Chapter 46: Great Demon Cub

"Ninth-Grade Refining Qi Realm!"

His whole body was soaked in fresh blood.

From a distance, Li Mu looked as if he had just been pulled out of a pool of blood.

It was impossible to tell whether the blood was Li Chengfeng's or the blood from the Crimson Flame Giant Tiger he had just devoured.

But whose blood it was no longer mattered!

Because just now, the dying Crimson Flame Giant Tiger's counterattack had inflicted a mortal wound on Li Mu.

At this moment it was completely healed, and all of his bodily functions returned to peak condition.

Of course, Li Mu did not pay no price at all.

Back when the Crimson Flame Giant Tiger bit Li Mu's shoulder, a name in Shao Wenqiang's six-man squad on the Heaven Dao Treasure Scroll was shattered and vanished completely.

"Huff…"

Li Mu let out a long sigh and plopped down onto the ground.

Although, with the divine artifact Heaven Dao Treasure Scroll, Li Mu could transfer fatigue, a negative condition.

It kept Li Mu's stamina constantly abundant, never allowing exhaustion to occur.

Even though stamina wouldn't deplete, the life-and-death battle with the Crimson Flame Giant Tiger still placed considerable mental pressure on Li Mu!

If it weren't for the Heaven Dao Treasure Scroll, two substitutes whose names were shattered had voluntarily taken two mortal blows for Li Mu.

Then, who would claim victory in today's life-and-death clash was still truly uncertain!

Thinking of that, Li Mu couldn't help but burst into laughter!

If it were in the past, Li Mu, facing so many enemies seeking his life at once, would have tossed and turned, sleepless through the night.

But now?

Li Mu now, on the contrary, fears those enemies who want to kill him the least.

The more they desire his life,

the more he enjoys it!

Moreover, there are over a hundred such substitutes on his Heaven Dao Treasure Scroll!

Just thinking about it makes him happy!

After a short rest, Li Mu raised his knife, pried open the Crimson Flame Giant Tiger's skull, and extracted the Demon Crystal.

But Li Mu did not choose to absorb it immediately!

Although the Demon Crystal of a Second-Grade Peak Demon General contains energy of unparalleled purity and magnitude.

If Li Mu were to absorb it, it would inevitably cause another breakthrough in his cultivation!

But he had only just broken through the Ninth-Grade Refining Qi Realm.

With his foundation still unstable, advancing to the Ten Grade Lian Qi Realm would inevitably destabilize his realm.

Anyway, there's a Red Cloud Purple Grass here; after I secure it and the Demon Crystal of that Black-Scaled Demon Python,

I'll wait until I exit the Yunshan Secret Realm to see if there's a suitable pill formula, then use my divine arts and Samadhi True Fire to forge a pill, maximizing its value and benefit!

After securing the Crimson Flame Giant Tiger's Demon Crystal and pocketing the Red Cloud Purple Grass, Li Mu prepared to deal with the tiger's corpse, but heard an odd sound coming from the cave.

His heart stirred.

"Could there be other treasures deep within this cave?"

The cave was extremely deep and its interior paths tangled; without having killed the Crimson Flame Giant Tiger, Li Mu dared not rashly explore further.

Now the Crimson Flame Giant Tiger had already been split in two by him, dead beyond death.

So Li Mu now had no hesitation and walked directly toward the source of the sound.

Following the cave deeper, he reached its end, where a beam of light shone down from above.

It turned out that at the cave's end there was a fissure, and a warm ray of sunshine poured in through it.

In the sunlight, a pile of dry hay lay.

Among them, a small tiger with fire‑red fur was howling.

It was the Crimson Flame Giant Tiger's cub!

The cub looked pitiful, its eyes still unopened.

Probably starving, it crawled and cried atop the haystack, whimpering mournfully.

If left to fend for itself, this cub would certainly not survive more than three days in the Yunshan Secret Realm.

The scene stirred his emotions.

Seeing the cub felt as if he were seeing himself.

As a transmigrator, he too was a lone soul living in this strange Qian Kun Realm.

In this life, he feared there would be no chance to return to Earth…

He gave a wry smile, looked at the cub, and sighed gently, full of compassion.

"We truly share the same fate!"

Moreover, the mother tiger had been killed by Li Mu.

The current situation was all his doing.

But in this brutal world of cannibalism and dismemberment, even among fellow sect disciples, everyone coveted killing for treasure.

Let alone cultivators and demonic beasts!

Either you die!

Or I perish!

Even so, Li Mu still felt compassion.

He sighed, "You little thing, your life should not be cut short."

"Since I killed your mother, as atonement, let me raise you in her place."

He finished speaking.

Li Mu crouched down and picked up a branch from the haystack.

He wove a simple back basket from the branch, placed a small tiger inside, and walked outward carrying it.

"Big brother!"

Li Mu walked forward and heard a shout from ahead.

It was Qian Wenyi.

"Big brother, this is the Second‑grade Golden Healing Medicine I prepared specially."

"Take it quickly!"

Qian Wenyi first took a Jade Bottle from the spatial artifact strapped to his waist, then handed the water pouch he had prepared to Li Mu as well.

"That kid!"

"He's got a pretty good eye for this."

Although Li Mu didn't need the Golden Healing Medicine, he slipped it into his pocket; as for the water pouch—

Li Mu felt a bit thirsty, so he unscrewed the cap.

Goo‑dong, goo‑dong, goo‑dong…

Cool water flowed down his throat.

"Big brother!"

"How do you feel now?"

"And…"

Saying that, Qian Wenyi scratched his head awkwardly, a hint of shame appearing on his face.

"Also, big brother, I'm useless."

"Earlier, I couldn't help you at all."

When Qian Wenyi first saw Li Mu struck by the Crimson Flame Giant Tiger's tiger tail, he thought of rushing to help, but Li Mu stopped him with a glance.

Later, when he tried to find another chance to help—

Li Mu had already settled the fight with the Crimson Flame Giant Tiger in a single stroke.

"Good thing you didn't charge in to help just now!"

Li Mu set the water pouch down, gave Qian Wenyi a casual glance, and said, "You're only at Seventh Grade Qi Refinement Realm!"

"In that situation, even if you really charged, you wouldn't even fit into the Crimson Flame Giant Tiger's teeth gap."

Li Mu waved his hand indifferently and pointed at the corpse of the Crimson Flame Giant Tiger.

"Alright!"

"This big beast, let's find a place to bury it."

"Then, let's leave this place!"

"And…"

"You, don't just stand idle!"

"Carry this for me!"

Saying that, Li Mu removed the back basket from his shoulder and handed it to Qian Wenyi.

But when Qian Wenyi saw what was inside, it turned out to be a female cub of the Crimson Flame Giant Tiger.

Even as a young master of a great cultivation clan, his eyes couldn't help but blaze with excitement.

Tiger‑type demon beasts, being the King of Hundred Beasts, are exceedingly proud; unless tamed by a beast‑master who holds a powerful inheritance, ordinary cultivators could never subdue them!

Take this Crimson Flame Giant Tiger, for example!

Faced with life‑or‑death peril, it would rather trade lives with Li Mu than ever think of bowing down in compromise.

Therefore, cubs of demon beasts like the Crimson Flame Giant Tiger are extremely precious; at minimum they become a Demon General later, and with enough resources, breaking through to a Demon King isn't impossible!

What does a Demon King represent?

Every Demon King is a terrifying being that has awakened its innate demon method!

Even a powerful cultivator who has reached Foundation Establishment Realm isn't a match for its combat power.

For an individual cultivator, and especially for the family behind them, the boost is far from negligible.

"Big brother, Shao Wenqiang has no good intentions at all!"

"He first sent us to explore this cavern where the Crimson Flame Giant Tiger lives, and after we entered, he slammed the entrance shut, cutting off our retreat."

"I'm certain Shao Wenqiang wants to kill us!"

"The cavern is extremely deep and its interior a maze; we must find another way out before they notice!"

Qian Wenyi may lack worldly experience, but he's not a fool!

By now, how could he not know this is all Shao Wenqiang and others' scheming!

With the back basket on his back, Qian Wenyi helped Li Mu hurry toward another passage.

But just as they turned and hadn't gone far, a flash of light streaked behind them.

Immediately, the broken stones were blasted outward from the outside.

"Boom—boom—boom…"

Debris flew, and dust rose everywhere.

Outside, Shao Wenqiang and his party rushed in without pause.

When they saw the corpse of the Crimson Flame Giant Tiger lying behind Li Mu and Qian Wenyi, everyone was stunned!

"What?"

"You actually killed the Crimson Flame Giant Tiger!"

"Just the two of them?"

"Is this Crimson Flame Giant Tiger all show and no substance?"

"You solved it so easily?"

"Easy!"

"Come on, which eye of yours saw it as easy?"

"Never mind the rest!"

"Li Mu possesses the terrifying power that, at the martial conference, instantly dealt with Zhao Jianfei at the Ninth Grade Qi Refining Realm Peak!"

"But even he was gravely wounded!"

"Yeah…"

"Look at Li Mu; he looks as if he was just pulled out of a blood pool."

"The fact that he's still alive, I consider that a miracle!"

While a teammate beside them kept pointing at Li Mu and Qian Wenyi, Huang Yiheng looked over at Shao Wenqiang and said, "Brother, what should we do now?"

Shao Wenqiang first glanced at the blood‑soaked Li Mu, who seemed to have just narrowly snatched a life back from the tiger's jaws.

Then he turned to Qian Wenyi, who was surrounded by luxurious spiritual‑artifact gear and a spatial artifact, and shouted, "Qian Wenyi!"

When Shao Wenqiang looked his way, Qian Wenyi's body trembled, instinctively stepping back half a step, and their gaze at Shao Wenqiang was filled with wariness.

"It seems you already know my plan!"

Shao Wenqiang looked at the wary Qian Wenyi, a cold curve forming at the corner of his mouth.

"Since that's the case, I won't beat around the bush for you."

"Hand over all your spiritual artifacts and spatial artifacts to me, then kill Li Mu."

"Then perhaps I'll spare your life!"

"What did you say?!"

Qian Wenyi's eyes widened, their face full of astonishment as they stared at Shao Wenqiang.

Seeing the expression on Qian Wenyi's face at that moment.

Shao Wenqiang seemed to find it extremely amusing and couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Originally, according to Shao Wenqiang's initial plan, he intended to create an accident during the encounter with the Crimson Flame Giant Tiger, so that Qian Wenyi would die directly under the tiger's jaws.

That way, their group could also divide the spiritual artifacts and treasures on Qian Wenyi's body.

But now, Li Mu's involvement has thrown their plan off course!

Who would have thought Li Mu could be so terrifying and ferocious!

All by himself, he brutally tore the Crimson Flame Giant Tiger apart.

Nevertheless, that's also good.

In an unseen way, it saved their group a lot of trouble.

As for Qian Wenyi?

Whether to feast or starve, Shao Wenqiang could still clearly decide which to choose.

Qian Wenyi, as a wealthy young master of a prominent cultivation clan in the Qian Kun Realm, is dripping with riches.

If he follows his own words and kills Li Mu now,

Even if the First Rule of the Four Peaks Grand Competition applies, Qian Wenyi's actions could never be exempted!

Moreover, the nature would be even more heinous, constituting a grave crime of secretly harming a fellow sect member!

As long as we hold this evidence of Qian Wenyi's crime, why should we fear that Qian Wenyi won't comply?

"Qian Wenyi!"

"You know exactly the aura you exude!"

"Now, you have only one chance to stay alive."

"And that is to kill Li Mu with your own hands!"

"Otherwise, you all will die together in this cave."

A bloodthirsty cold glint flashed in Shao Wenqiang's eyes.

"What are you still hesitating about?"

"In this cave, it's just us!"

"What happens here won't reach anyone else's ears."

"Are you still afraid of a barely surviving, near‑death Li Mu?"

Qian Wenyi glanced to the side.

Li Mu then pulled his arm away from Qian Wenyi's body, spread both hands, indicating that he was fine as long as they were happy.

"Clang!"

Qian Wenyi heroically drew his side sword.

"Kerrk…"

"Finally made up your mind?"

Shao Wenqiang narrowed his eyes, the smile at his mouth growing more smug.

In his hand, he quietly activated the Jade Slip used to record the scene.

But the result surprised everyone present.

Qian Wenyi raised his long blade, silently blocking Li Mu.

Not a step back!