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...
In the center of the Red Tiger Forest, at the peak of the mountain, there was a huge, roughly-hewn cave. The cave was filled with spiritual mist, and the most surprising thing was the floor—extremely bright, illuminating the entire area with a deep mystical blue hue.
That glow came from countless spiritual stones lining the floor of the enormous cave.
This was the cave of the Red Tiger, the king of the forest.
"Why are there so many spiritual stones just thrown on the ground?" Aotian asked curiously as he entered the cave, following the limping giant red tiger.
"These stones aren't very useful to us beasts. But the veins keep producing them, and since they light up the place, fill it with spiritual energy, and are really comfortable to sleep on, I had my subordinates dig them up and toss them here over the years I've ruled this forest. It's been over two hundred years, so they piled up a bit." The red tiger replied, finding a good spot and lying down on a pile of spiritual stones, still keeping his head raised as he spoke to them.
Aotian nodded, finding the quantity reasonable now, and asked something important that had come to mind.
"Were you ambushed by cultivators at any point in the past few months?" He asked, staring at the tiger with curiosity.
The tiger's pupils contracted slightly, and he looked at Aotian with indifference, hiding the caution and worry in his gaze.
But through Bao Wuji's eyes, Aotian could see those small details and emotional fluctuations the tiger failed to conceal in time.
"They're our enemies, and half the reason we're here is because we're hunting them. We deduced they may have heard about the vein here and would come looking for trouble. If you killed them, don't worry." Aotian revealed, trying to put him at ease.
Indeed, the tiger seemed to relax upon hearing those words. He had just returned from the brink of death and didn't want to go back so soon. He feared he might have killed someone his new master knew—which would be a big problem—but fortunately, that wasn't the case.
"Hmm… in fact, about a month or two ago, a crowd of cultivators was found sneaking around and setting up formations on my mountain. It was a well-planned attack with a single target. Of course, I wouldn't have had any trouble handling it, but to make things easier, I sent a horde of beasts, and in the end, I arrived to finish the feast. They didn't last long and none escaped." The tiger said, recalling the incident as he flicked his tail.
"So, a crowd of cultivators set a trap for you, and you just tossed a crowd of beasts at them?" Aotian looked at the giant red beast before him with an odd expression.
"Yes. Although they expected me to attack alone, they weren’t completely unprepared for a tide of beasts. Unfortunately, they underestimated my strength—and that of my subordinates." Said the tiger, proudly licking its massive paw.
Rihai also looked amused and surprised at the cunning tiger.
"Who would've thought that nasty Jun Moji and the lord of Blue Cloud City would die so easily here, without anyone ever knowing." She said, amused.
"Ugh… I wanted to do it with my own hands, for them putting you in danger, Hai'er… But I guess dying in a beast's mouth isn't a bad end either." Aotian scratched his head, a little frustrated, but Rihai just smiled at him reassuringly.
She didn't see the need to kill them herself—as long as they were dead, that was enough.
The tiger, hearing his words, blinked.
"Hmm… It really wasn't a waste for them to die in our mouths. Their meat wasn't bad. Although one of the human leaders had a slightly spicy taste, but I liked it." The red tiger agreed with a nod, licking his sharp teeth as if recalling a good meal.
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"The spicy one was probably Jun Moji. He was poisoned, but the venom likely did nothing to you besides adding a spicy flavor." Rihai guessed, quickly deducing the reason.
"Oh! Could you tell me more about that seasoning? I'll try to get some for my next meal." The tiger's eyes sparkled as he looked at Rihai, excited to discover how to get more seasoning.
"Sure, no problem. We can even run some tests to improve your meals." Rihai smiled at him and gave a thumbs-up, just like Aotian had taught her.
Aotian looked dumbfounded at the absurd scene.
Rihai turned at that moment and looked at his stunned expression with a smile.
"Pff!" She quickly covered her mouth, trying to stifle her laughter, but her smiling eyes gave her away.
That's when Aotian realized she'd done it on purpose just to mess with him and leave him speechless.
He pointed at her in mock anger, then ran his finger across his neck in the classic "You're dead!" gesture.
Rihai uncovered her mouth, smiling, and stuck her tongue out at him.
While the two flirted, the tiger tilted his head, confused.
"What are you two doing?" He asked, a perplexed look on his face.
"Ahem!" Aotian coughed into his hand and turned his eyes away from Rihai, who was still smiling at him.
Looking at the tiger, who continued observing him in confusion, Aotian couldn't help but scratch his head, embarrassed.
"Don't you have a female you like?" Aotian asked, helplessly.
Since it was a communication through intent based on spiritual energy, even if there were some things the tiger didn't fully understand, he could still grasp part of the meaning.
"A female I like? You mean the ones I mate with? A few hundred, why?" The tiger transmitted his voice, still looking at him confused.
Aotian froze at the response.
"Lucky bastard..." He couldn't help but murmur.
But Aotian had barely finished speaking when he felt a chilling gaze fall on him.
"Did you say something?" Rihai asked, eyes half-closed.
"Ahem! Ahem! I said he looks like a bastard!" Aotian coughed into his fist and quickly defended himself, trying to sound fair.
He didn't project his voice with spiritual energy this time, so the massive beast only watched them with even more confusion.
Rihai knew exactly what he'd said and rolled her eyes in irritation, but didn't press the matter.
This world wasn't unfamiliar with the idea of men having more than one woman—in fact, it was even common—but it wasn't a rule followed by everyone. It was simply a matter of choice, and Rihai had no intention of sharing.
Wiping sweat from his forehead after realizing that Rihai didn't push further—though she still looked at him with some irritation—Aotian could only smile helplessly.
"I was just joking." He approached her and spoke gently, holding her hand.
Rihai only rolled her eyes, let go of his hand, and turned her back, arms crossed.
Helpless, he hugged her from behind while she was still pouting and whispered a few affectionate words in her ear.
Rihai wasn't truly angry—just being playful and reminding Aotian that she didn't want to share his heart with anyone else—and he understood that. So, her anger didn't last long.
While the couple made up and flirted, they completely ignored the Red Tiger, who watched them with a face full of question marks.
Seeing he wouldn't get any attention, the tiger looked helplessly at Bao Wuji, seeking answers.
But the scene he found was even more confusing.
Bao Wuji had his arms full of spiritual stones he'd picked up from the cave floor, a huge smile on his face.
Noticing the look, Bao Wuji was startled and immediately hid the stones behind his body like he was protecting a baby, shooting an ugly glare at the tiger.
"Hey, these are mine, I found them, so don't even think about it! Finders keepers, losers weepers. They were just lying on the ground, and if the owner didn't care to store them, it means he didn't value them. So anyone can take them." Bao Wuji defended himself immediately, with a serious and righteous expression.
The question marks on the tiger's face doubled.
'I'm a damn beast—how the hell am I supposed to get storage pouches to keep my fortune?!'
…
After a few more antics between them, everyone went off to rest for the night.
At Aotian's request, it was decided they would stay there for around ten days before heading toward the Infinite Dao Sect.
At that moment, Aotian was sitting cross-legged in his corner of the cave, preparing to cultivate.
'Ten days… With all the experience I gained from breaking through with the external elders, combined with the environment of this high-grade second-level vein and the elemental stones, I don't even need all that time to reach Foundation Establishment. I just set ten days so I can take my time.'
Focusing, he took out a few low-grade elemental stones of the five elements and placed them around him.
Higher-grade stones weren't used because breaking down elemental energy of a higher grade into a lower one was hundreds of times more difficult than doing the same with purified spiritual energy.
To use mid-grade elemental stones, the minimum requirement was having at least Foundation Establishment cultivation. Even then, it would still take time to refine elemental energy above your level.
Aotian, with his multiple minds, could handle that, but since he had low-grade stones, he saw no reason to use mid-grade ones and create unnecessary difficulty, since the end result would be the same.
Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and entered a cultivation state.
Tendrils of spiritual energy slowly emerged from his body and touched the elemental stones, channeling their energies and guiding them into himself. 𝓃𝓸𝓿𝓹𝓾𝓫.𝓬ℴ𝓶
In spiritual sight, various tendrils of differently colored energy could be seen connecting to Aotian's body from the elemental stones.
At its roots, pure elemental energy in vast amounts began to flow in and be devoured, guided by Aotian’s enlightened thoughts to ensure that different energies wouldn’t mix with incompatible affinities within the roots.
Slowly, the veins strengthened, and the spiritual energy they refined for the dantian became increasingly pure.
Aotian could feel it… the breakthrough wasn't far off.
