Mastery Maxed Out, Liver Become Mortal Sword Immortal

"..."

Leaving the somewhat dilapidated Sacred Lake Village, Yun Shu glanced back inside. He said nothing and continued outward.

Sacred Lake Village was connected to a mountain, part of a larger mountain range. Since it was not far from Myriad Sword Pavilion, there were no particularly powerful Demonic Beasts here. Years ago, any stronger Demonic Beasts had been cleared out through the various missions issued by Myriad Sword Pavilion.

Demonic Beasts attacking villages like this was not common.

The moment the two entered the mountains, they heard a tiger's roar. The sound was piercing and cold, carrying the aura of the king of the Hundred Beasts, enough to make one shudder.

Yun Shu narrowed his eyes slightly. A Demonic Tiger equivalent to the Body Refining Fifth Level.

This might really be troublesome.

The two leaped onto the treetops, their figures nimble as they darted continuously toward the source of the roar.

This was the advantage of the Mid Body Refining Stage, of being able to use Blood Qi Projection. It allowed them to control their strength better and make their bodies as light as swallows.

In only a moment, the two arrived at the Demonic Tiger's lair.

The Demonic Tiger was roaring furiously. Yun Shu keenly noticed that one of its legs seemed to have been injured.

Had it been an ordinary wild beast, that would not have been strange. But the Demonic Tiger before them was extremely powerful, yet it had still been injured. That was worth noting.

It looked like the wound had been caused by something like an animal trap.

Yun Shu could more or less guess what had happened. The villagers of Sacred Lake Village seemed to have had designs on the Demonic Tiger, but they had failed.

Then the Demonic Tiger had gone out to harm people. That was not impossible.

The two stood far away on tree trunks, watching the Demonic Tiger's movements.

After a long while, the Demonic Tiger seemed to grow tired. It returned to its cave and began licking its wound.

"Senior Brother Lin, draw it out. I'll lie in ambush here. It won't be easy to fight inside the cave," Yun Shu said after observing the terrain.

They did not know the layout inside the cave, but the Demonic Tiger was certainly more familiar with it than they were. If it was narrow inside, it would be ideal ground for a Demonic Beast. They could not fight there.

"Alright." Lin Yang nodded heavily.

Neither of them found anything wrong with the plan. They had this much trust and tacit understanding between them.

Basically, whenever one of them devised a tactic, the other would not object.

After several leaps, Lin Yang arrived at the cave entrance.

Without the slightest courtesy, he kicked a huge rock into the cave.

The stone smashed against the wall with a heavy thud.

They could almost hear fragments of rock pattering down. Lin Yang seemed dissatisfied, picking up several more boulders and hurling them into the cave one by one.

The Big Guy inside seemed to have been enraged. Roaring, it charged out at tremendous speed, like a streak of golden lightning striped with black.

Lin Yang turned and ran as well, showing no intention of fighting it.

That speed alone made Lin Yang's heart tremble. It was indeed equivalent to the Body Refining Fifth Level, but its actual strength might have far surpassed even a Human Race cultivator at Body Tempering Stage Six.

Demonic Beasts truly were blessed by heaven.

And this was while its leg was injured. The injury seemed to limit the Demonic Tiger very little; if anything, it had stirred up its ferocity, making it even harder to deal with.

Seeing that he could not outrun it, Lin Yang tried exchanging blows with the Demonic Tiger. Though he evaded several attacks with his strength, his heart still pounded in alarm.

This Big Guy was far too powerful.

When Lin Yang struck its back, it felt as though he had hit an iron plate. The rebounding force made both his fists tremble, and his hands went numb.

He could only leap away and continue running toward Yun Shu. If the two joined forces, they should have some Chance of Winning.

"Now."

Yun Shu narrowed his eyes slightly. His fingers turned subtly as he tightened his grip on the Long Sword.

The Qi and Blood Power around his body surged forth in an instant, and he charged directly toward the Fierce Tiger.

Lin Yang was stunned when he saw Yun Shu's bearing.

He was clearly planning to face the Demonic Tiger alone!

And what happened to the ambush they had agreed on?

He was just going in head-on?

But before he could think further, a sense of danger instantly enveloped him. Lin Yang abruptly twisted aside, dodging the Demonic Tiger's pounce, while its tail lashed toward him at the same time.

Lin Yang hurriedly bent backward, clearly hearing a heavy smack.

The Demonic Tiger's enormous tail struck the tree trunk like a steel whip, leaving behind a huge mark. Seeing the Demonic Tiger coming at him again, Lin Yang did not dare take it head-on and leaped away.

At that moment, Yun Shu arrived as well.

His Long Sword descended fiercely toward the Demonic Tiger like a swimming dragon.

The Demonic Tiger had exerted too much force while pursuing Lin Yang and could not evade now. It could only raise its sharp claws to block.

Yet Yun Shu changed the movement of his sword, sweeping it horizontally before him. With a sizzling sound, the Long Sword flashed like lightning and Slashed Past the Demonic Tiger's belly.

Visible to the naked eye, the Long Sword plunged straight into the Demonic Tiger's abdomen. Its tough Tiger Skin was like tofu before the blade.

The Tiger Demon roared in pain, its enormous head lunging over to tear into him.

Yun Shu leaped up and viciously kicked the Tiger Demon's back. Borrowing the force, he retreated directly backward.

The Demonic Tiger let out a mournful howl, its body sent flying by the tremendous force.

Its belly had been sliced open, and a heap of filth spilled out. After crashing to the ground, the Demonic Tiger could only gasp heavily. It was plainly unable to rise again.

"Junior Brother Yun, that swordsmanship of yours..." Lin Yang dropped down from a branch as well. Seeing the scene before him, he was dumbfounded.

"It was nothing, just basic sword techniques." Yun Shu shook his head.

It really had been basic sword techniques.

He had merely changed the move on the spot. The changes never strayed from their source.

Only now did Yun Shu truly experience the benefits Sword Intent brought him. The Long Sword was like an extended arm; there was not the slightest obstruction in wielding it, and he could even alter his moves in the midst of battle.

Sword Intent was not something that could be seen or touched. It was a kind of comprehension, something that naturally revealed itself in use.

The sword itself was not sharp enough to cut through the Demonic Tiger's flesh, but that changed with the support of Sword Intent and his powerful Qi and Blood Power. It was much simpler and more direct.

Lin Yang glanced at the Demonic Tiger. "It's about to die."

Yun Shu nodded slightly. "Yes. It is fortunate that it was injured by an animal trap. Otherwise, things would not have gone so smoothly. Its speed was affected too much, yet it was still as fast as lightning. Even its movements were affected because of it."

"Yeah." Remembering the danger just now, Lin Yang still felt lingering fear.

The Fierce Tiger's strength had exceeded his expectations.

Yun Shu walked over and, beneath the Demonic Tiger's terrified gaze, lightly drew his blade across its throat, giving it a quick death so it would not suffer any longer.

"Take this Demonic Tiger's Demonic Heart and Tiger Skin back with us. That should be enough to prove we completed the mission," Yun Shu said casually.

"This Demonic Tiger is covered in treasures. Taking only the Demonic Heart and tiger head seems rather wasteful," Lin Yang said. "We rented two horses anyway. They have a trace of demonic power in them, so they should be able to carry it back."

"Alright, then. We'll still split it evenly." Yun Shu smiled.

"Deal!" Lin Yang smiled as well. "But next time, we probably won't split things equally, because I hardly did anything. Taking half would leave me ashamed."

"We'll talk about it next time." Yun Shu did not mind.

Not long afterward, the two carried the tiger's corpse and entered Sacred Lake Village again.

At the entrance to Sacred Lake Village, a group of people was already waiting.

It seemed they had received word that disciples from Myriad Sword Pavilion had arrived to eliminate the Demonic Tiger.

The moment they saw the two carrying the Demonic Tiger's corpse into the village, cheers erupted everywhere. Some people even wept with joy.

They must have lost family members during the Demonic Tiger's rampage.

"Can you tell me now why this Demonic Tiger attacked Sacred Lake Village?" Yun Shu asked the leader with a smile. "I already saw the injury on its leg."

Liu Fugui was among them. He looked at the cheering people around him, sighed, and then said, "It's a simple matter, really. But we cannot discuss it here. Please come with me, both of you."

It was easy to crush bandits in the mountains, but hard to crush the bandits in one's heart.

Now that the Demonic Tiger's corpse lay before them, everyone could finally set down the weight in their hearts and rebuild their homes.

Before Yun Shu and Lin Yang left Sacred Lake Village, they satisfied their curiosity.

Their village possessed a formula passed down from their ancestors, one that could temper the body using Demonic Beast blood and powdered bones. Such things were not uncommon within Myriad Sword Pavilion; they were merely the methods of ordinary apothecaries.

Yet it had allowed Sacred Lake Village, for hundreds of years, to continuously send disciples into Myriad Sword Pavilion. The most talented among them had even reached the rank of Inner Sect Disciple.

Several days ago, they had set their sights on a pair of Demonic Tigers In the Mountains.

One of them was weaker. They ambushed it with traps and turned it into medicinal ingredients. This Demonic Tiger flew into a rage and came to rampage through the village several times, injuring many people.

As for how they had managed to injure one Demonic Tiger and slaughter the other, that was the village's secret. Liu Fugui did not elaborate, and the two did not ask further.