Asura Mad Emperor

This newly born little fox's eyes shone like spiritual pearls, full of life and brilliance, and extremely adorable. It was caught by Ji Huo'er, with a timid light flickering in its eyes.

"What a greedy foodie you are, daring to run out and snatch the Spirit Fruit just after being born!"

Ji Huo'er cradled the little fox, which resembled a lump of coal, in her palm. Although she knew it probably couldn't understand her, she still spoke to it with a smiling, self-amusing tone.

"Lucky for you, you met me. If you met that ruthless woman, she would probably have slapped you away with one swing!"

Ji Huo'er's body contained the blood of the Fox Clan, which naturally made her feel a bit closer to this little fox.

"Squeak squeak squeak—"

The coal-like little fox let out a series of piercing squeaks. It began trying to wriggle free from Ji Huo'er's jade palm, but she playfully held on and wouldn't let it escape.

Eventually, the little fox poked its head out and kept calling towards a certain direction, its voice filled with anguish and urgency.

"Eh?"

"Are you asking me to follow you?" Ji Huo'er seemed to understand the little fox's intention, tilting her head in curiosity as she asked.

"Squeak squeak squeak." The little fox made another series of noises, even anthropomorphically nodding its head.

"No, I need to refine the Spirit Fruit. Otherwise, who knows which fellow will come and snatch it later." Ji Huo'er shook her head as she spoke.

Saying this, she started walking towards the Spirit Fruit.

"Squeak squeak squeak, squeak squeak squeak!" The closer Ji Huo'er got to the Spirit Fruit, the more anxious and agitated the little fox became, even going so far as to open its mouth and attempt to bite Ji Huo'er's palm with its tiny milk teeth.

Its appearance provoked a wave of pity from Ji Huo'er.

"Ah, forget it. I'll go see where you want to take me."

"Big brother, do you know how many other cultivators are nearby, and whether someone might suddenly barge in?" Ji Huo'er, afraid that someone might get to the Spirit Fruit before her, asked coquettishly through the Sound Transmission Stone before leaving.

Qinchuan's soul covered the entire Spirit Dragon Holy Land; he could see everyone's movements within the radiant screen. Qinchuan took a glance and saw that within several miles of the cave where Ji Huo'er currently was, there were no other cultivators.

After receiving confirmation, Ji Huo'er gave a pat on the little coal ball-like fox's head.

"Let's go. Where do you want to take me?"

"Squeak!"

The little fox seemed to understand Ji Huo'er's words, its cries now filled with cheer.

Ji Huo'er put the little fox down on the ground and let it lead the way in front.

Free from Ji Huo'er's demon claws, the little fox's eyes first shone as it eyed the Spirit Fruit, which was within arm's reach. After lingering for a while and taking another glance at Ji Huo'er,

It seemed to realize it had no chance of snatching the Spirit Fruit from this woman's hands. With reluctance, it withdrew its gaze and, like a rolling black ball, hopped and bounded back to where it had been hiding.

Although Ji Huo'er had previously reached the depths of the cave, this area was riddled with towering rocks and complex terrain, with many passages spreading out in every direction.

Ji Huo'er followed the little fox, winding through countless strangely shaped passageways and rocks, only to see the little fox suddenly bolt in front of her.

It actually charged straight at a stone wall that was as smooth as polished bronze.

"Hey, what are you doing!" Ji Huo'er cried out in alarm; the cave was full of Prohibitions and Laws, and recklessly touching these unknown places could lead to mild injury or even to your soul being scattered. Even she did not dare to move recklessly.

She was about to make a move to catch the little fox.

Just then, Qinchuan's authoritative voice came from the Sound Transmission Stone, "Don't move, let it go!"

Ji Huo'er then withdrew her Divine Skills.

The little fox moved like lightning, turning into a black furball, and suddenly slammed into the smooth stone wall.

The scene I feared, where it would hit the wall and end up with a bloody head, didn't happen.

Instead, when the little fox hit the stone wall, the originally smooth wall suddenly rippled with waves.

It was like a serene lake surface disturbed by a thrown stone, with holy light spreading and ripples swirling as wave after wave spread across the wall.

"Eh, there's actually a passage here!"

Ji Huo'er was surprised. Prohibition Laws covered the stone wall, and ordinary people dared not touch it casually. If the little fox hadn't led the way, she would have been unable to find it.

Seeing the little fox disappear behind the stone wall, Ji Huo'er didn't hesitate and also followed, slamming into the wall.

As her body entered the stone wall, Ji Huo'er could feel a slight resistance, as if entering water, the sensation was quite peculiar.

After a dizzying moment, Ji Huo'er found that she had arrived in a valley.

In the valley, birds sang, and flowers bloomed, full of vitality. In the center of the valley there was a lake with rising Immortal Mist, its surface was as green as jade. Around the shore, various kinds of spiritual medicines grew, none of them of a low age.

This was indeed a scene of a hidden sanctuary.

Just a moment ago, she was in an abyssal cave, shrouded in darkness, but upon arrival here, the sudden openness felt almost unreal.

The little fox ran towards the lake at the center of the valley.

Ji Huo'er looked in the direction it ran, and suddenly saw at the edge of the lake lay a black fox over three feet long, quietly lying there.

"Indeed, a descendant of the Demon Fox Ancestor!"

Outside Mount Sumeru, Elder Fu Hu had been watching Ji Huo'er's every move. When he first saw the little black fox, he suspected it was a descendant of the Demon Fox Ancestor.

He wanted to remind Ji Huo'er not to proceed further. Getting a Spirit Fruit was already an enormous resource, but sadly he didn't have a Sound Transmission Stone to contact her.

Now, seeing the adult Demon Fox, he was certain—it was the Demon Fox.

"It seems this Demon Fox has been seriously injured?" In the next moment, Elder Fu Hu clearly saw the state of the adult Demon Fox and thought to himself.

By then, Ji Huo'er had also noticed something was wrong with the Demon Fox.

The grass around the fox was stained bright red with fresh blood. Its chest to its abdomen was slashed open by some sharp blade, blood gushing continuously, dyeing the black fur a somber red.

Its eyes were still open, but there was no longer any light within, the eyes cloudy, it seemed on the verge of death.

"This big fellow must have been in a fierce battle with other creatures," Ji Huo'er immediately thought. The trail of beast corpses they encountered upon entering the cave must have been the work of this creature.

"It looks like she's the ruler of this place, but because of pregnancy, her strength was greatly reduced, and other creatures took the opportunity to grievously wound her. That's why she hid here, to give birth," Ji Huo'er conjectured as she observed the scene.

Because of giving birth, it transferred all of its vitality to the little one, renouncing the chance to live itself to ensure the survival of its offspring.

"So, you little one, you weren't stealing the Spirit Fruit just out of greed, but to save your mother," Ji Huo'er murmured to herself.