Chapter 1170: Three Tails

By observing the torch movements, it was easy to determine the direction of the Yao army's advance and not difficult to pinpoint the foxes' range of activity.

Next, the two kept moving, avoiding the Yao army, and entered the enemy's increasingly shrinking encirclement.

“What’s the contact signal? How do we find that den of foxes?”

He Lingchuan sighed: “There is one, but it tends to attract trouble.”

They found a sheer cliff. He Lingchuan took out Granny Zhu’s eyeball xun and began to play it, producing a mournful sound.

He was playing the 'Green Hills Melody,' a tune rarely heard in the human world.

Of course, he left the last hole on the xun uncovered.

The plaintive sound of the xun echoed between the mountains and clear springs, slowly drifting up towards the peaks.

He Lingchuan played with genuine force, allowing the sound to carry far in the silent valley.

In the past few months, Dong Rui had never heard him play the xun before. Now, hearing it again, he couldn't help but be surprised:

He Lingchuan’s skill seemed to have improved again. The xun's sound was lofty yet steady, with a hidden vigor within its mournfulness, the mastery just right.

This guy was usually incredibly busy; could he really have found time to practice secretly?

While playing the xun, He Lingchuan listened intently to his surroundings.

Since arriving at Julu Port, he had undergone another period of introspection and experience, which was reflected in his music, showing another subtle improvement.

When the melody ended, the echoes lingered.

The torches around them quickly converged towards their position—

The Yao army wasn't deaf; everyone could hear him playing the xun.

Shadows rustled in the surrounding forest, as if something was secretly observing them, but nothing rushed out to harm the two.

Fang Canran had said that even if the 'Green Hills Melody' wasn't used as a contact signal, it had a calming effect on the fox demon clan.

He was indeed right.

He Lingchuan’s gaze was sharp, and he instantly spotted the fox tails hidden in the forest.

But after the xun's sound faded, the foxes seemed to awaken and began to stir restlessly again, their eyes once more flashing menacingly at the two.

These were all demons who had tasted human flesh and drunk human blood; they no longer held their former reverence for humans.

A faint mist seemed to drift out of the forest. Ling Guang whispered to the two: “Put on your Clarity Charms.”

Fox demons are skilled at causing hallucinations.

Mirage demons create environmental illusions, making people mistake false for true; fox demons, however, create illusions of the mind, making you believe them instantly.

Their specialty lies in making inner perceptions manifest as reality.

So this dense mist didn’t actually exist; it merely made people believe they were engulfed in clouds.

The fox demons also used it to conceal themselves and launch their attacks.

Therefore, the simplest and most direct method was to wear Clarity Charms crafted by a pharmacist.

Several yellow foxes, larger than wild wolves, rushed over in an instant.

He Lingchuan didn't move: It was an illusion.

The real fox demons crept behind the two, launching a silent attack.

He Lingchuan, wielding his shield with one hand, smashed a fox demon away.

Another one seized the opportunity to leap, its movements as agile as a caracal, intending to blast He Lingchuan with fox fire.

This green fire had a stronger hallucinogenic effect. If sprayed, it wouldn't corrode bones and flesh like other true fires, but it could easily drive a person into madness.

However, He Lingchuan acted a step ahead, precisely gripping its neck, so the fire was choked in its throat and couldn't be sprayed out.

Gui Yuan jumped down from Dong Rui's shoulder, instantly transforming into a giant creature a zhang tall. It casually pulled up a small tree nearby and swept it across the ground!

Two foxes were sent flying.

“Easy!” Dong Rui stopped it, “Don’t kill the foxes!”

After all, only a few in the group were demons; most were still wild foxes.

They were here to do business, and it wouldn’t be good to start hostilities and commit slaughter immediately.

Gui Yuan rolled its eyes.

This was already holding back; otherwise, it would have pulled out its Purple Gold Staff!

The fox pack retreated immediately, and several larger fox demons finally made their appearance.

“Stop!” From deep within the forest, a human voice suddenly rang out.

He Lingchuan and Dong Rui stopped upon hearing the voice. The fox pack also immediately retreated, but still kept them encircled.

A red fox, as large as a calf, ran out of the woods. It glanced at the two and spoke in human tongue:

“Where are you from?”

“Mu.”

“Come with us.”

This was no place to linger; the Yao army was approaching fast.

The two followed the fox pack, ascending and descending. The night path was particularly difficult, and they couldn't use lights. Fortunately, their night vision was keen, allowing them to navigate the perilous, starless night as if on flat ground.

Descending into a hollow, the red fox went to a large rock and made two chirping sounds. He Lingchuan then saw something move in the shadow beneath the rock.

A stone door slid open silently.

The foxes ushered the two humans inside.

Afterward, the stone door silently closed again, leaving no trace.

Beneath them was an underground labyrinth created from fissures and crevices in the earth. Both humans had to duck and stoop to walk, unable to straighten their backs. Dong Rui even bumped his head twice—

This kind of underground palace was not originally built for humans.

Wolves and foxes are both skilled at digging burrows. He Lingchuan hadn't expected the White Ridge fox clan to develop this talent to such an extent.

The interior of the cave wasn't completely dark. The inner walls of the passages had a faint glow, similar to Granny Zhu Er's glowing spores, but He Lingchuan recognized them as certain bioluminescent fungi, providing only minimal illumination.

Foxes' night vision was far superior to humans', so this small amount of light was sufficient for them.

Dong Rui followed the foxes in front, going up and down, back and forth, for quite a while, feeling a little disoriented.

This labyrinth actually had several three-dimensional layers; no wonder the Yao army hadn't captured the great fox demon despite besieging White Ridge for three days.

A gentle breeze also flowed through the underground palace, indicating that there were vents nearby—these foxes were quite particular about their digging.

After a long time, they entered a natural grotto and finally met the main figure.

It was a giant fox demon, probably taller than a human when standing, but it was currently curled up on the ground, with a deep wound on its hind leg. Behind it, three tails swayed gently.

He Lingchuan had originally thought it would be pure white, but hadn't expected this demon to be just an ordinary fiery red; only its eyebrows were white, making it look as if it had four eyes.

Heh, he had read too many comic books from another world and had thought all powerful fox demons were white.

“You played the 'Green Hills Melody,' so Wang Xingyi sent you?”

“We were commissioned by the Royal Preceptor to escort you from here to Julu Port.” He Lingchuan glanced around. “You should be ready to relocate, shouldn't you?”

Indeed, his second mission in the Glimmering Gold Plains was to escort the fox demon clan of White Ridge to Julu Port to board a ship. This den of fox demons had lived here for decades, but their relationship with the local residents was poor. Recently, conflicts had escalated, and even the Yao state had begun to purge them.

Unlike other smaller states with meager vital energy, the Yao state, once it got serious, would cause the fox clan great losses.

The Royal Preceptor had traveled through the Glimmering Gold Plains years ago and had an old acquaintance with this three-tailed fox demon. Thus, he invited it to establish itself in the Mu State.

This task seemed not difficult, but He Lingchuan knew it wasn't as easy as it sounded. The fox demon was now further injured, making its movement even more difficult.

The Three-tailed fox demon sized him up: “Just the two of you, can you get us out?”

Dong Rui chuckled: “How would you know without trying? Besides, can you get out on your own?”

If the fox demons could escape, would they have waited until now?

The Three-tailed fox demon glanced at him: “If you hadn't come, I could have stalled for more time.”

“The last underground palace being exposed is only a matter of time.” He Lingchuan asked it, “Can you still walk?”

“I can, but I can hardly fight anymore.” The Three-tailed fox demon looked at its wounds. “The leg wound is minor, but the injury inflicted by the new Grand Overseer of Yao three months ago is the real problem. Also, the Yao army has already reached the place where you played the xun.”

“This is my pharmacist.” He Lingchuan patted the monkey on his shoulder, “Would you let it examine you?”

The Three-tailed fox demon nodded.

Ling Guang jumped down to examine its injuries.

During this time, He Lingchuan also had to quickly discuss countermeasures with the fox demon.

“If you stay here, you’ll be caught tonight.”

How could the Three-tailed fox demon not know? “We tried to break through, but no matter which direction we went, the Yao army could immediately send reinforcements and block the escape route a step ahead of us!”

It pointed its chin towards the torchlight on the mountainside: “Look, they know exactly where I am and are assembling troops to come here. This has happened countless times over the past three days. If it weren't for me having managed White Ridge for many years, and my children having built several underground palaces with complex subterranean conditions, we wouldn't have been able to hold out this long.”

“Are you saying the Yao army can predict your moves in advance?”

“More than that!” The Three-tailed fox demon's gaze was solemn. “I deduce they’ve known my exact location all along!”

It's just that previously it had been hiding in the underground palace. Even if the enemy knew its location, it wouldn't be easy for them to figure out the multi-layered, three-dimensional labyrinth.

“Several underground palaces have been successively sealed off by them, and the space to hide is shrinking.”

Understood, position tracking. He Lingchuan nodded: “We must escape tonight. Can this underground palace lead directly to the surface?”

“Yes. There are five exits here.”

Next question: “How many offspring do you have?”

“Originally nearly two hundred, now only these are left.” Sorrow filled the Three-tailed fox demon's eyes.

“These?” He Lingchuan scanned them at a glance, estimating there were fewer than thirty here, seven of the larger ones being fox demons, the rest ordinary foxes.

The Three-tailed fox demon reminded them: “The Yao army has activated a barrier in White Ridge that prohibits escape techniques, otherwise we would have been gone long ago.”

“Which escape technique do you know?”

“Wood Escape.”

The forest covered the entire mountain; if their escape techniques hadn't been hindered, the fox demon clan would have long since gotten away.

At this moment, wails suddenly echoed from a distance, making the dark night particularly chilling. Although they weren't human voices, He Lingchuan still discerned pain and fear in them.

The foxes present heard them, and the fur on their backs bristled.

This place was very close to the surface, and though it was unknown what spell the Three-tailed fox demon had cast, sounds from the surface could easily penetrate.

“As soon as the Yao army catches my offspring, they’ll flay them alive, making their wails echo through the mountains.” The Three-tailed fox demon’s ears constantly swiveled towards the direction of the sounds. “They know my position; they don’t need to torture my children.”

Its voice was laced with pain.

The Yao army tormented the captured fox pups, both to demonstrate their power to the Three-tailed fox demon and to make the fox pack tremble.

Fear and rage could easily lead to mistakes.

“If they can truly monitor your location, then they’ve planted a tracking divine ability on you or your offspring.”