Chapter 496 - 427: Obstructing Fierce Tiger, Peak of Spiritual Vein Opening, Instant Kill

But at first glance, the Tiger clearly failed to see the difference in their power. With a snort, he unleashed the aura of a Mountain Monarch. "You arrogant ants, how dare you act so presumptuously on my territory?"

In his eyes, a vast area here was his territory—land he had seized with his own claws and teeth, making it the largest territory in the vicinity!

That’s right. Even the giant wolf’s territory was less than half the size of his. This was the source of his confidence, the confidence of an expert who had stepped into the Spiritual Vein Opening realm many years ago.

If he had to gauge their strength, the giant wolf was, in his opinion, only a little beyond the Early Stage of Spiritual Vein Opening, barely reaching the Middle Stage. He, on the other hand, was a powerhouse hardened by years of battle—a true Late-stage Spiritual Vein Opening Great Demon!

In fact, he felt he had a chance to touch the next level, a realm just a hair’s breadth away: the Peak of Spiritual Vein Opening!

He could sense that although his level was already very high, he had yet to fully grasp the essence of cultivation.

’Sometimes he would think about it. He had absorbed Heaven and Earth Spirit Charm for Body Tempering, hammering his body into the strongest existence in the area. His strength was at a King’s level. He had a very high chance of becoming the Dominator of this region.’

’But he also knew his use of the Heaven and Earth Spirit Charm was incomplete. He had to develop a more advanced cultivation method to truly become a Dominator!’

’He called this new state the Peak of Spiritual Vein Opening, but he clearly hadn’t figured out how to reach it yet. He had also rarely seen any other being take that step.’

And now, two uninvited guests had trespassed onto his territory!

One was a bear. Sensing its aura, he realized it had only just begun Opening Spirit Veins. Logically, its use of Heaven and Earth Spirit Charm should be rudimentary. In other words, it shouldn’t understand Heaven and Earth Spirit Charm at all.

But its breathing was already rhythmic, and it seemed to have grasped a certain pattern for absorbing Heaven and Earth Spirit Charm. It didn’t seem like an Early Stage of Spiritual Vein Opening being at all!

He even had a vague feeling that this bear’s breathing rhythm was smoother than the technique he himself had spent years developing. There was no obstruction at all; it was incredibly fluid...

A flicker of surprise flashed through the Tiger’s mind, but he didn’t let it show. Instead, he maintained his fierce and majestic demeanor, turning his gaze to the Little Dragon-man sitting on Xiong Batian’s neck. "What kind of thing are you?"

To be honest, he wasn’t actually that interested in Jiang Qiu. He had seen many strange creatures he’d never encountered before; every time he went to a new area, he was bound to see them. Besides, judging by its size, it posed no threat. He couldn’t care less. In fact, if he were hungry, he might even have it for a snack.

But the current situation was different. A bear with an impressive breathing rhythm, one that had achieved Spiritual Vein Opening, was being used as a mount.

A bear that had achieved Spiritual Vein Opening, no matter how weak, was still significant enough to catch his eye—it counted as a Great Demon. And for such a Great Demon to let that creature ride it, not only without anger but with pride? That was strange.

"What kind of thing am I?" Jiang Qiu smiled faintly. "Why don’t you go ask the giant wolf..."

He didn’t need to say more. That one soft-spoken sentence struck the Tiger’s mind like a bolt of Thunder, as if an overwhelming killing intent born from a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood was crashing down upon him.

In that instant, he felt as if his name had been written in the Book of Life and Death. He was about to die!

He felt as if his entire body was plummeting from a cliff, beyond any hope of rescue. A single glance from that Little Dragon-man was enough to make his very bloodline tremble in fear.

"M-My Lord!" The Tiger was terrified, immediately prostrating himself. "I beg you to spare my life, My Lord! It is I who had eyes but failed to recognize Taishan Mountain!"

From the aura that now emanated from Jiang Qiu, he instantly perceived the gap between them. It was the difference between the clouds and the mud—a power so immense he couldn’t even begin to comprehend it!

Yes, he finally felt it from Jiang Qiu—how insignificant he was, and how distant the other’s power was. This was the gap between them!

Jiang Qiu did not choose to forgive him. It was only because he had released a sliver of his aura that the Tiger recognized his own weakness; it wasn’t a sincere submission. "What information do you have? If it’s useful to me, I might spare you."

’In truth, invading another’s territory was an act of provocation. But there was no choice. He had asked around on the way here; the path to Tai Lake led directly through this region. Otherwise, they would have to take a long, long detour—so long that no other being even knew if it was possible to get around.’

’So, forcing their way through was the only option.’

’This Tiger reacted quickly, though. He wondered if it had just happened to be here, conveniently intercepting the two of them.’

’Since it had blocked their path, what else could be done? It would have to be dealt with.’

In the Primitive Ancient Forest, the weak were food for the strong. Since when did begging for mercy grant you a reprieve from death? In that first moment, the Tiger had failed to perceive his strength and had offended him. For that, it had lost its chance to repent.

If he were to actually let it go, it would disturb his own state of mind. After all, if he lacked the power to protect himself, the other party would have undoubtedly driven him off or killed him.

Of course, before dealing with the Tiger, he first had to extract some information about Tai Lake from it. If he learned something useful, the journey ahead would be much smoother.

"My Lord, what information would you like to know?" The Tiger showed no hint of slacking. Its earlier kingly, domineering aura had vanished in an instant. Its life was more important!

’That’s right. He had fought for many years; didn’t he know how precious life was? Just because he had won many battles didn’t mean he thought no one in the world was stronger than him.’

’It was no exaggeration to say he was the most knowledgeable being in the area, because he had truly seen existences above the Spiritual Vein Opening realm—the so-called true Dominators!’

’He had seen the Dominator of the region where he used to live, as well as the previous Dominator of this very territory. They were powerful, but even such powerful Dominators had been cut down by a Demon from outside the Primitive Ancient Forest.’

’Level after level, there were far too many experts stronger than him, so powerful he couldn’t even begin to fathom their strength even if he exhausted his imagination.’

’He would never assume that just because he was currently prominent in this region, he was invincible. After all, his ability to conceive of the so-called Peak of Spiritual Vein Opening state above his own realm came from once witnessing the wondrous use of Heaven and Earth Spirit Charm.’

’There were no particularly flashy special effects, no cold glint of light that killed everything in a flash. But at that time, he had already achieved Spiritual Vein Opening, and he could feel the surrounding Heaven and Earth Spirit Charm surging. The Dominator who unleashed that attack was utterly unrivaled!’

’Yes, as long as one could learn to call upon the Heaven and Earth Spirit Charm, one would enter the next stage. That was the stage of a true expert. He himself was not a true expert yet, so naturally, he didn’t dare to be overly arrogant.’

’So, faced with Jiang Qiu’s powerful aura, begging for mercy was only natural. He still had to pursue the Peak of Spiritual Vein Opening realm as he understood it. How could he so easily throw his life away here!’

"My Lord, I have heard of Tai Lake. It is a very distant place, certainly impossible to reach in a short time..."

And so, the Tiger began his tale. He told Jiang Qiu everything he knew, while simultaneously dropping hints that only he knew the faster routes, or which areas were dangerous and had to be avoided.

But he still could not escape his doom. Jiang Qiu killed him in an instant. With a flick of his hand, he said, "So much scheming. Your intentions are too obvious."

’If I couldn’t even see through the Tiger’s thoughts, how could I expect to survive?’

He immediately roasted the Tiger’s corpse, preparing to have a meal before continuing on his way...