The old Daoist priest was pacing restlessly. Ning Beichen had been gone for a long time, and he worried if he was lost or had met with an accident.
Just as he was feeling anxious, a sudden tiger roar sent him scrambling to hide.
"It's over, why did that damned tiger come back again?"
The old Daoist priest’s face turned grim as he watched the six-meter-long tiger approaching.
The tiger was fast, arriving at the campsite in mere blinks of an eye. The old Daoist trembled behind a large rock.
As he contemplated whether to flee or fight, the tiger landed before him. To his astonishment, he saw Ning Beichen sitting on its back.
He hadn't noticed Ning Beichen before, first because of fear, second because the tiger was too fast, and third because the tiger's immense size had made him overlook the figure on its back.
"Mr. Ning..."
The old Daoist priest looked as if he had seen a ghost.
How could this be possible?
Was he seeing things?
He quickly shook his head and rubbed his eyes. It was true, the person on the tiger’s back was indeed Ning Beichen.
"Hi, old Daoist priest, are you feeling better?"
Ning Beichen jumped off the tiger's back and waved at the old Daoist priest.
"Much... much better, I'm fine now. Mr. Ning, how... how is this tiger with you?"
The old Daoist priest asked with a hint of panic.
"Nothing much, this tiger has submitted to me. It's my mount now."
Ning Beichen said with a calm and indifferent tone.
But the old Daoist priest's heart was churning. This giant tiger had sent him flying and injured him with a single claw, yet now it had submitted to Ning Beichen.
What did this imply?
It implied that Ning Beichen's strength was immeasurably greater than his own.
Any lingering feeling of defiance he might have had towards Ning Beichen vanished completely.
"Alright, old Daoist priest, if your injuries are healed, then come with me. We need to hurry."
Ning Beichen told the old Daoist priest.
The old Daoist priest nodded in a daze. Seeing Ning Beichen mount the tiger again, he was about to follow on foot when Ning Beichen called out from the tiger’s back.
"Old Daoist priest, what are you doing?"
The old Daoist priest paused and replied, "Mr. Ning, didn't you ask me to follow you?"
"I asked you to get on. If you walk, when will you catch up to us?"
Ning Beichen said with mild exasperation.
The old Daoist priest realized it belatedly, but he was still somewhat afraid of the tiger and hesitant to get close to it.
Ning Beichen, with a helpless sigh, patted the tiger's head.
The giant tiger obediently lay down, and only then did the old Daoist priest dare to sit on its back.
The giant tiger was six meters long. Excluding its head and tail, it was about five meters long, more than enough to carry two people comfortably.
"Let's go. You lead the way, and let Brother Tiger take us to the other places."
Ning Beichen told the old Daoist priest.
The old Daoist priest did not dare to delay. He pointed the way, and the giant tiger galloped at full speed, covering over ten meters with each leap, covering a hundred meters in the blink of an eye.
Especially in this mountainous terrain with no roads, having the giant tiger as transportation was like walking on flat ground. The ride itself, however, was bumpy and thrilling for those on its back.
Fortunately, neither Ning Beichen nor the old Daoist priest were ordinary people, and the bumps and thrills had no effect on them.
Soon, the giant tiger arrived at the second location pointed out by the old Daoist priest.
However, the second place was not as fortunate. It was a very ordinary spot. The only unusual thing might have been some rarely seen natural phenomena, but nothing particularly remarkable.
The two men and the tiger rested for a night and set off again the next day to the remaining locations indicated by the old Daoist priest.
However, none of these places were what Ning Beichen was looking for. Although they were peculiar, they were mostly unique natural landscapes, good for sightseeing.
After two days together, Ning Beichen's attitude towards the old Daoist priest had softened considerably.
Most importantly, the old Daoist priest had shed his arrogance and adopted a humbler demeanor. When he did, he turned out to be quite an amusing old man.
"Mr. Ning, I've visited the places my senior brother instructed me to, are you satisfied?"
The old Daoist priest asked cautiously.
He actually had no idea what Ning Beichen was trying to achieve. At each location, Ning Beichen would explore the surroundings, then meditate for a while. Sometimes, he would leave after only a few minutes, which left the old Daoist priest utterly baffled.
"Satisfaction is not the issue. These are not the places I'm looking for. Never mind, such things depend on destiny. Don't worry about it. From now on, let the tiger take us to some places, and you'll follow me for the time being."
Ning Beichen said to him.
"I will obey all of Mr. Ning's commands."
The old Daoist priest replied without hesitation.
Despite the hardship of the past few days, Ning Beichen would occasionally discuss cultivation matters with him, which opened the old Daoist priest's mind and even improved his cultivation.
At his age and cultivation level, progress was incredibly difficult. Yet, after a few conversations with Ning Beichen, his cultivation had improved. Where else could he find such good fortune?
"Alright, then we'll rest here for the night. Brother Tiger, go catch some prey for dinner."
Ning Beichen said to the giant tiger.
The giant tiger roared and leaped over ten meters away. In less than ten minutes, it returned with a medium-sized prey in its mouth.
Ning Beichen then began to process the prey, while the old Daoist priest gathered firewood. The giant tiger went off to hunt for its own food. This routine was now familiar to them.
With the giant tiger, Ning Beichen and his companion were rarely short of food.
Indeed, the giant tiger was at the top of the food chain here, and few prey could escape its pursuit.
As night fell, the campfire blazed, and Ning Beichen and the old Daoist priest feasted on roasted meat. The giant tiger had also become more discerning in recent days, knowing to bring the prey back for Ning Beichen to roast with spices before eating.
Sometimes.
Ning Beichen regretted not bringing Liu Yilin along.
After all, with such scenery and romantic night, sharing it with a hundred-year-old man was somewhat unappetizing.
After eating their fill, the old Daoist priest and Ning Beichen sat by the campfire and chatted.
"Mr. Ning, what is the realm of 'heaven and man in unity' like?"
The old Daoist priest asked curiously.
"I cannot tell you that. Such a realm can only be understood, not described in words. If you were a Grandmaster, I could let you feel its power. However, for you now, experiencing it would not be a good thing."
Ning Beichen replied.