Chapter 271: Behave Yourself
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A vast mountain range stretched endlessly, resembling a swimming dragon, with occasional beastly roars that startled birds and sent them flying.
At the forefront, Little You kept her head low, her nose twitching as she paused now and then to think. Her round fox eyes were focused and serious.
“Little You…”
“Shh.”
Yu Zhao gestured for silence toward the small fox who had spoken.
The little fox obeyed, covering her mouth with her paw while her two little tails swished restlessly behind her.
The other foxes also dared not disturb Little You. They only began chattering noisily again when she resumed leading the way.
For three days, they traveled in this pattern, stopping and starting intermittently.
On the third day, a thunderous roar erupted in the distance, shaking the mountains as if a dragon had lifted its head. Dust and smoke rose high into the sky.
Yu Zhao squinted at the horizon and faintly made out the dust clouds ascending.
Little You leaped onto her shoulder, standing on tiptoes to peer into the distance. She mumbled something about how there could be a fight between demonic beasts here.
While there wasn’t a strict prohibition against fighting within the Dragon Pool Mountain Range, it was rare for demonic beasts to break the unwritten rule. Such actions were seen as provocations to the entire race, and no beast dared risk such defiance.
The commotion was far away. After watching for a while, Yu Zhao was about to withdraw her gaze when a dozen streaks of light appeared in the distance, charging forward in a line.
Yu Zhao’s expression changed.
This is bad—Nascent Soul cultivators!
Worse, they were heading in her direction.
Reacting swiftly, Yu Zhao swept her right hand forward. Her spiritual power transformed into ropes that tied around the little foxes’ waists.
Then, with a light step, her figure darted to the left.
The little foxes followed, pulled along by the strong tether.
Despite Yu Zhao’s quick response, her movements still caught the attention of the cultivators.
One man in a purple robe exclaimed with delight, “Nine-tailed fox cubs! I’ll catch them!”
“Old Xie, I’ll join you!”
“Count me in!”
“Good, let’s work together. Catch as many cubs as we can!”
An elderly woman in the group warned, “Make it quick. The demonic beasts are chasing us!”
“Don’t worry,” Old Xie sneered. “With Wu Ying Zi and Tuo Tuo helping me, we’ll finish this quickly.”
As he spoke, three figures separated from the group, heading straight for Yu Zhao.
“Yu Zhao, three of them are chasing us!” Little You shouted anxiously. She clung tightly to Yu Zhao’s robe, her eyes fixed on the approaching Nascent Soul cultivators.
Too nervous, her sharp claws almost pierced through Yu Zhao’s shoulder and into her skin.
Yu Zhao remained silent, focusing all her energy on maximizing her spiritual power.
But despite her best efforts, the distance between her and the three cultivators continued to shrink.
Though unrivaled among her peers, Yu Zhao couldn’t compete with these experienced Nascent Soul-stage practitioners. Her disadvantage wasn’t due to lack of talent but rather limited time spent cultivating. Given more time, the situation would undoubtedly change.
For now, however, she was in grave danger.
“Nine-tailed foxes are renowned beauties—looks like the reputation is well-earned.” Old Xie’s lecherous gaze roamed over her, his crooked smile full of malice.
The other two cultivators, radiating murderous intent, blatantly ogled Yu Zhao and laughed wildly.
Sensing their ill intentions, the little foxes bared their teeth and shrieked in anger.
Yu Zhao’s expression didn’t change. She gripped the rope firmly with her right hand and, with a powerful tug, swung the foxes away from danger. Then, with her left hand, she summoned the Fleeting Life Mirror.
The black surface of the mirror gleamed with a ghostly light under the sun.
Old Xie and his companions suddenly felt their vision darken and their steps falter.
Wu Ying Zi and Tuo Tuo recovered quickly, failing to notice anything unusual. Without hesitation, they continued their pursuit.
After traveling dozens of miles, they realized Old Xie had stopped. Turning back, they shouted impatiently, “Old Xie! What are you doing? Hurry up!”
Old Xie slowly raised his head, his expression twisted into a sinister grin. From behind his back, he pulled out a massive crescent moon scythe.
“Die!”
The silver blade sliced through the air, unleashing a dazzling light.
The razor-sharp energy howled as it surged forward.
Clang!
Boom!
Two distinct sounds of impact rang out simultaneously.
Wu Ying Zi and Tuo Tuo were blasted hundreds of meters back, their internal energy in chaos.
Furious and shaken, they knew that if they hadn’t reacted in time, they would’ve been gravely injured, if not dead.
But where were they? The Dragon Pool Mountain Range—the demonic beasts’ domain. Injuries here often meant certain death.
Suppressing the blood rising in their throats, they cursed, “Old Xie, are you insane?”
Their answer came in the form of relentless scythe strikes, raining down like a storm.
“Old Xie! I’ll skin you alive!”
“Wu Ying Zi, let’s take him down together!”
“Agreed!”
The battle between the three Nascent Soul cultivators was a chaotic spectacle of flying debris and trembling mountains.
Even after fleeing thousands of miles, Yu Zhao could still feel the turbulent energy in the air.
She sighed in relief, thinking they had narrowly escaped disaster. But her expression soon hardened.
One end of the rope was empty.
Yu Zhao remembered that a fox named Ah Chun had been tied there.
Spinning around, her gaze pierced through the mountains to an elderly woman in the distance. In the woman’s grasp was a plump two-tailed fox, crying and struggling, calling out Yu Zhao and Little You’s names.
“Damn it.”
Yu Zhao cursed under her breath. She was about to turn back and rescue Ah Chun but hesitated, unwilling to leave the other panicked foxes unprotected.
“You all stay here and don’t move. Little You and I will save Ah Chun.”
Yu Zhao was surprised by Little You’s decisive tone as she stood on her shoulder.
Despite their evident fear, the little foxes nodded, expressing their support.
“Ah Chun is the most timid. Little You, you must bring her back.”
“Yu Zhao, we’re counting on you.”
“We’ll be fine—just hurry!”
Little You’s face was serious. “Yu Zhao, Ah Chun is our companion. We can’t abandon her.”
“I understand.” Yu Zhao ruffled Little You’s head before grabbing her scruff and tossing her forward.
“You stay and watch over them. I’ll rescue Ah Chun.”
Little You, stunned, watched Yu Zhao’s figure vanish into the distance.
A puff of air landed on her head, followed by a tug on her neck.
Looking up, Little You’s eyes widened. “Hua Tu? It’s you! Let me go!”
Hua Tu placed Little You on the ground, then ruffled her fur.
“You think I wanted to catch you? That fox girl threw you to me and told me to look after you. Now behave yourself.”
Hua Tu had rushed over after hearing the commotion. Along the way, he’d learned from other beasts that human cultivators had attacked, capturing dozens of demonic beast cubs while the adults were scattered. They were now fleeing.
Furious, Hua Tu had been tracking them when Yu Zhao found him, leaving him no choice but to protect the fox cubs.