Volume 1 Volume 5 Chapter 145

Volume 5 Chapter 145: The Unruly Demon Fox

To be honest, just now when facing the nine-tailed demon fox, Mr. Liu felt a bit of disdain in his heart.

A heavenly level demon beast is indeed as strong as a Mahayana Stage cultivator, but high-level cultivators have a natural advantage when facing demon beasts. After all, every cultivator possesses powerful magic tools or treasures and has mastered various intricate cultivation methods. Mr. Liu is the best among them. In comparison, the demon beast clan has no advantages besides their strong bodies. Therefore, in battles between cultivators and demon beasts of the same level, cultivators usually prevail. Moreover, the stories of cultivators defeating demon beasts of higher levels in history are not all just legends.

"First, I will strike with all my strength to heavily injure this nine-tailed demon fox. As long as its power is greatly reduced, even if I face five opponents, I still have a chance to win."

As Mr. Liu dashed toward the nine-tailed demon fox and the other five heavenly level demon beasts like lightning, he secretly calculated in his heart.

After making up his mind, Mr. Liu no longer hesitated. While pouncing forward, he slightly closed his eyes, making a sword gesture with his hand. His previously lazy expression suddenly radiated an extraordinary air of authority. At the same time, a purple mist rose from his forehead, growing immensely and covering the entire world, turning "Wolf Howling Mountain" into a purple realm while he remained in blue.

"The Righteous Spirit" is the most powerful secret method Mr. Liu has practiced over the years. It is the nemesis of all foul energies in the world and has a strong suppressive power over all living beings that have committed acts of violence. After hearing that Liu Huaxiang died because of Zhang Xusheng, Mr. Liu specifically trained against Zhang Xusheng’s dark magic and Immortal Body. Now, he was using it in advance to deal with the nine-tailed demon fox.

Once the purple realm formed, Mr. Liu’s eyes glowed purple, and his aura became even more imposing. He took a deep breath, causing his clothes to billow, and with both hands making wide sweeping motions, a glimmer of gold formed between his arms. Then, Mr. Liu pointed with his finger, directly aiming at the approaching nine-tailed demon fox.

The faint golden light shot toward the nine-tailed demon fox like lightning. Though the golden light was weak, it harnessed the power of the entire purple realm. Wherever it went, the purple mist surged, and massive bolts of lightning shot forth, thundering continuously. The ordinary demon beasts in front of the nine-tailed demon fox, whether high-level Earth or beginner Human, instantly suffered heavy casualties.

When the golden light reached the front of the nine-tailed demon fox, the power of the lightning unleashed from the purple realm also reached its peak. Thousands of bolts of lightning shot toward the nine-tailed demon fox from all directions, each one seemingly bearing the power to destroy the world.

"The vastness of heaven and earth, the art of heavenly punishment," is the most powerful move of righteous energy.

Facing such a strong attack, the four heavenly-level demon beasts beside the nine-tailed demon fox showed panic in their eyes, hurriedly trying to escape, but only the nine-tailed demon fox stood still, unwavering. If one looked closely, they could see a hint of disdain and cunning in the nine-tailed demon fox’s eyes!

"Boom… Boom… Boom…"

The lightning finally struck, and the sound was deafening. The area where the nine-tailed demon fox stood was filled with flying sand and stones. The once towering "Wolf Howling Mountain," under thousands of flashes of lightning, had transformed from a high mountain into a cliff. From the waist to the foot of the mountain behind the nine-tailed demon fox, nothing was left; it was as if half a mountain had disappeared.

Seeing the lightning strike the nine-tailed demon fox, Mr. Liu felt great joy. He was confident that no one in this world could escape unharmed from his attack. Under those thousands of bolts of lightning, the nine-tailed demon fox would either die or be severely weakened.

Despite this, Mr. Liu did not put away the treasure he had just taken out; he kept it in his hand just in case. It was a jade fan glowing with a green light, and this caution saved his life once.

After countless bolts of lightning struck, the aura of the nine-tailed demon fox had weakened until it vanished. Mr. Liu believed the nine-tailed demon fox was dead; although it seemed unbelievable that such a legendary demon beast could die so easily, the fact remained the same, and Mr. Liu quickly shifted his attention to the other four heavenly-level demon beasts that had just escaped.

But just as Mr. Liu was about to attack those four demon beasts, something incredible happened.

As the smoke from the lightning cleared, the figure of the nine-tailed demon fox, which had lost all its aura, slowly emerged from the mist. Once its figure became clearer, Mr. Liu was astonished to find that the nine-tailed demon fox had no injuries at all!

Soon, Mr. Liu turned his attention to the nine swaying tails behind the nine-tailed demon fox. He noticed that the tails were gently moving in a mysterious pattern, each one filled with a powerful Spirit Qi. As the nine tails moved, they pulled the Spirit Qi from the world, creating nine barriers that seemed distinct yet combined. It was these nine barriers that blocked Mr. Liu’s earlier confident attack, "Vastness of Heaven and Earth, Art of Heavenly Punishment," protecting the nine-tailed demon fox from any harm.

"Nine Heavenly Barrier Technique!?"

Quickly, Mr. Liu recognized the origin of this barrier, and he was filled with astonishment.

The Nine Heavenly Barrier is said to be the strongest defense in the cultivation world for thousands of years, able to resist any attack except for heavenly punishment. The last cultivator to use it disappeared in the Southern Wasteland three thousand years ago, and the technique had been lost. He never expected to see it again on this nine-tailed demon fox, which should not have any mystical powers.

In response to Mr. Liu’s shock, the nine-tailed demon fox showed a thoughtful expression, something not typical for a demon beast. Then, a look of realization and admiration appeared on its face. Suddenly, a sharp fox cry echoed through the air. As it cried out, a wisp of red mist quickly rose between its eyes, expanding rapidly into the sky, driving away Mr. Liu’s purple Spirit Qi and turning the colors of the world from purple to red.

Then, another fox cry rang out, and the nine-tailed demon fox opened its mouth to spit out a red light.

It seemed like a recreation of Mr. Liu’s "Vastness of Heaven and Earth, Art of Heavenly Punishment," except now the red mist replaced the purple light, and where the red light went, it summoned endless flames instead of powerful lightning.

Could it be that this cunning fox had already learned this incredibly profound cultivation method while Mr. Liu was using his technique?

As the red light flew toward him, waves of fire rushed in from every direction. Mr. Liu finally snapped out of his disbelief. He prepared to dodge, but to his horror, he found he was completely trapped and unable to move. In the distance, the nine-tailed demon fox had already changed the movement of its tails, now following a pattern for the "Nine Spirit Locking Body Barrier," another powerful technique that had long been lost!

At a critical moment, Mr. Liu suddenly thought it was strange that the last cultivator who could use the "Nine Spirit Locking Body Barrier" had also gone missing in the Southern Wasteland for thousands of years.

Since Mr. Liu reached the Great Completion stage, his mind has always remained calm like a still pond, which is why he could reach the peak of Great Completion. Over the past thousand years, Mr. Liu’s mind has only shown three moments of disturbance: once when he discovered that Li Xuhan’s true identity was his brother Liu Xiang, once when he learned of Liu Huaxiang’s death, and recently when he found out the true purpose of the "Ming" organization behind the disaster.

However, no one expected that in the brief moment of battling the nine-tailed demon fox, his mind could be stirred so uncontrollably, and even as the flames burned around him, Mr. Liu still wore an expression of disbelief.

Could those two missing cultivators have been killed by the nine-tailed demon fox? And did the nine-tailed demon fox learn their special skills before killing them, just as it seemed to suddenly master the "Vastness of Heaven and Earth" and "Art of Heavenly Punishment"?

But Mr. Liu is still Mr. Liu, one of the most powerful human cultivators. Just as the flames were about to swallow him, he finally became conscious again. The secret arts he practiced over the years were not limited to just "Righteous Qi." As Mr. Liu’s body trembled, the Five Elements Spirit Qi that surrounded him suddenly became chaotic, and seizing this moment, he transformed into lightning and quickly escaped the range of the fiery attack, although his clothes were scorched and he looked somewhat disheveled.

Mr. Liu, however, did not notice that at the moment he used his secret art to break free from the barrier that held him, the demon fox nearby revealed a thoughtful and cunning expression.

And just as Mr. Liu had barely escaped the fiery attack, he suddenly felt a sense of alarm, sensing a strong danger approaching from behind. He didn’t have time to cast a protective spell, so he waved his jade fan behind him, creating a powerful tornado that wreaked havoc for miles around. Then, Mr. Liu felt a sharp pain in his back, accompanied by a loud crash and a soft fox-like hiss behind him.

Gritting his teeth against the pain, Mr. Liu gradually landed on the ground. As the Spirit Qi flowed in his body, he checked his injured back and found three deep claw marks, as if he had been scratched by a wild beast. If he hadn’t reacted in time, he would have been torn in half by that beast.

Turning his head to look, Mr. Liu was once again filled with surprise, for the one who hurt him was the nine-tailed demon fox. The fox had already escaped the raging tornado and was standing where Mr. Liu had originally stood, its red eyes fixed on him with an intense gaze.

In the place where the nine-tailed demon fox once was, another nine-tailed demon fox still existed. However, under Mr. Liu’s gaze, it gradually turned into nothingness, revealing itself to be just an illusion.

After the events of the "Nine Heavenly Barrier," "Nine Spirit Locking Body Barrier," and "Vastness of Heaven and Earth, Art of Heavenly Punishment," Mr. Liu was no longer surprised that the nine-tailed demon fox could use illusions. It was just that, to deceive a Mahayana Stage master with its illusion, there were only a few kinds in the entire cultivation world. The fact that this nine-tailed demon fox could perform such a feat made it even more incredible in Mr. Liu’s eyes.

"Could it be that this nine-tailed demon fox is so intelligent that it can immediately learn the spells and techniques it has seen, and even improve them to fit its own style?"

Thinking of this, Mr. Liu found it unbelievable, but recalling what had just happened, it was indeed so. Although the "Vastness of Heaven and Earth, Art of Heavenly Punishment" had many flaws in its performance and some key aspects were not quite right, it still had a hint of magic. The flaws and mistakes seemed to prove that this nine-tailed demon fox had indeed learned "Vastness of Heaven and Earth, Art of Heavenly Punishment" simply by watching it once. It was unclear whether this nine-tailed demon fox was exceptionally intelligent or if it had gained miraculous abilities after evolving into nine tails.

When Mr. Liu thought of this, he looked at the nine-tailed demon fox. Besides being seven parts shocked, he had three parts curiosity. He discovered that the nine-tailed demon fox, looking back at him, also showed seven parts surprise and three parts curiosity.

"Then I will see just how powerful your learning ability is."

After the shock, Mr. Liu quickly regained his calm and thought of a plan to respond.

While he was deep in thought, the Spirit Qi in Mr. Liu’s body circulated, and all the injuries on his back had healed completely. After making his decision, Mr. Liu had no hesitation. He transformed into lightning and swiftly lunged at the nine-tailed demon fox, moving around it quickly and continuously casting various spells that were not very powerful but unusual to attack the nine-tailed demon fox. The demon fox showed great excitement, carefully observing the various spells Mr. Liu performed, and surprisingly did not rush to resist. Instead, it occasionally mimicked Mr. Liu’s movements, using the same spells to counterattack.

Confirming that this nine-tailed demon fox could indeed learn human cultivator spells at an incredibly fast speed, a strange smile appeared at the corner of Mr. Liu’s mouth.

"Even if you can learn all the spells, you are still just a demon beast. Many Taoist spells are not useful just by learning them!"

Mr. Liu suddenly stopped moving around and charged straight at the nine-tailed demon fox, shouting loudly.

As he shouted, Mr. Liu shaped his hands into a grand form, with colorful light flickering between them. Then, as he waved his hands, the five colors of light transformed into five small Spirit Sparrows that flew around Mr. Liu non-stop. The Spirit Qi of the world changed dramatically with the flight of these five Spirit Sparrows.

A large amount of Spirit Qi began to gather around Mr. Liu. In a moment, the density of the Spirit Qi around him reached an astonishing level, while outside of him, the Spirit Qi of the world quickly thinned.

If the Spirit Qi around is too concentrated and the cultivator knows how to control it, the power of the spells used will increase greatly due to the resonance of the Spirit Qi. This phenomenon is called "Spirit Surge" by cultivators. Mr. Liu’s ability is created based on the principle of "Spirit Surge."

Drawing the Spirit Qi of heaven and earth and using spells with enhanced power because of the concentration, while the opponent suffers from a lack of Spirit Qi and their spell power decreases, is Mr. Liu’s unique skill known as "Art of the Five Seals of Heaven and Earth." It is still intended for Zhang Xusheng, but it is clear that the strength of this nine-tailed demon fox is not any less than Zhang Xusheng.

With a very strong ability to imitate and observe, it has learned countless spells from human cultivators over thousands of years. Just now, it learned many spells from Mr. Liu, so at this moment, the nine-tailed spirit fox instinctively began to observe Mr. Liu’s ability, its eyes flashing with a slight red glow. Before Mr. Liu reached it, it was able to see the running path and principles of this ability, showing excitement in its eyes. Even though it has learned many spells due to its extraordinary observation and imitation skills, this "Art of the Five Seals of Heaven and Earth" is still quite exceptional.

But just as the nine-tailed demon fox prepared to return the favor, it finally realized it had been tricked.

Because the "Art of the Five Seals of Heaven and Earth" gathers Spirit Qi faster when the Spirit Qi is stronger, after the nine-tailed spirit fox used the "Art of the Five Seals of Heaven and Earth," it realized that in the current thin Spirit Qi of heaven and earth, the speed at which it gathered Spirit Qi was far behind Mr. Liu, who had gathered most of the Spirit Qi within several miles around him.

Moreover, the nine-tailed demon fox was using the "Art of the Five Seals of Heaven and Earth" for the first time. There were many unfamiliar areas, and many weaknesses. Because of this, the gathering speed of the Spirit Qi from heaven and earth was very slow. Although it gathered the Spirit Qi at the same time as Mr. Liu, the speed was not even close.

To make matters worse, just as it was using the "Art of the Five Seals of Heaven and Earth," Mr. Liu had rushed in front of it, holding a large blue knife that he did not have before. As he swung it, the knife grew many times larger and struck down fiercely at the nine-tailed demon fox, with a power several times stronger than normal.

Although the nine-tailed demon fox used the "Art of the Five Seals of Heaven and Earth," it only strengthened the thin Spirit Qi around it to a normal level, and its strength remained the same. How could it withstand Mr. Liu’s greatly enhanced attack?

This is also why Mr. Liu, knowing that the nine-tailed demon fox could quickly learn his special skill, still chose to use it. He understood that even if the nine-tailed demon fox could use it, it would no longer be his opponent by then.

Mr. Liu allowing the nine-tailed demon fox to learn his power also showed that he had made up his mind to kill it. He did not want the nine-tailed demon fox to become stronger by learning his special skill.

As the blade, now a hundred feet long, swung fiercely towards it with immense power, the nine-tailed demon fox lost its calm and curious expression, replaced instead with panic and a hint of anger. It had always prided itself on its intelligence, far superior to all other demon beasts and most humans, but it never expected to be outsmarted due to carelessness.

Even though it hurriedly retreated, Mr. Liu’s blade was too fast. Finally, a loud and painful cry echoed through the air. Although it narrowly avoided a fatal blow, the nine-tailed demon fox still received a terrible wound on its back, with red blood spilling out, creating a rain of blood that continued for a long time.

The other four heavenly-level demon beasts had been quietly watching the battle between the nine-tailed demon fox and Mr. Liu. When they looked at the nine-tailed demon fox, they occasionally showed admiration, almost like its followers. However, they did not expect the situation to turn quickly, and under Mr. Liu’s scheme, the nine-tailed demon fox soon fell at a disadvantage. They hurriedly rushed towards Mr. Liu to lend their support.

Seeing the four heavenly-level demon beasts charging towards him, Mr. Liu smiled lightly. The pressure on his body after using the "Art of the Five Seals of Heaven and Earth" was too great and could not be sustained for long. This was the perfect time to deal with all four of them in one go.

But the nine-tailed demon fox was very clever and quickly understood the situation. Ignoring its serious injuries, it raised its hand and let out a loud fox cry. Hearing the cry, the four heavenly-level demon beasts paused for a moment, but they seemed to trust the nine-tailed demon fox and immediately stopped running, rushing instead toward the battlefield at the top of "Wolf Howling Mountain."

Seeing the change in the four heavenly-level demon beasts, Mr. Liu became very anxious. The reason he wanted to fight the five heavenly-level demon beasts alone was to protect Xu Qingfan and the others on the mountaintop from harm. However, he never expected that the four heavenly-level demon beasts would ignore the battle between him and the nine-tailed demon fox and head straight for the mountaintop. If that happened, even though Mr. Liu could kill the nine-tailed demon fox, the over a thousand cultivators at the top would be wiped out by these four demon beasts.

After giving the nine-tailed demon fox a deep look, Mr. Liu realized it was smarter than he thought and had a clever plan. He then gritted his teeth, deciding to give up chasing the nine-tailed demon fox and intercept the other four heavenly-level demon beasts instead.

Unfortunately, the nine-tailed demon fox held too much hatred for Mr. Liu and would not let him succeed.

Suddenly, the nine-tailed fox made a move that Mr. Liu would never have expected, turning the tables on him!