Tiger Demon's Past

"You have a way?" Advisor Li looked at Chen Luo in surprise. He knew Chen Luo was the son of Magistrate Cai's old friend, so he had taken care of him along the way, but he never expected Chen Luo to be of any help.

Chen Luo called out softly, "Zhong Kui!"

Zhong Kui slowly materialized behind Chen Luo. Advisor Li was indeed a man who had seen great storms, and he wasn't surprised by Zhong Kui's ferocious appearance. He merely blinked with a flash of blue light in his eyes, just like Cai Tongchen, and then asked, "Is this a Book Spirit?"

Zhong Kui bowed in a Confucian manner towards Advisor Li, "I am Zhong Kui, greetings, Literary Friend. It is inconvenient to explain in detail at the moment. I will first use my abilities. If the soul's spiritual light extinguishes any later, some things will be forever unknown."

Advisor Li quickly returned the bow, "Please, Literary Friend, do as you wish."

Zhong Kui nodded and floated above the corpse of the Tiger Demon. He suddenly waved his sleeve, and an iron chain shot out from his Scholar's Robe, piercing into the corpse. The Tiger Demon's corpse was like a black hole, the chain constantly penetrating deeper, disappearing within it.

Zhong Kui closed his eyes slightly to sense, then suddenly opened them, turned to look at Chen Luo, and said, "Lord, this demon's soul is an unusual soul, and its spiritual light is still relatively intact. It will require Lord to personally examine it."

Chen Luo nodded slightly. Advisor Li, however, looked concerned and asked, "Friend Zhong, is there any danger in this soul merging? May I do it in his stead?"

Zhong Kui shook his head slightly, "I am Lord's Book Spirit. Our souls are connected, which allows me to transfer souls, but I cannot transfer Literary Friend Li's soul. Moreover, with my protection, Lord is safe and sound."

Hearing this, Advisor Li could only nod. The intelligence behind a Sinful Demon could be significant or trivial. Having a method was better than having none.

Zhong Kui's iron chain in his hand continuously retracted, finally pulling out a mass of golden-yellow light the size of a fist. Zhong Kui was quick and directly pressed it into the center of Chen Luo's forehead. Chen Luo's brain felt as if it had been electrocuted, his vision went black, and he suddenly collapsed to the ground. Fortunately, Chen Ping had been standing beside Chen Luo and caught him.

"What's going on?" Seeing the unconscious Chen Luo, Chen Ping, disregarding his fear, questioned Zhong Kui.

Zhong Kui stepped forward and pointed a finger at Chen Luo's forehead. After sensing for a moment, he said, "It's nothing. Lord is currently reviewing the Tiger Demon's memories and will wake up shortly!"

Regardless of what was happening outside, when Chen Luo opened his eyes again, he found himself in a forest. However, he felt as if he did not belong to this world; no living creature detected his presence.

Soon, Chen Luo saw his target: a small tiger that had only recently been born. Unlike its peers, this little tiger had awakened intelligence from the moment it was born. It could understand hunters' traps and could store food properly to ensure it wouldn't go hungry.

Time flew by, and the little tiger grew up. Tigers of the same age entered their estrus period, but only it developed the concept of love. It liked its half-brother, whom it called A Tiao. Unfortunately, A Tiao, unlike it, had not gained sentience and was filled with beastly instincts like other tigers.

It cherished A Tiao as if it were a pet, trying in every way to make A Tiao as smart as itself, but to no avail.

A Tiao also entered its estrus period and kept circling around it. It tried hard to control itself, but unexpectedly, A Tiao mated with another tiger. Enraged, it went to find trouble with that tiger, but intelligence and strength were two different things; it couldn't defeat that tiger.

A Tiao still cared for it and returned to its side. It finally couldn't control itself and mated with A Tiao...

Later, it encountered a person.

Strictly speaking, it wasn't a human; a white tiger tail dangled behind the person.

"I didn't expect a wild tiger to be born with half of the Geng Metal Bloodline awakened. Little one, my name is Feng Liancheng, the young master of the Winged Tiger lineage from the Myriad Demon Kingdom. Would you be willing to come with me?"

It agreed without a second thought, sensing the other party's power instinctively. If it went with him, it would become stronger too, right? At that time, it could legitimately claim A Tiao as its own.

Soon, Feng Liancheng brought it back to the Myriad Demon Kingdom and bestowed upon it the surname Feng. This was a surname only possessed by the upper-class bloodlines of the Winged Tiger lineage.

It cultivated very quickly, achieving Blood Purification in one year and Pure Blood in two years. In just two years and six months, it had reached the Blood Refining stage and transformed its Innate Demonic Art, "Wind Control," into a Blood Pattern Supernatural Power.

As a cultivation genius and a trusted subordinate of Feng Liancheng, it became one of the few outstanding talents in the Winged Tiger lineage. Countless young tigresses offered themselves, and clansmen seeking marriage proposals crowded its doorstep. However, in its heart, it still missed the wild tiger, A Tiao.

Feng Liancheng had once warned it that once one awakened intelligence, they were no longer associated with wild beasts. Wild beasts were mere meat on the table, their lives as insignificant as grass. Demons, however, were Heavenly Dao Beings standing alongside humans and barbarians, and they should not be confused.

But it didn't care. So what if A Tiao was a wild beast? The resources it now possessed were enough to nurture A Tiao into a demon with awakened intelligence.

It had been waiting for an opportunity, waiting for the chance to return to Great Xuan and bring A Tiao back to the Winged Tiger clan.

Finally, the opportunity arrived.

The Winged Tiger lineage needed to retrieve an Exotic Treasure from Great Xuan, requiring a clan member to go to Great Xuan to receive it. Because its cultivation was low and it was born in Great Xuan, some measures could be taken to deceive the heavens and enter the territory of the Great Xuan Dynasty, thus it was chosen.

Originally, it had already obtained the Exotic Treasure, and the mission was complete, so it should have returned to the Winged Tiger lineage of the Myriad Demon Kingdom. However, it was too close to West Xiu Mountain at the time.

It was only about five hundred miles away!

It ultimately risked returning to West Xiu Mountain, only to learn that not long after it left, A Tiao had been hunted and killed by people from the Chen Manor in the county town below the mountain!

It wanted revenge, but after all, it had been cultivating for less than three years, possessing only the cultivation of early-stage Blood Refining, which was insufficient to overthrow a city. It wanted to assassinate them, but because it had been in contact with the Exotic Treasure for too long, it carried a trace of the Power of Heavenly Condemnation, and its entry into the county town would be discovered by the human race. Thus, it chose to create a Tamed Ghost, and the person it chose was the hunter Zhou Yong, who had led the hunt for A Tiao back then...

Chen Luo took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he saw Chen Ping's anxious old face looking at him.

"Young Master, you're finally awake... You scared this old servant to death..."

Chen Luo comforted Chen Ping, stood up, and cupped his hands towards Advisor Li, "I apologize for making you wait, Advisor. I have fully understood the matter of this Tiger Demon."

"Oh? Please tell me, Master Chen..." Advisor Li was overjoyed and urged him on.

Chen Luo looked at the shriveled corpse of the Tiger Demon on the ground and said, "This demon is from the Winged Tiger lineage of the Myriad Demon Kingdom. It entered Great Xuan by deceiving the heavens because it was to retrieve a treasure from our Great Xuan."

"Retrieve a treasure from our Great Xuan?" Advisor Li was startled, "Please elaborate!"

Chen Luo shook his head, "This Tiger Demon doesn't know what specific treasure it is, but the Exotic Treasure it was about to obtain is hidden in West Xiu Mountain. I already know the specific location. I request Advisor Li to accompany me there, and you will know once you see it."

Advisor Li nodded, "That is perfect. Please—"

Chen Luo didn't stand on ceremony and strode towards the mountain. Advisor Li activated his Official Seal, collected the Tiger Demon's corpse into it, and closely followed Chen Luo's footsteps