The Demonic Beast Mountain Range was a vast, sprawling chain of mountains that stretched for thousands of miles, spanning nearly half of the Xia Feng Kingdom. Its territory was immense.
The mountains were lofty, their ranges extensive, with dense, untamed forests and verdant peaks covering the slopes. The spiritual energy of heaven and earth here was richer than in ordinary regions, making it a natural habitat favored by demonic beasts.
Countless ferocious demonic beasts roamed within its broad woodlands, including some truly terrifying ones, causing the entire mountain range to be fraught with danger.
The deeper one ventured, the greater the peril.
Once entering the depths, not only ordinary people, but even cultivators who had embarked on the path of cultivation faced a high probability of encountering life-threatening crises, perishing within the mountains.
Such occurrences were not rare throughout history, forging the fearsome reputation of the Demonic Beast Mountain Range, a name that made people pale at the mention.
Yet, precisely because of the demonic beasts, their flesh, blood, and pelts held significant value, often fetching high prices in human towns and cities. Moreover, many precious medicinal herbs, even legendary natural treasures, appeared within the mountain range. This led countless people, despite the dangers, to desperately venture into the Demonic Beast Mountain Range in search of fortune and treasure.
Every year, those who died in the Demonic Beast Mountain Range were beyond count. Even Xiantian experts entering could not guarantee their safe return, for the mountain range was not lacking in Xiantian-level demonic beasts.
Often, because demonic beasts were innately physically stronger than humans, a Xiantian demonic beast was far more terrifying than an ordinary Xiantian expert...
Dark Peak Mountain was a mountain within the Demonic Beast Mountain Range, relatively close to the depths. Its forests were dense, vines blocked the sky, and miasma pervaded the air—a dangerous place where demonic beasts frequently appeared, not to be entered lightly.
Even for many mercenary groups that entered the mountains to hunt demons and gather herbs, this was a perilous zone. They rarely ventured here on ordinary days, usually keeping their distance.
At this moment, near the edge of a steep cliff, a team of over a dozen people stood on the precipice, each bearing wounds, nearly in despair.
For ahead was a demonic tiger with slanted eyes and a white forehead. It stood about ten feet tall, its fur bristling, its body massive, directly blocking the only path forward, leaving only the cliff face as a dead end.
Now, it opened its bloody maw, baring its fangs as it stared at them, its copper-bell-sized tiger eyes filled with a thirst for blood.
This was an extremely fearsome demonic tiger, a Houtian ninth-tier demonic beast. Due to its physical constitution, it was even more terrifying than a Houtian ninth-layer cultivator. Ordinarily, it would absolutely be a lord of its territory within the Demonic Beast Mountain Range, a name that made people pale at the mention, arguably one of the most dreadful demonic beasts below the Xiantian level.
Such a demonic beast could slaughter Houtian ninth-layer cultivators without issue; it was simply not something this group could withstand.
"Father, what should we do?"
A young girl around thirteen or fourteen years old nervously grabbed the sleeve of the middle-aged man at the front. Her lovely face was smudged with dirt, her clear, bright eyes revealing terror, filled with fear and anxiety.
"Meizi, don't worry. With your father here, I won't let you come to any harm," the middle-aged man softly comforted his daughter. Yet, his gaze toward the demonic tiger also held helplessness and despair.
The others felt the same.
This was a small, little-known mercenary group, totaling only a dozen or so people. Their strongest member was the leader, this middle-aged man, but he was only a Houtian eighth-layer cultivator—not particularly powerful.
The others in the group were only at Houtian sixth or seventh layer, with a few even at the fourth or fifth layer. Their overall strength was not high.
They usually made a living by undertaking the dangerous work of entering the Demonic Beast Mountain Range to hunt demonic beasts, selling their valuable flesh, blood, and pelts for substantial money to sustain themselves.
Since they mostly operated on the fringes of the mountain range, the demonic beasts they encountered were often weak, rarely running into truly powerful ones. Thus, it was relatively safe, though the profits earned were just enough to get by.
This time, however, greed had gotten the better of them. While hunting, they accidentally spotted a Crimson Jade Rabbit and immediately became covetous.
This was a small demonic beast, only Houtian fourth-tier. Due to its beautiful, cute appearance and large, dark, bright eyes, many noble ladies and young misses were quite fond of this little creature. It could be sold for an extremely high price, often over a thousand gold coins per rabbit—undoubtedly a huge fortune for this small mercenary group.
Although they saw the Crimson Jade Rabbit running deeper into the mountains, and knew venturing further was dangerous, they ultimately couldn't resist the immense temptation. The entire group unanimously decided to hunt the rabbit, gradually penetrating deeper into the Demonic Beast Mountain Range. By the time they realized it, they were already dozens of miles into the mountains, arriving at Dark Peak Mountain—a dangerous area.
And at this moment, they had just trespassed into the territory of a demonic tiger with slanted eyes and a white forehead, provoking its pursuit and leading to their current predicament.
"Lizi, Fatty, take Meizi and everyone else away. I'll hold off this demonic tiger here for a moment, buy you some time. Hurry and leave," the leader said, raising his broadsword.
"Big Brother, that's absolutely not acceptable. We can't abandon you and leave alone."
"Right, we live and die together."
The others in the mercenary group quickly protested. The young girl also tightly gripped the leader's sleeve, crying, "Father, you can't leave Meizi behind."
But the leader broke free, raised his broadsword, and charged forward, shouting, "Leave now! This is no time for sentimentality. Run—"
"Demonic tiger, die!"
With a metallic clang, the demonic tiger merely swiped a paw, sending the leader flying. He tumbled to the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood, causing those behind to roar with bloodshot eyes, "Big Brother—"
"Father—"
The leader struggled to his feet and charged again, bellowing, "Go! All of you, go now!"
The others' eyes stung. They couldn't bear to see their leader, who treated them like brothers, go to his death. But at this moment, they were powerless. They could only follow the leader's command, pulling the weeping girl along. Seizing an opportunity the leader had desperately fought for, even at the cost of injury, they managed to skirt around the demonic tiger and rush out.
"Roar—"
The demonic tiger was enraged. It roared, swiping a paw at the broadsword. A metallic clang rang out, sparks flying as the entire blade shattered. It then sent the leader flying again, tumbling across the ground, coughing up blood continuously.
Then it charged forward, opening its bloody maw to bite down on the leader, ready to devour him on the spot.
"Leader—"
"Father—"
Those fleeing witnessed this scene, unable to stop themselves from shouting with eyes wide in agony, tears welling, filled with despair.
The leader could only look at them despairingly, shaking his head, urging them to leave quickly, awaiting the moment of death.
Whoosh—
Suddenly, a cold gleam flashed across the world, dazzling everyone's eyes.
Boom—
A long spear abruptly appeared, streaking through the air like lightning, so fast no one could react. It pierced through the body of the once-invincible demonic tiger with slanted eyes and a white forehead, nailing it with a thunderous impact against the cliff face on one side, unable to break free.
Blood gushed uncontrollably from the wound, splattering the cliff, dyeing the rock wall crimson—a startling sight.
This scene left everyone in the mercenary group gaping in shock, unable to believe it.
What just happened?
One moment filled with despair, the next granted a reprieve from death, having circled the gates of the underworld—it all felt unreal to them.
Tap, tap, tap—
Suddenly, a series of clear, light footsteps approached from afar. Following the sound, they saw a figure slowly walking into view on the cliff.
He had a tall, slender build, black hair cascading over his shoulders, an air of heroic vigor about him. Judging by his handsome, somewhat youthful face, he was clearly just a youth, likely around sixteen, young and fair-skinned.
At this moment, the youth wore only a simple black robe, no other equipment, not even a sword or weapon. He appeared before the group, his expression calm. Particularly noticeable was a faint, crescent moon mark faintly visible between his brows, adding a touch of mystery.
Everyone was utterly astonished. Could this be the mysterious expert who saved them from despair? This excessively young youth before them?
The mysterious youth made a grasping motion with his hand. The long spear that had pinned and killed the demonic tiger, along with the beast itself, was instantly drawn into his hand, confirming his identity. This left the group both shocked and filled with awe.
So powerful! Who knew from where this figure hailed, strong enough to casually pin and kill a Houtian ninth-tier demonic tiger with a single spear throw.
In this world, where strength was revered, it was only natural for them to feel awe.
"Too weak. A single spear was enough to pin it," the youth shook his head, muttering unintentionally. His voice was neither loud nor soft, just enough for everyone present to hear, leaving them momentarily stunned.
The youth was none other than Ye Chen.