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nSorrowful tiger eyes moved back and forth between the two tiger cubs. Finally, with a trembling claw, the fiend tiger pointed at one of the little cubs.

n“Take the little one with you.”

nIt turned its head, unable to watch this parting.

nTang Jie walked over and grabbed the little cub that was playing with its older brother.

nThe little fellow was still ignorant, so when someone grabbed it, it instinctively tried to bite.

nBut it was too weak and failed to penetrate the skin on Tang Jie’s arm.

nTang Jie raised his hand, bringing the little cub into the air, but it didn’t let go, continuing to bite down on Tang Jie’s arm while its four paws flailed in the air, doing everything it could to fight back against Tang Jie’s arm.

nIts older brother lunged over and began to gnaw at Tang Jie’s feet, letting out soft growls.

nTang Jie chuckled at how adorable and cute it was. He asked, “Does it have a name?”

nThe fiend tiger shook its head. “I have yet to name them. But as the tigers are the kings of beasts, our tribe has the surname of Wang (King). I am called Wang Poguan. You can name them.”

n“Wang Poguan (Break Barrier)… I understand. Then I will name them after the concept of being free and unfettered (Xiaoyao). Their formal names will be Wang Xiao and Wang Yao. As for your baby name, let’s just go with how your head looks and call you Bao’er (寶).”

nHe grabbed the cub and held it affectionately in his embrace.

nWhile tigers were fierce, they were very cute as cubs, and Tang Jie naturally took a great liking to it. In the eyes of Wang Poguan, this was naturally a relief, but it also added to the sorrow of parting, and it started to sorrowfully growl in helplessness.

nThe deal was done, so Tang Jie went to gather his materials and leave. While these materials had been used to lay down the formation and some of them had been used up, others could be gathered back up and used again. For example, it was impossible for the Azure Light Sword to be depleted after being used in a formation just one time.

nAs he was packing things up, Tang Jie suddenly thought of something and asked the fiend tiger, “Right, since the Basking Moon Sect only comes once every half a year, how do you normally survive? When I woke up, I saw a pile of bones in the cave. That should be your food, but where does it come from?”

nThe fiend tiger replied, “There is a red dogwood flower that grows on the summit. When the fruit of this flower is crushed, it will release a scent that can attract all beasts.”

n“So it was the helping dogwood. I wondered why the Basking Moon Sect could be so at ease as to only come once every half a year,” Tang Jie said with a chuckle.

nCompared to the other spirit plants of Tiger Roar Valley, the helping dogwood could be considered a truly rare plant. The fruits it produced could restore blood and spirit and were of huge help in cultivation, commanding extraordinary value. When the dogwood fruit was crushed, it would create a scent that would travel far, so it was an excellent way of attracting fiend beasts, if not somewhat of a waste.

nThe Basking Moon Sect had probably planted helping dogwood on Tiger Roar Peak for its own convenience. Since the fiend beasts would throw themselves into the net, they wouldn’t need to waste time and energy serving the fiend tiger on the mountain.

nAfter several hundred years of care, anyone would start to think of ways to avoid work.

nAs if it could tell what Tang Jie was thinking, the fiend tiger said, “I still have some red dogwood fruit left over, and you can take it if you want it. There are also some other spirit plants that I have no use for, and you may take as much as you want.”

n“Then thank you, Big Brother Wang!” Tang Jie immediately took the rope that was offered to him, and he called the tiger “Big Brother” very naturally.

nThe fiend tiger shuddered. It had hated humanity for a lifetime but was now being called “Big Brother” by a human, and it found it hard to get used to. In the end, it managed to restrain itself and tell Tang Jie where the spirit plants were located.

nThe helping dogwood fruits were located at the back of the summit.

nAs it had been planted a long time ago, this helping dogwood had numerous fruits. Alas, over the years, many of them had turned to pulp, but even so, Tang Jie managed to get ten-some fruits.

nEach helping dogwood fruit was worth several hundred coins. Although some of the fruits had been damaged because the tiger didn’t want to take care of them, all together, they were still worth around two thousand coins. This was enough to make back his costs, and this wasn’t even considering that not all of the formation materials had been used up.

nHe took a look at the time and decided to walk around Tiger Roar Peak some more to gather flowers and fruits.

nHe had invested an enormous amount into this trip and had already prepared himself for a loss. But now that he saw some hope of making back his costs or even getting a profit, he couldn’t just let it go. He took everything of value, not even leaving behind the most ordinary blade of spirit grass. He thoroughly scoured the area, even calling Yiyi to help him.

nThe little lady had a 100% accuracy rate when it came to searching for spirit grass.

nOnce his bags were full, Tang Jie ran the calculations and found that he had made back everything he spent, so he was in a much better mood.

nGoing back to the cave, Tang Jie bowed to the fiend tiger. “Big Brother Wang, thank you for your generosity!”

nThe fiend tiger grunted, “I don’t need your thanks, only that you take good care of my child.”

n“Big Brother Wang, be at ease. Tang Jie will take good care of him. Right, Tang Jie would like to request something else.”

n“What?”

n“Big Brother Wang, you only seek the blood and flesh of those fiend beasts, but I have use of their hides. If possible, in the future, I was wondering if Big Brother Wang could leave the hides intact for me, or even some bones that you don’t need,” Tang Jie said with a smile.

nIt appeared that now that he had scoured the area for spirit plants, he had moved his attention to fiend beasts.

nThis was like having the fiend beast hunt for him!

nHis thought process was like this: if you eat the meat, why not give everything else to me? It’s not like you have any use for it.

nAs for what was already in the cave, those were no good. They had been there for so long that any essence energy inside of them had long ago dispersed, making them worthless.

nThe fiend tiger glared at him. “Human, you’re too greedy. I won’t quarrel with you if you want the skin and bones of other fiend beasts, but if you’re trying to get my children…”

n“Big Brother Wang, Yiyi is just as valuable as your little tiger cubs, but do I look like I plan to sell her off?” Tang Jie asked back.

nThe fiend tiger relaxed upon hearing this, snorting, “Even so, why should I trust you?”

nBefore releasing the tiger, Tang Jie had had Yiyi leave. It was clear from how much Tang Jie cherished this precious sprite that he was not a person of shallow affections.

nThis was precisely why it had entrusted him with the tiger cub.

nSeeing that the fiend tiger didn’t mind, Tang Jie said, “Right, one other thing…”

n“You have too many requests!” The fiend tiger got angry.

nTang Jie chuckled. “This isn’t a demand, but a gift.”

nTang Jie took out the Martial Mirror. “Many people want this, and though I managed to fool the people that Godhead Palace sent last time, that was simply because they had restrained themselves and were unwilling to alarm me before they had confirmed who I was. But if they come again, whether it’s the Basking Moon Sect or Godhead Palace, they probably won’t rest until they’ve flipped the entire place upside down. It’s not right for me to leave it at my place anymore.”

n“You want to hide it here?”

nTang Jie nodded.

nWas there any safer and more ideal place than this?

nNot even in their dreams would the Basking Moon Sect and Godhead Palace have imagined that Tang Jie would hide the Martial Mirror here.

nAnd probably only the fiend tiger had the strength to protect the Martial Mirror and no desire for it.

nThis fiend beast that hated humans the most had become the guardian Tang Jie could trust the most.

nFrom a certain perspective, Tang Jie was also making a security deposit.

nWith this item in the fiend tiger’s possession, it could guarantee that Tang Jie wouldn’t go back on his word, allowing the tiger to relax.

nThus, the fiend tiger replied without hesitation, “Very well, I agree to your request.”

nTang Jie found a corner and buried the Martial Mirror there.

nHe then muttered, “The Tiger Roar Peak that was once searched a thousand years ago finally has a real secret treasure…”

nHearing this, the fiend tiger let out a sorrowful growl.

nHe had taken everything he wanted and passed on everything he wanted to pass. With nothing else he needed to do, Tang Jie released the wolf.

nThough the fiend tiger had heavily injured the wolf, it would have recuperated with some time. But to free up the beast token, Tang Jie swiftly killed off this refined beast.

nThe wolf and Immortal-Binding Rope were items that couldn’t see the light of day, so he didn’t mind too much even if he didn’t have them.

nAfter killing the wolf, Tang Jie immediately dissected it for parts, and only after that did he grab the little tiger cub to put into the beast token.

nJust when he was about to take it away, the mother tiger growled and staggered to its feet. It walked over to the tiger cub and licked it a few times, tears in its eyes.

nAlthough it hadn’t attained rationality, it was no ordinary beast. It knew its child was about to leave, and it looked at its mate with imploring eyes. It was clear it did not understand why its child had to be taken away.

nThe fiend tiger looked at its wife and helplessly sighed. Stroking the fur on its wife’s neck with a paw, it softly said, “There’s nothing to be done. For the child and for my tribe, there are things I must do. Zhen’er… I’m sorry.”

nThe mother tiger looked in a daze at its husband, seeming to understand yet not understand, but there was a hint of gentle affection in its eyes.

nAnd then she saw her husband open his mouth and bite down on her neck.

nPa!

nWith one bite, the mother tiger’s neckbone was bitten through.

nThe mother tiger grunted and dropped to the ground, still staring at her husband. Even in death, she had not understood what happened.

n“What are you doing?” Tang Jie jumped in fright. “Why did you kill her?”

n“Silence!”

nThe tiger’s roar resounded through the cave.

nThe fiend tiger turned its head, and Tang Jie could see it glaring at him with eyes as red as blood.

nIt said, “Her body was too weak, and the Basking Moon Sect’s people are no fools. They would need just one look at her to know that there was a problem. Her mind hadn’t opened yet, and she didn’t have the blood refining ability, so the slightest probe would reveal everything… The Basking Moon Sect cannot be allowed to know the truth!”

n“So you killed your own wife?” Tang Jie angrily said.

nThe fiend tiger pounced at Tang Jie and growled at him, “For the revival of my tribe, all of us are constantly dying! Remember your promise! The day you can return freedom to my child, you can take my head with you!”

nIt drew back, bit down on its wife, and threw her over to Tang Jie. “For you. Didn’t you want the bones, hide, and blood of fiend beasts? Didn’t you want to use our lives as the source of your strength? She is yours!”

nHis words burned with endless hatred and anger!

nThe large tiger corpse hit Tang Jie in the chest and caused him to stagger backward several steps.

nThe two tiger cubs had just lost their mother, and they failed to realize what had happened for a moment. They circled around the tiger corpse, occasionally pushing against her with their heads.

nThe fiend tiger grabbed little Bao’er and thrust it into Tang Jie’s refined beast token. “Hurry and go already!”

nCarrying the tiger corpse and a large bag of materials, Tang Jie staggered out of the cave.

nHis mind was in complete disarray.

nXu Muyang’s words resounded in his mind.

nThe Immortal path was dangerous!

nThe cultivation world was callous!

nYes, Xu Muyang had been right.

nThe cultivation world was callous!

nThough he had already known this.

nThough he had already understood this.

nThough he had already prepared for this.

nWhen the cruel and callous actually played out in front of him, Tang Jie was still shaken.

nIn the end, Basking Moon Academy wasn’t the real cultivation world. This warm and gentle environment made students yearn for the outside world, but only when they experienced the coldblooded nature of the outside would they understand the cruelty of the real world!

nWhat had happened on Tiger Roar Peak was a microcosm of the truth of the world!

nHe felt sorrow, but there was nothing he could do but walk out of the formation.

nHe took one last glance at Tiger Roar Peak.

nThe fiend tiger was watching from the summit.

nTang Jie lightly shook his head and slapped his jade token.

nIn a flash, Tang Jie appeared outside of the valley entrance, in front of the villagers of Tiger Roar Village. Everyone could see that he was carrying a large tiger corpse.

nEveryone was scared out of their wits. “You killed Tiger Roar Peak’s fiend tiger?”

nHow could that be?

nNot even large groups of students managed to achieve that feat!

n“No… I just… When it was unprepared, I snuck into its cave… stole its spirit plants… killed its wife…” Tang Jie muttered in reply.

nAs if in response to his words, the roar of a tiger came from the distant Tiger Roar Peak.

nRaaooooo!

nImbued with infinite sorrow and bone-penetrating hatred, it resounded through the valley!

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