Pursuit

With the tiger commanding the forest, majestic and imposing, the two figures before Big Tiger stood stiff as boards.

Just as the fair-skinned man stood at a loss, Lu Ye said from the other side, "Calm your anger, King Tiger. I know the rules. We'll do this by your rules, Your Majesty—just don't take my life!"

As he spoke, he untied his Storage Bag from his waist, pretended to circulate Spiritual Power through it, and tossed it down. Not only that, he threw away the longsword in his hand as well.

Big Tiger looked at him and gave a soft snort. "Since you know the rules, I can spare your life."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Big Tiger turned to the fair-skinned cultivator. "What about you, kid? Do you want to die, or do you want to live?"

"Live!" the fair-skinned cultivator blurted out. Wearing an expression of agonized reluctance, he copied Lu Ye, untied the Storage Bag from his waist, opened its Restriction Lock, and threw it onto the ground before him.

He had heard rumors in the marketplace that there was a Monster Beast in Green Cloud Mountain capable of speaking human language. Quite a few cultivators had encountered it, but the Monster Beast generally did not kill people. It was only interested in Spiritual Pills and Spirit Stones. As long as a cultivator was willing to pay a price, they could escape from the tiger's jaws with their lives.

He had never imagined that merely chasing Lu Ye into the mountains would lead him to encounter this Monster Beast. This was truly rotten luck beyond measure.

Big Tiger was fairly satisfied with their performance and spoke again. "Don't try any tricks. If I find out you haven't opened the Restriction Locks, hmph!" The threat needed no further explanation.

"They're open!" Lu Ye and the fair-skinned cultivator answered in unison. Lu Ye even pointed at the fair-skinned cultivator. "King Tiger, he hasn't thrown down the weapon in his hand. He may be plotting to harm you!"

The fair-skinned cultivator froze, cursing Lu Ye bloody in his heart.

Big Tiger clearly paused as well, but it quickly turned toward the fair-skinned cultivator, releasing a threatening growl from its throat.

Clang...

The fair-skinned cultivator decisively threw down the long saber in his hand, his heart aching so badly it nearly bled! The long saber in his hand was a Spiritual Artifact. Though its grade was very low, it was still a Spiritual Artifact. For low-level cultivators, having a Spiritual Artifact and not having one were entirely different matters. A single Spiritual Artifact could raise his strength by a tenth!

But preserving his life took priority. If he angered such a Monster Beast, there would surely be no good end for him. Compared to his own life, all worldly possessions could be cast aside.

"King Tiger, if you have no further instructions, we'll take our leave first," Lu Ye said.

"Get lost," Big Tiger roared indifferently.

Lu Ye and the fair-skinned cultivator both slowly backed away, not exposing their backs to Big Tiger. It was a normal response; when faced with danger, anyone would remain vigilant.

However, after retreating several yards, the fair-skinned cultivator was astonished to discover that Lu Ye suddenly lunged out, snatched up the longsword lying on the ground, and charged at him with the force of thunder.

The fair-skinned cultivator's face changed drastically. He had never expected Lu Ye to pull off something so absurd. With Big Tiger right there, shouldn't keeping himself alive have been the priority? Where had he gotten the nerve?

He had no time to think. Almost the instant Lu Ye moved, he too lunged forward. In a few strides, he reached his weapon, grabbed it, and poured Spiritual Power into the long saber. A glow flowed along its blade.

A fierce wind rushed at his face. The fair-skinned cultivator did not even have time to think before the long saber in his hand met the attack.

With a clang, the fair-skinned cultivator, who had not yet fully risen, was forced down and fell to his knees.

One had planned ahead; the other had reacted in haste. In this exchange, Lu Ye held the upper hand.

The fair-skinned cultivator abruptly raised his head and met Lu Ye's calm, cold gaze. In that instant, he vaguely realized something.

Before he could think further, Lu Ye had already thrust his sword at him.

The fair-skinned cultivator hurriedly circulated Spiritual Power to protect his body while slashing at Lu Ye with his saber. Yet to his shock, his protective Spiritual Power had no effect whatsoever. The longsword pierced straight through his heart and emerged from his back.

Lu Ye then kicked out, sending the fair-skinned man flying. The longsword pulled a spray of blood from his chest.

In the blink of an eye, the two had already decided victory and defeat. Lu Ye did not know whether the other man was dead, so he did not rashly approach. Instead, he took an attack Spirit Talisman from his Storage Bag and held it ready for any eventuality.

If the other dared to get up, he would immediately activate the Spirit Talisman.

But when he looked over, the fair-skinned man's body on the ground twitched violently a few times before falling still. It seemed his sword strike had hit a vital spot.

Battles between cultivators were this perilous; life and death could often be decided in a very short time.

The ground was stained red with blood, and a pungent bloody stench spread through the air. Lu Ye took several deep breaths, calming his violently pounding heart.

A speck of red light suddenly flew out from the direction of the fair-skinned cultivator's corpse and entered the back of Lu Ye's hand.

"What..." Yiyi's figure emerged above Big Tiger's head, staring at Lu Ye in bewilderment.

Earlier, Lu Ye had suddenly rushed over and hurriedly told her, "Help me rob him."

Then the fair-skinned cultivator had chased after him, and Yiyi understood what Lu Ye had run into. She and Big Tiger had cooperated in putting on a show. After all, they were both skilled at this sort of thing, and they could even rob him of some good things along the way. What was there not to like?

But... wasn't this supposed to be a robbery?

How had someone ended up dead?

Yiyi slowly realized that she and Big Tiger had been the ones meant to rob him, while Lu Ye had intended to kill from beginning to end. He had merely borrowed their momentum.

"You tricked me?" Yiyi glared angrily at Lu Ye.

Lu Ye glanced at her and criticized, "Your acting was too over the top!"

"What?" Yiyi was utterly baffled.

Lu Ye was about to say more when a faint sound suddenly came from not far away. He hesitated only briefly before bursting forward, his voice carrying back at the same time. "Your secret has been exposed. Someone else is nearby. If you don't want to die, get over here now!"

Yiyi felt like crying without tears. She had boarded a pirate ship and could no longer get off. After exchanging a glance with Big Tiger, she gritted her teeth. "Chase!"

Big Tiger roared and sprinted away on all fours.

In the forest, a voluptuous female cultivator fled for her life with a face full of terror and panic. She felt she had made an enormous mistake.

But could she really be blamed? She had only wanted to live a better life. She did not want to keep fawning over those disgusting customers. They were all Rogue Cultivators, so why did she have to watch people's faces day and night? If this matter went smoothly, her days ahead would be far better.

Yet no matter what, she had never expected the person she hired to fail.

After leaving Heaven's Mystery Merchant Guild, she had followed the secret marks left by that person all the way here. She had originally thought she could sit back and split the spoils, but what she saw was the Rogue Cultivator named Lu Ye killing the person she had hired. In her panic, she had exposed her whereabouts, and now she was being hunted down.

She did not want to die! She was still young, with so many good days ahead of her. How could she die in a place like this?