Volume 4: Regret for Insufficient Clothing Chapter 14: The Mountain Spirit

  The tiger's roar shakes heaven and earth, the dragon's howl startles ghosts and spirits!

  Xu Xian himself said that the roar, although not yet shaking heaven and earth, still had the momentum to shake the mountains and forests. Lowering his head, he saw a mountain peak above, where a fierce tiger stood proudly, gazing at the surrounding mountains and ghosts of trees, as if a king gazed at his subjects.

  Xu Xian finally saw clearly, those goblins' appearance, there were bears standing upright, leopards crouching on the ground, and mountain spirits with one leg, let alone the other demons. There were more than 20 of them in total. At this moment, they all surrounded the tiger spirit, not daring to rush up.

  Is this Xiao Qian's team? In such a short period of time, she has gathered such momentum, while I have only taken in a concubine during this time. It seems that she is more suitable to be the protagonist of the transmigration than me. No, it seems that every woman around me is more suitable for this transmigration business than me.

  Xiao Qian said: "Husband, I'm going." Then she pulled the ghost-faced monkey from Yunshan and jumped down. After landing lightly, she began to command: "Rice retreats, Tangyuan attacks, Mushroom harasses..."

  "If that fierce tiger is the king, then the regicide has arrived."

  Xu Xian was speechless for a moment, and Xiao Qian's naming sense was indeed special. However, Xu Xian soon discovered that the originally chaotic and disorganized siege network under Xiao Qian's "chaotic" command had actually begun to take shape, posing a certain threat to the tiger spirit. Xiao Qian seemed to use language to weave a large net from the chaotic and disorderly silk threads, entwining the tiger spirit.

  A giant black bear, known as Tangyuan, stood upright and swung its massive paws at the tiger spirit's head. The bear's immense strength was something even the tiger spirit didn't dare to withstand head-on, so it agilely dodged to the side while swiftly swiping its claws, creating a fierce gust of wind around them that clearly wasn't an ordinary attack.

  But its claw strike was interrupted by the Ghost-Faced Ape, and Xiong Hei hastily retreated, only to leave a few bloody marks on his belly from the wind force of that one claw, if it had hit, he would have been disembowelled immediately.

  The demon-faced monkey had already landed its third blow on the tiger spirit's body, but even though its sharp claws could tear through gold and iron, they couldn't pierce the tiger spirit's sleek fur, only managing to pull out a single strand of hair. The tiger spirit nimbly leapt and dodged in the small space, trying to escape but was seen through by Xiaoyue, who ordered Xionghei to grab its tail. In an instant, countless attacks rained down on it, with one even landing squarely on its belly.

  The tiger let out a loud roar and spat out a half-transparent inner elixir.

  A fierce gust of wind began to dance unusually on the mountain top, and the ghosts and monsters couldn't even stand upright, their attacking postures were also distorted. The source of the wind was that half-transparent inner elixir, which made the tiger spirit let out a sigh of relief.

  Xiao Qian's orders were also difficult to execute accurately in the midst of that raging wind, but she simply stared at the fierce tiger on the high ground without making a move. Because even the strongest winds will eventually subside, and for now it was just struggling like a trapped beast.

  Xu Xian could see that she was waiting for the tiger to exhaust itself, waiting for the most opportune moment. The strong wind blew her long hair and skirt into disarray, but at this moment, she no longer had her usual gentle and weak appearance. Feeling a sense of relief in her heart, unknowingly, she too had gained the power to protect herself.

  The wind suddenly subsided, and the tiger spirit that had been so fierce and unmatched also showed a tired look, even a painful look. Occasionally, it would glance at Xu Xian, revealing a pleading expression.

  Xiao Qian gazed at the tiger spirit and said, "Master, take an oath!" It was time to decide victory or defeat. Using the tiger spirit's hair obtained from the previous capture, the curse-sealing method could finally be used. In this situation, just one strike would suffice.

  Xu Xian handed the hairpin to her, and Xiaoying took out a cloth tiger. The cloth tiger was made extremely delicate, as if it were modeled after the real tiger that had been surrounded. With a confident smile, Xiaoying gripped the hairpin tightly in one hand and stabbed at the cloth tiger with it. This one strike would decide victory or defeat.

  Xiao Qian felt her wrist being grasped by Xu Xian, and she looked at him in surprise. Xu Xian sighed and said, "It's about to give birth, can't we just drive it away?" Although he knew this was the law of the wild, which didn't apply to compassion, he still couldn't help but stop it.

  It's just that it's somewhat unfair to Xiao Qian.

  Xiao Qian smiled and said: "Whatever the master says, it's fine with me, Xiao Qian will listen to the master!" Although killing that tiger spirit and getting its internal elixir would greatly help her cultivation and make her combination with the mountain's spiritual energy much simpler.

  But all of this put together is still no match for a single sentence from that man!

  Xu Xian nodded, but didn't thank her. Instead, he took the hairpin from her hand and gathered her disheveled long hair together, securing it with a hair clip. Xiao Qian lowered her head, and for them at that time, this was also a rare moment of intimacy. The corners of her lips curled up into a smile. For a moment, she forgot about Shi Zhonggui and the tiger's essence.

  Suddenly a painful roar, the tiger spirit fell to the ground, and the wind also stopped.

  The monsters surged forward, and let them be put to death. However, Xiaoxian commanded: "Assistants!" The monsters were baffled, but still retreated in obedience. And under Xiaoxian's guidance, they returned back into the dense forest.

  Xu Xian walked over and said to the tiger spirit, "Today I won't kill you, but you must agree to two conditions. First, you are not allowed to eat humans again, and second, you must leave this nearby mountain range. Will you agree?"

  The tiger nodded, but then let out a mournful cry to Xu Xian. Xu Xian's heart skipped a beat as he walked over and placed his hand on its soft belly, where it seemed like there was some movement inside. "It's going to give birth soon."

  Xu Xian couldn't help but smile wryly and said to Xiao Qian: "This, I haven't studied gynecology!"

  Xiao Qian said: "Oh, then let's go!" She really lacked sympathy for people other than Xu Xian.

  Xu Xian couldn't help but think that she was indeed a sinister woman. However, he let out a light sigh and bent down to start the arduous task of helping her give birth.

  At last, after great effort, Xu Xian held up a small tiger covered in blood with both hands and placed it in front of the Tiger Spirit. The Tiger Spirit carefully licked the cub, revealing its white fur, and it was actually a rare little white tiger. However, the little white tiger had its eyes tightly closed and didn't move at all, seemingly unresponsive to everything around it.

  The tiger cub suddenly panicked, and then let out a few mournful cries. Xu Xian hastily went forward to feel the little tiger's neck, only to discover that it had stopped breathing. Perhaps it was the influence of the fight just now! Xu Xian couldn't help but sigh, and made a helpless expression at the tiger spirit.

  The tiger spirit touched the dead cub again, as if it still couldn't believe it was dead. Because just now it could still feel the cub's movement in its abdomen. The tiger spirit let out a shocking roar, glaring at Nie Xiaoqian in front of him, as if he would pounce on her at any moment.

  Xiao Qian said calmly: "If you give it your inner elixir, perhaps you can still save it!"

  The internal elixir of the demon is a gathering of vital energy, and these two tigers are of the same bloodline. If it's possible to pass on the internal elixir to Little Tiger, there's a high chance that Little Tiger will be revived. However, the many years of cultivation by the tiger spirit will also be destroyed in an instant. In any case, this tiger spirit will no longer pose a threat to Little Qian.

  The tiger essence hesitated for a moment, then spat out the semi-transparent inner elixir again. Xu Xian finally saw clearly that there was a small whirlwind in the middle of the inner elixir, constantly rotating. As soon as this inner elixir came out, the surrounding wind became more fierce.

  The semi-transparent inner elixir merged with the white fur, directly penetrating into the tiger cub's body. The inner elixir and yang spirit are both spiritual substances between the virtual and real bodies.

  But at the same time, the tiger's figure suddenly shrunk drastically, eventually becoming only about the size of an ordinary tiger. This was because it had severed its connection with the inner elixir on its own initiative, and whether this inner elixir could save the tiger cub or not, it would have to start all over again.

  But the tiger cub still didn't react, and the tiger spirit suddenly became anxious, letting out a low roar at Xiaoxian. Xiaoxian spread her hands and looked away.

  Xu Xian took a glance with his spiritual eyes and saw that the inner elixir was only suspended in the tiger's body, but could not merge with it. Xu Xian thought to himself: I can only try once more.

  He stretched out his hand and placed it on the tiger cub's body, a golden light surged up in his hand and condensed, penetrating into the tiger cub's body, wrapping around that half-transparent inner elixir.

  Xiao Qian looked at him with a gaze of admiration, saying: "Master is so formidable!" She seemed to be only interested in Xu Xian's "formidability", and as for the life or death of the tiger cub, she was very sorry, it was not within her consideration.

  The power of the sun continued to infuse into every part of the tiger cub's body, trying to revive its vitality. However, it was in vain. Xu Xian placed another hand on the tiger cub's body, and this hand emitted a faint blue glow, using the power of water spirit.

  Xu Xian used these two powers simultaneously for the first time, and unexpectedly achieved a miraculous effect. The semi-transparent inner elixir began to rotate slowly, as light and water are both sources of life. When combined, one power purified while the other repaired, having an enormous impact on healing.

  Finally, the demonic power of that elixir began to slowly replace Xu Xian's spiritual energy, and later temporarily replaced the function of Hu Er's internal organs. The vitality of monsters is extremely strong, which is due to the effect of the elixir. Even if the heart and brain are severely damaged, as long as there is time, they can slowly heal.

  Xu Xian finally let go, under the expectant gaze of one man and one tiger, the cub finally opened its eyes and let out a low hum like a cat. Xiao Qian was busy wiping sweat for Xu Xian.

  Xu Xian put it back beside his mother and turned to Xiaolian saying: "Let's go!"

  Xiao Qian nodded, although she didn't get the inner elixir, but she wasn't regretful. If she hadn't come to Yu Lei Mountain this time, maybe she wouldn't have seen him, maybe she wouldn't have understood his intentions. She silently thanked that troublesome tiger spirit in her heart and then happily grasped Xu Xian's hand.

  Xu Xian felt a chill in his palm, and he smiled slightly at her, also turning his hand over to hold hers, and they walked like this all the way.

  The rain in the sky didn't know when it had stopped, and the mountains and forests were a little quiet. The two of them were also silent, but they could sense each other's intentions, yet somehow didn't feel awkward, but rather warm and cozy.

  "Want to go home with me?"

  Xiao Qian smiled, nodded slightly, and looked at this mountain forest with some reluctance. It was her mountain forest.

  Now I have to leave and go to that man's side.

  Xu Xian looked at her and suddenly said, "Do you still remember that 'Loshen Fu'?"

  Xiao Qian hastily said: "The letter written by my husband to me, I have received it, but since we came out to fight, I was afraid of damaging it, so I didn't bring it with me." As she spoke, her face still showed a apologetic expression.

  Xu Xian said: "I remembered another poem?"

  "What?" Xiao Jing asked curiously.

  Xu Xian reached out and touched her slightly cool cheek, saying: "It's San Ge Da Fu's 'Mountain Ghost'!"

  "Then she sighed and said, 'If someone is on the mountain's slope, wearing a sash of cassia and a circlet of orchids; with lips painted red and a smile so fair, you long for me, but I am shy and retiring. Standing alone on the mountain top, cloudy vapors gather below; dark and obscure, the dawn is overcast, east wind blows, and divine rain falls. Alas, young nobleman, lost in thought, forgetful of returning home; my lord thinks of me, but cannot rest easy. The mountain dweller has fragrant peach blossoms, drinks from a stone spring, and leans on a pine tree's shade; my lord thinks of me, yet doubts it is so. The wind whispers, the trees rustle, thinking of the young nobleman, only to be parted in sorrow.'"

  With antimony in her face, and a smile so pleasant to behold, she is the very woman before me! Always with an air of joy and yet of sorrow, because "Alas! my lord is forgetful of his return, and thinks of me, but cannot be at leisure." The young nobleman, who occupies her thoughts, is always absent from her side.

  But she's not just about herself, is she? She has this mountain forest, these followers. Given a bit more time, she might really become the mountain spirit - the spiritual energy of this mountain range is indeed extremely beneficial to her cultivation. And he can feel it too, that she's happy here.

  She and Yunyan are different, if Yunyan is a lazy phoenix who only thinks about eating well and drinking enough without being disturbed. While she wants to wander in the mountains as a beautiful "mountain ghost", this is the life she wants, although there will be some nostalgia, but Xian believes that people can only be happy by living their own lives.

  "Hubby?" Xiao Qian gazed at Xu Xian with her bright eyes.

  Xu Xian said: "If you want to stay, then just stay!"

  Xiao Qian said dejectedly: "Doesn't Master want Xiao Qian by your side?"

  Xu Xian reached out and stroked her slightly cool cheek, sighing: "Don't be so easily heartbroken, okay?"

  "I promise you, I will always be by your side." He also said: "If you can cultivate well and live a life you like, I will be at ease too."

  Xiao Qian said: "But I want to see you every day, husband!"

  Xu Xian smiled and said: "It's annoying!"

  Xiao Qian simply shook her head, with tears welling up in her eyes, full of weakness. Xu Xian gently hugged her and said, "I'll come to the mountains often to pick herbs from now on."

  Xiao Qian stretched out her arms and tightly hugged Xu Xian, leaning her forehead against his chest, softly saying:

  "You have to come every day!"

  Xu Xian smiled wryly, and Xiao Qian also burst out laughing. "I was just joking, Master can come whenever he wants, Xiao Qian will wait for you!"

  Xu Xian patted her back and said, "Don't worry, I'll come often."

  Then he gently lifted her chin, and Xiao Qian seemed to feel something, closing her eyes lightly. Her pale face also flushed with a layer of pink. Xu Xian lightly kissed her slightly pale red lips. The cool lips touching the warm lips caused some ripples in both of their hearts.

  Xu Xian didn't go any further, just lightly kissing her like that until their lips parted. Xu Xian still felt the faint scent of valley orchids lingering on his lips, perhaps it was the taste of her first kiss!

  "Like it?" Xuxian asked with a smile. Xiaoqian opened her eyes, nodded slightly, and her cute appearance made Xuxian's heart flutter again.

  Xu Xian was about to do something else, but heard a rustling in the bushes, and the two of them turned their heads to look. The tiger spirit emerged from the underbrush with its cub, placed it at Xu Xian's feet, lifted its head to gaze at Xu Xian, and let out several cries.

  Xu Xian didn't understand, so Xiāng Qiān explained: "It wants Master to raise this tiger cub."

  Xu Xianqi said: "Little Qian, can you understand beast language?"

  Xiao Qian smiled and said: "At first, I didn't understand either, but later on, I came to understand." She further explained:

  "This tiger cub has an inner elixir, but it can't be used by itself and will inevitably be coveted by other spirits. And now it's just an ordinary wild beast, completely powerless to protect the tiger cub, so..."

  Xiao Qian was considering whether or not to make some "other ghosts".

  Xu Xian thought for a moment, bent down and picked up the little white tiger, its fluffy appearance was very cute. It let out a few stern roars at Xu Xian, but its voice was small and sounded like a kitten's. Who would have thought that it would grow up to be as majestic as its mother one day?

  Bian nodded at Hu Jing and said: "I will take good care of it." Then he turned to Xiao Qian and said:

  "Xiao Qian, it's just an ordinary tiger now, shouldn't affect you anymore! So let it stay in this mountain forest!"

  Xiao Qian naturally had no objection to Xu Xian's words, and was just about to agree when the tiger spirit suddenly let out a few low growls, turned around and leapt into the mountain forest, disappearing in an instant. Only a few distant tiger roars could be heard, startling some birds in the forest.

  Xu Xian understood, this was also the pride of the king of this mountain range! Although he had lost his inner elixir, the opened spiritual wisdom would not disappear, and perhaps it wouldn't be long before it reappeared in this mountain range, restoring its majesty as the king of the mountains.

  So this proud beast just left like that, never looking back.

  Xu Xian was sighing, but saw Xiao Qian stretch out her hand to touch the head of the little white tiger and say: "Baozi, you're so cute! If you also gave me your inner elixir, that would be even cuter!"

  The little white tiger bit down on Xia Qian's hand with a "hiss", shaking its head and biting hard, but its baby teeth couldn't hurt her in the slightest. On the contrary, it made Xia Qian laugh and say: "Master, it seems to like me very much!"

  "That's not called liking, and don't give it a strange name." He stroked the little guy in his arms, who didn't seem to have any hostility towards him, probably because he had once saved its life.

  Xiao Qian said discontentedly: "It's white and chubby, doesn't it look just like a bun?"

  The two of them had a heated discussion about the name "Little White Tiger", with Xiang, who was normally gentle and obedient, not giving in at all. This made Xu Xian exclaim: Where did her stubbornness towards food come from?!

  Finally, under Xu Xian's insistence, the little white creature on the ground was spared from the misfortune of being called "Baozi". After some thought, he said: "This mountain is called Yu Lei Shan, why not just call it Yu Lei?"

  Xiao Qian said: "She's a female tiger, how can she be called Yu Lei, wouldn't that be humiliating!"

  That woman who called herself Baozi can go die now.

  But this little guy is indeed a mother tiger's, although for the name, the beast doesn't matter.

  But think about it, Bai Suzhen is just a small snake in the mountains, and this little guy in her arms will probably become human-shaped in the future, carrying the name Xiao Ao Shanlin that she gave him. If the name is not good, wouldn't it be embarrassing among the demons? So she said: "Then let's call her Yu Le, the 'Le' of flower bud!"

  Xiao Qian had an expression of "your taste is really hopeless", but still happily said:

  "This name is great!"

  Xu Xiandao said: "You don't have to praise me, I already know!" Then asked: "Xiao Qian, do you still want to continue attacking the mountain?"

  Xiao Qian thought for a moment and said, "It won't be long now! I'll connect the earth energy of these mountains into one body and slowly assimilate them. As long as I absorb the spiritual energy of the mountains, I can make up for my lack of physical body."

  The cultivation is divided into the following links: "practicing essence to transform energy, practicing energy to transform spirit, practicing spirit to return to emptiness, and practicing emptiness to merge with the Tao". However, the spiritual ghost does not have the constraints of a physical body, it is equivalent to being in a state of yin spirit escaping from the beginning. It lacks a strand of yang energy since birth, making it difficult to achieve the yang spirit. Most can only get stuck at the yin spirit stage, even if they accumulate a great deal of spiritual power over time, but find it hard to break through in terms of their realm.

  Xiao Qian used several sarira to get through this difficulty and achieved her yang spirit.

  But that's all, and then to think about entering the Refining Spirit and Void Realm, it's still not enough. Now she is attacking the group of mountains, using the mountain range spirit energy as a guide, and practicing her skills. When she merges with this nearly hundred-mile-long mountain range spirit energy, she will have the qualifications to become a "Mountain God" and only then will she have the opportunity to enter the Refining Spirit and Void Realm.

  Xiao Qian said, "On the mountain to the south, there are two rabbit demons that have already cultivated human forms and won't be easy to deal with. However, I happen to need a maid or something, as all the things around me are weird and strange."

  In terms of language, the two demons didn't care about this, although they had cultivated human forms and their Tao was not shallow. However, when it came to life-and-death battles, they might not be a match for the tiger demon in its prime on Mount Yu Ru. The difference between herbivores and carnivores exists even among demons that have been cultivated.

  Xu Xian thought to himself: Is it a demon? Or two of them? Why does this feeling seem so familiar. Suddenly, an idea flashed through his mind: Could it be that Hu Mengniang? He couldn't help but think with a bitter smile: Could it be that the lover of his future son is going to be taken care of by his current lover?

  However, in the mortal world, it is mainly about "humanity", and once outside this mountain wilderness, it is indeed the "heavenly way" of survival of the fittest. The struggle for the position of the mountain god and water god is simply a matter of relying on one's own abilities, where victory means becoming the king and defeat means becoming a minister. Therefore, Xu Xian would not use his own way to restrain Xiaoxiang's way, but rather wants to help him with all his might.

  Bian said, "If there's an enemy you can't handle, let me take care of it." Although he was currently only in the realm of Yang Shen Chuang, with the Taiyang True Fire and Wu Lei Symbol, his combat strength was absolutely not weak.

  Xiao Qian happily said: "Yes, Master is the most powerful." She still remembered that when she first met Xu Xian, he was just an ordinary person who had just started practicing, and could only rely on the suppression of yin ghosts by the true fire of the sun to fight against the vengeful spirits. Now, however, he can already release his yang spirit, ride the clouds and drive the fog, just like a real immortal. This speed of cultivation made even Xiao Qian speechless.

  Even if Xu Xian accomplished nothing, she would probably still be able to find a place where her husband was the most formidable.