Chapter 174: Han Li Enters the Domain The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's Delight
"It's over there? Perfect. Let's go I'll show you and your uncle our martial soul fusion skill!"
Guang Ling finally became excited, eagerly preparing to rush forward.
But before he could move, Qing Luan grabbed him by the collar with a deadpan expression, halting him mid step in a rather embarrassing position.
"Xiao Li already told us on the way not to get too close. Did you forget the records from the Spirit Hall? Are you trying to get yourself killed?"
Qing Luan stared at Guang Ling for a long moment before speaking in a cold tone.
Guang Ling lowered his head like a scolded child, not daring to talk back. He even sneaked a pleading glance at Han Li, silently begging him to help plead his case.
If there was ever a case of one thing restraining another, this was it.
Despite being the strongest among them, Guang Ling never dared to argue with Qing Luan. He was even more obedient in front of him than he was before Qian Daoliu.
The rest of the group silently chuckled at the sight.
Even Han Li shook his head, though he made no effort to intervene.
Unlike their previous hunts, this one could actually get someone killed.
They weren't six year olds capable of handling a Dark Demon Evil God Tiger.
Even Han Li himself wasn't sure if his semi divine martial soul would be degraded by the domain's laws if he was dragged into the Life and Death Arena.
If his martial soul was forcibly regressed, then even if the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger was weakened, he couldn't guarantee a victory not even with his recent experiences in Slaughter City.
And that was excluding the fact that, under the Evil God's protection, the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger would likely remain in its complete state.
Han Li was certain that the Divine Realm wouldn't let him die.
But his companions?
The gods wouldn't necessarily care if they perished.
"...I was wrong. I'll follow orders from now on."
Seeing the situation, Guang Ling immediately lowered his head and apologized sincerely, showing an unusually submissive attitude.
Qing Luan sighed and let go of him, shifting his attention to Han Li.
Receiving the signal, Han Li turned toward Dugu Bo and the three girls.
"Old man, you should stay here with them. It's best not to get too close this hunt is too dangerous, and I can't guarantee absolute safety this time."
"Also, give me some of your poison. Yan, yours too and reinforce it with Bloody Swan's Kiss."
As always, Han Li ensured full preparations.
Seeing that he had made up his mind, the others silently nodded in agreement.
Dugu Bo handed over his poison to Dugu Yan, who then carefully retrieved a pure white, swan neck shaped immortal herb from her soul guide.
Using her wings, she lightly touched the herb, transferring its essence into an ice crafted container that Han Li held.
Han Li quickly sealed the container and, instead of storing it in his wristband, he transformed it into an ordinary looking arrow, which he then slung onto his back.
"Alright, Master, Uncle let's go."
Han Li exhaled deeply before looking at the two.
"Be careful."
Those staying behind couldn't help but offer a final reminder.
"Relax I won't take any reckless risks. Worst case scenario, I'll just stall it to death."
Han Li waved at them before leading Guang Ling and Qing Luan toward the disturbance they had detected earlier.
The three concealed their auras, stopping two kilometers away in the canopy of an ancient tree, using the leaves as natural cover.
(Tang San was recorded to have a 1,500 meter perception range. This has been slightly increased here.)
"According to both records and Xiao Li's information, this should be outside its immediate detection range."
Qing Luan spoke in a low voice, his expression serious.
He had calculated this range based on his own spiritual sense and his attunement to wind elements, intentionally overestimating the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger.
"If we fully conceal our auras while maintaining attack power, this is also the optimal range for our martial soul fusion skill. At most, we could extend by another 300 meters."
Guang Ling added, now fully focused in combat mode.
"That's more than enough. To be safe, I'll draw it into the air, forcing it to focus on me and disrupting its spatial awareness."
"When I fire the arrow on my back, that's your signal to attack. No matter how dangerous the situation seems, do not attack unless I use the arrow."
Han Li paused before looking up, his gaze sharp.
He hadn't forgotten that the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger had a teleportation ability.
It could instantly move across both ground and air.
If he wanted a flawless kill, he had to bait out that ability first.
"Three strikes. That's the maximum number of consecutive full power attacks we can launch. If we don't kill it, we retreat immediately."
"We can't confirm whether its Evil God Protection will activate instantly. If it does, we'll need two days before attempting again."
Qing Luan referred to the legendary ability recorded in the Spirit Hall's archives the Evil God Protection possessed by previous Dark Demon Evil God Tigers.
The two day delay was due to the cooldown of his and Guang Ling's fusion skill.
"Understood."
Han Li agreed without hesitation.
The entire reason he had them hidden in ambush was to counter this very risk.
With everything decided, Han Li wasted no time. With a swift beat of his wings, he left his original position, approaching the locked on area from a different angle.
Ahead, a heavily wounded Flame Tiger was being relentlessly pursued by Han Li, forcing it closer and closer to the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's territory.
Its body was covered in bloodstains, half of its tail had been severed, and large portions of its fur were charred black. Ice still clung to its front limbs, remnants of a previous attack.
Suddenly, as it crossed into a certain area, the stench of blood filled its nostrils. At the same time, the surrounding light dimmed, casting an eerie darkness over the landscape.
It raised its head anxiously, scanning the sky.
Clear. Not a single cloud in sight.
But before it could process the change, another powerful energy attack, brimming with elemental force and soul power, lashed out from behind.
The Flame Tiger had no time to hesitate. It dodged as quickly as possible and kept rushing forward.
Death was right behind it stopping was not an option.
"ROAR!"
A low, guttural growl echoed from ahead, making the Flame Tiger shudder.
But amidst its fear, a flicker of hope ignited.
One of its kind was here.
And not just any kin one far stronger than itself.
Though it resented the idea, it would rather submit than die.
The human soul master behind it had to die.
"ROAR!"
The Flame Tiger quickened its pace, sending a desperate message to its stronger kin, pleading for it to deal with the human first.
But the moment it rushed past the final obstruction, it froze in terror.
It instantly slammed on the brakes, its claws tearing into the ground.
Without a second thought, it turned and sprinted back even if it meant clashing with Han Li head on, it refused to remain here.
Unfortunately, it was too late.
A massive hook shot out like lightning, piercing clean through its body.
Before its flesh had even finished shriveling, a pair of jaws clamped down, ripping off its head.
At that moment, Han Li stepped into the darkened forest, his eyes locked onto the Flame Tiger's last position.
For a moment, he found himself in a dilemma advancing felt risky, but retreating wasn't much better.
Plop.
A barely recognizable tiger corpse was tossed toward him, landing not far away.
And then its predator stepped out from behind the obstruction.
The massive beast's eyes gleamed with mockery and hunger, locking directly onto Han Li.
It was a giant black tiger, its fur an impeccable shade of pure darkness, completely devoid of any other color.
Its blood red eyes exuded an ominous and sinister aura.
At over eight meters long, its muscular frame radiated sheer power. Two pairs of pitch black wings were folded neatly against its sides, waiting to unfurl.
It was easily over three thousand pounds, its forehead marked by a black "王" (King) character though unlike normal tigers, the mark was an ethereal, shadowy mist like black.
But the most unnerving feature was its tail.
Unlike regular tigers, its tail was exceptionally long, curving upward, composed of interlocking bone segments, and ending in a giant, hooked barb that glowed with a sinister light.
Traces of fresh blood still dripped from the barb remnants of the Flame Tiger it had just devoured.
Han Li instinctively took a few steps back, his bow already drawn and aimed directly at the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger.
He also glanced over his shoulder, as if checking for an escape route.
The beast took a slow step forward.
Its instincts screamed the human before it was a delicacy.
If it could devour this prey, its power would soar to unimaginable heights.
Yet, rather than attacking immediately, it stalked in a slow circle around Han Li, savoring the moment.
It relished the thrill of watching its prey squirm.
Its hooked tailswayed lazily, leaving behind a trail of distorted light with every movement.
And with each step, a grayish aura spread further around it corrupting everything in its vicinity.
Even the surrounding plants seemed to shrink away in terror.
This damn thing is cautious.
Han Li cursed inwardly but did not lower his guard.
Then
The moment the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger took another step forward
Whoosh!
An arrow whistled through the air, racing toward the beast.
At the same time, Han Li unfurled his turquoise wings, taking off into the sky as if fleeing outright.
The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger had already anticipated this move.
The moment Han Li fired, its tail whipped forward, slashing the arrow out of the air.
Simultaneously, dozens of black and red energy blades erupted from its sides, all laced with corrosive energy, hurling toward Han Li in pursuit.
Sensing the incoming assault, Han Li abandoned his original flight path, flapping hard to gain altitude.
With a sharp motion, he summoned an equal number of arrows, firing them directly at the incoming blades.
Meanwhile, the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's gleeful expression deepened.
Just from that brief exchange, it could tell
This human's elemental power was incredibly potent.
Even its tail had suffered minor damage from deflecting the first arrow.
But that only made it even more eager to devour him.
Above, the collision of arrows and energy blades triggered a violent explosion, momentarily dispersing the surrounding gray fog.
Yet, the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger made no effort to restore its gray domain.
That domain was meant to conceal itself and trap prey.
Now that the prey had revealed itself, the domain was no longer needed.
"ROAR!"
A deafening roar shook the air layered with mental shockwaves.
The beast lowered its stance, flexing its limbs.
Then, with a powerful leap and a single beat of its wings
It shot toward Han Li, intent on devouring him whole.
It had claimed its prey.
(End of Chapter)
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