Volume 1 Volume 5 Chapter 146

Volume 5 Chapter 146: Great Danger Approaches

Whenever Mr. Liu thought he had fully recognized the nine-tailed demon fox’s abilities, it would surprise him once again.

Perhaps because evolving was so difficult, the nine-tailed demon fox gained such incredible power once it fully evolved. It possessed not only the terrifying strength of a high-ranking heavenly-level demon beast but also observation and mimicry skills that far surpassed all living beings, along with cleverness that exceeded that of most humans.

This time, Mr. Liu witnessed the nine-tailed demon fox’s clever adaptability and its deep understanding of mystical arts.

Just as Mr. Liu was about to block the charge towards the mountain top, the nine-tailed demon fox, ignoring its injuries and bleeding, stared fiercely at Mr. Liu, with its nine tails waving more and more frequently.

Out of the corner of his eye, Mr. Liu saw this and knew the nine-tailed demon fox was about to make a move. He felt a sense of caution, while quietly thinking that it seemed the nine-tailed demon fox relied on its nine tails to control various magical powers.

While Mr. Liu was lost in thought, the nine-tailed demon fox finally acted. With its nine tails in control, the five Element Spirit Sparrows flying around it suddenly sped away towards Mr. Liu.

Not long after Mr. Liu stopped the four heavenly-level demon beasts, the five Spirit Sparrows finally reached Mr. Liu’s side.

"Could it be that this nine-tailed demon fox wants to use these five Element Spirit Sparrows, made from the essence of heavenly Spirit Qi, to attack me? Doesn’t it know that while Spirit Sparrows can gather Spirit Qi to form formations, their own attack power isn’t very strong?"

While blocking the four heavenly-level demon beasts from reaching the mountain top, Mr. Liu, much stronger than them, found them unable to make any progress despite their furious roars, and he wondered silently.

To block the four heavenly-level demon beasts, Mr. Liu could only stand at the necessary spot to the mountain top, allowing the five Spirit Sparrows of the nine-tailed demon fox to surround him.

"Not good!"

When the five Spirit Sparrows began to circle around him, Mr. Liu finally sensed something was wrong and shouted.

The five Spirit Sparrows of the nine-tailed demon fox flew around Mr. Liu, but they did not gather Spirit Qi from heaven and earth like Mr. Liu’s five Spirit Sparrows did. In fact, if one looked closely, they would see that the path of the nine-tailed demon fox’s five Spirit Sparrows flying around Mr. Liu was completely opposite to the path of Mr. Liu’s five Spirit Sparrows.

In other words, while Mr. Liu was using the "Art of the Five Seals of Heaven and Earth" to gather Spirit Qi, the nine-tailed demon beast was reversing the "Art of the Five Seals of Heaven and Earth," starting to disperse the Spirit Qi around Mr. Liu.

But things were not so simple.

The "Art of the Five Seals of Heaven and Earth" was undoubtedly a very advanced magical skill, but the more advanced and mysterious a magical skill is, the harder it is to control. Once it goes out of control, the backlash can be very powerful.

Even when Mr. Liu used the "Art of the Five Seals of Heaven and Earth," he needed to be very careful. If it went out of control, even Mr. Liu would be harmed significantly.

While the "Art of the Five Seals of Heaven and Earth" was gathering Spirit Qi for Mr. Liu, the nine-tailed demon fox was reversing the "Art of the Five Seals of Heaven and Earth," dispersing the Spirit Qi of heaven and earth around Mr. Liu. Although the nine-tailed demon fox’s ability to disperse was far weaker than the ability to gather, the clash between the two forces caused the Spirit Qi of heaven and earth to become incredibly chaotic.

Mr. Liu’s "Art of the Five Seals of Heaven and Earth" was right there in the midst of the clash between the forces of dispersion and gathering, where the Spirit Qi of heaven and earth was most chaotic. Under this great chaos, Mr. Liu could clearly sense that his "Art of the Five Seals of Heaven and Earth" was starting to become unstable, at any moment it could collapse.

Thinking about the mysterious consequences of the backlash from such deep magic, Mr. Liu took a deep look at the nearby nine-tailed demon fox. Although it was just a demon beast, it was truly one of the few great enemies in his life. Then, he forcefully dispelled the "Art of the Five Seals of Heaven and Earth."

After dispelling the "Art of the Five Seals of Heaven and Earth," the Spirit Qi of heaven and earth returned to normal. The nine-tailed demon fox seemed to be afraid that Mr. Liu would use the same trick against it, so it also dispelled its own "Five Spirits Technique." Ignoring its own injuries, it quickly lunged at Mr. Liu.

Looking at the nine-tailed demon fox, surrounded by flames and charging towards him, Mr. Liu’s expression turned serious. He knew that the nine-tailed demon fox had finally stopped relying on the magical skills of human cultivators and was now fighting him with its own instincts as a demon beast. In some ways, this kind of nine-tailed demon fox was even more dangerous.

The nine-tailed demon fox had a natural affinity for fire, and at that moment, the blazing flames around it, dark red with hints of black, were the legendary Karma Blaze. This fire carried the essence of the world’s impurities, not only was it tremendously powerful, but it also harmed the Original Soul, making it very hard to deal with. Mr. Liu did not dare to underestimate it, and while fending off the four heavenly-level demon beasts, he quickly pulled out two shields from his sleeve, which looked similar but were gold and silver respectively. Before the nine-tailed demon fox joined the battle, they transformed into two barriers protecting his whole body.

These two shields were called "Good and Evil Orders," originally one of the treasures of the Liuhe Gate, known for their excellent defensive power. It was unclear how they ended up in Mr. Liu’s hands, but after his transformation and refinement, their defensive capabilities had greatly increased.

As expected, after the nine-tailed demon fox entered the battlefield, even though the power of the Karma Blaze was great, it found it very difficult to harm Mr. Liu under the protection of the "Good and Evil Orders." Instead, the other four heavenly-level demon beasts, fearing the power of the Karma Blaze, became hesitant, reducing their threat. With the nine-tailed demon fox having suffered a serious injury beforehand, Mr. Liu managed to hold his ground against five enemies.

Thus, despite some struggles, Mr. Liu ultimately achieved his goal of holding back the five heavenly-level demon beasts.

However, amidst the battle, a bitter smile appeared at the corner of Mr. Liu’s mouth. The various cultivation methods and magical treasures he had practiced to deal with Zhang Xusheng had, unexpectedly, been used against the nine-tailed demon fox more than half the time.

At the same time, Mr. Liu felt a tinge of doubt. Did the nine-tailed demon fox, with its cunning, not realize that charging into battle surrounded by Karma Blaze would only burden the other four demon beasts? Or perhaps, after failing to overcome Mr. Liu several times, the nine-tailed demon fox had finally lost its reason?

A vague sense of unease crept into Mr. Liu’s heart, and he felt that the nine-tailed demon fox might have some kind of scheme. But he couldn’t figure it out, so he could only raise his alertness in silence.

As Mr. Liu held his ground against five foes to a standstill, time passed slowly. He used his Divine Sense to observe the battles between Xu Qingfan and the ordinary demon beasts on the mountain peak. Despite the large number of demon beasts, the fight remained a stalemate; although cultivators occasionally fell, it did not change the overall situation. Therefore, Mr. Liu focused on his own fight.

Suddenly, during one of the encounters, as their figures crossed, Mr. Liu noticed a hint of a very human-like mocking smile on the face of the nine-tailed demon fox. His caution increased significantly. Just as he was about to unleash a powerful secret technique to test the situation, he suddenly sensed a strange wave of Spirit Qi rising beneath his feet. Along with it came a thick fog of blood, blocking Mr. Liu’s sight and Divine Sense.

Looking down, Mr. Liu discovered that beneath his feet, blood was gushing from the wounds of the nine-tailed demon beast!

After a moment, the blood fog dissipated, but before Mr. Liu, there were only four heavenly-level demon beasts remaining. At the same time, a resounding cry of joy from a fox echoed from the peak of "Wolf Howling Mountain."

"’Art of Blood Escape’! I’ve been tricked!"

"Art of Blood Escape," one of the highest evil cultivation methods, is also a key reason why the dark path remains unvanquished. It uses a large amount of blood to transform into stagnant blood fog, obscuring the cultivator’s vision and Divine Sense. Those who practice this evil technique not only are not hindered in their sight and Divine Sense, but also gain incredible speed. In past battles, whenever righteous forces aimed to annihilate the evil side, those from the evil side would resort to "Art of Blood Escape," slipping away without a trace, leaving the righteous cultivators helpless.

The nine-tailed demon fox used "Art of Blood Escape" not to flee, but to reach the mountain peak, aiming for the lives of the over a thousand Righteous Alliance cultivators there in order to take revenge on Mr. Liu.

A bitter expression appeared on Mr. Liu’s face; despite his careful planning, he had still overlooked three points.

First, he had always thought that the nine-tailed demon fox wanted the other four demon beasts to break through to kill the Righteous Alliance cultivators at the mountaintop, not realizing that the four heavenly-level demon beasts were merely bait. After seeing that the four heavenly-level demon beasts could not reach the peak because of Mr. Liu’s obstruction, the nine-tailed demon fox had already thought of personally climbing the mountain to cause havoc.

Second, he was aware of the nine-tailed demon fox’s schemes, so he kept a close watch on it. However, he also overlooked the continuous flow of blood from the wounds of the nine-tailed demon fox, allowing it to calmly set up "Art of Blood Escape."

Third, he noticed that the human magic used by the nine-tailed demon fox before was all righteous magic, but he unconsciously overlooked the evil cultivation methods. He never expected that the nine-tailed demon fox could use such advanced evil cultivation methods.

Mr. Liu had always been quite proud, but he never thought he would be toyed with by a demon beast here, and it was easy to imagine his bitter feelings.

However, thinking about the nine-tailed demon fox at the mountain top and Xu Qingfan and the others, Mr. Liu held back his disappointment and without hesitation, rushed quickly up the mountain.

But just as he turned around, he found that the other four heavenly level demon beasts were already blocking his way. Before, he had stopped these four heavenly level demon beasts from climbing to the top, but now the situation had reversed.

※※※※

Just as Mr. Liu was battling the five heavenly level demon beasts on the mountainside, Xu Qingfan and the others were also trapped in a hard fight.

However, in comparison, it was still a bit easier for them. Although the demon beasts were endless, with them crowding in, Xu Qingfan and the others only needed to deal with the ones in front of them and the flying demon beasts in the sky. Despite being extremely difficult to handle, it was not completely hopeless.

Moreover, the number of demon beasts Xu Qingfan and the others faced was not as many as expected; after all, half of the demon beasts were surrounding "Ronghua Mountain." After Mr. Liu came down the mountain and used "Vastness of Heaven and Earth" and "Art of Heavenly Punishment," he even cut "Wolf Howling Mountain" in half, turning the mountainside into a cliff. The land-bound demon beasts could not follow, meaning that the number of demon beasts rushing to the mountain top was probably only a quarter of those surrounding "Ronghua Mountain," about ten thousand, and with a thousand Condensed Core Stage fighters in formation, although they could not win, they would not be defeated in a short time.

Because of this, while Xu Qingfan dealt with the attacking demon beasts, he still had the energy to observe the situation of others and think of strategies.

Basically, the people Xu Qingfan values most are at least at the peak of the Fake Golden Core stage, and many are at the Real Golden Core Stage. Among countless demon beasts, Earth-level demon beasts are rare. Therefore, they all have the strength to deal with challenges, and nothing unexpected will happen in a short time.

Among the powerful fighters, such as Chou Xuan and Venerable Xuan Mie, they have already killed many demon beasts in battle, covered in blood, and even the demon beasts avoid them.

The one who has killed the most demon beasts is Little Black. This guy is originally a demon beast and blends in with the crowd, so no one suspects him. He is fast and his attacks are sharp. Often, before the demon beast can reach Xu Qingfan, Little Black quietly stabs it from behind, instantly turning it into a skeleton without knowing what happened. Using this method, Little Black has silently killed over a hundred demon beasts, and the many piles of skeletal remains near Xu Qingfan serve as proof.

"I wonder how Mr. Liu is doing with those five demon beasts. His situation is crucial, and I also don’t know when the other masters will arrive. If this stalemate continues, it will eventually become unsustainable."

With Li Yuhan’s help, Xu Qingfan shot a "Life and Death Finger" at an Earth-level demon beast. As the life and death forces clashed inside it, the beast’s body exploded, and there was even time for a moment of quiet reflection.

But just as Xu Qingfan was deep in thought, he suddenly noticed something was wrong. The demon beasts attacking them suddenly began to retreat silently. Before Xu Qingfan could feel relieved, he discovered a powerful pressure enveloping the more than a thousand Righteous Alliance Condensed Core Stage cultivators standing guard.

Then, a figure like a red hill appeared before everyone’s eyes, with nine tails constantly swaying. The shadow cast by them blocked the sunlight and swayed among the crowd, making everyone feel as if they were in a world of light and darkness.

Looking up, everyone saw the leader of countless demon beasts in the Southern Wasteland, the strongest demon beast in the world apart from the Four Mythical Beasts—the nine-tailed demon fox!