Inside the gloomy karst cave, only the monotonous drip-drop of water falling from the stalactites could be heard.
Mo Fan sat cross-legged in a corner padded with dry grass, his eyes tightly closed.
Deep within his sea of consciousness, an invisible mental thread was continuously transmitting back fragmented yet clear frames of imagery from afar.
That was the first-hand intelligence Summon No. 003 had gathered after roaming the jungle for half a day, utilizing its stealth traits.
A true hunter never fights an unprepared war.
"Within a five-mile radius, there are a total of three fatal, high-energy reaction points."
Mo Fan's brain processed the memory fragments shared through the soul link like a high-speed CPU.
In the first fragment, there was a burly [ Gray Ape ] (LV. 9).
This beast not only possessed immense strength but also extremely high intelligence. In the visual feed, it was proficiently uprooting a tree trunk—thick enough for two people to hug—to swing as a weapon.
More fatally, traces of other apes' activities could be vaguely seen on the edge of its territory.
"Living on the edge of a pack, high IQ, knows how to use tools... Traps will likely be ineffective against it, and once entangled, it'll end in getting ganked by a mob."
Mo Fan decisively crossed it out in his mind.
The second fragment was viewed from the towering canopy layer. A [ Wind Falcon ] (LV. 9) with a wingspan of over five meters was tearing into the corpse of a Spirit Beast.
"Possesses absolute air superiority, extremely fast. My entire team is melee; if the first strike misses, the opponent will simply take to the skies and dive-bomb us. We'd be walking targets."
Mo Fan vetoed it again.
The final fragment showed a patch of scorched earth reeking of burning ozone and flesh.
In the feed, a colorful, ferocious tiger nearly four meters long was prone, feeding on a mutilated prey. Its entire body was wreathed in black, almost tangible, evil fire.
Even No. 003's distant prying triggered an extremely irritable, low growl from it.
[ Demonic Tiger ] (LV. 9).
"Solitary, highly territorial, irritable, and prone to rage."
Mo Fan snapped his eyes open, a cold flash of lightning seeming to spark in the gloomy cave. "Although tigers are fierce, this kind of arrogant lone wolf is the easiest to kite into a kill box using taunts. You're the one."
Target locked. The kill box was initiated.
Mo Fan severed the soul link, stood up, and extinguished the remaining fire in the cave.
Two hours later, Mo Fan, accompanied by Mo Yan, infiltrated the edge of the Demonic Tiger's territory in advance.
They found a mountain ravine with steep rock walls on both sides and only a narrow passage in the middle.
This would be the Demonic Tiger's burial ground.
He didn't rush to pull aggro. Instead, he casually hunted a few ordinary rock sheep and marmots that were ubiquitous along the inevitable path through the ravine.
Mo Fan walked up to these still-warm corpses, a cold light flashing in his eyes.
Skill: [ Corpse Explosion ]
As Mana surged within his body, Mo Fan continuously injected streams of highly unstable death energy into the beasts' corpses.
The originally shriveled bodies swelled slightly like blown-up balloons, the blood vessels under the skin turning a dangerous dark red.
Next, with extreme patience, he scattered and buried these "pre-fabricated corpse explosion mines" along the narrow ravine path, carefully covering them with a thick layer of dead leaves.
"Tactical deployment complete."
Mo Fan leaped up into a towering ancient tree on the side of the ravine, perfectly blending his figure into the lush foliage. He looked down at the battlefield from a commanding height and issued the final commands.
"No. 003, go to the tiger's den and taunt it out for me."
"Mo Yan, DPS get in position. Intercept it at the edge of the minefield."
The night wind picked up abruptly, filling the air with a chilling intent to slaughter.
An incense stick's time later.
"ROAR—!!!"
A tiger's roar that shook the mountain forest erupted from afar, the sound waves even shaking the leaves loose.
Immediately after, a white afterimage darted out from the dense forest. It was No. 003. It looked like it was dancing on the edge of a blade—sprinting madly while not forgetting to turn back and make provocative gestures.
Behind it, accompanied by the roaring sound of trees being violently smashed, the four-meter-long Demonic Tiger, wreathed in frenzied black evil fire, crushed its way forward like a Demon King bursting out of hell.
It was thoroughly enraged by the "bag of bones" that dared to challenge its regal majesty. Wherever it passed, the bushes were ignited by the evil fire, leaving a scorched, black path.
No. 003 nimbly ducked into the ravine, then vanished into the shadows.
The Demonic Tiger, having lost its target, charged into the ravine, only to crash head-on into a silent swordsman dressed in ink-black, wielding a rusty sword.
Mo Yan drew his sword and tanked it head-on!
CLANG!
The rusty sword and the tiger's claw collided viciously in mid-air.
Even though Mo Yan possessed the jade bones of a cultivator, even though exquisite sword cultivator techniques were etched into his bones, under absolute level suppression and a massive weight disparity, the crushing force was still irreversible.
With a muffled groan, Mo Yan was slapped backward by the overwhelming claw strike, sliding for meters and plowing deep trenches into the ground with his feet.
The black clothes on his body were torn by the sharp astral wind, and the rusty sword in his hand vibrated crazily, looking as if it would snap at any moment.
He couldn't block it.
But this was already within Mo Fan's calculations.
Mo Yan didn't fight to the death; instead, utilizing the force-deflection techniques of his swordsmanship, he switched from offense to defense. Blocking while retreating step by step, he lured the irrational, frenzied beast further back.
One step, two steps...
Finally, the Demonic Tiger's heavy paws stepped into the "mass grave" concealed by dead leaves.
Hiding in the shadows of the canopy, Mo Fan's eyes turned freezing cold in this instant. His right hand clenched abruptly into a fist, and a single word slipped lightly from his lips:
"Detonate!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A series of thunderous, muffled explosions detonated within the ravine.
Frenzied necrotic energy erupted from the ground like a volcanic eruption, mixed with highly concentrated Corpse Poison, dirt, and chunks of flesh and blood. It formed a terrifying storm of death that blasted without reservation into the Demonic Tiger's softest, defenseless underbelly.
"AWOOO—!!!"
The Demonic Tiger let out a miserable scream of extreme agony.
The fur that was tough enough to resist swords and blades ruptured instantly under the tearing force of the corpse explosions. Its belly was blasted into a bloody mess, and even its proud black evil fire was mostly blown away by the necrotic energy.
But the vitality of a LV. 9 Spirit Beast was incredibly stubborn.
This fatal, heavy blow not only failed to kill it directly but instead triggered its phase two enrage.
Falling into a near-death frenzy, the Demonic Tiger's eyes turned blood-red. Relying on its beastly instincts, it snapped its head up, locking dead onto the culprit hiding in the tree.
"ROAR!"
The Demonic Tiger's four limbs pushed off the ground violently. Its massive body actually launched into the air! Jaws gaping wide, it lunged straight at Mo Fan in the canopy, bringing with it a foul wind of blood!
"Bring it on!"
Mo Fan didn't panic in the slightest. With a flick of his wrist, three daggers quenched in Corpse Poison were thrown in a triangle formation, every blade aimed at the bloody, mangled wound on the Demonic Tiger's belly, aggravating its injuries.
Facing this overwhelming pounce, Mo Fan didn't dodge. He wanted to verify exactly what his recent period of inhuman torture had bought him.
He took a deep breath, pushing the Body Forging Record to its absolute limit. The Qi and blood inside his body surged wildly. A cold, black-iron gleam surfaced on his bronze skin. He crossed his arms, firmly guarding his chest.
BANG—!
Mo Fan felt like he had been hit by a high-speed train. The massive impact force knocked him directly out of the tree canopy.
With a crack, his back snapped a tree trunk the thickness of a bowl, and he crashed heavily onto the ground.
"Cough..."
Mo Fan spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, forcing himself to stand up. A glaring red light popped up on his retina:
[ HP Decreased: -30 ]
No broken bones. No ruptured internal organs. He merely lost 30 HP!
Mo Fan split his mouth open, revealing a fanatical smile.
You have to know, this was the death-throes strike of a LV. 9 beast! Compared to the miserable state he was in when he was almost killed by a single tail whip from the Shadow Leopard, his current body was leagues apart.
With a physical body at the peak of Copper Skin, he had forcibly tanked this fatal pounce!
After knocking Mo Fan flying, the Demonic Tiger's massive body also crashed to the ground. Due to its heavy injuries and the massive recoil, it suffered a momentary animation lock.
Now!
Summon No. 003, which had been roaming in the shadows, was waiting for exactly this opportunity.
It turned into a black bolt of lightning, darting out from the tiger's blind spot. Those sharp claws, meticulously modified by Mo Fan, dug deep into the Demonic Tiger's flesh, biting down viciously on its throat!
"ROAR!"
The Demonic Tiger struggled crazily, the power of its near-death counterattack terrifying to the extreme. Its thick, steel-whip-like tail swung up violently, bringing a piercing shriek that tore the air, and lashed ruthlessly onto No. 003's back.
CRACK!
No. 003's barely-spliced-together spine let out a crisp snapping sound. It was directly whipped into two pieces, slumping into the pool of blood, the soul fire in its eye sockets flickering madly.
But No. 003's sacrifice was not in vain.
In the instant the Demonic Tiger was pinned down by the bite to its throat, a black figure had already silently appeared at its flank.
Mo Yan gripped the sword with both hands.
No fancy moves, just pure killing intent. The rusty sword slid into the soft spot behind the Demonic Tiger's ear without any obstruction. It pierced all the way to the hilt, instantly penetrating its brain.
The massive tiger body stiffened abruptly, then, like a collapsing golden mountain or a toppling jade pillar, crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
The dust settled. Only the thick stench of blood and Mo Fan's heavy panting remained in the ravine.
The System Panel seemed to go crazy at this moment, madly spamming the screen:
[ System Settlement: ]
[ Rank Gap Kill: Tier-1 High-Grade Demonic Tiger (LV. 9). XP +600 ]
[ Siphoned Complete High-Tier Beast Soul. XP +400 ]
[ Current Experience: 1510/1600 ]
[ Soul Strength (Permanent): 35.5 ➜ 38 ]
Looking at the surging data, Mo Fan wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with satisfaction and walked up to the massive tiger corpse.
He couldn't help but let out a maniacal laugh.
This wasn't a corpse; this was clearly a fully loaded treasure trove waiting to be claimed.