Cultivating in Online Games

Chapter 75 - Pulling the Tiger's Teeth

“Fight… us?” Ti Tou Lai Jian looked at Dugu Zhuo and Ye Zhou in disbelief.

Everyone else looked at the five-meter-tall black giant tiger, whose face was full of ferocity. Its black fangs were a terrifying 50 centimeters long. Its bloodthirsty mouth was wide open, with faint traces of blood between its teeth. Its limbs were muscular, resembling the massive muscles of a bodybuilder. This wasn’t just a tiger; it was a monster!

Almost immediately upon seeing the black tiger, the team members concluded that this was definitely the final boss.

As agreed, upon seeing the black tiger, You Lang exhibited signs of being possessed by the Gu insect and allowed Ti Tou Lai Jian to decide who to attack.

“This is the boss!” Yi Meng Xiao Yao exclaimed in shock. “After finally controlling the NPC, should we not fight the boss? If Ti Tou doesn’t use his skill now, wouldn’t it be wasted?”

Dugu Zhuo replied, “No, he didn’t waste it. Fortunately, You Lang was controlled; otherwise, if he had attacked Ling Hu (the Spirit Tiger) the moment he saw it, we would have been in serious trouble.”

Ti Tou Lai Jian sighed, “Ah… okay, fine. You Lang, attack us!”

You Lang swung his sword at the group. The move was quite powerful, causing Yi Meng Xiao Yao to rush in front of his teammates, spreading his arms to block the strike with the body of a giant tree.

Fortunately, Tiger Roar Mountain was lush with trees, and the soil was rich with spiritual energy. Even with only a sliver of health left, Yi Meng Xiao Yao entangled You Lang, allowing Bai Yi Piao Piao to possess You Lang and expel the Gu insect using the same method.

Meanwhile, Dugu Zhuo walked up to the black tiger. Looking at its terrifying teeth, he gently reached out his hand, saying, “I’m sorry I’m late.”

“Roar——” The black tiger let out a thunderous roar. The surrounding trees were shaken to their roots and toppled down the mountain. Yi Meng Xiao Yao’s branches were scattered everywhere by the force of the roar.

In that moment, Xiao Yao, Bai Yi, and Ti Tou all recalled the terror of being killed by a single roar from the White Tiger.

But this time, although the roar was mighty, it didn’t harm them.

The black tiger looked at Dugu Zhuo, its blood-red eyes filled with pain and madness, but it restrained itself because of Dugu Zhuo’s words.

Dugu Zhuo reached out to touch the black tiger’s enormous teeth, and the tiger suddenly snapped at Dugu Zhuo. If Dugu Zhuo hadn’t reacted quickly, the bite would have taken off half his arm.

Missing its bite, the black tiger swung its massive head and slammed it against a nearby tree. The tree, too large to be embraced by two people, was snapped in half like a matchstick by the black tiger. Yi Meng Xiao Yao, seeing the tree that was thicker than himself, quickly returned to human form, helplessly clutching his waist, looking weak and fragile.

“Isn’t this the boss?” Yi Meng Xiao Yao asked, trembling.

“He is the boss, but because of that, we must talk to him before attacking,” Dugu Zhuo said, taking out the beast tooth necklace he had bought on Qu Yuan Street.

“Roar~~” Seeing the necklace, the black tiger’s roar quieted down significantly, and large tears began to flow from its eyes.

It raised its swollen, enormous head and let out a mournful howl at the sky. This time, the roar didn’t harm anyone but was filled with immense sorrow.

Ti Tou Lai Jian’s eyes immediately welled up with black tears. Wiping them away, he said, “This account of mine has a natural empathy ability. It’s a ghost tribe’s innate attribute. When others are happy, we’re happy; when others are in pain, we feel their pain too. I can feel how much this tiger is suffering.”

When Dugu Zhuo saw the tiger’s teeth, he immediately guessed that the black tiger was being controlled by Gu insects. The real tiger’s teeth were in the beast tooth necklace in his hand, so what were the teeth in the tiger’s mouth? They could only have been forcibly implanted by someone from the Gu village.

“He’s already fighting the Gu insect within him. If we rashly attack and hurt him now, he’ll be completely taken over by the Gu insect,” Dugu Zhuo explained. “If the real him can kill players with a single roar, once controlled by the Gu insect, one roar will wipe us out of the instance.”

Yi Meng Xiao Yao gasped, “I see… What kind of hell-level dungeon is this? At the final boss, not only do the players have to avoid attacking the boss, but they also have to stop the NPCs from attacking. How can any player tolerate that?”

Wouldn’t most players just attack the moment they saw the black tiger?

“How did you and Dugu Zhuo figure this out at the same time?” Ye Jian quietly asked Ye Zhou.

Ye Zhou replied, “I also thought something was off with the tiger’s teeth. Plus, he didn’t attack us right away. He waited for You Lang to ask Ti Tou who to attack. What kind of boss has such a good temper?”

Ye Jian nodded, “Makes sense.”

Meanwhile, Dugu Zhuo patiently reached out to the black tiger. After a long hesitation, the tiger finally lowered its head, allowing Dugu Zhuo to examine its wounds.

Upon closer inspection, Dugu Zhuo discovered that the bloodstains in the tiger’s mouth came from the roots of its two fangs. They weren’t from biting other prey but from the roots of the fangs that had been implanted.

Dugu Zhuo tried to touch the tiger’s huge head. The black tiger resisted a little but still allowed him to touch it. Dugu Zhuo attempted to probe the tiger’s wounds with his true energy, finding that its skin and flesh had been torn apart, forcibly enlarged by the Gu insect, causing it immense pain.

At that moment, Bai Yi Piao Piao finally expelled the Gu insect, and You Lang regained consciousness. Upon seeing the black tiger, he immediately said, “What a terrifying Gu technique! We must quickly pull out those two poisonous fangs and replace them with the spirit tiger’s original teeth to restore him!”

Everyone: “…”

You could’ve said that earlier! What if we had mistaken you for an NPC controlled by the Gu insect and killed you, missing out on this crucial information?

You Lang continued, “The spirit tiger’s strength far exceeds ours, but don’t worry. As long as you take out that beast tooth necklace, he’ll know we’re helping him and will suppress most of his power.”

Finally understanding how to defeat such a powerful white tiger—by getting him to cooperate and suppress his power—everyone got ready to fight. But then Dugu Zhuo said, “You guys step back. I’ll handle this fight alone.”

Ye Zhou stepped forward, “I’ll join you. Our skills are similar, and I can support you.”

Dugu Zhuo slowly nodded.

Yi Meng Xiao Yao remarked, “You two doing dungeons together has become a tradition, hasn’t it?”

Despite the banter, they all knew it was Dugu Zhuo’s wisdom and courage that had brought them this far. Even if Dugu Zhuo and Ye Zhou couldn’t defeat the black tiger and failed the dungeon, the teammates wouldn’t complain. They already knew the dungeon strategy; if they failed today, they could just try again tomorrow.

But everyone had a feeling that Dugu Zhuo and Ye Zhou would win.

Following Dugu Zhuo’s instructions, they retreated far away, to a place where the mountain blocked their view of the two and the tiger. They patiently waited for the battle’s outcome.

At the mountain’s summit, Dugu Zhuo pressed down on the black tiger’s body and asked, “Can you stay still? I’ll pull your teeth.”

The black tiger: “Roar roar roar~~~”

The sound was no longer deafening but drawn out and whining, as if complaining.

Ye Zhou scratched his ear; the roar sounded in his ear like, “You knew about the demon spirit tiger tooth dungeon long ago, so why didn’t you come to rescue me sooner?”

Ye Zhou: “???”

Dugu Zhuo, as if having a normal conversation, said to the black tiger, “We weren’t high enough level, and the Beining City map hadn’t opened yet, so we couldn’t come over.”

“Roar roar roar~~ roar roar!” the black tiger roared again.

What Ye Zhou heard was: “Liars! You weren’t in a hurry to level up at all. Even after getting the Illusion Heart Pearl, you didn’t come to find me. And Ye Zhou, why don’t you come over and pet me?”

Ye Zhou: “???”

Dugu Zhuo said, “Stop roaring. Let’s pull your teeth first.”

The black tiger: “Roar roar~~ roar roar roar!”

What Ye Zhou heard was: “Don’t touch me. Ye Zhou, come help hold my paws. I’m scared I might hurt you if I can’t bear the pain.”

Ye Zhou: “???”

Dugu Zhuo, somewhat helpless, explained to Ye Zhou, “He’s a Jindan stage tiger demon. If he wants to, he can directly transmit his thoughts into our minds.”

“Oh, okay.” Ye Zhou snapped out of it and cautiously approached the black tiger.

The tiger was enormous, with a fierce appearance that made Ye Zhou hesitant to get too close.

“Roar roar~~”

What Ye Zhou heard was: “Ye Zhou, come closer. I won’t hurt you.”

Ye Zhou approached and grabbed the tiger’s paw, which was as large as a table. He could feel the blood vessels pulsing rapidly under the skin, as if they might burst at any moment.

“Roar roar roar~~”

What Ye Zhou heard was: “Ye Zhou, give me some of your true energy. It feels really good. I’ll let you scratch my back later.”

“Oh, okay!” Ye Zhou replied, his tone suddenly becoming cheerful as he channeled a stream of true energy into the black tiger.

Ye Zhou had the power of a sword god, and his true energy could soothe and purify turbid energy. Since the Gu insect controlling the black tiger was a type of human-world turbid energy, Ye Zhou’s true energy effectively calmed the tiger.

“Purrr~ purrr~” The black tiger made a low purring sound in its throat.

Despite the tiger’s terrifying appearance, Ye Zhou tentatively reached out and gently scratched the black tiger’s chin.

“Purrr purrr~” The black tiger rubbed its head against Ye Zhou’s hand.

Dugu Zhuo: “…”

Dugu Zhuo’s facial muscles twitched uncontrollably. He grabbed one of the tiger’s teeth, gathered his true energy, and pulled hard, causing the tooth to fall out.

“Roar!!!” The black tiger let out a painful howl, the smell of blood filling the air around them.

Even so, the black tiger restrained itself from harming the two. Seeing the tiger in pain, Ye Zhou quickly injected another stream of true energy, calming the tiger, who let out a pitiful purr.

There was still one more tooth to go. Dugu Zhuo figured it was better to endure a short period of pain than a long one. Before the black tiger could react, he quickly yanked out the second fang.

**Author’s Note:**

Black Tiger: Pulling teeth without anesthesia hurts so much! Wuwuwu, I need more true energy!

Ye Zhou: Alright, alright!

Dugu Zhuo: I feel like a filter has just shattered.