Chapter Two: The Temple Harbors a Savage Tiger That Devours Human Hearts

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A chill, sinister voice came from every direction, as though countless ghosts surrounded the Mountain God Temple.

The grandfather and grandson were already trembling violently at the sight, shrinking into a corner and not daring to move.

Jiang Sheng, however, paid no attention to the five ghost thralls. He calmly gazed at the mountain god statue, battered though it remained imposing.

“Mountain Lord, are you still refusing to show yourself?”

The sound of claws scraping slowly emerged from within the statue. Then, the two stone-carved eyes suddenly transformed into a pair of emerald-green beast pupils.

The tall, ruined statue shuddered repeatedly. The faded, lifeless image of the mountain god suddenly trembled violently.

Those beastly eyes gazed down from on high, and a surge of demonic aura came rushing toward them.

In the blink of an eye, the mountain god statue had come completely to life. The tall and dignified deity transformed into a ferocious tiger thirty feet in length.

The mottled tiger demon coiled upon the sacred throne, its enormous shadow enveloping the entire temple.

A demonic aura as tangible as solid matter pressed down across a hundred-yard radius. Wherever those emerald tiger eyes passed, the fierce ghosts trembled and prostrated themselves, unable to rise. When the tiger opened its jaws, waves of fetid wind poured forth, and demonic energy soared into the heavens.

“How did you discover me?”

The tiger demon spoke in human tongue. A faint red glow flickered within its dark-green eyes. Its expression held both cunning and curiosity, as though a living man inhabited that striped hide.

The murderous aura surrounding the tiger demon spilled outward. An ordinary person who caught even a distant glimpse of it would feel as though they were staring upon mountains of corpses and seas of blood, and would already have been frightened senseless.

Under the oppressive force of that demonic aura, the grandfather and grandson were nearly rendered unconscious. Jiang Sheng casually cast out a thread of pure light to shield them, allowing them at last to recover from the suffocating pressure that had left them gasping as though drowning.

“In my presence, you still have the leisure to concern yourself with those two mortals?”

The tiger demon’s expression was even more animated than a human’s. Its massive head lowered toward Jiang Sheng, a bloody stench surging from its mouth, enough to make even an ordinary cultivator tremble with fear.

The tiger was sovereign among beasts, and its baleful might could shake the myriad spirits.

Yet even with the tiger demon’s head thrust directly before him, even with that bloody stench nearly striking his face, Jiang Sheng remained utterly composed.

“Though they are merely mortals, they did give me a piece of firewood to keep warm. How could I allow the Mountain Lord to take their lives?”

“You little Daoist, you truly are interesting!”

The demon tiger threw back its head and laughed. Its voice was like thunder, rolling waves of sound sending great clouds of dust billowing through the surroundings.

Yet within three feet of Jiang Sheng, not even a ripple arose, as though everything beyond that space had nothing to do with it.

Ignoring the tangible demonic and ghostly energies around him, and paying no heed to the five ghost thralls baring their claws and fangs, Jiang Sheng merely raised his head toward the tiger demon seated high above and said softly:

“Mountain Lord, you dwell upon Azure Screen Mountain, born of Heaven and Earth. You are a rare and wondrous creature.”

“You might once have had the hope of attaining the Dao and becoming a mountain god, protecting this entire region. Sadly, of all the choices you could have made, you chose Azure Screen Mountain as your foundation.”

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As he spoke, Jiang Sheng sighed softly.

“If the Mountain Lord possessed a measure of benevolence, there might still be something to discuss. I am in need of a mount, after all. But you have clearly become a demon and a monster. I truly cannot spare you.”

The tiger demon was stunned for a moment by Jiang Sheng’s words, but then it began to roar.

“No matter what you are, upon Azure Screen Mountain, I am the mountain god!”

A mere little Daoist actually dared to dream of vanquishing demons and upholding the righteous way?

The tiger demon had seen enough of this farce. It would swallow the Daoist whole!

A Daoist who cultivated the pure spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth would have tender flesh and delicate skin—a truly excellent source of sustenance.

The tiger roared through the mountain forest!

At once, violent winds rose. Demonic energy surged, and the tiger’s roar erupted with a soul-shaking, spirit-crushing force. It blew the temple gates and even the surrounding walls away.

With a single roar, every drop of rain within a hundred yards was scattered.

As the tiger demon bellowed, Jiang Sheng moved like a swallow gliding through the clouds.

The surging demonic aura seemed almost to aid him, as though the wind itself were bearing him aloft. Only when the demonic energy dispersed did Jiang Sheng slowly descend to the ground a hundred yards away.

“What a magnificent beast. What a pity.”

Jiang Sheng felt a trace of regret. He had originally hoped to subdue the tiger demon and make it his mount, but it seemed the creature was simply too stubborn and incorrigible.

“Mountain Lord, I considered giving you a path to survival. You were the one who chose the road to death. I have no choice but to send you on your way.”

As Jiang Sheng spoke, the oil-paper umbrella in his hand trembled and suddenly transformed into a long sword of blue steel.

The sword was three feet six inches long, its entire body dark as black lacquer, yet entwined with patterns of azure lotuses. As the blade quivered, it gave off a series of soft ringing notes, like the cry of a dragon.

The moment the sword appeared, the tiger demon sensed that something was wrong.

That was a spiritual weapon!

Spiritual weapons were treasures that only Immortals of the Violet Palace could wield.

Could this Daoist before him actually be an Immortal of the Violet Palace?

“Little Daoist, carrying a mere magical implement and pretending to be some divine master—what a death wish! You wretched ghosts, kill this Daoist for me!”

With a roar, the tiger demon sent its ghost thralls swarming forward. It itself remained seated high upon the altar, clearly intending to let them test Jiang Sheng’s strength first.

Driven by the tiger demon’s command, the five ghost thralls’ dark-green eyes gradually turned blood-red. Then every other thought vanished from their minds. Grinning hideously, they charged toward Jiang Sheng one after another.

The night wind howled, and torrential rain poured down. Outside the mountain god temple, beneath a moon veiled by black clouds, demonic energy rolled like waves. The five ghost thralls attacked together, their ghostly aura spreading across a ten-yard radius and lending the scene an even more sinister air.

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Seeing this from within the temple, where they were protected by the pure light, the grandfather and grandson hurriedly cried out:

“Daoist Priest, be careful!”

“Those pitiful ghost thralls? Mountain Lord, you think far too little of me.”

As he spoke, Jiang Sheng flicked the three-foot blue-steel blade in his hand. A streak of azure sword light shrieked forth, instantly cleaving apart the rain and mist before him, as well as the sinister ghostly aura covering the ten-yard radius.

Before the five ghost thralls could even reach Jiang Sheng, the sword energy swept across them. In the blink of an eye, their ghostly bodies shattered, dissolving into ownerless ghost energy that returned to Heaven and Earth.

Seeing Jiang Sheng wipe out his ghost thralls with a single sword stroke, the tiger demon let out another roar.

As the rolling demonic energy spread, ghostly energy continued to breed. From every direction around Jiang Sheng, ghost thralls began to emerge one after another.

One, two, three...

In no more than a few breaths, dozens of ghost thralls had appeared from all sides, surrounding Jiang Sheng in their midst.

The tiger demon spread its enormous, blood-red jaws. By now, it was certain that this Daoist was no more than a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Gazing at Jiang Sheng, who was surrounded on every side, the tiger demon laughed savagely.

“Daoist, you may have some ability, but what can you do against so many of my ghost thralls? I can wear you down until you die!”

The night rain poured like a curtain, and demonic winds howled. Jiang Sheng looked at the dozens of ghost thralls encircling him and gently shook his head.

“Mountain Lord, have you still not understood? Since I was able to come here, that means I am able to cut you down.”

“I am the mountain god of Azure Screen Mountain! Every living creature within twelve hundred square miles belongs to me! You insignificant Daoist—do you truly think you can seize my Azure Screen Mountain?”

Amid the violent wind and rain, the demon tiger grinned hideously. A flash of red flickered within its emerald beast pupils.

“Kill this Daoist!”

Upon receiving the tiger demon’s command, the dozens of ghost thralls charged toward Jiang Sheng, shrieking with savage hunger for flesh and blood.

The grandfather and grandson could only watch helplessly as so many ghost thralls rushed toward Jiang Sheng one after another, their hearts burning with anxiety.

This Daoist Priest was their only hope of surviving!

“Daoist Priest, the monster is formidable! Please, be careful!”

The old man watched with desperate concern, terrified that Jiang Sheng would be defeated.

But Jiang Sheng merely stood there calmly, his eyes as cold and deep as a secluded pool.

“You need only watch.”

“This fine tiger hide is waiting for me to claim it.”