Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97
The massive beast emerging from the cavern was around ten meters long and five meters tall. Similar to the Crimsonfrons White Tiger, it was cloaked in glorious golden fur. Even before making a move, one could already smell the stench of bloodshed drifting in the air.
After entering the folded space, they had encountered quite a number of beasts. Their cultivation realms were frighteningly high, but their fighting experience was sorely lacking. It still had not been easy to deal with them, but the occasional mistakes that they made created exploitable openings.
However, it was completely different with the massive beast before them. From the strong killing intent that seemed to be embedded into its very presence to the extreme wariness in its eyes, it was apparent that it was a veteran in battle. Without a doubt, many powerful beasts had fallen under its claws.
In order to become one of the Monarchs within this forest, one had to possess indomitable strength.
Sweeping its cold gaze across the group of eight, the Goldspirit Cloudtiger uttered wintry, “It has been so long since anyone has had the guts to wreak havoc on my territory.”
Astonishingly, the Goldspirit Cloudtiger actually spoke the language of the humans.
There should not have been any humans in the Temple of Confucius for tens of thousands of years. For this reason, the Goldface Skywolf and Crimsonfrons White Tiger could only communicate in the natural language of their own race. It was only after taming the latter that Zhang Xuan could converse with it through their telepathic connection.
Yet, this massive fellow was actually able to speak in the tongue of the humans… Even Zhang Xuan was slightly surprised by this anomaly.
“Don’t waste your words on it. Get into formation!” Wu Changping bellowed with a darkened face.
The fact that the Goldspirit Cloudtiger was able to speak in the tongue of the humans likely meant that it knew a lot about the human race. The fact that their earlier ploy did not work likely meant that it was already guarded against them from the very start.
Hula!
The group of eight raised their weapons and surrounded the Goldspirit Cloudtiger. An inexplicable link formed among their auras, almost as if there were fine threads connecting them together. With just a glance, it was apparent that on top of forming a formation, they had also utilized some kind of formidable artifact.
It was no wonder they were reluctant to allow Zhang Xuan to watch by the side. They had already made thorough preparations to subdue and tame the Goldspirit Cloudtiger, so there was no way that they would risk allowing anyone to steal the fruits of their labor.
“How meaningless!”
Unconcerned by the movements of the group, the Goldspirit Cloudtiger released a ferocious roar. With a powerful pounce, it leaped on the middle-aged man closest to it.
It seemed to be intending to barge through the formation through focusing its attack on an individual.
Weng!
Before its claws could land, rich energy gushed into the middle-aged man’s body through the narrow threads in the surroundings, filling him with power. His body lit up with a faint glow.
Augmented by the influx of energy, the middle-aged man raised his massive saber and slashed down furiously.
The massive congregation of saber qi manifested in the form of a towering saber afterimage in the air.
Boom!
The claw and the saber afterimage collided with one another, and the Goldspirit Cloudtiger could not help but retreat.
To think that they are able to channel the strength of a group into the body of one…Zhang Xuan nodded.
There was no way that the middle-aged man would have been able to defend against the Goldspirit Cloudtiger’s attacks alone. It was through the use of the narrow threads that the group infused their strength into the middle-aged man together, thus overpowering the massive beast.
As a result of their collaboration, even someone as powerful as the Goldspirit Cloudtiger found itself unable to breach their defenses.
“It seems like they have used a Great Sage artifact!”
Considering how the thread was able to withstand the strength of so many people without hindering the middle-aged man’s power output, there was no doubt that the artifact was at Great Sage tier at the very least.
While it could not match up to the Dragonbone Divine Spear, it was already on par with Wu Shu’s golden saber.
“I see. It’s no wonder you dared challenge me. It seems like you have some tricks up your sleeves…”
The Goldspirit Cloudtiger harrumphed coldly upon seeing that it had failed to breach their defense, but it did not show the slightest hint of being flustered. Instead, it whipped its thick tail furiously instead.
It was as if its tail was a weapon; it actually harnessed might greater than that of its claws. Warping into a blur, it darted toward the middle-aged man once more.
Realizing the major threat of the tail, the middle-aged man raised his saber once more to counterattack.
Peng!
The saber and the tail collided with one another. This time, it was the middle-aged man whose face paled, and he was forced to retreat several steps.
The Goldspirit Cloudtiger made use of this opportunity to further its attack. It swiped its claw forward ferociously.
The best way to overcome a collaborative formation when one was unable to analyze its structure and flaws was to focus one’s attacks on an individual. It was apparent that the Goldspirit Cloudtiger was aware of this fact as well.
The Goldspirit Cloudtiger’s movements were swift and powerful. It seemed as if the middle-aged man was unable to cope and would succumb very soon. Nevertheless, Zhang Xuan still shook his head.
That attack won’t work…
If it was so convenient to overcome the might of a Great Sage artifact, such artifacts would not drive so many cultivators frenzied in search of them.
Just as Zhang Xuan thought, the next moment, Wu Changping swiftly formed a hand seal.
Huala!
The next moment, the string in the air was suddenly pulled taut. An incredible surge of energy was channeled from the group into the narrow string, granting it unbelievable resilience and power.
“Attack!”
Following Wu Changping’s order, the other members of the group directed their weapons toward the Goldspirit Cloudtiger via the narrow string.
“Roar!”
The Goldspirit Cloudtiger clearly did not expect the string to possess such astounding prowess. It hurriedly raised its head and roared furiously.
Huala!
Countless surges of golden sword qi flew forth from its mouth to deflect the weapons and the string.
It’s able to shoot out sword qi too? The Goldspirit Cloudtiger is truly talented! Zhang Xuan’s eyes lit up in surprise.
He had thought that the massive beast would have no choice but to submit to the group, but who could have known that it would actually be able to release an outpour of sword qi? Just the Goldspirit Cloudtiger’s overwhelming strength and resilience were a pain to deal with. If it could use battle techniques on top of that, Wu Changping and the others would really face great difficulties trying to subdue it.
“The Goldspirit Cloudtiger is known for its proficiency in metal attribute offense. Do you think that we wouldn’t have a countermeasure against that? Let me tell you this, that’s exactly what we were waiting for!” Wu Changping chuckled triumphantly as he tapped his finger.
Tz la!
The next moment, the color of the string changed. It assumed a color reminiscent of lava, as if flames had been infused into it.
Huala!
The group channeled all of their zhenqi into the string. As if oil had been scattered atop a spark, a burning inferno burst forth.
In an instant, a blazing net appeared in the sky, trapping the Goldspirit Cloudtiger altogether.
They have really prepared themselves well. It seems like the Goldspirit Cloudtiger is going to succumb soon, Zhang Xuan remarked internally with a slight hint of awe in his voice.
As expected of a grand elder from the Beast Tamer Hall! Wu Changping’s understanding of his prey, grasp of the situation, and meticulousness in his planning and execution were truly praiseworthy.
Metal was known for its sharpness and resilience. The Goldspirit Cloudtiger was of the metal attribute, which made it extremely difficult to trap in a battle
While the string that they had brought was resilient and could be reinforced with their zhenqi, it would only be a matter of time before it snapped.
This was also where the strength of the metal attribute lay.
However, in anticipation of that, Wu Changping had prepared fire.
Of the Five Elements, fire curbed metal!
As soon as the fire burst forth, the metal attribute in the Goldspirit Cloudtiger’s body was immediately weakened. In fact, as it had just released a metal attribute offense earlier, the backlash that it suffered was greater than usual.
With this single move, the tables had turned.
I really mustn’t underestimate the experts of the world… Zhang Xuan thought in alarm.
Even though the possession of the Library of Heaven’s Path granted him an edge in battle, he could not allow himself to get complacent due to it. There were still many ways that others were able to corner and subdue him.
Had he been in the Goldspirit Cloudtiger’s position, the only way that he could have resolved it was probably to bring out the Otherworldly Demon Ancient Sage’s corpse.
“Roar!”
Watching as the blazing net swiftly closed in on it, the Goldspirit Cloudtiger also realized that the enemy had come well-prepared. It knew that it was in a critically disadvantageous position.
All of a sudden, it raised his head and roared once more.
But this time, the roar carried no hint of aggression to it. Instead, Zhang Xuan sensed pleading in it, reminiscent of a distress call.
“It’s a call for help… Does the Goldspirit Cloudtiger have other companions?” Wu Changping’s face warped in horror.
