Chapter 54: The Ten-Thousand-Year Blood-Fanged Demon Tiger, Bringing Bloody Winds and Rains; Li Zhixian’s Astonishment

Li Zhexian and his group of seven moved cautiously through the gloomy jungle.

"Be careful..."
"Something isn't right about this place..."

The trees in this region were exceptionally thick and sturdy. The dense leaves were as large as human heads, exhibiting a dark, nearly pitch-green hue. The soil beneath their feet was damp and sticky, and every step felt as though they were treading in mud mixed with decaying flesh. The air was thick with a heavy, fishy stench, and the scattered white bones visible everywhere confirmed ominous portents.

Absolute silence reigned. Even the chirping of insects had vanished. An invisible pressure blanketed the area, making every breath send a shudder through their hearts.

All signs pointed to one conclusion:
They had stepped into the territory of some terrifying spirit beast.

"I-Idol..."
Yu Feng's voice trembled with terror.
"L-Look over there... What is that?!"

Li Zhexian and the others hastily followed his gaze.
Coming into view was a dark basalt cliff overgrown with vines. The seemingly indestructible stone wall was startlingly covered in several claw marks several meters in length. Those claw marks were deeply gouged into the rock face, and an indescribable aura of ferocity washed over them, causing a violent tremor in the minds of Li Zhexian and his companions.

"Let's go take a look."
Li Zhexian said in a low voice.

Holding their breath and collecting their focus, the group approached with extreme caution. The closer they got to the cliff, the denser the fierce aura emanating from the claw marks became, the invisible pressure causing their legs to tremble and making it nearly impossible to stand steady.

Li Zhexian walked beneath the claw marks and looked up, gazing at them intently.
He slowly raised his hand.
His fingertips brushed across the groove of a claw mark.

Swoosh—

A sharp, piercing pain shot from his fingertip.
Bright red blood seeped out, instantly staining the claw mark. Yet the inner walls of the claw mark were smooth as a mirror, without a single trace of stone chips...

Li Zhexian's pupils slowly constricted, the first look of profound shock surfacing in his eyes.

"Sword Qi?!"
"Why would the claw marks of a Blood-Toothed Demon Tiger contain Sword Qi?!"
"No, there is something bizarre about this Blood-Toothed Demon Tiger!"

Roar—!!!!

The moment his voice fell, a terrifying roar resembling thunder suddenly exploded from the northern reaches of the jungle. The sonic waves of the roar rolled forth with the force of an avalanche, shaking the towering giant trees violently and causing even the earth to quake. Li Zhexian and the others felt only a continuous buzzing in their ears and a turbulent surge of blood within their bodies.

"That's the direction of the Wind Sword Sect!"
"They've encountered the Blood-Toothed Demon Tiger!"

Li Zhexian's expression shifted slightly.
"Quick, let's go take a look!"

Without another word, the seven figures transformed into streaks of lightning, darting swiftly toward the direction from which the tiger's roar had come. Within the absolute territory of this Blood-Toothed Demon Tiger, the threat of any other spirit beasts was gone. Having no further misgivings, they pushed their speed to the absolute limit.

A few minutes later, before they had even reached their destination, Li Zhexian's racing footsteps came to an abrupt halt.
"Wait!"
he shouted sternly, stopping the other six.

Right at that moment, deep within the jungle dozens of meters ahead, a wisp of scarlet mist rolled and churned like a sea of blood. Bushes taller than a man were flattened to either side by an invisible force, a sickeningly heavy, bloody gale rushed toward them, and a terrifying sense of oppression gradually descended.

Li Zhexian and his seven companions felt as though they had fallen into an ice cellar, chilled to the bone. Within that scarlet blood mist, some extremely terrifying existence seemed about to break through and emerge!

"Sister Dugu! Quick! Breath-concealing powder!"
Li Zhexian shouted urgently to Dugu Yan.

Dugu Yan reacted with extreme swiftness, rapidly retrieving seven jade bottles from her spatial storage device and flicking her fingers to send the bottles flying accurately to each person. Seeing the unprecedented gravity on Li Zhexian's face, no one dared to hesitate for even a second. They immediately swallowed the medicinal powder, then dropped low, pressing their bodies flat against the dense undergrowth.

A few breath's time later, the churning scarlet blood mist billowed over and swept past them.

Deep within the mist, a six-meter-long fierce tiger with hanging eyelids paced into view. Its dual pupils resembled a pair of blood-red lanterns, and rough, red-and-black mottled fur covered its broad, dragon-like spine in a disorderly fashion. Walking with a heavy and majestic tread, it stepped right over the bushes where Li Zhexian and the others were hiding.

In its wake, viscous drops of blood dripped continuously, leaving a shocking trail of gore upon the ground.
The so-called bloody gale and river of blood referred precisely to this.

Another few minutes passed until the terrifying aura faded completely into the distance. Only then did Li Zhexian's group of seven emerge from the undergrowth with lingering fear in their hearts.

Yu Feng's face was pale as paper as he trembled and said,
"S-Such a terrifying Blood-Toothed Demon Tiger! Thank goodness for the breath-concealing powder refined by Poison Douluo冕下!"

Li Zhexian looked in the direction where the scarlet mist had vanished, doubt and shock warring in his eyes.
"Ten thousand years..."
"This Blood-Toothed Demon Tiger has reached a ten-thousand-year cultivation level..."

Dugu Yan's pretty face was pale, and she nodded with lingering terror:
"Walking accompanied by a bloody gale and dripping gore is precisely the signature trait of a ten-thousand-year Blood-Toothed Demon Tiger."

Li Zhexian thought back to the claw marks on the cliff wall.
"Why..."
"Why would the claw marks of this Blood-Toothed Demon Tiger contain Sword Qi?"

"Can spirit beasts also cultivate the Dao of the Sword?!"

Aosuo cast a fearful glance in the direction the Blood-Toothed Demon Tiger had vanished and said in a dry voice,
"Jian Jiu... are we still going to pursue it?"

The gazes of the group converged on Li Zhexian.
Li Zhexian shook his head.
"With just us, we are definitely no match for a ten-thousand-year Blood-Toothed Demon Tiger."
"Let's go check on the situation of the Wind Sword Sect people first."

...

Following the dripping trail of blood all the way, Li Zhexian and his companions arrived at the area where the tiger's roar had previously echoed.

The scene before them was an utter mess. The vegetation within a radius of a thousand meters had been flattened to the ground, leaving behind a scarred and devastated landscape. The earth was crisscrossed with gullies, stained with large patches of dark red blood, and littered with broken scarlet fur, shattered broken swords, and a smattering of horrifying severed limbs.

Feng Buyu was supporting an elderly man in a green robe, followed by the remaining disciples of the Wind Sword Sect. All of them were in an extremely sorry state, their faces bearing lingering traces of terror.

Seeing Li Zhexian, Feng Buyu forced a smile onto his blood-stained face.
"Brother Zhexian... we meet again."

Without wasting words, Li Zhexian retrieved a white jade medicine bottle from the treasure pouch at his waist and tossed it to Feng Buyu.
"For healing injuries."

Feng Buyu cupped his fists in gratitude and said,
"Many thanks!"

He poured out two pills and swallowed them, feeling his spirit instantly invigorated. He then hurriedly poured out a few more, distributing them to the green-robed elder beside him and his severely injured martial brothers.

"Brother Buyu, how is the strength of that beast?"

Hearing this, Feng Buyu's expression changed drastically. When he noticed the bloodstains clinging to the robes of Li Zhexian and the others, he smiled bitterly, shook his head, and sighed:
"Incomparably powerful... Extremely powerful!"
"Although it has only just broken through to the ten-thousand-year rank, the combat power of that Blood-Toothed Demon Tiger is... truly terrifying!"
"My martial uncle here, who has already reached the seventieth rank, deployed a sword formation... and yet he was still no match for it!"

The green-robed elder's breathing smoothed out slightly after taking the healing medicine. He cupped his fists toward Li Zhexian and said,
"This old man is Feng Xiao, an elder of the Wind Sword Sect. Many thanks to Young Hero Zhexian for the medicine."

Looking at Li Zhexian and the others, his tone carried the admonishment of an elder.
"Young Hero Zhexian, you have come to the Star Dou Great Forest, undoubtedly to hunt for spirit rings."
"That Blood-Toothed Demon Tiger exceeds the age limit you can absorb, and its ferocity is terrifying beyond compare. You should put any thoughts of it out of your minds."
"Take this old man's advice, and leave quickly for your own safety."