Chapter 22

Zhang Yueming's inspiring words rekindled the courage of the young men, and his promise of many benefits made them all沸腾 with excitement, eager to rush forward and slay the two ferocious beasts at once.

Zhang Yueming immediately stopped the others from acting, seeing that the purple-striped pig was not yet at its wits' end. Although he was confident in dealing with the mountain tiger, he thought it best not to miss the opportunity to weaken its strength.

Yang Junshan and his companion, hiding behind a pile of rocks, had seen everything Zhang Yueming and his group had done and understood their intentions. Su Baozhang couldn't help but nudge Yang Junshan and asked, "What do we do now? Zhang Yueming has too many treasures; we are no match for them."

Although Zhang Yueming had only revealed three treasures, each one was so formidable that even Yang Junshan, with his past experiences and thorough preparations, still felt at a disadvantage compared to the three treasures in Zhang Yueming's possession. Moreover, Yang Junshan couldn't simply assume that Zhang Yueming's means were limited to just these three.

"Don't be hasty!"

Yang Junshan nodded forward and said, "Being hasty won't help. We still have a ground bear hidden ahead. We'd have to scare it out!"

Su Baozhang also wondered, "That's true, but with such a commotion, the giant bear hasn't made a single move. Is this still a fierce and violent ground bear?"

Yang Junshan's gaze, fixed on where the ground bear was hiding, shimmered with an indescribable light. "It will make its move!"

At that moment, the purple-striped pig let out a dying scream. Although the mountain tiger was injured in the hind leg by the pig's last counterattack and had several bleeding wounds on its back, and its abdomen was hit several times, making it seem to lose some strength and stand unsteadily, it still pinned the pig to the ground and bit its throat to death.

"Everyone, attack!"

A loud shout came from the forest behind the mountain tiger. Zhang Yueming led the charge, channeling the spiritual power he had cultivated into the firebird talisman in his hand. A burst of fire suddenly exploded in his hand, forming a three-foot-tall firebird in mid-air, which seemed to have a spirit of its own and flew towards the mountain tiger, always staying above it no matter how the tiger tried to dodge.

The young men, seeing this, were overjoyed. They each took their weapons and followed Zhang Yueming, shouting as they advanced. As long as the firebird talisman severely wounded the mountain tiger, they could harvest two high-grade ferocious beasts.

As the firebird passed, the branches, leaves, dry grass, and broken vines were all set ablaze. Seeing that the mountain tiger had nowhere to hide, its feet suddenly gave way, and its entire body fell into a pit. The firebird then crashed into the edge of the pit, and a burst of orange-yellow flames instantly covered a ten-foot radius.

"Great!"

"This mountain tiger is dead for sure. Let's put out the fire quickly, or we'll lose this ferocious beast!"

The young men, including Zhang Yueming, rushed forward to extinguish the fire.

However, just then, an angry roar suddenly came from the flames, shocking the young men. Could it be that even the firebird talisman couldn't kill this ferocious beast?

At that moment, Zhang Yueming suddenly realized something was wrong and shouted, "Retreat!"

But it was already too late. The mountain tiger's massive body suddenly burst out of the flames, with most of its body burned by the firebird talisman, but it was not dead.

The area where the mountain tiger had been was completely covered by the fire caused by the firebird talisman, making it impossible for Zhang Yueming and the young men to see what was happening. However, Yang Junshan and his companion, hiding behind the pile of rocks, had a clear view. The mountain tiger, in its escape, had fallen into the nest the purple-striped pig had built under a tree stump.

The nest, made of dry branches, had already been destroyed in the fight between the mountain tiger and the purple-striped pig, but this also allowed the mountain tiger to avoid the initial impact of the firebird talisman.

The mountain tiger, although still severely injured by the firebird talisman's aftereffects, with its hind legs charred black, still managed to jump out of the firebird talisman's range.

Su Baozhang couldn't help but exclaim, "This mountain tiger has such strong vitality, it can still stand up after being burned like this!"

Yang Junshan's eyes flashed with excitement. "Because this mountain tiger must have nurtured a spirit tiger bone inside its body!"

Su Baozhang's eyes sparkled with envy, but it quickly faded, and he regained his determination. Just as he was about to say something, he suddenly saw the massive body of the ground bear stand up behind the bushes, look at the mountain tiger being attacked on the slope, and then run down the slope, using the bushes for cover.

Su Baozhang's face lit up. "What a good opportunity! The giant bear is leaving. Once Zhang Yueming and the mountain tiger are both weakened, it will be our chance!"

Yang Junshan's gaze followed the ground bear's massive body until it quietly left the slope. Then he turned his attention back to the battle on the slope, but his eyes were even more profound, clearly not fully focused on the battle to encircle the mountain tiger.

One of the young men, seeing the mountain tiger rush towards him with flames and smoke, like a ghost from hell, was so frightened that he stood rooted to the spot. Zhang Yueming tried to warn him, but it was too late. The young man was knocked to the ground and, before he could even scream, his neck was snapped by the mountain tiger with a "crack."

He was dead. A companion who had been chatting with him just moments ago was now dead!

The shock was so intense that the young men momentarily forgot the danger around them, staring in shock at their companion being torn apart by the mountain tiger in just a few seconds.

"Quick, surround it! It's almost done for. We must avenge Chen Jiawang!"

Zhang Yueming's loud shout woke the young men from their stupor. They, who had been at a loss, suddenly found their resolve, and in a daze, they began to follow Zhang Yueming's command to encircle the severely injured mountain tiger.

At this moment, Zhang Yueming was ruthless and decisive. He knew that if everyone fled, the mountain tiger would chase them, and many more would die. It was better to fight the injured mountain tiger, perhaps saving a few lives. If they could hold out until the mountain guards from the Heaven-Shaking Sect arrived, the mountain tiger would be in their hands.

With this thought, Zhang Yueming crushed a communication talisman in his hand and shouted, "The protective talisman can at least withstand one attack from the mountain tiger!"

The young men, as if waking from a dream, several of them, in a panic, tore the talismans from their waist pouches, and a faint protective light rose, enveloping the remaining young men.

However, one young man was too late. As he took out his talisman, the mountain tiger had already pounced on him. The young man, in a panic, turned and ran, forgetting the talisman in his hand.

Zhang Yueming shouted warnings, and at the same time, he drew the emerald light talisman sword from his waist and lunged after the mountain tiger, stabbing it from a distance!

A burst of emerald light, triggered by the spiritual power in Zhang Yueming's body, shot out from the sword and plunged into the mountain tiger's hindquarters, the force of which even pushed the mountain tiger's massive body forward and rolled it to the ground.

But Zhang Yueming's strike was too late. As the mountain tiger rolled, it took the opportunity to pounce on the young man who was running in front of it, and with one swipe, half of his face was torn off, clearly a fatal wound.

Zhang Yueming roared in anger and again infused his stored spiritual power into the talisman sword, sending another burst of light. However, the mountain tiger, this time, was extremely agile and, in a split second, dragged its injured body to avoid the sword's strike.

"Everyone, attack quickly! Don't let this mountain tiger escape. Avenge Chen Jiawang and Mao Bing!"

The young men rushed forward to encircle the severely injured mountain tiger, but as they approached, they unconsciously slowed down. The mountain tiger took advantage of this moment and, before Zhang Yueming could activate the emerald light talisman sword for the third time, escaped into the forest.

The young men, momentarily intimidated by the mountain tiger's ferocity, stood at the edge of the forest, hesitant and at a loss.

Zhang Yueming's eyes showed a hint of frustration, but looking at the dead body of the purple-striped pig, he said, "The mountain tiger has been severely injured by my firebird talisman and won't have gone far. Chasing it now would only provoke its ferocity. Let's deal with this purple-striped pig first, and then track the mountain tiger. By then, the big cat will be at the end of its strength, and we can easily capture it!"

The young men, hearing this, breathed a sigh of relief and said, "That's right, Brother Yueming is right!"

"We will follow Brother Yueming's lead!"

"Brother Ming will surely gain two high-grade spirit items this time!"

...

As the purple-striped pig's skin was slowly peeled off, despite several damages, the cloud patterns on it still contained spiritual power, making the purple cloud skin look as if it was shimmering with a lustrous light, truly a high-grade spirit item.

Su Baozhang swallowed and whispered, "Brother Junshan, should we try to take this purple cloud skin?"

Yang Junshan narrowed his eyes and suddenly said, "No."

"Then should we chase the mountain tiger?" Su Baozhang asked, somewhat worried, "But the mountain tiger ran into the forest on the opposite slope. If we chase it, we'll be discovered by Zhang Yueming and the others."

Yang Junshan smiled slightly and said, "We'll chase the ground bear!"

...