Volume 5 Chapter 97

Volume 5 + Chapter 97: No Passage Allowed

“Damn… could it be…?!”

Seeing what was unfolding before her eyes, Little Red’s expression suddenly changed.

“What’s wrong?” Xia Yi hurriedly asked. “Did something happen to Fox Radish?”

Just moments ago, Yue Liu had let out agonized howls from the pain of excessive magic being forced into her body, but now even those cries had vanished, making it hard not to fear that something had gone terribly wrong.

“Due to the erosion of time, the magic formation has developed subtle instabilities, which led to an issue, more magic power is flowing into it than originally estimated,” Little Red explained. “It’s possible that the overload is too much for Yue Liu to withstand.”

“Yue Liu!”

Xia Yi called out loudly to the little fox, but from the very heart of the formation, there came no response at all.

At this point, she nearly rushed into the formation, intending to forcibly drag the little fox out.

But just as she took a step forward, Little Red stopped her.

“Wait, outsider, look! It seems Yue Liu hasn’t collapsed!” Little Red exclaimed in surprise.

“That’s…!”

Within the dazzling light, Xia Yi saw a figure emerge, fox ears atop her head, nine tails flowing behind her, and long hair drifting with the currents of magic.

It was Yue Liu’s human form.

She had broken through the sealing spell imposed upon her by Bai Lian and restored her true power.

“O world, I have returned!!”

The little fox raised both hands. Appearing once more in the form of a shrine maiden, she wielded her priestess abilities to accelerate the gathering of all surrounding magic into the formation.

“As expected of this god’s shrine maiden! At such a critical moment, she endured inhuman pain through sheer will, seized the opportunity, and turned the impossible into reality, she truly bears the style of this god in my prime!” Little Red hopped excitedly in delight.

“…Phew, that scared me to death.” Xia Yi let out a long breath of relief.

She could sense that Yue Liu’s aura had changed, it was like a vessel filled to the brim, having reached the peak of this level. Compared to before the seal, her strength had risen dramatically.

“The celestial phenomena of the sealed land are now under my control… sun, moon, and stars, be rewritten by my will!”

The little fox lifted her hand, channeling the immense magic injected into her body back through the formation and into the spiritual veins of the great hollow.

She precisely regulated the flow into each vein; through careful calculation, each one exerted a different influence on the sealed land, ultimately producing a transformation of the heavens themselves.

Whoosh!

From the dark depths of the great hollow, a fountain of magic erupted, blasting through the underground rock layers and shooting up into the sky.

“It worked. This will bring forward the day the cursed entity erupts, their weakness will be completely exposed before us.” Little Red smiled.

“My destined enemy… I have done it!!”

Having achieved her goal, the little fox ran happily toward Xia Yi.

“Fox Radish, you’re even more impressive than I imagined… but it’s still a bit early for congratulations, we haven’t defeated the cursed entity yet,” Xia Yi reminded her.

“Mm, I know… hm? Could this be the Fox God?”

The little fox’s gaze shifted to the small red nine-tailed fox, and she was visibly surprised.

She had always imagined the Fox God as an enormous, awe-inspiring nine-tailed fox.

Why, then, was the one before her so… tiny?

“This doesn’t quite match the Fox God I had in mind… shouldn’t the Fox God be a majestic, gigantic nine-tailed fox…?”

“Yue Liu, how dare you question this god! Such insolence! I am going to get angry!!” Little Red jumped up in fury.

“M-My apologies, Fox God!! Even in this form, you still possess supreme divine might that commands my utmost reverence!”

As the Fox God’s shrine maiden, the little fox immediately bowed, though she was clearly forcing herself to say it against her better judgment.

“Hmph, that’s more like it!” Little Red leapt onto the little fox’s head.

“Little Red really is amusing,” Xia Yi said, the corners of her lips lifting.

“Don’t laugh, outsider! This is merely a fragment of my spirit that I left behind in haste. Due to insufficient divine power, I appear like this. My true form is identical to the gigantic nine-tailed fox enshrined in the shrine, understand?!” Little Red emphasized, clearly worried that Xia Yi might misunderstand.

“My destined enemy, come, let me take you back to the surface.”

The little fox walked up to Xia Yi, crouched down, and prepared to lift the small silver dragon into her arms.

This startled Xia Yi so much that she quickly jumped aside, she had been so absorbed in everything that she had completely forgotten to revert to her human form.

The small silver dragon vanished, replaced by a silver-haired dragon girl.

“Ahem… let’s stick with this form. I’m more used to it,” Xia Yi said awkwardly.

“…You’re not using your true dragon form anymore?”

The little fox felt a hint of disappointment inwardly.

“Outsider, you really have the nerve to laugh at me, your dragon form is just as small,” Little Red teased. “Unlike you, my true fox form used to be enormous. This is only due to restrictions. But you, you’ve always been this tiny!”

“One day I’ll become a truly terrifying giant dragon, so don’t underestimate me!”

Xia Yi was brimming with confidence. Since Cynthia’s dragon form was so massive, there was no way she would remain like this forever.

There was absolutely no way she would stay a little girl for life.

“That’s enough, it’s time to depart and face the cursed entity in battle.”

Little Red addressed her shrine maiden, issuing a command in a resolute, imposing tone.

“Yue Liu, as my shrine maiden, I order you to atone for your sins by defeating the cursed entity!”

“Understood, Fox God!”

The little fox responded devoutly. Using the surplus magic power, she activated the formation, lifting it upward. Accompanied by the surging magic fountain, it functioned like an elevator, carrying them toward the surface.

…

…

“Ugh… ahh!!”

The cursed entity knelt on one knee, clutching her chest, drenched in sweat, her eyes filled with disbelief.

Just moments ago, she had witnessed a shocking transformation in the sun, moon, and stars within the sealed land.

A curse that was supposed to take time before becoming active had erupted ahead of schedule.

Now, the monstrous magic within her body was spiraling out of control. Within her shadow, numerous dark, writhing silhouettes of monsters twisted and struggled, as if trying to break free.

“Was it the spirit fragment and Yue Liu? Damn it, I can’t just sit here and wait to die. Out here, it’s far too dangerous!”

Gritting her teeth, the cursed entity forced herself to stand, desperately suppressing the curse as she began to move.

“As long as I reach the barrier… once I’m inside…!”

Having been eroded by the curse, she had barely advanced a short distance when a sharp blade of light suddenly descended from the sky, cutting off her path.

“Apologies, passage beyond this point is forbidden.”

[https://ko-fi.com/golden_dragon]