Hei Dao leaped lightly over the scattered stones like a fleeting afterimage, ascending step by step. Below, the tranquil Qing Qiu, with its beautiful foxes, revealed its ferocious, monstrous visage. The sharp teeth bared across half its face had a biting force capable of crushing gold and grinding stone as easily as tofu.
This moment of charging and tearing was stretched into slowness, but the next instant was fleeting. The dark figure escaped the fox's maw, only to be ensnared by two fox tails around its lower body.
*Bang—*
Man and beast crashed heavily onto the ground, kicking up clouds of dust and emitting a tremendous impact sound.
Though the Nine-Tailed Fox was not yet adult, in its fox form, it measured over ten zhang in length. Its nine silver-flashing tails flared out, red demonic energy swirling like crimson flames, like fans or screens, casting a shadow over all light. Beneath its limbs lay Gu Junshi, entangled so that only her upper body was visible.
The fox's eyes tilted, narrowing into slits. Within its pupils, a figure was clearly reflected. Killing intent erupted as it opened a scarlet, beastly mouth, intending to bite through her neck.
"Have you seen nine moons?"
The Nine-Tailed Fox paused.
Gu Junshi, lying still and calm beneath it, met its gaze with fathomless eyes and said in an unfathomable tone, "Would you like to see?"
It stared at her with sinister eyes, its exhaled, scorching, bloody aura scattering around like sparks and embers.
The plain, unadorned "black rod" she held slipped from her grasp. Pulled by some unseen force, it whirled into the sky, then its surface cracked and shattered. The powder dispersed in the wind, and with a *swish*, it unfurled, revealing a simple, flowing black umbrella between the misty clouds and the bright moon.
The black umbrella was painted with red plum blossoms and ancient coiled dragons. As it rotated, its fluid, overflowing light was both bizarre and magnificent. It drew in moonlight, spinning slowly, allowing the torrent of yin energy and the "red plum blossoms" to drift down from the sky.
This was Gu Junshi's soul artifact, neither spirit nor treasure, capable of transforming according to its master's will.
It was named—Wuxiang.
The Nine-Tailed Fox abruptly raised its head. In the pitch-black sky where red flowers danced, nine "moons" indeed hung high. No, those extra ones were not true moons, but…
*Roar—*
It suddenly let out a pained howl. The suppressed bloodline backlash within its body instantly surged uncontrollably and ferociously. This was Yin Moon, a supremely cold object formed by the convergence and illusion of Yin spirits from another realm. It had only heard legends that only the Human Emperor could guide Yin spirits to the mortal realm. How could she wield such a technique?
At this moment, the backlash pain that had plagued the Nine-Tailed Fox for nearly three years returned, more violent than ever before. Previously, it occurred once a month, and it had developed some resistance. But now, it was being dismembered and skinned without warning. It curled into a ball, writhing on the ground.
Every time the bloodline backlashed during the full moon, the reason was that it was the most Yin day of the month. Because it had consumed a secret treasure of the Heavenly Fox clan, a treasure of extreme Yang and rigidity, it directly triggered its meridians to reverse, causing its bones and flesh to be scraped, forcing its body to enter adulthood ahead of its spirit.
But from then on, it suffered a sequela: every month on the most Yin day, it would endure this bloodline backlash pain until it truly reached its adulthood.
In one month, it had already cost it half its life. Now, nine "moons" had arrived—
"Since I can relieve your pain, I can also make you…" Gu Junshi watched it, its beastly eyes clouded and cold. Saliva dripped from its mouth, its breathing heavy and ragged, a gurgling sound emanating from its throat. Its nine long tails dragged on the ground.
A flicker of disdain flashed in her eyes: "Under my control!"
With a flick of her sleeve and her hands behind her back, the black umbrella in the sky transformed into a stream of deep blue light and entered her body. The Yin moons in the sky gradually dispersed, and amidst a cascade of scattered flowers, her dark hair billowed.
It was a fair, delicate hand, seemingly boneless. It flashed behind her head, and as it grasped the fox's head, it yanked fiercely, slamming it towards the ground.
*Bang—*
"You gave me three claws earlier, this is one impact."
She raised her foot: "This is for your four limbs, fair enough, isn't it?"
One foot—
*Bang—*
The fox's head sank a foot into the ground, the surrounding earth cracking in a radial pattern.
Two feet—
*Bang—*
The fox's body sank five feet into the ground, the surface shattering, and pebbles trembled and floated upwards. Read books, hasten.
Three feet—
The Nine-Tailed Fox let out an enraged yelp, its tails whipping like whips. Gu Junshi cast a cool glance. The Myriad Ghost Seal on her body formed a massive, phantom shape on her back. A transparent great palm firmly grasped its tail.
Without hesitation, the third foot—
*Bang—*
The ground could no longer bear the strain, completely shattering and collapsing. The Nine-Tailed Fox's entire massive body plunged into the deep pit, half-buried.
"Slow…"
Just as she raised her fourth foot, she heard a faint, muffled sound from below.
She lowered her gaze.
She saw that the Nine-Tailed Fox had reverted to its human form. Large demonic beasts refining into human form, he subtly cast a cleaning spell, brushing off the dirt and dust. He turned around and lay on the ground, his fair and luminous white body facing Gu Junshi. Anger, resentment, and shock flickered in his eyes, his pupils shining with moisture.
"You are despicable, relying on knowing my weakness to bully me. Come on, keep going! If you have the guts, don't use these underhanded tricks and try me!"
After speaking, he seemed to realize something and wrongly accused her: "Back then, when I was unconscious, you stepped on my head like this too?"
Although the Yin moons had dispersed, Gu Junshi had still expended considerable energy by summoning Yin spirits from another realm. However, he felt a burning pain in his meridians all over his body, clearly indicating that he was not fit to fight further.
Now, he was battered and bruised, his hair also cut. The other party was also covered in wounds and bloodstains. In the end, neither had gained an advantage.
Damn it.
Gu Junshi's gaze swept over him with disdain. She had long heard that fox demons were inherently cunning and treacherous, but she hadn't expected him to completely discard all shame to this extent.
Clearly, he didn't want to fight anymore and was surrendering in a way that wouldn't cost him face.
Her icy, sculpted profile reflected a faint glow: "No."
Seeing that she was unfazed by his perfect appearance, Wei Li, who was usually proud and narcissistic, felt a pang of annoyance. He didn't know what she was denying: "Who else but you?"
"I only stepped on your face."
"…"
She always found a way to infuriate him beyond recognition.
Wei Li stood up, and with a wave of his hand, a brand new purple-gold robe enveloped him. His eyes flashed with cunning and a hint of concealed poison. He quickly summoned his magical artifact—the Butterfly Love Flower Fan, infused it with demonic energy, and fanned it towards her.
Gu Junshi was caught off guard. The gale inflated her loose robes, and the hat on her head slowly tilted backward… His bright eyes widened, staring intently. Almost…
Just as the brim of the tilted hat was about to reveal her delicate jaw and the bridge of her nose, a hand gently pressed it back down.
The Nine-Tailed Fox's breath, which had been drawn in, was held mid-inhalation.
He thought about how he had painstakingly tried, fought and been fought, yet still failed to achieve his goal. With bitter resentment, he gritted his teeth and said word by word: "What's wrong with letting me see your face?"
Gu Junshi smoothed her palm downwards. The wind stopped, her clothes settled, and she became motionless.
"Are you that curious about my appearance?" she asked, puzzled.
Wei Li said indignantly, "It's been three years. You haven't told me your name, your origin, or even your appearance. It doesn't matter that your origins are unknown, I am a demon myself, deceiving the world to become a sect leader. You hold my greatest weakness, so why worry about me knowing what you look like?"
Gu Junshi felt that these were not valid reasons. She cut to the chase: "You still haven't answered me, why are you curious about my appearance?"