Chapter 14

With a sweeping slash, the sword cleaved through the air in flames, shearing off one and a half of the Illusion Fox's remaining three tails.

The Illusion Fox shrieked and darted backward.

Yan Lingji pressed in, her figure trailing a long string of afterimages.

The Illusion Fox kept retreating, spitting flames from its mouth in an attempt to block her path.

But Yan Lingji was far too fast. Every time the flames seemed about to hit her, her figure scattered into a burning phantom at the very last moment, while her true body attacked from the other side.

Her Nine-Tailed Sky Fox bloodline had awakened, and all five of her previous Soul Rings boosted every attribute. The combined effect had already reached a terrifying 700%.

With Jiang Ce's threefold boost added, that made tenfold in total.

Yan Lingji's base attributes had gone from 1 to 11.

Agility, speed, and explosive power—none of them were something a sixty-thousand-year Soul Beast could suppress.

The Illusion Fox finally realized that flames alone couldn't stop her.

It threw back its head and shrieked, its golden slit pupils blazing.

A powerful mental wave surged out like a tide, enveloping her.

This was its strongest secret art—Memory Incineration.

It created an endless cycle of fiery hell on the mental plane, trapping its victim in their most painful memories until their mind collapsed.

Yet the instant the mental wave struck Yan Lingji, she only furrowed her brows slightly.

That great fire, that village, those cries...

Every illusion vanished in an instant, like snow beneath the blazing sun.

The Nine-Tailed Sky Fox bloodline boiled within her, and an invisible pressure welled up from the depths of her soul,

shattering the Illusion Fox's mental imprint to pieces.

"We're both foxes, and you think you can use illusions against me?" Yan Lingji's voice was as cold as an icy blade, without a hint of warmth.

Fear finally surfaced in the Illusion Fox's golden slit pupils.

The illusions and mental attacks that fox-type Soul Beasts took such pride in were utterly useless against her.

After suffering one injury after another, its strength continued to dwindle. It had nowhere left to retreat.

Yan Lingji slowly raised the Venom long sword in her hand.

Flames gathered along the blade, shifting from scarlet to incandescent white, then to a dazzling gold.

Her aura climbed to its peak. The high temperature cracked the scorched ground beneath her feet, and the air warped around her sword.

The third stance of the Sun-Eroding Sword Technique—Sun Shining at Zenith.

The essence of this move lay in compressing all of one's Soul Power and flames into a single point, then releasing them completely in the instant the sword swung,

like the blazing midday sun hanging overhead, its radiance boundless and impossible to look at directly.

Sensing the mortal threat, the Illusion Fox struggled desperately to escape,

but Yan Lingji's aura had locked its body in place. It couldn't move a single step.

She swung her sword.

There was no dazzling sword light, no deafening boom.

Only a highly condensed golden blade aura silently sliced through the air.

The Illusion Fox's eyes widened. It tried to shriek, but no sound came out.

The golden blade aura swept past its neck. No blood sprayed; only a thin black line slowly appeared.

Yan Lingji stood with her sword lowered, the flames on its blade slowly dying out.

The Crimson Flame Illusion Fox's head rolled from its neck. The cut was covered only by a charred black crust—not a single drop of blood had spilled.

Yan Lingji looked at the Crimson Flame Illusion Fox's corpse, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly.

She was quite pleased with the result of that strike.

During this more-than-month-long hellish Demon Ninja training,

Jiang Ce had also shared all the information he'd seen in novels, TV dramas, and anime with her.

Yan Lingji was skilled with fire, and the Sun-Eroding Sword Technique was perfectly suited to her.

Though she didn't have a complete method to follow, she was a martial artist, after all.

It wasn't difficult for her to extrapolate a simple prototype by drawing on what she already knew.

After all, among the many martial arts in the world of The Storm Riders,

the Sun-Eroding Sword Technique was one of the easiest to learn and the quickest to recreate.

"Master, how did I do with that move from the Sun-Eroding Sword Technique?" Yan Lingji asked with a beaming smile, her voice alluring to the bone.

"Very good. Next, you can start working on the Holy Spirit Sword Technique, then Sword Twenty-Three."

"The Holy Spirit Sword Technique, then Sword Twenty-Three?" Yan Lingji murmured to herself.

The information her master had shared really was outrageous.

Sword Twenty-Three, the twenty-third form of the Holy Spirit Sword Technique, was widely acknowledged as the strongest martial art in the world of The Storm Riders.

It wasn't a sword technique—it was a rule, a law-level art that transcended mortal killing arts.

Starting with the twenty-third form, the Holy Spirit Sword Technique had already "shifted from sword moves to wielding the sword with the heart."

It entered the realm of divine consciousness, no longer confined to combat on the physical plane.

It was a sword technique on the level of the primordial spirit.

"Your spiritual power is vast, and with all the information I can draw on, it's not impossible to extrapolate and refine this kind of sword technique."

"Master, you really think that highly of me."

Yan Lingji let out a soft sigh. "By your account, Sword Twenty-Three can freeze time and space."

She gave a self-deprecating smile. In the past, she'd been no more than a second- or third-rate nobody.

With her Fire Spirit Body and Fire Charm Technique, she could hold her own against some first- and second-rate experts,

but against top-tier experts, she'd been completely suppressed.

"With me here, what do you have to fear?"

The black bodysuit beneath Yan Lingji's dress turned into tentacles, writhing over her body and squeezing her tight.

"Have a little more faith in yourself." One tentacle gently lifted her chin. "My empress, my divine queen."

"Yes, my master." Yan Lingji's lips curled into a smile.

With her master by her side, what did she have to fear?

She looked down at the black Soul Ring rising from the Crimson Flame Illusion Fox's body, then turned to Jiang Ce.

"Master, could you let me go so I can absorb the Soul Ring?"

"Can't you just go over there like that?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the vibrating device on her body switched on again.

Yan Lingji's beautiful eyes rolled upward as she pressed her lips together.

Clearly, her master was about to start training her again.

She tensed her legs and slowly shuffled over to the Crimson Flame Illusion Fox, sat down cross-legged, and began drawing in the Soul Ring.

As soon as the Soul Ring entered her body, powerful Soul Power began washing through her.

The Crimson Flame Illusion Fox's vengeful spirit inside the ring kept striking at her mind. Its spiritual power was formidable.

It could even assault a Soul Master's mind and seize their body.

But Yan Lingji paid no attention to the assault, letting it crash around as it pleased.

She was a dignified bearer of the Nine-Tailed Sky Fox bloodline. What did she have to fear from it?

It was just that her master kept turning up the settings, leaving her a little distracted.

She clenched her teeth and forcibly separated her awareness of her body from her spiritual power.

After a month of hellish Demon Ninja-style training,

she'd long since learned to divide her attention,

temporarily block out her body's physical responses, and greatly hone her willpower at the same time.

As the Soul Ring was gradually refined, Yan Lingji's aura began to climb steadily.

Level 61, Level 62, Level 63—

Yet her advancement didn't stop there. Over the past month or so,

Jiang Ce had continually devoured Soul Beasts and passed their years, cultivation, physique, and spiritual power on to her.

Though she hadn't been able to break through without her sixth Soul Ring, all those gains had accumulated within her.

Now that she was breaking through, every bit of that accumulation erupted at once, and her aura climbed higher still.

Level 64, Level 65—

At last, her strength settled.

Yan Lingji slowly opened her eyes. Her gaze was sharper than before,

and the faint image of nine tails flickered deep within her pupils.

"Sixth Soul Skill—Celestial Fox Nine Thoughts."

She softly spoke the name of the Soul Skill, taking in the information that surfaced in her mind.

All attributes +250%, spiritual power +300%.

Consumes half of her Soul Power to create a true clone at exactly the same level as her current state.

The clone has an independent consciousness, possesses all the main body's current Soul Skills, and automatically coordinates with her in combat.

The clone and main body can share perceptions, memories, and cultivation insights in real time through their soul connection.

"This skill... is quite good." Jiang Ce sounded pleased.

"You just need to create a clone, and it can cultivate and comprehend things for you.

Then you'll be able to work out Sword Twenty-Three much sooner, won't you?"

"Master, is that really what you have in mind?" Yan Lingji blinked her beautiful eyes, the corners of her lips curling into a bewitching smile.

"Don't you want... my clones to serve you, too?"

"Smack!"

A sharp crack rang out as a whip struck Yan Lingji's pert bottom.

"Getting stronger is what matters most. Playing with you is secondary."

"My training is all to make you the strongest divine king!"

"Yes, Master. I'll serve you well."

Yan Lingji rubbed her bottom, a bewitching smile curling her lips.

Just then, Jiang Ce spread out from Yan Lingji's body.

Black Venom covered the Crimson Flame Illusion Fox's corpse and began devouring it.

Before long, not a scrap was left.

Venom's age increased from ninety thousand to ninety-six thousand years, then it passed six hundred years of cultivation back to Yan Lingji—equivalent to more than half a year of arduous training.

Yan Lingji had only just broken through to Level 65, but she surged another great step forward.

Jiang Ce also obtained several of the Crimson Flame Illusion Fox's skills.

"Master, my body feels... so full."

Yan Lingji bit her lip, her voice seductive.

"You've become a fox spirit, and you're getting better and better at seducing people."

"That's because you trained me so well, Master." Yan Lingji lowered her gaze and bowed her head, her posture docile.

Then,

she spent all her Soul Power and activated her sixth Soul Skill.

The space before her rippled faintly, and two figures identical to her appeared without a sound—

The same black-and-red dresses, the same shapely figures, the same fox ears and nine tails.

The second and third Yan Lingjis blinked, the same smile as the original curling their lips, their voices alluring to the bone.

"My lord, let us serve you."

The three Yan Lingjis stood shoulder to shoulder. Their fox ears twitched, and their nine snowy-white tails swayed gently behind them as an alluring aura filled the air.

They exchanged glances and slowly drew closer. With Three Thousand Lightning Movement,

three equally graceful bodies pressed together, their curves overlapping in a scene of breathtaking sensuality.

"Little vixen, help me cultivate."

As Jiang Ce spoke, tentacles spread simultaneously from all three Yan Lingjis,

coiling around them and carrying them deeper into the Crimson Flame Illusion Fox's cave.

The cave entrance was sealed once again.

Not long after,

a continuous "smack, smack" sounded from inside the cave, as someone knocked urgently on the door!