Liu Zijin, standing beside, turned without hesitation and leaped toward Lu Chen, sword in hand, ready to stab the demonic tiger.
Not knowing Lu Chen's true identity, she naturally wouldn't abandon her senior brother.
With Liu Zijin's full-strength sword strike, the demonic tiger had to retract its claw aimed at Lu Chen.
"Senior Brother, let's go back to the sect and find..."
"Junior Sister, you hold off this demonic tiger for a while, I'll go find help!"
Liu Zijin was about to pull Lu Chen away to seek help from the sect, but before she could finish her sentence, Lu Chen pushed her forcefully backward.
Seeing Lu Chen push her down and then activate his spirit sword to fly away, Liu Zijin, who had been pushed to the ground, was filled with disbelief.
Before Liu Zijin could get up, the tiger demon had already caught up and swiped at her with a claw.
In the critical moment, Liu Zijin threw a golden bell talisman she carried and activated it with her magic power.
Just as the tiger's claw was about to tear her apart, a bell-shaped light shield suddenly emerged from her body, enveloping her entirely. With a "clang," it blocked the tiger demon's powerful strike.
Immediately, Liu Zijin hurriedly recited the movement incantation and ran like the wind toward the exit of the forest.
"Can a mere golden bell talisman stop me?"
The tiger demon laughed maniacally, took a deep breath, and roared, spitting out a gust of wind at Liu Zijin.
Sharp gusts of wind, like blades, fiercely struck the golden bell shield, forcing Liu Zijin to stop and resist the impact of the wind blades.
But in just a blink, she noticed that the light shield created by the golden bell talisman was beginning to crack.
Liu Zijin was in a dilemma.
"Rumble, rumble, rumble..."
At this moment, rolling thunder suddenly echoed through the forest.
Liu Zijin looked up and saw a talisman emitting a purple-golden glow floating above the forest, where the tiger demon stood. The thunderous sound came from the talisman.
The tiger demon also noticed the talisman, which was about to unleash its power. It was momentarily stunned, then leaped up, trying to avoid the impending lightning.
However, its reaction was a step too slow. Its already injured tail was directly struck by a bolt of lightning from the sky, turning into charcoal, and its body became paralyzed, unable to move.
Even with all its demonic power, it couldn't make its body move.
The demonic tiger, in pain and anger, roared at a figure on a branch ahead.
"Neither of you can escape; today, you will both become my blood meal!"
It had already seen the person who threw the Five Thunder Talisman.
Indeed, it was Lin Buyu, who had not come down from the tree.
Lin Buyu leaped down from the branch, grabbed Liu Zijin from the ground, and started running.
"Thank you, Junior Sister."
Liu Zijin, who had survived the ordeal, followed Lin Buyu's steps and thanked her.
However, they underestimated the tiger demon's strength. Before they could escape the maple forest, the tiger demon had already blocked their path.
"Where do you think you're going, you two?"
The tiger demon looked at them with a sinister smile.
"Monster, if you dare to harm the disciples of Qingxuan Sect, are you not afraid of being hunted by us?"
Liu Zijin raised her sword, shielding Lin Buyu behind her.
"At this point, do you think I have a way out? Instead of waiting to be hunted, I might as well eat you two to increase my strength!"
With that, the demonic tiger suddenly chuckled and said:
"To tell you the truth, I am just one step away from breaking through to the Demon King realm and becoming a genuine king-level demonic beast!"
Hearing this, Liu Zijin's frown deepened.
A king-level demonic beast, with cultivation and magic power close to that of a Wanyou Realm cultivator, combined with its unique abilities, might even be too much for a Wanyou Realm cultivator to handle.
"Hmm, the scent of the two of you is quite nice, especially the young girl behind you."
The demonic tiger suddenly sniffed hard and looked greedily at Lin Buyu, who was shielded by Liu Zijin.
"A disciple who can use the Five Thunder Talisman must be the most favored and have the best bone quality, possibly even the extremely rare Golden Spirit Bone. If I eat you, I will not only become a king, but I might also awaken a bloodline power."
As it spoke, it slowly paced in front of them, emitting a low, rumbling roar, as if ready to pounce at any moment.
"Junior Sister Lin, I will hold it off; you don't need to worry about me, find a way to escape."
Liu Zijin secretly circulated the true qi in her dantian and transmitted a message to Lin Buyu.
Given that Lin Buyu had the Golden Spirit Bone, the sect must have given her a means to escape, which is why Liu Zijin said this.
Lin Buyu remained silent.
She neither agreed nor disagreed.
At this moment, the demonic tiger took another deep breath and then suddenly spat at Liu Zijin and Lin Buyu.
Almost simultaneously, Liu Zijin drew her sword, gathering sword qi on her arm, and slashed at the tiger demon with a sword enveloped in flowing sword qi.
With a loud noise, the tiger demon's gust of wind was split by Liu Zijin's sword.
But what Liu Zijin didn't expect was that, at the same time she split the gust of wind, the tiger demon's broken tail, unnoticed, swept toward her from the side.
Just as she began to despair, a somewhat slender figure appeared beside her, holding a golden talisman.
Who else could it be but Lin Buyu?
With a metallic ringing sound, the talisman in Lin Buyu's hand transformed into a golden flying sword, which met the tiger's tail with a slash.
In the sound of the air being split, the tiger's tail fell, and the golden flying sword aimed directly at the tiger demon's head.
But at this moment, a very beautiful crystal bead appeared in front of the tiger demon, and a smile of triumph spread across its lips.
A huge collision sound echoed, and the golden flying sword, transformed from the talisman, was shattered by the fierce wind surging from the crystal bead.
Before Liu Zijin and Lin Buyu could react, they were both enveloped in a circular wind barrier along with the tiger demon.
From above, the three of them looked like they were trapped in a circle of wind.
"Didn't expect that, did you? I can still activate my Cold Wind Pearl once more."
The tiger demon swallowed the crystal bead and walked toward them with a smug look.