My words have become law; I truly have no desire to display my divine power before others.

It stepped out of the cave, stopped, and its gaze swept over Lü Yang before landing on Ye Qingfeng.

"Was that you who was just cursing?"

His voice was deep, as if it were squeezed out from his chest.

Lü Yang crawled out of the bushes and pointed to himself:

"It's me! What's wrong?"

The tiger demon looked at him, then at the pile of rubble on the ground, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

The stone, which he used only a fraction of his strength, would have crushed an ordinary person into a pulp long ago, but the Taoist priest shattered it with a flick of his sleeve.

But then an even greater rage surged within it.

It stared at Lü Yang and said, word by word:

"You just said you whipped whose tiger penis?"

Lu Yang was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously looked down at its body.

Under the moonlight, the space beneath the tiger demon was empty.

Lü Yang's expression froze.

He opened his mouth, as if to say something, but couldn't utter a single word.

The tiger demon stared intently at him, its eyes filled with murderous intent.

"I am female."

Lü Yang: "..."

Its gaze then swept over Lü Yang, landed on Ye Qingfeng, then swept over Shen Zhaoyue, and finally returned to Ye Qingfeng's face.

"Some skill, but that's all!"

Lu Yang stood up, jogged over to Ye Qingfeng's side, and shielded him in front of him.

He poked half his head out and pointed at the tiger demon, saying:

"Mother...the tigress is indeed more ferocious!"

The tiger demon watched his actions, a hint of disdain flashing in its eyes.

"A few mere ants dare to swagger in front of my cave?"

Ye Qingfeng didn't speak, he just looked at it.

The tiger demon felt a chill run down its spine from his gaze, but then a surge of anger welled up within it.

It has reigned supreme in these mountains for a hundred years, but has it ever been looked at like this before?

It opened its mouth, revealing its gleaming white fangs:

"Who are you? What brings you here?"

Lü Yang peeked out from behind Ye Qingfeng again:

"Do you know who's standing in front of you? This is a Celestial Master! If you know what's good for you, kneel down and beg for mercy, and maybe the Celestial Master will let you die a quicker death!"

The tiger demon was stunned for a moment.

Then it laughed.

The laughter was so loud that it caused pebbles to fall from the cave entrance.

"Immortal Masters?" It laughed, its body trembling. "People like you dare to call yourselves Immortal Masters?"

Its laughter ceased, and a fierce glint appeared in its eyes:

"I have eaten humans with high cultivation levels before. Their flesh and blood are far more delicious than those of ordinary people."

It stuck out its tongue and licked its lips:

"I'm lucky today, some snacks were delivered to my door."

Lu Yang was intimidated by its imposing presence and shrank back, but he still refused to admit defeat.

"You...you better not be so arrogant! You'll be crying later!"

The tiger demon ignored him and was about to make a move when he suddenly sniffed.

Its movements stopped.

The night breeze was blowing directly from Ye Qingfeng's direction.

There was a familiar scent in the wind.

That was the scent of its companion of decades.

The tiger demon's expression changed.

It stared at Ye Qingfeng, its gaze shifting from disdain to wariness, and then from wariness to scrutiny:

"How come you... have my partner's scent on you?"

Ye Qingfeng looked at it calmly:

"I've seen it."

The tiger demon's pupils contracted:

"Where is he now?"

Ye Qingfeng did not answer.

He merely turned his head and glanced at the leather pouch at Lü Yang's waist.

The tiger demon followed his gaze.

It was an ordinary leather bag, the kind hunters use to hold wine, dusty and covered in dirt.

At this moment, it was being protected by Lü Yang's hands, as if it were some kind of precious treasure.

The tiger demon sniffed again.

That familiar aura emanated from that very skin.

"You...you all..."

The tiger demon's voice began to tremble, whether from anger or fear, it was unclear.

Ye Qingfeng finished speaking for it:

"Your partner's inner core is not yet pure enough. I refined it and produced this pot of nectar."

He paused, his tone completely flat:

"The essence is all here."

The tiger demon's mind went blank with a "buzz".

Its mate died.

really dead.

Its inner elixir was refined into wine by these people, which was then placed in leather pouches and hung on their waists like any ordinary object.

The tiger demon's fur stood on end, its vertical pupils shrank to pinpoints, and it let out a low, angry roar:

"You...you're asking for it!"

The roar shook the mountainside, and rubble fell from the cave entrance with a clatter.

But it didn't pounce immediately.

It held back.

Having lived for over a hundred years, its temperament has naturally become much more profound.

Its companion's cultivation level was much lower than its own, with only fifty-odd years of experience. It's not surprising that it was killed.

But it's different.

It cultivated for a hundred years, its inner core solidified, and it even ate a real cultivator.

That was a guy who called himself a swordsman from Mount Shu. He was arrogant and thought he could get rid of it, but it ambushed him and swallowed him and his sword whole.

From then on, it acquired that person's swordsmanship and supernatural abilities, and even refined his flying sword, hiding it in its belly, which could be used as a life-saving trump card in critical moments.

It is fearless and complacent.

It stared at Ye Qingfeng and said, word by word:

"You killed my partner and refined his inner core—today, none of you will escape."

It didn't attack immediately, but instead let out a low growl:

"Men, charge!"

As soon as he finished speaking, seven or eight figures suddenly emerged from the shadows on both sides of the cave entrance.

It's a ghost.

There were men and women, old and young, all with pale faces and empty eyes.

They emerged from the darkness, baring their fangs and claws as they pounced on Ye Qingfeng and his companions.

Lu Yang was so frightened that he took a step back, but Shen Zhaoyue had already drawn her sword and rushed forward.

A flash of light!

The demon at the very front was slashed in the neck with a single blow.

Since the knife had no physical form, it shouldn't have been able to cause any harm to the vengeful spirit.

But as the blade fell, the ghost let out a shrill scream, black smoke billowed from its neck, and its entire figure faded slightly.

It staggered backward, clutching its neck, its eyes filled with disbelief.

Shen Zhaoyue didn't give it a chance to react; she had already unleashed her second strike.

The blade struck its chest, and the ghost screamed in agony before turning into a wisp of black smoke that vanished into the night wind.

Shen Zhaoyue sheathed her sword and turned to face another vengeful spirit.

The blade flashed repeatedly!

With each strike, a vengeful ghost screamed and vanished.

Her sword was clearly just an ordinary goose-feather blade, yet it was able to wound these incorporeal ghosts.

A faint golden light flowed across the blade, a sign of good fortune in officialdom.

Lu Yang watched in stunned silence:

"Officer Shen's knife... it can really cut ghosts!"

In the blink of an eye, most of the seven or eight cougars had been killed.

The remaining few were so frightened that they retreated repeatedly, not daring to go forward again.

Shen Zhaoyue did not pursue, but simply stood with her sword drawn, guarding Ye Qingfeng.

The tiger demon looked at this scene with a hint of surprise in its eyes.

It never expected that this mortal woman could slay the evil spirit.

After all, those things have no physical form, and ordinary swords and knives cannot harm them at all.

The tiger demon's eyes flashed with annoyance as it watched the cougars being killed one by one.

It growled and called into the cave, "Mandrill!"

As soon as the words were spoken, a slender figure slowly emerged from the darkness deep within the cave.