Fighting the Tiger Demon

Deep within the cave, an endless darkness seemed to stretch on. In a dim, stone pavilion, a man sat cross-legged. His hair was disheveled, falling around his slender frame like a sculpture.

He was swallowing and exhaling a fist-sized, amber-colored inner core.

With a loud "Clang!"

The Jade-Faced Martial Scholar, like a kite with a broken string, crashed headfirst into a stone statue in front of the pavilion, gritting his teeth and clutching his torn skin pouch.

"Master... save me..."

The man, with three golden markings on his forehead, was caught off guard, nearly dropping the inner core he held in his mouth.

The Tiger Demon hastily stabilized the inner core and turned to berate the Jade-Faced Martial Scholar, "Useless waste... you can't even deal with a late Blood Refining Realm martial artist. What use are you to me?"

The Jade-Faced Martial Scholar was the first natal ghost the Tiger Demon had refined, possessing forty percent of the Tiger Demon's cultivation from birth.

"Forgive me, Master! That person's fists were huge and hard. One punch shattered my skin pouch... Aiyaya... it hurts so much!" The Jade-Faced Martial Scholar scrambled and crawled, prostrating himself on the Tiger Demon's thigh, rolling on the ground.

"Get lost... disgusting thing!" The Tiger Demon sneered with disgust and kicked the Jade-Faced Martial Scholar away.

The Jade-Faced Martial Scholar rolled on the ground, looking utterly pathetic.

Seeing this, the Tiger Demon impatiently said, "Hurry up and get a new skin pouch... How long are you going to keep rolling?"

"Yes... Thank you for your generosity, Master..."

Soon, the Jade-Faced Martial Scholar shed his current skin pouch and chose the skin of a beautiful woman to be his new one.

The Tiger Demon saw that a great enemy was at hand, yet the Jade-Faced Martial Scholar had chosen a woman's skin.

In such a situation, he was still thinking of pleasing him.

The Tiger Demon was instantly enraged. He stepped forward, grabbed the woman's hair, and began to beat her.

Xia Qi'an and the other two cautiously felt their way forward, exploring the depths of the cave.

The cave was very dark, with only faint light squeezing through cracks, barely illuminating the surroundings.

The three could only vaguely make out the situation inside the cave.

Inside the cave, there were actually buildings resembling human courtyards.

"This Tiger Demon seems quite intelligent! Looking at the situation in this cave... could it be trying to cultivate its body?" Su Changqing couldn't help but say, seeing the gloomy atmosphere in the cave.

Xia Qi'an snorted coldly, "A wicked beast that has committed countless evils... it's simply delusional!"

"Roar..."

Suddenly, a deafening tiger roar echoed from the deepest part of the cave.

The tiger's roar was soul-shattering, instilling fear in people's hearts.

Su Changqing's scalp tingled, and he trembled, "This might truly have Spirit Condensation realm cultivation!"

"Why don't we make a long-term plan! Let's wait for reinforcements from the Wei Dao Si!"

Just then, Xia Qi'an suddenly assumed a boxing stance, as if facing a great enemy, and warned, "It's too late... the Tiger Demon is already out! Look after your own lives!"

As soon as Xia Qi'an finished speaking.

From the depths of the cave, an eerie man with a pale face, disheveled hair, and three golden markings on his forehead slowly emerged from the darkness.

"Such vigorous Blood Essence... truly excellent food... Mmm... the skin pouch is also not bad," the Tiger Demon unconsciously licked his lips and said sinisterly.

Xia Qi'an turned his head slightly and whispered to the two behind him, "Let's run outside first! The space in the cave is limited, and fighting here will be disadvantageous for us!"

After exchanging glances, the three turned and ran.

"I guarantee no... damn ants... why are you running?..." The Tiger Demon originally wanted to continue showing off and crushing the three's courage, but unexpectedly, Xia Qi'an and the others just ran.

Seeing this, the Tiger Demon became furious and transformed into a black whirlwind, chasing after them.

"That Tiger Demon hasn't stepped into the Spirit Condensation realm yet, so the three of us can still fight together. But we can't fight head-on!" Xia Qi'an said to Su Changqing and Bata as he ran.

"Your strength is greater than mine... you decide how we fight..." Su Changqing replied.

"Like this... and this..."

Fortunately, Xia Qi'an and the other two did not venture too deep into the cave and escaped before the Tiger Demon.

The Tiger Demon transformed into a black whirlwind and pursued them relentlessly.

The moment he rushed out of the cave entrance, a Mountain Suppressing Stone, as large as a small mountain, rolled down from above.

It landed precisely on the black whirlwind that was rushing out.

This Mountain Suppressing Stone was originally a trap set by the Jade-Faced Martial Scholar when he was bored. It could also block the cave entrance at critical moments. He didn't expect Xia Qi'an to use it to trap the Tiger Demon.

"Boom!"

The Mountain Suppressing Stone fell like Mount Tai.

Caught off guard, the Tiger Demon let out a scream that echoed through the heavens.

However, Xia Qi'an knew very well that a single Mountain Suppressing Stone would not be enough to kill the Tiger Demon.

He also held the idea of giving it a try, to see if he could deplete the Tiger Demon's demonic power.

"Bang..."

The Mountain Suppressing Stone exploded violently, and the Tiger Demon shot out like a cannonball. However, its previous sinister aura was gone, replaced by a disheveled appearance.

Yet, as soon as the Tiger Demon stabilized itself, two Vajra Arms descended from the sky like meteorites, striking directly at its crown.

The Tiger Demon raised its palms to the sky, meeting the Vajra Arms head-on.

"Boom..."

The Vajra Arms shattered with a roar, dissolving into a sky full of golden fragments.

Xia Qi'an raised his slightly trembling arms, thinking to himself, "Still too much of a strain. The difference in realms is too great!"

This Tiger Demon was extraordinary. Compared to the giant snake he encountered on the outskirts of the Burial Ridge Mountains, it was like comparing the heavens to the earth.

That crimson giant snake had about seven to eight hundred years of cultivation, its strength equivalent to a martial artist in the mid to late Bone Forging Realm.

Just as the Tiger Demon was preparing to pursue Xia Qi'an.

A sword light arrived like a shooting star, striking like a venomous snake poised to ambush, aimed directly at the Tiger Demon's left eye.

This forced the Tiger Demon to abandon Xia Qi'an and turn to deal with the sword light.

After all, no matter how powerful the Tiger Demon was, it couldn't allow its eyes to be blinded by sword energy.

"Insects... how dare you!"

The Tiger Demon unleashed both palms, executing a "Fierce Tiger Descends the Mountain" move like a famished tiger pouncing.

It shattered the incoming sword energy.

Immediately after, just like before, a large stone was hurled at it.

Bata had made his move.

The Tiger Demon shifted its target again, pouncing on Bata like a hungry wolf.

At this moment, Xia Qi'an had recovered his breath. His Iron Claw Skill attacked from the side like a phantom, aiming directly for the Tiger Demon's groin.

The Tiger Demon sensed Xia Qi'an's intention, and its expression instantly turned extremely ugly.

Its abilities in that area were not strong to begin with. If Xia Qi'an managed to grab it, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Xia Qi'an's "Monkey Steals the Peach" move was incredibly insidious, causing the Tiger Demon, which had the upper hand, to panic.

"Despicable human!" the Tiger Demon roared, and under duress, it tore open its skin pouch, revealing its true form.

"Roar..."

A deafening tiger roar echoed through the heavens, shaking the mountains and causing birds and beasts in the forest to flee in panic.

Xia Qi'an estimated the Tiger Demon's true form to be about eight zhang (24 meters) long and about one zhang (3 meters) tall.

Its size was like a small mountain, and the two large "lychees" on its rear were as big as human heads.

Xia Qi'an secretly calculated how nourishing the thousand-year-old tiger bones and tiger whip would be!

He'd probably be so nourished he'd get a nosebleed.

Speaking of large lychees...

Xia Qi'an grinned at Su Changqing, a wicked plan brewing in his mind.