Chapter 163: Chapter 161: The Even More Unlucky Golden Giant Tiger

Qin Li suddenly felt that the place beneath his feet was a bit familiar. He abruptly recalled, ’Isn’t this place... not far from where I obtained that supreme-grade Spirit Grass? It’s less than twenty miles away!’

’But why would anyone come here?’ Qin Li was puzzled. He concealed his aura completely. At that moment, the figures over there were already approaching at incredible speed. Their momentum showed no signs of weakening as they flashed past the treetops above Qin Li’s head.

Qin Li instantly recognized one of the faces. It was Hai Tongtian!

There were two other men who also looked quite old. The fluctuations of their auras were by no means weak, though they were a notch below Hai Tongtian’s. One of the old men was carrying a rather large wooden box on his back, its contents unknown.

’Could it be that the powerful Celestial Level Spirit Beast didn’t clash with the Paradise Celestial Palace?’ Qin Li wondered, frowning slightly. He began to follow in the direction the three had disappeared, his pace unhurried.

"Elder Tiger King, we three juniors, under the orders of the Paradise Celestial Palace’s Sect Leader, have come to deliver five hundred Upper Grade Spirit Stones. We ask that Elder come out to receive them!" Hai Tongtian stood on the tip of a massive, towering Ancient Tree, his body seeming to grow from the very spot, swaying gently with the movement of the treetop.

A deep, furious roar echoed from the distance. "What? Did you not find the disciple who dared to steal my Spiritual Medicine? Or did you find them, but are unwilling to return it to me? Hm?"

Following the voice, a heaven-shaking aura spread from the distance toward them. The two Paradise Celestial Palace disciples, who were only at the Celestial Shattering Realm, immediately lost their footing and tumbled wretchedly from the trees to the ground.

Hai Tongtian also felt a surge of tension and anger, but he patiently maintained a composed demeanor. "Elder Tiger King, you must be joking," he said, neither servile nor overbearing. "The Paradise Celestial Palace and you, Elder Tiger King, have coexisted here for over a thousand years! While we may not have had a deep friendship, we have never transgressed against each other. How could the Paradise Celestial Palace do something that would bring about its own ruin? Besides, though you may not believe it, Elder, we have indeed discovered that the one who stole your Spiritual Medicine is the very same assassin who infiltrated our Paradise Celestial Palace and killed our disciples!"

The voice on the other end fell silent for a long moment, seemingly considering his words. After a good while, it spoke again with a hint of dejection, "Fine. Your words don’t sound like a lie. I’ll believe you this once. Just leave the Spirit Stones there. I’m very tired and need to sleep."

"Uh..." Hai Tongtian was suddenly in a bind. He gritted his teeth and said, "Elder Tiger King, it’s... it’s not that this junior doubts the security of your domain, but you see, your Spiritual Medicine was stolen without anyone even noticing..."

He shouldn’t have brought that up. The moment he mentioned it, the Golden Giant Tiger became enraged. It roared, "Brat, are you questioning the abilities of the great Golden Giant Tiger? Leave the things and get lost!"

Hai Tongtian’s good intentions had been completely disregarded. An old man, famous for many years, being told to "get lost" by a mere beast to his face—his expression turned ugly. He couldn’t be bothered to say anything more. He had the two disciples place the large wooden box containing five hundred Spirit Stones on the ground and said flatly, "Elder Tiger King, the Spirit Stones are here. We’ll take our leave!"

With that, he and his two disciples shot into the air and departed, not bothering to linger for even a second. ’If I ever get the chance to break through to the Venerable Realm,’ he thought, ’I’ll definitely be back to settle this score with you!’

’A mere beast dares to tell me to get lost... Damn it!’

The Golden Giant Tiger couldn’t care less what a human of mediocre strength was thinking. It was currently two to three miles away, dozing on a warm pile of grass in its cave. Its Divine Sense swept over the wooden box, and upon sensing the energy fluctuations from the Spirit Stones inside, the Golden Giant Tiger closed its eyes in satisfaction.

Although the supreme-grade Spirit Grass was gone, with these Upper Grade Spirit Stones, it was confident it could break through to the much-coveted Venerable Realm!

Although it sounded like the Celestial Embracing Realm and the Venerable Realm were only one level apart, the distance between them was like the difference between heaven and earth!

If the gap between a Celestial Level Martial Artist and a Celestial Shattering Realm Martial Artist was an insurmountable chasm, then the gap between the Celestial Embracing Realm and the Venerable Realm was a vast ocean!

No matter how strong a person was, it was impossible to cross that ocean with physical strength alone.

Similarly, the Celestial Embracing Realm was practically the Supreme Realm a Martial Artist could achieve! This held true even in the countless Mysterious Lands!

One had to understand that whether it was the Spiritual Qi, the legacy of Cultivation Techniques, or the various Miracle Elixirs, the Mysterious Lands had resources incomparable to the mortal world. Furthermore, the geniuses and prodigies there possessed a natural talent far beyond that of any Mortal Martial Artist.

Even so, the Venerable Realm remained a life-and-death trial that lay before them!

One needed not only peerless talent but also a tremendous stroke of fortune. Otherwise, breaking through was simply impossible!

Who in this world, human or Spirit Beast, would not yearn for such a realm?

The Golden Tiger King closed its eyes, filled with longing for the Venerable Realm. However, its incredibly powerful Divine Sense still enveloped a radius of several miles. It would awaken at the slightest fluctuation of Primordial Power!

In reality, it was in no hurry to retrieve the Spirit Stones. It intended to use them as bait to see if anyone would bite.

Even now, the Golden Giant Tiger still held a deep grudge against the person who stole its Spirit Grass! If it had the chance, it would never let that damned thief get away!

Hiding in the shadows, Qin Li was equally dumbfounded. He had never expected to stumble upon something like this! Clearly, these Spirit Stones were the terms of a compromise this "Elder Tiger King" had reached with the Paradise Celestial Palace after a major battle! 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

’In that case, this Tiger King must have had a clear advantage over the Paradise Celestial Palace!’

’Five hundred Upper Grade Spirit Stones?’ Heavens... Qin Li, who knew full well the benefits of Spirit Stones, was so excited his scalp tingled. Prince Wu, an Ancient Great Power of immense strength, had only been able to leave him, a disciple from a distant generation, a mere twenty or thirty Upper Grade Spirit Stones in his entire lifetime. Yet the Paradise Celestial Palace had just forked over five hundred in a single, extravagant gesture!

Without a doubt, the Paradise Celestial Palace must have taken a massive hit this time!

’To steal or not to steal...’ The thought circled in Qin Li’s mind for less than three seconds before he made his decision. He had to get those Spirit Stones!

This also revealed just how incredibly deep the foundations of the Ancient Sects passed down from antiquity were!

At this moment, Qin Li wished he could transform into a master thief and plunder all those ancient Noble Sects. He would surely make a world-shaking fortune!

Unfortunately, such a tempting thought could only remain a thought. If he dared to act on it, he would probably be hunted across the world within three months, forced to live as a fugitive for the rest of his life.

But there was no way he was letting these Spirit Stones right in front of him go! Qin Li muttered in his heart, ’My apologies, esteemed Elder Tiger King. It looks like I’m snatching food from your mouth again...’

Qin Li even controlled his heartbeat, slowing it to about fifteen beats per minute. The fluctuations it produced were so minimal they were practically undetectable.

Even the most skilled hunters in the Forest would have died of shame if they saw Qin Li’s movements right now. They were gentle to the absolute extreme!

Arriving in front of the large wooden box, Qin Li also released his Divine Sense, extending it less than three miles toward the Golden Giant Tiger’s location. He "saw" the enormous, golden tiger in a cave. To his amazement, the creature actually had a pair of massive wings on its back!

’If I could get a beast like that as a mount, it would be incredibly cool! Way more impressive than owning a private jet!’ Qin Li fantasized for a moment before retracting his Divine Sense. He knew this idea was just as unrealistic as robbing the Noble Sects of the Mysterious Lands.

Qin Li aimed his ring at the large wooden box and with a mental tug—SWOOSH!—the box vanished into thin air without a sound.

After doing this, Qin Li didn’t leave in a hurry. He knew that any careless movement now could trigger a reaction from the Golden Giant Tiger.

Qin Li infused his Spiritual Power into the ring and emptied out the box of Upper Grade Spirit Stones, which pulsed with surging energy. Not only did these Spirit Stones possess immense energy, but their exteriors were also completely flawless! They glittered and shone, like dazzling diamonds!

The sight almost blinded Qin Li.

Qin Li controlled his emotions, not letting himself get too excited. After some thought, he reluctantly placed a few Upper Grade Spirit Stones back into the box before returning it to its original spot.

Qin Li carried out the entire process with extreme care. After he was done, even he began to wonder, ’Do I have a hidden talent for being a thief?’

Qin Li retreated silently. He didn’t sprint or go far. After slowly backing away for about a mile, Qin Li completely concealed his aura and hid inside a hollow of a towering Ancient Tree so thick it would take a dozen people to encircle. Then he remained perfectly still.

He waited for more than two hours. Just as Qin Li was about to fall asleep, he suddenly heard an earth-shattering roar. The entire forest trembled violently. Qin Li could even feel an astonishingly powerful aura that swept over everything, blanketing the surrounding mountains and woods.

ROAR!

Another thunderous roar followed.

From Qin Li’s position, he watched as a streak of gold shot across the sky like a meteor, racing toward the Paradise Celestial Palace before vanishing in an instant.

"How clever can a beast be? It only serves to make one laugh!" Qin Li muttered, shaking his head pretentiously. He walked back toward the wooden box and, sure enough, the few Spirit Stones he had put back were lying forlornly at the bottom.

"Good things shouldn’t be wasted," Qin Li said, bending down to pick up the Spirit Stones. He then gazed in the direction of the Golden Giant Tiger’s lair and thought, ’When my Divine Sense swept over it just now, it seemed like there were a few other goodies in its den. Should I... take those as well?’

After a moment’s hesitation, Qin Li muttered to himself, "That seems a bit wrong. It’s a little too shameless!"

As he spoke, he shot off toward the Golden Giant Tiger’s lair. "To hell with it! Why should I be polite to a beast?"