Chapter 318: Chapter 116: Could the Supreme Spare My Life? (Seeking Monthly Pass)
「Outside Fengqiu Mountain!」
Shen Changqing, who had been waiting there, suddenly felt a stir in his heart, and his gaze turned sharp. It has been triggered! The Spiritual Power he had left in the Essence Blood had been activated.
Without hesitation, Shen Changqing immediately headed towards Fengqiu Mountain. Wind sprang up beneath his feet as his body broke through layers of air, disappearing from the spot in the blink of an eye.
「In front of the dilapidated temple.」
The incarnation was already engaged in battle with the fox. The terrifying gusts swept through, turning all the mummified corpses into dust. Because of this, Luo Yuan was also forced to retreat. Otherwise, with his strength, he simply couldn’t withstand the aftermath of the battle.
In the midst of the fight, the incarnation unleashed its unrivaled strength, delivering consecutive palm strikes that made the huge fox cough up blood continuously. The fox seemed to have a massive body, and with its ferocious visage, it was daunting to behold. But in reality, the actual power it wielded was not that strong. In front of the Half-Step Grandmaster incarnation, it was almost at a complete disadvantage.
"SQUEAK! SQUEAK!"
After enduring another palm strike, the fox let out a sound of utter frustration. It waved its sharp claws, attacking the incarnation. But the incarnation moved too fast, completely beyond its reach. Moreover, even if an attack did come, it didn’t do much harm to the incarnation because the incarnation was never truly real to begin with, merely an illusion created from the Essence Blood’s power.
「A short while later.」
The fox was defeated and tried to flee to another place. In response, the incarnation showed no intention of letting its opponent escape. It pounced forward, firmly grappling the fox.
Watching the battle, Luo Yuan swallowed hard. Whether it was the fox or the incarnation, the power displayed by both far exceeded his own limits of endurance. Especially the existence of the incarnation. It was hard for him to imagine what level of a powerful individual could possess such a method. A single drop of blood, able to conjure such a powerful being! The strength of that fox was evidently no weaker than a being in the Innate Realm. Now, just a single drop of blood was enough to suppress it. Such a technique was simply astounding.
However, after his shock, Luo Yuan also had doubts in his heart. That was—According to the original information, there should have been a Demon Evil within Fengqiu Mountain, but no such being had appeared; instead, there was a huge fox. The fox before his eyes, although not an ordinary creature, was still completely different from a Demon Evil. Unless the huge fox was also an illusion conjured up by something else. But in his opinion, this possibility was not likely. The mummified corpses kneeling on the ground had already explained much. Those who had entered Fengqiu Mountain and eventually disappeared were mostly dead here. The huge fox was clearly the main culprit.
Lv Anxin and Huo Qian, if I’m not mistaken, must also be inside the temple, but I wonder what their current situation is! Luo Yuan looked towards the temple entrance. People were still kneeling there. Only, unlike the mummified corpses outside, all those kneeling within the temple were alive.
Although he had some thoughts in mind, he did not make any rash moves. After all, there could be other dangers inside the dilapidated temple. If he rashly went inside and something went wrong, regret would be too late. Considering this issue, Luo Yuan decided to stay put and not to act recklessly.
Suddenly, a faint sound came from behind him. Instinctively, he turned his head to look and caught sight of numerous emerald eyes coldly staring at him from the dimly lit woods. Seeing this, Luo Yuan was taken aback.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH!!
Gusts of wind struck as the owners of those pairs of emerald eyes emerged from the darkness, lunging towards him with murderous intent. They were foxes. With sharp mouths and gaunt cheeks, the green glow in their eyes was chilling.
CLANG!
The sword was unsheathed. With quick footwork, Luo Yuan’s sword danced in his hand, sending out chilling streaks of sword light that sliced the first fox leaping towards him in half. The fox let out a miserable yelp, its bisected body falling to the ground.
Seeing this, his tense heart eased slightly. Though numerous, the foxes’ strength was not considerable; especially when compared to the huge fox, it was as different as heaven and earth. Despite their vast numbers, they were still within his ability to handle.
Once his mind was at ease, Luo Yuan calmed his spirit, and his sword raced swiftly, every fox that approached him slain one by one. As an advanced Martial Artist in the late stage of the Pulse Condensation Realm, he still possessed the strength he ought to have.
With each fox slain, more emerged from the woods, swarming out in numbers that seemingly covered the entire mountain. Multitudes of foxes continued their relentless assault.
RIP—
In an unguarded moment, his clothes on his back were torn apart, revealing several bloody marks. Luo Yuan winced in pain. Turning around, he thrust his sword, skewering the offending fox completely. At this moment, more foxes attacked. For a time, he was somewhat in over his head.
There was no helping it. A Martial Artist in the later stages of the Pulse Condensation Realm was still human. If it had been just one or two foxes, Luo Yuan dealing with them would not have been a problem. But now, they appeared in the hundreds, perhaps even thousands. And each and every fox fought fiercely, with no fear of death. Even if his attacks were powerful, there would always be times when he made mistakes. Injury was inevitable.
BOOM!!
A figure broke through the air, dazzling golden light bursting forth, instantly dispelling all the darkness around it. The figure stopped, and terrifying gusts of wind surged mightily. All the foxes that had been pouncing his way were uncontrollably blown away by this gale. In an instant, the numerous foxes besieging Luo Yuan were all cleared away.
Without the foxes’ attacks, Luo Yuan’s pressure was lifted at once. Looking at the newcomer, he couldn’t help but reveal a look of awe on his face.
"Lord Shen!"
Having seen the power of the Essence Blood, Luo Yuan held a profound sense of reverence towards this powerful figure from the Demon-Subduing Division. And now, Shen Changqing’s arrival was overwhelmingly grand. The golden light surrounding him made him appear almost like the Buddha reincarnate. This alone compelled heartfelt respect from those who saw it. Therefore, the reverence in Luo Yuan’s heart grew even stronger.
"Where are the other two?" Shen Changqing looked at Luo Yuan.
Hearing this, Luo Yuan shook his head, "They should still be inside the ruined temple. When I came to my senses, I was inside the ruined temple. If it hadn’t been for following Lord Shen’s method to break the illusion, I probably would’ve died there."
The ruined temple! Shen Changqing’s gaze turned to the dilapidated temple. In the end, he cast his gaze upon the huge fox engaged in battle with the incarnation. To battle with the incarnation, this fox was not weak. To tell the truth, if it had been fighting a Fierce Beast, Shen Changqing wouldn’t have found it strange, but for an ordinary fox to be battling against the incarnation of a Half-Step Grandmaster, that was extraordinary. And judging from the mummified corpses and remains on the ground, it was evident this fox was likely the culprit who had killed the people entering Fengqiu Mountain.
Not a Demon Evil! No wonder there was no Yin Evil Aura— Shen Changqing now understood why he hadn’t detected any Yin Evil Aura. Because the one who acted was not a Demon Evil. If it wasn’t a Demon Evil, there naturally wouldn’t be any Yin Evil Aura. What he hadn’t expected was why an ordinary fox could have evolved to this point. Had it turned into a spirit? The thought suddenly crossed his mind. In this world, having Demon Evils was troublesome enough. If Fierce Beasts could also turn into spirits, that would be even more problematic. In the records of the Demon-Subduing Division, Shen Changqing had never heard of any Fierce Beast turning into a spirit. However, records are just records. Whether they exist or not, he would have to ask the Demon-Subduing Division upon his return to be certain.
After watching for a while, he no longer wasted time. Although the incarnation was powerful, its duration was limited. Continuing the fight, it was possible that the fox might actually escape.
Grabbing Tiankui from his shoulder, Shen Changqing looked at the surrounding foxes, who wanted to attack but didn’t dare, and simply threw it to the ground.
"It’s your turn to perform. Leave these lesser foxes to you to deal with."
After saying this, he didn’t wait for Tiankui to react and immediately approached the huge fox.
Tiankui itself was a powerful Fierce Beast. Even as a cub, it possessed a strength ordinary Fierce Beasts did not have. To subdue a few ordinary foxes, there shouldn’t be any problem. Not to mention, it had swallowed a few drops of his Essence Blood. If it couldn’t handle those things even then, Shen Changqing would have to seriously consider whether Tiankui was worth raising at all.
Arriving at the battlefield, he first dispersed the incarnation, then swallowed all the remaining Essence Blood and strength. At the same time, as the incarnation dissipated, the huge fox seemed to sense some threat and, without looking back, tried to flee into the distance. But—no sooner had it moved than a terrifying force came crashing down.
BOOM!!!
The ground shook. The fox’s huge body fell to the ground, creating a massive crater. Its fur was charred black and split open. From its sharp maw, blood spilled out.
Slowly retracting his hand, Shen Changqing looked at the huge fox before him, his expression impassive, "Are you the one causing trouble within Fengqiu Mountain?"
"Spare, spare my life—" The huge fox opened its maw, a hoarse voice coming out.
Hearing this, Shen Changqing’s expression involuntarily changed. He had only spoken casually, without actually expecting an answer. But unexpectedly, the fox in front of him could indeed speak human language.
It really has become a spirit! If there had been any doubts before, at this moment, Shen Changqing truly believed that the fox before him had indeed turned into a spirit. Otherwise, how could a wild beast speak human language.
He reconsidered the fox before him. "This official asks you, why can you utter human speech, and why do you kill those who enter Fengqiu Mountain?"
Hearing this, the eyes of the huge fox moved slightly, and a weak voice came out, "If I tell you, might the Supreme spare my life?"