A Priceless Treasure

Lu Chuan decisively abandoned his bow, raising his gleaming blade to meet the Mountain Lord pouncing at him, and slashed out!

The foul wind stirred up by the Mountain Lord's pounce crushed his breath short.

Lu Chuan's gaze was still as water. His blood and qi surged through his body as he drove the force of the Mountain Splitting Saber to its utmost limit, determined to grievously wound it with a single strike!

Yet the Mountain Lord's response to this slash was unexpected.

Just as the blade was about to touch its body, its massive frame suddenly twisted aside, evading Lu Chuan's long saber.

Clearly, this beast had dealt with humans for a long time and was quite wary of Martial Artists' blades.

"Rip—"

The blade swept past, cutting off only a tuft of fur from the Mountain Lord's ribs.

The Mountain Lord landed, its amber eyes fixed firmly on the saber in Lu Chuan's hand. It no longer pounced rashly, instead beginning to circle cautiously in search of an opening.

Lu Chuan's heart tightened.

This beast truly was no ordinary thing!

Not only did its strength and speed far surpass those of ordinary wild beasts, its fighting instincts were exceptionally formidable as well. No wonder so many Martial Artists had fallen to it.

When his first strike failed, Lu Chuan immediately changed tactics.

He moved like the wind, his long saber turning into an unbroken sheet of icy light. Every slash targeted the Mountain Lord's vital points, forcing it to dodge again and again.

"Roar!"

Enraged by this storm-like onslaught, the Mountain Lord swung its tiger claws against the blade, producing a muffled clang like steel striking iron!

Its strength and the sharpness of its claws and fangs far exceeded Lu Chuan's expectations.

For a time, human and tiger shadows intertwined in the open space before the cave, blade-light and claw-winds whistling through the air.

Lu Chuan pushed his blood and qi to their limit, his saber technique growing ever fiercer. Yet the Mountain Lord was thick-skinned and tough-furred, its movements cunning. Several times, it narrowly evaded killing blows and even seized the chance to counterattack.

Before long, both man and tiger bore injuries.

Unable to finish it after such a prolonged assault, countless thoughts raced through Lu Chuan's mind.

This beast was exceedingly formidable. In a battle of attrition, he might not hold the advantage.

After a moment's thought, he deliberately revealed a flaw, leaving an opening on his left as he swung his saber.

The Mountain Lord took the bait, just as expected!

The savage gleam in its eyes flared as it thought its chance had come. Its huge body lunged toward Lu Chuan's left side, its gaping maw snapping straight for his throat!

Now!

Lu Chuan had been prepared. He sharply twisted at the waist, narrowly evading the tiger's jaws while instantly pouring all his blood, qi, and strength into the blade!

The saber traced an arc through the air, slashing upward at the Mountain Lord's fully exposed throat!

Its pouncing momentum had already formed, making it difficult to change direction in midair. Clear terror was reflected in its pupils!

"Pfft—!"

A flash of snow-bright blade-light vanished in an instant.

The Mountain Lord's enormous body crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Shock and unwillingness still lingered in its tiger eyes, but their light swiftly faded.

At last, the Mountain Lord's massive body twitched a few times before finally falling completely still.

Looking at the Mountain Lord's dead body on the ground—especially that enormous tiger head—relief flickered through Lu Chuan's eyes.

"A priceless treasure..."

This tiger corpse, especially its tiger bone, was worth beyond measure.

Not only was it enough to repay Zhao Xuanhe's credit, it could also exchange for a great quantity of the resources he urgently needed for his own Martial Way.

After killing the tiger, Lu Chuan did not hurry to deal with the corpse. Saber in hand, he turned and headed deeper into the cave.

Since Long Er had said he had hidden money away, the safest place on Mount Erlong was likely the Mountain Lord's lair.

The depths of the cave were damper than outside, filled with a rank, animal stench mixed with an air of old decay.

Eagle Eye continuously searched the cave. Finally, Lu Chuan found a bundle behind a dry rock.

Opening it, he found scattered pieces of silver. Weighing them in his hand, he estimated there to be over twenty taels.

Beside it lay a disorderly pile of clothing, water skins, and other miscellaneous items—clearly belongings left behind by the victims.

Unfortunately, there were no weapons. Long Er did not practice martial arts himself, so the sabers, swords, bows, and crossbows of those Martial Artists had likely long since been taken elsewhere and sold for money.

"That's somewhat regrettable. Those things might have contained martial arts manuals..." Lu Chuan put away the silver but did not touch the other belongings.

"But with this Mountain Lord, I should have enough silver to last me for a while."

After leaving the cave, he looked at the hill-sized tiger corpse on the ground and began considering how to get it back.

Carrying the entire thing away was unrealistic. It was far too heavy. Although he could move it, carrying it for dozens of li was impractical and would easily invite other trouble.

After thinking briefly, Lu Chuan had an idea.

He dragged Long Er's headless remains to a concealed crack between the rocks some distance away, then casually covered them with a layer of dead leaves.

Then he used his blade to sever the enormous tiger head and carried it in one hand.

Relying on his memories and Long Er's scattered descriptions, he headed down the mountain toward Blackwater Village.

Near the village entrance, he took a deep breath, roused his blood and qi, and shouted in a ringing voice:

"Fellow villagers of Blackwater Village! Great news! The Mountain Lord of Mount Erlong, who has wrought evil for years, has been slain!"

His voice boomed, echoing around the foot of the mountain.

At first, there was silence. Then the doors of several thatched huts opened, and people cautiously poked their heads out.

When they saw the tiger head in Lu Chuan's hand, its yellow-black stripes and terrifying outline plainly visible, along with the bloodstained robe on his body, the villagers' eyes slowly widened.

"The Mountain Lord... is dead?" an old man asked in a trembling voice.

"Is it real? You're not trying to fool us, are you?"

"That thing the young man is carrying... dear heavens, it really looks like a tiger's head!"

Lu Chuan said no more and tossed the savage tiger head onto the ground.

Even in death, its furious, wide-open tiger eyes and chilling fangs still radiated a ferocious aura that made legs go weak.

"It really is a tiger head! Heavens above, it's huge!"

"It's it! That scourge! Those were the very eyes that carried off Old Liu's sheep from the west end of the village two years ago!"

"This young man... no, this Young Hero, did you truly kill it?!"

The crowd quickly gathered around, pointing and chattering. Their faces were a mix of shock and disbelief.

Seeing that the atmosphere was about right, Lu Chuan raised his voice.

"The Tiger Corpse is still on the mountain. It's too heavy for me to carry alone. Which of you villagers would be willing to lend a hand and help me bring it down? I certainly won't let anyone work for nothing; you will be rewarded afterward!"

After a brief silence, several bold, sturdy men stepped forward.

"I'll go! I've long wanted to see that scourge's true face!"

"Count me in! My second uncle vanished when he went up the mountain back then. This beast definitely had something to do with it!"

"The Young Hero has rid the people of a great menace. It's only right that we put in a little effort!"

Once someone took the lead, another three or four men responded as well.

Lu Chuan was delighted inwardly. He was not afraid that these villagers would be tempted by the money.

After all, they knew nothing of Long Er. They only knew that the Mountain Lord was a terrifying Exotic Beast.

And in their eyes, anyone capable of slaying the Mountain Lord alone was surely even less someone to provoke than the Mountain Lord itself.

With seven or eight villagers helping, matters became much simpler.

The group took ropes and poles with them and followed Lu Chuan back up Mount Erlong.

At the sight of the huge headless Tiger Corpse, the villagers broke into another round of exclamations. The way they looked at Lu Chuan became ever more reverent.

Working together, they secured the heavy Tiger Corpse properly. Then the group made its grand way down the mountain and headed straight for Qinghe County.

With such a conspicuous trophy and a crowd of villagers surrounding him, the journey was peaceful enough. No one dared come looking for trouble.

After entering Qinghe County, Lu Chuan paid the villagers who had helped him, giving each of them one mace of silver.

Afterward, he found a piece of cloth and covered his face, leaving only his eyes exposed.

Selling this Tiger Corpse would surely bring in another large sum of money, so he had no choice but to be cautious.

After all, the Li Family Three Brothers were a lesson written in blood.

Lu Chuan had no desire to run into three burly men blocking the road again on his way home this time.