After the Tiger Demon died, Su Changqing and Bata collapsed to the ground like deflated balls, their bodies limp and boneless.
Xia Qi'an stepped forward to examine them. When he found that they had merely passed out, he finally let out a sigh of relief.
The Tiger Demon had occupied this place for many years, so the mountain stronghold must have accumulated quite a fortune.
After confirming that there were no other minor demons in the stronghold, Xia Qi'an entered the depths of the cave alone and began searching.
At the very back of the cave, he found a stone chamber used to store hides. To his shock, it contained several hundred human skins, both male and female.
Xia Qi'an forcibly suppressed his discomfort and withdrew from the chamber, then continued searching the other stone rooms.
Next, he discovered another stone chamber piled high with gold and silver.
This Tiger Demon really had quite a fortune.
However, Xia Qi'an paid no attention to the gold and silver.
What he was looking for, naturally, were things like cultivation techniques, treasures, and heavenly materials and earthly treasures.
After a careful search, Xia Qi'an finally found the Tiger Demon's private treasure vault.
Inside the secret chamber, books, cultivation techniques, medicinal herbs, and other items had all been arranged in neat, separate categories.
The cultivation techniques collected by the Tiger Demon were varied and bizarre. There were even techniques for cultivating immortality.
Among them was a dual-cultivation technique. After Xia Qi'an flipped through it briefly, he felt as though he had stumbled upon a priceless treasure.
He had no idea which unlucky cultivator had met his end in the Tiger Demon's jaws and left it behind.
This dual-cultivation technique was called the "Yin Yang Harmony Manual." If cultivated according to its methods, it could not only strengthen the bodies and Primordial Spirits of both partners, but, even more heaven-defyingly, subtly improve their natural aptitudes and bone structure.
Whether one followed the martial path or the immortal path, their aptitude could be improved. It could truly be called heaven-defying.
However, this technique had certain restrictions. Cultivation had to be centered on whichever partner possessed the better natural aptitude and bone structure. A certain contract would be established in the Primordial Spirit, causing the subordinate partner to become a slave, forever unable to betray the other.
The Tiger Demon only needed to put on human skin to walk among the people. After so many years, it was hardly strange that he had managed to collect these techniques.
Judging from the collection in this secret chamber, the reason the Tiger Demon had wanted to cultivate a human form was probably also related to these techniques.
Unfortunately, he was a demon, so he was destined to be unable to cultivate them.
Apart from this immortal-path dual-cultivation technique, several martial-path techniques also caught Xia Qi'an's eye.
"Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill," an Earth-grade technique with thirteen levels. Upon mastering each level, one would gain the strength of a dragon and an elephant.
"Dragon Claw Hand," a Human-grade technique. Its force was like a dragon's claws, fierce and sharp, with extremely powerful destructive force.
"Fire Cloud Palm," an Earth-grade technique. It resembled blazing flames scorching the heavens, searing and blistering, with fire poison contained within its palm force. It was exceptionally vicious.
The "Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill" and "Dragon Claw Hand" seemed to share the same lineage as the Golden Body Technique Xia Qi'an was currently cultivating.
He speculated that these techniques might all be related to the Buddhist Sect.
Besides these, the stone chamber also contained some medicinal herbs rich in qi and blood.
Among them were an eight-hundred-year-old Blood Ginseng and a five-hundred-year-old stalk of Dragon Breath Grass.
With these medicinal herbs, together with the Red Snake Meat from a snake with seven or eight hundred years of cultivation and the Tiger Demon Bone and Meat from a thousand-year-old demon,
and the qi and blood converted from the vast amount of Turbid Qi he had absorbed after killing the Tiger Demon, they should be enough to support Xia Qi'an in completing his ninth blood exchange.
Outside the cave.
With Bata and Su Changqing's assistance, the Tiger Demon's corpse was dismembered.
Beside a massive tiger hide, the tiger bones, tiger penis, tiger meat, and other parts were laid out one after another, like an exhibition of spoils of war.
And next came the exhilarating division of the spoils.
The harvest this time was abundant. The gold and silver, cultivation techniques, medicinal herbs, and other treasures from the stronghold were dazzling. Xia Qi'an unceremoniously took seventy percent, naturally including Bata's share. Su Changqing had also contributed greatly, so he calmly took the remaining thirty percent.
After the three of them finished packing everything, they worked together to tie the enormous tiger head to the roof of the carriage.
Xia Qi'an intended to take the tiger head back to Jinling City as proof of his illustrious military achievement.
Just then, three people dressed in Wei Dao Si official uniforms entered through the gate of the Tiger Demon's stronghold.
The leader was a graceful woman with an air of heroic vigor. Two men wearing Snake Guard masks followed closely behind her.
The three of them looked around. Seeing the devastation inside and outside the stronghold, they could not help feeling somewhat bewildered.
When the woman saw the enormous tiger head tied to the carriage, her pupils abruptly contracted.
"Are you three... from the Jinling Wei Dao Si?" the woman asked Xia Qi'an with a cupped-fist salute.
Xia Qi'an nodded. "I am Xia Qi'an, a Hound Guard of the Jinling Wei Dao Si... This is Su Changqing, a Snake Guard..."
Seeing that the newcomers were colleagues from the Xiaoxiang Wei Dao Si, Xia Qi'an took the initiative to introduce them.
"You're Xia Qi'an? I heard that you captured the Four Ghosts of Xiaoxiang and even developed refined salt and scented soap. You're truly famous throughout the You Province Wei Dao Si now!" the leading woman exclaimed in surprise.
Then she added, "My name is Lin Luo... A pleasure to meet you! These two are Snake Guards Wen Xi and Wen Ye."
"A pleasure..."
"A pleasure..." Wen Xi and Wen Ye replied indifferently.
Xia Qi'an had previously fired a Cloud-Piercing Arrow of the Wei Dao Si, but he had not expected the first to arrive would be people from the Xiaoxiang Wei Dao Si.
This place lay at the border between Jinling Prefecture and Xiaoxiang Prefecture. No one could clearly say whether it belonged to Jinling or Xiaoxiang.
"The Tiger Demon has already been killed by us," Xia Qi'an said. "I'm afraid the three of you have come all this way for nothing."
"Though I don't know what means you used to kill this thousand-year-old Tiger Demon, the unspoken rule of the Wei Dao Si is that whoever sees it gets a share!" Snake Guard Wen Xi suddenly said.
Seeing this, Wen Ye bluntly echoed him. "That's right... The tiger bones and tiger meat should rightfully have a share for our Xiaoxiang Wei Dao Si!"
Seeing the three of them try to take a share right after arriving, Su Changqing snapped angrily, "You just came to take a look, and now you want a share of the spoils? Isn't that a little too unrealistic?"
Seeing that Lin Luo, the leader, had remained silent all along, Xia Qi'an knew that she had the same intention.
However, the Xiaoxiang Wei Dao Si and the Jinling Wei Dao Si belonged to different regions, so Xia Qi'an had no need to give them face. He immediately refused. "The three of us risked our lives to kill the Tiger Demon. The three of you didn't lift a finger, yet you want a share. That truly isn't appropriate!"
Of the three on the other side, Lin Luo had the highest cultivation, at the Mid Bone Forging Realm, while the brothers Wen Xi and Wen Ye were both at the Early Bone Forging Realm.
As soon as Xia Qi'an said this, the atmosphere instantly grew tense, like a bowstring pulled taut and ready to snap.
Wen Xi and Wen Ye drew the weapons from their waists.
Seeing this, Xia Qi'an's expression darkened. "You want to fight?"
The situation was about to spiral out of control, and a fierce clash seemed unavoidable.
"Stop..." Lin Luo suddenly shouted.
Then she continued, "We're all colleagues. Don't damage our good relations..."
Wen Xi curled his lips disdainfully and let out a cold snort through his nose. "One Late Blood Refining Realm and one Early Bone Forging Realm. What good relations are there to damage?"
Seeing this, Xia Qi'an pointed straight at Wen Xi's nose and cursed furiously, "You're the one who talks too damn much... If you've got the guts, step forward! I want to trade blows with you!"
Wen Xi flew into a rage. His whole body trembled with anger, and his teeth ground together with a clatter, as though he wanted to swallow Xia Qi'an alive and tear him apart. He forced several words through clenched teeth. "You little brat! Take this!"
With that, Wen Xi drew the soft sword from his waist with a whoosh and lunged at Xia Qi'an like a starving tiger pouncing on its prey.
Xia Qi'an's expression did not change. He had even killed the Tiger Demon, so why would he fear a mere Snake Guard?
"Vajra's Fury."
Since he had chosen to fight, Xia Qi'an had always shown no mercy. The moment he struck, he unleashed a heaven-shattering killing move.
Before you continue