Supreme Sword Exalt

After entering the tribulation, Gu Han’s aura declined sharply. His cultivation plummeted from the Heavenly Tribulation realm straight to the Qi Condensation realm. Even his spirit qi, divine sense, physique, and soul power had been sealed away, leaving him unable to use even a sliver of them.

To make matters worse, he was still several zhang above the ground. I won’t be the first cultivator to die from falling while undergoing human tribulation, right?

The moment this thought flashed through his mind, he had landed heavily on the ground. Hm? I’m not dead?

He then realized that the ground didn’t seem that hard either. It was even a bit soft and warm?

Just then, a roar rang out. The ground beneath him shook violently, throwing him off balance. With another roar, a massive creature appeared before him. Body length of half a zhang, its yellow fur was sleek and glossy, marked with black stripes that converged on its forehead. Its mouth bristled with gleaming fangs, and its four sharp claws shimmered coldly. With just a light swipe, it left several faint scratches on a greenstone.

Gu Han’s heart chilled. “Demonic beast? No, it’s not a demonic beast!”

Then, it occurred to him that the spiritual energy here was sparse, so the beast couldn’t be all that ferocious. In fact, it couldn’t even be considered a Tier-1 demonic beast. Before he could sigh in relief, he realized something crucial. He was no longer a cultivator either!

Although he retained a trace of spirit qi, he was probably about the same as when he was seven or eight years old. He was much stronger than an ordinary mortal, but nowhere close to a cultivator.

With a serious expression, he cupped his hands. “Brother Beast, today I have trespassed upon you. When I recover my cultivation base, I will definitely—ahem, I have matters to attend to. I’ll be going now.”

He immediately turned and sprinted wildly.

The fierce beast roared and lunged at him. It didn’t understand his words, nor did it want to. The beast was the overlord of this mountain. After eating its fill, it was just about to take a nap when the thing it normally regarded as food struck it. Naturally, the beast was furious. Though it was already full, there was always room for dessert.

Gu Han felt his spine tingle. Glancing from the corner of his eye, he saw the fierce beast already three chi behind him.

Shit! His heart dropped. If that thing slammed into him, he’d either die or be severely injured. Though his cultivation base was gone, his combat instinct, accumulated from countless life-and-death battles, remained. The moment the fierce beast was about to pounce on him, he shifted a few cun, narrowly evading the fatal blow.

Unable to stop in time, the fierce beast crashed into a large tree, snapping it in half.

Sweat beaded on Gu Han’s forehead. “Brother Beast, let’s talk this over!”

The fierce beast lunged again with its ferocity fully aroused.

Gu Han rolled awkwardly, barely dodging once more. “Brother Beast, you need to be reasonable...”

He spent some time fleeing from the beast. His stamina began to falter after a prolonged struggle, and in a moment of carelessness, the beast’s tail swept across his chest. Even though he wore a treasure robe, the immense force still left his chest tight and his blood churning uncontrollably. Before he even landed, he spat out a mouthful of blood.

His eyes turned red. “Motherfucker! You really think I’m easy to bully!”

It was then that he faintly understood how Fatty had felt that day. I’m undergoing a human tribulation, not a beast Tribulation! If that thing kills me today, would this tribulation count as passed or failed?

Upon seeing him motionless, the fierce beast roared again. It turned around and pressed its two sharp front claws down toward him, trying to rip him open on the spot.

Enduring the pain, Gu Han sprang up forcefully and managed to shift a distance away. Seizing the brief instant when the beast had exhausted its strength and had not yet recovered, he leaped and jumped onto its back.

The beast flew into a rage and tried to throw him off. Gu Han gripped the fur on its neck tightly as his eyes reddened. He raised his right fist and smashed it down viciously.

With each blow, the beast would roar furiously, thrashing wildly. However, Gu Han refused to let go, raining down punches onto its head.

No one knew how long passed, but the beast’s movements gradually weakened. Finally, it lay motionless on the ground, blood seeping faintly from its seven orifices.

Gu Han let out a long sigh of relief. Then, he went limp, collapsing right onto it. A sharp pain throbbed in his right arm, making it difficult to even lift it. This thing’s head is too hard.

His right arm was broken. Before he could catch his breath, the sound of footsteps came from nearby. Gu Han’s heart dropped and he forced himself to stay alert. Without spirit power, he couldn’t even open his storage ring. If he encountered another danger, death would be his only path.

Soon, a young man peered out from not far away, meeting Gu Han’s gaze. “Did you kill the Mountain Lord?”

Gu Han was speechless. Well, did he think it got tired of living and bash its head in?

He nodded. “Yes.”

The young man was overjoyed and shouted, “Come on out! The Mountain Lord is dead! Someone killed it!”

In the blink of an eye, over a dozen people gathered from within the mountain forest. Wearing ragged animal hides, they wielded crude bows and arrows, along with not-so-sharp woodcutter’s knives.

After seeing they were human, both sides let down their guard. After some conversation, Gu Han learned that this place was called Cold Mountain. More than a dozen li ahead lay their village, Wangxiang Village.

Not only was the spirit opportunity here thin, but fierce beasts also often harmed people in the mountains. The villagers lived in extreme poverty, surviving entirely on what the young men hunted. Among the many fierce beasts, the Mountain Lord was the most ferocious.

He stirred inwardly. Cold Mountain? This place does have some connection to me.

After he had killed the beast barehandedly, the way the crowd looked at him could no longer be described as admiration. They looked at him as though he were a god. In their simple understanding, someone capable of such a feat was a legendary, all-powerful immortal.

They kept staring at the corpse of the Mountain Lord, full of longing. To them, the Mountain Lord was a treasure from head to toe. But the mountain folk were simple in their ways. Whoever killed it owned the spoils, so they weren’t qualified to ask for it.

Gu Han waved his hand. “It’s yours!”

In my eyes now, anything below Transcendent Substance isn’t even considered a treasure!

The crowd was overjoyed but felt a bit guilty. They insisted on dragging Gu Han to their village as a guest, which he agreed to. After all, Wangxiang Village could hold clues about his human tribulation.

Among the dozen or so people, the leader was a middle-aged man called Uncle Wang. The young man who had made eye contact with Gu Han was his son, called Da Zhuang. Another who bore striking resemblance to Da Zhuang was his twin brother, called Er Zhuang.

Seven or eight people struggled to lift the Mountain Lord’s corpse. Nevertheless, even if they felt tired, they were happy. In their memory, their village had never had such a big haul.

Da Zhuang marveled, “Brother Gu is really amazing! Even ten of me couldn’t beat the Mountain Lord!”

Er Zhuang curled his lip and pointed at Gu Han’s right arm. “Look at Brother Gu’s hand. It’s obvious he knows martial arts! How could a person’s arm be that muscular?”

Da Zhuang’s eyes lit up. “You’re right! If only I could learn martial arts too!”

Gu Han’s mouth twitched as he listened. Muscular? That’s swollen!

However, Uncle Wang seemed somewhat knowledgeable. He glared fiercely at his two foolish sons and kept conversing with Gu Han. The mountain path was difficult, and they were carrying the Mountain Lord’s corpse. It took the group a full two hours to return to Wangxiang Village. The village’s condition was simply unbearable to look at.

Most of the houses were thatched huts. The few built from piled stones were drafty from every side. Apart from the hunting party, only the old, weak, women, and children remained in the village, all in tattered clothes. Their lives couldn’t even be described as humble; it was just miserable.

As soon as they entered the village, the brothers shouted toward a small fenced yard at the village entrance, as if showing off a treasure, “Sister Ah Yin, come see the hero who killed the Mountain Lord!”

The young woman, who had been washing clothes, instinctively looked up. She was graceful, with delicate features. Although she wore a rough hemp dress, her every movement still revealed an enchanting charm.

Instantly, Gu Han’s eyes met hers. One was stunned, while the other was astonished. Even though he had lost his cultivation base and her appearance had changed completely, Gu Han recognized her from her eyes alone.

He asked in a daze, his voice full of complexity, “Ah Yin?”

The woman chuckled in response. She walked straight out of the small yard, came before Gu Han, and pressed her soaked finger to his forehead.

Her tone carried some delight and a touch of feigned anger. “No respect! Call me sister!”