The area around Xinghu Lake had long been shrouded in a wild and ferocious aura due to the gathering of numerous demonic beasts. Most Golden Core realm human cultivators felt a sense of dread, their will to fight completely extinguished.
"Let's break through to the east together."
At this moment, facing the encirclement and killing by the beast horde, Ouyang Ye glanced coldly at Zhang Fan and his group, then led his people to break through eastward.
Dozens of demonic beasts immediately swarmed them, but Ouyang Ye's group was not weak, and two Nascent Soul realm powerhouses were present. Relying on their powerful spells and divine abilities, they could still resist, slowly moving away from Xinghu Lake.
"What do we do?"
Fu Sisi had been pampered since birth, the apple of her family's eye. Even though she had cultivated to the peak of the Golden Core realm, she had rarely experienced hardship. Unlike other cultivators who had faced all sorts of deceit and treachery since embarking on the path of cultivation, in this desperate situation, even her father's presence could not protect her. Her mind was in utter panic.
"These demonic beasts are not to be feared; we can still resist them by working together. However, that White Cloud Tiger is watching from the side. Once it makes a move, even I would have to flee."
Liu Mu remained quite calm. Although he couldn't defeat the White Cloud Tiger, no one could stop him if he wanted to leave.
"We will break through with Ouyang Ye and the others. Even though they want to kill me, in this desperate situation, they wouldn't dare to attack. As long as we break out of the beast encirclement, we can scatter and escape, and there's still a chance of survival," Fu Feng said solemnly.
"That's the only way," Liu Mu said, glancing at Zhang Fan and nodding.
"Why escape? So many Golden Core realm demonic beasts, that's a large amount of wealth."
While watching Zhang Fan plot his escape, Zhang Fan appeared quite relaxed and said with a smile.
"Lunatic!"
Fu Sisi was so enraged by Zhang Fan's words that she couldn't speak. Not only was there a White Cloud Tiger that had passed three Nascent Soul tribulations watching from the side, but these nearly a hundred Golden Core realm demonic beasts alone were enough for them to fight with all their might. At this point, this young man in the Golden Core realm still wanted to hunt demonic beasts and seize their cores. It truly left her speechless.
"Junior Zhang Fan, this is not a time for jokes," Fu Feng said with a grave expression.
"Who is joking with you?"
Zhang Fan took a step forward, facing the silver moon wolf pack that was lunging with ferocious intent, and threw out a punch.
It was a simple, unadorned punch, with no spiritual energy attached. As a low hum echoed, the demonic beasts within ten meters of Zhang Fan instantly turned into bloody mist. With mere fist intent, he had killed several peak Golden Core realm demonic beasts.
"What?"
"What happened?"
"How could a human boy in the Golden Core realm possess such strength?"
This single punch not only terrified the ferocious and malevolent demonic beasts but also stunned the human cultivators present. Killing several Golden Core realm demonic beasts with mere fist intent was something even an ordinary Nascent Soul realm expert couldn't achieve.
Ouyang Ye, who had already broken through to the edge of Xinghu Lake, saw this and couldn't help but feel a trace of fear in his eyes. This insignificant Golden Core realm cultivator's strength far surpassed his imagination. Even he admitted that he couldn't achieve this.
"The stronger you are, the greater my chance of escape." Ouyang Ye's resolve to break through grew even firmer.
Zhang Fan naturally noticed the movements of Ouyang Ye's group. However, he paid them no mind at the moment. He didn't take a cultivator who hadn't even passed his first Nascent Soul tribulation, and who cultivated the lowest grade of black Nascent Soul, seriously at all. At this moment, this group of Golden Core realm demonic beasts and that White Cloud Tiger were his targets.
...
Originally, after obtaining the Golden Light Immortal Mansion, Zhang Fan was not lacking in cultivation resources. The abundant spiritual herbs within the immortal mansion were enough to support his cultivation for a considerable period. However, in order to protect Qin Luoshui and the others, Zhang Fan had to temporarily entrust the Golden Light Immortal Mansion to Xue Jing's care. Therefore, he was truly poor at the moment. Although the Star Realm contained some spiritual pills and herbs, they were still insufficient for his rapidly improving strength. He had now cultivated to the peak of the Golden Core realm and was preparing for the breakthrough to the Nascent Soul realm, which naturally required a vast amount of cultivation resources.
After killing several Golden Core realm demonic beasts with a punch, Zhang Fan ignored the reactions of the others and, like a hungry tiger pouncing, charged into the beast horde.
"With fellow Daoist Zhang Fan here, perhaps we can truly resist this White Cloud Tiger. Let's attack together!"
Fu Feng quickly made up his mind after snapping back to reality. Rather than flee in disarray, it was better to fight to the death. At least, based on the current situation, they now had the qualifications to fight with all their might.
Liu Mu looked at Zhang Fan, whose upper body was bare and already stained with beast blood. The wildness that even scared the demonic beasts caused a strange glint in his eyes.
"Clang!"
A dazzling sword light flashed, and powerful sword qi swept out in all directions. Several Golden Core realm demonic beasts couldn't dodge in time and were cut down.
"Roar!"
Seeing his cubs being slaughtered, the White Cloud Tiger finally lost its composure. It had underestimated this group of human cultivators, and it had paid a heavy price. These three great demonic beast tribes were its most powerful force, the power it used to control the entire Xinghu Forest. In just a few short breaths, nearly twenty Golden Core realm demonic beasts had been killed.
"My cubs, kill them all! Leave none alive!"
Originally, it had wanted to toy with these human cultivators, but now the White Cloud Tiger had no such inclination. It only wanted to kill these human cultivators as quickly as possible and seize their cultivated Golden Cores and Nascent Souls. With a thunderous roar from the White Cloud Tiger, it revealed its true form: a ferocious beast ten feet tall and over twenty feet long. Its fur was pure white, and faint golden patterns formed the character "King" on its tiger head.
"Die!"
The White Cloud Tiger leaped forward, its giant tiger eyes filled with icy ferocity, and pounced towards Zhang Fan. Its body was larger than the heaviest truck on Earth, and Zhang Fan felt the light around him instantly dim.
"Come on!"
Zhang Fan's eyes were filled with excitement. He had been beaten into a sorry state by the Blackflame King before and had finally lured it into a spatial crack, barely surviving by relying on the spatial turbulent storm. Now that his strength had reached the peak of the Golden Core realm, and with two top-grade Golden Cores, Zhang Fan was eager to know the extent of his current power.
Zhang Fan forcefully pushed off the ground, clenched his fists, and the power of his two top-grade Golden Cores surged within him like a torrent. His fists were instantly covered in flashing lightning. The White Cloud Tiger's paw was as large as Zhang Fan's body, yet Zhang Fan fearlessly met it, appearing like a moth to a flame to onlookers.
From afar, while everyone was resisting the encirclement of demonic beasts, they still spared a sliver of their attention to Zhang Fan. If Zhang Fan couldn't withstand the White Cloud Tiger, they would likely face dire consequences.
The two collided, and the powerful force of the impact generated a strong airflow in the forest, spreading outwards. The giant trees within a kilometer were all broken by the impact of the airflow. This standoff lasted for less than half a breath before Zhang Fan couldn't resist and was swatted down by the White Cloud Tiger, falling into the earth and creating a human-shaped crater.
"A mere Golden Core realm cultivator dares to provoke the White Cloud Tiger. Courageous, but seeking death!" Ouyang Ye, who was in the distance, also saw this and couldn't help but sneer inwardly. With Zhang Fan blocking the White Cloud Tiger and Fu Feng and the others fending off the beast horde, their pressure was significantly reduced. In just a few breaths, their group had broken through several hundred meters.
Fu Feng and Liu Mu watched this scene with great concern. Could he have been crushed to death just like that?
Zhang Fan struggled to get up from the crater, casually patting the dirt off his body. Looking at the White Cloud Tiger hovering in the air, a smile appeared on his face.
"As expected, a beast that has passed three Nascent Soul tribulations is powerful. In terms of pure strength, even with minor success in the Divine Body, there is still a gap."
After one exchange, Zhang Fan understood that the power of his two top-grade Golden Cores combined with his minor success in the Divine Body still had a significant gap compared to a powerful beast like the White Cloud Tiger that had passed three Nascent Soul tribulations. However, after his resistance and weakening, the White Cloud Tiger's attack, when it landed on him, was difficult to injure him.
"You can't hurt me, but I can kill you!"
Zhang Fan casually summoned a bronze ancient sword into his hand.
"Slash!"
Sharp sword intent, carrying destructive lightning, struck the White Cloud Tiger with unparalleled speed. The White Cloud Tiger's giant eyes narrowed. For the first time, it felt a threat from a human cultivator in the Golden Core realm.
The White Cloud Tiger swiped its claw through the air, and a surge of magnificent spiritual energy formed a torrent, colliding with the sharp sword light. However, to everyone's surprise, the torrent of spiritual energy was easily scattered by the sharp sword light and then landed on the White Cloud Tiger's body. The sharp sword light carried powerful penetrative force. Although it didn't break through the White Cloud Tiger's fur, the sword light's force penetrated into the White Cloud Tiger's body, causing it to be injured.
"A beast's body is indeed strong. Your body is almost comparable to a Minor Accomplishment Divine Body."
Zhang Fan was not surprised. The cultivation methods of beasts and human cultivators were different, and their strengths lay in different areas. Most demonic beasts had extremely robust bodies, so they relied on their bodies for combat. At the same level, only human cultivators who had mastered powerful body techniques had the qualification to clash with beasts in terms of strength. However, although beasts had strong physiques, they also had a significant drawback: they were not adept at divine abilities and spells. Although they possessed vast spiritual energy, their application was too crude. Just like that previous sword strike, Zhang Fan's spiritual energy was clearly a level below the White Cloud Tiger's, but his spiritual energy was more condensed, easily splitting the torrent of spiritual energy unleashed by the White Cloud Tiger.
Although the White Cloud Tiger was injured, the slight injury was not a threat to it. It didn't damage its core. Even if it endured thousands more sword strikes, it wouldn't be killed.
...