Nine-Tailed Frost Moon Fox

Just then, a deep voice came from the bottom of the lake.

"Let him come."

The auras of the fierce beasts instantly withdrew.

Bear Lord snorted coldly and stepped aside.

Zi Ji looked at Yun Ming, a hint of amusement flashing through her eyes. "Pavilion Master, please."

Yun Ming walked toward the lake.

The water parted, revealing a passage leading to the bottom.

Without any hesitation, he stepped inside.

At the bottom of the lake was an enormous space, like a hollowed-out cavern.

Countless luminous pearls were embedded in the walls, illuminating the place as brightly as day.

At the very depths, a figure sat with his back to Yun Ming on a stone chair.

The figure was tall and imposing, his black hair falling to his waist. An ancient, profound aura radiated from him.

"Yun Ming..."

The figure spoke, his low voice seeming to come from time immemorial.

"What do you want?"

Yun Ming stood three zhang behind him and did not approach.

"Di Tian, I came to ask something of you."

"Ask?"

Di Tian slowly turned around.

He had the face of a typical middle-aged man, his features steeped in endless vicissitudes.

His eyes were golden, their vertical pupils slightly narrowing.

"You, Yun Ming, would ask someone for help?"

Yun Ming fell silent for a moment. "For my son."

Di Tian's gaze shifted slightly.

"Son? Since when did you have a son?"

"...That's none of your business, is it?"

"..."

Yun Ming did not hide it. "His martial soul is very special. He needs a moon-attribute soul spirit."

"I searched through Shrek, the Tang Sect, and the Spirit Pagoda. There was nothing suitable, so I came here."

Di Tian looked at him as if judging whether his words were true.

After a long while, he spoke. "The soul beasts of the Star Dou Great Forest are not your prey."

"I know."

Yun Ming's voice was calm. "That is why I came to negotiate terms with you."

"What terms?"

"Let me take a suitable soul beast, and I will owe you a favor. In the future, as long as it does not violate my principles, I can do one thing for you."

Di Tian smiled.

The smile was faint, so faint it was almost imperceptible.

"Yun Ming, is your favor worth that price?"

Yun Ming looked at him openly. "You know whether it is worth it."

Di Tian did not answer.

He remained silent for so long that Yun Ming thought he would refuse.

Then Di Tian raised a hand and made a light beckoning gesture.

From the depths of the lake-bottom space, a silver-white light lit up and flew toward them.

It was a fox.

Its entire body was silver-white, its fur like brocade woven from moonlight, and it was larger than an ordinary fox.

Most eye-catching were its tails—nine of them, fluffy and soft, with faint frost flowers condensed at their tips.

But its eyes were closed.

"Nine-Tailed Frost Moon Fox."

Di Tian's voice rang out. "Ten thousand years of cultivation, with dual ice and moon attributes."

"It is the descendant of the previous Silver Moon Fox King. Its parents both died at human hands. I raised it here, and it has remained asleep ever since."

Yun Ming looked at the sleeping fox, and a complicated feeling suddenly welled up in his heart.

"Is it willing?"

Di Tian glanced at him, a trace of surprise in his eyes.

"Heh... You really are unusual."

He said, "Of all those who came here, not one ever asked that question."

Yun Ming said nothing.

Di Tian withdrew his gaze and spoke indifferently. "Whether it is willing depends on your son. The Nine-Tailed Frost Moon Fox is an ancient exotic beast, proud by nature. If it finds someone unworthy, it would rather die than follow them."

He waved his hand, and the silver fox gently drifted toward Yun Ming.

"Take it."

Yun Ming caught the sleeping fox and felt the icy, clear aura within its body.

"What are the conditions?"

Di Tian turned around, presenting his back to him once more.

"I have not decided on them yet. When I do, I will come find you."

Yun Ming was silent for a moment, then nodded.

"Fine."

He turned and left.

Behind him, Di Tian's voice drifted over faintly.

"Yun Ming, remember what you owe me."

Yun Ming did not stop walking, his voice as calm as before.

"I won't forget."

At the end of the passage, moonlight fell again.

Holding the sleeping Nine-Tailed Frost Moon Fox, Yun Ming slowly emerged from the bottom of the lake.

Outside, the fierce beasts were still there.

Zi Ji looked at the silver fox in his arms, her expression complicated, as though she felt both sorrow and relief.

She said, "That little one had a hard life. It barely survived and has slept until now."

Yun Ming nodded. "I will."

He said no more. His figure flashed, and he vanished into the night.

Bear Lord watched his retreating back and snorted coldly. "He got off easy."

Zi Ji did not respond. She merely raised her head to look at the moon in the sky.

"A moon-attribute soul beast..."

She murmured, "How many years has it been since I last saw one?"

In the darkness behind her, the figures of the fierce beasts dispersed one by one.

The Star Dou Great Forest returned to silence.

Only the moonlight quietly spilled down.

Shrek City.

Ya Li stood by the window, having not slept all night.

As the sky began to pale at dawn, a figure landed in the courtyard.

Yun Ming stood there, holding a silver-white fox in his arms.

"I'm back."

He spoke softly.

Ya Li walked out and gently embraced him.

Yun Ming held her with one arm and the sleeping fox with the other, his voice gentle.

"I brought our son a gift."

Inside the room, Yun Jingheng was still asleep.

The first ray of morning sunlight passed through the window lattice and fell upon Yun Jingheng's brow.

The crescent mark there warmed slightly.

The Nine-Tailed Frost Moon Fox beside Ya Li suddenly opened its eyes.

Its pale blue pupils, narrow and vertical, met Yun Jingheng's black eyes as he opened them.

A human and a fox looked at each other for three seconds.

Before Yun Jingheng could react, the mark on his brow suddenly blazed.

Silver-white light spilled forth like mercury, instantly enveloping the entire room.

The Moonlight Sword appeared on its own and hovered in midair.

The blade trembled lightly, letting out a low hum, as though calling out.

The Nine-Tailed Frost Moon Fox's eyes lit up.

It rose to its feet. Its nine tails swayed gently, and the frost flowers at their tips began to melt, turning into specks of moonlight that drifted toward the sword.

Yun Jingheng "heard" that voice.

It was soft and gentle, carrying the dazed haze of someone who had just awakened.

"Is it... you?"

The Moonlight Sword's hum grew more intense.

The little fox took one step forward, then another, walking up to Yun Jingheng and raising its head to look at him.

Within those pale blue eyes were confusion, joy, and an indescribable... longing.

"I've been waiting for you."

The voice sounded again. "I waited a long time."

Yun Jingheng did not know how to answer.

He merely stretched out a hand and gently placed it atop the little fox's head.

At that instant, he felt it.

He felt the little creature's loneliness, the years it had spent sleeping in darkness, and the final thought left behind when its parents died—

"Live on. Go find the one who can light up your moonlight."

The little fox closed its eyes and rubbed against his palm.

Then it spoke. This time, not through spiritual power, but with a real, childish voice.

"I'm willing."

Yun Ming stood at the doorway, watching the scene.

He did not disturb them. He simply took a yellowed scroll from his robes and gently unfurled it.

It was the original Soul Spirit Contract, passed down from ancient times and even older than the artificial soul spirits of the Spirit Pagoda. It could only take effect if both sides were truly willing.

Yun Jingheng looked at the little fox.

The little fox looked at him.

Yun Ming began solemnly and softly recited the contract words Huo Yuhao had left behind.

Silver-white light surged from both of them at once, intertwining, winding together, and merging.

The little fox's body began to turn transparent, transforming into countless points of starlight that slowly drifted toward Yun Jingheng.

Those lights fell upon Yun Jingheng, merging into his skin, his blood, and his Sea of Spirit.

When the final point of light vanished, a soul ring rose beneath Yun Jingheng's feet.

A hundred years.

It was only a faint yellow, its glow weak as though it might dissipate at any moment.

Yet the soul ring slowly revolved, faintly exuding an indescribable liveliness.

Yun Jingheng closed his eyes.

Within his Sea of Spirit, beside the moon, there was now a little fox curled up asleep.

It slept soundly.

Yun Ming closed the scroll. Looking at the hundred-year soul ring, a complicated smile flickered in his eyes.

"A hundred-year soul ring, yet it possesses the spirituality of one ten thousand years old."

He spoke softly.

"This kid really is..."

In the Star Dou Great Forest, at the Lake of Life, inside a cave filled with green-gold stones.

Di Tian knelt on one knee. "Lord, Yun Ming came. He took the Nine-Tailed Frost Moon Fox."

A small silver-haired figure turned around. Her childlike face bore a calmness and solemnity that did not match her appearance.

"I know."

Di Tian's tone seemed somewhat anxious. "Lord, if that little one had awakened naturally, it would surely have become your aid. But why...?"

"Di Tian."

The cool voice interrupted Di Tian's worries. "Do you know what that martial soul signifies?"

"L-Lord, I... don't understand."

"It signifies that its owner... is not human."

Di Tian raised his head, a flicker of confusion in his eyes.

"Are they one of us soul beasts?"

"No."

"Ah?"

The small silver-haired figure glanced at Di Tian. "The Plane Master's..."

"Final creation."