Wei Li felt he might have overestimated them. He never expected that the ultimate purpose behind all their actions was to fancy him!
She/He gracefully smoothed their enchanting, dancing tail, chin slightly raised. They knew their fur was beautiful, fluffy as snow, and countless female foxes had pursued them. They had no intention of breeding with humans.
However, if *they* were infatuated with *him*, it could be exploited.
"If you want me to believe what you say, then first produce the leaves of the Other Shore Flower to verify the truth."
"No..."
Suddenly, they leaned in, their neatly trimmed ear hair forming a flowing arc before falling softly and luminously against their cheek. With a stretch of their hand, they touched them, even giving a rub, "Oh, so you're a female, no, a woman."
Gu Junshi’s forehead throbbed, and they slowly lowered their eyes, looking at the "paw" that was clueless to its own peril. They felt the familiar urge to act impulsively that had plagued them since encountering this person in their past life.
Being a woman was somewhat more acceptable.
Wei Li’s slender fox eyes flickered, their gaze like a hook. Nine-tailed foxes were naturally adept at seduction. "If you give me the leaves of the Other Shore Flower, I might consider satisfying you for a night. But if you deceive me..."
Do not underestimate the wicked heart of a person with a beastly nature. They had never intended to let her go, regardless of whether her words were true or false.
Others might be deceived by their human-like visage, but Gu Junshi, upon seeing them, was reminded of their demonic form, digging out hearts from piles of the dead to consume.
No matter how demonic and alluring their human form was, she still had no interest in them.
Dark clouds piled layer upon layer above the forbidden ground. Heavy winds crowded the sky, obscuring the stars and moon, making it seem as if the entire world had fallen silent. A mournful wind whistled sharply through the air. Suddenly, Wei Li was confronted with a bizarre and chaotic scene.
With ghostly eyes opening, Wei Li was instantly plunged into a realm of ghosts, monsters, and demons. Soft sand bulged into small mounds, and pale bone claws stretched out from the earth. A chill ran down their spine, their eyes filled with bewilderment.
"What do you see?" she asked him deliberately in a low voice.
Suddenly, countless skeletal claws shot out from beneath their feet, entwining them like tough grass growing from the earth. Above their head, groups of dark, ghastly faces, neither human nor beast, roared with icy winds and chilling screams. Their heart leaped, and their entire body jolted.
What the hell?!
Just as the spiritual fire on their body was about to erupt, a pair of hands landed on their shoulders. Their lower body was firmly held by a skeletal frame. A clear, snow-pine-like scent slowly approached. The nine-tailed fox instinctively sniffed, liking the smell, a clean, unique scent remembered from rolling and playing in the snow during their youth.
"I want you..."
Still, the voice was neither male nor female, a low, indifferent tone.
The nine-tailed fox felt numb to the situation. They thought, *Of course, I know. Do you think this terrifying scene will force me to submit?*
This face, hidden by a mass of black mist, was undoubtedly ugly. They weren't afraid of ghosts, but they couldn't tolerate anything hideous clinging to them.
They made an excuse: "But matters of the heart require time to cultivate..."
The other party's ethereal response: "I don't need your feelings."
*Right, she just craves my body,* the nine-tailed fox scoffed disdainfully.
They delayed further: "But we've only just met..."
"The length of time doesn't matter."
The nine-tailed fox was utterly amazed by her "scoundrel talk"!
She couldn't wait even a moment. If it weren't for obtaining the leaves of the Other Shore Flower, they would have wanted to incinerate her, this lustful demon, into ashes with a fox fire to feed the fish!
"Are you in such a hurry?"
She replied without hesitation: "It's truly urgent. I want you..." She leaned close to his ear and whispered, her breath faintly carrying the scent of pine, "to protect the Heavenly Spiritual Root for me."
All the ghosts and white bones in front of them vanished instantly. She withdrew her deathly aura, her ghostly eyes closed, and the abnormal phenomena ceased to manifest.
Wei Li's expression froze.
For a moment, they felt as if their hearing had failed.
Who?
Who were they talking about?
"I want you... to protect the Heavenly Spiritual Root for me."
That was it, wasn't it? They hadn't misheard!
As far as they knew, there was only one person currently in the Great Evolution Sect who possessed a "Heavenly Spiritual Root."
They had seen him once; it was that young man named Liu Jiang Fusheng, whom Wu Mei had brought back from the mortal realm?
So... she wasn't trying to take advantage of *them* at all. All of this was for that pale flower of a boy?!
Wei Li's mind reeled, their face blank. Recalling the words they had spoken not long ago, a profound sense of shame spread from their toes to their ears, burning like fire.
It was too embarrassing!
Maintaining their last shred of dignity, they said indifferently, "Oh, you mean this..."
"Otherwise, what did you think?" She let go of them, let out a low chuckle, and asked slowly, "Coveting you?"
*Bang*—An uncontrollable heat instantly flooded their face. The nine-tailed fox, never having felt so embarrassed and ashamed, their beautiful, charming eyes reddened with anger again, indignant and enraged.
"Stop the nonsense and quickly bring out the Other Shore Leaf, or I'll kill the Heavenly Spiritual Root you're supposed to protect!"
They abruptly retracted their nine playfully swaying tails, straightened their chest and abdomen into a straight line, appearing aloof and unapproachable, their entire being conveying: "You can admire from afar but not touch," completely devoid of their former foxy charm.
Seeing him adopt the demeanor of the Sect Leader of the Great Evolution Sect, Gu Junshi knew that if she teased him further, he would bare his teeth. Thus, she retrieved the leaves of the Other Shore Flower from the "Gate of the Yellow Springs."
To others, they might be extremely precious, but to her, it was merely a matter of passing them on.
"Your reverse meridian backlash cannot be resolved with a single leaf. I can give you one leaf each month until you recover, as long as you do what you promised me."
The nine-tailed fox saw the hand she extended, her slender wrist pale, emanating a layer of icy blue. In her palm, she held a slender leaf.
It looked ordinary, its long, narrow shape not much different from some leaves in the outside world. The only difference perhaps was its strangely glowing black hue.
He took it. As it came into contact with his body, his reversing blood vessels seemed to sense it, and a tingling warmth flowed through him.
The nine-tailed fox rejoiced, intending to test its effect, and brought it towards his mouth.
It was like children and small animals, grabbing anything unfamiliar and tasting it.
At that moment, a cool finger pinched his jaw, pulling the leaf out before he could chew and swallow it.
Wei Li pouted, angered, but then heard her say, "Who told you to use it like that?"
He paused, hesitating, "...No?"
Gu Junshi withdrew her hand. "One shouldn't expect intelligence from a beast's brain."
"You're calling me a beast again?"
Wei Li vaguely recalled that when they transformed into their fox form, someone had spoken to them in that same indifferent yet disdainful tone.