Chapter 447 - 279: Breaking the Deadlock, The Soul-Shaking Tiger’s Roar (Part 2)

Chapter 447: Chapter 279: Breaking the Deadlock, The Soul-Shaking Tiger’s Roar (Part 2)

...

Yu Fei turned and stepped into the Mist Sea. He didn’t head directly for the Eternal Night Forest, but instead followed his senses toward his beacons. The beast tide had destroyed many of the stone beacons, and he planned to replace them.

"Shi Lan, are you really going to issue that order? So generous... that’s not like you!"

The three of them had all advanced from being rogue cultivators, so they were used to pinching every penny. Refunding the city entry fees this time would mean a loss of at least tens of millions of merit points.

Shi Lan was skinning a Silver Wolf Beast. A Tier 7 Desolate Beast was a treasure trove. Of course, they could have paid a professional to process it, but they would have earned less.

Without looking up, she replied, "I don’t believe you couldn’t see it. Someone obviously lured the Desolate Beasts to the city ahead of time, using our strength to deal with them. If it weren’t for their ’kindness,’ the beasts would have just kept gathering. How many do you think we could have stopped then?"

"Look at this wolf’s rear end. Could you pull off a killing technique this brilliant?"

Coincidentally, this was the very one on which Yu Fei had performed his "rectal surgery." The killing intent from the Fallen God Finger was so sharp that a trace of destructive aura still lingered, putting Shi Lan on high alert.

Zhao Qiu sighed heavily. "Sigh... This must be one of the prodigies from the Seven Greats, out traveling the world!"

"Has to be. I’ve heard that the Martial Artists from there all know incredible sensory Secret Techniques. No secret can be kept from them. Otherwise, how could someone so easily pinpoint Tier 7 Desolate Beasts that you and I couldn’t even find?"

"We’ve benefited from their help and reaped the rewards from so many Desolate Beasts. We should naturally return the favor. We have to show some gratitude."

"Otherwise... why do you think those two old coots from the Hidden Tiger Gang left in such a hurry?"

Seeing the sharp glint in Shi Lan’s eyes, Zhao Qiu was taken aback. ’You mean...?’

"From now on, stay far away from the Hidden Tiger Gang. I have a bad feeling they’re no good."

"Then do you know who it is?"

Shi Lan shook her head. "How could I possibly know with my meager skills? If those prodigies want to hide, we don’t have the ability to find them."

At this point, her tone became a warning. "Don’t you be an idiot. Don’t go spreading our guesses around. If we inadvertently make an enemy of them, you might find yourself quietly ’taken care of’ one day!

I’m warning you, if that day ever comes, I’ll stay far, far away from you. I’ll pretend I don’t even know you!"

Zhao Qiu was suddenly a little angry. "It’s not like that! I wouldn’t spread it around. This person was willing to help us defend the city, so they can’t be unreasonable, right?"

Shi Lan snorted derisively. "Let me tell you something. Talent is talent, and character is character. Plenty of the prodigies from the Seven Greats are troublemakers!

Don’t be naive. Go back and tell your wife not to run her mouth about everything when she’s had too much to drink. Especially not to those two old coots from the Hidden Tiger Gang. This prodigy clearly has it in for them, so don’t get caught in the crossfire!"

"Oh! I got it!"

Zhao Qiu’s enthusiasm suddenly waned. Even though they had harvested many high-tier Desolate Beasts, he still felt a pang of bitterness.

He had thought that after becoming a Grandmaster, he would be a significant figure, only to discover how cruel the truth of this world was.

’A rogue Grandmaster? Unless you’re willing to be someone’s dog, it’s impossible to get anywhere!’

That was why the three of them had teamed up in the resource-scarce Mist Sea, taking on the mission to guard Celestial Rock City in exchange for a few measly rewards.

...

Upon re-entering the Eternal Night Forest, Yu Fei nearly died on the spot.

He encountered a tiger-like Tier 7 Desolate Beast whose Qi Blood was more abundant than any he had ever seen.

The tiger’s roar stunned Yu Fei for a fraction of a second, and in the next moment, he was sent flying, breaking an unknown number of ribs and smashing through several giant trees.

At the moment of crisis, Yu Fei brandished his sword, Zhanming, and fought with the ferocity of a blood-crazed demon, narrowly avoiding being swallowed whole.

Afterward, Yu Fei fled for his life, continuously teleporting using his boundless Sword Qi beacons. He fought as he ran, and it wasn’t until he had left the Eternal Night Forest that the great tiger gave up the chase. By then, countless of Yu Fei’s bones were broken, his body was a mangled mess of flesh and blood, and his consciousness was fading.

Only after the great tiger left did Yu Fei use a beacon to enter his safe house. He took out a Sanatorium Bottle, forced himself inside it, and fell unconscious.

During the fight, Yu Fei had still adhered to the bottom line Ye Shuping had set for him: he would not disengage from combat and use a beacon to leave directly.

Otherwise, he could have teleported to the safe house the moment he was injured, but that would have defeated the purpose.

Using Sword Qi to teleport was simply one of his combat tactics; the distinction was a matter of intent.

Yu Fei didn’t wake up until the third day. His injuries this time were truly severe.

Even among Desolate Beasts of the same tier, the difference in strength could be immense.

Although this tiger was also a Tier 7 Desolate Beast, its strength was rarely seen. More importantly, the damn thing was also an expert at stealth.

It was also a case of Yu Fei’s battle lust getting the better of him. When he first discovered the tiger, he had only seen a silver gem. Most of his sensory abilities were ineffective; he only perceived that it was a Tier 7 Desolate Beast and hadn’t yet realized its true form was a Mountain Lord.

He thought he could turn the tables on it and was secretly preparing the Fallen God Finger, but he never expected that a single, forest-shaking roar would shatter all his clever plans.

Even Yu Fei, with a soul essence approaching that of a Grandmaster, couldn’t withstand it. This thing was truly terrifying—a prodigy among Desolate Beasts.

This tiger was just too domineering.

It knew stealth, and it had hard crowd control!

Its own attack power was off the charts.

Yu Fei could just imagine it: the beast would stalk its prey, let out a roar to shatter its enemy’s mind, and then charge in for the killing bite.

If his soul essence hadn’t been so strong, he would have died in the tiger’s jaws today.

After recovering, he saw that more of the conceptual realm within his Returning Ruins Spiritual Source had been refined. During that life-and-death struggle against the tiger, his Returning Ruins Realm Sword had become purer at the critical moment, consuming a great deal of the conceptual realm.

After changing his clothes, Yu Fei’s figure flickered, and he entered the Eternal Night Forest once more.

He planned to track down Mr. Hu. That fight was just too exhilarating.

As long as he could survive its claws and make it back alive, the progress to his divine will would be greater than what he’d gain from just slaying Desolate Beasts.

As he ventured deeper, he once again saw the familiar, silver gem moving stealthily.

’This big tiger is such a cheat,’ he thought. ’It’s so strong, yet it still loves to launch sneak attacks.’

Perhaps seeing this weakling Yu Fei again piqued the great tiger’s hunting instincts, as the beast began to sneak toward him once more.

Seeing that it was about to let out another roar, Yu Fei carefully discerned the sense of crisis from his Dongyou ability. Before the great tiger could clear its throat, he instantly summoned tens of thousands of Sword Qi to blanket the area, then linked to a beacon and reappeared a hundred meters away.

"ROAR!"

An invisible, ferocious pressure swept through the forest. Yu Fei staggered. Even from so far away, the roar still made him dazed for a moment.

Although the tens of thousands of Sword Qi Yu Fei had summoned looked spectacular, they hadn’t caused any harm to the great tiger.

That single roar had shattered eighty percent of the Sword Qi. The rest lost their guidance and shot randomly into the forest, shredding giant trees to pieces.

Seeing its sneak attack fail, the great tiger actually grew furious from embarrassment and charged straight at Yu Fei.

This wasn’t just a figure of speech; Yu Fei could genuinely sense this emotion on the massive tiger’s face. It seemed that allowing a weakling like him to escape was a blow to its pride.

Yu Fei held his breath and focused his mind. He pushed his senses to their absolute limit: fifteen times his normal nerve response speed, a six-zhang Divine Sense, his Dongyou crisis perception, and the Void Clearing Mirror reflecting the tiger’s every move.

He wanted to have a proper, head-on fight. The last time, the great tiger’s sneak attack had severely injured him from the very start, leaving him with no choice but to flee.

Yu Fei was not convinced he was weaker!

Sword and claw clashed. The immense force was irresistible. With a single blow, his sword, Zhanming, was knocked from his grasp. He saw the tiger’s jaws lunging, its cavernous maw wide enough to swallow his head in one bite. At the last possible second, Yu Fei connected with the beacon on Zhanming, and his body vanished.

The great tiger bit down on empty air.

"ROAR!"

’That damned little thing did this last time, too! It always disappears just when I’m about to get it! And the crucial thing is, I remember it smelling delicious!’

Before long, Yu Fei regretted provoking this great tiger. Three grisly, bone-deep wounds were now carved into his chest.

His left arm was broken and hung limply at his side. He continuously released boundless Sword Qi, his body flickering left and right as he fled for his life.

’I can’t beat it! I’m no match for it at all!’

Only a few minutes into the exchange, the tiger suddenly unleashed a burst of power, letting out a second soul-shocking roar. Yu Fei was nearly bitten to death on the spot.