Chapter Eleven
Tian Huan thought this beggar must be mad. He’d be torn apart by a leopard! Even cultivators at the Qi Refining stage aren’t afraid of leopards, for heaven’s sake! To survive, this beggar really will resort to any trick.
The golden blade shattered into a thousand streaks of sword light, its brilliance illuminating the forest like daylight. Ah Heng, clad in rags and leaning on his black beggar’s staff, stood in the deep pit, staring at the dazzling radiance.
He’d never absorbed such a vast amount of spiritual energy before. The last strike had drawn in an overwhelming surge, the energy rushing madly through his body. Fortunately, after circling a few times, it was absorbed. Hoping to absorb even more this time, Ah Heng narrowed his eyes slightly. He felt his flesh and blood stir as if awakening. Just now, he thought he heard the sound of his own heartbeat.
Rich golden spiritual energy crashed down onto the ground like thunder. Ah Heng raised his begging staff, squinting. He might not be able to match Tian Huan Zhenren in technique, but his flesh was tough! And he could still absorb spiritual energy!
The powerful golden spiritual energy descended densely upon Ah Heng. Fortunately, Tian Huan Zhenren possessed formidable control. Had a single strike gone awry, the area would have been reduced to ruins. This was a Nascent Soul cultivator—a single careless move could wipe out all life within a thousand-mile radius!
Even without a stray strike, the spiritual pressure generated by the powerful energy ripping through the air was immense. Vast swathes of trees snapped clean off at the trunk. Old Wen, terrified, hid behind a boulder to avoid being swept away by the pressure. It was terrifying—in all his decades of life, he’d never witnessed anything like this before.
The golden spiritual energy dissipated. Tian Huan sheathed his sword. He could no longer sense the creature’s presence, but after expending such immense power, he assumed it had been reduced to dust.
“Cough… cough…” A muffled cough echoed from the deep pit. Tian Huan froze in shock. Straining his eyes, he saw the beggar boy, covered in dust and grime, climbing out of the hole. His begging staff remained jet-black, seemingly only dusted with dirt.
Ah Heng plopped down in the pit, waving at Tian Huan. “Ahem… Can we call it quits? I don’t want to fight anymore.”
He wiped the blood from his lips. The powerful spiritual energy surging into his body nearly exhausted him. If handled poorly, it could have caused his body to explode!
Tian Huan’s expression finally shifted. “A demonic creature…” This thing was terrifying—it had emerged unscathed from beneath his Ten Directions Sword!
Ah Heng coughed a few times before looking up at Tian Huan again. “You’re an immortal master. Why pick on a beggar like me?”
Tian Huan’s expression shifted through several emotions before settling on the beggar’s staff. That it had escaped unscathed from his life-bound spirit sword… It must be some rare treasure, a gift from heaven and earth. He was simply too blind to recognize what it truly was.
Ah Heng’s expression shifted: “Master… there’s a leopard behind you.”
Tian Huan sneered coldly: “Absurd! I, Tian Huan, a Yuan Infant cultivator of esteemed standing—what leopard could evade my divine sense!”
Tian Jizi and the others watched in horror as a massive golden leopard truly materialized behind Tian Huan! Before Tian Jizi could utter a cry, the leopard had already torn off Tian Huan’s head in one savage bite!
Even as his soul fled his body, Tian Huan remained utterly bewildered. His Nascent Soul circled the air several times before spotting the leopard—wrapped in golden demonic flames, its face twisted in fury, eyes glowing crimson.
Tian Huan’s Nascent Soul was tiny, barely a foot tall. The diminutive entity shrieked, “A demon beast!! A demon beast has appeared!!”
The colossal demon beast stood upon demonic flames. By the time Ah Heng saw it, it had already appeared silently behind Tian Huan. It must have been Tian Huan’s dazzling radiance, like a lantern, that drew the beast’s attention. If you don’t act, you won’t die. Old Wen dared not even light a candle at night, yet a Nascent Soul cultivator went and carried a lantern to attract hatred? He had it coming.
Tian Huan, a Nascent Soul cultivator, had his head torn off by the beast. It held his severed head in its jaws, blood dripping in a steady stream down into the forest below. Without his head or Nascent Soul to support it, Tian Huan’s body crashed heavily to the ground.
Tian Huan’s infant soul shrieked in terror. Young and inexperienced, its voice sounded childish: “Beast! You dared ambush me?!”
Ah Heng rolled his eyes. Wasn’t that obvious? Did it need to beat a gong before attacking—like, “Hey, watch out, I’m about to hit you”? Demonic beasts weren’t stupid.
The massive leopard bared its bloodied teeth, its jaws clamped around Tian Huan’s lifeless, wide-eyed head. With a few swift swipes of its claws through the air, the leopard crushed Tian Huan’s tiny infant soul beneath its paw. These people had no idea how swift felines could be. Tian Huan’s infant soul barely struggled before it was rendered utterly helpless.
The leopard extended its claws and clawed at Tian Huan’s infant soul a few times, then chewed and chewed, crushing Tian Huan’s skull before swallowing it whole. Ah Heng swallowed hard. To him, the sound of the beast crunching the skull sounded exactly like people eating peanuts in a teahouse.
The leopard’s barbed tongue swept up Tianhuan’s immobile infant soul, scorched by demonic flames, and this time swallowed it whole without chewing! Tianjizi was so terrified his soul nearly fled his body. How could he have imagined such a terrifying demon beast lurking in the woods of Xiaoyan Town!
“Run! Run! Run!” Tian Jizi abandoned any thought of avenging his senior brother. If he didn’t flee immediately, he feared becoming the beast’s next snack.
But he was already too late. The demonic beast flickered through the air and appeared before Tian Jizi in an instant. The Golden Core cultivator who had just brutally slaughtered Mu Jiaoqian now finally tasted the terror of being hunted.
Before Tian Jizi could even draw his sword, the leopard’s claw tore his flesh apart. The body of a Golden Core cultivator was incredibly resilient, yet it couldn’t withstand a single blow from the demon beast! It was terrifying!
The leopard’s long tongue swept out, swallowing Tian Jizi’s radiant golden core whole. The beast showed utter disgust for his corpse, not even sniffing it. Then its gaze locked onto Qin Shiwei and Huang Dingfeng.
Qin Shiwei and Huang Dingfeng turned deathly pale. They watched helplessly as their master and senior master were torn apart by the demon beast. Worse still, their own lives now hung by a thread, at the beast’s whim.
The stench of blood filled the air around the beast’s mouth. Its hot breath washed over the two disciples, shattering their composure. Their bodies shook violently, trembling like sieves.
“Roar—” The beast let out a low, menacing growl, spraying Qin Shiwēi and Huang Dingfeng with blood-tinged saliva. Then the graceful panther turned, swishing its tail as it strode toward Ah Heng.
Panting heavily in the pit, Ah Heng watched the bloodshot-eyed beast charge toward him. He certainly didn’t mistake it for a friendly reunion—the panther’s sharp fangs were bared.
“I… I’m tough,” Ah Heng said helplessly. “You won’t be able to bite through me.”
But that wasn’t necessarily true. Just because the venomous snake had snapped its fangs didn’t mean the demon beast would too. But Ah Heng didn’t want to die! He felt he still had so much left to do!
The demon beast transformed into a golden streak of light as it attacked. Ah Heng instinctively gripped his begging stick tighter.
“Take this!”
As the leopard closed in, Ah Heng swung his begging stick, aiming for its left front paw. A crack of breaking bone echoed, followed by the mighty leopard’s agonized roar as it crashed heavily into the pit.
Ah Heng scrambled out of the dirt pit, rolling and crawling. He hadn’t taken more than a few steps when he heard the rush of wind behind him. Turning his head, he saw the leopard, its left front paw severed, still lunging toward him. Ah Heng sidestepped and struck the leopard’s right front paw with a swift blow.
Another crack of breaking bone echoed. The leopard, driven mad by pain, thrust its hind legs into the air and reared up. Ah Heng felt its form grow immense, towering even above the Apricot Blossom Pavilion!
With both front paws shattered, the leopard could rely only on its razor-sharp teeth. Its massive body crashed downward, seemingly intent on crushing Ah Heng beneath it. Ah Heng narrowed his eyes, scanning the leopard’s agile belly before landing on its hind legs—thicker than tree trunks.
Two more bone-shattering cracks echoed as the colossal beast rolled in agony on the ground. With all four limbs broken, the leopard rolled into the woods, crushing countless trees beneath him. The entire town of Xiaoyan reverberated with the leopard’s furious roars.
Rolling and crushing rows of trees, it plunged deep into the woods. The roar grew fainter and fainter until it faded away entirely.
Ah Heng wiped sweat from his brow and patted his chest. “Good heavens… that scared the life out of me…”
He’d nearly become the leopard’s snack. He hadn’t done anything wrong. Why did the leopard attack him? Ah Heng couldn’t understand.
Old Wen was half-crazed with fright. He scrambled out from behind the boulder, crawling and stumbling. “Ah… Ah Heng… Are you okay?”
He’d been scared to death. He truly thought his old bones would meet their end here today. Ah Heng just felt a bit drained, but otherwise he was fine.
“Where’s Doggie!” Old Wen cried urgently. “Did you drop him and kill him?”
Cold sweat poured down Ah Heng’s forehead. Oh no—did he really drop Doggie and kill him? Doggie was just an ordinary person!
“Gouzi! Second Dog (Er Gou)!” Old Wen and Ah Heng scrambled in the direction Second Dog had been thrown. Before long, they heard Er Gou’s trembling reply: “I… I’m here…”
Old Wen and Ah Heng hurried over to find Gouzi crouched beneath a rock, shivering violently. Old Wen rushed to pull him up. “Gouzi, are you all right?”
Doggie was nearly in tears: “So big… such a huge leopard…”
It turned out that when Ah Heng tossed Er Gou, he just happened to fling him right into the demon leopard’s arms. The leopard had been dozing off, but the thud woke it instantly. Doggie’s heart nearly leapt out of his chest. He was scared to death! That enormous leopard, with its two huge eyes, was staring straight at Er Dog. Er Dog fainted on the spot.
Fortunately, the leopard wasn’t interested in Er Dog and didn’t eat him. Instead, it leapt into the air to cause trouble for Tian Huan. Otherwise, Ah Heng might have been beaten to death by Tian Huan.
“Alright, calm down. Get up! You’re alive—that’s what matters!” Old Wen tried to pull Doggie up, but he refused to move.
A foul stench filled the air. Doggie whimpered, “Old Wen, I scared myself to death… I even shat myself…”
Old Wen and Ah Heng couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s nothing. Being alive is what counts.”
Gouzi’s sobs grew louder: “I thought I’d never see you again! Waaah, it’s so good to be alive!”
Half the dilapidated temple had collapsed, but luckily it was still passable for a night’s shelter. Gouzi was badly shaken, and Old Wen had to feed him three steamed buns before he calmed down. After changing clothes, Gouzi felt like his bones were falling apart. He and Old Wen fell asleep almost immediately.
Ah Heng, however, couldn’t sleep. That leopard remained a constant threat. As dawn approached, he stared into the forest. In the end, he decided to stay and guard Old Wen and the others.
A leopard? Nothing compared to family.
Author’s Note:
Old Wen and Gouzi gave Wen Heng his first taste of warmth. Had he never met them, never been treated kindly by them, he would have become a different person. The world works in strange ways—sometimes a tiny bit of warmth can change a person’s entire life.
![Flying Dust [Fei Chen]](https://www.freenovels.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/9k.png "Flying Dust [Fei Chen]")