HISS HISS HISS.
The python stared fiercely as Huang Yulang departed, but still didn’t give chase.
It coiled up again within the Spirit Gathering Array, contentedly narrowing its eyes.
Huang Yulang went to the spot where he had left the large beast carcasses.
A number of wolves had already gathered to feast on them.
Huang Yulang killed a few, then selected a two-meter-long wolf, hoisted it onto his shoulders, and returned to the valley.
When Huang Yulang returned, the Black-Spotted Python became vigilant once more.
It reared up ferociously, flicking its tongue and staring fiercely at him.
Huang Yulang gave a savage grin, casually tossed the huge wolf toward the Black-Spotted Python, and without hesitation, turned and bolted out of the valley.
The Black-Spotted Python was a bit bewildered.
It looked at the departing Huang Yulang, then at the wolf carcass not far away.
Flicking its tongue, the python slowly slithered over.
It then began its death coil, tightly constricting the wolf.
Meanwhile, Huang Yulang had reappeared in a large tree outside the valley.
He watched the python’s actions from afar, a cold sneer on his face.
‘A beast is a beast.
You’re still too green to fight me.
The moment you’re halfway through your meal will be the moment you die.’
It was common knowledge that pythons are at their most vulnerable when feeding.
This was especially true with larger prey, as swallowing it whole was no easy task.
If a natural predator appeared at this moment, then unless the python had become a spirit beast, even the most powerful of them would find it hard to escape their doom.
The constricting force of a ten-plus-meter giant python was immense.
The wolf carcass’s bones were snapped inch by inch, its body twisting and deforming grotesquely.
When it was ready, the Black-Spotted Python finally found the wolf’s head, opened its great maw, and began to swallow it whole, bit by bit.
After the better part of an hour, the Black-Spotted Python had finally swallowed more than half of the wolf’s body and was still slowly working on the rest, completely unaware that danger was creeping closer.
Huang Yulang ripped the Beast Hide cap from his head, Spirit Wood Sword in hand, and strode swaggering into the valley, a smug smile on his face.
The Black-Spotted Python only noticed Huang Yulang when he drew near.
It wanted to attack, but no longer had the ability.
It was even a struggle to lift its head.
The python struggled violently.
Seeing the swaggering Huang Yulang approach, it desperately whipped its tail at him.
But Huang Yulang dodged it with ease.
The python desperately thrashed its body to attack again, but in Huang Yulang’s eyes, it was nothing more than a futile struggle.
“Vile beast, die!” Huang Yulang shouted coldly.
He shot forward in a single bound, reaching the Black-Spotted Python’s head, and brought his Spirit Wood Sword crashing down.
With a dull THUD, the python’s skull shattered, its brains splattering out.
Its body thrashed desperately a few times, then quickly fell still.
The Mysterious Jade Pendant devoured the python’s Essence of Blood and Qi, and Huang Yulang went into the Spirit Gathering Array to continue his cultivation.
Qi Refining, hunting…
The cycle seemed tedious and dull, but Huang Yulang was tireless, repeating it day after day.
Finally, after a month, Huang Yulang’s physical strength broke through the thousand-jin threshold, and his body’s overall condition improved tremendously.
Especially when he struck with his full power, all the Blood Qi in his body would be mobilized, flowing like a fast-moving stream.
The power it generated was comparable to a stampeding bull—unstoppable.
He went through a set of the One Qi Primordial Skill’s fist and foot techniques.
Every punch and kick seemed to brim with explosive power, which left Huang Yulang very satisfied.
Such power might not be unprecedented in the secular world, but it was certainly rare.
Huang Yulang eagerly anticipated just how powerful he would become if he continued to improve.
As his strength grew, hunting ordinary wild beasts became as easy as slaughtering chickens.
Now that his power had broken past a thousand jin, it seemed that killing any more of them had little to no effect, which frustrated Huang Yulang.
Huang Yulang’s gaze shifted toward the deepest parts of Meishan.
‘Looks like I’ll have to go in there to see if I can find any stronger beasts.’
He dug up the Array Banners and packed them away, then, without hesitation, strode toward the depths of Meishan.
He crossed mountains and ridges along the way.
He encountered ordinary black bears and wild wolves, but they failed to pique his interest.
Of course, if any of them were foolish enough to provoke him, Huang Yulang wouldn’t hold back.
ROAR!
A tiger’s cry echoed through the mountain forest.
Countless birds took to the sky in a panic, and many small beasts that heard the roar trembled in fear, scattering madly in all directions.
‘That roar is so loud,’ Huang Yulang thought, surprised as he traveled along.
‘It seems to shake the entire forest.’
The tiger is known as the king of the jungle, so of course it possesses a certain intimidating presence.
Huang Yulang smiled faintly and ran toward the sound of the roar, his feet as swift as wings.
He had yet to see this king of the jungle during his journey and was naturally very interested.
However, a few miles away, a dozen or so hunters armed with long spears and short blades were huddled together, trembling.
They stared at a giant boulder not far off, where a Striped Tiger—a full five or six meters long and three meters tall—stood majestically.
It glared at the dozen hunters, its eyes fierce and predatory.
Its powerful aura alone was enough to make the hunters’ hearts tremble with fear, let alone inspire them to attack the beast.
As for escaping, that was impossible.
Leaving aside whether they could even get away, sticking together at least offered a chance of survival.
If they scattered and fled, it would only be a dead end.
The hunters had already dropped their prey.
They huddled together, desperately clutching their weapons as they cautiously backed away.
But the Striped Tiger didn’t even glance at the game on the ground, its fierce gaze remaining fixed on them.
This sight drove the hunters to despair.
Finally, one young hunter could no longer bear the tiger’s oppressive presence.
With a terrified shriek, he dropped his weapon and fled for his life.
“Damn it, get back here!
You can’t run!” an experienced old hunter shouted, his face paling.
But the young hunter seemed to have been scared out of his wits, fleeing desperately without a second thought.
ROOOAR—
The young hunter’s actions seemed to enrage the tiger.
With a roar that shook the forest, the beast leaped, soaring more than ten meters into the air.
It flew over the other hunters and descended from the sky, pouncing directly on the young man.
“Attack!” The old hunter knew there was no longer any room for negotiation.
Gritting his teeth, he let out a furious roar and was the first to give chase with his long spear.
Though the other hunters were terrified, they knew they had no other choice.
One by one, they roared to bolster their courage and charged forward.
“No—!” The tiger slammed down in an instant.
The young hunter was pinned to the ground, letting out a single, wretched scream before the vicious beast bit his blood-drenched head clean off.
The other hunters hadn’t charged far before they witnessed this gruesome scene.
Every one of them turned as pale as a sheet, their hearts seized by absolute terror.
“Kill!” Only the old hunter, with his vast experience, didn’t hesitate.
He thrust his long spear straight at the tiger’s hindquarters.
ROAR—
The tiger’s reflexes were incredibly sharp.
It leaped up on its hind legs to dodge the spear, then kicked out viciously.
The old hunter dodged with a backbend and thrust his spear toward the tiger’s vital parts underneath.
But the tiger’s long tail swept out.
With a BAM, it sent the spear flying.
The old hunter desperately held on, his body dragged more than two meters through the air.
“What are you all standing there for?
You want to die?
Attack!” the old hunter roared when he saw the others standing frozen in terror.
The other hunters snapped out of it, forcing themselves to raise their weapons and charge.
The tiger spun around and roared again.
A sudden gale swept out, sending rubble and dead leaves flying.
The hunters at the front instinctively shut their eyes, but the tiger had already lunged into their midst.
Sharp claws descended, and a hunter’s head was instantly crushed.
The tiger’s tail swept out, sending several more hunters flying and spitting mouthfuls of blood.
“No…!” The old hunter’s eyes were wide with fury and despair as he watched the scene, scrambling to his feet.
But the other hunters, seeing the vicious tiger’s towering, powerful frame right before their eyes and the men who had just been sent flying, were completely stunned.
With nothing but absolute terror in their eyes, they instinctively turned tail and ran.
Now the hunters had lost any advantage they might have had—though of course, they never had one to begin with.
The ferocious Striped Tiger swatted them down one by one.
Before they could get far, every last one of them had been slapped to death by the vicious beast.
The old hunter’s face was deathly pale.
He staggered and collapsed to the ground, tears of despair sliding from his eyes.
The Striped Tiger didn’t hesitate.
It turned toward the despairing old hunter, opened its cavernous, blood-red mouth, and prepared to bite his head off.
“Vile beast, how dare you!”
Huang Yulang came sprinting over and saw the bloody, cruel scene.
His expression changed again and again.
Of course, seeing a monstrous beast five to six meters long and over three meters tall, Huang Yulang was utterly shocked.
Seeing the tiger was about to kill again, Huang Yulang didn’t even think before kicking a hundred-jin boulder at his feet.
WHOOSH!
The hundred-jin rock shot through the air.
Caught off guard, the tiger was struck in the side and sent tumbling several times.
ROAR—
The tiger, stung by the pain, let out a furious roar.
But it didn’t seem to be seriously injured.
It got right back up and glared fiercely at Huang Yulang.
‘What?’ Huang Yulang’s expression changed again.
‘It took a hit from a hundred-jin rock and it’s fine?
Its defense is too strong!
I know exactly how powerful that kick was.
A single kick like that would be enough to half-kill a two- or three-meter-tall black bear.’
The despairing old hunter saw the boy who had suddenly appeared and the hundred-jin rock lying not far away.
A spark of hope ignited within him, but he still called out a warning:
“Young Hero, be careful!
I fear this vicious tiger has surpassed the mundane.
You cannot fight it head-on!”
Hearing this, Huang Yulang was startled once more.
‘Its body is much larger than a full-grown elephant’s.
How could an ordinary tiger grow this big?
It might already be a Demon Beast capable of cultivation.’
Huang Yulang’s expression immediately became grim.
‘A Demon Beast like this…
I might not be able to handle it.’ He began to feel a pang of regret.
‘Why did I have to be so curious and come take a look?
Now I’m in big trouble.’
ROAR—
The vicious tiger roared again.
In an instant, sand and stones were kicked up, and leaves flew everywhere.
The tiger leaped more than ten meters, pouncing on Huang Yulang like a hungry tiger on its prey as it crashed down.
“Damn it.” Huang Yulang was extremely wary.
He dove sharply to the side, rolled on the ground, and drew his Spirit Wood Sword at the same time.
THUD!
The tiger, weighing several thousand jin, landed, shaking the very ground.
But just as Huang Yulang got to his feet, the vicious tiger’s tail swept toward him.
It was too fast for him to dodge.
He could only raise the Spirit Wood Sword horizontally in front of his chest with both hands to block.