Immortal Refiner

”Little Brother, you’re finally back! I thought something had happened to you!”

As soon as Li Qing returned to the campfire, he heard Old Sun’s voice.

The campfire was still burning brightly. Old Sun had tied a hammock between two trees using vines from the ground, looking quite comfortable and relaxed.

”I explored the area around us. It’s peaceful, nothing out of the ordinary,” Li Qing replied calmly.

”That’s good. Let’s take turns keeping watch tonight. We need to be extra cautious spending the night in this old forest.”

Li Qing nodded in agreement. If both of them were asleep, their ability to handle risks would be too low. If a venomous snake or a wild beast attacked, it would be disastrous.

Amid the crackling sound of the fire burning dry wood, Li Qing sat cross-legged and began practicing both the Golden Body Technique and the Turtle Breathing Art.

While training, his awareness of the surroundings remained sharp. Not even the slightest movement in the environment could escape his ears.

And so, Li Qing and Old Sun each took turns keeping watch for half the night until the sky finally began to brighten.

Drip!

A drop of dew fell from a leaf onto Li Qing’s forehead, and he opened his eyes.

For this trip up the mountain, the two had brought enough dried rations and jerky. After a simple meal, they resumed their search for traces of the tiger.

As they explored the forest, Old Sun seemed to have found some useful clues. Following some barely noticeable tracks, he left the valley where the tomb was located.

Finally, Old Sun stopped beneath a tree.

At the base of the tree trunk were many claw marks, clearly indicating that a fierce beast had been here.

”Either it’s a Blind Bear or a tiger, Little Brother. We must be extra careful from now on,” Old Sun warned solemnly.

Li Qing’s expression also turned serious. He certainly wouldn’t let his guard down.

Whether it was a Blind Bear or a tiger, both were formidable opponents.

It was spring, and the Blind Bear had just awakened from hibernation. It would be in its hungriest state and extremely aggressive.

As for the tiger, there was no need to elaborate. In the forest, it could effectively lie in ambush, and even experienced hunters might not notice it immediately.

If they were caught off guard and ambushed, it could cost them their lives.

The two began to cautiously navigate through the forest, taking every step with utmost care, thoroughly scouting their surroundings.

Li Qing kept his hand on his waist at all times. If anything happened, he could quickly draw his broad-bladed sword or retrieve the Bone-Piercing Awls from his person.

Old Sun’s weapon was just a wooden bow, and he hadn’t brought many arrows. He knew very well that his role was to search, not to hunt.

”Wait!”

Old Sun raised his hand and bent down to examine a pile of feces hidden by the bushes.

”It’s from a tiger. There’s definitely a tiger around here!”

No sooner had he spoken than a fierce roar echoed from deep within the forest.

”Roar!”

Even though Li Qing wasn’t a hunter, he recognized the sound immediately—it was the roar of a tiger! ”Let’s go!”

Without hesitation, Li Qing rushed toward the source of the sound, holding his broad-bladed sword in one hand and two Bone-Piercing Awls in the other.

Seeing Li Qing act so decisively, Old Sun’s expression showed a hint of fear, but he still followed.

In his youth, he had indeed hunted a tiger, but it was only an inexperienced cub caught using a trap, not a fully grown ferocious tiger.

Generally speaking, hunters would never consider a ferocious tiger as prey.

”Roar! Roar! Roar!” The tiger’s roar continued to shake the entire mountain forest, startling the birds in the treetops, showcasing the might of the king of the mountains! As the roars grew louder, both Li Qing and Old Sun slowed their pace.

The closer they got, the more their hearts raced. This was undoubtedly a tiger in its prime, terrifying and fierce.

Pushing aside the dense foliage ahead, the tiger Li Qing had been waiting for finally came into view.

It was a tiger’s den made of piled rocks. When the two of them saw the scene, their scalps nearly tingled with fear.

Inside the den, a ferocious tiger was facing off against a giant python.

And beneath the python were several tiger cubs, already lifeless.

No wonder the tiger’s roar was so mournful and furious—it was a mother tiger who had lost her cubs.

Clearly, this tiger, exuding a fierce and malevolent aura, had no intention of letting the python leave. It was determined to fight the python to the death here.

The python’s size was also exaggerated, with a body as thick as a barrel. Half of its body was still hidden behind the den, making it impossible to see its tail.

”Wait!” Li Qing immediately made a decision, wanting to play the role of the fisherman who benefits from the struggle between the snipe and the clam.

He would wait for these two fierce beasts to determine a winner before stepping in to clean up the aftermath.

He was only a martial artist at the Outer Strength level, not yet an Inner Strength master. Taking on two such ferocious beasts at once was still a bit of a pipe dream. He could only wait for the right opportunity.

”Roar!”

The grieving tiger was the first to move. In a few leaps, it sprang high from the rocky ground and pounced toward the python.

It was an Azure Scale Giant Python, its eerie patterns enough to make one’s heart tremble.

The python’s body twisted as it retreated, dodging the tiger’s pounce. Despite its massive size, its speed in the forest was not slow at all, crushing the underbrush as it moved, able to ignore most terrain obstacles.

However, no matter how fast the python was, it couldn’t outpace the tiger.

The ferocious tiger lunged at the python, its powerful claws slamming hard into the python’s body.

With a swish, many scales fell, and several white marks suddenly appeared on the python’s body.

With no room to retreat, the python coiled its body, attempting to wrap around the tiger.

But the tiger’s movements were incredibly agile. With a single leap, it evaded the python’s coils and then lunged forward again, viciously biting into the python’s body.

Whoosh! The python swung its tail, the sound of the wind cutting through the air as the tiger was forcefully knocked back.

The two creatures distanced themselves from each other and began to face off once more.

The python flicked its tongue, its body slowly retreating. It now bore many wounds torn open by the tiger.

However, the tiger seemed unwilling to let the python go easily, viewing the giant serpent as a serious threat. It stepped forward, its bloody maw wide open, closing in on the python.

Hidden in the forest, Li Qing was witnessing a wild tiger for the first time in his life.

Having previously practiced the Fierce Tiger True Intent Diagram, Li Qing’s understanding of this martial art deepened significantly after observing the tiger’s fierce combat.

Taking advantage of the tiger and the giant python’s renewed entanglement, Li Qing took a deep breath, suddenly set down his broad-bladed sword, and began to sway his body slightly, mimicking some of the tiger’s movements.

After watching for a long time, Li Qing gained further insights into the techniques of the Fierce Tiger True Intent Diagram, uncovering aspects he had never realized during his previous training.

After a prolonged battle, the fight between the tiger and the python finally came to an end.

The massive python was ultimately worn down by the tiger, its body riddled with wounds, and its fine scales scattered across the ground.

The tiger, however, was not in much better shape. It was covered in injuries, and during the final moments of killing the python, its hind leg was ensnared by the python’s coils, resulting in a broken bone.

Now was the perfect opportunity to hunt the tiger!

(End of the Chapter)

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