Chapter 33

At this moment, as far as the eye could see, almost all the mountain peaks were covered with ancient trees, and many of them still bore the traces of snow.

This was a world with a touch of ancient charm.

The Northern Cold Sect was so vast that even after more than ten years, Lishui was still very unfamiliar with everything here. The two could only look down from the air.

However, with the Tianxuan flying saucer, the two did not need to exert too much effort.

Finally, they chose an unnamed mountain peak and slowly descended.

They chose this mountain peak because it was densely covered with cypress trees, possibly numbering in the thousands.

Apart from precious woods like yinshen wood, golden-thread nanmu, and zimu, cypress could be considered one of the best materials for making coffins.

For ordinary people, if they could have a fine cypress coffin after death, they would die content.

This mountain, covered with ancient cypresses, naturally attracted Amu. He never expected that such a treasure place existed within the Northern Cold Sect. These ancient cypresses, with their intertwined roots and lush green canopies, had withstood the test of time for over a thousand years.

"Truly a creation of heaven!"

Amu and Lishui were both stunned by these ancient cypresses.

Amu, who had never seen such a cypress forest before, couldn't help but exclaim, "The Northern Cold Sect, where every mountain is a treasure!"

Then, after more than half an hour of searching, they finally chose a particularly ancient cypress. This ancient tree was nearly ten zhang tall, with a lush green canopy and a gnarled trunk, thick enough for twelve or thirteen people to encircle it, and it was probably over three thousand years old.

Amu thought to himself, "If this tree is used for a coffin, Li Ruo's grandfather will not have lived in vain!"

However, this ancient cypress was so precious that Amu decided not to harm its roots and only take a section of it, enough for one coffin.

As for how to take this ancient cypress, Amu had already made arrangements. Ordinary axes and saws would hardly be able to move such an ancient cypress.

Amu took out a cold-glowing flying sword from the Qiankun Ruyi Bracelet. This flying sword was a sixth-grade magical tool, suitable for initial cultivators of the sixth or seventh grade.

This sword was given to Amu by Han Yucheng from the Qianyun Cave a few days ago. The Qianyun Cave was a specialized cave for refining magical tools within the Northern Cold Sect; otherwise, an initial cultivator of the eighth grade would not be able to give such a high-quality flying sword.

Although this sword was not at the level of a magical treasure, it far surpassed ordinary human weapons, and cutting down an ancient cypress should not be a problem.

Amu asked Lishui to step aside slightly, then aimed at the right spot and swung the sword. With a hiss, the flying sword plunged into the cypress trunk. However, due to the tree's immense thickness, it failed to cut the ancient cypress.

Since Amu had not cultivated a仙根 (immortal root), he could not convert his spiritual energy into cultivation power, let alone infuse it into the flying sword. Therefore, although the flying sword was sharp enough, it could not fully unleash its power as a sixth-grade magical tool.

If this sword were in the hands of an initial cultivator of the eighth grade like Han Yucheng, it would likely cut through the thousand-year-old cypress with a single swing.

But Amu couldn't do it. He looked at the flying sword and couldn't help but smile bitterly.

"Looks like I can only use you as an axe!" With that, Amu swung the flying sword.

"Crack!" He really used it as an axe, starting to cut the tree.

If Han Yucheng knew that the flying sword he had kindly given to Amu was being used to cut down a tree, he would be quite surprised.

Although the flying sword was sharp, the cypress was too thick. Amu spent nearly half an hour cutting before he finally finished.

"Should have called for some help if I knew it would take so much effort!" Amu put away the flying sword, then stored the wood, enough for two coffins, in the Qiankun Ruyi Bracelet.

"Hard work!" Lishui smiled.

"Not hard! It's just that my cultivation is not high enough. If any of the senior disciples from Luoyun Cliff were here, they could do it with a single wave of their hand!" Amu shook his head, then instructed Lishui, "Tomorrow, don't forget to bring me the tools for making the coffin. I will definitely have a good coffin ready within seven days!"

The coffin-making techniques Amu learned from Wang Jue were different from those in the secular world; otherwise, how could he make a coffin in just seven days after cutting the wood?

Lishui smiled and said, "Don't worry, I won't forget. I can't forget that you are helping Li Ruo's grandfather make a coffin!"

Amu smiled. Since he had obtained the wood, he needed to return to Tongtian Peak.

Amu patted the ancient cypress again. This cypress was extremely large, and Amu had not damaged its roots or even completely cut through the main trunk, so it still stood.

"Thanks, Brother Cypress!" Amu joked, then prepared to summon the Tianxuan flying saucer to return with Lishui.

But at that moment, a sudden tiger roar echoed, shaking their eardrums and causing the forest to tremble.

Accompanied by a gust of wind, a white-striped tiger suddenly appeared, its fangs bared and eyes like copper bells, growling and staring at Amu and Lishui.

This tiger was quite large, nearly a zhang long, and particularly, it had a pair of fleshy wings under its ribs, each about a zhang long.

"Half-Immortal Tiger!" Lishui exclaimed.

"Half-Immortal Tiger?" Amu was also taken aback, never expecting to encounter such a strange beast on this unnamed mountain.

The Half-Immortal Tiger was a low-level spirit beast, with magical power equivalent to that of an initial cultivator of the fourth or fifth grade. It was exceptionally fierce and cruel, difficult to tame, but it was said to have a trace of dragon nature, hence the pair of fleshy wings. When its wings were spread, it could travel a hundred miles in an instant.

Therefore, if a Half-Immortal Tiger could be tamed, it would be an excellent flying spirit beast for cultivators below the spirit realm, worth twenty bronze-level spirit coins.

Even a dead Half-Immortal Tiger was a treasure, with its skin, bones, gallbladder, and fangs all usable for refining magical tools or medicine. A dead Half-Immortal Tiger could be worth over a thousand spirit stones.

Thus, the sudden appearance of the Half-Immortal Tiger startled Amu, and Lishui immediately signaled Amu to quickly summon the Tianxuan flying saucer and leave.

However, Amu quickly calmed down.

Amu was not greedy, but the Half-Immortal Tiger was a good opponent for cultivation.

Although Amu had not yet cultivated an immortal root, he wanted to test whether he could defeat an opponent at the level of an initial cultivator of the fourth or fifth grade using his immortal bone and some magical treasures.

Although he had fought Deng Yan, an initial cultivator of the third grade, Deng Yan had no intention to kill, so Amu's true strength was not revealed.

This time, facing the fierce Half-Immortal Tiger, it would be a good test.

Thinking of this, Amu smiled at Lishui, "Senior Brother Lishui, we'll have tiger meat for dinner tonight!"

"Tiger meat?" Lishui's face turned pale. He saw that Amu did not want to leave but intended to kill the Half-Immortal Tiger. He hurriedly said,

"Amu, don't fight this beast! It's equivalent to an initial cultivator of the fourth or fifth grade!"

"Hehe! No problem!" Amu was confident. He had the Qiankun Ruyi Bracelet for protection, the summoning talisman of Tieyun, the black vine, and the ultimate divine object, the Magic Coffin, inside his body. With multiple layers of protection, the Half-Immortal Tiger could not possibly eat him.

Amu waved his hand and summoned the Tianxuan flying saucer, landing it in front of Lishui.

"Senior Brother Lishui, get on first. If things go wrong, you leave first!" Amu said with a smile.

Lishui wished he could pull Amu up, but the Half-Immortal Tiger was between them, and Lishui was too scared to approach.

He quickly got on the Tianxuan flying saucer but was determined not to leave alone. He watched to see how Amu would deal with the Half-Immortal Tiger.

In the instant of their conversation, the Half-Immortal Tiger continued to growl, its front paws pawing the ground, its body slightly arched, and its eyes gleaming with ferocity, ready to pounce at any moment.

Since it was facing both Amu and Lishui, the Half-Immortal Tiger's large head swayed from side to side, seemingly deciding which to attack first.

However, seeing Lishui on the Tianxuan flying saucer and not moving, the Half-Immortal Tiger focused its gaze on Amu.

"Come on! Beast, dinner is served!" Amu brandished the fifth-grade magical tool flying sword in his hand.

Although Amu had two soul treasures, the only offensive magical tool he had was the flying sword, as he could not easily take out the black vine.

The Qiankun Ruyi Bracelet, although known for both attack and defense, was just a storage bag for Amu at this stage, only automatically protecting him in critical moments.

The Half-Immortal Tiger, lacking spiritual intelligence, did not understand what Amu said, but it seemed to have the same idea.

It also saw Amu as its dinner and was very excited, drooling. It was much more eager than Amu.

"Roar!" With a loud roar, the Half-Immortal Tiger leaped, covering two or three zhang, and pounced at Amu.