Volume 1 Volume 6 Chapter 22

Volume 6 Chapter 22: The Cave, Trapped Beast (Part 3)

In fact, Little Black and Xu Qingfan share a deep connection. Xu Qingfan is quite strong as well, so how could he not notice when Little Black secretly devoured those demon beast cores and eggs, except for the first one or two times?

Xu Qingfan always felt that he owed Little Black a lot, so this could be a kind of compensation. Moreover, the situation in the cultivation world is becoming more dangerous and unpredictable, and Little Black’s strength is not increasing. Xu Qingfan felt a bit anxious. It would be even better if, after consuming many demon beast eggs and young beast cores, Little Black could grow to the level of the nine-tailed demon fox and Zhuyin that Xu Qingfan had seen before.

However, Xu Qingfan was a bit frustrated because Little Black had eaten a lot of those precious cores and ancient demon beast eggs, worth at least twenty or thirty thousand high-level spirit stones, but there was no change at all.

"Maybe potential or growth speed won’t show on the outside," he thought to himself.

Xu Qingfan comforted himself this way.

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After walking for a whole day and a half in this seemingly endless cave, after killing four or five dozen ancient wild beasts, and when fear was reaching its limit, Xu Qingfan, with Little Gold and Little Black, finally encountered a real obstacle.

Two six-tailed demon foxes! Their strength was equal to that of a golden core cultivator, yet they were incredibly cunning demon beasts.

The endless terror of "Karma Blaze" suddenly lit up the dark cave, carrying eerie and terrifying energy waves. The oil-green "Karma Blaze" transformed into a lotus shape and swiftly attacked Xu Qingfan, vaporizing the solid rocks it touched.

"Clone!"

Facing such a demon beast as the six-tailed demon fox, Xu Qingfan did not dare to be careless. With a low shout, he felt a wave of energy around him, causing the space around him to slightly distort. Suddenly, Xu Ying and Xu Zhiyuan, his two clones, appeared by Xu Qingfan’s sides, and without a moment’s hesitation, they charged towards the suddenly appearing six-tailed demon fox.

Since that day when Xu Qingfan, Xu Ying, and Xu Zhiyuan merged and were attacked by the nine-tailed demon fox’s "Karma Blaze," they had to transform into fire to survive temporarily. After recovering, Xu Ying and Xu Zhiyuan gained the ability to remain in Xu Qingfan’s body for a long time, and they appeared at this moment.

At the same time, Little Black’s figure hid behind Xu Ying, silently attacking the two six-tailed demon foxes. It was uncertain where this fellow learned such a sneaky ambush technique.

Xu Qingfan then took out the "Five Spirit Bell" and the "Rainbow Ruler." The "Five Spirit Bell" transformed into a solid shield, protecting Xu Qingfan’s entire body. Although the "Karma Blaze" was terrifying, breaking through the defense of the "Five Spirit Bell" would take at least three hours. Meanwhile, Xu Qingfan’s "Rainbow Ruler" transformed into a flash of rainbow light, striking swiftly at one of the six-tailed demon foxes.

How much time has passed? Xu Qingfan seems to have been fighting against opponents who are either much stronger than him, possess unusual abilities, or outnumber him for many years.

"Ri", nine-tailed demon fox, Southern Wasteland demon beast, "Beast Madness cultivator", black-clothed master, and so on.

Until now, Xu Qingfan finally fought against two opponents who were equal in strength to him.

Although the six-tailed demon fox was very cunning and strong, facing two against one, Xu Qingfan surprisingly felt a sense of ease.

It was only at this moment that Xu Qingfan realized how powerful he had become among cultivators of the same level, despite continuously battling strong foes and experiencing constant adventures.

Although the two six-tailed demon foxes were said to be comparable to him in strength, they posed no threat to him at all; the defense of the "Five Spirit Bell" was not something an Earth level demon beast could easily break through, and Xu Qingfan’s attacks were sharp.

To prove his strength, Xu Qingfan instructed Xu Ying, Xu Zhiyuan, and Little Black to attack one of the nine-tailed demon foxes while he targeted the other one alone.

The colorful light transformed by the "Rainbow Ruler" flickered in and out, appearing and disappearing, under Xu Qingfan’s control, it moved like lightning, yet was incredibly agile, as if it became a colorful cage, trapping that colorful fox tightly, often leaving deep, visible wounds on the six-tailed demon fox.

The six-tailed demon fox originally thought it would easily defeat Xu Qingfan in a two-against-one situation, but it did not expect Xu Qingfan to be so powerful. After years of battling strong opponents, Xu Qingfan had reached an astonishing level of understanding and control over magical techniques and artifacts. Timing, strength, and position seemed effortless, yet appeared to have been carefully planned; using only a third of his strength, he could achieve the power that a typical cultivator could only reach by using all their might.

The six-tailed demon fox, which Xu Qingfan was practicing against, was soon covered in wounds. Although it tried many tricks, Xu Qingfan remained calm. The colorful prison created by the "Rainbow Ruler" was very strong, leaving the fox with no hope of escape.

Just when the six-tailed demon fox was in despair, it suddenly saw a small flaw in the "Rainbow Ruler"’s attack. It felt a surge of joy, took the chance, and swiftly slipped through the gap, quickly fleeing deeper into the cave.

Because it was running so fast, the six-tailed demon fox did not notice that it didn’t need to be in such a hurry. After it escaped, that small flaw became larger and, shortly after, a burst of colorful light transformed into the original shape of the "Rainbow Ruler," which Xu Qingfan caught in his hands.

It turned out that there wasn’t really a flaw; the small gap was just a sign that Xu Qingfan was putting away his magical tool.

After putting the "Rainbow Ruler" and the "Five Spirit Bell" back into his sleeve, Xu Qingfan looked in the direction the six-tailed demon fox had fled, a faint smile appearing on his lips. He raised his right hand slightly, bringing his two fingers together, and gently pointed towards the direction the six-tailed demon fox was escaping.

Two lights, one black and one white, shot out from Xu Qingfan’s fingers, entwined together, and like a flash of lightning, they swiftly shot toward the fleeing six-tailed demon fox.

The finger movements were strange and powerful, but silent. The six-tailed demon fox, focused only on its escape, did not notice Xu Qingfan’s attack and believed it had finally escaped, feeling joyful in its heart.

"That detestable human not only killed the ancient beasts raised by our ancestor but also put my brother and me in such a dire situation. When our ancestor returns, you will pay for this. Brother, my own brother, even though we grew up together, I can’t worry about you anymore. I must escape first."

Foxes are clever and intelligent. Even though this one had only six tails, it still had thoughts like a human. If it were to express its thoughts in human language, it might sound like this.

Just before the six-tailed demon fox could think about how to report to its ancestor, it felt a sharp pain in its body. Then, two streams of Spirit Qi entered it—one filled with life and purity, and the other with desolation and death. Once the two Spirit Qi entered its body, they quickly lost control and clashed violently. The destructive power from their conflict was more than ten times stronger than the power of each Spirit Qi alone. The six-tailed demon fox felt a sudden intense pain and then lost consciousness.

This gesture was one of the moves from Xu Qingfan’s unique skill, "Formula of Life and Death," called the "Life and Death Finger!"

On the other side, upon hearing the deep explosion sound from the six-tailed demon fox’s body breaking apart, Xu Qingfan suddenly remembered something and sighed as he patted his head in frustration.

"Ah, I was so focused on proving my own strength that I forgot how precious the body of a demon beast like the six-tailed demon fox is. It’s a pity for those spirit pill materials; under the power of the ‘Life and Death Finger,’ that six-tailed demon fox probably crushed even the toughest inner core."

However, even though he felt regret, Xu Qingfan was still somewhat pleased. He easily took down a demon beast that should have been his equal, and that was a reason to feel proud.

"Among golden core cultivators, I should have very few rivals, right?"

Just as he thought this, names like Feng Qingtian, Jin Qinghan, Hua Xian, Zhang Yi, Scholar Qing Song, and Master Wan Shi suddenly popped into his mind, making him chuckle bitterly.

With Feng Qingtian’s Phoenix Spirit Fire and Phoenix Rebirth, Jin Qinghan’s "Eight Evil Consciousness King" and "Blooded Spirit Weapon," Hua Xian’s "Spirit Refinement Technique" and Qingxu Sword, and Zhang Yi’s mental attacks, Xu Qingfan didn’t feel certain of victory. At best, he could hope for a fifty-fifty chance. Both Scholar Qing Song and Master Wan Shi had learned from many masters, making them even harder to handle.

However, it was certain that Xu Qingfan’s current strength was among the very top in the golden core cultivator ranks.

Xu Qingfan shook his head quietly and then turned to look the other way, only to find that the battle was already over. Little Black, Xu Zhiyuan, and Xu Ying, who were at the middle and late stages of the Golden Core Stage, fought together effortlessly against one. The six-tailed demon fox was cunning, but Little Black had also learned to be sly, making them evenly matched in that regard.

After the six-tailed demon fox, which had its body mostly preserved, was dismembered, Xu Qingfan obtained a six-tailed demon fox’s inner core, six tails, and a soft pouch. The pouch emitted a terrible stench; although it wasn’t poison, it was even more deadly. It was a means of survival for fox-type demon beasts. Unfortunately, the two foxes were killed before they could use it; otherwise, Xu Qingfan and the others would have had to hold their noses and flee.

After killing the two six-tailed demon beasts, Xu Qingfan continued deeper into the cave under Little Gold’s lead. From that point on, they did not encounter any more demon beasts, and it was unclear if Xu Qingfan had killed them all.

Ancient demon beasts were already quite rare in the cultivation world, and Xu Qingfan had killed about forty to fifty young ones in one go. It was uncertain how many species he had caused to go extinct, which seemed to go against the natural order. Unknowingly, he had acted as a ruthless figure eradicating roots.

However, in the face of these young beasts’ attacks, he couldn’t just defend and not counterattack, could he?

Xu Qingfan consoled himself in this way.

But just as Xu Qingfan was lost in thought while walking, he suddenly noticed something. His body shook, and he focused his gaze into the distance.