Although Su Min had already braced herself for a formidable foe, when she actually laid eyes on the tiger demon, she couldn't help but instinctively suck in a sharp, cold breath.
Under the pale moonlight, a gigantic tiger demon as large as a small hill lay quietly in a mountain clearing. The silver light caught the ripples of its striped fur, which seemed to shift like dark shadows against the grass. Its massive chest rose and fell in a slow, powerful rhythm that made the very air in the clearing hum. Though it hadn't formally cultivated any techniques yet, it was already instinctively absorbing the sun and moon's faint essence. Combined with the fresh life force brought back by the chang gui it commanded from the village, the tiger's body had swelled to an even more monstrous size over the past few days.
Even though its actual cultivation level was only equivalent to the early Body Refining stage, a creature of this sheer size and natural power was extremely dangerous for Su Min at her current level. The Body Refining stage wasn't considered a true threshold for cultivation. It was a foundational phase where both humans and beasts were still heavily influenced by their raw physical form.
Moreover, at the same cultivation level, a bare-handed human stood almost no chance against a beast in a contest of brute strength. But if that human wielded a weapon, that was a completely different story. Ancient humans had relied on sharpened spears to hunt ferocious beasts like mammoths and saber-toothed tigers.
The same principle applied to cultivators. With the right spiritual treasure or enchanted weapon, one's combat ability was on an entirely different level. While Su Min frowned at the sight, she wasn't panicking. Below her, the beast stirred.
"Awoo..."
A low, rumbling sound vibrated in the tiger's chest. Sensing that its little chang gui had returned with a full harvest, the tiger demon stretched its colossal limbs lazily and rose to its feet. Its muscles rippled under its striped hide like tectonic plates shifting beneath the earth. By now, it was the undisputed ruler of these mountains. Ordinary flesh and blood no longer satisfied it. Only the condensed essence of human vitality could bring it any real pleasure. As it watched its spectral servant glide closer to deliver the gathered blood essence, something completely unexpected happened.
Snap!
A sharp, crisp sound like a taut thread breaking rang out across the clearing. The chang gui simply exploded on the spot. Its ethereal body burst apart into a cloud of black mist that dissipated into the night air. In an instant, the crimson spiritual energy it carried splattered across the grass, and its consciousness scattered back into the heavens and earth. Su Min had struck first from her hidden position. Along with the chang gui's destruction, the small throwing knife she had used clattered to the ground. For her, low-level spirits like that were no different from fragile soap bubbles. One precise spiritual poke and they popped.
The tiger stared blankly at the fallen knife for a single, stunned moment. Then, a deep, primal rage ignited in the tiger's eyes. It lifted its massive head and let out a deafening, earth-shaking roar toward the sky.
"ROAR!!!"
As the old saying went, a tiger's roar could shake the mountains and forests, and this was especially true when the tiger in question was a demon beast. Its furious cry echoed across the entire mountain range. Su Min could physically feel the once-silent night erupt into panicked chaos as the sound waves rattled her very bones.
Beasts bolted from their dens, fleeing as far and as fast as they could. Birds abandoned their nests in a flurry of wings, and the area immediately around the roaring tiger turned into a dead zone, devoid of any other living creature.
Meanwhile, in the village several mountains away, the villagers who had been anxiously waiting for news were completely caught off guard.
The roar was so powerful it terrified them to their core. It made them feel their souls were about to leave their bodies. Chickens in their coops squawked wildly, cattle and sheep in their pens stampeded, and even the fiercest guard dogs went silent. The animals whimpered and hid in dark corners with their tails tucked tightly between their legs.
"T-this..."
The villagers exchanged stunned, pale-faced glances. They had heard tigers roar before, but never one with such terrifying, penetrating force. Some of the more cowardly ones even lost control of their bladders as the sound vibrated through the floorboards. Now, all they could do was clasp their hands and pray desperately that the "fairy lady" would be able to subdue the beast.
"It hasn't absorbed much spiritual energy, but it's learned some basic innate techniques. Tiger's Might, huh?" Su Min analyzed the display from her perch. "Oh, it spotted me."
The roar that sent every other animal running didn't faze her at all. At that moment, the tiger demon's head swiveled. Its burning, intelligent gaze locked directly onto her position in the tree.
In the very next instant, it lunged forward with shocking speed and swung a massive, clawed paw. The ancient tree she had been standing on was so thick it would take several people holding hands to encircle it, yet it was snapped clean in half as if it were a dry twig. Su Min leapt lightly from the falling treetop. Her body moved in harmony with the tumbling trunk as she watched the tiger's movements.
"ROAR!!!"
Another furious roar echoed, this one filled with killing intent. The tiger demon gathered its powerful hind legs and leapt upward a staggering twenty meters. Its cavernous maw opened wide, trying to swallow her whole. But she remained completely calm amidst the chaos. With a solidified step of spiritual energy beneath her feet, she tapped the empty air lightly. Although she couldn't truly fly yet, using this trick to change directions mid-air wasn't too difficult for her.
Under the cold moonlight, the vastly mismatched figures of a human and a tiger crossed paths in the sky. Su Min descended gracefully like a falling leaf. Her movements were precise and elegant. Half a second after her feet touched the ground, the tiger slammed into the earth with a thunderous crash. The impact sent tremors through the soil that threw up a cloud of dust and dead leaves. Demon beasts usually possessed far stronger bodies than humans, but for her, who wielded a Life-bound Spirit Treasure, that physical advantage meant little.
The beast's massive size not only gave it great strength and endurance, but it also made its vital spots larger and easier to target. Half a second later, as the tiger shook off the impact, a new sound emerged.
BOOM!
The tiger demon slowly got back up, but this time it wasn't nearly as imposing. A dark stream of blood now poured down from a long, deep gash over one of its eyes. That was her handiwork during their brief aerial clash.
Her strength was terrifying compared to an ordinary person's, but against this monster, brute force wasn't the solution. Instead, she used her superior speed and agility to strike at its most vulnerable points. In that single moment of passing, she had blinded one of the tiger's eyes. Though felines had sharp senses of smell and hearing, they still relied heavily on their vision for hunting and combat. Losing an eye immediately threw off the tiger's depth perception and balance.
"ROAR!!!"
Its roar was now more a shriek of pain and rage. The tiger's enormous body was no longer an unstoppable killing machine in her eyes. It was more like a rickety, unstable house. A single well-placed kick at a load-bearing wall, and the whole thing would come crashing down. Seizing the opportunity as it staggered, she dashed forward in a blur. Another silvery slash followed.
Splat!
The tiger's remaining good eye burst in a shower of fluid. A cry of pure agony was cut short as the tiger's huge body toppled sideways like a mountain giving way. Su Min didn't hesitate. She lunged forward and drove her slender sword deep into the soft flesh of the tiger's throat.
Instantly, she channeled a scorching wave of her spiritual energy through the blade and directly into the tiger's body. While its outer hide and muscles were powerful, its internal organs were still just as fragile as any creature's. The neck was close to the brain, and her goal was clear. She poured all her concentrated spiritual energy directly upward into the tiger's skull.
"Awooo!!!"
The giant tiger howled in one last, short burst of agony. Its body convulsed several times violently before falling completely, finally still. Blood slowly seeped out from the tiger's nostrils and mouth as its internal organs were shredded, and all signs of life vanished from its massive frame.
"Whew, good thing I had this sword. My little fists might not have been enough to get through all that."
Su Min exhaled a long breath of relief as she observed the lifeless corpse. Sure, she could probably punch a cow to death now, but this tiger's sheer size, thick hide, and dense bones were different. Fighting it bare-handed, she would have needed way too many punches to make a difference.
"Once I reach the Qi Refining stage, the first thing I will do is further refine this weapon. Ugh—"
Suddenly, that now-familiar, dizzying sensation washed over her again. It was a sign she was beginning to recognize.
In the very next moment, her vision swam, and her consciousness slipped seamlessly into a deep state of Enlightenment. The clearing and the dead beast faded from her awareness, replaced by the vast, quiet clarity of her inner world.