Tenth Rank Upper Grade

Meanwhile, several hundred zhang away, a figure silently swept through the night, swiftly heading toward a hidden region in the distance.

--Chu Ning!

At that moment, he had already used the movement technique of the Sky-Rending Shadow Flight Technique to travel through the darkness, evading every line of sight from the Wang family's patrols.

His eyes narrowed slightly as he sensed the churning energy within his body.

He had forcefully used a flying martial art just now, expending a tremendous amount of physical strength and true qi. Fortunately, he had succeeded.

Only...

His gaze instinctively fell to his arms.

The Little White Fox was curled tightly against his chest, its fur disheveled and its breathing faint.

"We need to find somewhere to rest."

His heart sank. Without hesitating any longer, he swiftly searched for a concealed place.

A moment later, he found a natural cave deep within a dense forest.

The cave was well hidden, its entrance screened by vines. The inside was dry and relatively safe.

He entered the cave, took out the Void Spirit Bell, and gave it a gentle shake.

A strange ripple spread from the bell, covering the entire cave and completely masking his presence.

"With this, even if the Wang family searches the entire bottom of the cliff, they won't find me."

He breathed a sigh of relief and gently placed the Little White Fox on the ground.

Faint moonlight spilled into the cave. The Little White Fox lay quietly on the ground, motionless.

"You stupid thing." A broken laugh escaped his throat, and blood seeping between his teeth dripped onto the Little White Fox's gradually cooling nose. "Who gave you permission to take that blade for me?"

Chu Ning crouched down and gently parted the Little White Fox's fur.

His fingertips touched a patch of coldness. The Little White Fox's breathing was already as faint as a thread. Its once-fluffy, snow-white fur was now clumped together, oozing dark-red scabs of blood.

Chu Ning gently placed his hand on the Little White Fox's chest and felt its weak heartbeat.

His heart trembled slightly.

This little creature had saved his life at the critical moment.

Without her, he might already have died at Eagle Beak Cliff.

His Adam's apple bobbed as he tremblingly took out the jade box he had treasured close to his body.

The instant the lid opened, crimson-gold light burst from the box, illuminating the cave walls as though they had fallen into a furnace of molten metal.

The Nine Revolutions Profound Sun Fruit leaped, scorching hot, in his palm, as if he were clutching a miniature sun.

The Nine Revolutions Profound Sun Fruit contained pure yang power and was a rare treasure of heaven and earth.

Originally, he had kept it for his own breakthrough.

But now...

He glanced at the Little White Fox, his gaze resolute.

"Forget it."

He gritted his teeth and brought the Mysterious Sun Fruit to the Little White Fox's mouth.

"Swallow it!" He pressed the fruit against the cracks in the Little White Fox's lips, gently pried open her mouth, and stuffed the fruit inside. "You stubborn little thing, stay alive for me!"

The instant the flesh touched her tongue, a sudden mutation occurred.

In the blink of an eye, the Little White Fox's body trembled violently.

The Demonic Power remaining within her seemed to ignite, and streaks of golden light spread along her fur.

The entire cave was instantly filled with a powerful surge of spiritual energy.

"Bzzz--"

An invisible ripple spread out, and the Little White Fox's body actually began to float slowly upward.

The Little White Fox's back curved into a full moon. Nine illusory tails surged out from her tailbone, casting the dharma form of a colossal fox onto the cave ceiling.

Profound blue runes spread outward from the markings of the Golden Cudgel Spell. Wherever they passed, charred skin sloughed away, and new fur emerged, gleaming with a cold, moonlit radiance.

Chu Ning was blasted three steps back by the wave of energy, staring blankly at the small beast floating in midair. A crystalline vertical eye had actually appeared between her brows. As its gaze shifted, the loose stones inside the cave rose into the air without any wind, arranging themselves into a constellation formation.

Chu Ning's gaze sharpened slightly.

Was this... a sign that she was about to break through?

"This Mysterious Sun Fruit... can actually help a demonic beast break through its realm?"

He retreated two steps, staring fixedly at the scene before him.

The Little White Fox's body was enveloped by the power of the Mysterious Sun Fruit, and a faint golden halo appeared around her.

Her injuries visibly recovered at a speed discernible to the naked eye. Her fractured bones reconnected, her charred fur fell away, and fur as white as jade was revealed beneath.

"Awoo..."

The Little White Fox suddenly let out a soft whine, and her tightly closed eyes slowly opened.

Within her pair of sapphire-bright pupils, faint golden flames were actually burning!

Chu Ning's eyes widened slightly.

"Her ocular technique... is evolving too?"

At that moment, the golden halo suddenly shook and transformed into a pillar of light that shot straight toward the cave ceiling!

Frenzied Demonic Energy swept through the surroundings, and the rocks inside the cave trembled with a buzzing sound.

Chu Ning was startled and hurriedly activated the Void Spirit Bell to prevent this power from leaking out.

Just then, the Little White Fox suddenly rolled over and lunged at Chu Ning, her sharp teeth sinking viciously into the back of his hand.

"Hiss--!"

Chu Ning furrowed his brows and was just about to pull free when he suddenly trembled.

"Boom!"

A violent, scorching aura instantly surged into his body through the wound.

His meridians seemed to be scorched by raging flames. His blood boiled, and his internal organs resonated together.

His meridians seemed to be scorched by raging flames. Every inch of flesh and blood appeared to be undergoing complete tempering, impurities incinerated amid the blazing inferno.

"This... is this the medicinal power of the Mysterious Sun Fruit?"

In the next moment, true qi roiled violently within him, surging through his meridians like furious waves.

"Is this... a breakthrough?"

Chu Ning sat cross-legged and frantically circulated the Primordial Qi Cultivation Method. Every pore across his body opened, greedily absorbing this pure yang spiritual power.

Chu Ning suddenly threw back his head. He felt the strength throughout his body surging more powerfully than ever before, while the qi and blood within him rushed like great rivers, continuously flooding his limbs and bones.

Tenth Rank Middle Grade—breakthrough!

Chu Ning's muscles trembled faintly, and all the bones in his body cracked loudly, as though they were being tempered into steel.

Golden radiance flickered across the surface of his skin, and an unprecedented power surged through his body.

He suddenly opened his eyes, and a streak of lightning flashed through their depths.

Tenth Rank Upper Grade!

"Could Li Jing'an's breakthrough also have relied on the medicinal power of the Mysterious Sun Fruit left in this little creature's mouth?"

Chu Ning looked at the Little White Fox with helpless amusement. The Little White Fox, however, proudly raised her head and lightly swished her tail, as though saying, "Don't thank me. Hurry up and thank your luck instead."

Chu Ning drew a deep breath and clenched his fists.

He was stronger now than he had been before!

After a long while, the radiance gradually faded.

The Little White Fox slowly descended to the ground and stood before Chu Ning.

She gently shook her head. The white fur covering her body was even more lustrous, and the golden flames in her pupils gradually subsided. Yet the power hidden within them still made Chu Ning's heart tremble.

The Little White Fox blinked at Chu Ning, then suddenly let out a low cry.

Chu Ning's heart relaxed, and a faint smile appeared on his face.

"You're finally awake."

The Little White Fox tilted her head, then suddenly leaped straight onto Chu Ning's shoulder.

Then she gently rubbed her head against Chu Ning's face.

Chu Ning froze, then laughed. "All right, all right. I know you're awake. Stop acting spoiled."

He reached out and rubbed the Little White Fox's head.

The Little White Fox narrowed her eyes, looking utterly content.

"But... you seem to have grown quite a bit stronger now?"

Chu Ning carefully examined the Little White Fox. He faintly sensed that her aura was far more powerful than before, even purer than that of an ordinary demonic beast.

The Little White Fox blinked without answering, merely licking her paw mysteriously.

The corners of Chu Ning's lips lifted slightly.

"Looks like this Mysterious Sun Fruit really let you make a killing."

The spiritual energy inside the cave slowly dispersed.

Yet Chu Ning's gaze gradually turned cold.

"Wang family... did you think I was dead?"

The Void Spirit Bell gave a clear, trembling ring in his palm as Chu Ning slowly walked out of the cave.

The morning mist automatically parted beneath his feet, revealing piles of white bones at the bottom of the cliff.

The gold-inlaid carriage that had fallen the previous night lay shattered, while several fresh corpses among the wreckage still maintained their climbing postures.

He lightly tapped the ground with his toe, and airflow bloomed beneath his boots in lotus-shaped ripples.

When he rose to midair, he happened to see Wang Zheng at the cliff top, holding a torch and roaring, "Alive, I want to see the person; dead, I want to see the corpse! Bring me the grappling hooks--"

The Rusty Saber left its sheath with a ringing clang.

Wang Zheng's roar abruptly ceased.

He lowered his head blankly and stared at the half of the blade protruding from his chest. What danced across the blade was not lightning, but killing intent condensed into tangible form.

"I heard..." Chu Ning whispered against his ear, the afterimages behind him not yet faded. "You're looking for a corpse?"

Chu Ning's figure split into seven afterimages in Wang Zheng's pupils, and the blade, wrapped in Thunder Fire, pierced into his torso from every direction.

Amid Wang Zheng's wails, the bronze nails shattered inch by inch, and nine living corpses exploded simultaneously into ash in the blood pool at the bottom of the cliff.

"Tell Wang Lin--" Chu Ning crushed the last fragment of skull beneath his foot, fury blazing in his eyes. "I'll come personally to take his life!"

Twenty zhang away, the Wang family martial artists watched in terror as Wang Zheng transformed into a rain of blood.

That ghostlike figure had already vanished into the horizon, leaving behind only a snowy fox shadow sweeping past the new moon and a clear, piercing howl.