The combination of the tiger and Yi Yi together was certainly very intimidating. Most low-level cultivators with little experience in the world would be frightened senseless by a Spirit Beast that could speak. Besides, riding on the tiger while travelling was undoubtedly a tempting offer.
It was a long journey to the Crimson Blood Sect and Lu Ye had no idea how long it would take for him to arrive at his destination. If he could ride on the tiger, he could preserve his energy and even cultivate during his journey. For him, this was a very good choice. His cultivation was still pretty low at the moment, so his top priority was to improve his strength. If he had to travel on his own, there was no way for him to cultivate during his journey. It would waste a lot of his time.
He originally had no intention of bringing these two along with him. Giving Yi Yi three chances to convince him had been nothing more than a way for him to refuse her. He had planned to refuse no matter what she said. However, he found that her words had tempted him instead…
"Well? How about it?" Yi Yi glanced at Lu Ye with earnest eyes, afraid that the word 'No' would come out of his mouth.
"It's not like I can't…"
Before she could cheer, she heard him continuing, "But, we need to establish three rules!"
She was confused. "What three rules?"
He raised a finger. "Firstly, I will have the final say in everything. If we disagree on anything, you will listen to me."
She nodded in response. "That's not a problem."
Having decided to rely on him, both she and the tiger had already mentally prepared themselves for something like that.
"Secondly, there might be times when I ask you to do something. You cannot refuse as long as it is within your abilities. Naturally, you will not be asked to do anything that will endanger your life. If such a situation arises, you can make your own judgement based on the situation."
"Okay."
"Thirdly, please let me know if you no longer want to stick around with me. Don't leave without saying anything."
"That won't happen." She shook her head.
"If there are no problems with these, then… I hope we get along?" Lu Ye stretched his hand out to Yi Yi.
Yi Yi tilted her head to the side and looked at him in bewilderment. Nevertheless, she imitated his actions and stretched her hand out toward him. He grabbed her hand and shook it gently. She seemed to understand his intentions and smiled so widely that her eyes became slitted. "Let's get along!"
The tiger behind her purred. Then, she jumped onto its head and looked at Lu Ye. "As a sign of my sincerity, I have something good to tell you!"
"Something good?"
The three words that came out of her mouth immediately caught his interest.
Under the tiger and Yi Yi's guidance, Lu Ye came to a well-concealed cave located in the area adjacent to the tiger's territory deep within the depths of Green Cloud Mountain. The entrance of the cave was overgrown with weeds. If one was not familiar with the terrain here, it would be very difficult to find the entrance of this cave.
"Is this the place?" Lu Ye stuck his head into the cave and looked around. The inside was pitch-black and he could not see anything.
"Yes." Yi Yi and the tiger were leading the way in front, beckoning for him to keep up.
He was carrying a knife around his waist. Pressing his hand against the handle of the knife, he prepared himself to deal with emergencies at any time.
According to her, a snake-type Spirit Beast was living deep inside this cave. She and the tiger had once entered deep into this cave and suffered a great loss at the hands of the Snake Demon as a result. However, they also managed to discover a secret. That secret was the 'something good' that she mentioned wanting to show him earlier.
The cave sloped downward. He felt as though he was so far from the surface that there were more than 10 metres between him and the surface of the ground. Even so, he had yet to reach the end. It could be seen just how deep this cave went.
At this point, the surroundings were no longer nice and cool. Rather, a wave of heat was constantly pouring out from the front. The further inward they went, the more intense the heat became.
Yi Yi was already starting to gasp for breath. Finally, she stopped and said, "I can't go any further."
She was a Spirit after all. It was only natural that a scorching environment like this was not very compatible with her.
Lu Ye had a sudden realisation. "Did you come here the last time you were injured?"
She nodded. "That thing can only be found here. Amber will go with you. The Snake Demon is not that strong. You should be able to take it down with the tiger's cooperation."
"Okay. Wait here." He nodded at her words and continued onward with the tiger. He walked for a long time. By this point, he suspected that he was currently several hundreds of metres underground by now. The heat in the air was extremely intense. Despite activating his Spiritual Power to protect his body, he still found the heat extremely unbearable. On the other hand, the tiger was panting with its tongue lolling out of its mouth. It also had a lethargic expression on its face that made it look like a dog suffering from heatstroke.
A short while later, they finally reached the end of the road. It was an underground karst cave that could be considered spacious. Standing at the entrance of the cave, Lu Ye noticed a huge snake occupying the depths of the karst cave at a glance. The huge snake was probably as thick as his thighs and he could not tell how long it was. It was holding its head high, breathing heavily in front of a small tree about half a person's height.
The entirety of the small tree was glowing red, like a red-hot branding iron. Moreover, there were two fruits approximately the size of a baby's fist hanging from the tree. The entire karst cave was filled with a bizarre fragrance. It was the Barrier Penetrating Fruit!
That was the 'something good' that Yi Yi had mentioned before. With Lu Ye's current wealth, it would not have impressed him if it were just any ordinary thing. However, the Barrier Penetrating Fruit was different. This item was extremely effective in penetrating the barriers of a cultivator's Spiritual Points. It could be said that it would remain useful as long as the Spiritual Points of a person were not fully unlocked.
He had consumed the Barrier Penetrating Fruit once before. It was all thanks to that fruit that he managed to advance into the Spirit Creek Realm. Therefore, his interest was immediately piqued when she mentioned it.
The Barrier Penetrating Fruit that she gave him previously was something she had stolen from this place. As a Spirit, she was able to come and go without any traces. Even the Snake Demon that occupied this place was unable to guard against her. It was just that the environment here was extremely harmful to her. If not for the fact that she had no other choice back then, she would not have risked her life by coming here. Although she obtained the fruit in the end, the effort had weakened her so much that it took her many days to recover.
Both Yi Yi and the tiger held a grudge against this Snake Demon, but they had not been strong enough in the past to get their revenge on the Snake Demon. Now that they had Lu Ye as their backer, combined with the fact that they were leaving soon, it was only natural that she wanted to get her revenge against the Snake Demon.
At the same time, Lu Ye would obtain two more Barrier Penetrating Fruits. Not only would this deepen their mutual affection, but it would also solidify their cooperative relationship. It could be said that she was killing two birds with one stone.
The Snake Demon was coiled up around the Barrier Penetrating Fruit Tree. It was using its body as a cover to keep the tree surrounded in the centre. Its head was held high as it breathed, a fiery red aura visible to the naked eye flowing into its mouth and nose. It looked like it was cultivating.
Unfortunately, it was about to be disturbed by two uninvited guests.
The Snake Demon abruptly raised its head when the tiger let out a furious roar, its tongue flicking in and out of its mouth. The tiger had already pounced like a gust of wind. In the next moment, the Snake Demon shot forward, opened its mouth, and bit down on the tiger's neck.
The tiger roared out in pain, but it also bit into the belly of the snake. Nevertheless, their strength was not equal. Although the tiger was bleeding from the Snake Demon's bite, the Snake Demon was completely unhurt. There was a fiery red Demon Power permeating the surface of the Snake Demon's body to form a layer of protection that prevented the tiger from biting through.
The majestic and imposing tiger was at a disadvantage as soon as they confronted each other. Moreover, the several metre long snake body wrapped around the tiger tightly and immediately turned the tiger into a dumpling. It was an instant kill! Even though they were both Spirit Beasts, the difference in strength between them was not small.
Fortunately, there was still Lu Ye. When the tiger rushed forward, he had used the tiger's body as a cover to charge forward. This moment where the two creatures were tangled together in a fierce struggle was the best time to make a move. While unsheathing his knife, he drew upon his Spiritual Power to bless the knife with the Sharp Edge Spiritual Pattern. A cold light instantly flashed out of the blade and blood splattered everywhere.