Chapter 76

Ding Ning did not know what was happening in the outside world. His eyes were only on the lake, and he could already feel the faint spiritual energy floating in the valley.

After so many days of trekking, he had finally arrived.

He ran down the hillside, ignoring the wild beating of his heart, and only stopped when he reached the edge of the lake.

Sitting on the ground to catch his breath, Ding Ning surveyed the surrounding scenery.

The rain had not stopped, still pattering down, causing ripples on the lake's surface.

Ding Ning noticed that there were often wild animal footprints around, indicating that this was a water source for the surrounding wildlife.

Although there was spiritual energy, it was not very concentrated. It was only relatively dense due to the good natural environment, not a spiritual spot.

After his heart rate calmed down, Ding Ning stood up and began to walk slowly around the lake.

There was a white birch forest ahead, where Ma Xiaoleng had found the bones.

Walking into the birch forest, Ding Ning examined it carefully but found no spiritual spot.

The spiritual conditions here were good, but not enough to cause an animal to mutate from absorbing too much spiritual energy. Therefore, Ding Ning concluded that the animal had not become a spirit beast here.

However, even if it was not here, it must be nearby.

Ding Ning stopped on a grassy area, observing the terrain and the flow of the earth's veins, trying to pinpoint the exact location of the spiritual spot. Only by finding the spiritual spot could he locate the spirit beast, which would not be far from the spot.

Time passed slowly, and the rain stopped.

A rainbow hung in the sky, and the weather cleared up.

A herd of deer emerged from the forest, lowering their heads to graze, heading to the pond to drink water.

The deer slowly passed by Ding Ning, looking at him with puzzled eyes.

Ding Ning was calm, his aura radiating outward, giving off a natural and friendly vibe to the animals, just like when he first received the inheritance of the God of Wealth, when even swallows dared to land on his shoulder.

The deer were much braver than swallows, and a young deer even came over to sniff Ding Ning.

Ding Ning smiled and reached out his hand. The deer licked his fingers, showing affection.

After the deer herd passed, Ding Ning continued to search for the spiritual spot.

While carefully observing the flow of the earth's veins and analyzing, a commotion suddenly arose among the deer drinking water in the distance.

Ding Ning looked up and saw seven or eight wild gray wolves charging out, running towards the deer herd.

The deer panicked and scattered, with the wolves surrounding and chasing them, targeting the young deer that had just licked Ding Ning's hand.

Ding Ning originally did not want to get involved. It was the law of nature, survival of the fittest. If he saved the deer, a young wolf might starve to death. As a cultivator for many years, he had long become indifferent to such natural events.

As long as it did not affect his own interests, Ding Ning would generally choose to stand by and watch.

But this time, his heart was a bit moved.

His hand still felt warm from the deer's lick.

This animal had approached him voluntarily, showing some intelligence. Even if it was unlikely to become a spirit beast, it was smarter than its peers.

There was some connection, and Ding Ning felt it was a bit cruel to watch it be torn apart by the wolves.

"Ah! My cultivation of the mind is still not deep enough."

Ding Ning raised his hand, holding a lightning jade ball. If he released it, the wolves would surely scatter in panic, saving the young deer.

But just as Ding Ning was about to act, the wolves suddenly stopped their pursuit and faced the same direction, howling fiercely, as if warning some creature not to approach.

Ding Ning followed the direction of the wolves' howls and his eyes lit up!

A tiger!

A South China tiger!

A nearly four-meter-long tiger with a white forehead and glaring eyes emerged from the forest, running to the pond.

The tiger looked rather disheveled, with scratch marks on its body, as if it had just fought with another tiger. It ignored the wolves' warnings and ran to the pond to drink water.

Its eyes scanned the surroundings, showing curiosity at Ding Ning's presence.

Ding Ning looked at the tiger with excitement, not quite understanding how something could have injured this king of the forest, which even seven or eight wolves dared not approach.

Could there be more than one tiger in the area?

After drinking, the tiger shook its head and slowly walked back, the wolves retreating as it passed.

The tiger would not easily attack the wolves, and the wolves did not want to provoke the tiger. Since the tiger did not want trouble, the wolves would not attack.

The tiger walked for a while, found a comfortable grass nest, and lay down, its striped fur blending into the grass, making it hard to spot.

The deer herd had run far away, and the wolves, sensing the tiger's presence, decided this area was not suitable for hunting and followed the deer herd, leaving the lakeside to the tiger.

Ding Ning's eyesight was excellent, and he could see the tiger slowly licking its wounds. The tiger was recuperating here.

He decided to stay and find a spot a fair distance from the tiger.

Perhaps following the tiger could lead to some clues. Ding Ning gathered some branches and set up a fire.

By the lake, Ding Ning used the natural energy to attract a few fish, easily catching them, and then returned to the fire to prepare them with salt, starting to grill the fish.

The smell of grilled meat wafted over, attracting the tiger.

The tiger raised its head and looked at Ding Ning from a distance.

It had seen two-legged creatures before, who had powerful weapons and had killed some of its kind. The tiger's memory told it to stay away from them.

But this person did not seem threatening. Animals' senses were very acute, and the tiger did not sense any hostility from Ding Ning, so it lay there calmly.

The tiger also had no desire to attack Ding Ning, instinctively feeling that he was not easy to kill.

But the smell of grilled fish still attracted it. The tiger, hungry from the fight, shook off its fur and slowly approached Ding Ning.

Ding Ning watched the approaching tiger but did not take out the jade ball, as that would reveal a hint of hostility, causing the cautious tiger to attack or flee, neither of which he wanted.

The fish he was grilling were large and not meant for him alone.

He threw a half-cooked fish to the tiger, which landed about thirty meters away.

The tiger sniffed it, bit it, and took nearly half in one bite.

In a few more bites, the five-pound fish was gone.

Ding Ning grilled a few more and threw another one, this time closer, about fifteen meters away.

The tiger approached and lay down to eat the second fish.

For the third fish, Ding Ning threw it about seven or eight meters away. The tiger hesitated, instinctively cautious, but after eating two fish without incident, it finally approached and ate the third fish.

With over ten pounds of fish in its stomach, the tiger's hunger was somewhat relieved. Ding Ning knew that its aggressiveness had decreased.

For the fourth fish, Ding Ning threw it about four meters away.

The tiger approached without hesitation, its caution towards Ding Ning very low.

For the last two fish, Ding Ning kept one for himself and held the other in his hand, not throwing it.

The tiger slowly approached, came to Ding Ning's side, and pawed at the fish. Ding Ning retracted his hand, not letting it take the fish, but slowly released natural energy.

The tiger's last bit of caution disappeared in Ding Ning's energy, and it finally approached Ding Ning, opened its mouth, and bit the fish from his hand, lying down like a big dog to eat it.

This time, it ate slowly. Ding Ning watched the tiger finish, then released a bit of energy from his hand and slowly approached the tiger, scratching its neck fur.

The tiger was initially cautious, but Ding Ning was very careful, and the scratching was so comfortable that the tiger's eyes even closed slightly.

This was only possible because of Ding Ning's natural abilities as a cultivator, which made the tiger relax its guard. Even the world's best animal trainer could not approach a wild tiger so quickly.

After a while, the tiger even rolled over, letting Ding Ning scratch its belly.

Ding Ning scratched it for a few minutes, then stopped, patted the tiger's head, and indicated that it was over.

The tiger stood up, shook off the dust and water from its fur, roared, nudged Ding Ning with its head, and then trotted back to the grass nest to lie down.

Ding Ning did not bother it. The spiritual energy here was decent, so he decided to meditate and cultivate.

Time passed unnoticed, and when he opened his eyes, it was already morning.

Ding Ning was awakened by the tiger's roar. He opened his eyes and saw the tiger roaring about six or seven meters away.

Seeing Ding Ning awake, the tiger stopped roaring and ran into the forest, occasionally looking back and calling to Ding Ning, as if inviting him to follow.

Ding Ning was overjoyed. The tiger was going to a place that might be where he needed to find it!