The faint firelight in the cave flickered, illuminating Chu Ning's contemplative face.
He sat cross-legged, recalling what he had gained from cultivating just now. The fusion of Hundred Steps Penetrating Willow and Thunderclap Saber Art had actually given birth to Thunder Prison Sky Lock. This made him realize that the limit of martial arts lay far beyond simply raising one's cultivation realm. More important were comprehension and creation.
Yet this was still far from enough.
Chu Ning frowned, slowly tightening both hands.
The price of the Chaos Divine Order was growing heavier and heavier. If he kept relying on advancing power from the future, one day he would be crushed beneath the future he had overdrawn in advance.
But if he wanted to cultivate and improve on his own, he lacked both sufficient resources and time.
"What should I do?"
His gaze fell upon the last Nine Revolutions Profound Sun Fruit in his arms.
This Mysterious Sun Fruit had been brought out of Blazing Flame Valley. It was a rare treasure nurtured by heaven and earth.
He had witnessed its miraculous effects with his own eyes. It had brought the dying Azure-Eyed Snow Fox back to life twice, causing it to shed its old form and evolve.
Even the residual medicinal power had allowed Li Jing'an to break through his bottleneck, advancing directly from the upper Sixth Rank to the Fifth Rank.
He, too, had broken through from the middle Tenth Rank to the upper Tenth Rank the instant Little White Fox bit through his skin!
What did this represent?
It meant that the violent energy contained within it far exceeded his imagination!
Chu Ning's gaze grew solemn. He was afraid he could not rashly swallow this Mysterious Sun Fruit.
He recalled the transformation the Azure-Eyed Snow Fox's body had undergone after consuming it.
A demonic beast's instincts could refine violent spiritual energy on their own, but if humans lacked a corresponding technique to assist them, they might very well suffer backlash and die.
Chu Ning lowered his head and stared at the Mysterious Sun Fruit in his palm, his brows slightly furrowed as his thoughts churned.
Given his temperament, if this had been an ordinary spiritual fruit, he would have swallowed it long ago and tried to improve his cultivation.
But the Mysterious Sun Fruit was no ordinary object.
"If I swallow it rashly and can't withstand that violent energy, the best outcome would be cultivation deviation. The worst would be exploding and dying..."
Chu Ning slowly sighed, still unable to make up his mind.
Just then, he sensed Little White Fox in his arms suddenly grow restless.
It stared at the Mysterious Sun Fruit in Chu Ning's hand, its eyes revealing desire that it could not conceal.
It gently licked the tip of its nose, its ears perking up slightly. Its entire body radiated eager excitement.
Chu Ning raised a brow.
"This thing seems to be even more attractive to Spiritual Beasts?"
At the same time that Little White Fox was brimming with excitement, a strange feeling suddenly rose in Chu Ning's heart.
A connection he had never experienced before quietly surfaced between him and Little White Fox.
This was not merely the restraint of the Golden Cudgel Spell, but a deeper... spiritual resonance.
In that instant, Chu Ning's world seemed to undergo some peculiar change.
He could hear the snow fox's heartbeat and sense the changes in its emotions.
Its excitement, its desire, its instincts...
Even its battle intuition!
"This is... the power of the Golden Cudgel Spell?"
Chu Ning was deeply shaken.
His spirit seemed to pierce through some barrier and enter an entirely new domain.
At this moment, he even felt that he could speak directly with Little White Fox.
Suddenly, Chu Ning's consciousness jolted. His entire spiritual sense was tugged by a powerful force and pulled into a strange illusion.
White mist spread all around. Through the indistinct haze, he saw a figure.
It was an enormous snow-white Spiritual Fox, its fur smooth and silky. Nine fox tails swayed gently, and every sweep seemed capable of drawing upon the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
It stood there quietly, gazing at Chu Ning.
"After nine revolutions, one becomes a demon; after ten revolutions, one becomes human."
While he was still uncertain and bewildered, the snow fox's figure began to change.
From a four-legged beast, it slowly transformed into human form.
A pair of long, straight legs appeared first, followed by a graceful, curvaceous figure. The white mist gradually dispersed, and a breathtaking silhouette entered Chu Ning's eyes.
She was a bewitchingly alluring woman. An eerie crystalline vertical eye grew between her brows, while her twin eyes were as clear as sapphires. Her skin was fairer than snow, and she wore a thin white robe that revealed a stretch of smooth shoulder. Her tail still remained, swaying gently behind her.
Within the mist, the phantom of nine tails descended like moonlight, while her human outline was wrapped in icy-crystal-woven gauze.
Her fingertips brushed across Chu Ning's bloodstained temple. Frost flowers blossomed where she touched him. "You can see my pain."
He had not merely "seen" the snow fox's memories. It was more like he had personally experienced those bloody scenes.
When that sharp bronze spike pierced through the fox's paw, agony spread through all four of his limbs;
When demon blood gathered into a pool and the nine fox corpses on the altar had their vertical eyes gouged out alive, he actually felt a grief that pierced straight into his bones...
"This isn't a simple illusion... Have she and I already become connected by blood?"
Cold sweat poured down Chu Ning's temples. The restraining sensation of the Golden Cudgel Spell seemed to be weakening, yet something even more terrifying was quietly growing.
A faint smile played at the corners of her lips. Her eyes held a trace of teasing, a trace of curiosity, and even...
A trace of playful mockery.
"Should I call you 'Master'?"
Chu Ning's heartbeat instantly quickened, and the roots of his ears flushed red. His gaze involuntarily turned away.
"This..."
He had never imagined that after Little White Fox transformed into human form, she would be so astonishingly beautiful.
The mist swirled as the breathtaking face of the white fox slowly drew near. Her crystalline vertical eye reflected Chu Ning's stunned expression.
"Master...?"
She exhaled softly, carrying a faintly cool fragrance, and whispered beside his ear, "What are you afraid of? Do you want to control me, or... be controlled by me?"
Her fingertips slid across Chu Ning's chest as frost-like demonic power emerged, carrying a hint of provocation, a hint of testing, and even... a hint of playful amusement.
Chu Ning's heart trembled. His reason flickered like a candle guttering in the wind, wavering uncertainly.
"No, this isn't right. I can't keep watching!"
He abruptly gathered his mind, forcibly severing the illusion and instantly returning to reality.
Before the illusion collapsed, she pressed the Mysterious Sun Fruit into Chu Ning's sleeve. "Don't eat it, no matter what. Humans can't control the power of an unrefined Mysterious Sun Fruit."
"So that's how it is..." He suddenly clenched the fruit tightly. Beneath its skin, golden veins writhed like an imprisoned dragon. Every pulse stirred the thunderclouds in Chu Ning's dantian, while the Golden Cudgel Spell markings on the snow fox flickered on and off like breathing.
"Phew—!"
Chu Ning opened his eyes and discovered that fine beads of sweat had already gathered on his forehead.
He panted a few times before instinctively looking toward Little White Fox.
Little White Fox was still lying in his arms, gazing up at him with sapphire-like eyes.
Its innocent expression formed a stark contrast with the bewitchingly alluring appearance in the illusion.
The corner of Chu Ning's mouth twitched slightly.
"No wonder Little White Fox was so interested in the Nine Revolutions Profound Sun Fruit. So the Nine Revolutions Profound Sun Fruit is the key to a demonic beast taking human form."
He rubbed his brow, feeling that matters seemed to be growing more and more complicated.
But one thing was certain: the Golden Cudgel Spell was undergoing some incomprehensible change. He seemed able to borrow part of the Azure-Eyed Snow Fox's abilities.
"Tsk... So this Golden Cudgel Spell isn't omnipotent after all."
Along with his excitement, Chu Ning faintly sensed something strange.
When the snow fox had just transformed into human form, he had actually felt as though she had been trying to break free.
If the snow fox's realm advanced another step... would the Golden Cudgel Spell still be able to restrain her completely?
Chu Ning took a deep breath, his gaze gradually turning calm.
"No matter what, now isn't the time to think about this."
His eyes once again fell upon the Mysterious Sun Fruit in his palm.
"The first thing to consider is how to make use of this Mysterious Sun Fruit."
Inside the cave, the firelight flickered unsteadily.
Chu Ning's figure was illuminated in alternating light and shadow, while the atmosphere remained quiet and profound.
"Perhaps... I can find an opportunity to learn alchemy?"
Alchemy was the process of refining spiritual medicines into energy that humans could absorb.
"The energy of the Mysterious Sun Fruit is too violent. Taking it now would be extremely risky... I'll fully refine it after learning alchemy."
He pondered this, gently rubbing the fruit's skin between two fingers.
"Then what I should do next is temper my existing martial arts and strengthen my foundation. Only then can I seize first place at the Azure Cloud Arena."
The sky was just beginning to brighten. Outside the cave, dawn shone through the leaves and scattered across the ground.
Chu Ning packed up his belongings. Little White Fox lay on his shoulder, its blue vertical pupils gleaming with lively intelligence.
He patted Little White Fox's head and smiled faintly.
"Let's go to the prefectural city."
Energy surged beneath his feet. In the next instant, Chu Ning's figure became a lightning-like afterimage.
When Sky-Rending Shadow Flight Technique was activated, his white hair whipped wildly. Every step he took left behind a lotus seal woven from frost and thunder, while the phantom of a snow fox behind him inhaled and exhaled moonlight. Wherever he passed, even century-old trees crystallized into fruits of ice and lightning.
—The Azure Cloud Arena was the true stage!
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