The Master and His Wealthy Fiancée

Xin Ranming was long used to such taunts and paid them no mind. He stared at Wang Wan'er, his eyes full of lust. "This little lady managed to injure a Qi Cultivation Perfection Tiger Demon. Her cultivation must be decent. I'll be sure not to kill her this time!"

Zhuang Zheng sneered. "Suit yourself. As long as we capture this Tiger Demon successfully, women are a trivial matter! But you won't get your cut. After all, selling this woman to a brothel would also fetch a good number of Spirit Stones!"

Xin Ranming eagerly and gleefully agreed, "Alright, alright!"

Cultivated women who could still fight back were hard to come by; one misstep, and it could lead to significant trouble. But out here in the desolate wilderness, far from any city, it didn't matter if this eloping young couple had powerful backers. As long as they cleaned up their tracks afterward, they had nothing to fear.

The 'Bamboo Pole' and 'Hao Niu' beside him also leered. "Third Brother, don't be in such a rush to start your 'plucking.' Let us have some fun with her first, then you can have your turn!"

While the four of them were talking, the battle on the other side was raging fiercely.

It seemed they weren't trying to kill the Tiger Demon, but rather to capture it alive. The other four men only surrounded it defensively, not attacking, steadily wearing down the demon's stamina.

After another failed lunge, the Tiger Demon was panting heavily, utterly exhausted.

The youngest of the eight, a youth in black robes, summoned a Water Dragon that coiled around the Tiger Demon. His forehead was beaded with sweat, and he was clearly struggling. He quickly shouted, "Second Brother, now!"

The second brother, who had a foxy face, a handlebar mustache, and was dressed like an old Daoist priest, threw out a large net. It enveloped the Tiger Demon and began to shrink, pulling tighter and tighter until the demon could no longer move.

With the Tiger Demon successfully captured, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Seeing the mission complete, the Fatty, Xin Ranming, rubbed his hands together with a lewd grin and stepped forward. "Little lady, what do you say we get acquainted right here in front of your little lover?"

The eight of them paid Chen Dong and his companion no mind. They were just some losers who'd been routed by a mere Qi Cultivation Stage Tiger Demon; there was no need to worry on Xin Ranming's behalf.

Just then, the one dressed as a Daoist priest, the 'Longevity Immortal,' shouted, "Big Brother, this is bad! The tiger's blind in one eye!"

Hearing this, the other seven's faces turned livid with anger. Zhuang Zheng cursed, "Fuck, how many Spirit Stones is that going to cost us?! The Treasure Hunting Pavilion wants a perfect, unblemished Single-Horned White Tiger Demon."

The fourth brother, 'Mountain-Carrying Immortal,' who was as thin as a bamboo pole, said resentfully, "A blind eye counts as one flaw, right? That's three hundred Spirit Stones gone, just like that!"

The fifth brother, 'Earth-Shattering Immortal,' who was built like a Hao Niu, had a worried look on his face. "How can an eye count as just one flaw? The Treasure Hunting Pavilion is so crooked, they'll count it as two or three flaws at least. That's probably nine hundred Spirit Stones down the drain!"

Even though they were in a perilous situation, their lives hanging by a thread, Chen Dong's eyes lit up when he heard the words "Spirit Stones." He couldn't help but ask, "Is this tiger worth that many Spirit Stones?"

Bamboo Pole glanced at Chen Dong and said, "You don't get it, kid. The Treasure Hunting Pavilion's offer for a perfect Single-Horned White Tiger Demon is three thousand Spirit Stones. Most Unihorned Tiger Demons are yellow; the white ones are an extremely rare mutation."

Hao Niu said, his voice brimming with rage, "We staked out the Desolate Demon Mountain Range for over four months just to find this one Tiger Demon! We used every trick in the book to drive it here, and you can't imagine how much effort we wasted! And then you two went and blinded one of its eyes! Even eating you alive wouldn't be enough to cover the loss of Spirit Stones!"

The Fatty, Xin Ranming, was unconcerned. He wasn't planning on taking a share of the Spirit Stones anyway. His eyes narrowed into a smile as he said, "Everyone, don't be angry. We've caught the Tiger Demon, after all. I don't want my share of the Spirit Stones. The woman is mine. You guys pack up. I'm going to take this woman to... enjoy myself for a bit. I'll catch up with you later!"

Every single Spirit Stone was precious to a Loose Cultivator. Although the men were furious, the deed was done, and there was nothing they could do about it. Hearing that their third brother was giving up his share was some consolation, so they began preparing to move the Tiger Demon.

The loss was great enough that 'Bamboo Pole' and 'Hao Niu' no longer had any interest in joining the Fatty for his 'enjoyment.' To Cultivators, anything that could increase their cultivation was far more important.

Wang Wan'er watched the disgusting Fatty approach step by step, a lewd grin on his face. Resistance was hopeless—she was facing eight Foundation Establishment Cultivators. The only thing she could do was sever her own meridians. And she was preparing to do just that. This Fatty used women for his 'plucking'; he wouldn't be interested in a corpse.

She took a deep breath, about to reverse the flow of True Qi in her body to strike her own vital acupoints, when Chen Dong suddenly grabbed her hand. He gave her a meaningful look and stepped in front of her.

The Fatty laughed. "What's this? Planning to put on a show about love as deep as the ocean and devotion until death? Let me tell you, it's not very interesting to me anymore. I, the Fiery Fire Immortal, have seen it all before!"

Chen Dong just smiled and shook his head. "You all seem to be very short on Spirit Stones. I have a way for you to earn even more."

At these words, all eight of them froze. Even the ones busy with the Tiger Demon stopped what they were doing and looked at Chen Dong.

Zhuang Zheng's gaze sharpened, and he said coldly, "Kid, you don't even have any cultivation, yet you talk about earning Spirit Stones? I was originally going to spare your life because you're good-looking and could be sold to a brothel, but now I see that won't be necessary. Mocking us like this... are you asking to taste my Sharp Golden Claw?!"

Chen Dong smiled faintly. "Whether you can earn them or not, you'll know after you hear me out." His handsome, sharp eyes held a mysterious and calm confidence, as if these eight men were already pawns in his hand.