The Tiger Pack Annihilated

The moment the incense smoke touched the Land God, the three joss sticks Ling Qing had planted in the ground flared, burning away in an instant.

"Inhale—"

As the Land God pursed his lips and drew in a breath, the swirling blue smoke vanished into his mouth.

"Exhale—"

With a puff of turbid air, the area surrounding Locust Tree Village suddenly churned with wind and clouds, as streams of energy from heaven and earth converged upon the Land God's body.

Under normal circumstances, incense offerings were meant to be consumed slowly and steadily to maximize their benefits.

But as the saying goes, these were desperate times!

The Land God accelerated the burning of the incense, draining the smoke to instantly gain a massive infusion of power from the world around him.

As the energy gathered, a yellow, earthy radiance began to erupt from his form.

Simultaneously, the Land God chanted divine incantations and formed hand seals, causing the earth to surge toward him as if it were a living creature.

The light grew brighter, the soil piled higher, and the aura emanating from the Land God intensified.

"ROAR—!"

Seeing this, the Tiger Demon paced irritably, letting out a roar that shook the heavens and stirred the winds.

It lunged forward, pouncing toward the Land God.

"ROAR—"

"ROAR—"

"ROAR—"

The tigers behind it scattered to avoid the Tiger Demon, charging forward with furious bellows.

Ling Qing was momentarily blinded by the Tiger Demon's roar, and by the time he regained his senses, the tiger pack was already upon him.

Ignoring the Land God and the Tiger Demon, he hoisted his Iron Birch Wood Staff and charged to meet the pack.

He leaped onto a bluestone in two or three strides, scanning the situation.

He saw that the Tiger Demon had trampled over the line of pits, causing them all to collapse and rendering his preparations useless.

Those traps were indeed unable to stop the Tiger Demon.

The tigers following behind did not fall in; instead, they skirted the pits and began to flank him from both sides.

However, Ling Qing and the Land God had already filled the surrounding area with traps. While a person could walk over them safely, and even ordinary tigers could sprint across them, the Tiger Demon was a different story.

But...

Seeing that all the tigers had entered the range of his traps, Ling Qing tapped the Book of Nature floating beside him and began to chant.

A flash of spell light swept over the ground in front of the tiger pack.

The two lead tigers suddenly felt the earth beneath their feet turn soft as they landed.

The ground, softened by the Soft Stone Technique, could not support the weight of the vicious beasts and collapsed like mud.

In the blink of an eye, the two tigers vanished from sight.

Before the others could react, Ling Qing raised a feather, chanted the incantation for Sky Mastery, kicked off the ground, and soared into the air.

He chanted rapidly, casting the Soft Stone Technique repeatedly, causing the remaining tigers to fall one after another.

Even if they wanted to flee, as long as they could not escape his spells and the range of the traps, there was no way out.

Once all the tigers were trapped in the pits, he refreshed his Sky Mastery to keep himself aloft.

Then, he began to calmly and methodically deal with the pack.

First, he used Earth Binding to suppress the beasts, utilizing its anti-flight properties to prevent them from leaping out.

Next, he used spells like Mountain Stride and Binding Wind to restrict their movement.

Then, he weakened them with Blinding Spittle and Thin Air.

Finally, while they were immobilized and enfeebled, he used Thorns, combined with the poison coated upon them, to bind them tightly.

After the sequence of spells, the tigers were trapped in the pits, unable to move, save for their incessant roaring.

Ling Qing let out a sigh of relief and immediately moved again.

Although the pack was currently subdued, spells were only temporary.

Once the effects faded, it would be difficult to restrain them again; only by killing them now could the battle truly be considered over.

He refreshed his Sky Mastery and added Wings of Atmosphere and the Cloud Wing Technique to increase his aerial mobility.

Flying to the first group of trapped tigers, he raised his Iron Birch Wood Staff, which had been enhanced with Shillelagh. A cold, gleaming spike protruded from the wood, stabbing toward the tigers' heads like lightning.

After raising his Five Animal Frolics to the expert level, Ling Qing had not only increased his overall attributes to 12 points but had also gained perfect control over his own body.

While he could not contort himself like a yogi, he could strike exactly where he aimed, exerting force with effortless precision.

Ling Qing dared not face the tigers' iron-whip-like tails, so he focused his attacks solely on their heads.

Although the tigers' frontal attacks were far more dangerous than their tail swipes, the beasts were trapped and immobile, allowing Ling Qing to dodge their strikes using his superior footwork.

Secondly, attacking the head, which has more fatal weak points, is far more effective when using ranged attacks.

Sure enough, although the fierce tiger tried its best to dodge and made a move to bite him, it had already been weakened and its mobility restricted. Unable to dodge in time, it was pierced through the eye by a wooden thorn, which drove deep into its brain.

"ROAR~~~"

The fierce tiger let out a shrill, miserable scream before collapsing into the bottom of the pit, completely unable to move.

Following this, Ling Qing repeated the same process. Accompanied by cries of agony, he killed all the remaining trapped tigers before they could break free.

He even had the leisure to aim specifically for their eyes, piercing straight into their brains just to minimize damage to the tigers' pelts.

Only after the battle here concluded did he have the energy to pay attention to the fight between the Land God and the Tiger Demon.

However...

"AH~~~~"

Just as he turned his head, he heard a piercing shriek composed of countless ghostly wails.

Instantly, a multitude of chaotic, evil thoughts flooded his mind, leaving him no time to look elsewhere.

Fortunately, having already purged the Tiger Demon's evil intent before, he immediately recited the Incantation of Mind Purification and invoked the Golden Light Mantra to protect his body and mind.

As the incantation began, a clear light flashed through his mind, sweeping away the distracting thoughts, while golden light flowed over his skin to guard his form.

When he cleared his mind and regained his focus, he saw countless wretched-looking ghost thralls swarming out from the Tiger Demon, rushing toward the Land God like a tidal wave.

Before Ling Qing could worry for the Land God, he saw the deity act as if he had anticipated this, raising a command token to block his front.

The swarming ghost thralls suddenly vanished the moment they flew before the token.

Like a clay ox entering the sea, they disappeared without a trace, not even causing a ripple.

"Halt!"

While the Tiger Demon was stunned, the Land God suddenly sprang to his full height, bringing a wooden staff the size of a roof beam crashing down onto the Tiger Demon's head.

A sound like clashing metal rang out: "CLANG!"

"AWOOO~~"

Caught off guard and struck squarely, the Tiger Demon was sent reeling, sparks flying as it became dizzy and saw stars.

Only then did Ling Qing get a clear look at the Land God.

He still had his snow-white hair and beard, and other than a newfound sense of majesty on his face, his appearance had not changed much.

However, his once hunched frame had grown to thirty feet tall, with roots like steel bars forming veins that bound the bulging muscles made of yellow clay and blue rock.

His originally simple, slender cane had also transformed into a massive staff of gnarled old roots, as thick as a roof beam.

The protrusions of sharpened stone upon it glinted with a cold light, adorning it like a mace.