"Yin Hu. You can also call me Ja Mis An Der So Nu."

Cai Xuefang blinked at the long strange name he had been given. It took him a moment before he finally understood the naming scheme and meaning behind so many words. It was a small poem. One he did not quite enjoy.

Hidden Tiger.

Beneath a Red Sun.

Crouched under an Endless Canopy.

Waiting for the Unwary Prey.

Each line could have been deciphered to mean some form of death. With what Cai Xuefang had discovered already, it may be the truth. The owner of the largest domain he had ever seen. The perfect assassin's tool.

To think the entire inky shadows and darkness being controlled by a single senior. How old is he? I best tread lightly, and hope Zi Zhen's name carried enough weight to keep him still.

Cai Xuefang shrugged, hiding his thoughts. Face neutral. "This one is Cai Xuefang—"

He waved his hand and covered the offered table with more heavenly sweets and cakes than he would have eaten in three years. Each one a heavenly item that would boost cultivation. An affair that would hard press even the mightiest cultivators and even middling sects to replicate. A show of both magnanimity and superiority.

A smile graced his face as he got the reaction he had been hoping for. The wide eyes he expected. Grasping hands, reaching for the delectable sweets of sugar and Qi.

"—Elder of the mighty Dark Gate Palace."

The hidden tiger before him reacted to the name, pausing his devouring of the treat. Recognizing his sect. What it meant to cross such a powerful organization and its cultivators. Though Cai Xuefang did notice a bit of disinterest. Something behind those deep eyes of Yin Hu that spoke to sort of negligent apathy that itched something in the back of his mind. He had never seen it before when his sect was mentioned. A strange thing.

"Have you heard of our Patriarch, Zi Zhen?" Cai Xuefang said, gauging the level of almost inscrutable reaction that he received.

The hidden tiger put the treat down. Face still filled with insouciance that kept bothering Cai Xuefang. "I have not. The name does not seem familiar to me."

"Really?"

Cai Xuefang's brows rose slightly, he found the words of Yin Hu hard to believe. Who did not know the Heavenly Demon that was Zi Zhen? The wars that occurred under his name. The death and destruction wrought whenever he arrived on the battlefield.

"Such a strange thing. Let me tell you a little about him—"

He could not help but regale the man of his sect's Patriarch and master. Who he fought, his accomplishments. How he founded their Dark Gate Palace and more things than he intended. But it helped soothe the edges of the disinterest and ignorance of the old man before him. Not that it would help the situation.

Especially when he started to notice Yin Hu zoning him out. Focusing on the treats. Continuing to ignore his words and the accolades he was running through as quickly as possible for Zi Zhen. Of which the Heavenly Demon had too many.

Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

Yin Hu smiled as he picked up the original treat he touched. Licking his lips. Eyes soles focused on the item in his hands. He brought it to his mouth and took a massive bite, eyes already turning to crescent moons from the glorious taste that filled his mouth. Instantly giving Cai Xuefang and his son-in-law more leeway if a fight was to break out—

Cai Xuefang snapped his head up.

The world froze. The shadows stopped swirling. The darkness grew more foreboding and black. It inched away from Yin Hu. Terror spreading throughout the forest in its entirety. Cai Xuefang tried to get up. The darkness grabbed him from underneath.

His Qi vanished from his core. Dao struggling to not shatter before the monster sitting in front of him.

Cai Xuefang lost all the blood from his face. His eyes looking further and further up until he saw it peek through the dense fog. Eyes of innumerable galaxies. A maw filled with more. Endless power. Indomitable strength that stared back at him.

Promising wrathful recompense for a crime he knew not he committed.

It can't be. He can't be it! It's supposed to be an unrecognizable monster! The records all agree!

The world cried a mournful thing. The clouds sang an orchestra of sorrow and doom, regaling the world of a tale they could not understand. One of loneliness. One of great power unlike anything they have seen before.

But its final note spoke of something beyond Cai Xuefang's power. Beyond the power of anything living on the planet currently.

The end was nigh.

None would survive the calamity before him.

It spat out the treat from his mouth. Snarling in anger and derision at the state of his heavenly Qi cakes and sugar treats. Unwilling to give Cai Xuefang the honor of his gaze in anger. The ancient calamity grabbed its cup of tea. Downing it with a single gulp. Then took three more cup fulls.

Cai Xuefang closed his eyes. He heard the figure bending the calamity roar above them. The wind snapping back and forth at its voice. His Dao heart trembled. Its intent locked onto him, a fist dropping down like a meteor to crush him. Turn him into dust. Nothingness.

The world would vanish due to his arrogance. Not noticing Mount Tai before him. His blindness and pride. Existence was such, death would come for them all. It was only a matter of time. They would all be buried one day. What was the difference between a few thousand years from this moment, or whether he died now. Compared to such an ancient thing, he was nothing more than a speck of dust, floating in the wind.

Cai Xuefang resigned himself to death.

Yin Hu, The Calamity, let out a long heavy sigh. The pressure disappeared. The ancient avatar with galaxies for eyes vanished just as its strike nearly landed. Taking a few moments to breathe and calm itself. Shaking its head in great disappointment.

"Has this world fallen so low?" The Calamity said. "A terrible shame. Terrible, just terrible. I have no words for you all."

Cai Xuefang bowed until his head touched the table. He had been given mercy, he was not about to miss the opportunity to live another day. "We have shamed ourselves greatly, Ancient One."

"Trash."

He would not dare raise his head. There was no fear in his heart at all. He could not do anything if the Calamity decided he was unworthy of living today. It would only take a blink of its eyes before he turned into dust. No pain. No suffering.

"Trash tea and filth for sweets," Yin Hu said. It picked up a cup and filled it with tea from its pot. Moving it closer to Cai Xuefang. "This is what tea is supposed to taste like. This is what it should smell like. Not the degenerate filth you all have been serving me time and again here."

Others have met him… Wait, didn't he call the little girls with Righteous Cultivation his disciples? No! I need to get to Shao Yating before he kills us all!

Cai Xuefang wanted to get up, but stopped himself. He needed to give the Calamity face lest it gets angered. He grabbed the tea cup in his haste. And brought it closer to his mouth. Only to stop and turn his head back towards where Shao Yating had been.

"A dragon only associates itself with dragons," he whispered to himself. Watching as power collected around the little girl. Enough to threaten him, much less someone as small and weak as his Son-in-Law. "Forgive me, Ancient one. But it seems the fight between the younger generation is over. Allow me the freedom to save my own before he is killed by your little girl."

Yin Hu huffed. Waving him away without looking at him. "Take the tea cup with you. I don't want it anymore."

"Thank you for your magnanimity, Ancient One." Cai Xuefang bowed before feeling the fog unrestricted him completely, and the path to Shao Yating opened up for fast travel.

He disappeared from the clearing.

Truly a hidden tiger, waiting for the unwary prey.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.