Zhou Yunxuan was delighted. He locked onto the direction of the crack and swung the golden longsword in his hand, sending a powerful Sword Qi slashing toward it.
"Boom!"
The Sword Qi struck the illusion, and it shattered instantly. Large swaths of white mist around them were blasted apart, revealing fragments of the real scene.
Seeing this, the Fox Demon's expression changed slightly. It had never expected Zhou Yunxuan to withstand such a powerful temptation from the illusion and find its weakness.
"Hmph, you've got some skill, but it's still far from enough!"
The Fox Demon let out a furious roar and swept its claws through the air. The remaining white mist within the Ghost Domain rapidly condensed, transforming into enormous white fox demons that lunged at Zhou Yunxuan with bared fangs and brandished claws.
A powerful, evil aura radiated from these fox demons. Every one of them possessed strength approaching that of an Evil-level peak anomaly.
Zhou Yunxuan poured his blood energy into the golden longsword and unleashed the top-tier sword technique passed down through generations by the Zhou family of Yunzhou City.
"Cloud Shadow Sword Art."
His figure flashed like lightning, and layers upon layers of sword shadows filled the air. Every sword shadow carried fierce Sword Qi, slaughtering the white fox demons.
"Shadow Kill!"
Zhou Yunxuan concentrated his blood energy in his eyes and located the Fox Demon's true body.
A massive sword body formed in an instant, and he thrust it forward.
"Ah..."
The Fox Demon's true body could not dodge in time. Pierced by this sword, which contained powerful blood energy and spiritual power, it let out a shrill, miserable scream.
Its body trembled violently. Black blood gushed from the wound, and the entire Ghost Domain began to shake violently because of the Fox Demon's injury.
"You... you actually found me!"
The Fox Demon's eyes were filled with venom and unwillingness. It had never expected Zhou Yunxuan to find its true body and deal it a grievous blow despite being in such a desperate predicament.
Zhou Yunxuan pressed his advantage, swinging the golden longsword again. Several streams of Sword Qi shot toward the Fox Demon like bolts of lightning.
The Fox Demon exhausted the last of its strength and condensed a layer of black baleful-intent shield to block them.
The Sword Qi crashed into the shield, erupting in a series of booming roars. The shield teetered on the verge of collapse.
"Zhou Yunxuan, even if I die, don't think you'll get off lightly!"
The Fox Demon screamed frantically. It was preparing to unleash one final self-detonation and perish together with Zhou Yunxuan.
The aura around the Fox Demon began to surge madly, while the surrounding space twisted beyond recognition.
Zhou Yunxuan's expression grew solemn. He knew exactly how powerful the Fox Demon's self-detonation would be, and he absolutely could not sit around and wait for death.
He swiftly circulated the blood energy throughout his body and unleashed the strongest move of the Cloud Shadow Sword Art—"Cloud Breaks Firmament."
The golden longsword shone with boundless radiance, and a Sword Qi containing the power to destroy heaven and earth slashed toward the Fox Demon.
"Boom!"
The Sword Qi collided with the Fox Demon, which was on the verge of self-detonating, erupting in an earth-shaking explosion.
The Ghost Domain collapsed instantly. A powerful shockwave spread outward, and all of the western part of the city was shrouded by this force.
Caught in the blast, Zhou Yunxuan was sent flying backward like a kite with its string cut. He crashed heavily onto the ground and spat out a mouthful of blood.
But he endured the pain and stared resolutely toward the direction where the Fox Demon had been.
The Fox Demon's baleful intent had completely dispersed as well.
Only then did Zhou Yunxuan breathe a sigh of relief. After briefly steadying himself, he rose and rushed toward the Demon Suppressing Division.
Yet on this battlefield, which had fallen silent, a white shadow suddenly appeared and shot into the darkness.
"Damnable human! You actually forced me to use a self-detonation escape technique!"
"My strength has even fallen to the Evil-level peak. Fortunately, the sealing formation has already weakened considerably. At most one year from now, My Lord will be able to break free. When that time comes, I'll make all of you pay with your lives."
The White Shadow darted wildly through the alleyways while muttering under its breath.
The next moment, voices rose from not far ahead.
The White Fox abruptly halted its sprint and peered out from the darkness.
A young man and woman were heading toward the city.
"This is... heaven helping me! Isn't that the city lord's daughter?"
This young man and woman were none other than the examination disciple team Zhou Ruixue had assembled.
Earlier, they had unknowingly left the inner-city area while killing anomalies.
A venomous glint flashed through the White Fox's eyes as it swiftly devised a vicious plan.
"Zhou Yunxuan, since you've made me this miserable, I'll start with your daughter and let you taste the pain of losing your closest kin."
The White Fox silently followed behind Zhou Ruixue, Li Yao, Lin Yu, and the others. Its figure merged into the darkness like a ghost.
Zhou Ruixue and the male disciples did not sense the approaching danger at all. They were excitedly discussing what they had gained from the examination.
"Ruixue, we killed quite a few anomalies this time. We'll definitely be rewarded when we get back."
Li Yao spoke excitedly.
Zhou Ruixue nodded with a smile. "That's right, but we can't become arrogant. There's still a lot we need to learn."
"Exactly. I told you that pauper from last time had no business being with us. The gap between us will only grow wider from here on out."
As they spoke, the White Fox seized its opportunity and suddenly sprang from the darkness, its claws sweeping toward Zhou Ruixue like blades.
Zhou Ruixue sensed an intense aura of danger rushing toward her. Shocked, she hurriedly twisted aside to dodge.
But the White Fox was too fast. Its claws still raked several bloody marks across her shoulder.
"What was that?!"
Lin Yu reacted swiftly, immediately drawing his sword and watching the White Fox warily.
"Hmph, a few little ants actually dare to act arrogantly before me."
The White Fox let out a cold laugh, and a powerful Evil-level peak aura radiated from its body.
Lin Yu felt this powerful aura, and his face instantly turned pale.
They knew full well that with their strength, they were no match for this White Fox.
"There's actually another Evil-level anomaly!"
"Quick, send a distress signal!"
Lin Yu instantly calmed down and signaled for the people behind him to send the signal.
"Heh heh, you want to send a signal?!
"Dream on!"
The White Fox sneered.
Then it swept out a claw, and baleful intent instantly surged forth.
It bombarded the position where Lin Yu and the others stood.
"Bang!"
The next moment, it exploded.
Several people were blasted away by the force and crashed into the surrounding residences.
The houses collapsed instantly under the impact, raising a cloud of dust.
The White Fox slowly paced forward, cruel light flashing in its eyes. It intended to take advantage of their injuries and wipe them all out in one blow.
"With little nobodies like you, you still think you can call for help from the outside world? Today will be the day you die."
The White Fox's voice was cold enough to pierce bone, as though it had come from the depths of the Nine Nether Hells.
However, just as the White Fox approached the ruins, a figure shot skyward from the dust. It was Lin Yu.
Although he had suffered injuries in several places and blood had dyed his clothes red, his eyes still held a resolute determination.
"If you want to kill us, get past me first!"
Lin Yu roared. At some point, a talisman had appeared in his hand.
This was a life-saving talisman his master had given him before he departed. It was said to be capable of unleashing power that surpassed his current realm.
Lin Yu bit his finger and dripped his blood onto the talisman. It instantly blazed with brilliant light.
A powerful wave of blood energy radiated from the talisman, forming a gigantic barrier that temporarily kept the White Fox at bay.
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