Chapter 8: Subduing

After Ling Tian finished clearing the traps set by the Fire Wolf Gang on both sides of the path in the dense forest, he rushed back to where the carriage was parked as fast as he could.

But when Ling Tian lifted the beaded curtain of the carriage, he froze as if struck by lightning, his face instantly turning deathly pale. Mu Xian was gone.

Ling Tian checked the area around the carriage several times over. He found no signs of a struggle, not even traces of a third person besides himself and Mu Xian. This only made his mind more agitated.

Ling Tian instinctively thought that Mu Xian had been abducted by an enemy lurking in the shadows. The fact that this happened was entirely due to his own carelessness, filling him with shame and anger. He had no idea how he would explain this to Mu Yuanshan and his wife.

Just as Ling Tian was drowning in endless self-blame and fury, a roaring sound that seemed to shake the heavens suddenly reached his ears from deep within the forest.

At first, Ling Tian paid it no mind. After all, demon beasts ran rampant in Shenduan Mountain, so the appearance of a Blazing Flame Demon Tiger was nothing out of the ordinary.

Slowly, however, Ling Tian realized something was strange. From the sounds, he judged that the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger must be evenly matched with its opponent; otherwise, the fight wouldn’t have lasted so long. This puzzled Ling Tian greatly.

The Blazing Flame Demon Tiger was a third-tier demon beast, its strength equivalent to a human cultivator at the peak of the True Essence Realm. Shitang Town had only a handful of True Essence Realm cultivators, and they wouldn’t be so bored as to come to Shenduan Mountain to play with a tiger. Outsiders and adventurers were unlikely to provoke a Blazing Flame Demon Tiger either, as there were many other demon beasts in Shenduan Mountain that were more valuable to hunt and less troublesome than the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger.

Under normal circumstances, faced with such a situation, Ling Tian would have surely been unable to curb his curiosity and would have ventured deep into the forest to investigate. But now, he was too upset and troubled by Mu Xian’s disappearance to care about anything else.

“Could Xian’er have grown impatient waiting and gone home by himself?” When Ling Tian was clearing the traps on the sides of the path in Shenduan Mountain, he sometimes had to go dozens of meters into the woods. He couldn’t be sure if Mu Xian had passed by him without his notice.

“Even if Xian’er is missing, I should still explain things clearly to sister-in-law. Moreover, during my absence, those family Elders probably won’t sit still. I must return to the family as soon as possible.”

After casting one last deep glance in the direction of the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger’s roar, Ling Tian turned around and sped off towards Shitang Town.

Deep within Shenduan Mountain, Mu Xian was still locked in a fierce battle with the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger.

After nearly two hours of fighting, even though Mu Xian’s body had been transformed, beads of sweat the size of peas still formed on his forehead, and his clothes were completely soaked through.

However, Mu Xian’s gains were also enormous. The steps of his footwork flowed seamlessly as he advanced, retreated, and shifted positions. His sword gleams flashed, reaching a state of exquisite perfection. The coordination between his footwork and sword technique was gradually nearing flawlessness.

“My Sword Step has reached mastery, and my Inch Sword has achieved a level of great familiarity. It’s just that this Black Iron Sword is too long; it can’t unleash the full power of the Inch Sword technique,” Mu Xian muttered softly, a faint smile of satisfaction flitting across his face.

“Since your purpose is served, I won’t play with you anymore.” Glaring at the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger, which still brimmed with fierce energy, Mu Xian gave a soft shout. The heavy sword shadows in his hand merged into one, then shot forth like a cascading silken ribbon, streaking towards the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger’s body with the speed and force of lightning and thunder.

The sword shadow sliced through the sky, emitting an earsplitting sound as it slammed squarely onto the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger’s sharp claws.

Sword and claw collided, producing an extremely grating sound of metal scraping against metal in mid-air, sending sparks flying in all directions.

Mu Xian’s attack still failed to cause any damage to the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger’s claws, leaving only a white mark. On the contrary, the Black Iron Sword in Mu Xian’s hand now had a notch curled into its edge.

“Roar!”

The Blazing Flame Demon Tiger seemed thoroughly enraged by Mu Xian’s provocation. It let out a furious roar, then its massive body charged violently towards Mu Xian. In mid-air, its body twisted sideways, its limbs suddenly splayed open, and its form abruptly swelled to several times its original size. Like a giant tsunami, it instantly engulfed Mu Xian’s body.

Along with the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger’s pounce, a vast surge of power erupted, sweeping out in all directions. Trees along the way were snapped at their waists, and terrifying cracks appeared on the ground.

“You beast, I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time.” Sensing the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger’s suddenly swelling aura, Mu Xian wasn’t frightened at all. Instead, he let out a light laugh.

In the next instant, Mu Xian’s body mysteriously appeared behind the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger. His hands waved repeatedly, and countless fine powders drifted down towards the demon tiger like a light drizzle.

When these powders landed on the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger’s body, it threw its head back and let out another long roar. Then, it seemed as if countless lumps were growing inside its body. These lumps surged and swelled beneath its skin, ruining its once nearly perfect appearance and making it look grotesque.

The Blazing Flame Demon Tiger was suddenly bewildered by the strange transformation happening inside it. Pained roars erupted from its jaws, stirring up waves of disturbance in the forest sea.

At the same time, the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger began behaving erratically. It sometimes crashed heavily into nearby giant rocks, sometimes smashed into towering ancient trees. It leaped high into the air, then slammed down hard. It rolled wildly on the ground, then dug frantically at the dirt, completely ignoring the existence of its enemy, Mu Xian.

For a time, the forest resounded with relentless rumbling. Trees within several hundred meters were all broken. Huge, alarming pits appeared one after another. The Blazing Flame Demon Tiger’s originally flawless body began to bleed profusely, the blood mingling with its fiery red fur.

Mu Xian was like a small boat on raging waves. He stuck close to the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger’s back like a shadow, his hands continuously scattering powders of Spiritual Medicine.

The blue, red, green, and other colored powders fluttered down like beautiful, carefree sprites, swirling naturally in the air before playfully landing on the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger’s back.

However, the moment they touched the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger’s body, they became like bone-deep parasites. No matter how the demon tiger struggled, it couldn’t shake them off. They swiftly melted into the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger’s body.

As these colored powders seeped in, the aura emanating from the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger grew stronger and stronger. Mu Xian’s eyes also grew brighter, and his Spiritual Sense was locked firmly onto the demon tiger’s body, not daring to wander for even a moment.

In his previous life, when Mu Xian’s research in the field of Spiritual Medicine reached its peak and he could casually refine Supreme Grade medicines, he began to lose interest in alchemy. Subsequently, he started researching a forbidden area within the field—the domain of Demonic Medicine.

Compared to Spiritual Medicine, Demonic Medicine had stronger effects, greater power, and a wider range of uses.

However, Demonic Medicine had one fatal flaw: its side effects were far too severe. It always sacrificed one function to enhance another, or even sacrificed most functions to greatly empower a single one.

Because of the nearly destructive side effects of Demonic Medicine, people viewed it as a scourge. It was shunned and despised by society. Even with his considerable reputation, Mu Xian had only dared to study Demonic Medicine in secret, from the shadows.

Among the many Demonic Medicines Mu Xian researched, there were some that were extremely toxic, capable of causing immediate collapse of one’s life force, and also some supreme elixirs that could allow cultivators and demon beasts to advance in cultivation with ease.

Once he stepped into the field of Demonic Medicine, Mu Xian became completely absorbed. He realized that Demonic Medicine was the true Spiritual Medicine. What the cultivation world widely recognized as Spiritual Medicine was merely a narrow definition. Compared to the effects of Demonic Medicine, the Spiritual Medicine popular on the market seemed like child’s play.

Unfortunately, Mu Xian had only just begun delving into Demonic Medicine. Before he could accumulate enough strength to legitimize it, he fell victim to the schemes of his First Senior Brother.

What Mu Xian was now using on the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger was the Five-Colored Blood Spirit Powder, a substance that could cause the demon tiger to mutate and advance. It was concocted using Blood Spirit Grass as a catalyst, fused with Blood Python Branch, Iron Classic Ginseng, Red Sand Leaf, and Jade Muscle Flower. Mu Xian had casually gathered all these herbs while tangling with the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger, and he had effortlessly put them to use on the beast.

“Puh!”

As Mu Xian finished scattering all the herbal powder in his hands, two massive columns of blood sprayed from the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger’s back. Immediately after, those lumpy masses that had been surging and moving about inside the demon tiger seemed to find a release valve. They all surged out from the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger’s back.

In the next moment, an abrupt transformation occurred.

The Blazing Flame Demon Tiger shook the lumps that had just emerged from its body, and then its body actually rose into the air.

The fleshy spheres that had emerged from the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger’s back had combined to form two huge fleshy wings. It was by relying on this pair of wings that the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger could soar into the sky.

The Blazing Flame Demon Tiger hung quietly in mid-air. The bloody red in its pupils rapidly faded away, replaced by an aloof and indifferent gaze that seemed to look down upon the world.

Next, the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger’s body descended silently before Mu Xian. It slowly lowered itself, stretched its head towards Mu Xian, and looked at him with eyes full of gratitude.

Mu Xian chuckled softly and reached out to gently stroke the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger’s forehead, as if petting a kitten. Strangely, the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger didn’t resist. Instead, it lowered its head, allowing Mu Xian to pet it, an expression of great contentment appearing in its eyes.

As a third-tier demon beast, the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger had already awakened its intelligence. It naturally understood what had happened to its body. Without this human before it, it probably would have taken decades, maybe even a century, of further cultivation to advance, and it might have ended up as food in the belly of another demon beast. After all, Shenduan Mountain was vast, and there were countless demon beasts of higher tiers than itself.

Although the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger couldn’t speak human language, it felt genuine gratitude towards this human. It could also sense the goodwill this human was radiating towards it.

“You are red all over, like fire. I’ll call you Little Flame from now on. You are my first demon beast in this world. I hope you can stay by my side and grow with me.” Mu Xian was very satisfied with the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger’s response. Thinking of the unfulfilled aspirations from his past life, his heart stirred with emotion, and he murmured softly.

The Blazing Flame Demon Tiger seemed to understand Mu Xian’s words. It raised its head and let out a long cry, then nodded in a very human-like manner.

“Little Flame, I’m a bit sleepy. Guard me for a while as my Dharma Protector; let me get a good sleep. This is your territory; you can’t let me lose face, alright?” Feeling sleepiness wash over him, Mu Xian spoke to the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger again.

Seeing that Mu Xian seemed to underestimate it, the Blazing Flame Demon Tiger widened its eyes in displeasure. Then it roared towards the sky again. The roar echoed through the clouds for a long time, as if venting its dissatisfaction to Mu Xian, or perhaps warning other demon beasts not to enter its territory recklessly.

Seeing this, Mu Xian smiled, then collapsed onto the ground.