Chapter 136
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Chapter 136: Title
The black cat ignored Zhong Zhi’s remarks with disdain, its attention wholly consumed by the live stream.
In the Mountain and Sea Realm, the three-legged golden crow feigning celestial duty as a sun abruptly turned its gaze toward a distant horizon, as though sensing an unseen disturbance.
Soaring through the heavens astride the winds offered a thrilling novelty for these cloud-riding travelers, oblivious to their appearance in a mortal realm’s live stream amidst the signal-barren wilderness. Though unease prickled at their airborne state, exhilaration soon eclipsed lingering fears.
Yun Han’s legs trembled slightly until Xiao Chen steadied him.
"Still upright?" she taunted, arching an eyebrow.
"Barely," he muttered, face drained of color. Few could remain composed when suspended kilometers above earth without safeguards—especially one afflicted with acrophobia.
Ao Yuan, leading at the front, had deliberately slowed their pace and shielded them from the piercing winds. Yet his gaze sharpened as he scanned the horizon, detecting faint ripples of surveillance.
Mr. Bai lingered a respectful step behind, the red-haired fox dangling limply from his grip. Every vulpine denizen of Southern Wilderness and Qingqiu existed under the nine demon lords’ protection, instinctively orienting toward their ancestral heartland even if never venturing there.
The captive fox remained motionless, thoroughly cowed. Any thought of escape had vanished upon witnessing the human cultivators’ overwhelming power—and the unmistakable aura of the Dragon Lord among them.
Among spirit cultivators, only the apex nine bore the title "demon lord"; lesser luminaries, however formidable, merely ranked as demon kings.
The fox emitted two sharp yips.
"Your Highness, we approach," Mr. Bai announced.
Hu Mei’s ears flicked—she comprehended the vulpine speech, though the creature’s unrefined Horizontal Bone permitted only animal utterances.
Ao Yuan inclined his head slightly, guiding the cloudbank downward. Ahead pulsed the territorial resonance of Qingqiu’s reigning demon lord.
Their descent stirred the hillside. Emerald slopes rippled with wildflowers where fox silhouettes darted through swaying grasses. No formations guarded this realm; the demon lord’s presence alone deterred intruders.
"What now?" Hu Mei eyed the tumbling fox kits with barely concealed fascination. "No gates to announce ourselves—shall we bellow greetings into the void?"
"Patience," Mr. Bai advised.
Their arrival sent smaller foxes scattering while larger, cultivator-ranked specimens formed a wary cordon. To these spirit cultivators, human interlopers belonged to ancestral legends—until this disquieting moment.
A tier four fox suddenly bounded from the distance.
In the Mountain and Sea Realm, all spirit cultivators retained primal forms. Though the approaching fourth-tier creature could voice words, its speech emerged as guttural yowls—incomprehensible to Di Yun and his companions.
“Who are you, and why have you come to Qingqiu?”
As a half-demon, Hu Mei comprehended the language of spirit cultivators effortlessly, for all inheriting their lineage automatically mastered this tongue.
“Captain Di, allow me to translate,” Hu Mei offered, interpreting the words of the tier four silver fox.
“Proceed,” Di Yun acknowledged with a nod.
“This is His Highness the Dragon Lord. These human cultivators from the human realm seek audience with the Nine-Tailed Demon Lord,” explained Mr. Bai, whose millennia in the Mountain and Sea Realm granted perfect diplomatic instincts.
Without the Dragon Lord’s presence, their delegation stood no chance of meeting the Nine-Tailed Demon Lord.
The silver fox’s fur stood on end at the title. Its gaze locked onto the leading figure among them.
Every denizen of the Mountain and Sea Realm knew of the Nine Extreme Demon Lords, though this tier four fox spirit couldn’t verify whether this figure truly was the legendary Dragon Lord who stood alongside their ancestor among those revered beings.
Though uncertain, the overwhelming spiritual pressure radiating from the man left no doubt of his superiority. As spirit cultivators revered strength, the fox began to speak when suddenly it tilted its head—as though hearing whispers upon the wind.
Mr. Bai’s brow furrowed at this discourtesy, the delay an affront to the Dragon Lord’s dignity.
After moments suspended in silence, the silver fox straightened with newfound deference.
“Dragon Lord,” it intoned solemnly, “Our ancestor senses your arrival and bids me guide you to her presence.” The creature stepped aside, its focus entirely on Ao Yuan while dismissing the others as unworthy of notice.
Within Qingqiu’s verdant heart,
where Spiritual Energy thickened to rival blessed paradises, rare blossoms perfumed air around jade-carved Tables and Chairs. Against this tableau lounged a luminous white fox, its meter-long form radiating grace that momentarily tricked Di Yun and Xiao Chen into seeing an alluring maiden.
They blinked, marveling at how vulpine features could evoke human beauty. Legends claimed all demon lords possessed peak tier nine cultivation—this nine-tailed fox before them stood at the zenith of celestial immortality, her gaze lingering curiously on Hu Mei before settling upon Ao Yuan.
“Qingqiu seldom entertains such numerous guests,” the fox mused, her melodious voice weaving through the clearing like windchimes. Folktales overflowed with fox spirits of devastating beauty, yet even scholars found this hard to verify—until now. Compared to the half fox spirit Hu Mei, this ancestral being’s every movement flowed with hypnotic elegance, hinting at unimaginable splendor in human form.
“Dragon Lord,” the white fox smiled, dispelling Ao Yuan’s lingering doubts. Low-tier beings might err, but a fellow Nine Extreme Demon Lord’s recognition confirmed his connection to the legendary dragon.
As jade-bearing foxes emerged with refreshments, the ancestral vixen’s eyes glinted with ancient wisdom. Here stood truths no mortal scholar could ever document.
They gracefully set the plates upon the table, each bearing dewy unknown fruits glistening with vitality. Exquisitely carved teacups brimmed with mist-steeped tea infused with Spiritual Energy.
The white fox observed the legendary dragon with limpid autumn-pool eyes, her vulpine features betraying no astonishment as she artfully concealed her inner turmoil.
When they’d learned Ao Yuan had shattered his cultivation and memories to breach realms into the human world—essentially reincarnating through sheer will—all had mourned the sacrifice.
To rebuild from nothingness to tier nine cultivation would consume eons, with no guarantee of full restoration. Yet here stood this dragon-lord, having regained tier seven potency within mere mortal years. More perplexing still, his true form remained unmistakably draconic. The fox calculated silently—such rapid recovery implied extraordinary fortune in the human realm.
"Will the Dragon Lord not sit?" The white fox’s silken voice paused meaningfully. "Ten thousand winters have passed since last we conversed in human guise."
Ao Yuan settled across from her with leonine composure. Though aware of her hidden knowledge, he chose directness: "Nostalgia can wait. We come regarding the Mountain and Sea Realm’s spatial convergence."
"Ever the pragmatist." Her laugh chimed like windchimes. "Had you courted romance like other dragons, your bloodline would overrun these realms."
Elegance flowed unnaturally from vulpine features yet suited her perfectly. When Ao Yuan mentioned the Space Overlap with human realms, her brow furrowed. "This phenomenon eludes my awareness."
"Human cultivators approach about the convergence," he clarified.
"Mortals?" Snow-white ears twitched. Suddenly she beckoned Hu Mei with claw-tipped grace. "Child of distant kin, approach your ancestor."
Hu Mei blinked. Seventeen winters old, yet being called "young one"? Her feet moved unbidden until she stood dwarfed by the radiant fox-spirit.
Di Yun’s group tensed but held firm—with the Dragon Lord present, they trusted ancestral whims wouldn’t harm their companion.
"A gift for my scion." The white fox brushed Hu Mei’s forehead. As darkness swallowed her vision, the girl realized with panic that human speech abandoned her.
To the staring group, Hu Mei now appeared as a palm-sized fox kit, snowy fur fluffed in bewilderment. "The blood remains pure," the ancestor mused, arranging the squirming cub on her lap. Mysterious drowsiness overwhelmed Hu Mei, her protests dissolving into velvet unconsciousness beneath rhythmic stroking fingers.
