Chapter 278: The Tiger Demon

Kong Sheng isn't in a hurry; after all, he can't run away.

This fat cultivator has been watching the kitchen; now that precautions are in place, Mo Hua finding it convenient to eat here has become difficult.

Moreover, he also wants that jade pendant of Kong Sheng's.

But the methods must be covert, the actions meticulous—no traces must be left.

Mo Hua began watching this fat cultivator, observing him for a full day, and soon had an idea.

This fat cultivator brings meals to evil cultivators, and yet also brings meals to a beast.

That beast is a tiger demon, late Stage One, kept in a separate room, chained up.

The chains are inscribed with arrays, rendering the tiger demon utterly immobilized.

Tigers are the most powerful type of beast on Great Heishan; without arrays to bind them, they are extremely dangerous.

This tiger demon also looks unusual, its body marked with black-and-white stripes, a "King" character etched on its forehead.

Its bloodline is likely extraordinary, which is why the evil cultivators captured it and chained it here in Shanzhai.

As for exactly what this tiger demon is being used for, Mo Hua doesn't quite know.

Every day at noon, the fat cultivator feeds the tiger demon.

But he always feeds it very little, likely fearing the tiger demon might regain strength, break its chains, and cause trouble.

Mo Hua saw this and smiled inwardly: "If you won't feed it, I will."

He picked through the kitchen, selected some dried beast meat, stuffed it into his storage bag, then slipped into the cell holding the tiger demon.

The tiger demon, starving, lay listlessly on the ground; suddenly, several pieces of food appeared before it—dry and hard, but unmistakably meat.

The tiger demon blinked, slightly puzzled, but driven by hunger, it couldn't resist—it tore into the dried meat and devoured it.

Soon it finished every last morsel, licking its fangs with lingering appetite.

Mo Hua dropped a few more pieces of meat before it.

The tiger demon stared ahead—no human figure was visible—but it sensed the presence of a cultivator.

It didn't know why this cultivator was giving it meat, but hunger drove it to eat every last piece.

Then it realized the cultivator's aura had vanished.

The tiger demon opened its mouth and let out a low growl.

It was now seven or eight tenths full, its strength restored to seven or eight tenths—but still bound by iron chains and arrays, unable to move.

A flash of sharp light gleamed in the tiger demon's eyes, then it slowly lowered its head, closed its eyes, feigning still-hungry lethargy.

Mo Hua, watching from afar, couldn't help but feel admiration:

"This tiger demon is remarkably clever."

The next day, the fat cultivator came again to feed it, his expression still resentful.

He had been scolded again by the old man.

Before, it was only pastries going missing; now even the meat was disappearing.

The fat cultivator didn't understand—who dared steal food from Shanzhai's kitchen?

And after investigating for hours, he found not a single clue.

Aside from himself and the old man, no one else was in the kitchen.

If no one stole it, was it a ghost?

The fat cultivator snorted, then frowned, a thought stirring in his mind.

"Could it be concealment art?"

Only concealment art could hide someone from a cultivator's sight.

Then the fat cultivator shook his head.

Concealment art isn't easy to learn; there might not be a single cultivator in all of Shanzhai who can even learn it.

And even if someone could use concealment art, they still left traces.

Concealed cultivators can fool the eyes, but not the spiritual sense.

He had encountered concealed cultivators before—though invisible to the eye, his spiritual sense could detect their presence; with his combat experience, he'd cornered them within a few exchanges and cut them down with a single slash.

The fat cultivator was confident that even a cultivator using concealment art couldn't hide from his spiritual sense—not while under his very eyes.

Then what was going on? Who was stealing from the kitchen?

As he fed the tiger demon, the fat cultivator kept turning the mystery over in his mind.

He didn't notice that, in a corner he couldn't see, a small, pale hand held a brush, carefully erasing the array patterns on the beast-binding chains.

The fat cultivator didn't notice—but the tiger demon perked up.

It felt the binding array growing weaker; from the corner of its eye, it saw new lines appearing on the chains, the array gradually failing.

The tiger demon's eyes gleamed brighter, yet it lowered its head to hide it, listlessly eating the meager scraps.

The fat cultivator was still puzzling over it.

The harder he tried to think, the more confused he became—and the angrier he grew.

"Damn it!" the fat cultivator exploded, then, seeing the tiger demon lowering its head to eat, he struck its forehead with a palm, cursing:

"Serving people is bad enough—now I have to serve this beast too!"

He had beaten tigers before—plenty of times.

After all, the tiger demon was bound by arrays, immobile; a little venting wouldn't hurt.

The fat cultivator turned to leave—had taken barely a step—when he suddenly felt something wrong.

The ground beneath his feet was dimly shadowed, as if a dark mass had spread.

At the same time, a thick, ferocious aura rose behind him.

The fat cultivator's eyes slowly widened.

He slightly turned his head, glancing back with the corner of his eye, and saw the tiger demon he had just bullied standing silently behind him, its jaws wide open, aimed at his head.

The fat cultivator's heart and gall shattered.

"What the hell is going on? How did this vile beast break free of its chains?!"

Amidst his terror, the fat cultivator frantically pushed his body technique and bolted forward.

The tiger demon lunged to bite, but its limbs had stiffened from being trapped too long—it was half a beat too slow, letting the fat cultivator escape.

Seeing this, the fat cultivator exhaled in relief.

But the tiger demon flew into a rage, charging straight at the fat cultivator and swiping down with one claw.

Yet by then, the fat cultivator had already stabilized his Qi and was prepared—he barely dodged the claw.

The tiger demon continued to tear and bite; the fat cultivator relied on his body technique to entangle with it.

Those who become criminal cultivators never lack skill in body techniques.

After several exchanges, the fat cultivator's heart steadied slightly, and his expression lost its panic.

He was at the late stage of the First Rank; so was this tiger demon.

Even if he couldn't defeat the tiger demon, he could certainly protect himself by holding out for a while.

Besides, this tiger demon had been starving for a long time and trapped for a long time—its power was far from peak.

With this thought, the fat cultivator's heart calmed slightly, then he sneered:

"Vile beast, just wait and see how I'll torment you later!"

Even if it broke free of its chains, this tiger demon couldn't escape Great Heishan—it would eventually fall into his hands.

When that time came, he wouldn't be so polite.

Enraged, the tiger demon's attacks grew fiercer, yet the fat cultivator grew even more composed.

Hidden in the corner, Mo Hua observed for a while, roughly estimating the fat cultivator's strength.

His cultivation was Qi Condensation Ninth Layer, nearing its peak; his body technique was excellent, and the Dao art he practiced was a First Rank martial art called Jin Guang Fist.

As a criminal cultivator, he had spent years in constant fighting and possessed rich experience.

Overall, his strength was slightly weaker than his father Mo Shan's, but stronger than an average Qi Condensation Ninth Layer demon hunter.

The fat cultivator was not heavily relied upon not because of weak ability, but because he was new and not trusted.

In terms of cultivation alone, the fat cultivator ranked mid-to-upper among evil cultivators.

Mo Hua nodded silently.

If this was the case, the average strength of Qi Condensation evil cultivators would surpass that of demon hunters.

But demon hunters had First Rank iron armor and broadswords; in actual combat, the odds were probably even.

Mo Hua's heart eased slightly.

At this point, the fat cultivator was useless.

Mo Hua extended his small hand, grasping forward in empty air, and began searching for an opportunity to trap the fat cultivator with Water Prison Technique, to give this big tiger a meal.

Thank you to Yao Yuan's reward~

Still two chapters today; tomorrow I'll add an extra chapter.