Three years ago, perhaps Gu Junshi would have needed to retreat from him, but three years later, even if she couldn't guarantee a clean escape, she certainly wouldn't let him gain much advantage.
"Don't forget, within this forbidden area, your strength is bound to be inferior to mine by a third."
The sky, which had been clear with a bright moon and scattered stars just moments before, turned completely pitch black. The mountains loomed darkly, and the earth was grim, as if only their faint breaths remained in this world.
Oh, no, it was one person and one demonic beast.
"Is that so?"
Wei Li curved his hand, licking his sharp fingertip. His charming, narrow eyes were soul-captivating, and a pair of white-furred fox ears peeked out from his hair. A cascade of silky black hair draped down his back. This half-human, half-beast form, if seen by someone with peculiar tastes, would surely set their blood boiling.
"How dare you, a mere Nascent Soul, boast so arrogantly before me, an Integration stage cultivator?"
His powerful pressure as an Integration stage cultivator was formally released. Gu Junshi's Nascent Soul domain was violently torn apart in an instant, the moon and stars reappearing, the wind chilling to the bone.
"What dare I not?"
A wisp of blue flame danced at the corner of Gu Junshi's dark eyes. With a flick of her sleeve, strands of death energy converged from all directions, forming a large, enchanting black flower. The earth crust bulged, and soil churned, revealing shaking, pale white skeletons.
Her slender white fingertips wove through the air like plucking strings. They split and reformed into a skeleton several feet tall. A long, thin shadow lunged at Wei Li with sudden ferocity.
Wei Li's hair ribbon fluttered as he waved his hand in a claw-like gesture. The two collided, bone cracking and shattering, but the skeleton felt no pain. It leaped up without hesitation, its lean frame arcing and smashing towards him.
As the shadow from above was about to land, Wei Li drew a bright streak of light from his brow.
With a pull of his long, elegant fingers, he extracted a foot-long object from an acupoint. His nimble five fingers manipulated it with practiced ease.
With a "swish," it unfurled, revealing a black bone fan adorned with butterflies and flowers.
He half-covered his face with the fan, his handsome features coming alive. "These unsightly things are truly an eyesore. What about you? Do you look just like them?"
Gu Junshi casually summoned a floating bone throne, then lounged sideways, resting her chin on her hand. "If you can lift my hat tonight, you shall find out." She lowered her voice. "If you have the skill."
Wei Li laughed heartily upon hearing this.
"Hahaha, the world says that those with Heavenly Spirit Roots among human cultivators are born geniuses. Perhaps they haven't seen you. In the same three years, a Heavenly Spirit Root only reached the mid-stage Golden Core, yet you have advanced from Golden Core to Nascent Soul. Who could believe such speed?"
Advancing a major realm was the same, but the journey from Foundation Establishment to Golden Core was merely a matter of quantity and time. As long as one's innate talent wasn't too poor, they could eventually break through within a few hundred years. However, the transition from Golden Core to Nascent Soul was an entirely different concept. The former could rely on perseverance and external aids to compensate for talent, but the latter breakthrough required more profound opportunities.
Even many talented individuals withered away their lifespans without being able to break their cores and form Nascent Souls.
Three years—this figure was enough to drive to despair those cultivators who had painstakingly formed their Nascent Souls.
"I don't know what unorthodox path you practice, but you likely underestimate what a difference a major realm makes."
He held the fan handle outwards and the fan surface inwards. With a hand seal, he activated the bone fan's skills. Its surface shimmered with a myriad of colors, and lifelike butterflies emerged from the painting. They floated out, entangling the skeleton and drilling into the gaps within its body.
"Command!"
"Bind!"
"Obey!"
With a "bang," the towering skeleton seemed to have its marrow sucked out. Its limbs became unstable, twisting and breaking into pieces scattered on the ground.
At this moment, the Nine-tailed Fox took a bounding step. Its golden-red lotus-patterned robes were still fluttering in the air. What seemed distant was in an instant close to Gu Junshi's face. Her black, waterfall-like hair hung in the air, then cascaded down her body in countless strands.
The two were instantly "eye to eye," perhaps they were. But he still couldn't see her face clearly.
It was the same when she was at the Golden Core stage three years ago, and it was the same now that she was at the Nascent Soul stage.
Even at such close proximity.
"I... caught you." His thick, upturned eyelashes partially closed, his gaze lingering on her pale lips. He chuckled lightly.
As he spoke, the claw capable of crushing bone and stone stirred the wind, transforming it into a cold mist, reaching for her delicate neck.
Clang—
The lifelike presence before him shattered like a false scene reflected in glass within his grasp.
"Illusion..."
His Adam's apple bobbed, and he quickly turned his head. His hair traced a smooth arc. In the next second, a flash of cold silver light streaked past, and wisps of severed strands flew before his eyes.
His pupils constricted.
He was half a beat slow, touching his neck in stunned bewilderment...
It was empty.
"..."
He couldn't bear this blow.
Nor could he bear this indignity.
His beautiful fox eyes instantly turned red.
"You, you cut my hair again..."
He trembled with sorrow, tears falling uncontrollably.
Each drop was plump and crystal clear, like pearls from a broken string.
Gu Junshi watched with amusement. How could a man, oh no, a demonic beast, cry so much?
"I, am, going, to, kill, you—"
He finally exploded. His slender body transformed into its beast form, a silver-white fox towering a hundred feet tall. Clearly enraged to the point of losing all reason, he was determined to seek revenge!
Restored to its original form, the Nine-tailed Fox was powerful, displaying the true strength of an Integration stage cultivator. Every part of its body was a potent weapon.
Gu Junshi faced him directly this time. The moment she lunged forward, she grabbed into the void, and amidst the swirling hurricane, a pillar-like object appeared in her hand. It was about three to four feet long, entirely black and angular. In her grasp, it felt like a staff or a club.
Within the barrier, the fight raged, shaking the heavens and earth, leveling the land.
Gu Junshi hadn't fought with such full effort in a long time. After living as a mortal for several years, she had begun to miss the exhilaration of a fierce battle.
Inevitably, she sustained injuries.
A Nascent Soul cultivator was indeed still somewhat strained against an Integration stage cultivator. However, she was not a true Nascent Soul. Her divine sense was confined within the Nascent Soul's shell, but her combat experience and knowledge were not.
In terms of lifespan, she had existed in this world for no less than the Nine-tailed Fox. But he had been doted upon and raised by the fox tribe, while she... had always grown up fighting in a storm of blood and gore.
This was true whether in modern times or in this cultivation world.
Therefore, their fighting styles differed significantly.
He acted based on his cultivation and the predatory instincts of his demonic lineage, while her moves were tested and refined through repeated trials.
They were concise and clean, possessing prescient sharpness.
Thus, if she wished to evade, it was difficult for him to capture her entire movement.
Therefore, while she sustained injuries, they were not fatal, merely collateral.
Soon, Wei Li also noticed the anomaly, but he was not to be trifled with. Unable to catch her with his bloodshot beast fangs and sharp claws, the nine tails behind him whipped forward like nine white rainbows, striking wherever they hit, causing explosive surges of energy and kicking up sand and stones.