Shi Xia had never felt so strongly about the importance of getting a driver's license. They had been walking for a full three months, yet the phone map showed they were still only halfway to the Twilight Mystic Manor.
Long Aotian had been following her the entire way. Over time, she realized this guy had a nagging side to him, chattering nonstop all day long, paired with those eye-straining muscles. Shi Xia thought he completely wasted the domineering and cool name "Long Aotian"—aside from those muscles, there wasn’t a single trace of protagonist aura about him.
"Ah... Help me...!" A sharp scream pierced the sky.
Long Aotian, who had been roasting a chicken, instantly stood up and dashed toward the source of the sound.
"Wait!" Shi Xia grabbed his arm. "You’re just running over without even knowing the situation?"
"But someone’s calling for help!" he said urgently.
"Let’s check first." Shi Xia pointed to a large tree ahead, signaling him to climb it. The voice was clear, so the source couldn’t be far.
Long Aotian leaped up, scaling the tree in a few steps, while Shi Xia used a lightweight wind spell to float up after him.
About fifty meters away, a fiery red mass dominated the scene. At its center was a red fox—though "fox" was an understatement, given its elephant-like size and the multiple flaming tails behind it. Upon closer inspection, there were eight of them. The beast bared its fangs, snarling viciously at a woman in a green dress, who was the one screaming for help.
"It’s a girl!" Long Aotian gasped, then immediately leaped down, using his qinggong to rush toward her.
"Wait—!" Shi Xia couldn’t stop him in time. He had already punched the eight-tailed fox demon square in the body.
Damn it! After all this time with no sign of his supposed "domineering coolness," he finally decides to show it now?! Seeing the fox demon turn and swipe its massive claw at the justice-obsessed idiot, Shi Xia suppressed her frustration and jumped down, channeling her still-unpracticed wood-element spells to summon vines that wrapped around the descending claw.
"Move!" Shi Xia shouted.
Long Aotian sidestepped just in time, retreating out of the fox’s range before leaping onto its back. He rained punches on its head, sending the beast into a frenzy. Its roars grew louder as it thrashed wildly, trying to shake him off.
Though Long Aotian had no spiritual power, his martial arts were formidable—equivalent to a Foundation Establishment cultivator. The fox demon was a fourth-tier beast, putting them on roughly equal footing. With Shi Xia occasionally tripping the fox with vines, they slowly gained the upper hand.
Given its coloration, the fox should have been a fire-type, capable of flame attacks. But maybe Long Aotian’s internal-force-packed punches had dazed it—it only struggled wildly, never breathing fire at them.
Its claws, however, were razor-sharp, gouging deep trenches into the ground. Shi Xia dodged frantically; with her half-baked spells, one hit would likely finish her. Long Aotian, too, nearly got thrown off multiple times.
It became a battle of endurance—who would outlast whom? After a full half-hour of punching and dodging, the fire fox finally collapsed, panting weakly, its back bloodied from Long Aotian’s blows.
Shi Xia was exhausted, her spiritual energy nearly depleted. Long Aotian lay sprawled on the fox’s back, gasping for breath.
"Let me help you." The green-dressed woman, who had been cowering behind a tree, pale-faced, suddenly rushed forward with a pouch in hand. Standing a few steps from the fox, she formed hand seals and chanted something.
Suddenly, a red glow erupted beneath the fox, forming an array on the ground. Golden talismans rose from it, swiftly sinking into the fox’s forehead.
Those talismans were…
A spirit beast contract seal!
"You—!" Shi Xia whipped her head toward the woman, but the fox had already dissolved into a streak of red light, vanishing into the pouch.
You little bitch! Shi Xia nearly cursed out loud. Only an idiot wouldn’t see what she’d planned.
And of course, there was an idiot present. Long Aotian stood up, looking concerned. "Miss, are you alright?"
The green-dressed woman smirked coldly, then mounted her sword and flew away.
Long Aotian stood dumbfounded. "Shi Xia… she smiled at me!"
"…" Shi Xia wanted to strangle this moron.
Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she yanked the dazed idiot up. "Let’s go. We need to get out of here, now."
"Why?" he asked blankly.
"Ugh, do I have to spell it out for you?!" She smacked the back of his head. "That little bitch just used us to capture a spirit beast!"
"Capture a spirit beast…" He blinked, finally catching on.
"That woman’s cultivation is higher than ours, yet she lured us here. There must be another reason."
Earlier, despite her cries for help, her tone hadn’t sounded panicked. And though she’d supposedly been chased by the beast, her clothes were spotless. That’s why Shi Xia hadn’t wanted Long Aotian to intervene—but of course, he was all brawn, no brain.
"Whatever reason she had for not capturing the beast herself, this place isn’t safe. Move!"
Finally snapping out of it, Long Aotian followed as they sprinted back the way they came. But after only a few steps, an earth-shaking roar erupted behind them.
"ROAR—!"
The sound was deafening, echoing through the entire forest. An indescribable pressure bore down on them.
Shi Xia’s legs trembled. Meeting Long Aotian’s gaze, her heart sank.
"RUN!"
Grabbing him, she activated a wind spell and bolted. Judging by the roar, whatever was coming was stronger than the last one.
She focused all her energy into her legs, darting forward like lightning—fast enough to rival sword flight. But no matter how fast she was, the beast behind them was faster.
A wave of scorching heat hit their backs. Flames erupted, blocking their path and encircling them in an instant. The surrounding trees turned to ash.
ROAR—!
From the inferno emerged a fox twice the size of the last one, wreathed in fire, its multiple tails lashing wildly.
Shi Xia counted—nine. A nine-tailed fox spirit!
Her heart shattered. Old Man Bi Hong had once explained: nine-tailed fox spirits were born as fifth-tier beasts, reaching sixth-tier upon adulthood—equivalent to a Golden Core mid-stage cultivator. This one was clearly an adult.
Between a pseudo-Foundation Establishment cultivator and a Qi Condensation rookie, they were nothing more than a deluxe combo meal to a sixth-tier beast.
Now I finally understood why that little bitch wanted to subdue the spirit beast but didn’t do it herself. The Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox was a formidable fire-type demonic beast, with only one weakness—just before reaching adulthood, its cultivation would regress to the fourth tier. Only after fully maturing would it leap straight to the sixth tier. That’s why every juvenile Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox was guarded by its parents. That little bitch had kidnapped their child, leaving them behind to draw the "old fox’s" fury.
Long Aotian was now covered in the blood of their son—there was no way the "fox father" would let them go.
Roar—
It let out another piercing screech, loud enough to feel like steel blades stabbing into their eardrums. The roar carried the oppressive aura of a sixth-tier demonic beast, and with just that sound, Shi Xia felt a sharp pain in her chest, coughing up a mouthful of blood.
"Benefactor!" Long Aotian panicked, summoning some inexplicable burst of strength as he lifted a massive boulder and hurled it at the beast.
Grabbing her hand, he dragged her along as they kept running. "What do we do? Benefactor, do you have a way to deal with it?"
"Are you kidding? This is a sixth-tier demonic beast—I can’t even handle a fourth-tier one." She was just a measly Qi Condensation cultivator.
"Eh?" Long Aotian froze. "Benefactor, weren’t you always hiding your true cultivation level?"
"Who’s hiding their cultivation?" Did she look like someone with nothing better to do?
"But… before, you had no cultivation at all, then suddenly reached the third layer of Qi Condensation." He stared at her in disbelief. "And now you’re at the fifth layer."
"That’s because I’ve been cultivating these past few days!"
"…" Was cultivation supposed to be this fast? It had only been three months! He had spent thirty years training just to reach Foundation Establishment. "I thought the Benefactor was omnipotent."
"Who told you that?" She rolled her eyes at him.
"Then what do we do now?" His face paled further before he gritted his teeth. "Benefactor, you go ahead. I’ll hold it off."
He suddenly stopped.
"Are you insane?!" Shi Xia had no choice but to halt as well. In that brief delay, the fox had already caught up.
Its massive jaws snapped toward them.
What now? What now? This wasn’t some housecat that could be pacified with dried fish!
Dried fish?
She quickly pulled out the largest dried fish from her storage bag.
"Benefactor, what are you—?" Long Aotian gaped.
"No time, let’s try it!" She hurled it with all her strength, straight into the fox’s mouth.
The fox clamped its jaws shut, swallowing the fish whole without hesitation, then roared even more furiously before lunging at them again.
Definitely not a cat—this trick was completely useless!
Shi Xia despaired as those razor-sharp fangs loomed closer. She could practically see herself being bitten in half.
But suddenly, the massive jaws froze. The fox staggered back two steps, the flames on its body dimming as it hunched over, frantically clawing at its throat. With a retching sound, it began gagging.
Was it… choking?
On a fishbone?!
(╯□╰)
Her feelings were indescribably complicated. Dried fish truly was the ultimate magical weapon.
"Run!" While the fox was still struggling with the bone, Shi Xia grabbed Long Aotian and bolted.
But after just two steps, Long Aotian suddenly shoved her aside. "Watch out!" Before he could finish, a massive paw sent him flying.
Then she heard the rush of wind beside her ear. The next moment, a giant claw slammed into her chest. She faintly heard the sound of cracking—no X-ray needed to know those were probably shattered ribs.
With a thud, she landed right next to Long Aotian.
Even with a fishbone stuck in its throat, the fox still refused to let them go. Talk about holding a grudge!
