Changqing, however, showed no fear. His relaxed expression turned serious as he focused on the giant dark shadow.

The giant dark shadow was a black tiger.

The tiger appeared to be three to four meters long, incredibly tall and robust, with a large white "King" shaped marking on its forehead. Its fur was entirely black, like a robe of black silk brocade. Its limbs and claws were thick and large, with extremely sharp claws protruding. It also had a long, thick tail that swayed like a black steel whip at its will.

It looked majestic and imposing, truly the king of beasts.

Su Changqing then remembered that he had seen this type of demon beast in the Qingyun Sect's ancient texts. It was named the Black Tiger Beast.

Unlike ordinary tigers, the Black Tiger Beast was a demon beast born with spiritual roots and could cultivate. As it grew and cultivated, it could not only gain intelligence but also reach the Core Formation stage at its peak, which alone was enough to claim a mountain range as its territory and become the king of the mountain.

It was a powerful demon beast.

Furthermore, according to the ancient texts, the Black Tiger Beast had a cruel nature. It not only preyed on other demon beasts in the mountains but could even transform into a ghoul to kill and devour humans.

"It's like wishing for a pillow when you're sleepy. Perfect, I'll test my strength on you."

Su Changqing said with a hint of pleasant surprise after a careful observation.

While Su Changqing was observing the Black Tiger Beast, the beast was also pacing around, observing the human who had trespassed into its territory.

It had lived in the mountains for over ten years. More than ten years ago, it had eaten two humans, and the taste of human flesh had lingered in its memory. However, it hadn't encountered any humans in the following decade.

This was the first human it had encountered since gaining sentience.

"Grrr! How many years has it been since I last met a human? Today, I, your king, was planning to hunt for food, and I've actually encountered you. What a surprise!"

Suddenly, the Black Tiger Beast shook its body, transforming into a ghoul with a tiger's head and a human's body. It spoke human language from its gaping maw, sneering at Su Changqing.

Now that it had gained sentience, it could clearly sense spiritual energy fluctuations. However, the person before it had no cultivation fluctuations, clearly appearing to be a mortal without any strength.

With that, it no longer cared who Su Changqing was or if he was a human cultivator. It transformed into a ghoul, ready to attack Su Changqing and savor the taste of human flesh again.

"Boy, do you know this is my territory? You, a mere mortal with no cultivation, dare to trespass here. You are seeking your own death."

The Black Tiger Beast looked at Su Changqing, its eyes filled with a craving for food.

"Your king? What king are you?"

Su Changqing chuckled and retorted upon hearing the Black Tiger Beast.

So, it was his Heaven Concealment technique that prevented the Black Tiger Beast from sensing his cultivation, leading it to mistake him for a mere mortal.

And now it was thinking of eating him.

"I am called the Great Black King. All the land within a hundred meters is my territory. All living beings are my food, and you are no exception!"

"I advise you to surrender obediently, lest I hurt you when I attack. If you let me bite you obediently, it will only hurt for a moment. Otherwise, I will gnaw at your limbs, and you will watch as I devour you bite by bite."

The Black Tiger Beast said to Su Changqing with its mouth agape, its words utterly vile.

"Oh? You really want to eat me?"

As soon as Su Changqing saw the Black Tiger Beast transform and heard it speak, he immediately recalled the cruel descriptions of it in the books and became much more cautious.

"Then we'll see if you have the strength!"

Before the Black Tiger Beast could react, Su Changqing's voice fell. He drew his sword, and in the Black Tiger Beast's widening eyes, his figure blurred into an afterimage, disappearing instantly.

In a flash, he appeared beside the Black Tiger Beast and slashed fiercely with his sword. Countless sword energies shot out from the blade, forming a powerful gale that roared towards the Black Tiger Beast.

"What's going on?!"

The Black Tiger Beast froze in shock, its fur standing on end.

Didn't this person have no spiritual energy fluctuations? How could he use a sword technique of a human cultivator? And this single sword strike made it feel an instinctive, primal fear of death.

In that critical moment, the Black Tiger Beast unleashed a burst of latent power from its feet, leaping violently away from its original position. Only then did it manage to have the sword energy graze its chest.

As it landed, gasping for breath, it saw that most of the fur on its chest had been cleaved off by the sword energy. Had it gone any deeper, it would have likely ripped its chest open.

As the dust settled, it saw the spot where it had been standing was now a pit more than two meters deep, blasted open by the sword energy. The surrounding trees within a few meters had all been cut down in a single strike, falling to the ground in neat, severed pieces.