A seventh-grade demonic creature, the golden toad, appeared in the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment.
Only after confirming that the golden toad was dead did Zhou Wuji approach and give its corpse a cursory inspection.
The thing was simply an oversized toad, except that its skin was pale gold.
Even dead, it was poisonous all over.
Zhou Wuji very much wanted to cut the golden toad open and examine its insides for treasures.
But the thing was so ugly, its skin was poisonous, and it was no small creature. Giving it a thorough examination would not be easy.
He looked again at the deep, secluded pool. Its black surface gave off a strong, fishy smell.
He tossed in a stone and could tell that the pool was very deep. He was no great swimmer, either, and there was no way he would dive into it at night. Who knew what lurked underwater? It was too dangerous.
Zhou Wuji spent a while steeling himself, telling himself there might be treasures in the ugly thing's belly. Finally, he hardened his heart and used his sword to rummage through the golden toad's insides.
After working at it for a while, he found nothing of value.
Zhou Wuji was feeling a little disappointed when he suddenly heard a faint sound from the woods.
To search for things, he had blessed himself with the Six Yang Dharma Eye again just now.
Looking up, he saw a spotted black leopard leap down from a tree and charge toward him at high speed.
The black leopard's eyes shone an eerie green. Its body was sleek and powerful, measuring a full six feet from head to tail. It looked enormous, and it charged straight at him, clearly taking him for prey as well.
Zhou Wuji guessed that the black leopard must have eaten people before, which was why it showed no fear of him.
He also saw faint blood Sha Qi on the black leopard. Clearly, it too was a mutated demonic creature that gained strength through slaughter.
It was probably on roughly the same level as the boar demon, making it an eighth-grade demonic creature.
Zhou Wuji assessed the black leopard in an instant. He stood his ground, waiting until it was ten paces away before flicking his hand and throwing two White Eyebrow Needles.
His left hand was concealed beneath his straw rain cape, making the movement extremely discreet, and he exerted force swiftly. Most importantly, he had infused the two White Eyebrow Needles with a wisp of Heavenly Pivot True Qi.
The White Eyebrow Needles became two barely visible glints of cold light in the night, giving off a faint but piercing whistle as they flew.
Before the black leopard even saw the needles, they burst both its eyes.
His perfected Tianshu Palm allowed him to launch the White Eyebrow Needles with tremendous force, enough even to pierce solid steel armor plates.
At this distance, every shot was certain to hit.
Grievously wounded, the black leopard let out a wretched scream. Its body convulsed and went limp in midair, and its powerless limbs sent it rolling several times across the rocky shore when it landed.
Zhou Wuji darted over and slit its throat with a single stroke, ending its suffering.
He was confident he could kill the black leopard with one sword strike, but with White Eyebrow Needles allowing him to use reach against its lack of range, why insist on fighting up close?
The eighth-grade black leopard immediately appeared in the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment as well.
The smell of blood was simply too strong. Before long, it attracted a giant black-scaled python.
Zhou Wuji repeated the same trick, first shooting out its eyes, then beheading it with his sword.
The giant black-scaled python was also eighth-grade. Its scales were comparable to lamellar armor, and it possessed enormous strength, excelled at climbing trees and burrowing underground, and could swim as well. It was far stronger than the black leopard and had virtually no natural predators in the mountain forests.
It had simply been unlucky enough to encounter Zhou Wuji, dying before it even knew what had happened.
Zhou Wuji waited until dawn without seeing any more demonic creatures.
The three creatures' territories probably overlapped. Once the golden toad died, the other two had eagerly come to pick up an easy windfall.
An area this size could not support too many powerful demonic creatures, either.
Zhou Wuji was quite satisfied with his gains. Mount Siming really did have plenty of demonic creatures.
He left all three demonic creatures untouched. The mountains were dangerous, and there was no telling what dangers he might encounter.
If he was injured, he could convert the three demonic creatures into origin profound spirit. Together with the Rejuvenation Technique, that should let his body recover rapidly.
Besides, cultivating the Five Yin Pouch required five Yin Spirits. He still needed to consider which five to use.
There was a seventh-grade tiger demon on Xiuming Peak, while Lingming Peak had a troop of red-haired gibbons whose king should be seventh-grade.
Compared with the tiger demon, a whole troop of gibbons would be harder to deal with.
Zhou Wuji had gone to see them once with his master. The adult gibbons were taller and larger than ordinary people, and their arms, long enough to reach the ground, were especially powerful, capable of easily tearing a person into pieces.
The gibbons were also extremely irascible and fiercely territorial. They would tear apart any creature they considered a threat.
Only because Zhou Wuji had mastered the Heavenly Pivot Hand and had plenty of White Eyebrow Needles did he dare risk trying.
If all went well, once he refined the Five Yin Pouch, he could use it to subdue the Golden-Ringed Poison Bees and obtain their honey.
Whatever plots and schemes Wu Di had, with his powerful swordsmanship and techniques, he had little to fear.
Calculating the time, Zhou Wuji found that only one day had passed. He felt he still had ample time.
Advancing to eighth-grade, along with the enhancement of origin mystic essence, had also made his body far stronger than before.
Even wearing a heavy straw rain cape, he traveled the rugged, uneven mountain paths with relative ease.
At dusk, Zhou Wuji reached Xiuming Peak.
The rolling mountains blazed with autumn colors, yet Xiuming Peak was entirely verdant green, rising high above the surrounding peaks, with a great river winding around its foot. It truly had something of the grace of a solitary peak standing unrivaled.
The tiger demon knew how to choose a home. It lived in a cave halfway up Xiuming Peak, facing the sun and sheltered from wind, rain, and snow. It could be called comfortable.
Zhou Wuji knew the way well enough. There was no clever shortcut to killing the tiger demon, and a misstep could easily leave him ambushed by it. Better to go straight to its door.
Not far from the tiger demon's lair, Zhou Wuji stopped beside several pine trees.
The pines had dense branches and emerald needles, giving off a faint pine fragrance.
Zhou Wuji thought the spot was good. He took out the ice silkworm silk and stretched several strands between the trees.
The ice silkworm silk was almost transparent, finer than a hair yet exceptionally tough. Even Zhou Wuji needed a sword to cut it.
Once his simple preparations were complete, Zhou Wuji casually shot a squirrel scurrying along a branch and cut it open with his sword. The smell of blood immediately spread.
Zhou Wuji stood with his back to a pine, quietly waiting for the tiger demon to appear.
The tiger demon was even more territorial. At this distance, it would soon follow the scent over.
Demonic creatures had little intelligence and no inherited knowledge, acting almost entirely on instinct.
Even such a crude stratagem could easily lure the tiger demon over.
After waiting a while, Zhou Wuji suddenly sensed something wrong. His keen senses picked up a faint sound behind him, and more importantly, he caught a faint rank smell.
His nose might not compare with a dog's, but it was at least dozens of times keener than an ordinary person's.
The tiger demon is here, but it circled around behind me...
A little surprised by the tiger demon's cunning, Zhou Wuji immediately blessed himself with the Six Yang Dharma Eye, then swiftly turned around.
The sun had already set, leaving only a stretch of red clouds illuminating the sky.
The woods were already quite dark, but Zhou Wuji spotted the tiger demon clinging to a tree at a glance, and saw its fierce golden eyes.
The tiger demon gripped the thick trunk with all four paws, its long tail hanging limply down. Its bent limbs displayed full, almost exaggerated contours of muscle and sinew.
By his estimate, the tiger demon measured eight feet long even without its tail. Its thick body nevertheless had beautifully defined muscles, and every part of it brimmed with strength powerful enough to run wild.
Through the Six Yang Dharma Eye, Zhou Wuji saw blood Sha Qi boiling like fire around the tiger demon.
A demonic creature like this naturally accumulated Sha Qi after killing so many living beings. It was far stronger than that boar demon.
In sheer imposing presence, the tiger demon was even stronger than Zhang Xinhu.
Zhou Wuji's heart tightened. The creature had seemed manageable from a distance, but confronting it this close put even him under immense pressure.
Realizing it had been discovered, the tiger demon opened its huge mouth and unleashed a thunderous roar.
Countless pine needles flew through the air like a torrential downpour. The tiger demon drove off with all four limbs and pounced down at Zhou Wuji.
Zhou Wuji did not retreat or dodge. With a movement of his left hand, he launched two White Eyebrow Needles in succession, aiming straight for the tiger demon's pale golden eyes.
Yet the tiger demon seemed to sense something wrong. It abruptly jerked its head in midair. One White Eyebrow Needle skimmed its hide, taking off a tuft of golden fur, while the other embedded itself in its cheek.
Zhou Wuji was even more startled. His White Eyebrow Needles were so discreet and swift, yet the tiger demon had still dodged them.
There was no time to retreat now. He could only activate the Northern Dipper Heavenly Gang Divine Talisman.
The spiritual light of seven stars shone, draping him in a deep blue divine robe of flowing light.
The tiger demon, weighing over a thousand jin, crashed down onto Zhou Wuji, yet he did not budge. Only the azure robe of light covering his body rippled once.
Clear astonishment appeared in the tiger demon's pale golden eyes. Before landing, it instinctively lashed out repeatedly with its claws.
Its claws were like hooks, raking watery ripples across the azure robe of light, but ultimately failing to break through the Northern Dipper Heavenly Gang Divine Talisman.
Those successive heavy blows, however, consumed most of the divine talisman's power. Of the seven stars indicating its active state, four had already gone out.
Zhou Wuji did not remain idle, either. Seizing the opening, he drew his sword and thrust viciously into the tiger demon's exposed chest.
The tiger demon's muscles instinctively tightened and contracted, while its innate Sha Qi exerted a suppressive force. Though Zhou Wuji's sword barely pierced its chest, he could not twist the blade and rip sideways. The instant he sensed something wrong, he withdrew his sword and retreated at speed.
As he retreated, he leaned backward, slipping past two strands of ice silkworm silk stretched between the trees.
Enraged by its painful setback, the tiger demon lunged after Zhou Wuji, only for the two strands of ice silkworm silk to catch its body.
Unexpectedly, the ice silkworm silk did not snap at once, instead cutting deep into the tiger demon's body.
Not knowing what had happened, the tiger demon widened its eyes in fury. Just then, two gleaming silver needles shot toward it, bursting its golden eyes...
Horrified by its sudden loss of sight, the tiger demon instinctively tried to roar. Zhou Wuji thrust his sword up through its lower jaw and straight into its head.
That vicious thrust nailed the tiger demon's roar shut, and extinguished its life as well.
Zhou Wuji hurriedly withdrew his sword and backed away. Stretched to their limit, the strands of ice silkworm silk snapped, and the tiger demon's huge body crashed to the ground, throwing up a cloud of dust...
Standing to one side, Zhou Wuji glanced at the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment before finally letting out a long breath.
The battle had lasted only a few breaths, but it had been a true life-and-death struggle. If the Northern Pole Heavenly Gang Divine Talisman had not held strong, and if he had not made preparations beforehand, this would truly have been very, very dangerous...