The fire tiger mother’s breath washed over Alex, heavy and burning, much like the heat from a furnace just as it consumed everything in its grasp.

She could kill him. She should kill him. The only reason he had survived this long was her fleeting favour. A favour that had already been repaid in full, as granting him even a few more seconds of life while she hunted his companions was more than any prey could ever hope for.

She owed him nothing, now.

Her tail flicked, lava rippling where it touched. The muscles beneath her fur tightened like coiled springs. She could tear him apart in seconds, and they both knew it. But she waited, her head tilting ever so slightly, listening. Predators always listened, even if they didn’t care.

***

To Alex, her eyes felt like molten suns of hatred as they drilled into him. How can eyeballs generate heat? He wondered as he stared back, meeting her gaze. He should have been worried. Hell, he should even have felt resignation or maybe even a little bit of dread—but all he felt was the heat subtly pressing against his skin.

His mind stayed cold, however.

Why shouldn’t she kill him? The answer was simple, and it was an answer he’d known ever since Jin had informed him of the three strongest creatures in the realm. "I have information about a hidden force that even you might find... worth your time," he said, his voice steady, eyes meeting hers with a hint of challenge.

The tiger mother’s growl rumbled through the den, but she didn’t strike. Instead, she tilted her head slightly, considering his words. “You... offer... more prey?”

Alex nodded steadily, an action that caused her molten coloured pupils to dilate. "The most prey—more than could ever fill you or your cubs' bellies."

The tiger paused, her tail flicking, slitted eyes burning with heat. Her head lowered slightly, her breath hot against his skin. “Explain… Quickly.”

All tiger species are primarily Hunters, right? Alex paused in a second of thought, his fingers tracing along the patterns of his blade's hilt as he considered the beast before him. He viewed the way the mother crouched low before him, her muscles primed and ready to pounce if he showed even a hint of prey behaviour like agitation, fear or retreat. For a moment, Alex felt grateful for the fact that he had followed his instincts and stood his ground rather than attempt to fight or flee. Any other behaviour would have triggered her predatory instincts and caused a much more unfortunate outcome. And hunters love vulnerable prey— the injured ones, or those isolated from a group. So what she wants are easy targets. He would have to present the proposed ‘prey’ not as a challenge, but as an abundance of easy meals.

“Like I said, a hidden force is here and it’s imperative that you—that we hunt them all. Although the force is filled with nothing but weak and vulnerable prey, to allow them to live even a day longer would be far more dangerous than you could imagine.” He watched her closely, studying the flicker of curiosity in her gaze.

She stepped closer, her breath hot enough to scorch his skin. “Dangerous... to me?” Her lips curled slightly, not in amusement, but in that unsettling feline way—a predator on the edge of a decision. “Nothing... is... more dangerous... than I.”

“If that’s true then why is the blood phoenix still alive?”

That got her attention. A growl reverberated through her, low and rumbling. The ground trembled as the stone trembled with her irritation. “That... bird... has escaped me before. But it cannot... die. It does not… fight. It tricks..”

It tricks? I’m assuming she means it’s cunning, after all— Jin did say it was the more intelligent of the pair, Alex thought in consideration of her words.

“Yes and now it has bloodbea— creatures of blood. An army of them.” He continued under her watchful gaze.

“I have killed…many,” the mother tigress said, her tone dismissive. “They are nothing.. but weak cubs.” She paused, her eyes widened, filled with dawning calculation. “An army… of prey cubs?”

Good. She’s listening.

“Yes, but the Phoenix is feeding on them,” Alex pressed, feeling the weight of her gaze. “Every blood creature killed only empowers the phoenix. You may think you’re the apex, but it grows stronger with every wave of blood creatures that invade this realm.” He allowed his words to hang, knowing he was walking a fine line.

“They’re weak now,” he acknowledged. “But there are endless numbers of them. When they overwhelm this realm, the phoenix will absorb all of their strength. It will quickly become something you cannot handle.” He leaned in slightly, testing the boundaries. “Unless I lead you to their maker. Then you can take that power for yourself.”

The mother was silent for a long moment. Then, with slow, deliberate movement, she lowered her head, her eyes burning into his. “You live… for now. A few hours… maybe days. We will… find this… maker.”

The Mother didn’t blink, but her muscles relaxed just slightly. The small being before her had offered something valuable—information, access to more prey, survival— and growth. The Tigress could kill it later. She had time.

She stood tall again, disinterested, her attention already shifting. “I will… kill you. But first… we will hunt.”

***

Alex sat in a meditative pose among the stones in the centre of the lake of lava, cultivating. Some distance away within the lava lay the giant fire tigress and her cubs, and if they were to interrupt his attempt to cultivate the mana of her lair, it could and would lead to serious consequences. But he found himself somewhat unconcerned; If any of them entered within his domain’s range he would simply stop cultivating.

Even if the fire tigress could move much faster than his body could keep up with, with his intelligence stat as high as it was he could at least react to any unforeseen actions mentally. There would be no risk of Qi deviation, death, stunted progress, or crippling of his cultivation and future advancement.

It’s a pretty dangerous thing to do, all things considered, Alex thought while sitting still, but the Qi here is just too unique.

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And plus, he trusted his domain.

It had allowed him to realise the strangeness of the Qi within the Fire Tiger’s lair. It felt far different from any other Qi he had encountered so far. The Fire Qi around him carried an intensity that set it apart from any other energy—an element of heat, but with the chaotic surge of raw entropic power. The Fire Qi was wild and restless, swirling in unpredictable currents that seemed to mirror the nature of flames themselves—constantly shifting, never still. It surged through the cracks in the molten rock, its intensity unmistakable. Unlike other types of Qi, this one carried a raw aggression, a chaotic pulse that seemed ready to lash out and consume.

Alex then considered his multicoloured spirit root and its effect on his cultivation. According to the sect’s manuals, as a possessor of a multicoloured spirit root, he not only held unparalleled potential for mastering techniques but also a heightened affinity for multiple types of elemental Qi which would in theory allow him to absorb and utilize various elemental energies far more effectively than all others with mere single-element spirit roots. The broad affinity of his spirit root should make him extremely versatile and allow for a much faster rate of cultivation.

In theory.

But according to the texts, the boost to his cultivation would come with significant caveats. The increased cultivation speed would be primarily due to his enhanced affinity for multiple types of Qi, allowing them to absorb and utilize a broader spectrum of elemental energies. This versatility can result in quicker breakthroughs in certain cultivation stages and the ability to learn and master a wider range of techniques that draw on different elements.

He took a deep breath, utilising the breathing technique to send it surging through his pathways.

The moment the energy surged within him, the air tightened with the dry scorch of a desert wind, heat rolling through his veins with the fury of molten earth. Each breath he took filled his lungs with a searing intensity, his skin tingling as if the air itself held an invisible flame. It was more than warmth; it was a ravenous blaze, waiting to be unleashed, a force that seethed beneath his skin, heavy with power. The world around him blurred, and all he knew was the burn within, a living ember now ignited deep inside. He guided the fiery force to his dantian, where it collided with his Qi in a brilliant blaze. The two forces swirled together and the fire expanded to meld with his being, growing hotter and denser. His dantian drank it in, shaping it into something familiar yet more powerful, an inferno now rooted within him, a living force he could summon at will.

Though he wasn’t quite sure how to utilise it, or the effect it would have on his techniques. He would have to ask Jin— once I find the sneaky bastard, he reminded himself,

[Qi: 53 > 55]

[New energies have assimilated with your body]

[Nascent Body: 0 > 17%]

Huh. I wonder what happens when it reaches 100%? Alex mused. Perhaps he would become some kind of energy demigod, able to summon and manipulate all things at will.

[2-hour mana cooldown ended. Skills now available for use]

“What… are you doing… prey?” The Tigress the size of a bus eyed Alex curiously as he cultivated. There was a sense of amusement in the way she asked, but within her amusement lay hints of lethality and dangerous whimsy.

A cat’s curiosity.

Alex paused his cultivation to answer her question. “I’m finding the maker of the blood creatures.” He breathed, opening his eyes. “It’s this way,” he lied, pointing towards a pathway past her lair that led deeper into the caverns.

Well, it’s not exactly a lie, Alex thought while rising to his feet. I’m pretty sure the beacon I'm remembering from the spirit beast core’s memories was in that direction too.

"And you... know their source?" Her gaze hardened, pupils narrowing to slits. “Truly?”

In her alien and inhuman logic she believes that my immediate death is inevitable, and allowing me to live hours or perhaps days more is some kind of freakin’ boon, he noted, bemused by her foreign and predatory thought process. To her, the act of extending his ‘short’ life was probably the height of mercy.

Alex scoffed at the idiocy.

"I do," he affirmed while trying to ignore the scent of sulfur and ash. "A demonic cultivator is the maker of these creatures. I’ll lead you to him, and you’ll take his power. Then we’ll destroy—no, then we’ll hunt the blood Phoenix together.”

He could see her mind working, slow, deliberate, like a predator circling its prey. The mother tigress was not used to being challenged—let alone by something she considered lesser—but the thought of the blood phoenix gaining power clearly unsettled her.

For a long moment, the fire tiger mother watched him, her gaze burning into his. Then she stepped closer, her breath hot against his skin. “You… would do this?”

Alex stood his ground. “Yes.”

Her eyes glowed brighter, but the edges of her mouth curled upward, not in kindness, but in something colder. Her massive form loomed over him as she came to a stop, the heat rolling off her body like waves from a furnace

“You would betray your own?”

Alex almost cackled but reduced the urge to a mere smile “Trust me. None of them are my own.”

The Tigress paused, blinking slowly, a predator's blink, but didn’t answer. She watched him while waiting, amused maybe. Or bored. The line was so fine with creatures like her.

Then she moved before Alex could even blink. Her massive paw came down on him, claws extended, not to kill, but to play.

Boundless Dodg—

Alex had no time to think—only react. His arms shot up in defence, his mind summoning the blades stored in Sword Soul’s soul-armoury in an instant. They erupted from his skin, sharp steel and foreign metal blossoming outward, each one shaped and sharpened to a deadly point through his dao. A wave of blades and reality rippling flux bit into the air. The moment her paw connected, the force rattled through his bones, the impact reverberating as though it had struck the earth itself. The stone beneath his feet grated under the force, his body sliding back against the rough ground, arms braced to absorb the blow as his feet scraped across the stone to send shards flying as he slid, the grinding sound filling his ears. His body jolted with the impact and his arms shook under the weight of the strike, and his breath hitched as his defences held. Sparks flew from the jagged edges of his blades, steel meeting flesh. He dug his feet into the ground, finally coming to a halt, the pressure in his arms releasing as the tigress withdrew. Thanatos’ Sovereign, had deflected the worst of the blow, but pain still shot up through his arms, a dull throb in his bones.

His limbs were now a mass of serrated edges, unnaturally sharp and primed through his dao. The jagged edges of the Dao-infused blades cut deep into her fur as she struck him, leaving thin red lines in their wake and blood trickling down her paw.

The tigress paused, pulling back her paw. A thin trail of crimson dripped from the edges of her claws, and she tilted her head slightly, regarding her wound with detached curiosity. The faintest hint of amusement seemed to flicker in her eyes as she flexed her claws, her head tilting ever so slightly as she observed the sizzling blood fall—just drops— staining the lava below. For the first time, her gaze returned to Alex with something new—reevaluation, perhaps—and a thin smile of predatory intent curled in the corners of her snarl.

Alex's chest relaxed, his breathing returning to its usual pace as the tension between them dissipated, the moment punctuated by the quiet drip of her blood into lava, the smallest sign that he'd gained her curiosity.

“You are... bold... for one so weak,” she rumbled, her voice carrying the weight of every threat still hovering between them.

“And you’re slow for one in so much danger. Let’s go.”

They headed deeper into the caverns, searching for a single demonic blood cultivator, the Little Demon. A man pretending to be a cultivator walked beside the giant lioness he’d vowed to kill.

Ever deeper.

The air tasted of ash, burning his throat. Beside him, the mother tigress moved with graceful menace, her fur blazing like a living fire. Her cubs padded behind, eyes glowing like hot coals. Alex’s body still ached from the hit and his bones felt sore, but the pain didn’t matter. It only sharpened his focus. She had toyed with him, that much was clear. A cat’s whim. She planned to kill him, but she hadn’t yet—at least not until they had found their prize.

I’ll kill you first, he thought. Kill her—or the blood phoenix, or the Little Demon. Whoever survived the chaos that was coming would fall to his blade.

Glancing at the tigress, he steeled himself and ventured deeper into the chasm.