Chapter 183: Fighting tigers

Huangshan Lord's heart panicked when he heard the other party's words, and he instinctively let out a low growl.

What’s going on? Who is this person? How did he know my plan with just one glance?!

He had secretly plotted for this matter for ten years, going to great lengths to establish a connection with Guangyang City. It was only when they needed the support of mountain gods to construct a great formation that they finally agreed to give him this method.

But he never expected that as soon as it was set up, he would be found?!

After a brief moment of panic, killing intent surged in his heart!

As a mountain-guarding fierce tiger, Huangshan Lord had always been the undisputed ruler within a hundred-mile radius. With just a glance, countless small demons would tremble in fear. When had he ever been confronted and questioned like this?

Besides, the one who came to him was only a Ninth Rank, wasn't he!?

As a fierce tiger of the mountains, having been taught the Shaman and Gu methods by Guangyang Situ, combined with Divine Dao techniques, he had forged his own path and was considered a strong contender among Ninth Ranks. What was there to fear from someone who couldn't even use wind manipulation techniques?!

With this thought, Huangshan Lord calmed his mind and bared his fangs at Li Qi: "Who are you? What business is it of yours? Get out of Tiger's Roar Cliff, and I might spare your life!"

Seeing Huangshan Lord's outwardly fierce but inwardly timid appearance, Li Qi shook his head. Then, he mobilized the Qi of the Five Mountains within his body, seemingly intending to do something.

However, when Huangshan Lord saw this, he thought he was about to attack and immediately roared, only to see waves of sound ripple through the air!

As the sound waves spread, the fierce tiger directly pounced, its blood-red mouth open, trying to bite Li Qi.

Li Qi frowned slightly at the sight, then lowered his body and threw a punch.

The punch carried the intent of the Five Mountains, which happened to restrain mountain gods.

A 'Yue' (mountain) refers to a tall and great mountain, capable of suppressing a mountain god in terms of status.

Huangshan Lord's Aura weakened by three parts under this suppression, but he still pounced ferociously.

In Huangshan Lord's view, humans, especially Shaman, must be weak in close combat and their bodies certainly frail, incomparable to his beastly strength.

Therefore, by pouncing with the force of a fierce tiger descending the mountain, even if this person still had some hidden tricks, he would have to be forced back before he could use them. Once he retreated, that would be Huangshan Lord's chance!

But what he didn't expect was that the human showed no fear at all, swinging both fists to meet him.

Moreover, he wasn't crushed by the tiger's immense strength; instead, he directly suppressed the tiger head-on!

Battling a fierce tiger, the tiger's strength was insufficient!

The doubled strength unleashed by Carp Current Intent briefly suppressed Huangshan Lord!

In that instant of suppression, Li Qi launched another attack.

Two more punches landed.

One punch landed squarely on the tiger's nose, while the other went directly into its throat. The fierce tiger, descending the mountain, was instantly turned into a fool.

With the fist deeply embedded in its throat, grasping its windpipe and pulling outwards, and its nose heavily struck, Huangshan Lord let out a wail, trying to close its sharp teeth to bite off the man's hand!

But when he bit down hard, there was a clang. Unbeknownst to him, two streams of Jin Qi (Metal Energy) had already protected the other party's hand. This bite, instead, snapped two of his large teeth!

Those two streams of Jin Qi didn't stop; with two quick swishes, they also trimmed Huangshan Lord's sharp tiger claws.

What makes a fierce tiger feared by all beasts are its claws and teeth.

If its claws and teeth are废 (rendered useless), then even a solitary pig or a stray dog can become an enemy.

Li Qi, by surprise, directly pulled teeth from the tiger's mouth and then broke its claws. Huangshan Lord lost eight-tenths of his power, and his nose was bleeding. He wailed incessantly, and a crying sound could be heard in his tiger roars.

Li Qi, however, didn't let go. He pulled his hand out of the tiger's mouth, grabbed Huangshan Lord's two ears, flipped onto his back, and punched the tiger's head.

With Li Qi's strength, even a skull made of copper and iron would be dented by a punch. But this tiger demon's skull was harder than copper and iron. Not only did the punch have no effect, but it also made his hand ache, causing his tiger's mouth (the web between thumb and forefinger) to crack and bleed.

So Li Qi became ruthless and changed direction, not striking the skull but focusing on the back of the neck, the junction between the head and the cervical spine.

The tiger demon also knew that was a weak point and thrashed wildly, roaring and clawing.

The tiger leaped through the forest, rolling everywhere, moving around, roaring incessantly, desperately trying to shake Li Qi off. Its continuous roars, like thunder, terrified countless small demons outside the mountain, scattering their souls and spirits, wondering which ruthless person dared to provoke Huangshan Lord.

Especially Li Zhufang above, who was so scared that she reverted to her original form, a butterfly hiding in the bushes, trembling.

But even as Huangshan Lord thrashed continuously, Li Qi's legs were like pincers, clamping tightly onto the tiger's waist, several veins bulging on his neck as he furiously struck its back.

Looking at that posture, it was truly a fierce tiger encountering a vicious beast, unable to express its suffering.

Li Qi held on steadily, both fists striking out. His left hand gripped the fur on its neck, and his right hand punched. After a flurry of punches and kicks, in a short while, Huangshan Lord was spitting blood from its mouth and nose, unable to move, only able to lie on the ground gasping for breath, without even the strength to speak.

Li Qi, grasping the tiger's ears, was also panting: "Hoo... Lord, can you... hear me out?"

When Huangshan Lord heard this, tears welled up in his eyes.

Damn it, you were the one who came to fight...

But having endured a beating, Huangshan Lord also felt fear in his heart, so he didn't dare to say much, only nodding repeatedly.

A fierce tiger in the deep mountains makes all beasts tremble, but when it is in a trap, it wags its tail and begs for food.

At this moment, being ridden by Li Qi, he was like being in a trap.

Seeing Huangshan Lord nod, Li Qi let out a long sigh of relief: "That's good. Look at you, if you had listened earlier, you could have avoided this terrible beating. Why make it so hard on yourself?"

Huangshan Lord's nose tingled, his broken nasal bone throbbing, and his heart was filled with grievance.

Did you... ever advise me?

But circumstances were stronger than him, so Huangshan Lord still repeatedly said: "Sir, you are right. It was my disrespect..."

Li Qi dismounted from the fierce tiger, which was larger than a water buffalo, and said to him: "My apologies, Lord. It's just that I heard someone here intends to construct a Mountain and River Grand Formation, and I came specifically to inquire if this is true?"

Huangshan Lord quickly lowered his head, transformed into human form, becoming a crude big man with a ferocious face, a big head, a round face, ugly features, and a rough appearance, with purplish flesh all over his body, but his face was bruised and swollen, as if he had been severely beaten.

No, not 'as if,' he *was* severely beaten.

He hastily bowed to Li Qi: "Sir, you are perceptive. The Mountain and River Grand Formation is indeed real, but I wonder, what does Sir intend?"

Li Qi also cupped his hands and said: "I want to see your Formation Plate here. Please lead the way, Lord."

He spoke politely, but his words directly instructed him to lead the way, leaving no room for refusal.

Huangshan Lord naturally understood the implied meaning. He said with a bitter face: "Sir, please follow me. But I must first tell you, this Formation Plate was set up by an Eighth Rank Great Shaman. That is not someone you or I can afford to provoke. Sir, please don't be reckless, otherwise not only will I suffer, but Sir will certainly be held accountable as well."

Li Qi smiled: "You don't need to worry about that. Since I came, how could I not know the great name of Guangyang Situ? Besides, Lord, haven't you noticed that I am also a Shaman?"

"Ah, so it's a case of a flood washing away the Dragon King's temple, our own people fighting each other. Then why didn't Sir say earlier that he was sent by Situ Daren?" Huangshan Lord suddenly realized.

No wonder this person recognized the place for nurturing bone demons as soon as he arrived and inquired about the Mountain and River Grand Formation.

These things were extremely secret; ordinary people shouldn't have been able to recognize them.

So he knew from the beginning!

Having understood this, Huangshan Lord felt even more wronged.

Didn't he take that beating for nothing?

"Because I wasn't sent by him in the first place, it's just... a slight connection. Alright, enough small talk, take me to see the Formation Plate." Li Qi urged.

"Yes, I'll lead the way for Sir right away!" Huangshan Lord quickly got up, then led Li Qi all the way towards the center of the mountain.

Li Qi followed.

Soon, one person and one tiger arrived at the base of Tiger's Roar Cliff.

After coming all this way, Huangshan Lord pointed to a large stone and said: "Sir, please see, this is the Formation Plate here, personally set up by Situ Daren."

"I know, let me see." Li Qi stepped forward and touched the stone with his hand.

It was cold to the touch, and it looked like an ordinary stone. Other than that, he could barely sense anything special.

However, Li Qi had his own methods.

He took out a 'thread'.

It was precisely the thread he had pulled from Li Zhufang's body. Li Qi had never thrown it away, but had kept it in his hand.

At the location of this Formation Plate, Li Qi gently tugged on this thread.

Suddenly, those previously almost imperceptible threads, pulled by the tug, all emerged.

A dense net, pulling one hair and moving the whole body, the entire network was temporarily exposed because of Li Qi's action.

He saw countless fine threads, tens of thousands of them, extending outwards from this stone as the center, like a spider's web.

These fine threads, woven into a network, constantly swayed. He didn't know where these fine threads were connected, but tens of thousands of them spread outwards. Every second, every single thread was vibrating at an extremely high frequency, carrying ripples and transmitting its vibrations to the Formation Plate, bringing back wisps of vital Qi.

Countless dense fine threads extended to different small demons or earth veins, and then continued to extend from these things until they were completely out of sight.

"Ah, this––" Huangshan Lord seemed to be seeing such a sight for the first time, and for a moment, he was dumbfounded.

And Li Qi silently noted down the various details of this Formation Plate. Although he didn't actually understand it, he could go back and consult his books.

"This is the Formation Plate of the Mountain and River Grand Formation, so..." Li Qi witnessed these things, and his confidence grew.

He actually always had a scale in his heart.

Regarding the overall situation of Guangyang City.

First, there was Wang Baiyan, who helped him.

Wang Baiyan was certainly not trustworthy; there were too many suspicious points about him, and most crucially, these suspicious points were clearly deliberately exposed to him by the other party.

That's why Li Qi didn't make a fuss or show any reaction.

Because, if the other party deliberately exposed suspicious points, how could he not know if it was bait? What he needed to do was not distinguish between these truths and falsehoods, but to save the common people. So Li Qi didn't get entangled in those things.

Secondly, regarding the blood sacrifice and the Mountain and River Grand Formation, Li Qi had always had a plan in his heart.

To save those more than one hundred thousand people, merely providing food would definitely not be enough. Food was basic, it was necessary, but not everything.

Even if enough food was provided, if Guangyang City insisted on the blood sacrifice, food would be useless. Food couldn't help these common people withstand destructive power; they would still be killed as sacrifices.

Li Qi's idea was to use food to help them survive, and then help them migrate to that miniature heaven and earth.

Didn't Jinlang Sect want to open an island there as a planting ground in the miniature heaven and earth? These more than one hundred thousand people should be just right. At that time, he would discuss it with Wang Baiyan. Jinlang Sect wouldn't need to specially allocate manpower; they could directly use this group of people to cultivate the land there, which would solve Jinlang Sect's manpower problem and their livelihood problem.

If Wang Baiyan didn't agree, Li Qi wasn't prepared to reason with him either.

That miniature heaven and earth was ownerless. If they didn't help Jinlang Sect cultivate the land, couldn't they cultivate it themselves? They could just migrate there.

Although doing so would have some future troubles and side effects, migrating from this world to other miniature heaven and earths was like moving from a world-class prosperous metropolis to a primeval forest in Africa. They would lose many opportunities and future prospects, and that miniature heaven and earth might also bear an excessive burden.

But no matter what, it was better than waiting to die.

Silently noting down the characteristics of the Mountain and River Grand Formation, Li Qi slapped it with his palm.

He saw countless fine threads snap, and the entire Formation Plate was directly destroyed by him by force!

This had no effect on the overall great formation. The Mountain and River Grand Formation was formed by the collection of countless mountains and waters. Li Qi at most only destroyed this one small node, and it wouldn't even be noticed.

But—

Countless small demons in the mountain all felt their bodies lighten, suddenly feeling much more relaxed. Many demons didn't know what had happened, only feeling that their fatigue had been greatly alleviated.

And Huangshan Lord's eyes were about to split open. He looked at Li Qi furiously: "Sir, why?! You destroyed this Formation Plate, what about my bone demon?! Wouldn't it be destroyed along with it?!"

If he weren't outmatched, Huangshan Lord would probably have pounced by now.

And Li Qi immediately said: "Lord, don't panic. I have compensation for you. How could I let you suffer losses for nothing?"

When Huangshan Lord heard this, his anger turned to joy: "Ah, so that's how it is. I misunderstood you, Sir."

"Come over here and reveal your Golden Body," Li Qi said.

When Huangshan Lord heard this, he immediately became vigilant: "Sir, why do you want me to reveal my Golden Body?"

The Golden Body, condensed by the Divine Dao, was the core of cultivation and would not be shown to others casually.

"I have something that can compensate you for the loss of your bone demon, but it requires a drop of divine blood from your Golden Body to acknowledge ownership," Li Qi said. "If you're worried I'll harm you, I can harm you right now. You're no match for me anyway."

Huangshan Lord pondered for a moment and realized that this was indeed true. The other party didn't seem to have anything to covet from him.

If they were to fight, he couldn't beat him anyway. It wouldn't be difficult for him to kill him, and he had no past grievances with him, so killing him would be meaningless.

Thinking this, he revealed his Golden Body.

However, as soon as he exposed his weakness, two streams of Jin Qi flashed, like guillotine blades, directly shearing off the Golden Body's head along with its Spirit Soul, completely shattering them.

And Li Qi, standing nearby, showed no fluctuation whatsoever.

He hadn't planned to keep this tiger alive in the first place. It was just that fighting him head-on might attract the attention of other mountain gods nearby, so he used a small trick to make him expose his weakness.

Huangshan Lord was a tiger, eating people and beasts, and Li Qi felt nothing about it; it was simply its nature.

But this demon participated in the blood sacrifice of the Mountain and River Grand Formation, was a minion of Guangyang Situ, and even planned to absorb vital Qi to nurture a bone demon for himself using the lives of the small demons of one mountain.

In that case, it was best to eliminate evil completely. Keeping such a mountain god would only cause trouble.

Besides, if he were left alive and told Guangyang Situ about the situation here, wouldn't the matter be exposed?

After killing Huangshan Lord, Li Qi walked out of the cave.

He also had an idea of what to do after eliminating the witness.