Rebirth of Nezha in the Investiture of the Gods

Li Mingzhu transformed into a small bee and, following the faint sense of murderous intent, flew all the way north.

Along the way, she encountered an actual swarm of bees. Li Mingzhu, suddenly overcome with mischief, began provoking these ordinary bees for fun.

The result, as one might expect, was utter chaos among the bee swarm. While Li Mingzhu was just one individual, even in the form of a bee, her physical body was at the Peak of the Fifth Rotation of Profound Skill.

Naturally, the swarm of bees suffered greatly. Fortunately, Li Mingzhu knew she had more pressing matters to attend to and, shaking off the swarm, continued her flight northward.

Finally rid of her, the bees let out a collective sigh of relief—this monstrous pest had finally left!

If those familiar with Li Mingzhu had witnessed her playful antics just now, they would've been utterly stunned. Was this really the decisive and ruthless "God of Slaughter" Li Mingzhu?

Li Mingzhu continued her journey northward. Unlike the other directions from Qingqiu, the northern region was notably lacking in Spiritual Energy, and the vegetation here paled in comparison.

But that White Tiger certainly knew how to enjoy itself. Although Spiritual Energy here was sparse, the White Tiger had set up a Spirit Gathering Array using a generous amount of Spirit Stones. Though the formation was a bit crude, its effect was decent enough.

The tiger had also driven away every other member of the Demon Clan as well as all other animals, claiming the territory for itself. Though the other demons were enraged by the tiger's domineering ways, they dared not voice their dissent.

One could assume the other White Tigers in the various directions were behaving in much the same manner. The White Tiger Clan had always been domineering, so such actions were hardly surprising.

This relatively young White Tiger resided in a cave mansion entirely constructed of granite. Its heavy doors, made of refined steel, were solidly sealed shut.

Getting inside would undoubtedly alert the White Tiger within, but such a challenge posed no difficulty for Li Mingzhu.

This was where the advantage of the 72 Transformations came into play. As a small bee, Li Mingzhu simply slipped through the crack in the door—stealth, thy name is 72 Transformations!

The interior of the cave was starkly simple. Other than rocks, there were more rocks, with the only noteworthy addition being a variety of gold ore deposits.

It was said that the White Tiger Clan consumed metal energy for cultivation. To see it with her own eyes confirmed the rumors. In fact, it was understandable—without cultivating using Geng Metal Energy, how else could a White Tiger radiate such overwhelming murderous intent?

As soon as she entered the cave, sharp and intense Geng Metal Energy rushed toward her. Having experienced this before, Li Mingzhu completely ignored it.

Deeper inside the cave lay a massive White Tiger, continuously devouring the Geng Metal Energy, though its expression remained one of discontent.

And rightly so—this White Tiger hailed from the West, where the Geng Metal Energy was far superior to that of Qingqiu.

Although it was called a "White Tiger," its fur wasn't entirely white; instead, it bore black and white stripes, with the most striking feature being the enormous "王" character pattern on its forehead.

Despite its impressive size, this White Tiger was, in truth, still a cub. Its cultivation had only just reached the level of a Golden Immortal, something Li Mingzhu easily discerned with her Spirit Communication Eye.

Typically, a White Tiger naturally ascended to Daluo Golden Immortal status upon reaching adulthood, even without deliberate cultivation.

Such was the innate racial advantage—an edge others simply could not compete with.

Observing the juvenile White Tiger endlessly ingesting Geng Metal Energy, Li Mingzhu suddenly thought of a plan to lure the tiger out of Qingqiu.

Fighting within Qingqiu was unwise, but outside its boundaries? A White Tiger still at the level of a mere Golden Immortal would be easy prey—and she just happened to lack a proper mount. Perfect! You'll do just fine!

Within the blink of an eye, Li Mingzhu had already devised a strategy. If she could tame this young White Tiger, it would not only weaken the collective strength of the White Tiger group but also provide her with a mount while throwing the group into chaos and fear.

Three birds with one stone—why not?

"Bang!"

With subtle precision, she dropped a chunk of millennia-old Refined Iron from thin air, while instantly vanishing into the ground with her Earth Escape Skill, beginning her preparations.

As the saying goes, "Man dies for wealth as birds die for food." Li Mingzhu's plan was simple: using the Earth Escape Skill, she would strategically place Refined Iron underground to bait the White Tiger out of Qingqiu.

A straightforward method, but one destined to succeed.

The White Tiger, ever alert, immediately rushed to the Refined Iron upon hearing the noise.

Though White Tigers could assume human form, as rulers of the wilderness, they disdained such transformations.

This was a common trait among Ancient Divine Beasts—though the Dragon Clan was an exception, as their frequent contact with the Human Clan led them to view human form as more convenient.

Leaping gracefully to the Refined Iron, the White Tiger was visibly thrilled. To think such precious millennia-old Refined Iron existed in Qingqiu!

Reasoning that where there was one piece, there must be more, the tiger concluded an entire vein of iron must be nearby.

Its razor-sharp claws tore into the ground, quickly uncovering three more pieces of Refined Iron.

Scooping up all four pieces, the White Tiger inhaled sharply, instantly reducing the millennia-old iron to nothing but consumed energy.

Hidden in the shadows, Li Mingzhu was speechless. Luckily, the Refined Iron was of little use to her now—otherwise, watching it wasted like this might have killed her from heartache. Worse yet, this was only the beginning of what promised to be a costly operation.

"Every great structure begins with the tiniest of efforts," she mused wryly. "Only a household head knows the sting of daily expenses!"

Thankfully it was just Refined Iron and not Refined Steel; if it had been the latter, she wouldn't have dared waste it, even if it were useless to her.

After consuming the Geng Metal Energy from the four pieces, the White Tiger still looked unsatisfied but paid no mind to any potential danger. It continued digging deeper, lured along the precise path Li Mingzhu had laid, steadily moving toward the outer boundary of Qingqiu.

The White Tiger had sensed something was amiss from the start, yet the lure of the Refined Iron was too enticing to resist, and so it fell into Li Mingzhu's trap.

Of course, its downfall primarily stemmed from its immaturity. Were it an adult, Li Mingzhu's plan might not have worked so readily.

"A plan needn't be perfect—it only needs to work." As the old saying goes, "It doesn't matter if a cat is black or white; if it catches mice, it's a good cat."

Seeing her scheme come to fruition, Li Mingzhu stopped lurking in the shadows. She exited Qingqiu and positioned herself at the spot where the Refined Iron trail ended, waiting for the White Tiger to surface.

"Waiting for a rabbit to hit a tree stump?" No, this was "waiting for a tiger to hit a trap!"

The Spirit Communication Nine Formation had long since been deployed, its aura hidden with painstaking precision.

The White Tiger continued to unearth the Refined Iron. At first, it consumed the Geng Metal Energy from each piece, which greatly slowed its progress.

However, it eventually seemed to grow full and began simply swallowing the Refined Iron pieces whole, significantly increasing its excavation speed.

Roughly half an hour later, the White Tiger finally tunneled to the end of the path—and unwittingly emerged beyond Qingqiu's boundaries.

Breaking through the ground, the White Tiger realized to its horror that it had left Qingqiu.

Flashes of its mother's and father's stern warnings, as well as its older brother's grave admonishments, surged through its mind: "Never leave Qingqiu, no matter what happens. Under no circumstances should you step beyond the territory—or face certain annihilation!"

It didn't understand why they had placed such emphasis on this rule, but the young White Tiger had always taken it to heart. Yet, incredibly, it had now crossed that forbidden line.

This was bad!