Chương 13: The Tiger's Lair

Zhang Huaijin's time outside the family grounds was very limited. He could not afford to be away for more than half a month at most. Zhang Wujian was not a Spirit Plant Cultivator. He had yet to break through to the third level of Qi Refining Realm and could not afford any distractions. Though the Zhang family was just a Qi Refining Realm clan, they understood a fundamental truth: cultivation level was everything.

Only upon reaching the third level of the Qi Refining Realm could one begin to learn other cultivation techniques. Zhang Huaijin left Heavenly Yang Mountain and began making his way along the Purple Dusk Mountain Range. Green Bamboo Mountain sat at the very edge of that range. Just ten miles from Heavenly Yang Mountain, the number of Spirit Beasts surged once more. Along the way, he encountered several Tier 1, low grade Spirit Beasts. He slew them all.

After more than a dozen battles with Spirit Beasts, his combat experience had grown remarkably polished. Each strike was cleaner. More decisive. He cycled the Heavenly Fire Blazing Art without pause, its dense spiritual energy continuously tempering his meridians from within. Once he passed beyond the Zhang family's sphere of influence, Zhang Huaijin began to see traces of rogue cultivator activity. He even crossed paths with a few face to face.

But the moment they sensed his aura, these rogue cultivators did nothing. They simply turned and walked away. Only moments ago, Zhang Huaijin had killed a Tier 1, mid grade Green Tailed Crocodile. He harvested its useful resources and let the Realm-Breaking Pearl devour the rest of the flesh. The constant, unbroken string of battles had begun to manifest as a faint but tangible killing intent around Zhang Huaijin's person. Along the way, he also discovered several spirit herbs.

He gathered them all, intending to exchange them for resources he could actually use once he returned to the family. For three days, Zhang Huaijin scoured an area spanning dozens of miles in every direction. Every Spirit Beast that crossed his path met its end. A rogue cultivator at the fifth level of the Qi Refining Realm even tried to ambush him. Zhang Huaijin turned the tables and killed him instead. The spoils, two tier 1, low grade Spirit Artifacts and a little over a dozen spirit stones.

It had to be said, rogue cultivators were desperately poor. A fifth level Qi Refining Realm cultivator did not own a single Tier 1, mid grade Spirit Artifact. The Zhang family might be weak, merely a Qi Refining Realm clan. But Zhang Huaijin still had elders above him. The family would tighten its belt if necessary to provide what he needed. That was the advantage of belonging to a clan. A cultivator fighting alone in the cultivation world faced an unbearably harsh path. At low stages, you might not feel it.

Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. But as your stage climbed and your need for resources grew, that path would drive any rogue cultivator to despair. Though Zhang Huaijin had been born into a mere Qi Refining Realm family, his starting point was already infinitely better than any rogue's. And within the Zhang family, Zhang Huaijin had found something he had long been without, a genuine sense of familial warmth.

At his current combat power, even an eighth level Qi Refining Realm cultivator would fall to a well placed ambush. More importantly, on this very day, Zhang Huaijin's Metal Finger Art had reached the Perfection level. The power it could unleash was now comparable to a seventh level Qi Refining Realm cultivator. His Cloud Rain Art remained at the major achievement level, the final stage before perfection, but it was drawing close to breaking through.

Zhang Huaijin had also trained all his basic spells to the major achievement level. They were: Metal Finger Art, Vine Leaf Art, Water Arrow Art, Fireball Art, and Earth Wall Art. Among them, Metal Finger Art was a metal elemental basic technique. Its flowing, sharp-edged energy gave it immense offensive power. Because he used it so frequently, Zhang Huaijin had unconsciously cultivated it all the way to perfection without even realizing it.

One should understand, even a ninth level Qi Refining Realm cultivator might never achieve such mastery. It required an enormous investment of time and relentless practice. Now, Zhang Huaijin, his once spotless white robes now stained with dirt and mud, spotted a cave up ahead. His brow furrowed. Because there, he sensed a familiar aura. —— Within his Sea of Consciousness, his soul stirred. Zhang Huaijin's eyes suddenly brightened.

"This is that Purple Spirit Tiger's aura from before. It's grown very faint, but it's unmistakable. This cave must be its lair. The question is, what useful resources are inside?" He thought this to himself as his gaze swept cautiously across the surroundings. Vague shapes were beginning to move through the trees. Spirit Beasts were gathering. Zhang Huaijin made a quick decision. He shifted his stance, concealed his aura and melted into the cover of the forest.

The Purple Spirit Tiger's lingering aura was fading by the hour. The beasts that held grudges against it could no longer restrain themselves. There had to be something valuable inside that lair. Zhang Huaijin's figure vanished among the trees. Before the Purple Spirit Tiger's cave, three Spirit Beasts soon appeared. An Iron Armored Lion. A Black Armored Fanged Hound. And a Crimson Blood Bear. All of them are Tier 1, mid grade Spirit Beasts.

The Black Armored Fanged Hound stood at roughly the fifth level of the Qi Refining Realm. The Iron Armored Lion and Crimson Blood Bear were both at the sixth level. The hound fixed its blood red eyes on the cave entrance, its gaze seething with hatred. That tiger had nearly killed it once before. And now, the Purple Spirit Tiger had not been seen for more than twenty days. By the look of things, the tiger was dead. Perhaps killed by another Spirit Beast. Perhaps even by a cultivator.

Either way, it no longer mattered. The Iron Armored Lion and the Crimson Blood Bear also stared hungrily at the cave, their eyes barely concealing their predatory intent. All three of them knew, the Purple Spirit Tiger's lair contained a treasure. If one of them could claim it, they might shatter their bottleneck and ascend to become an upper grade Tier 1 Spirit Beast. Their power would skyrocket.

Though these three beasts had low intelligence, they understood one thing, now was not the time to fight among themselves. The Black Armored Fanged Hound tensed every muscle, moving with slow, deliberate caution toward the cave entrance. It opened its maw and spat out a ball of pitch black energy the size of a human head, blasting it deep into the cave. Then, with surprising lightness, the hound dodged to the side of the entrance, pressing itself against the rock wall as it waited for any reaction from within.

The Iron Armored Lion and Crimson Blood Bear did the same, each taking cover to either side. Roar! The next instant, a thunderous tiger's roar exploded from deep inside the lair. A wave of terrifying aura surged outward, flooding out of the cave mouth. A Purple Spirit Tiger emerged from the darkness within. She was two meters in length, her body a deep, rich purple. But her aura was weak, painfully so.

Her violet eyes blazed with icy killing intent as she swept her gaze across the three beasts, trying to intimidate them into retreat. The Black Armored Fanged Hound had already fallen back the moment the roar sounded, rejoining the lion and the bear. The four beasts faced each other before the cave. The Iron Armored Lion and the Crimson Blood Bear watched the weakened tigress with eager, hungry eyes. They could no longer hide their killing intent. From a distance, Zhang Huaijin watched the Purple Spirit Tiger.

He noted her frail, depleted aura. Understanding struck him like a thunderbolt. And with that understanding came a surge of excitement he could barely contain. This tigress had to be the mate of the one he killed earlier. And this female, at sixth levelQi Refining Realm Spirit Beast, was in such a weakened state for only one reason. A bold guess flashed through Zhang Huaijin's mind. There was a very high chance this tigress had just given birth.

The male tiger had gone out hunting, searching for food to bring back to her, when he was lured away by Zhang Huaijin's Spirit Beast Luring Incense. And then he was killed. If his guess was correct, he absolutely had to get those cubs. Purple Spirit Tigers possessed two elemental affinities. They were powerful fighters with no major weaknesses. They were the perfect choice for a cultivator's spirit familiar.