Celestial Fox Bloodline

When his sister stepped on him, he immediately flinched, clearly accustomed to his elder sister’s reprimands.

As for his sister, Cui Lin, hearing his feeble reaction, she immediately knew that Yan Yun’s words held truth, prompting her to sigh with exasperation.

“Alas!”
“Young lady, this is an issue stemming from my Cui family’s lax discipline.”
“I am his elder sister, Cui Lin, and I implore you to forgive him this one time.”
“I assure you, I will take him back and impose stricter supervision.”

A wave of speechlessness washed over Yan Yun.

‘This isn’t lax discipline at all. With a brother so absurd and a sister so reasonable, this is purely an individual’s personal failing.’

Naturally, these thoughts remained unspoken, confined solely to her mind.

Unwilling to invite further trouble, she readily accepted this convenient way out of the predicament.

“Miss Cui, you are indeed reasonable.”
“To be frank, if I, a humble woman, weren’t eager to avoid significant trouble, in any other locale, your brother would already be a corpse.”
“Thus, I strongly suggest that upon your return, you educate him thoroughly.”
“He must learn not to casually provoke attractive women.”
“The Cui family, after all, is but a minor power on the Tianchen Continent, and relying on your influence to bully others could very well draw immense calamity upon your household.”
Yan Yun’s words carried a sharp undertone of warning.

Cui Lin cast a wary glance at her brother’s guards.

The fact that a single individual had effortlessly subdued several cultivators of the same realm, regardless of the underlying reason, clearly signified that the woman before them was no ordinary Spirit Transformation Realm cultivator.

Moreover, her status as an outsider made her even more formidable; she could very well be a prodigy from a major power undertaking a journey of experience.

“I understand.”
“Guards, take them all back immediately.”
“Cui Bin, are you not going to rise?”
“If you possess no shame, I certainly do!”
“Upon our return, I shall ensure that Father gives you a thorough lesson.”

With her words delivered, Cui Lin approached Cui Bin, seized his ear, and unceremoniously pulled him away.

The unconscious individuals were likewise carried off.

Only after they departed did Yan Yun finally let out a breath of relief, her gaze then sweeping over the onlookers.

“Esteemed cultivators, what I mentioned earlier still holds true.”
“Those who wish to participate, please step forward and register.”

The crowd, initially cowed by Cui Bin’s presence, now witnessed Yan Yun’s formidable power and, emboldened, began to step forward to sign up.

“Me, me, me!”

“Count me in!”

In this manner, Yan Yun swiftly gathered a hundred cultivators, predominantly those of the Spirit Gathering Realm, with only a handful of them having reached the Cavern Heaven Realm.

Once the recruitment was complete, Yan Yun advanced each cultivator ten spirit stones, subsequently leading them away from Qinghe City.

Once outside the city, Yan Yun swept her hand, conjuring an exquisite immortal dwelling into existence.

The sudden appearance of the immortal dwelling left the cultivators utterly dumbfounded, for such a treasure was beyond the reach of ordinary individuals; most would never acquire one in their lifetime.

“My heavens, an immortal dwelling!” gasped a knowledgeable individual, “The value of such an item must be at least several hundred thousand spirit stones!”

‘While such an item would command at least a million spirit stones in Jiang Country, the Dao Alliance’s territory, with its comparatively fewer spirit stones than the Righteous Dao Alliance, meant its value here was significantly less. What would cost a million there could be acquired for mere hundreds of thousands here.’

“Esteemed cultivators, I prefer the precise location of my cave dwelling to remain undisclosed.”

“I ask that you all remain inside this immortal dwelling for a short while.”
“Once we have arrived at our destination, I shall release you myself.”

The moment these words were uttered, a palpable sense of unease rippled through the gathered cultivators.

To surrender their lives to a stranger, whose origins and destination remained unknown, was an act of profound trust that few dared to consider.

‘What if this person is an insidious cultivator, intending to lure them into becoming human cauldrons for her dark arts? Such treacherous schemes were, unfortunately, far from rare within the Dao Alliance.’

Observing the myriad expressions of doubt etched upon their faces, Yan Yun immediately understood the cultivators’ reservations.

“Esteemed cultivators, I, a humble woman, swear to the heavens that I harbor no ulterior motives whatsoever.”

“My sole purpose is to conceal my dwelling’s location.”
“Should I harbor any intent to harm you, may a bolt of heavenly lightning smite me to death.”

It was a widely acknowledged truth that cultivators’ oaths carried immense power, thus Yan Yun’s solemn vow instantly assuaged their fears.

“Our apologies, Fairy, but we were merely concerned for our own safety.”
“Now that you have sworn such an oath, our worries have been completely laid to rest.”

With their anxieties settled, all hundred cultivators entered the immortal dwelling.

Once the last person was inside, Yan Yun retracted the dwelling and soared into the sky, heading towards the Wuyin Mountains.

Meanwhile, back at the Cui family compound, the moment Cui Bin was brought home, Cui Lin promptly presented him, along with the six unconscious men, before the Family Head Cui.

“Father, Mother, you simply must give this rascal a proper lesson!”
“He went out stirring up trouble again today, nearly losing his life in the process.”

She fumed, her voice laced with indignation.

Cui Bin, on the other hand, had been unceremoniously shoved to the ground by Cui Lin, now kneeling before a middle-aged couple.

He clutched his ear, his face a mask of profound injustice.

“What?!”
“Cui Bin, you little scoundrel, what mischief have you gotten yourself into this time?”

The middle-aged man demanded, his voice instantly flaring with anger.

Noticing his father’s furious outburst, Cui Bin meekly responded.

“I… I merely took a fancy to an outside female cultivator,” Cui Bin stammered, “and intended for her to become my concubine.”
“But who could have known that woman possessed such a fiery temper?”
“She struck me!”
“She’s siding with outsiders, seeing others harm her younger brother…”
“Mother, you should be punishing Elder Sister instead!”
Cui Bin, in a brazen display, twisted the narrative to blame Cui Lin.

The elegant noblewoman first cast a glance at Cui Lin, then her eyes drifted towards the six unconscious Cui family Spirit Transformation Realm disciples lying outside the door.

“Lin’er, how fare they?” the noblewoman inquired.

Cui Lin merely shrugged her shoulders in response.

“It’s nothing serious.”
“They merely fell victim to some form of poison.”
“That young lady showed considerable mercy; otherwise, with her formidable power, she could have effortlessly crippled this useless fellow and these six men for life, or even slain them all in an instant.”

The noblewoman and the middle-aged man instantly grasped the gravity of the situation.

“She must possess a cultivation at the Divine Mark Realm or higher, correct?” the middle-aged man questioned, his brow furrowed.

Cui Lin, however, shook her head.

“No, judging by her aura, she appears to have only just entered the Spirit Transformation Realm.”

These words caused the middle-aged couple’s expressions to freeze in shock.

Even the weakest among the six guards had reached minor accomplishment of the Spirit Transformation Realm, and their own son, despite his heavily inflated cultivation, was at major accomplishment of the Spirit Transformation Realm.

Yet, a single individual had effortlessly defeated him.

Such formidable combat prowess was beyond the capabilities of any minor sect or family.

Their immediate conclusion, mirroring Cui Lin’s, was that the woman must be a disciple from a powerful, influential sect, currently undertaking a journey of experience.

Such an individual was clearly not someone the Cui family could afford to antagonize.

“You wretched boy, daring to cause such trouble for your old man!”
“Lin’er, where is the whip?”

The middle-aged man’s fury erupted in an instant.

Cui Lin, with practiced efficiency, moved to a specific location and retrieved a specially crafted whip.

“Mother, save me, save me!”
“I was wrong, I truly know I was wrong!”
Cui Bin shrieked, utterly terrified.

However, his mother offered him no succor; instead, she merely lifted a hand and pointed, instantly pinning Cui Bin to the ground with an invisible force.

The middle-aged man then took a golden whip, crackling with arcs of lightning, and, stepping behind Cui Bin, delivered a thunderous lash to his backside.

The whip, infused with the raw power of lightning, struck Cui Bin’s flesh, eliciting an immediate and bloodcurdling shriek of agony from him.

“Argh!”

This specially crafted whip left no physical marks upon the skin, yet it inflicted a pain far more excruciating than any ordinary lashing.

Cui Bin’s agonized cries resonated loudly throughout the compound.

As time gradually passed, Yan Yun and her newly recruited cultivators had already reached the vicinity of the Wuyin Mountains.

However, as they traversed a particular area, Yan Yun abruptly sensed a distinct energy fluctuation.

It appeared that some cultivators were engaged in battle, yet the energy she perceived did not quite align with that of human practitioners.

‘The power of a demonic beast?’ Yan Yun wondered, casting a curious glance in that direction before soaring towards it.

In that direction, a white fox, roughly the size of a water buffalo, was locked in fierce combat with a wolf demon, whose body seethed with a sinister black demonic aura.

“You foul fox, you trespass into my territory every few days, do you truly believe I fear you?”
“Today, I shall feast upon your flesh!” the wolf demon snarled ferociously.

The white fox, in turn, let out a cold snort, its tail lashing out like a swift, sharp sword, thrusting directly towards the wolf demon.

Both creatures bore fresh wounds, and the chaotic scattering of shattered rocks nearby indicated that their brutal confrontation was far from over.

The ravaged environment suggested that the battle had been raging for quite some time.

When the wolf demon perceived the fox demon’s assault, its body dissolved into a series of flickering black shadows, continuously evading.

The fox demon’s tail, meanwhile, proved capable of cleaving mountains and shattering boulders.

“Hand over half of the spirit herb you’re guarding, and I shall cease my intrusions.”
“Otherwise, I vow to trouble you incessantly,” the fox demon declared.

“Delusional!” the wolf demon retorted, rejecting the offer without a moment’s hesitation.

Within his territory grew two Fourth-tier spirit herbs, Ice Marrow Cold Lotuses.

While these might be inconsequential in Yan Lingyun’s eyes, in the spirit-energy-impoverished lands of the Wuyin Mountains, they were absolute treasures.

Consuming them, depending on the demonic beast’s realm, could significantly boost their cultivation and accelerate their breakthroughs.

“You refuse?”
“Then I shall simply take it by force!”
The white fox continued to entangle him in battle.

Both were demonic beasts of the Spirit Transformation Realm, and their strengths were evenly matched.

The strongest demonic beasts in the Wuyin Mountains were likely only at the Divine Mark Realm, not beyond.

Yan Lingyun quickly arrived at the scene, observing from a distance.

Two demonic beasts.

“Oh, two Spirit Transformation Realm cultivators in battle?”
“Eh? Old Ancestor, this fox demon, why does she seem so unique?”
Yan Yun noticed something unusual about the white fox.

She was unlike an ordinary fox that had transformed into a demon.

Golden patterns shimmered across her body, and she possessed two tails.

Yan Lingyun instantly emerged from Yan Yun’s body, meticulously scrutinizing the white fox.

“This?”
“This little fox appears to possess a trace of Heavenly Fox bloodline!”
“This is a rare spirit beast, little one, you mustn’t miss this opportunity!”
“I suggest you capture her and raise her as a pet.”
“Who knows, in the future, she might even evolve into a true Heavenly Fox!”

Yan Lingyun’s words immediately stirred Yan Yun’s heart.

Such a mutated spirit beast, possessing the bloodline of a divine beast, was an exceptionally rare and sought-after treasure.

“Very well, since I’ve encountered her, I certainly cannot let her slip away.”
With that, Yan Yun flew towards them.

The white fox and the demonic wolf were by now completely locked in a chaotic struggle.

The white fox’s tails were tightly coiled around the wolf’s body, while the wolf’s massive jaws were clamped down fiercely on the fox’s front paw.

“You foul dog, release me!” the white fox roared.

“You release me first!”
“And I am a wolf, not a dog!” the black wolf corrected.

Neither side was willing to yield, and soon, both grew exhausted and collapsed to the ground.

It was at this precise moment that a figure suddenly descended from the sky, landing before them with a cheerful greeting.

“Silly, silly, you are both canines.”
“Why torment each other so?”

This sudden voice startled both the wolf demon and the fox demon, causing their fur to bristle simultaneously.