Chapter 590: Six-Tailed Heavenly Fox

Wind Rises in Kyushu

Before implementing his plan, Lu Ye had never imagined that the one obstructing its completion would be Juji.

This was truly absurd.

Things had come to this: to kill the fox demon while she was under Juji's protection, Lu Ye would first have to kill Juji, a consequence he absolutely could not accept.

Although his previous attacks were merciless and incredibly violent, he had held nothing back because he knew Juji could withstand them.

Now, seeing the fox demon vomit blood, Lu Ye's eyes lit up. He suddenly realized that to kill the fox demon, he didn't necessarily need to kill Juji. He only needed to maintain his previous offensive. Juji could endure, but the heavily injured fox demon absolutely could not withstand the shockwaves from their clash, no matter how well Juji protected her.

With this thought, Lu Ye lunged at Juji again, his blood essence and spiritual power surging as he fiercely wielded his blade.

Again and again, brutal strikes were parried. Each confrontation caused Juji's body to tremble, and with him, the fox demon in his arms was also affected.

As time passed, the spiritual power barrier on Juji's body continuously shattered and reformed. Lu Ye, too, was panting.

Against cultivators of the same level, his current strength was usually enough to finish them in a single strike, but facing Juji, Lu Ye felt a profound sense of powerlessness. This guy's defense was outrageously strong.

Yet, the effect was significant. Although Juji remained unharmed, the fox demon he cradled continuously spat blood, her aura growing weaker.

Then, at a certain moment, as Lu Ye's blade fell, Juji unleashed a punch that landed squarely on the Panshan Blade.

The spiritual power on his fist shattered, and a slight indentation appeared on Juji's fist. Lu Ye was also sent flying by the force of the punch.

Just then, the fox demon, who had been protected in Juji's arms, as fragile as a candle in the wind, suddenly leaped up and lunged straight at Lu Ye.

Lu Ye was startled.

Since being drawn into this Nine Palaces Diagram, the fox demon had appeared frail, on the verge of death. As Lu Ye and Juji clashed, her condition seemed to worsen, leading Lu Ye to believe she was almost gone.

But seeing her posture now, it seemed everything before was merely a disguise, for this very moment of counterattack.

This caught Lu Ye completely off guard. As he spun through the air, he saw the fox demon's pale face filled with a ruthless and decisive expression. From her outstretched jade hand, five sharp claws suddenly protruded, aiming straight for Lu Ye's head.

Lu Ye hastily stabilized himself, striking out with his blade, directly slicing the fox demon's figure in half.

There was no scream, no blood flowed, and even as the blade passed, there was no sensation of cutting through anything solid…

A great danger assailed him from behind, accompanied by Yiyi's cry of alarm.

The fox demon's figure, cut in half before him, disintegrated. This was clearly just an afterimage!

At the same time, Lu Ye clearly detected a fatal aura assaulting him from within a foot behind him.

During this period, taught by Xia Liang, he had been practicing the Mind's Eye secret technique, refining himself daily in the Mirage Realm. His Mind's Eye secret technique had reached a minor mastery, allowing him to clearly perceive any attack that entered within a foot of him.

His body reacted before his mind. A spiritual pattern of guardianship suddenly appeared behind his head, and at the same time, Lu Ye thrust his long blade backwards.

With a cracking sound, the newly formed spiritual guard shattered. Lu Ye felt a cold stinging sensation on the top of his head; a sharp aura pierced his skin and pressed against his skull.

An unprecedented crisis enveloped his mind and body. Lu Ye knew that if the opponent didn't withdraw, he would surely die in the next moment.

Fortunately, while activating the spiritual pattern of guardianship, he had also thrust his blade backward. It was this very strike that saved him from being killed.

The fox demon decisively withdrew, flying backward, because if she hadn't, she would have ended up in a mutual destruction with Lu Ye.

This was something she absolutely could not accept.

In front, Juji, who had been repelled, stabilized himself and was about to charge at Lu Ye.

Lu Ye roared, "Yiyi!"

As his words fell, an invisible force spontaneously arose. The space around Juji warped, and then, Juji completely disappeared!

He had been forcibly sent out of the Nine Palaces Diagram by Yiyi.

The Nine Palaces Diagram was a spirit-grade treasure. As Yiyi's cultivation improved, its power grew stronger. With Yiyi's current strength, comparable to a Cloud River Realm third-layer cultivator, controlling the Nine Palaces Diagram meant she could not only draw enemies into it but also interfere to a certain extent.

Juji had always protected the fox demon in his arms. Lu Ye had been wondering how to separate them, because once they were separated, Yiyi could use the power of the Nine Palaces Diagram to send Juji away, allowing him to attack the fox demon without restraint.

But Juji had never given him the chance. Unexpectedly, the fox demon, in her eagerness to kill him, had created such a golden opportunity.

How could Yiyi miss such a chance? Even without Lu Ye's command, she would have immediately sent Juji away.

As Juji suddenly vanished, a look of panic flashed across the fox demon's pale face. She realized she had made an extremely foolish decision.

She was so regretful her intestines almost turned green.

Her original intention was to kill Lu Ye. In fact, if she hadn't flinched in that instant, Lu Ye would have been dead for sure. But how could she be willing to perish with Lu Ye?

Now that Juji had been sent out of the Nine Palaces Diagram, leaving her to face Lu Ye alone, her chances of survival were slim.

A sorrowful smile appeared on the fox demon's face. After finally avenging her master, she unexpectedly found herself in such a perilous situation. Was this the retribution for all the bad deeds she had done over the years?

Lu Ye turned, five finger marks on his scalp, blood flowing profusely and dripping down his cheek, adding a fierce edge to his otherwise calm expression.

"It's just you and me now!" he said indifferently, and the fire on the Panshan Blade ignited once more.

A look of determination emerged on the fox demon's weary, weak face. Although she knew her chances were slim, she would not sit idly by! She had not yet returned to inform her master that his vengeance was complete, so she could not die no matter what.

From an unknown source of strength, the fox demon, who should have been at the end of her tether, surged with demonic energy. With a dull thud, she suddenly revealed her true form.

It was a celestial fox, over ten feet tall, with snow-white fur, a pointed snout, and emerald eyes, exuding an irresistible beauty. Behind her, six fluffy tails swayed freely.

Even in her true beast form, the fox demon exuded an extreme allure, enough to make anyone who saw her lose their composure.

Even Lu Ye, whose killing intent was resolute, felt his mind subtly waver for a moment upon seeing the fox demon's true form. However, his eyes quickly regained clarity.

A low growl emanated from the fox demon's throat, her emerald eyes reflecting Lu Ye's figure, filled with unwillingness and fury.

Without waiting for Lu Ye to attack, she suddenly flicked her fluffy fox tail, and several pink fox-fires swiftly shot towards Lu Ye.

At the same time, she darted forward, lunging at Lu Ye.

Lu Ye's long blade chopped down repeatedly, shattering the fox-fires. However, the shattered fox-fires did not vanish but transformed into many smaller flames.

Lu Ye, slightly inattentive, got a few specks of fox-fire on him. Instantly, several holes appeared in his clothes, and a slight stinging sensation spread across his skin. But more importantly, Lu Ye's mind began to violently shake.

The feeling was like an invisible impact violently assailing his mind, causing golden stars to explode in his vision and illusions to proliferate. For a moment, green, purple, white, gold, and various other colors filled his sight, obscuring everything else.

These fox-fires... had little direct destructive power, but they could shake the mind!

Lu Ye reacted immediately, but it was too late. The fox demon lunged in front of him, her sharp claws slashing down. With a tearing sound, Lu Ye's shirt ripped, and several deep wounds, exposing bone, appeared on his chest, leaving a bloody mess.

During her fight with the berserk giant ape, the fox demon had not attacked once, only stabbing the ape with her sword when it was on the verge of death. So Lu Ye's understanding of her was merely that of a demon beast comparable to a Cloud River Realm ninth-layer cultivator.

He had no idea that the fox-fire she used would possess such a bizarre ability.

However, fox demons naturally possessed innate talents for manipulating minds, so it was understandable that this fox-fire, while not very lethal, could affect one's mental state.

But this strange ability, at the Cloud River Realm level, was insurmountable.

In a single exchange, Lu Ye was injured. He used the force of her attack to retreat, seizing the opportunity to strike out with his blade, but the fox demon was incredibly fast and quickly dodged.

Just as he stabilized himself and his disoriented mind settled, the fox demon's fluffy tail flicked, and several more fox-fires assailed him.

Having suffered once, Lu Ye would not be caught out again. He immediately dodged, but the fox-fires clung to him like maggots on bones.

They exploded upon drawing close, sending sparks flying everywhere. Even though Lu Ye activated his spiritual guardian pattern in time, he couldn't completely avoid them.

A few more sparks landed on him, and Lu Ye's vision once again filled with illusions, rendering him unable to see.

In that instant, the Mind's Eye secret technique proved remarkably effective.

He had been caught off guard and his mind was shaken the first time, so he couldn't defend against the fox demon's attack. But this time, being prepared, he immediately sensed an attack approaching within a foot to his left.

The Panshan Blade chopped down with a roar, the flesh on his right arm subtly bulging.

A faint, infant-like cry of surprise was heard. By the time Lu Ye regained his senses, the fox demon had stopped ten feet away from him, her snow-white fur stained with crimson blood. She was injured, and her emerald pupils were filled with shock and suspicion, clearly not expecting Lu Ye to be able to accurately counterattack in such a situation.

"Yiyi!" Lu Ye called softly, wanting her to provide some assistance.

"I can't, Lu Ye! Juji is chasing me!" Yiyi's voice entered his ears.

If undisturbed, Yiyi could still activate the power of the Nine Palaces Diagram to help. But after she forcibly sent Juji out, he had been chasing her relentlessly. Yiyi was also helpless; at present, she could only maintain the operation of the Nine Palaces Diagram, providing Lu Ye with a battlefield to kill the fox demon.

Fortunately, although Juji was physically strong, his biggest weakness was his lack of speed, so for the time being, Yiyi was safe on her end.