The Giant Tiger

Chapter 229: The Giant Tiger

The few cultivators who had been loudly cursing their companion’s unexplained departure had now fallen completely silent. They exchanged glances, and each saw a flicker of fear in the other’s eyes.

Just moments ago, despite their extremely unfavorable position, they had felt little more than annoyance. They had all believed that even if they couldn't defeat these puppet constructs, escaping through the air would be a simple matter.

But now, the fate of the one who had fled had violently shattered that illusion. So many defensive spells, plus a defensive magic tool held in his hand, and yet he hadn’t been able to withstand that beam of light for even a moment. How could this not make their hearts race with terror?

Furthermore, cultivators who had reached Foundation Establishment valued their lives more than most. Having finally obtained the chance to live far longer than ordinary mortals, with the possibility of even more time beyond that, how could they bear to throw it all away so easily?

But that beam of light… it was absurdly powerful!

If it had been aimed at their protective barrier instead of the fleeing cultivator, they weren’t confident they could have withstood it either.

The more they thought, the more panicked they became. A strong urge to retreat welled up within them.

But now, even if they wanted to withdraw, their opponent would not easily let them go while he held the upper hand. They were caught between a rock and a hard place.

High above them, concealed within a cloud, Han Li had also been startled by the power of that super beam. A chill ran down his spine. He became even more reluctant to reveal himself.

However, he was also unwilling to simply leave.

Relying on the superior speed of his newly acquired Divine Wind Boat, he felt confident he could escape even if discovered. So he remained in the air, watching everything unfold.

The azure-red cloud formed by his magic tool was quite conspicuous, hovering as it did directly above the cultivators and puppets. Fortunately, Han Li had flown to an extremely high altitude, a good hundred zhang or more above the ground.

Thus, neither the trapped cultivators nor the person controlling the puppets from within the forest had yet detected him.

Han Li knew this situation couldn’t last forever, but dismissing the cloud would leave him completely exposed in the air.

Besides, the top-grade magic tool he had refined from the two flood dragon eyes, the “Azure Haze,” was not only effective at concealing his form and making it impossible for enemies to pinpoint his location, but also possessed another trait. The azure-red mist had been infused with the residual liquid from the Ink Flood Dragon’s core. Anyone who inadvertently came into contact with this mist would become dizzy and lightheaded, slowly poisoned without even realizing it.

With such a versatile tool—both defensive and covertly offensive—how could Han Li easily abandon it?

As his anxiety grew, he suddenly spotted a gray, low-hanging cloud not far above him. Overjoyed, he immediately began to drift cautiously towards it. Finally, he steered both himself and his protective cloud-haze directly into it.

Now, Han Li’s trail was completely masked!

With no further worries about being exposed, he could finally concentrate on observing the battle below.

Clearly, that super beam of light had completely shattered the confidence of these Foundation Establishment cultivators. Though they still wielded their various magic tools, putting on a show of resistance, Han Li could see that their power was far weaker than at the beginning.

It was obvious that each of them was now harboring their own selfish motives, no longer willing to cooperate fully against the enemy.

As Han Li shook his head imperceptibly, one of the older cultivators within the barrier seemed to realize the gravity of the situation. He suddenly called out loudly towards the forest:

“Do you truly intend to slaughter us all? We are disciples of several sects in the Yuanwu Nation! Killing us would mean offending the entire cultivation world of Yuanwu at once! Are you not afraid of inviting such deadly retribution upon yourself?”

“Heh! Deadly retribution?”

“If you had said that before I killed the one who tried to flee, I might have considered it. But since a death has already occurred, offending one is the same as offending many. It’s better to kill you all cleanly. Perhaps no one will ever know what happened here.”

“We harbor no ill will towards you! If you agree to a truce here and now, we swear to keep this matter a secret!” another, much younger cultivator quickly vowed.

“Hmph! A vow? I don’t believe in such things. You’ve been skulking behind me for so long, and you still dare to say you have no ill intentions? Were you planning to invite me for a meal? Besides, I am not from your Yuanwu Nation to begin with. Even if I truly offended your entire country’s cultivation world, so what? Would you dare to come to my Thousand Bamboo School’s headquarters to seek an explanation? If you did, I would truly admire the courage of your sect’s elders!”

A rough, grating voice came from within the forest. It sounded very familiar to Han Li.

“It’s him?” Han Li thought to himself in surprise.

There was no mistake; the voice belonged to the burly man who had bought the puppet mechanism beast at the auction. From their conversation, it seemed these cultivators had followed him secretly after the auction ended, scheming to use some underhanded method to uncover the secret of his puppet beast. Little did they know, this member of the Thousand Bamboo School had already sensed them and laid a trap instead, trapping them all here.

“Everyone, let’s fight him to the death! This bastard is clearly trying to silence us!” The cultivator who had spoken first wasn’t stupid. He immediately tried to rally the others for a desperate final stand.

“Fight me to the death? Do you even qualify? You can’t even defeat my puppet subordinates, and you dare speak of fighting to the death? I’ve grown tired of playing with you. It’s time to send you on your way!” The burly man’s voice remained just as harsh, but the killing intent was now unmistakable.

As his voice echoed out, a sudden, earth-shaking tremor came from within the forest. Then, heavy “thump… thump…” footsteps began to sound, moving step by step from the woods towards the outside. The cultivators within the barrier, and Han Li in the sky, all exchanged bewildered glances, unsure of what was happening.

Though the footsteps were heavy, they were fast. In the blink of an eye, they reached the edge of the forest, and everyone could finally see clearly.

A colossal puppet tiger, at least five or six zhang in height, squeezed its way out from the forest’s edge. The burly man, still wearing his bamboo hat, was seated upon its massive head.

Seeing the sheer size of this puppet tiger, the few cultivators’ hearts sank. They couldn’t help but think back to the gigantic beam of light they had witnessed earlier. It must have been shot from this beast’s mouth.

After appearing, the burly man didn’t utter a single pointless word. He simply patted the tiger’s head.

The puppet tiger beneath him slowly opened its lower jaw, and white light began to gather within its massive maw. The other puppets that had been assaulting the barrier immediately stopped their attacks and withdrew a few steps in unison.

The cultivators knew this was a bad sign. Almost simultaneously, they reached out and pressed their hands against the barrier. It was the only thing keeping them alive. The idea of abandoning the barrier and flying away crossed all their minds, but that fear-inducing example was right there in front of them. No one dared to make the first move.

The gigantic white beam appeared again! This time, by pooling their strength, the cultivators managed to withstand the impact through their protective barrier, resulting in a temporary stalemate!

From his high vantage point, despite the distance, Han Li could clearly see with his superior eyesight that the cultivators’ faces showed no joy at successfully blocking the attack. Instead, as a massive amount of their spiritual power was drained into the barrier, their faces grew increasingly pale.

However, Han Li believed that such a powerful attack couldn't be sustained for long. It should pass quickly. The cultivators in the barrier clearly understood this as well, which was why they gritted their teeth and held on.

As expected, the light pillar only lasted for a short time before it began to thin and finally disappeared from the tiger’s mouth.

The survivors let out a sigh of relief, a flicker of joy on their faces. They withdrew their hands from the barrier and took a deep breath.

But upon seeing this, the burly man only let out a cold laugh. He suddenly opened a hidden compartment on the puppet tiger’s forehead, reached in, and tossed something inside—a mid-grade fire-attribute spirit stone. The white light that had just faded within the tiger’s mouth began to glow once more, utterly stunning the cultivators who witnessed this scene.

Even Han Li, watching from above, clicked his tongue in disbelief at such a wasteful act—consuming an entire mid-grade spirit stone for a single full-power strike. He was speechless. This wasn’t a magical duel; it was simply using piles of spirit stones to crush these cultivators. It seemed that the distant Thousand Bamboo School was truly filthy rich, with spirit stones to spare.

As Han Li was lost in these idle thoughts, the cultivators below, who had been cooperating, finally broke and scattered under the immense pressure.

They had very little spiritual power left. Holding out any longer would only mean the difference between dying sooner or later. So, each decided to try their own luck and flee separately, which seemed more reliable.

As expected, the burly man directed the giant tiger, which shot down two of the fleeing cultivators with its massive beam, one after the other. Their fates were the same as the first: a miserable, charred black mess.