In the blink of an eye, the white fox cub flew toward Yun Lie, crying “Wuu, wuu!” without pause.
When Xu Ziqing looked, he saw that Yun Lie had seized the cub by the scruff of her neck. Her four paws flailed helplessly, and her round black eyes gazed mournfully at her heartless master. She looked pitiful beyond words.
Yun Lie showed no reaction. Holding her fur between two fingers, he said, “Don’t fool around.”
Xu Ziqing smiled and tilted his head. “Senior Brother, what do you think of Xue’er’s aptitude?”
Yun Lie replied, “As a Heavenly Fox, her aptitude is naturally good.”
Xu Ziqing nodded. “I’ve already accepted her, and I intend to bring her back to Little Slaughter Peak.” After a pause, he added, “But I know little about the cultivation methods of demon beasts, and foxes are cunning by nature. I’m afraid I’ll have to ask you to help supervise her training.”
Yun Lie nodded slightly in agreement.
Having said this, Xu Ziqing was about to take back the cub. But another look made him laugh.
The young fox was uncomfortable and unable to wriggle free. She curled her tail backward around Yun Lie’s wrist, then tried to twist over and embrace his fingers with all four stubby paws. But her legs were too short and Yun Lie’s grip too secure, so she could never quite reach. She began whimpering again.
Her foolish little movements were so adorable that Xu Ziqing liked her even more.
Yun Lie flicked his wrist and tossed the white bundle back. Xu Ziqing caught her easily.
To his surprise, the fox struggled even after landing in his palm. Helpless and curious, he put her down on the ground.
Sure enough, she scampered toward Yun Lie, lifted her little head, and threw both forepaws around his ankle.
She seemed completely unafraid of his killing intent.
Xu Ziqing found her even more intelligent than before. “Senior Brother, it looks as though Xue’er likes you very much.”
Yun Lie looked down at the fox around his foot, gently lifted her with the tip of his shoe, and sent her back into his junior brother’s arms using a soft current of force.
But the fox remained determined. Although Xu Ziqing held her tightly, her paws still kicked wildly, as though she wanted to throw herself at Yun Lie again.
Yun Lie said, “Heavenly Foxes are sensitive. They can distinguish benevolent intentions from malicious ones.”
Xu Ziqing paused, then smiled and embraced the cub more firmly.
His senior brother was right. Yun Lie bore Xue’er no ill will, and she still had a fox’s instinct to attach herself to the strong. Thus, even though Xu Ziqing was her master, she was eager to ingratiate herself with Yun Lie and thereby better preserve her own little life. And perhaps her willingness to behave so boldly proved that she recognized how much her master doted on her. This, too, was part of a fox’s cunning nature.
Having understood the situation, Xu Ziqing did not dwell on it. He gently stroked the cub’s back for a while until she settled down and stopped so desperately trying to win Yun Lie’s favor.
Afterward he returned Xue’er to her Beast-Controlling Token and followed Yun Lie into a deeper part of the Savage Beast Plains.
The two traveled one behind the other, robes billowing. Along the way they passed numerous savage beasts, mostly herds with one or two horns, but they went straight through without stopping.
Had Xu Ziqing been alone, he would certainly have fed these creatures to Rongjin. But with his senior brother traveling ahead, he naturally followed closely and did not dare linger.
The deeper they went, the thicker the mist in the air became. It was no longer milky white like the mist farther out, but carried a faint tinge of blood-red.
The sight was decidedly ominous.
Jagged rocks stood everywhere. The wild grass was more luxuriant than in the outer regions, each clump covering several qing of land and rising seven or eight chi, sometimes even more than ten chi high. The stalks were exceptionally thick and hard, some as broad as a child’s arm.
Who knew how many powerful auras lay concealed among this grass and stone? Anyone drawing near could easily be swallowed by the towering vegetation.
Compared with the regions Xu Ziqing had previously explored, this place was several times more forbidding.
Almost all the savage beasts dwelling here were three- or four-horned.
The harsh terrain made their movements difficult to discern, but the oppressive presence of beasts could be felt everywhere without pause.
Xu Ziqing breathed slowly, feeling intensely tense.
It was as though countless pairs of bestial eyes were fixed upon him, ready to pounce and devour him at the slightest opportunity.
At that moment, he turned toward his senior brother.
Yun Lie’s expression remained unchanged. He seemed entirely accustomed to the place and detected nothing unusual.
Xu Ziqing suddenly understood. This must be where his senior brother had been cultivating before their reunion.
Before he could consider it further, he suddenly sensed danger!
Less than three or four zhang to the right, a fierce gust exploded from concealment!
A greedy beast’s roar followed. A brown shadow bearing a foul, bloody wind surged directly toward them.
A glimmer of gold flashed across Xu Ziqing’s vision, and he understood at once. It was a golden-horned three-horned savage beast!
Fortunately, after months of harsh training on the plains, he had developed exceptional vigilance. He reacted the instant the beast leapt out.
Xu Ziqing touched a finger to his forehead. A slender needle emerged, gathering a beam of streaming light before it erupted forward with a howl of wind and astonishing force!
The green beam shot straight ahead and struck the beast’s head. In an instant, the head turned to wood, becoming a carved statue. Then the wooden carving rotted away and crumbled into ash in the wind.
The beast’s head vanished, but its body remained otherwise intact. It fell with a muffled thud. At the severed neck, however, the blood flowed with even greater vigor than after an ordinary decapitation, as though determined to drain the body dry. Soon it formed a widening pool before finally running out.
The strange sight was profoundly unsettling!
Xu Ziqing breathed a sigh of relief and raised a hand to recall the Qingyun Needle.
This was another result of his many days of training. Besides the needle’s original sharpness and his comprehension of flourishing life and the transformation of all things into wood, he had now incorporated the image of grass and trees withering and falling. By combining these insights, he had gained a clearer understanding of the cycle of birth and death governing myriad trees through the four seasons.
Yun Lie had not intervened. Seeing Xu Ziqing dispatch a three-horned beast comparable to a late Essence Transformation cultivator so easily, he nodded slightly.
Xu Ziqing turned to him, expectation evident in his eyes. “Senior Brother?”
Yun Lie’s gaze softened a little. “Your control of your power has improved considerably.”
Xu Ziqing smiled. “I’ve refined the Qingyun Needle further, but it still falls short of what I envision. I expect I won’t be able to advance it again until I condense my Dao Seed.”
Yun Lie nodded. “Cultivation depends on steady refinement. There is no need to be anxious.”
Xu Ziqing answered solemnly, “I understand. Please continue to guide and supervise me, Senior Brother.”
Yun Lie naturally agreed.
Perhaps the other beasts had been testing them. None came out to provoke them afterward. Xu Ziqing suspected that those in the deeper plains were more cunning than their counterparts near the edge, perhaps because they had encountered stronger enemies.
The golden-horned three-horned beast he had just killed was far stronger than others he had encountered, and defeating it had consumed considerable true essence.
Now Yun Lie made his move.
A spiritual sword appeared in his hand, and he slashed horizontally.
An icy sword blast condensed boundless killing intent into a terrifying sheet of white light. It swept through and severed the wild grass extending a hundred li ahead!
The residual power continued outward, spreading even farther. Much of the remaining grass frosted over and withered abruptly before the force finally dissipated.
Shredded grass scattered on the wind, revealing a broad expanse of open ground.
Only then did Xu Ziqing see that at least several hundred three-horned savage beasts had been lying hidden in the grass!
And among them were five four-horned beasts that led the herd!
He gasped.
Such an enormous herd was practically equal to hundreds of Foundation Establishment and Essence Transformation cultivators accompanied by five Golden Core Perfected Ones. If they all charged together…
Yun Lie’s expression remained unchanged.
Xu Ziqing understood that this herd, terrifying to him, was an ordinary opponent in his senior brother’s eyes. Fighting it was nothing more than routine training.
Sensing the overwhelmingly powerful sword blast passing overhead, the herd rose in unison. Each beast was ferocious, nearly a zhang long and almost as tall as a person. Their movements shook the ground.
Their horns were razor-sharp and glittered with cold light. Each was two chi long and could easily punch a bloody hole through a person’s body. Their hides bristled with barbs that could shred flesh upon contact!
Such savage creatures became terrifying beyond measure when gathered into a herd.
Yun Lie held his spiritual sword and said, “Stand back.”
Xu Ziqing obeyed. He felt a faint weight settle upon his body, as though he had entered a special domain. Within it the sword qi was bitterly cold, yet did not hinder his movements in the slightest.
He immediately realized that this was a “domain” created by his senior brother. Though he did not understand how Yun Lie had formed it, he could see that his senior brother possessed far more remarkable abilities than before.
Xu Ziqing assumed he would be able to observe Yun Lie battle the savage beasts while also experiencing at close quarters the pressure of being surrounded by so many enemies whose power was comparable to his own!
For an instant, he felt as if he had returned to Ruyi Immortal Estate. Then, countless demons had been arrayed before them. Now, those enemies had become savage beasts.
The one thing unchanged was his senior brother, standing before him alone with a sword, cutting through every obstacle. In the past Xu Ziqing had followed behind him without being able to help. But now things were different. Surely he should be able to assist!
Yun Lie finally swung his sword again, and Xu Ziqing’s heart surged with excitement.
Icy sword light shot into the sky. One slash sent several beast heads falling. Yun Lie did not hesitate, but strode forward, killing every savage beast toward which his sword pointed.
Xu Ziqing did not remain in place. He followed closely, never leaving his senior brother’s side.
Yun Lie’s attacks were fierce and overwhelming, crushing everything before him. Yet Xu Ziqing was not afraid. Instead, he repeatedly released the Qingyun Needle to guard his senior brother’s rear.
Thus Xu Ziqing slew one beast with each needle strike, while Yun Lie cut down ten with every step. Before long corpses covered the ground. Blood gathered in the air as red mist and, growing thicker, began to fall like rain.
The battlefield was soon filled with a storm of blood and sword qi.
Then Yun Lie said, “Ziqing, release Rongjin.”