My words have become law; I truly have no desire to display my divine power before others.

Then he looked at the tiger demon and spoke:

"You say you're the king of this back mountain?"

The tiger demon raised its head: "Not bad!"

Ye Qingfeng: "Do you think your words are the rules?"

The tiger demon: "Not bad!"

Ye Qingfeng: "Then I'll tell you now—"

He took a step forward.

With that step, he suddenly vanished from the spot.

In the next instant, he appeared three zhang behind the tiger demon.

The tiger demon was startled and turned around abruptly, only to find that Ye Qingfeng had disappeared again.

Turning his head again, he saw Ye Qingfeng standing to its left.

Turn again, to the right.

Turn around again, behind you.

Ye Qingfeng's figure moved erratically, sometimes to the east, sometimes to the west, sometimes in front, sometimes behind, so fast that the tiger demon couldn't keep up at all.

The tiger demon spun around in place several times, getting dizzy, but it didn't even touch the hem of Ye Qingfeng's clothes.

"You...you!"

It roared and lunged in one direction—only to miss.

Ye Qingfeng's voice came from behind it:

"My words carry more weight than your rules!"

The tiger demon suddenly turned around and slapped out with its claws—but missed again.

Ye Qingfeng had somehow already stood beside the campfire, casually picking up a burning piece of firewood and weighing it in his hand.

The tiger demon was so enraged by the trickery that its fur stood on end and its eyes seemed to spit fire.

"Little Taoist priest! Don't run away if you've got the guts! Fight me fair and square!"

Ye Qingfeng glanced at it and suddenly smiled.

The smile was faint, yet it sent a chill down the tiger demon's spine.

"Upright and honorable?"

Ye Qingfeng casually tossed the piece of firewood into the air.

The firewood tumbled in the air, its flames tracing an arc.

Ye Qingfeng raised his hand and made a grabbing motion in the air.

The flame on the firewood suddenly detached from the wood, gathering, condensing, and lengthening at his fingertips...

In the blink of an eye, a longbow, entirely golden and red, appeared in his hand.

The bow was formed from flames, and the bowstring was as thin as a hair, yet it shimmered with a dazzling light.

Ye Qingfeng grasped the bow and pulled the bowstring with his other hand.

A flaming arrow materialized out of thin air, nocked on the bowstring, its tip pointing directly at the tiger demon.

The tiger demon's pupils suddenly contracted.

It sensed a terrifying aura emanating from that arrow.

That wasn't ordinary fire.

That was a fire that could burn it to death, burning it to the point of complete annihilation.

"You...you..."

Ye Qingfeng drew his bow, his tone remaining calm:

"You just said you wanted me to have a fair fight with you? I'm not one to spoil the fun."

He loosened his fingers.

The flaming arrow shot out of the bowstring, transforming into a golden-red streak of light that pierced the tiger demon's chest in the blink of an eye.

The tiger demon didn't even have time to dodge.

It looked down at the burning hole in its chest.

Flames spread out of the hole, engulfing its body inch by inch along its fur, muscles, and bones.

It opened its mouth as if to say something, but only let out a mournful wail.

The mournful cry echoed through the mountains and forests, startling countless birds into flight.

Then it crashed to the ground.

The flames continued to burn, engulfing its entire body.

A few breaths later, only a pile of ashes remained on the ground.

The night wind blew, and the ashes scattered.

Ye Qingfeng casually released the bow, and the flaming bow turned into sparks that dissipated into the night.

He walked back to the campfire and sat down on a rock.

The hunters were completely dumbfounded.

The young hunter stood with his mouth agape, unable to utter a single word for a long time.

The bearded man's legs buckled, and he knelt down.

Then came the second, the third, and the fourth—all the hunters knelt down.

"A god! A living god!"

Ye Qingfeng waved his hand, signaling them to get up.

He looked at Shen Zhaoyue and nodded slightly:

"good."

Shen Zhaoyue was stunned for a moment, then her lips twitched slightly.

Lu Yang leaned closer, beaming, "Master, your technique is truly impressive! When will you teach me?"

Ye Qingfeng glanced at him:

"First, learn not to talk too much."

Lü Yang: ...

Shen Zhaoyue covered her mouth and chuckled quietly.

At that moment, Lü Yang happened to glance at the pile of ashes from the tiger demon's burning death, and his eyes suddenly lit up.

"Master, what is that?"

He pointed to a faint light in the ashes.

The light was so faint that it was almost imperceptible unless you looked closely.

It shimmered in the night, as if something was hidden inside.

Ye Qingfeng glanced at it but didn't say anything.

Curiosity got the better of him, so Lü Yang ran over, squatted down, and rummaged through the ashes.

The ashes were still warm, burning him so much that he kept shaking his hand, but he ignored the pain and picked up the glowing thing.

It is a bead.

It is about the size of a thumb, round, and light gold in color.

It felt warm in my hand, like holding a freshly cooked glutinous rice ball.

The surface of the bead has a faint shimmering light, and upon closer inspection, something seems to be moving inside.

"What is this?" Lü Yang asked, holding up the beads as he ran back to the campfire.

Shen Zhaoyue, who was resting against the stone to regulate her breathing, opened her eyes upon hearing this and saw the bead. Her expression changed slightly.

"The tiger demon's inner core."

Lu Yang was taken aback: "Inner core?"

Shen Zhaoyue nodded: "When a demon cultivates to a certain level, it will form an inner core within its body. This core is the culmination of the demon's life's cultivation and is the essence of the demon."

Lü Yang's eyes lit up immediately: "If I eat it, will I instantly become an immortal?"

Shen Zhaoyue glanced at him, her eyes looking at him as if he were an idiot.

"If you eat it, there will only be one consequence."

Lü Yang: "What are the consequences?"

Shen Zhaoyue: "Bang."

She made an exploding gesture:

"Died from body explosion."

Lu Yang's face turned pale: "This...this is that serious?"

Shen Zhaoyue: "The inner core is formed by a demon's cultivation, and it's full of demonic and malevolent energy. If a person eats it, their meridians won't be able to withstand it. At best, their meridians will be completely severed; at worst, their body will explode on the spot. If you're tired of living, feel free to try it."

Lu Yang waved his hands repeatedly in fright: "No, no! I don't want to die!"

He held the inner core in both hands and carefully handed it to Ye Qingfeng:

"Master, what should we do with this thing?"

Ye Qingfeng took the inner core and weighed it in his hand.

The inner core was warm and smooth, and the flowing energy within seemed to sense his Qi, trembling slightly.

Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly heard a suppressed cough.

It's Shen Zhaoyue.

She leaned against a rock, her face even paler than before, one hand pressed against her ribs, blood seeping from between her fingers.

The fight with the tiger demon earlier reopened an old wound, and the bleeding hasn't stopped yet.

She coughed a few times, swallowed a mouthful of blood, and forced herself to sit up straight, as if afraid that people would see her weakness.

Ye Qingfeng looked at her and remained silent for a moment.

Then he spoke:

"This inner core isn't entirely unusable."

Lü Yang's eyes lit up again: "Does the Immortal Master have a solution?"

Shen Zhaoyue also looked up at him, a hint of doubt in her eyes.

Ye Qingfeng didn't explain, but simply looked at the hunters still kneeling on the ground:

"Gentlemen, do you have any alcohol on you?"

The bearded man was taken aback and quickly searched his body.

The other hunters also started rummaging through their bags.

The young hunter untied a leather pouch from his waist and handed it over with both hands:

"Master, there's still half a pot left here; it's for warming up tonight."