Chapter 1 The Fox Girl

A vast wilderness, devoid of human habitation.

As far as the eye could see, this pale yellow land was covered with nothing but weeds, shrubs, and grayish-white stones of various sizes and shapes scattered everywhere.

The scorching sun hung in the sky, baking the earth, and the air was filled with swirling yellow dust.

In the murky yellow world, a thin, delicate figure gradually came into view, running desperately forward.

This was a little girl of about six or seven, dressed in a goose-yellow silk robe embroidered with pale pink plum blossoms, her black hair tied in double buns, with large, lively black eyes, a small, delicate nose, and rosy lips, giving her face a refined and delicate beauty.

In her right hand, she tightly clutched a palm-sized rattle drum.

The rattle drum seemed to be quite old; the drumheads on both sides were somewhat yellowed, painted with patterns of several green snakes. Two pellets attached to the ears flipped up and down, occasionally striking the drumheads with soft sounds.

Though young, the girl was quite agile. With a few bounds, she appeared on a clearing in front of a thicket of weeds as tall as a man.

Perhaps because she had been running too fast, her fair forehead was covered in sweat, and a trickle of sweat ran down her left cheek into her tender white neck.

She wiped it with her left hand, her round, taut cheeks flushed red like a ripe apple, but she did not slow down at all.

"Demon, where do you think you're going!"

Just then, a man's harsh shout suddenly came from far behind.

The girl's body trembled at the sound, her face turning pale with fright. She raised her right hand holding the rattle drum, twisted it vigorously, and her lips moved slightly.

A faint green light immediately appeared on the drumheads. As the pellets struck the drumheads with a soft sound, a beam of green light flew out from the drum and landed on a clump of grass in front of her.

A layer of green light then appeared on the surface of the grass, but it flickered and vanished, as if nothing had happened.

The girl twisted the rattle drum several more times. With each fall of the two pellets, beams of green light flew out from both drumheads, landing on the surrounding grass, causing a series of green lights to flicker.

After doing all this, the girl's face turned a few shades paler, but she did not dare to rest. She hastily plunged headfirst into the thicket of weeds ahead.

Not long after the girl's figure disappeared into the thicket, a cloud of dust rose more than ten zhang behind her, and a figure rushed over, stopping in front of the thicket.

The figure was a burly man in his forties with a bristly beard, tall and sturdy, holding a gleaming saber in one hand, giving him a rather ferocious appearance.

His eyes fell on the small footprints left in front of the thicket. He moved, about to charge in with his saber.

But at that moment, the grass in front of him suddenly flashed with green light, and five or six green snakes shot out, their mouths wide open, lunging fiercely at the burly man.

The burly man was startled for a moment, then quickly pulled out a talisman with his left hand and slapped it onto himself. A white light shield emerged, and at the same time, he shook his right arm. The saber in his hand buzzed loudly as he slashed forward.

Rip!

A beam of cold light several feet long shot out from the saber. With a flash of green light, three of the green snakes were instantly cut in half and sent flying. Then, with two "bang" sounds, the remaining two snakes were bounced off by the white light shield on the man's body, and with another twist of his saber, they too were cut in two.

These green snakes were defeated in an instant by the burly man and reverted to their original form—several clumps of green weeds.

The burly man snorted and was about to charge into the thicket when his expression changed. He stopped and put away his saber.

Rustling sounds came from behind, and two figures arrived together.

One was a thin, tall young Daoist in a tattered gray robe, holding a white horsetail whisk. The other was a short, stocky man with a horse-like face, several bruises on his face, and messy hair.

"Are you two alright?" the burly man asked, turning to look at them.

"This demon is truly cunning, worthy of being the daughter of a fox demon. Fellow Daoist Qi and I chased a bit too hastily and fell into a trap, but it's nothing serious. Why have you stopped here, Fellow Daoist Yan? Where is the demon now?" The horse-faced man waved his hand and asked with some confusion.

The burly man said nothing, just pointed at the man-high thicket in front of him. The small footprints before the thicket were still clearly visible.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go all out and capture her," the horse-faced man said, about to charge into the thicket.

"This demon has been fleeing for a whole day and night; she must be at the end of her rope. But she is skilled in wood-type illusions, and in this thicket, she is like a fish in water. Charging in recklessly might not be wise," the Daoist named Qi said, squinting slightly.

"Are we just going to let her escape? This demon is already so cunning at such a young age; if she grows up, she will surely bring disaster to the world," the horse-faced man said reluctantly, hesitating and stopping.

"As righteous cultivators, it is our duty to eliminate demons. Since we have found this fox demon, we will not let her escape again," the burly man said with righteous indignation.

"Fellow Daoist Yan, it seems you have a plan?" the Daoist Qi asked, his eyes shifting.

"This thicket is quite large. If we blindly chase in, we might eventually catch her, but it will take a lot of effort. I heard that Fellow Daoist Feng recently acquired a Fire Cloud Talisman, and Fellow Daoist Qi's Wind Summoning Art is superb. If the two work together, this thicket will be reduced to nothing, and the demon will have nowhere to hide," the burly man said slowly.

"Fire Cloud Talisman... that's not impossible. But after we catch this fox demon, I want the fur, and I won't ask for anything else. How about it?" the horse-faced man said after a moment of deliberation.

"No, this fox demon must be captured alive," the burly man shook his head and refused bluntly.

"What do you mean by that, Fellow Daoist Yan? This Fire Cloud Talisman of mine is a mid-grade primary talisman; it cost me a lot," the horse-faced man said, his face darkening and his voice turning cold.

"Calm down, Fellow Daoist Feng. If I'm not mistaken, Fellow Daoist Yan is an outer disciple of the Blood Blade Society. Not long ago, the society issued a mission: if you capture this fox demon alive, you not only become an inner disciple but also receive a Chi-Blood Pill and a thousand spirit stones," the Daoist Qi said, giving the burly man a meaningful look.

"I didn't expect Fellow Daoist Qi to be so well-informed about the affairs of our Blood Blade Society. To be frank, if you two help me capture this fox demon alive, I'll split all the spirit stone rewards with you two equally. How about it?" the burly man said, his expression unchanged.

"Since Fellow Daoist Yan puts it that way, I have no objections," the Daoist Qi said, casually draping his whisk over his arm.

"Then let's not waste time. Let's do it," the horse-faced man said, pulling a talisman from his bosom. He looked at it with some reluctance, then tossed it forward and began to chant.

The surface of the talisman glowed red, then burst into a ball of crimson flames, like a cloud of fire, pressing down on the thicket below.

Whoosh!

The man-high thicket below burst into roaring flames upon contact with the fire cloud.

Seeing this, the Daoist Qi intoned "Limitless Heavenly Lord" and suddenly swung his whisk outward.

In an instant, a loud "woosh" sound arose, and several gusts of white, misty wind materialized, spreading outward in a fan shape.

The wind fueled the fire, and the fire borrowed the wind's power, spreading rapidly through the thicket like raging waves. Black smoke billowed into the air, and ash flew everywhere.

The three men—the burly man, the Daoist, and the horse-faced man—stared intently at the sea of fire ahead, not blinking.

"There!" Suddenly, the Daoist Qi shouted, shooting forward like an arrow toward a certain spot ahead. He flicked his whisk, and the whisk hairs glowed faintly green.

Hearing this, the burly man and the horse-faced man perked up and rushed out after the Daoist Qi.

About twenty or thirty zhang ahead, a small figure suddenly burst out from the thicket being consumed by the fire. It was the little girl who had hidden in the thicket earlier.

But now, her goose-yellow silk robe was torn in many places, and her fair face was blackened with soot.

She had hidden in this large thicket, carefully changing direction to avoid making noise. Hearing no sound from behind, she thought she could breathe a sigh of relief, but she hadn't expected them to use fire to force her out.

The girl's small face was tense, her expression full of panic. Without a word, she ran forward frantically, looking somewhat desperate, coughing incessantly.

Before she could get far, she felt a cool breeze behind her, and countless green threads appeared, curling toward her back.

At almost the same time, a "hissing" sound came from above, and a pitch-black net about a zhang in size descended from above.

Despair filled the girl's eyes, but then her gaze fell on a withered little tree about ten zhang ahead. Her eyes brightened slightly, and she bit her tongue hard.

"Got her!"

The horse-faced man was the slowest, but seeing the girl trapped by the combined efforts of the burly man and the Daoist Qi, he was overjoyed.

A mass of green threads swept forward several zhang, binding the girl tightly, while the black net above also fell.

But at that moment, the motionless girl's figure flickered with green light and dissipated, turning into a withered little tree.

"Wood遁!" The burly man and the Daoist Qi landed, looking at the change before them with grim faces.

"There!" The horse-faced man quickly pointed ahead.

There, a withered little tree blurred and turned into a little girl holding a rattle drum. She glanced back, then turned and fled.

"Chase!"

Perhaps because she had used the wood遁 technique, the girl's face was now completely bloodless, and her steps became unsteady. She stumbled as she ran, her speed greatly reduced, and the distance between her and the three pursuers shrank rapidly.

"Ouch!"

The girl suddenly cried out in surprise, tripping over a stone underfoot. She flew forward and crashed into a grayish-white boulder about a zhang high, then fell heavily to the ground.

"Keep running!"

Seeing this, the burly man and the others slowed down, forming a pincer formation as they closed in. The horse-faced man licked his lips and said in a sinister tone.

The three of them had chased this girl for almost a day and a night, suffering several losses at her hands along the way. Naturally, they were resentful, especially the horse-faced man, who had wasted a Fire Cloud Talisman.

The girl was naturally petite, and now, as the three approached step by step, she curled up tightly against the boulder behind her. But her eyes were filled with hatred.

Seeing the expression on the girl's face, the three paid it no mind. Instead, the horse-faced man stepped forward, raised a hand, and said darkly:

"Though I can't kill you, I'll teach you a good lesson today, you demon!"

Just then, something unexpected happened.

A sound of "crack!" was heard.

The surface of the boulder the girl was leaning against suddenly cracked with countless fissures, and many small pebbles fell, scattering over the girl's hair and body, making her shiver.

"Eh?"

The horse-faced man let out a soft exclamation, his raised hand hovering in midair. The attention of the burly man and the Daoist also shifted from the girl to the boulder behind her.

"Crackle..."

Under the gaze of the three, the cracks on the boulder's surface spread like a spider web, and many stone flakes peeled off and fell to the ground.

"Ah!"

The girl, obviously not expecting such a change from the boulder behind her, shut her eyes in fright, covered her head with her hands, and dared not move.

With a loud "boom," the boulder finally shattered into pieces. Large chunks of stone flew in all directions, raising a cloud of yellow dust.

The three men were startled and stepped back cautiously, but kept their eyes fixed on the direction of the boulder.

"What... what is that?" the horse-faced man exclaimed in astonishment.

Through the settling dust, they could see that the boulder was completely gone, replaced by the figure of an unusually tall man.

He was dressed in blue, with a layer of gray lime dust on his hair and face, as if he had been inside the boulder all along. His features were ordinary, his skin slightly dark, and his eyes stared straight ahead, looking somewhat dull and sluggish, but he was a full head taller than the burly man.

This sudden turn of events left the girl and the three men utterly dumbfounded.