Chapter 530
White Tiger
However, the middle-aged man didn't say anything more. He simply got up and gestured for Li Musheng to take the big black cat and follow him into the depths of the village.
The village wasn't large; originally, a few dozen feet away was a dead end at the cliff, but led by the middle-aged man, the two people and the cat seemed to pass through a quietly emerging mist and arrived at a huge canyon.
The canyon is pitch black, with no sky above and countless fluorescent white pebbles underfoot.
Looking around, there was no vegetation or jagged rocks in the canyon, only a towering skeleton, ten feet tall, lying at the end of the gravel road.
The skeleton was faintly visible in the silvery mist that resembled a galaxy. The exposed bones were as white as jade, yet they were covered with winding, jagged cracks that extended into places invisible within the mist.
Led by the middle-aged man, Li Musheng and the black cat stood at the foot of the enormous skeleton. Compared to the skeleton before them, the two people and the cat appeared extremely small.
"What you see now is the remains of the ferocious beast, the White Tiger."
The middle-aged man gazed up at the skeletons shrouded in silver mist, his voice devoid of emotion, and sighed:
"The legendary ancient ferocious beasts that could destroy the world single-handedly could not escape death and become nothing but skeletons in the end. So how could there be any immortal people in this world?"
However, as soon as the middle-aged man finished speaking, the big black cat that had been following Li Musheng suddenly cried out in pain.
The middle-aged man turned his head and saw that the large black cat, which was glowing all over, was now rolling around on the ground covered with white gravel, as if it were being burned by blazing silver flames. Its huge body, like that of a black panther, was rolling around desperately.
Meanwhile, the silver mist floating in mid-air and swirling around the skeleton of the ferocious white tiger began to ripple and surge slowly like the tide.
The silence of the canyon was broken by a shrill and pitiful meow. The big black cat rolled around on the ground in pain, and all the random things hidden under its belly, such as the mountain-climbing mark and gold, fell to the ground.
However, the big black cat clearly still retained a sliver of reason. Its pair of glowing green eyes anxiously looked at Li Musheng, obviously trying its best to ask him for help.
Li Musheng glanced at the big black cat, but didn't rush to attack. Instead, he stood aside, clicking his tongue in amazement, and said:
Why is your cat fur starting to turn white?
Although the big black cat was suffering from the burning of the silver flames, its skin and fur were actually unharmed except for being messed up by rolling around.
Meanwhile, the black cat's body was undergoing subtle changes.
The most obvious change is the change in the black cat's fur, followed by its visibly increasing size.
Previously, the big black cat's body was already as strong as a black panther, but now it is showing a tendency to change into the size of a mountain tiger.
"Just bear with it. No pain, no gain. I've looked at you, and it doesn't seem like your current situation is a bad thing."
Li Musheng waved to the black cat that was pleading for help, and upon hearing this, the black cat meowed even more pitifully.
In its view, even the greatest benefit is not worth the great suffering it has to endure!
The middle-aged man looked back and forth between the black cat and the white tiger skeletons for a moment, then pondered and said:
"The cat's destiny is beginning to show, and the residual power in the remains of the ancient ferocious beast White Tiger is helping it to transform."
Upon hearing this, Li Musheng withdrew his gaze from the large black cat and turned to look at the enormous skeleton half-hidden in the silver mist before him, narrowing his eyes slightly as he said:
"I am also very interested in the power of the ancient ferocious beast, the White Tiger."
As he spoke, he turned to the middle-aged man beside him and asked:
"If I were to ask for the skeleton of this ancient ferocious beast, the White Tiger, would you mind?"
Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man paused slightly, then gave Li Musheng a deep look, as if he was about to say something.
But the next moment, Li Musheng interrupted him directly.
"Of course, it's no use if you mind."
Li Musheng slowly turned his head and examined the towering white tiger skeleton before him once more, which was as imposing as a mountain. He said:
"There aren't many things that catch my eye, so this trip was definitely worthwhile."
After saying that, Li Musheng raised his hand and grabbed at the skeleton of the ferocious white tiger in front of him.
In an instant, the enormous skeleton lying in the center of the canyon began to tremble slightly, and the flawless white jade-like bones emitted clear and melodious sounds. The silver mist swirling around the skeleton seemed to be a light veil blown by a gale, and it trembled incessantly.
Upon seeing this, the middle-aged man standing nearby suppressed what he was about to say and seemed to have no intention of intervening.
At the same time, seemingly affected by Li Musheng's intervention, the big black cat rolling on the ground clearly felt that its pain had lessened somewhat.
It looked down at its fur, which was now mostly covered in white, and then looked up with difficulty at the skeleton of the ferocious white tiger in front of it, a creature it could only look up at.
The big black cat could clearly sense that the enormous white tiger skeleton, which had just appeared to be nothing more than an inanimate object, was now subtly emanating a chilling aura.
Upon seeing this, the big black cat did not hesitate at all. It rolled around and moved away from the location of the skeleton, clearly not wanting to be caught in the crossfire.
Li Musheng stood still, his expression unchanged. The powerful devouring force of the Devouring Heaven Demon Art was contained in his palms. He was using the invisible martial arts energy he had built between himself and the skeleton of the ferocious white tiger as a bridge to try to draw the power of the white tiger that remained in those broken bones.
During this time, the power hidden within the white tiger's skeleton began to awaken, and countless indistinct runes, like army ants, emerged densely from the cracks in the pristine white tiger's bones.
The massive skeleton, which had been trembling slightly, now seemed to be slowly rising from the ground, and an aura of majesty and killing intent appeared as if from the shadows...
"Young man, be careful, the ancient ferocious beast White Tiger is about to awaken."
The middle-aged man suddenly spoke, and as soon as he finished speaking, the silver mist swirling around the skeleton of the ferocious white tiger suddenly covered the surface of the bones like a tide.
Then, they transformed into strands of silver threads that weaved through the cracked bones of the ferocious beast, stitching the riddled bones back together in the blink of an eye. What was originally an ancient, broken skeleton, forgotten in the canyon for who knows how many years, was repaired in a matter of breaths and gradually rose from the canyon floor.
What came into view was no longer a mountain of lifeless bones, but a silver white tiger with a complete torso.
Two clusters of flames, like blazing suns, suddenly rose from the eyes of the silver tiger, and a murderous aura that seemed to pierce through the heavens and earth enveloped the surrounding area, causing the entire canyon in front of them to tremble and collapse.
The martial arts energy bridge that Li Musheng had built was shattered, and the devouring power of the Devouring Heaven Demon Art he used temporarily lost its devouring effect on the silver tiger in front of him.
Seeing this, Li Musheng slowly withdrew his hand and looked up at the enormous figure in front of him, whose body soared into the dark sky.
He stood at the other's feet, not even as tall as a section of the other's toe, like a mayfly gazing at a towering tree.
"Although this ancient ferocious beast has perished, the power and might it left behind are by no means something that human beings can easily contend with."
The middle-aged man stood beside Li Musheng, also looking up at the revived silver tiger before him, and said:
"Although you have already reached the realm of Martial God in the mortal martial arts world, you cannot take things too easy when facing these ferocious beasts of heaven and earth. You can only proceed slowly."
As he spoke, the middle-aged man turned to look at Li Musheng and said:
“I’m willing to accept defeat, and I naturally won’t stop you from obtaining the remains of the ancient ferocious beast, the White Tiger. However, if you want to take it away from here, the best way is to stay here and proceed step by step.”
Upon hearing this, Li Musheng raised an eyebrow slightly and stared at the silver tiger in front of him for a while.
At this moment, after he stopped making any further moves, the revived silver tiger stood quietly in the center of the canyon like a sleeping ferocious beast. Apart from the terrifying and majestic aura of killing intent that seemed to stretch endlessly down, it remained motionless and made no further sound.
"If it were a living, ancient ferocious beast, the White Tiger, I might consider it, but what I see before me is at most a dead creature with residual power. How could I possibly take it seriously?"
Li Musheng slowly shook his head. Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man beside him visibly paused for a moment.
It seems that he did not expect that despite his kind words, Li Musheng would not listen to him at all and instead showed such an arrogant and conceited attitude.
However, the middle-aged man didn't say anything more, and in the blink of an eye, his expression returned to normal. He said:
"Young man, you're so confident. I'd like to see how you plan to take away the remains of this ancient ferocious beast, the White Tiger."
Upon hearing this, Li Musheng glanced at the large black cat that had gradually stopped howling not far away, and said casually:
"No rush. I'll make my move after this cat has finished its transformation."
After being revived by the remains of the ancient ferocious beast White Tiger, the big black cat had transformed in a short period of time from a glossy black cat into a large white cat the size of a mountain tiger.
The silver flames that had been burning its body slowly extinguished and receded into the white cat's body. As the pain in its body disappeared, the white cat instantly returned to its energetic state and stopped rolling around on the ground.
At the same time, the towering silver tiger in the canyon seemed to sense something. Its huge eyes, burning with the brilliance of the rising sun, slowly turned, as if looking at the large white cat on the ground, which was countless times smaller than it but had a similar shape.
In an instant, the big white cat, who felt it had just escaped a disaster, was struck dumb. It finally remembered where the feeling of being stared at by something terrifying had come from ever since it came to the White King's tomb.
At this moment, after the silver tiger fixed its gaze on the big white cat, the blazing sunlight in its eyes swirled rapidly, and then shot out two beams of light containing countless runes, which instantly pierced through the void and fell down towards the big white cat below.
The big white cat was terrified and wanted to escape immediately, but its body was stuck in the mud and it could not move at all. It could only let the two falling orbs of light smash directly into its body with a "bang".
Meanwhile, after doing all this, the towering silver tiger looked away, no longer paying attention to the big white cat.
Li Musheng and the middle-aged man both witnessed this scene, but neither of them made a move to stop it. Instead, they were observing the changes in the big white cat.
The large white cat, whose body had been smashed into two orbs of light, thought it was doomed, but when it looked down, it found itself completely unharmed.
However, before the big white cat could even rejoice at its miraculous survival, it suddenly became dazed and collapsed to the ground unconscious.
In the sight of Li Musheng and the middle-aged man, the unconscious white cat was not seriously injured and died. Ancient runes appeared around its body, constantly moving inside and outside the cat's body, forming a unique cyclical pattern.
"This cat has gained the approval of the ancient ferocious beast White Tiger's remains, and has been granted its complete inheritance."
The middle-aged man spoke slowly, seemingly unsurprised by the situation.
Upon hearing this, Li Musheng glanced at the sleeping white cat and squinted, saying:
"Having taken so many benefits this time, you cat can forget about pestering me for any more rewards in the future."
Then, Li Musheng withdrew his gaze and turned to look at the huge silver tiger in the center of the canyon:
"From now on, you belong to me."
As soon as he finished speaking, Li Musheng's figure disappeared from the spot.
The middle-aged man who had been standing to the side immediately turned his head and saw that Li Musheng's figure had now appeared above the head of the silver tiger.
"A martial god who is not even twenty years old is unprecedented and will never be repeated. I want to see how you will take the White Tiger's skeleton?"
The middle-aged man muttered to himself, but the look in his eyes was unreadable, and no one could discern his true thoughts.
The next moment, in the middle-aged man's sight, the moment Li Musheng appeared, the silver tiger reacted.
A phantom of a white tiger, obscuring the sky and covering the earth, appeared out of thin air. Its claws, tearing through the void, fell silently towards Li Musheng in an instant. All of this happened in the blink of an eye. The silver tiger showed no signs of making a move and remained quietly standing in the center of the canyon. Everything was perfectly natural.
At this moment, the middle-aged man could see that Li Musheng had no intention of dodging at all, but instead stepped down towards the silver tiger's feet.
In that instant, there was no trace of true energy or martial arts aura in the entire canyon; Li Musheng's kick seemed utterly ordinary.
But the moment its foot landed, the silver tiger's skull, as large as a house, suddenly collapsed, like a boulder mountain being swept away by a raging torrent, with an overwhelming force.
In an instant, the sound of bones breaking echoed throughout the canyon. The silver substance that stitched together the bones of the ferocious white tiger seemed to be subjected to some unbearable force, and it once again vaporized and rose up, drifting into the air.
The claw bone that silently tore through the void and fell towards Li Musheng was caught in his hand. Without a trace of true energy flowing within it, he instantly crushed it into nothingness. (End of Chapter)