Chapter 1354: 1005: Spiritual Energy Revival

Yan Xuan wants to devour the ice; Huo Jun is nourishing the Tree of Life. These tasks they must solve themselves, others can’t help. Jiang Yuan is curious about what kind of monster the White Tiger has to fight, and whether he can assist in the battle.

Is there any loot after killing it? Can the Soul-Devouring Demon Skill be used to draw out lifespan?

"Master is so good!" Shi Hu sincerely appreciates this setting and atmosphere, which would indeed make him nervous if facing it alone.

Previously, he roamed around recklessly, unaware of the dangers, and ended up trapped in the Ghost Realm, nearly losing his life.

That experience left him with a bit of PTSD, fearing to get stuck in unfamiliar places or encounter strange, uncontrollable things.

With the master’s confidence, Shi Hu isn’t as frightened. After all, in his inexperienced mind, the master is invincible and omnipotent!

One man and one tiger step into the portal of light and see a massive creature sealed in stone, covered in sharp spikes and huge Sharp Claws, with flaming eyes, looking quite menacing.

"Crunch~ Crunch crunch~"

Upon activation, the stone encasing the creature rapidly diminishes, and it roars furiously, lunging towards Shi Hu!

"Master, save me!" In the blink of an eye, Shi Hu is overwhelmed with regret, realizing he should not have played around eating and drinking on the mountain if he had known this terrifying trial awaited him.

He should have at least cultivated an hour each day so that he wouldn’t be caught off guard in the face of such an enemy!

"Retreat first!" Jiang Yuan takes a step back, pulling Shi Hu out of the portal to dodge the attack. As expected, the creature is confined within the portal and can’t come out, its body gradually re-stonefies and seals again.

Shi Hu breathes heavily, trembling all over, nearly in tears, "Boo hoo hoo... Master, is that thing alive or dead? I’ve never seen a creature like that, do I really have to train here? It’s terrifying! I definitely can’t beat it!"

"You haven’t even tried, how do you know you can’t beat it? Even if you really can’t, see how you can retreat and take your time. If necessary, prepare yourself, go in and hit it once, then turn around and run; then go in and hit it again, gradually wearing it down." He shrugged helplessly, having tested it already: the creature couldn’t be targeted.

Moreover, the creature seemed fierce but charged at Shi Hu, presumably even if he stood in its way it wouldn’t attack him.

To confirm his hypothesis, Jiang Yuan went inside alone to take a look.

Sure enough, the petrified creature stood motionless, while he couldn’t select or touch it, nor could he advance.

Knowing that the creature would be resealed in stone upon retreating through the portal, Shi Hu’s tense heart slightly relaxed.

Although the master’s method seemed cowardly, it was indeed life-saving in critical moments. Taking advantage of the creature’s incomplete stone dissolution, entering to hit it a couple of times and then retreating could gradually wear it down!

"Boo hoo hoo... Master, can you accompany me? This Secret Realm is too scary, I am just a little fledgling!" Shi Hu cried unabashedly, hugging the master’s leg with his front paws.

He wanted to eat the master’s braised ribs; he wished to return to his mountain for proper cultivation; this time he promised not to slack off!

Jiang Yuan wore an expression of helplessness, "Even if I accompany you, I can’t help; that creature is formed from volatile killing energy, only a future White Tiger, like you, can interact with it. The White Tiger symbolizes metal weaponry and slaughter, you have to step up!"

He thought to himself that for a future Ascended Divine Beast, much relied on him to fend off Outer Heaven Demon; how could he be so cowardly?

Shi Hu hesitated and procrastinated, finally steeling himself, revealing his true form, and charged into the portal, hitting the creature with two swipes while it was still petrified.

Before the creature could stretch its body, Shi Hu smoothly retreated from the range of attack.

Counting in his mind, sensing the creature would be fully stonefied, Shi Hu rushed back in, smacked it twice, then withdrew.

[Special Task: White Tiger]

[Task 6: Dispatch the Demon Beast Shi Hu to the Extreme West blocking Secret Realm, completed. Reward: Divinity +30; Divine Bone +30 issued]

[Task 7: Demon Beast Shi Hu clearing the Extreme West Secret Realm 1/10 (click to view progress bar). Reward: Divinity +40; Divine Bone +40]

"Effective, although this method for battling creatures is inefficient, it’s helping you overcome fear, keep it up!" Jiang Yuan went in for a look; as an entry-level creature, the health bar at the top wasn’t as thick as imagined.

Shi Hu’s attacks have lowered the health bar slightly, seemingly without a self-healing function. After attacking a few dozen times, it should be worn down to death.

The technique of kite hunting in online games somewhat resembles a "farming game" here.

After several attempts, the creature never hit him once; it didn’t seem so grotesque or terrifying after being seen repeatedly. Shi Hu gathered his courage and charged in, releasing two major attacks consecutively.

"Roar~"

The health bar empties, the creature roars powerlessly to the sky, dying.

Its massive body slowly collapses, its form becoming more faint until it finally transforms into starlight and all the points fall on Shi Hu.

His orange fur seemed to glow faintly; he wasn’t sure if the first kill victory brought confidence or if the starlight points from the creature’s death had an effect, deep down he suddenly felt not so afraid!

He even had a vague urge to battle to the end, to fight bravely.

"Master, I’m feeling really good now, accompany me to finish off the next creature, I think I can get used to it." Shi Hu didn’t dare to be overconfident, looked at the master eagerly, fearing he would refuse and leave him to face the unknown creature alone.

Jiang Yuan smiled despite crying, what could you do with a pet you nurtured? Spoil it, of course!