Chapter 657: Silver Fox Tribe Shelter

He calmly touched the spatial storage device in his possession. He had assumed that once Xifeijue died, the spell would be unknown, rendering the spatial storage device useless. Xiaoya's words greatly surprised him.

"How do you know?"

Xiaoya replied weakly, "My inherent talent is lip-reading. I recognized it one time when he was silently reciting it."

He hadn't expected such an inconspicuous talent to prove so useful. After a brief consideration, he said decisively, "All right! I'll take you there! Haimei, hold onto her!"

Haimei nodded. She put one arm around Jiang Fan and carried Xiaoya with the other.

Just as they were about to set off, the male silver fox tribe member, who was still spitting blood, showed a pleading expression: "Young Master Jiang, please save me too. I can't hold on much longer."

He had been in despair, but watching Xiaoya, whose injuries were even more severe than his own, not only being revived but also personally escorted back to the refuge by Jiang Fan, he suddenly felt a glimmer of hope.

Jiang Fan gave him a faint glance and said, "I can only protect myself right now. You'll have to rely on yourself." Not to mention he couldn't take any more people; even if he could, why would he save someone like that? What if he got back to the refuge and said, "You only saved me in passing, it doesn't count as saving my life"? That would be utterly sickening.

After coldly uttering these words, he activated the Cloud Shadow skill and flickered away. The male silver fox tribe member's desperate shouts followed him: "No! Don't leave me..."

Hundreds of *zhang* away, Jiang Fan could no longer hear his voice. A terrifying sword aura had landed just a hundred *zhang* in front of him. Fortunately, Jiang Fan stopped in time. Otherwise, he would have been directly struck by the sword aura!

"Why is it getting more intense?" Jiang Fan's gaze grew solemn. The moment he uttered this, another incredibly powerful fluctuation suddenly appeared around them. His scalp tingled. "The center of the battlefield is shifting towards this location! We must go!" If they fell into the center of the battlefield, even ten lives wouldn't be enough to survive.

Xiaoya quickly pointed the way. "Two thousand *zhang* in that direction, then go around that mountain, and we'll be there."

Jiang Fan dared not hesitate. He decisively activated Cloud Shadow, transforming into a streak of lightning as he sped away. And just as he had surmised, the battlefield was indeed shifting towards their location. Large swaths of terrifying attacks swept towards them.

Just as he barely managed to stop, above his head, the Qing Shan mountain range, which had stood for countless generations, let out a cracking sound. He looked up! A thousand-zhang giant sword had actually leveled the mountain range! Several majestic mountain peaks, with the oppressive sound of crumbling earth, rumbled downwards. A huge shadow covered the sky, enveloping Jiang Fan and the others. It also caused Haimei and Xiaoya's pupils to contract sharply.

Jiang Fan's eyes also grew serious, and he hurriedly activated Cloud Shadow. *Whoosh—* He instantly teleported several hundred *zhang* away, yet he still hadn't escaped the shadow of the crushing mountains. Gritting his teeth, he continuously activated Cloud Shadow. After a full five consecutive activations, and when the lightning energy in his body was almost completely depleted, light finally reappeared above his head. Not far behind him, a terrifying shockwave erupted as the mountains crashed to the ground! The violent air current nearly knocked them off their feet!

Without looking back, Jiang Fan decisively activated Sword Flight. He hugged the ground, circled the mountain ahead, and made a turn. Sure enough, he saw a pile of scattered rocks resembling the entrance to a secret realm. Xiaoya quickly bit the tip of her tongue and spat a mouthful of vital blood into the rock pile.

*Rumble.* The pile of rocks parted, revealing a passage leading underground.

"We're here!"

"What's the spell?" Jiang Fan asked urgently. They had to leave this place quickly. The center of the great battle had completely shifted to their location!

Xiaoya jumped off the flying sword and said quickly, "All taboos are lifted, great fortune!"

Jiang Fan noted it down, and decisively activated his flying sword, preparing to leave. But at this moment, a terrifying blade aura, surprisingly, struck precisely towards them! The mountains along its path were all cut in half. Haimei's face was filled with despair, and she couldn't help but scream. Jiang Fan's heart pounded violently. At this moment, he couldn't afford to care about anything else. His flying sword turned, transforming into an afterimage, and shot directly into the secret passage.

*Boom, boom, boom—* The entire world was replaced by colossal booming sounds. Jiang Fan's ears were ringing, and an incredibly fierce air current from behind sent him and his sword flying deeper into the passage. He finally stopped after crashing into a stone wall. Even with Jiang Fan's powerful physique, he felt as if his bones were about to fall apart. Fortunately, their lives had been saved!

"Young Master Jiang, are you alright?" Xiaoya, who had entered a step ahead of them, was less affected and in much better condition. She approached him with a concerned expression.

"I'm fine, but it seems we won't be able to leave this place for a while." Above their heads, the earth-shattering booming sounds continued relentlessly. There was no need to think; a group of Nascent Soul realm cultivators were clearly fighting above them. If they went out now, they would surely be annihilated.

Xiaoya's face showed lingering fear as she said, "Young Master Jiang, this place isn't very safe. Follow me further underground."

Jiang Fan looked hesitant. "Outsiders are forbidden from entering this place. If your tribe members found out you brought us here, it would cause you trouble."

Xiaoya bit her red lips slightly and said, "Let them punish me then. Young Master Jiang has saved my life twice. What is a little punishment for Xiaoya compared to that?"

Jiang Fan secretly admired her. This female silver fox was quite decent, much better than that tigress, Concubine Yunxia! After a moment of thought, he said, "How about this? If there's a place in the refuge where people can hide, just conceal us there. When it's calm outside, we'll quietly leave. We'll try our best not to cause you any trouble."

Xiaoya thought for a moment, and her eyes lit up as she replied: "The refuge is very spacious, with not many places to hide people. However, you could hide in the rooms of the two male tribe members who sacrificed themselves. The refuge has prepared rooms for every tribe member, and normally, we don't enter others' rooms without permission. Those two rooms are now vacant. You can just hide in there."

Jiang Fan nodded. "Okay."

Led by Xiaoya, they quietly made their way underground. This was an underground space much wider than any secret realm. Individual cave dwellings were carved into the mountain walls. It was quiet all around them. The Silver Fox tribe was a nocturnal race, and since it was daytime, almost all were in deep slumber. Xiaoya tiptoed and led Jiang Fan to a room with the number "Twenty-nine" on the door. Haimei and Lingshu were settled in the room next door. She made a shushing gesture and quietly returned to her own cave dwelling.

Jiang Fan understood implicitly. He quietly closed the door of the cave dwelling. He dared not speak or cultivate, lest spiritual energy fluctuations emerge and alert the Silver Fox tribe members. With nothing else to do, he could only rest. Coincidentally, the cave dwelling contained a wide, soft, large bed. He removed his outer garments and comfortably lay down on it. Listening to the faint sounds of battle above ground, he felt incredibly at ease. No matter how strong those Nascent Soul realm cultivators were, they couldn't possibly penetrate so deep underground.

As his mind relaxed, a wave of exhaustion washed over him. He had cultivated for seven consecutive days to break through to the fifth level of Core Formation, followed by another major battle after his breakthrough. His mental energy was significantly depleted. He closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

Meanwhile, at the Chieftain's cave dwelling, the door suddenly opened, and a slender figure emerged, looking tired. She was dressed in snow-white robes. Under the faint light, her slender face appeared as beautiful as a celestial being. She resembled an immortal banished to the mortal world.

From inside the cave dwelling, a weak voice of an old woman spoke. "You've worked hard. Saving the tribe members, and still taking care of me, a useless person."

Yunxia shook her head and said softly, "It's nothing. Just a little rest is all I need."

The chieftain said apologetically: "Then stay and rest in my room. Your room hasn't been cleaned since you joined the Demon Imperial Court."

Yunxia waved her hand. "It's fine. Weren't three tribe members captured? I'll temporarily use one of their cave dwellings tonight." After speaking, she swayed to a cave dwelling. She glanced at the characters "Twenty-nine" on the door, then pushed open the door and stepped into the pitch-dark room.