Seven days.
Xu Taiping chased the tiger demon for seven days and seven nights.
During these seven days, he didn’t drink a drop of water or eat a single grain of rice. He fought the dying tiger demon several times, finally forcing it into a dead-end valley.
His armor was mostly damaged, his boots were gone, and his bare feet and fists were bloody and bruised.
In addition to his physical injuries, his internal organs were also impacted during the battle with the tiger demon, and his blood and qi were uncontrollably rushing through his meridians.
However, despite his appearance of being covered in wounds, he stared fiercely at the tiger demon in front of him, showing no signs of fatigue or fear.
“Kid… do you really want to fight to the death with me?” the tiger demon asked.
“I won’t die, and you won’t rest. If you die, I won’t rest. We both know it,” Xu Taiping replied, wrapping a piece of cloth torn from his body around his palm while keeping his eyes locked on the tiger demon.
He knew that the only chance to kill the tiger demon was now. Once it recovered and replenished its blood and qi, he would be the one to die.
“I have seen cultivators with outstanding talent and a will as unyielding as a rock, but it has been many years since I have encountered one. If I die by your hands, it won’t be a disgrace,” the tiger demon said as it moved away from the rock and stood firm.
“If you die, I won’t make things difficult for you. I will just eat you and refine you into an evil ghost to serve me for eternity,” it continued, crouching down and preparing to attack Xu Taiping.
In response, Xu Taiping leaped forward with all his strength and delivered a powerful Green Bull Fist.
“Bang!”
The tiger demon didn’t dodge the punch, but instead took it head-on. It then swiped its claws at Xu Taiping’s waist, intending to exchange injuries with him.
But to the tiger demon’s surprise, just as Xu Taiping’s fist was about to hit its shoulder, he suddenly changed his fist into a claw and grabbed the fur on its body. Using the momentum, he flipped onto its back, causing the tiger demon’s attack to miss.
During these seven days, Xu Taiping didn’t mindlessly chase the tiger demon. Instead, he carefully remembered the gains and losses of each battle with the tiger demon. Therefore, he saw through the tiger demon’s intentions at a glance.
After the tiger demon’s attack missed, Xu Taiping, sitting on its back, continued to strike with his fists.
“Bang!”
The sound echoed through the mountains and forests.
Surrounded by the remnants of his True Qi, Xu Taiping looked like a raging bull, continuously trampling the tiger demon beneath him.
“Bang!”
With a resounding impact like a drumbeat, Xu Taiping’s final punch struck, causing the tiger demon’s body to sink into the ground.
But at that moment, the seemingly dying tiger demon suddenly turned its head and bit towards Xu Taiping.
Just as Xu Taiping seemed to anticipate the tiger demon’s intentions, the tiger demon also saw through the weakness of the Green Bull Fist. It endured until all one hundred and eight punches were completed before launching a sudden attack on Xu Taiping.
“Hmph!”
Facing the sudden attack from the tiger demon, Xu Taiping didn’t panic. Instead, he grinned and recklessly used his head to heavily collide with the tiger demon’s head.
“This is the final blow.”
“Bang!”
The tiger demon’s already severely injured head was suddenly struck again, causing all the wounds on its neck to burst open, and its head to tilt to one side.
“Clang!”
Without giving the tiger demon a chance to catch its breath, Xu Taiping swiftly drew a fine steel long knife from his waist, infused the last bit of his True Qi into it, and then chopped down towards the tiger demon’s head.
“Swish!”
With a chilling light, the blade swept across, and the tiger demon’s huge head fell to the ground with a thud.
“Clatter, clatter, clatter!”
After the tiger demon’s head was severed, it spat out a pile of gold and silver jewels, as well as various types of knives and weapons, all of which were looted from the people it had killed.
But Xu Taiping temporarily had no interest in these treasures.
At this moment, his dantian was empty, his blood and qi were weak, and his entire body was fatigued to the extreme.
“Phew…”
With the knife in hand, Xu Taiping let out a long breath and then lay down against the headless body of the tiger demon, beginning to work hard to circulate his remaining True Qi.
Just as Xu Taiping’s True Qi had slightly recovered, a white-headed eagle landed on a branch in front of him.
“You… you actually… actually killed this tiger demon!” the white-headed eagle exclaimed in shock.It was almost evening now, with the reddish glow of the sunset filtering through the gaps in the branches and leaves, casting light upon Xu Taiping, making the slender figure of this blood-stained youth seem filled with a sacred and majestic aura.
Especially in contrast to the enormous body of the Tiger Demon, it created an extremely strong visual impact, so it was no wonder that Bai Yu had lost his composure.
“You’ve arrived.”
Xu Taiping looked up at Bai Yu, a tired smile appearing on his face.
Xu Taiping was not surprised by Bai Yu’s appearance, as this was a meeting they had arranged in advance.
“The Tiger’s head and what’s in its mouth are mine, the rest of the body is yours, and then you’ll take me back to the Green Bamboo Residence,” Xu Taiping pointed at the Tiger’s head, then at the body behind him.
At this moment, he still looked very weak, but Bai Yu’s gaze held no more contempt or negligence, as if he were facing a powerful being like his own father.
So much so that Bai Yu, with his Spirit Bird bloodline, couldn’t help but feel a sense of fear.
“Mhm.”
After pondering for a long time, Bai Yu finally nodded solemnly.
“No wonder father told me to get closer to him.”
Carrying Xu Taiping and soaring into the clouds, Bai Yu finally understood why his father, before leaving, had told him to get close to a youth who was nothing but skin and bones.
…
A few nights later.
“Fairy Lingyue, look, I’ve killed the Tiger Demon!”
“Sister, you have no idea, the situation was extremely dangerous. I didn’t have time to think, I just leaped from over a hundred zhang high in the sky, and with the momentum of the fall, I punched the Tiger Demon by surprise!”
As soon as Fairy Lingyue awoke, Xu Taiping took her to the woodshed in the backyard, pulled off the hemp cloth covering the Tiger Demon’s head, and with a bit of youthful pride, began to describe the events of that day to her.