Not far ahead, space fluctuated, and the young man who had just been defeated reappeared, his face pale.
Wang Hu could not help thinking that since he had survived a strike from the Ruyi Jingu Bang, he must have a treasure on him. Perhaps he could recover the loss of a life-saving hair. Without hesitation he opened his tiger mouth, and before the other could react he bit down on his neck and dragged him away like a chick, quickly disappearing into the forest.
After running for over a hundred li he found a hidden cave. Wang Hu stopped, blocked the entrance with a large rock, left Xiaoqing to guard outside, and dragged the young man deeper inside. He thought that this person likely had an unusual identity and must be thoroughly interrogated to squeeze out some useful information.
The next morning the young man slowly woke, and memories of what had happened gradually returned. He recalled that terrifying staff. Just a slight graze had destroyed two Golden Core elders of the Zi Sect in body and soul. If not for the life-substitute talisman from his ancestor activating in time, he would have died long ago.
Thinking of this, he subconsciously touched his storage ring, but it was empty. His expression immediately changed as he finally remembered that he had been kidnapped by a demon tiger.
"Awake? Did you sleep well?" Wang Hu, now half human and half tiger, grinned and greeted him.
The young man was shocked. Although he had seen tamed beasts before, facing Wang Hu's strange smile still terrified him.
Wang Hu played with his storage ring while his eyes shone. "Speak. Tell me everything you know."
"What information?" the young man asked vaguely.
Wang Hu sneered, turned one finger into a tiger claw, and slowly cut a bloody wound into his skin, saying coldly, "I ask. You answer. If you dare lie, well — human meat might actually taste good." As he spoke he licked his lips hungrily.
The young man nearly cried in fear and quickly said, "I'll talk! I'll talk! I am the crown prince of the Shanglan Kingdom. Don't eat me."
Wang Hu asked again, "Who are you?"
The young man hurriedly replied, "Crown prince of the Shanglan Kingdom, direct disciple of the Zi Sect, here to supervise the pill trade between the Zi Sect and the demon race, and to follow the elders to gain experience."
His cooperation surprised even Wang Hu a little. Wang Hu continued questioning and learned that there were three elders in total. One had been killed, and another was at Guanyin Temple.
After gathering all the information, Wang Hu nodded in satisfaction. His gaze fell on the opponent's storage ring, and after scanning it with divine sense he saw abundant treasures inside and felt delighted. He took the ring into his own storage space and patted the young man's shoulder. "Not bad. You've got potential."
The young man looked miserable, trembling all over, clearly terrified to the extreme, thinking that the outside world was too dangerous and that only sects and clans were safe. Then he cautiously asked, "So — can you let me go?"
"Let you go? Of course not. I suffered such a huge loss. I must demand a ransom from your family." Wang Hu shook his huge tiger head and laughed.
He placed a crude sheet of paper in front of Lin Tian. "Write it. I'll go collect the money."
Two hours later Wang Hu knocked Lin Tian out again and left him in the cave. Then he busied himself outside for half a day. Finally he took the ransom letter toward Guanyin Temple.
He had already learned clearly that all trade in the Luofang mountain range between the demon race and the humans of the Shanglan Kingdom went through Guanyin Temple. The demon race used natural treasures from the mountains to exchange for pills refined by humans. Now that he had captured the crown prince of the Shanglan Kingdom, it was equivalent to breaking the entire stable chain of interests. Not only would the humans not forgive him, even the demon race might not tolerate him. Only by creating enough chaos could he find a chance to escape this mixed human and demon territory.
Moreover, he had also learned from Lin Tian of another shortcut to find the Bull Demon King in the Western Ox Continent.
Wang Hu threw the letter into Guanyin Temple, then hid with Xiaoqing in the forest and waited. The letter was a ransom note demanding that enough supplies be brought to a small mountain over a hundred li away within two hours to redeem the crown prince.
Very soon a group of over a hundred people rushed out of the monastery, led by a Nascent Soul cultivator, followed by many monks and even two demon kings. As expected, even knowing it might be a trap, they still rushed out in panic, even inviting demon kings from the Luofang mountain range. But they were destined not to find Wang Hu.
He smiled smugly. Once the surroundings quieted, he secretly slipped into Guanyin Temple, which had become relatively empty due to manpower being drawn away. He took out two fire talismans, infused them with spiritual energy, and threw them into a hall. Immediately a loud boom erupted and flames shot into the sky.
Wang Hu did not stop, running around, setting fires everywhere. The entire monastery was engulfed in a sea of flames, cries of alarm echoing everywhere.
He hid in a corner and watched. The Qi Refining monks were panicking. These fire talismans were samadhi true fire and were not easy to extinguish.
At that moment he saw an old, trembling monk pass by, and recognized him as likely Abbot Jinchi of Guanyin Temple, a late Foundation Establishment cultivator. The old monk led more than ten Qi Refining disciples to guard a meditation room, then hurried away to report.
Wang Hu silently followed, using an invisibility talisman. Jinchi muttered that he must quickly report the situation to the imperial court. This matter seemed unusual. But just as he was walking, a figure rushed in.
"Abbot! Something's wrong."
Jinchi was startled and grabbed the man, asking what had happened.
The reply was only, "Nothing. I'm sending you on your way."
Wang Hu revealed his true form and stabbed straight into Jinchi's dantian, sending violent spiritual energy through it and killing him instantly. He said coldly, "This place is now under our control."
Then he disguised himself as Jinchi and returned by another side path.