Hui Bai Tong shouldered four unconscious figures.
Clutching the Demon God's Horn in his left hand, he approached the blocked passage and lightly tapped downwards.
BOOM!
The sound was like the resonant chime of an ancient temple bell, or the splash of a child dropping a boulder into a river just beginning to freeze in early winter.
The tip of the Demon God's broken horn struck the packed earth, erupting with a thunderous sound.
An incredibly terrifying force spread outwards from the initial point of impact, reaching hundreds of meters. The mud, sand, and earth of the entire passage instantly turned to dust.
Hui Bai Tong raised an eyebrow. This thing seemed far superior to his hunting knife.
But it was too ugly, and awkward to use.
"At this length, it would make a good sword," he said, gesturing to the blade at his waist.
The Demon God snorted. Born of chaos, he had never changed his form. How could he possibly do such a thing? And he detested swords; they had severed his head more than once in the past.
"Be good, and we can discuss reshaping your physical body," Hui Bai Tong said, hoisting the four unconscious people onto his shoulder with one hand.
Instantly, the broken horn in his hand transformed into the shape of a sword.
Black as ink.
...
West Mountain, Core Region.
The eerie night had descended for several minutes. Great demons roamed everywhere.
Changsun Yuyu, left outside to stand guard, trembled in the pit at the outermost edge of the underground palace.
Currently, a monster of unknown rank was devouring the wild boar meat they had left above.
"Brother... where are you all," the girl prayed silently, her eyes reddening.
She had been hiding here for over half an hour, her abilities almost depleted. She could feel her concealment fading.
Yet her brother had not emerged from the underground palace. Hadn't he said it would only take two hours?
"Ugh... Owww..."
The savory wild boar meat was all consumed. The monster above let out a contented growl.
It had never tasted such delicious meat. Even the golden carp from Peach Blossom Lake were not this delectable.
It was a pity there wasn't more. It lowered its head, sniffing the air intently, its body moving through the dense white mist, stirring up a gust of wind.
"Moo...?"
It seemed to have found something. A sharp cry escaped its throat, and it ran towards the entrance of the hole like a madman.
Had it discovered her? Changsun Yuyu's face turned pale, tears welling up involuntarily in her eyes.
Moonlight pierced the thick fog, casting the great demon's shadow long onto the bottom of the pit.
It appeared to be a tiger, with long whiskers and sharp fangs, truly terrifying.
The girl covered her mouth, daring not to make a sound.
But as the shadow overhead opened its maw, drawing closer and closer to the pit, she could hold back no longer.
"Ah!!!!"
Changsun Yuyu screamed in despair, abandoning all caution. She stood up and ran forward with all her might.
However, her legs were weak, and her speed was slower than an ordinary hound.
Worse still, there was a lump of mud in the passage of the underground palace, and she tripped!
The small tiger lowered its head, picked up a piece of wild boar meat that had fallen to the ground, and before it could swallow, it heard a girl's scream from below.
"Huh?"
With its tiger-like head, it looked up and discovered Changsun Yuyu, who had fallen into the pit.
Changsun Yuyu, at this moment, also saw the monster's true form.
It was a tiger, or rather, a mutated small tiger. It was fluffy all over, with a small mouth, still holding a piece of wild boar meat it hadn't had time to swallow.
Normally, it would pose no threat. It might even seem somewhat amusing and cute, like a pampered pet in a wealthy household.
If she were at home, she would have happily gone to pet its smooth fur.
But now, Changsun Yuyu's courage had been utterly shattered.
The wild boar meat in its mouth was a symbol of its bloodthirsty nature.
Its sharp teeth seemed poised to tear at her throat at any moment, and the tiger was staring at her ferociously!
"Wei Ying brother, save me!"
Changsun Yuyu knew she couldn't escape. She closed her eyes and shouted loudly.
Just then, the passage behind her, which had been blocked, suddenly trembled violently. The earth turned to fine dust and was swept away by the darkness.
The passage was open.
The young tiger above looked at the girl with confusion. It didn't understand why there was a human here, nor why she was calling for help. Did it look scary?
Before it could speak, the young tiger's body suddenly arched, appearing extremely tense.
It looked vigilantly and doubtfully at the deep pit below. This trembling... felt like something terrifying was about to emerge.
What was happening?
"Thump... thump..."
The sound of footsteps on dust. Xu Mu's body emerged from the underground palace with steady strides.
His first glance fell upon Changsun Yuyu, her face streaked with tears.
His second glance fell upon the small tiger above the hole.
He nodded with satisfaction, dropped the four injured people he had been carrying onto the ground, and tightened his grip on the black sword.
This simple action caused the young tiger above to bristle with fear. It sensed an extreme terror!
"Before I cut your divine soul, let me try this out first."
Hui Bai Tong was delighted. He had barely emerged and already encountered a great demon to test his sword. This was excellent.
...
BANG!
Xu Mu shifted his weight to his right leg, his center of gravity lowering, and the ground of the pit cracked under his feet.
"Not good!" The young tiger's eyes widened, and it unhesitatingly fled backward.
Its claws tore open a phantom door in space, like a teleportation scroll.
This young tiger could actually use spatial abilities in West Mountain!
Just as half of the young tiger's body had entered the void, his sword arrived.
However, out of curiosity, he temporarily retracted his sharpness and struck with the flat of his blade.
The ink-black sword collided with hard bone.
"Aowuu!"
The young tiger let out a pained cry. It could feel its tailbone had seemingly been fractured.
It was shocked. Possessing the bloodline of a divine beast, its body was as resilient as glazed jade. It could retreat unharmed even from a Domain Lord. How could it be pushed to this state by the flat of a sword?
"Stop, I have no ill intentions."
Hui Bai Tong's voice rang out. He was merely curious about the creature's origin.
"As if I believe you!"
The young tiger, knocked away from the spatial tunnel, then leaped forward again, attempting to escape into the dense forest.
This human was too strange. It was no match for him. If it wanted to discuss anything, it would need to find its mother!
But then, a pair of hands, covered in mud and sand, yet emanating a sense of warmth, shot out and grabbed the back of its neck.
The little tiger, with half a foot already in space, was yanked back again.
"You can't escape."
"If you don't want to be killed, stop trying to run."
Upon hearing this, the young tiger turned its head in terror.
It looked at Hui Bai Tong, whose expression was unreadable. It retracted its fangs and trembled as it spoke:
"Good sir, spare this beast, good sir!"
...
The strange young tiger seemed to have resigned itself, no longer attempting to escape.
It curled its fluffy body up beside the crackling campfire.
"I'll never run away from home again," the little tiger spoke human words, sobbing. Its fluffy ears drooped listlessly, like an oversized tabby cat.
It had only snuck out out of naughtiness, not wanting to constantly practice spatial arts near the palace.
It was hungry and didn't want to go back, but there was little to eat in West Mountain. That was why it had been attracted to the pot of meat soup, even though it was cold.
...
"Tell me how you use spatial arts in West Mountain, and I'll let you go. As for the meat soup, I'll cook as much as you want."
By the campfire, Hui Bai Tong sat quietly. Behind him, Changsun Yuyu poked her head out, gazing curiously at the adorable, talking tiger.
"I... I just can," the little tiger seemed to fear being stared at by those eyes. It crouched on the ground, not daring to show its claws, its rear slightly elevated, not touching the ground.
Its tailbone still ached.
"I didn't expect, after more than a billion years, to see a descendant of a Qiongqi."
The Demon God's voice echoed in Xu Mu's mind. Qiongqi was a divine beast from their era. When adult, it grew wings. Not only could it use spatial arts, but it could also breathe fire. It had torn apart even the Three-legged Golden Crow.
Hui Bai Tong frowned. Innately defying rules?
Unlikely.
"Even I cannot defy the rules. Why can you?"
The little Qiongqi froze, its large eyes filled with confusion.
What did he mean, "even I"? It was a Qiongqi! How could a human dare to say such a thing!
"I... how about I take you to see my mother? She'll definitely know."
As it spoke, the little Qiongqi prepared to stand up and escape, but Xu Mu was quick, instantly appearing before it.
He gently stroked its fur, his young voice calm:
"I probably can't beat your mother yet. So, you'll have to stay here for a while."
"Don't worry, I won't harm you."
The little Qiongqi's fur bristled. The aura emanating from the human felt like it came from hell.
Such a terrifying person, scaring the little beast to death.
"This lineage of yours must be the divine beasts that Fuxi left behind to guard the Dark Palace, preventing outsiders from approaching."
The Demon God's voice sounded again. Xu Mu suddenly understood.
"Little one, can you tell us about that palace? Everything, the more detailed the better. After you finish, I'll let you go."
The little Qiongqi instantly became wary.
"I... I don't really know either. My mother handles those matters."
"I just cultivate there, and my mother told me not to let any creature approach it, nor should I approach the palace."
Xu Mu nodded.
"So, have you ever seen anything fly out of that palace? Like a divine soul, perhaps."
The little Qiongqi shook its head.
"Not that I recall."
"I'm actually quite playful and haven't cultivated seriously. So, my strength is very poor. I've only reached the third stage in one year of birth. I truly know nothing about that palace."
The little Qiongqi looked embarrassed. Its strength was the weakest among all the creatures in that misty area.
But these words caused both Xu Mus to fall silent.
One year of birth, stage three.
And that was it?
"It's definitely you delaying my cultivation. Otherwise, at this rate, I should have reached stage seven by now."
Hui Bai Tong shouted angrily. The Xu Mu in the Heavenly Palace laughed bitterly.
"Big brother, we are both pure-blooded humans. It's a divine beast. How can you compare?"
"Instead of worrying about that, I think you should pay attention to the movement in the southeast. Someone is coming."
Charles ignored their bickering and suddenly reminded them.
"I sense it."
Hui Bai Tong's brow twitched. He could sense several Lord-level existences wandering through their domains, approaching the area.
"Yuyu, Wei Ying, where are you!"
"Little Hezi, your master has come to find you, come out!"
Upon hearing these voices, Changsun Yuyu's face lit up with joy.
"It's father and them!"