Chương 133: Dark Winged Tiger Appears

Right now, Green Bamboo City was in utter chaos! The Tier 2 mid grade formation had been fully activated. The Zhang family cultivator stationed here wore a grave expression, his gaze fixed on the swirling energies above. Zhang Liliang's figure slowly materialized from the shadows. Deep within his eyes, faint wisps of baleful energy seeped through, like smoke curling from dying embers.

"Huaijin's guess was right," he murmured, his voice low and grim.

"With the beast tide erupting, these demonic cultivators wouldn't pass up this opportunity." Behind him, Zhang Lixian stood cloaked in a black robe, his figure completely swallowed by its depths. Only the faint outline of his form was visible in the darkness.

"One Tier 2 fifth level demonic cultivator," Lixian reported, his voice cold and sharp as a blade's edge.

"And more than twenty Qi Refining demonic cultivators." He paused, letting the weight of the numbers sink in.

"It seems the demonic cultivators from the White Bone Demon Cave hold our Zhang family in rather high regard."

"Thankfully, we were prepared." Zhang Liliang turned slightly.

"Is there any trouble over at Green Bamboo Mountain?" Though the distance between their two locations wasn't far, the Zhang family's recent prosperity meant they had no shortage of transmission talismans. They could stay informed of each other's situation at a moment's notice.

"Nothing," Zhang Lixian replied.

"No one has disturbed us." Zhang Liliang nodded slowly. The demonic cultivators' true target was the mortals belonging to the various cultivation forces. While the clan territories of these cultivation families were now empty, storming them would take considerable time and effort. And with so few cultivators left to guard them, the demonic cultivators would gain little for their trouble. No, attacking mortal cities would yield far greater rewards.

"Good." Zhang Liliang's eyes glimmered with baleful energy, a cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

"Now, we'll just have to see what these demonic cultivators are truly capable of." Lixian remained silent, continuing to conceal his presence like a predator lying in wait. With two Tier 2 cultivators standing guard, Green Bamboo City was as solid as an iron fortress, impregnable. —— Blood Lion Mountain! Three days had passed since the great battle began. The three Purple Mansion cultivators were all wounded, their bodies bearing the scars of relentless combat.

Among the five Tier 2 Perfection stage cultivators, one had already fallen, his life snuffed out like a candle in the wind. More than half of the energy within the Nine Star Black Glass Array had been depleted, its once-blazing light now dim and flickering. The six Purple Mansion spirit beasts, driven mad by bloodlust and rage, continued their ferocious assault against the three human cultivators without respite! Fang Tianyu, in particular, was in dire straits.

He had barely stabilized his realm after his recent breakthrough when he was thrown into such a brutal, life-or-death battle. If not for his noble lineage and his family's wealth of spirit artifacts and pills, he would have perished long ago. Even so, his body was covered in wounds, some deep enough to show bone. His eyes were hollow with exhaustion, his movements sluggish. He was barely holding on.

"Why isn't anyone here yet?!" Fang Xinjin gasped between ragged breaths, cursing angrily at the empty sky. His voice cracked with desperation. Zhou Yuezi's face was as pale as death, his energy reserves severely depleted. But his focus remained fixed on the battlefield below, his sharp eyes tracking every movement. And what he saw there made his heart race. Zhang Huaijin had achieved astonishing feats over the past three days.

He had slain a full ten late stage Tier 2 spirit beasts with his sword, including one at the Perfection stage! If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it. It was largely thanks to Huaijin that the Foundation Establishment battlefield was barely holding steady. The Jin family cultivator who had once shown killing intent toward Huaijin now looked on with terror in his eyes, deliberately keeping his distance as if afraid to draw the young prodigy's attention.

In just over a decade, Huaijin's personal combat power had skyrocketed to this impossible degree... At this moment, Huaijin was the most dazzling figure on Blood Lion Mountain, his achievements unparalleled, his reputation forged in blood and steel. The cultivators from the Gao and Yan families watched with deeply conflicted expressions. Huaijin's rise was simply too fast, too terrifying. It defied all reason. Moreover, over these three days, Huaijin had saved quite a few cultivators from certain death.

These were all core members of the various Tier 2 forces across the Qingtai prefecture. Each one owed him their life. This would undoubtedly create a valuable network of connections for the Zhang family in the future, a web of gratitude that could prove priceless. Even a Tier 2 Perfection stage spirit beast was no match for him. In other words, Huaijin now possessed combat power on par with a Tier 2 Perfection stage, no different from those established Foundation Establishment families in Qingtai City...

Zhang Liwei had also performed admirably, killing two early-stage spirit beasts with brutal efficiency. The Zhang family cultivators, meanwhile, fought with iron will and savage ferocity, displaying true grit and ruthlessness. They carved a path of blood through the enemy ranks. On the Foundation Establishment battlefield, thanks to Huaijin's sudden rise, the situation had finally stabilized.

On the Qi Refining battlefield, both sides continued to clash fiercely, their battle cries mingling with the clash of weapons and the roar of spirit beasts. For the time being, neither side would collapse. Now, everything came down to the Purple Mansion level battles above. Currently, Huaijin was facing three late-stage spirit beasts, two of which were at the Perfection Stage. Even so, he hadn't unleashed his full power. His movements were measured, controlled, almost leisurely.

He continued to trade blows with the three beasts, using the battle to hone his swordsmanship and temper his strength through combat. But in the eyes of others, Huaijin's performance was already nothing short of breathtaking. And remember, Huaijin was only at the sixth level! With such combat prowess and such a rapid rate of cultivation, he was a candidate for Purple Mansion Realm. Given his current trajectory, he had great potential to break through to the Purple Mansion realm within the next decade or two.

Zhou Yuezi was deeply shaken, his mind reeling. Fang Xinjin, too, had taken note of Huaijin. Twenty years ago, this young man had been just at the second level, a mere child in the grand scheme of things. Now, he could influence the course of the entire battlefield. If not for Huaijin, the Tier 2 battlefield might have already collapsed. A single loose thread could unravel the entire tapestry. All three of them owed Huaijin a debt of gratitude for this.

Losing Blood Lion Mountain was an unbearable cost for the two noble families. Within Blood Lion Mountain lay a Tier 3 mid grade Metal Earth Vein, which produced a Metal Crystal every thirty years. This was a Tier 3 spiritual object that could increase a Metal-attribute cultivator's chance of breaking through to Purple Mansion Realm by a full thirty percent, a treasure beyond price. And every hundred years, it produced a Purple Sun Jade, an even rarer and more precious resource.

Only earth veins of Tier 3 mid grade or higher had the chance to produce such a treasure, whereas Tier 3 low grade veins could only yield the more common Five Elements Crystal Jade. Beyond that, the Tier 3 earth vein also yielded other spiritual resources, including Tier 3 materials and a large quantity of Tier 2 resources. This was precisely why the two Purple Mansion families placed such immense importance on Blood Lion Mountain.

It was tied to a massive flow of resources that could sustain their power for generations. The more Tier 3 resources they controlled, the more Purple Mansion experts they could produce, and the more their influence would grow. The enraged Raging Blood Lion Patriarch, gasping heavily from exhaustion and wounds, charged once more at Fang Xinjin and Zhou Yuezi. Its massive body thundered across the sky like a storm given form.

Although it had broken through to the late stages, killing these two veteran cultivators was simply out of the question. But Fang Tianyu, by this point, had sustained serious injuries that threatened his very life. If not for the desperate efforts of several Tier 2 perfection stage cultivators who had thrown themselves in harm's way at the critical moment, he would have likely perished already. At this moment, fear flickered in Fang Tianyu's eyes for the first time.

On a chaotic battlefield like this, even Tier 3 cultivators risked falling, and he had come too far, sacrificed too much, to die here like a beast at the slaughter.

"Senior," the Raging Blood Lion Patriarch transmitted, its voice rough and urgent, "please make your move now!" Boom! A terrifying aura erupted from the previously silent void, a pressure so immense that the very air seemed to scream. The sky itself grew dark as a massive, pitch-black figure, eighteen meters long, materialized out of thin air. A violent force swept across the heavens, its dark power scattering the surrounding blood and fiendish qi like autumn leaves before a gale.

A tiger's roar shook the mountain to its very foundations! The creature had a thick, powerful frame, its black fur glossy and sleek as polished onyx. Its four claws were ferocious and sharp, each one capable of tearing through steel like paper. Around its waist sprouted a pair of black wings that gathered gale-force winds, as if summoning a storm of annihilation. Dark power surged within its pitch-black eyes, eyes that held no mercy, only hunger and malice. Tiger stripes covered its massive head.

On its forehead was a prominent, majestic "王" (King) character, its lines glowing with a faint, malevolent light. An air of nobility radiated from it, but it was a nobility born of savagery and blood. The oppressive aura of a late-stage Purple Mansion spirit beast washed over the battlefield like a tidal wave. The Dark Winged Tiger. Seventh level of the Purple Mansion Realm.