Obtaining Tiger Saliva Stone, Killing the Ghost-Patterned Biao

Li Xian fired another Swiftfeather Arrow.

The tiger's blood had flowed all over the ground, and there was no chance it would survive. Only then did he approach to investigate.

The beast was enormous, its lower belly slightly swollen. It was actually a pregnant tigress.

"I wonder if this counts as one tiger or two."

Tiger blood was rank and unsuitable for drinking directly, so Li Xian put the tiger's carcass away.

In less than a day, he had hunted a tiger and a deer. It was hard to call that anything but a bountiful harvest.

"I wonder if my luck is especially good, or if there are simply too many Tiger Beasts around here."

"When I used to hunt with Father, killing a big tiger meant tracking it for at least ten days."

Li Xian let out a soft breath.

The tiger and deer weighed at least several hundred pounds, yet once they were put into the Meat-Shrinking Bag, they felt as light as nothing at all.

They didn't hinder his movements in the slightest.

If he'd had such a treasure before, hunting in the mountains would have been so much easier.

He hung the Meat-Shrinking Bag from his waist and tied it securely with a rope. Then an idea struck him. Ordinarily, two tigers could not share one mountain.

But this Bear-Tiger Mountain was clearly a place where fierce beasts gathered.

Since this tigress had cubs in her belly, he might find the den and come across an unexpected reward.

So he followed the tracks, gradually moving away from the river.

When he reached partway up the mountainside, he smelled a foul, musky odor. Li Xian became even more certain that the den was nearby.

Tigers were fiercely territorial beasts.

That urine stench was a marker. He had already ventured deep into tiger territory, so he naturally had to be extremely cautious. He lightened his steps and listened in all directions.

"There it is."

He found a cave and lay down to listen for a while.

A tiger's snoring sounded like rolling thunder. It was unmistakable. If Li Xian heard nothing, that meant the cave was empty.

He entered to investigate, venturing deeper inside. The tiger's den stank, and he could see bones here and there.

"Good grief... Did this mountain tiger eat a lot of people?"

Li Xian felt a chill. Suddenly, he spotted a glimmer up ahead and found a glowing pebble.

It felt very warm in his hand.

"Tiger Saliva Stone, a precious mountain treasure!"

Li Xian was delighted. Of course, the word "precious" applied only to ordinary households.

This stone had been licked by the mountain tiger day after day, its tongue's backward-facing barbs polishing it smooth and round. It was a thing of extreme Yang. It was said that soaking it in water and drinking it could strengthen the body.

It could also ward off the cold in winter.

This thing would be quite useful to Li Xian.

It felt like jade in his hand, and was slightly heavy.

"There may be another tiger in this den."

"If I take this, it'll surely come looking for it."

"Hmph. Let it come. I'll gladly face it again."

Li Xian put away the Tiger Saliva Stone and quickly left the cave. He looked all around, searching for suitable terrain.

Tiger Beasts were extremely sensitive to the scent of Tiger Saliva Stone. Even if Li Xian discarded it, its smell had already gotten onto him.

That Tiger Beast would still come looking for him.

About half an hour passed.

A tiger's roar suddenly rang through the forest, and Li Xian knew the male tiger had returned to its den.

"That roar... It rumbles like muffled thunder. This male tiger is probably even more formidable."

A solemn look appeared in Li Xian's eyes.

It didn't take long.

The sound of branches snapping came from the distance. Li Xian looked over and saw a raised, striped back.

"This is..."

Li Xian's whole body tensed.

Born to a hunter's family, he knew Tiger Beast habits, markings, and shapes better than most.

The markings on this mountain tiger were strange. It might not be a Tiger Beast at all, but a biao!

And not just any biao, but a terrifying Ghost-Patterned Biao!

This beast was shaped like a tiger, but larger, and its markings looked like a series of ghost faces.

It was renowned for its ferocity.

If you provoked it... there was only one outcome: a fight to the death, with no rest until one of you was dead!

Even if you fled a hundred or a thousand miles, it would follow your scent and hunt you down, never giving up.

"Roar!"

The tiger's roar suddenly rang out. The Ghost-Patterned Biao leaped, revealing its entire form to Li Xian.

It was ferocious beyond compare. The king of beasts seemed to possess a natural power to suppress humans.

Li Xian's hair stood on end. Forcing himself to stay calm, he immediately drew and fired an arrow. A glint flashed in the Ghost-Patterned Biao's eyes as it kicked off a great tree with its hind legs.

It shifted to the left.

The arrow flew past, and then the beast began moving through the trees like an ape, looking down at Li Xian from above.

"What a clever beast!"

Li Xian fired three more arrows, but the Ghost-Patterned Biao dodged them all with ease. Suddenly, it let out a thunderous roar, kicked off with both hind legs, and pounced down from above.

Li Xian's thoughts raced. If he dodged backward now, the Ghost-Patterned Biao would hit the ground and use its momentum to lunge forward and bite. It would be almost impossible to defend against. Better to dart forward and down, slipping beneath the Tiger Beast's belly.

That would give him more room to react.

In an instant, Li Xian had made his decision. He ducked and darted forward, narrowly slipping beneath the Ghost-Patterned Biao's belly.

At the same time, he braced both hands against the ground and, amid the chaos, kicked the Ghost-Patterned Biao in the belly.

[Clearwind Leg]

[Proficiency: 719/1000 Proficiency]

The force of Clearwind Leg entered from the outside and reached inward. It looked light as a feather, but the damage struck the internal organs.

Against beasts with thick skin and tough flesh, it could work wonders by catching them off guard.

The Ghost-Patterned Biao let out a howl and grew even more furious. It wanted to turn and bite him at once, but its earlier charge had been too forceful. It slid several yards along the ground before barely coming to a stop.

As it turned to pounce-

It had no idea that Li Xian had already accounted for that move.

By then, Li Xian had put some distance between them. He slowed his breathing, sharpened his senses, and swiftly drew and fired two arrows.

"Pfft..."

Blood sprayed.

One arrow struck the Ghost-Patterned Biao in the left eye. But what horrified Li Xian was that the beast had only been blinded; it hadn't died.

"What a fearsome body!"

Li Xian took off at a run.

Once the Ghost-Patterned Biao's bloodlust rose, it could no longer feel pain. At that moment, Li Xian was the only thing in its eyes. Its massive body charged straight ahead.

Bang!

It slammed into a tree, and the immense force knocked the whole tree down.

"Good grief, this thing is really fierce!"

Li Xian ran toward a certain spot, then suddenly leaped.

The Ghost-Patterned Biao pounced after him.

Suddenly, the ground vanished beneath both man and biao. The place was a cliff more than ten zhang high.

At some point, a vine had caught around Li Xian's ankle. He pulled hard, canceling his momentum, and then dropped rapidly downward.

With his foot hooked around the vine, he hung upside down from the cliff.

The Ghost-Patterned Biao, meanwhile, fell straight down the cliff. With a thud, its eye socket burst, and shit and piss spilled out.

But the beast's vitality was truly astonishing.

It had fallen from that height and still wasn't dead. It struggled to get up. Hanging upside down, Li Xian looked down from above and took aim at its heart...

He fired three arrows, each one striking the same spot.

At last, he broke through its hide.

He took out the Swiftfeather Arrow, aimed at the opening, and infused it with Inner Qi before firing.

The Ghost-Patterned Biao finally died on the spot.

"What a terrifying beast."

Li Xian wiped away a cold sweat.

When hunting in the mountains, making use of the terrain was the most important thing. The human body was frail; only by using tools and strategy could one protect oneself in forests teeming with ferocious beasts.

Li Xian had long since planned how to deal with a mountain tiger.

It had been even more perilous than he'd imagined, but for the most part, things had gone according to plan.

"One deer, two tigers..."

"Three Swiftfeather Arrows. For the first day, the haul wasn't bad."

Li Xian felt his way beneath the cliff and stowed the Ghost-Patterned Tiger.

After a brief calculation...

He had used up more than thirty ordinary arrows.

"If I can keep this up, I can't say this trip hasn't been a huge success!"