Tiger Demon's Collection

After the Tiger Demon died, Su Changqing and Bata collapsed onto the ground like deflated balls.

Xia Qi'an stepped forward to check on them and found they had only fainted, which put his mind at ease.

This Tiger Demon had been lurking here for many years, so its mountain stronghold must have accumulated a considerable amount of wealth.

After confirming there were no other minor demons left in the stronghold, Xia Qi'an entered the depths of the cave alone to search.

In the deepest part of the cave, he found a stone chamber storing hides, containing hundreds of human skins, both male and female.

Xia Qi'an suppressed his discomfort, withdrew from the stone chamber, and continued to search other rooms.

Next, he discovered another stone chamber piled high with yellow and white objects.

This Tiger Demon was indeed quite wealthy.

However, Xia Qi'an paid no attention to these yellow and white objects.

What he was looking for were cultivation methods, treasures, and rare natural resources.

After a careful search, Xia Qi'an finally found the Tiger Demon's private collection chamber.

Inside the secret chamber, books, cultivation methods, medicinal herbs, and other items were neatly arranged and stored separately.

The Tiger Demon's collection of cultivation methods was diverse, even including methods for immortal cultivation.

Among them was a dual cultivation method, which Xia Qi'an felt was a treasure after a brief perusal.

He wondered which unlucky cultivator had met their end in the Tiger Demon's maw, leaving this behind.

This dual cultivation method was named the "Yin Yang Harmony Manual." If cultivated according to its principles, it could not only strengthen the physical bodies and primordial spirits of both partners but, more astonishingly, could also subtly improve their innate aptitude and spiritual roots.

It could enhance both martial and immortal cultivation roots, making it incredibly heaven-defying.

However, this cultivation method had some restrictions. Cultivation required the one with superior innate aptitude to take the lead, establishing a contract within their primordial spirits, which would cause the subordinate party to become a slave, forever unable to betray.

The Tiger Demon could walk among humans by simply wearing human skin. It wasn't strange that it had collected these cultivation methods over the years.

Looking at the collection in this secret chamber, it was evident that the Tiger Demon's desire to cultivate itself was likely due to these cultivation methods.

But unfortunately, it was a demon, and these cultivation methods were destined to be unusable by it.

In addition to this immortal dual cultivation method, there were several martial cultivation methods that Xia Qi'an found particularly valuable.

"Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill," a Earth-tier cultivation method, consisting of thirteen layers. Each layer mastered granted the strength of one dragon and one elephant.

"Dragon Claw Hand," a Human-tier cultivation method, with a grip like a dragon's claw, fierce and sharp; its destructive power was immense.

"Fire Cloud Palm," an Earth-tier cultivation method, resembling raging flames burning the sky, scorching and searing. The palm strikes contained a fire poison, making it extremely vicious.

Among these, the "Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill" and "Dragon Claw Hand" seemed to originate from the same lineage as the Golden Body Technique Xia Qi'an was currently practicing.

He speculated that these cultivation methods might all be related to the Buddhist Sect.

Besides these, there were also some Blood Essence medicinal herbs in this stone chamber.

Among them was an eight-hundred-year-old old blood ginseng and a five-hundred-year-old Dragon Breath Grass.

With these medicinal herbs, combined with the seven-to-eight-hundred-year-old Red Snake Meat and the thousand-year-old Tiger Demon Bone and Meat.

Plus the vast amount of Turbid Qi absorbed from killing the Tiger Demon and converted into Blood Essence, it should be enough to support Xia Qi'an in completing his ninth blood exchange.

Outside the cave.

With the assistance of Bata and Su Changqing, the Tiger Demon's corpse was dismembered.

Beside a giant tiger skin, tiger bones, tiger penis, and tiger meat were laid out in succession, like a display of trophies.

And then came the exciting part: dividing the spoils.

The harvest was abundant, with gold, silver, cultivation methods, and medicinal herbs from the stronghold displayed in a dazzling array. Xia Qi'an unceremoniously took seventy percent, which naturally included Bata's share. Su Changqing had also contributed significantly, so he contentedly took thirty percent.

After the three of them had packed up, they worked together to tie the massive tiger head onto the roof of the carriage.

Xia Qi'an intended to bring this tiger head back to Jinling City as proof of his formidable military achievements.

Just then, three people dressed in the official uniforms of the Wei Dao Si walked into the entrance of the Tiger Demon's mountain stronghold.

Leading the group was a beautiful and heroic woman, followed closely by two men wearing Snake Guard masks.

The three of them looked around, seeing the mess inside and out of the stronghold, and were somewhat bewildered.

When the woman saw the enormous tiger head tied to the horse, her pupils contracted.

"Are you three... from the Jinling Wei Dao Si?" the woman asked Xia Qi'an, cupping her fist.

Xia Qi'an nodded: "I am Xia Qi'an, a Hound Guard of the Jinling Wei Dao Si... and this is Su Changqing, a Snake Guard..."

Seeing that they were colleagues from the Xiaoxiang Wei Dao Si, Xia Qi'an took the initiative to introduce them.

"You are Xia Qi'an? I heard you captured the Four Ghosts of Xiaoxiang and even produced refined salt and scented soap. You've become quite famous throughout the entire You Province Wei Dao Si!" the leading woman exclaimed in surprise.

She then added, "My name is Lin Luo... A pleasure to meet you! These two are Wen Xi and Wen Ye, Snake Guards."

"A pleasure..."

"A pleasure..." Wen Xi and Wen Ye responded indifferently.

Xia Qi'an had previously fired a Wei Dao Si Sky-Piercing Arrow, but he hadn't expected that the first to arrive would be people from the Xiaoxiang Wei Dao Si.

This area was at the border between Jinling Prefecture and Xiaoxiang Prefecture, and no one could clearly say whether it belonged to Jinling or Xiaoxiang.

Xia Qi'an said, "We've already killed the Tiger Demon, so the three of you have probably come for nothing."

"Although I don't know how you managed to kill this thousand-year-old Tiger Demon, according to the unwritten rules of the Wei Dao Si, anyone who witnesses it gets a share!" Snake Guard Wen Xi suddenly spoke up.

Seeing this, Wen Ye directly agreed, "That's right... we from the Xiaoxiang Wei Dao Si are entitled to a share of this tiger bone and meat!"

Su Changqing saw the three of them trying to get a piece of the pie the moment they arrived and angrily retorted, "You three take one look and want a piece of the pie. Isn't that a bit too unrealistic?"

Xia Qi'an saw that the leader, Lin Luo, remained silent and knew she had the same idea.

However, the Xiaoxiang Wei Dao Si belonged to a different region, so Xia Qi'an didn't need to give them any face. He immediately refused, "We three risked our lives to kill the Tiger Demon. For you to want a share without contributing any effort is indeed improper!"

Among the three on the opposite side, Lin Luo had the highest cultivation, being at the Mid Bone Forging Realm, while the brothers Wen Xi and Wen Ye were at the Early Bone Forging Realm.

As soon as Xia Qi'an spoke, the atmosphere instantly became tense, like a drawn bowstring, ready to snap.

Wen Xi and Wen Ye drew the weapons at their waists.

Seeing this, Xia Qi'an's expression immediately turned grim. "You want to fight?"

The situation was on the verge of getting out of control, and a fierce conflict seemed inevitable.

"Stop..." Lin Luo suddenly called out to halt them.

She then added, "We are all colleagues, let's not harm our camaraderie..."

Wen Xi sneered dismissively, letting out a cold snort from his nose. "One is at the Late Blood Refining Realm, and the other is at the Early Bone Forging Realm. What camaraderie is there to harm?"

Seeing this, Xia Qi'an pointed directly at Wen Xi's nose and cursed, "You're the one who talks too much... If you've got the guts, step out here, kid, and I'll have a go with you!"

Wen Xi was instantly enraged upon hearing this, trembling all over with anger. His teeth gnashed together as if he wanted to devour Xia Qi'an alive. He gritted out a few words through his teeth, "Good kid! Take this!"

With that, Wen Xi "whooshed" as he drew the soft sword at his waist and lunged at Xia Qi'an like a hungry tiger pouncing on its prey.

Xia Qi'an's expression remained unchanged. He had killed a Tiger Demon, so why would he fear a mere Snake Guard?

"Vajra's Fury."

Once he decided to act, Xia Qi'an was always ruthless. His opening move was a world-shattering killing blow.