Chapter 456 - Moving in the Forest On A Tiger
Humans could only see the world as it is, but Celestials were capable of seeing beyond it.
Han Ying did not understand that when Shen Lian said he was greater than stars, it was not all talks. The Eldest Young Lady, Chen Qing was on her back and Shen Lian was lying on top of her head.
She did not have much energy left, and yet Shen Lian was resting next to her ears, correcting her breathing methods. Despite it being awkward at first, but she realized that she could always muster up energy with her exhausted body.
Shen Lian told her to get into the woods. In nature, even if the rebels were to find their way over, Shen Lian would be able to protect the both of them easily.
Even though Shen Lian was merely a baby who could not even walk yet, Han Ying chose to believe in him - she herself was unsure why.
She thought Shen Lian's peculiarity was the reason, but little did she know that she had been undergoing training since young and was not exposed to lies and trickeries. Hence, her heart was purer than most people. She could judge kindness and malice more accurately than others. On top of that, Shen Lian was a convincing person.
Shen Lian taught her the proper breathing methods in order for her to utilise her strength better. It was not for her to generate energy out of thin air. She started slowing down, but not before they had reached the nearest mountain to them - Mount Jieyang.
The ravines overlapped, the vines were dense. Far away, one could see the never-ending mountain range and the lush green forest. Some trees extended up into the sky, it would seem that they had lived for more than a few hundred years.
Perhaps it was one of the peculiarities of this world, Shen Lian noticed that the leaves looked smooth and shiny from a far, akin to pieces of jade. The leaves were broad too.
Han Ying carried Chen Qing and Shen Lian to a mountain stream. She was too tired. It was relatively quiet here, she could leave both of them safely and start a fire before heading off to search for food.
A gust of wind blew past. A black tiger jumped out of the rocks.
The dragons controlled the clouds, while the tigers controlled the wind. Wind started blowing wildly after the black tiger leaped out. Han Ying had no energy left, and she was stunned.
She stared as the tiger leaped down from the rocks and made its way towards them.
She held her narrow and long sword tightly, her gaze meeting the black tiger without so much of a blink of her eyes. This tiger was bigger than an a.d.u.l.t. It walked forward casually, its cold gaze was a terrifying sight.
Han Ying thought that this would be the end of her. Fortunately, the Eldest Young Lady had fainted. At least she would not die a painful death.
Suddenly, she remembered about the Eldest Young Lady's strange son.
The moment that her attention was divided, the black tiger leaped forward. The breeze whizzed and she almost lost her footing.
However, the black tiger was not leaping towards her. It was in front of Shen Lian and she almost yelled. She knew that Shen Lian could not even walk. Despite his peculiarities, this sudden development might cost him his life.
As she groaned inwardly and was about to charge at the black tiger with everything she had, she was surprised by how the black tiger was curling up on the ground in front of Shen Lian. It was akin to a big black cat who was trying to lick Shen Lian.
Shen Lian reached his fair hand forward and slapped on its tongue.
The black tiger no longer looked like the King of the Jungle. It was nothing more than a pet, a big black cat.
Shen Lian carressed its fur and spoke gently to Han Ying, "It told me that behind the rocks, there is a cave not far away. Bring my mother there and start a fire. Xiao Hei and I will look for food." Just like that, Shen Lian gave the black tiger a cliche name.
Han Ying was stunned. She saw the black tiger lowering its head carefully, letting Shen Lian climb up its neck.
A weird scene occuring in front of her - a baby looked as though he grew out of the black tiger's neck. It was very strange indeed.
The black tiger stepped into the forest. Han Ying had no choice but to follow Shen Lian's instruction and went to the back of the rocks. There was a cave and it was dry inside. Albeit unintentionally, she seemed to have found the black tiger's den.
Shen Lian rode on the black tiger. The Qi of heaven and earth rushed over from all directions, benefitting even the black tiger. It was a pleasant experience.
Shen Lian did not cultivate the Qi of heaven and earth. Instead, he gathered them and analysed the qualities with his divine thoughts.
The Qi of heaven and earth in the forest was denser than that in the city, and the quality of which was purer too.
He noticed the uniqueness of the Qi of heaven and earth in this world - they were gloomier than that from the previous world. Hence, the world was not as cheerful and active. He imagined if he were to use the same kind of spells here, the power would be significantly discounted.
As for the fundamental force of nature - sky, earth, mountain, swamp, water, fire, wind and lightning, they still existed in this world. However, the power of earth, mountain, swamp, and water were way stronger than that of sky, fire, wind and lightning.
He tried to cultivate a hint of Qi that entered his body and observed the changes when it was combined with his blood and flesh. He noticed how the structure of his blood and flesh became studier and more solid after combining with the Qi. However, a gloomy hint of Qi would not disperse. It rushed towards his head. In the depths of his bier, the Primordial Spirit containing his cultivation from his past life rest within it. The gloomy hint of Qi could not rival the divine thoughts that he could engage in his bier. Just as a drop of water than rushed into the sea, the gloomy hint of Qi was eliminated immediately.
Shen Lian felt like he had just washed his face with clean water,the divine thoughts that he expended was replenished.
He continued to absorb the Qi of heaven and earth, taking only the gloomy hint of Qi and used it on his divine thoughts. He allowed the rest of the pure Qi to travel in his blood and flesh or to exit his body.
The black tiger carried Shen Lian as they patrolled the forest. All of the pure Qi in Mount Jieyang congregated towards Shen Lian who was riding on top of the black tiger.
The essence of the sun and the moon that it absorbed over the course of ten over days to half a month could not even compare to those that he just absorbed.
After spending so long in the forest, the black tiger had developed spirituality too.
Initially, it was drooling when it saw the humans. However, Shen Lian reminded him of an incident he witnessed as a child. It was a lot younger back then, and a person with the physical appearance of a human used to stay in the mountain. There was also a giant python, and the essence of the sun and the moon that it absorbed was a few times more than what the black tiger could absorb.
One night, the black tiger saw the python who was able to break through branches as thick as its waist being frozen by a stream of white lights that came out from the person's gourd.
The giant python was at least six to seven times the length of the black tiger. Under the white lights, the giant python gradually shrunk and became a tiny snake that was as big as one's palm. It was kept within the person's gourd.
That was the first time the black tiger experienced fear. After that, it found out that people as such were known as cultivators. Even if it were to attain success in cultivation, it would not be able to fight against the cultivators.
When it set eyes on Shen Lian, it was reminded of the cultivator from back then. If anything, it was more terrified by Shen Lian's presence.
Once harbored, it would not be easy to erase one's fear. It was only natural for it to submit to a stronger being.
Shen Lian observed his surroundings. Light began to restore in his eyes. To him, it was a lot easier to deal with a black tiger than a normal human. After all, he was privy to the mysteries of the Dream Heart Sutra. Moreover, he had fought against Yanxu plenty of times. His understanding of the Sky Demon method allowed him to take advantage of the weakness in the black tiger's heart. To manipulate the beast's heart was significantly easier than to manipulate a human's heart.