On a desolate hill, a green turtle shell hung from the withered branch of an old tree. From time to time, purple sparks of electricity crackled and popped from within it.
Inside the shell, Ji Zidian wept profusely, desperately slashing with sword energy as she tried to break free.
She had originally thought that her Junior Brother Wang Xiu had already escaped to fetch reinforcements. It never crossed her mind that he, who was supposed to be fleeing, would turn back to face death at such a critical juncture. He had chosen to sacrifice himself, leaving her the only chance to escape.
It was a well-known fact that her Thunder Sect had always been at odds with the Divination Sect. Although they had never oppressed them, they hadn’t shown them a sliver of goodwill for years. At their first encounter, Ji Zidian hadn’t hidden her aversion to the Divination Sect in the slightest. Yet even so, Junior Brother Wang Xiu remained as gentle as jade, treating her with the utmost courtesy and deference.
Originally, Ji Zidian had actually believed that Wang Xiu was so insistent on teaming up with her because he wanted to introduce Jiang Ling’er to the Thunder Sect.
But now, a different thought gradually surfaced in her mind. Could it be that Junior Brother Wang Xiu saw the darkness over my forehead, a sign of great danger, and that’s why he was so eager to team up with me? That way, he could travel with me, help me dispel the ominous sign, and save my life! As for his initial flattery—that I was blessed by destiny and destined for great fortune—that was obviously just to get on my good side. After all, if he had outright told me that I had an ominous aura, I would have certainly stormed off and might have even attacked him. I definitely wouldn’t have believed him. My own master, Luo Binglan, had gotten into fights when she was young mostly because she went around telling people they had darkness over their foreheads. He must have learned from our master’s lessons: act, don’t speak. He wanted to save my life in secret!
Right now, Junior Brother must be engaged in a bloody battle against that demon! He might already be on the brink of death from the Tiger Demon’s attacks!
"No!" she cried. "Even if I die, I will fight alongside my junior brother to the very end!"
BOOM!
The roar of a dragon echoed once more. Ji Zidian finally shattered the restraints of the Black Tortoise Mirror and charged out. After sending a distress signal to the Chaofeng City Taoist Temple, she gripped her Celestial Heart Sword and shot back toward Mingyue Mountain.
「...」
Meanwhile, on Mingyue Mountain, within the Four Symbols Great Array for Warding Off Evil.
"Mighty Heavenly Dragon!"
"World-Honored One, Earth-Store Bodhisattva!"
"All-Encompassing Buddhas!"
"Prajna Paramita!"
As the Buddhist chants filled the air, the vision of the Underworld King behind Wang Xiu dissipated, replaced by an endless, radiant light. The inner shirt on his upper body exploded, revealing skin that looked as if it were cast from gold. A tattoo of a golden dragon, fangs bared and claws outstretched, came to life across his torso.
SUPPRESS!
The ground beneath him shattered, forming a deep pit several meters wide. Wang Xiu lunged toward the Tiger Demon, the golden dragon on his shoulder launching forth, pressing down on the beast with boundless Buddhist light.
"A Buddhist Guardian Divine Power!"
The Tiger Demon’s expression was ghastly. Just what was this man’s background? A Daoist School formation! Buddhist Divine Skills! Ghost Cultivator secret techniques! Any one of these was a top-tier legacy, enough to make a cultivator invincible among their peers and dominate a region. But this man had cultivated each one to its highest realm, capable of manifesting visions to augment his power. Where in the world did this freak come from?
HOWL!
The White Tiger roared at the heavens, grappling with the golden dragon. In an instant, the battle between dragon and tiger commenced, a brutal spectacle of shattering Buddhist light and splattering demonic blood. It was, after all, a mid-Core Formation Tiger Demon, its cultivation level already at the Fifth Heaven. Even severely wounded, pierced through the chest by the Spiritual Artifact, the Purple Cloud Saber, its ferocity was undiminished. Within a few breaths, it had torn the golden dragon to shreds.
But those few brief moments were enough.
"Power of the Azure Dragon, take your position in the East!"
"Power of the White Tiger, take your position in the West!"
"Power of the Vermilion Bird, take your position in the South!"
"Power of the Black Tortoise, take your position in the North!"
"Subdue the demon!"
Wang Xiu bellowed, and towering visions of the Divine Beasts emerged from the four cardinal directions. The four array flags whipped in the wind as images of the Four Divine Beasts rose from their surfaces and shot toward Wang Xiu at the formation’s center.
In that instant, the formidable power of the four Divine Beasts overlaid upon Wang Xiu, transforming into mysterious Daoist divine runes. He leaped into the air and landed astride the giant white tiger’s neck. Clamping his legs tight, he brutally forced the Tiger Demon to the ground, kicking up countless clouds of dust.
BOOM!
His fist, imbued with the power of the Four Divine Beasts, slammed into the Tiger Demon’s head, shaking the entire mountain forest and causing the ground to crack in all directions.
The earth shattered and the mountains trembled!
"This is for blocking the road and eating people!"
"This is for creating ghoul servants!"
"This is for harming my fellow sect member!"
"And this is for using a beautiful woman to test me!"
At that moment, Wang Xiu was like the hero Wu Erlang, raising his fist again and again, pummeling the white tiger until it was powerless to retaliate. He’d had no choice. Knowing a Great Demon lurked in the shadows, he had put immense effort into setting up the Four Symbols Great Array this time, making it even stronger than the one on Spirit Turtle Peak. Not only were his four Soul Pets serving as array spirits to borrow the power of the Divine Beasts, but he had also planted the array flags in the ley line nexus of Mingyue Mountain, drawing on the power of the earth’s meridians to make it as stable as Mount Tai.
If the Tiger Demon had fought desperately from the start, its mid-Core Formation cultivation would have given it a chance to fight Wang Xiu to the death. This was why Wang Xiu had chosen to send Ji Zidian away first; without absolute certainty, the girl might have become a liability.
But this Tiger Demon was a coward. After seeing Wang Xiu slaughter the ghosts, it lost its will to fight and immediately tried to flee. As a result, it was gravely wounded by a sneak attack from the Purple Cloud Saber, its combat strength massively reduced. There was no longer any hope for a comeback.
One punch!
Two punches!
Three punches!
Four punches!
Every time Wang Xiu’s fist landed on the tiger’s head, it was a critical hit, sending blood flying. Of course, the Tiger Demon fought back, its demonic power manifesting as blades that slashed at Wang Xiu, leaving terrifying gashes on his body and cracking the golden light around him. Fortunately, protected by the Mighty Heavenly Dragon Subduing Demon Golden Body, the wounds were only superficial and of little consequence.
THUD!
Another punch landed, and a cloud of mist exploded from the white tiger’s body. Amidst the swirling smoke, the White Tiger transformed back into the beautiful noblewoman—only this time, she was completely unclothed.
She gave Wang Xiu a resentful look, pleading, "Young master, please, hit me no more. I surrender. From now on, I am willing to recognize you as my master."
"As long as... as long as you don’t kill me, young master, you can do anything you want to me."
"Meow~"
With that, the white tiger-turned-noblewoman gazed up at Wang Xiu, her alluring body writhing slightly, her white ears and tail swaying gently.
Well now. A cat-girl? Where the hell did this blasted tiger learn that from?
"You want to acknowledge me as your master? And I can do whatever I want to you?" Wang Xiu couldn’t help but grin as he looked at the cat-eared demon.
"Mhm~" The white tiger noblewoman nodded gently, her charm enough to make anyone’s heart ache with pity.
BOOM!
Her beautiful head was punched straight into the dirt. Wang Xiu grinned. "If you want to acknowledge me as your master, you have to be able to take a beating first!"
"White Tiger!"
BOOM!
"Human form!"
BOOM!
"Noblewoman!"
BOOM!
"Trying to play the submissive card on me?"
BOOM!
"Beating you in this form is even more exhilarating."
BOOM!
As the dust settled, the alluring woman lay in a deep pit, barely breathing. She looked at Wang Xiu imploringly, forcing a smile as she hoped that after venting his anger, his heart would soften and he would spare her life.
Just once! If he spares me now out of a moment of weakness, I swear I’ll find a chance in the future to repay today’s humiliation a hundredfold!
CLANG!
Wang Xiu pulled the Purple Cloud Saber from the Tiger Demon’s body and swung it fiercely. The beautiful noblewoman’s head soared into the sky, reverting to a massive tiger head in midair before crashing heavily to the ground and kicking up another cloud of dust.
And her alluring body, in that same instant, transformed into a massive, headless tiger corpse that collapsed to the earth.