Chapter 42: Both Sides Suffering

After landing a successful strike, the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger did not stop. Its massive body, like a meteor from outer space, crashed heavily into Wang Yungang’s rapidly falling form.

Wang Yungang had not yet managed to deal with Duan Kun when a sonic wave attack from the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger left him dizzy and disoriented. By the time he steadied his mind, the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger’s towering, mountain-like body was already right before him.

“Evil beast, do not act so savagely!” At this critical moment, Wang Yungang could no longer focus on handling Duan Kun. He bit the tip of his tongue and spat a mouthful of blood onto the golden short sword in his hand. His True Essence Power poured continuously into the short sword, and the surrounding Power of Heaven and Earth surged towards him as well, as if all vitality was being drained away.

As the True Essence Power flowed in and the Power of Heaven and Earth gathered, the golden short sword emitted a dazzling light, like a small golden sun blooming in Wang Yungang’s hand. This small sun contained terrifying, frightening energy.

Sensing the terrifying energy contained within the golden short sword, the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger’s crimson pupils suddenly contracted, and its body hesitated for a moment.

Just as Wang Yungang thought he had intimidated the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger, in the next instant, the tiger’s body abruptly accelerated, crashing into Wang Yungang at an even faster speed.

With a deafening boom, the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger’s enormous body collided violently with Wang Yungang’s body. A massive golden flame suddenly erupted in mid-air.

Simultaneously, an invisible ripple rapidly spread outwards, centered on Wang Yungang and the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger.

Wherever the ripple reached, all flowers, grass, and trees vanished without a trace. Even the stones on the ground were ground into powder. Alarming cracks rapidly spread across the ground beneath everyone’s feet.

After the loud crash, Wang Yungang’s body was flung backwards for hundreds of meters. In mid-air, he bled profusely, spraying a trail of crimson blood on the ground. The Blazing Flame Demon Tiger let out a heart-wrenching, sorrowful cry, its eyes filled with grief.

Mu Xian followed the sound and saw that the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger’s abdomen now had a deep, bottomless hole. A large section of its intestines was exposed, and even the white bones of its back were mostly visible.

Seeming to sense Mu Xian’s gaze, the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger also looked at Mu Xian, its eyes full of reluctance and attachment.

“Master, I’m sorry, I lost.” Suddenly, an extremely weak Spiritual Sense fluctuation entered Mu Xian’s mind.

Feeling the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger’s Spiritual Sense fluctuation so abruptly, Mu Xian’s heart shook violently. He could no longer remain calm. In two or three steps, he ran to the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger and began skillfully tending to its wounds.

In his previous life, Mu Xian was famously a mount enthusiast. He had seen too many top-tier demon beast pets. So when he first saw the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger, he had absolutely no intention of making it his pet. Whether feeding it the Five-Colored Blood Spirit Powder or fighting alongside it, Mu Xian had merely treated the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger as a passerby.

But when the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger suddenly addressed him as master, he was moved.

Although Mu Xian had many top-tier demon beast pets in his previous life, those pets were just a means of showing off for him. They had never developed any real bond with him.

Although the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger before him was low-grade, weak, and ugly, it possessed an advantage that his previous top-tier demon beast pets could hardly match: it had gone through hardship with him, and it was willing to give its life for him.

Mu Xian could tell that the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger hadn’t needed to fight so desperately just now, yet it had chosen to do so anyway, even at the cost of its own life. This definitely wasn’t something the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger could do by instinct. To act this way, the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger must have weighed its options in its heart.

Mu Xian didn’t know why the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger was willing to sacrifice its life for him, but he was deeply moved by its actions.

If the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger had backed down at the critical moment and spared Wang Yungang’s life, Mu Xian was certain that after Wang Yungang investigated Wang Xiangnan’s cause of death, he would have become enraged and attacked. Among those present, almost no one was a match for Wang Yungang, who was in the Earth Emperor Realm, even if Wang Yungang was already severely injured.

Unfortunately, the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger did not give Wang Yungang that chance.

“Little Flame, you hold on. With me here, you’ll be fine,” Mu Xian shouted loudly as he desperately tried to push the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger’s intestines back into its abdomen.

The injuries on the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger were far too severe. Not only was its beautiful, smooth fur mostly burned away, its entire abdomen seemed ripped open, with almost no intact area. Every time Mu Xian pushed the intestines back in, they would immediately slip out again, causing blood to spill all over the ground. Mu Xian was sweating profusely, his heart aching.

“The Divine Blood Jade Marrow… right, the Divine Blood Jade Marrow, how could I forget that!” After struggling helplessly for a long time without being able to reposition the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger’s intestines, Mu Xian suddenly slapped his own forehead hard. He then began to mobilize the True Essence Power from his Dantian.

“Little Flame, you lie down. Sleep quietly for a while. You’ll be fine soon,” Mu Xian said softly as he gently stroked the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger near its ear. A strange light flickered in his eyes.

Under the gaze of Mu Xian’s Illusory Pupil, even though the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger tried hard to keep its eyes open, it ultimately couldn’t withstand it due to its severe injuries.

The Blazing Flame Demon Tiger fell to the ground almost uncontrollably. In the next moment, it began to snore like thunder, falling into a deep sleep.

Seeing the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger fall unconscious, Mu Xian finally let out a sigh of relief.

“Second Elder, Fifth Elder, could you please go nearby and gather Flowing Heart Seven-Leaf Flower, Heart-Cleansing Three-Leaf Grass, Blood Crystal Grass, and Earth Fire Lotus for me? The more the better. Please try to return within half the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. Thank you.” After glancing around, Mu Xian frowned and then instructed Mu Dewu and Mu Deqing, who were standing to the side.

Mu Dewu and Mu Deqing had already been deeply moved by the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger’s tragic and heroic actions. Hearing Mu Xian’s request, they nodded solemnly and quickly left.

“Xian’er, is there anything your father can help with?” Mu Yuanshan asked in a deep voice, his tiger-like eyes reddening as he looked at the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger’s shocking wounds.

Mu Yuanshan had originally thought the one who came to the mine to rescue him was a human cultivator of the Earth Emperor Realm. He had felt grateful and intended to befriend them. When he discovered it was actually a third-tier Blazing Flame Demon Tiger holding off Wang Yungang, he was deeply shocked. Especially the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger’s life-risking rescue at the final moment stirred his emotions and moved him profoundly.

“Father, the capabilities of an Earth Emperor Realm cultivator cannot be judged by common sense. Go see if Wang Yungang is dead or not. If he’s not dead, please father, give him another strike. He hurt Little Flame this badly. If Wang Yungang doesn’t die, there’s no justice,” Mu Xian said through gritted teeth, looking in the direction where Wang Yungang’s body lay.

Seeing his son’s furious expression, Mu Yuanshan was stunned for a moment. In his memory, this was the first time he had seen his son so angry.

However, after thinking about Wang Yungang’s actions, Mu Yuanshan felt his son’s reaction was only natural. He nodded slightly and quickly walked towards Wang Yungang.

Almost at the same time Mu Yuanshan started walking towards Wang Yungang, Wang Yungang, who had been lying motionless on the ground, suddenly sprang up and fled rapidly towards the Poison Mist Swamp.

It turned out that after colliding with the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger, although Wang Yungang was severely injured, he was not dead. He had been lying quietly on the ground, regulating his breathing, intending to recover a bit before suddenly attacking. He had never planned to escape.

But Wang Yungang never expected that at such a time, someone would still be concerned about whether he was alive or dead, and would even send Mu Yuanshan to check on him.

Clearly hearing Mu Xian’s words, Wang Yungang cursed inwardly. Without hesitation, he chose to flee.

Before being severely injured by the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger, Wang Yungang could have killed Mu Yuanshan in the blink of an eye. But now, less than one-tenth of his strength remained. He wasn’t confident he could defeat Mu Yuanshan.

“Trying to run away now, Wang Yungang? Do you think we’re all just ornaments?” Just as Wang Yungang leaped into the air, an extremely familiar voice sounded in his ear. It was Duan Kun, calmly blocking his path.

While Wang Yungang had been regulating his breathing earlier, Duan Kun had been doing the same. Moreover, Duan Kun’s injuries were far less severe than Wang Yungang’s, so he recovered faster.

However, Duan Kun had previously fought against Mu Yuanshan, Mu Dewu, and Mu Deqing, so he felt somewhat awkward in front of these three. Like Wang Yungang, he had been lying on the ground playing dead. Only when he saw Wang Yungang trying to escape did he have to get up and intervene.

Compared to Mu Xian, Duan Kun was even more afraid of Wang Yungang escaping alive. After all, he had just betrayed Wang Yungang and even used Wang Xiangnan’s corpse to enrage him. If Wang Yungang managed to escape, Duan Kun knew he would definitely face terrible consequences later.

“Duan Kun… you, why did you betray us?” Wang Yungang originally wanted to tell Duan Kun to get lost, but the words changed when they reached his lips, his tone suddenly softening. He also voiced the confusion in his heart.

“Men die for wealth, birds for food. I, Duan, have dozens of brothers under me needing to make a living. I naturally have to be very calculating. Helping you deal with the Mu Family would give me, at most, a little petty profit. But helping the Mu Family, they can give me more,” Duan Kun explained with a smile, appearing calm and composed.

“You betrayed their trust and abandoned righteousness. Aren’t you afraid the Mu Family won’t trust you, and will find some excuse to kill you later, leaving you with nothing?” After a long pause upon hearing Duan Kun’s explanation, Wang Yungang sneered.

“Family Head Wang, you are mistaken. Between us, there was only profit, where was there trust or righteousness? Although I, Duan Kun, am greedy for wealth, I obtain it through proper means and use it moderately. I never dare to betray trust or abandon righteousness. My helping the Mu Family was originally a gamble. In gambling, there are wins and losses. Winning is naturally a cause for joy; losing, I accept my fate. After all, this was my own choice. So my destiny need not worry Family Head Wang. With that spare time of yours, you’d better think about how to escape death yourself.” Wang Yungang’s words made Duan Kun’s heart skip a beat. Duan Kun glanced at Mu Yuanshan with an unnatural expression, took a deep breath, and then laughed brightly.

Duan Kun’s words were spoken with utmost openness, fully revealing his true nature. Not only did Mu Yuanshan listen and nod slightly in his mind, even Wang Yungang had nothing to say after hearing them.

When Wang Yungang heard Duan Kun’s final sentence, his face turned ashen. He instinctively looked towards Mu Yuanshan.