Volume 5 Chapter 44

Volume 5 + Chapter 44: The Hierarch of The White Night Sect

“Cough… cough…”

Bai Yang slowly awakened from the throbbing agony coursing through his body. Lying flat on the ground, he realized he was surrounded by absolute darkness, an endless, lightless void.

He remembered crossing blades with Wu Tong in a decisive duel. The outcome had been clear: he had been defeated.

“You’re not dead yet, Bai Yang.”

He heard Wu Tong’s voice. Turning his head, he saw him standing nearby, holding a wine gourd with the stopper removed. Wu Tong swayed slightly, reeking of alcohol, his expression flushed with drunken haze.

“Wu Tong… what do you… want…?”

“I want you to meet someone,” Wu Tong replied evenly.

Then he stepped closer, drew out the wine gourd hanging at his waist, seized Bai Yang by the head, and forced a mysterious liquid down his throat.

Gravely wounded by Wu Tong, Bai Yang had no strength left to resist. He could only allow the strange fluid to pour into his body.

Soon after, his vision filled with brilliant, multicolored lights. A warm radiance enveloped him, and the pain wracking his body seemed to fade away, dissolving into nothingness. The suffering was gone.

“What did you make me drink?!”

Strength returning to his limbs, Bai Yang slowly rose to his feet.

“Bai Yang, what you drank was the holy water bestowed by the Fox Lord.”

“The Fox Deity?!”

“That’s right. After drinking the holy water, you will not die. It is as though you possess inexhaustible energy, never weary, never drained,” Wu Tong said. “The holy water heals all wounds, makes you forget your troubles, yet keeps your mind clear. When you wield your sword, you will never again be lost or uncertain.”

“Wu Tong, you’ve truly fallen into corruption!!” Bai Yang roared in fury. “Your strength, achieved by relying on external things!”

“Call it what you like. You’ve never experienced the agony of losing a wife. You can’t understand the feeling of being completely devoured by that pain… The White Night Sect freed me from it.” Wu Tong’s voice was hollow; he no longer cared about anything else.

“Damn it… that so-called Saintess is absolutely no… good…”

Clutching his head, Bai Yang struggled desperately to keep his consciousness from sinking.

Just as he fought against the holy water’s overwhelming influence, a deep and powerful voice resounded through the darkness.

“Welcome to the White Night Sect, great swordsman of the Fox Clan, Bai Yang.”

Before the speaker even appeared, Wu Tong had already straightened into a posture of utmost respect, bowing deeply to welcome the arrival of a figure of immense authority.

Bai Yang lifted his eyes. Before him stood a middle-aged fox clansman, yet behind him swayed nine tails. A Nine-Tailed Fox!

His heart wavered.

Within Fox Hill, the Nine-Tailed Foxes were members of the royal family, their numbers exceedingly scarce.

And yet this unfamiliar Nine-Tailed Fox standing before him, he did not recognize him at all.

The man’s attire closely resembled that of the Nine-Tailed Fox Emperor: the patterns, the details, the adornments, all nearly identical. Only the colors differed, replaced by the stark tones of the White Night.

It was as though he were declaring… that he too was an emperor.

“Greetings, Sect Master,” Wu Tong said respectfully.

“Sect Master?”

Bai Yang’s eyes widened.

“You are the leader of the White Night Sect?”

“I am,” replied the Hierarch of the White Night Sect. “As you can see, I also possess the bloodline of the Nine-Tailed Fox.”

His gaze appeared gentle, even compassionate, yet beneath it simmered unmistakable ambition.

“What is the meaning of this? How can there be another Nine-Tailed Fox outside the Fox Clan’s royal family?!” Bai Yang demanded in disbelief.

What unfolded before him had overturned everything he thought he knew.

“Because our lineage is the true orthodoxy. The real history of the Fox Clan is not what people believe. In the distant past, the true Fox God was ambushed by a false, pretender deity, stripped of everything, both authority and divine throne. After seizing control of Fox Hill, the false god altered history, concealing his crimes and endlessly glorifying himself to secure his divine position. The royal family that has endured until today are nothing but the pretender’s supporters, enshrining him upon the altar and deceiving the entire race to maintain their power.”

“That’s utter nonsense!” Bai Yang shouted. “With no proof at all, you fabricate nonexistent facts and expect me to believe your absurd claims?”

“I speak only the truth. The pretender believed he had completely slain the true Fox God. But the true Fox God survived, and founded the White Night Sect, continuing his bloodline.”

As the Hierarch finished speaking, lights flared to life, illuminating the darkened space.

Behind him stood a massive fox statue, a nine-tailed azure fox. It was utterly different from the red fox worshipped by the royal family.

“This is the deity who should have been worshipped at Fox Hill, the Azure Fox God,” the Hierarch said, sorrow flickering across his face. “Because of the pretender’s treachery, the true Fox God was hidden away. We of the White Night Sect will reveal the truth of history to the world and restore the rightful orthodoxy of the Fox God!”

“You… you all…”

Wu Tong instinctively stepped back.

From the depths of his heart, he felt fear. This was no mere cult, it was an organization that had endured for countless ages, lurking within Fox Hill itself, capable of overturning the entire nation.

Their ambitions must never be allowed to succeed. Otherwise, the Fox Clan would fall into eternal ruin.

“Bai Yang, you are a rare powerhouse within the Fox Clan. If you too were to receive the Fox God’s blessing and undergo baptism, your future achievements would be no less than Wu Tong’s.”

The Hierarch displayed a discerning appreciation for talent.

“To throw away your life for a false god is hardly worth it.”

“…Very well. I agree. I am willing to join the White Night Sect.”

After lowering his head and contemplating for a moment, Bai Yang gave his answer.

“Excellent.” The Hierarch smiled. “Step forward. Come before the Azure Fox God and swear your faith. Bai Yang, you are worthy.”

“Yes.”

Bai Yang stepped forward. As he passed Wu Tong, he suddenly launched a surprise attack, snatching the weapon from Wu Tong’s waist. In a flash, he charged toward the Hierarch, slashing at his head with lethal force.

“Die!!”

“Ah… how truly… sorrowful.” The Hierarch sighed softly and lowered his hand.

Wu Tong remained unmoved by the scene.

Bai Yang had believed he would succeed, if nothing else, he could trade his life for the Hierarch’s and rid the Fox Clan of this calamity. Yet a figure abruptly appeared before the Hierarch, blocking the strike.

It was a young Nine-Tailed Fox girl. Within her eyes bloomed petals of cherry blossoms, this was…

The Eyes of the Fox God.

Bai Yang recognized it at once. They were nearly identical to Yue Liu’s Eyes of the Fox God, perhaps even superior. Both of her eyes had awakened.

“Sink into illusion,” Bai Lian whispered gently.

Clang.

The weapon fell from Bai Yang’s hand, striking the ground. He stood frozen, his mind utterly blank.

“Well done, my daughter,” the Hierarch said with a pleased smile.

“Mhm.”

Bai Lian nodded and took her place at his side.

“Sect Master,” Wu Tong suddenly said, “there is an important matter I must report.”

“Speak.”

“A delegation from the Dragon Clan has appeared at Fox Hill and made contact with the Fox Clan’s royal family,” Wu Tong explained. “After negotiations, it seems the Dragon Clan envoys intend to depart. What should we do?”

“The Dragon Clan, hm…”

The Hierarch of the White Night Sect let out a cold sneer.

“Assassinate the Dragon Clan delegation. Purify them. The defiled outsiders have no right to tread upon the sacred land of the Fox Lord… And afterward, we can shift the blame onto the Fox Clan’s royal family.”

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