Tushan's Invitation

At that, Cen Yu nodded. "That's fine. Let's do that, then. Thank you, Fox King."

That was what he said, but this was already the best possible outcome.

Given Tushan Zhaoli's strength, if she hadn't thought the Fire Fox was in the wrong and held back, he wouldn't have been able to teach her a lesson.

"Little Red, come back."

At that, the Ghost Bride flashed back to Cen Yu's side.

After a moment, Tushan Jinci climbed to her feet and glanced at Cen Yu, pursing her lips in displeasure.

No wonder the king had been so wary of that kid. It seemed she'd been right to be.

She'd thought the aura around him came from the Asura God and the Rakshasa God, but... heh... he'd nearly fooled even her.

Tushan Zhaoli glanced helplessly at Tushan Jinci, then invited the three of them, "If you don't mind, please come visit my clan's territory."

I hope your arrival can bring Tushan a new turning point.

"Jinci, if they're willing, please escort them back to our territory."

("If they have any questions, answer whatever you can.")

Hearing this, Tushan Jinci bowed. "As you command!"

Cen Yu nodded and switched to Xiao Bai's personality.

He was just about to speak when he saw Tushan Zhaoli's figure beginning to fade.

"Wait, what's happening to you...?"

It didn't look like she was teleporting. Why did it look more like she was... vanishing?

The Nine-Tailed Sky Fox disappeared completely without answering his question.

Looking at the place where Tushan Zhaoli had vanished, Tushan Jinci sighed silently. "Surprised? That was only the king's phantom."

"Her true body has actually been sealed in our clan's territory all this time."

"What?!"

The three beside him were all stunned.

Cen Yu was especially incredulous as he stared at Tushan Jinci.

Just how powerful was Tushan Zhaoli? He hadn't even realized she was only a phantom.

And if just her phantom was already unfathomably powerful, how strong must her true body be? Who could have sealed her?

"What kind of catastrophe did Tushan go through? Tushan Zhaoli mentioned it briefly. Was it because of that?"

"..."

At the word "catastrophe," a deep, intense hatred surged into Tushan Jinci's eyes.

"Heh... catastrophe... catastrophe! What a joke!"

"That day, heavenly fire descended without warning, and the world in every direction was reduced to ash..."

"That battle shattered heaven and earth. Qingqiu, Tushan, Yousu, and Chunhu all fell. When the fighting finally ended, the other three clans had vanished without a trace."

"It was only because the former king gave her life that Tushan was saved and became what it is now."

At that, Tushan Jinci laughed bitterly. "Forget it. Why am I telling you this?"

She gave her somewhat patchy fox tail a gentle swish.

In an instant, flames surged up, layer upon layer of fire obscuring her figure.

A moment later, the flames faded, and a handsome man with blazing red hair and seven tails emerged.

He stroked his newly glossy fox tail and said with satisfaction, "Mmm~ Much better like this~"

"..."

Tushan Jinci turned around and saw the three of them staring at him in a daze.

What was with these humans? Had they never seen such a beautiful fox before? Were they stunned by her looks?

She asked in confusion, "What? Are you amazed by my beauty?"

At that, the three exchanged glances.

This person... no, this fox sure was full of herself.

After a brief silence, Cen Yu coughed lightly and pointed.

"No, um..."

"Hm?"

Tushan Jinci followed his finger and looked down—

"Awooo—!!!"

A moment later, Tushan Jinci emerged from the flames again, fully dressed.

She looked embarrassed. "Sorry. It's been so long since I transformed. I'm not used to it."

Damn, that was embarrassing. She'd never transform in front of outsiders again.

Hearing that, Cen Yu nodded and patted Tushan Jinci on the shoulder, barely holding back his laughter.

"It's... it's fine... pfft... ahem. I understand, I understand..."

Hearing that, the poor little Fire Fox glanced at Guang Ling and Azure Luan beside them. Though the two had their backs turned, their shoulders were shaking uncontrollably...

At the sight, Tushan Jinci's expression darkened. She raised her hand, and a massive vortex of flames appeared.

Within the flames, space slowly shattered and shifted. In the blink of an eye, it transformed into a completely different scene.

"Off you go!"

Before Cen Yu could react, Tushan Jinci grabbed him.

"Hey?! Wait!!!"

As the boy stared in disbelief, she tossed him into the vortex.

Then she flashed forward and kicked Guang Ling and Azure Luan in after him, one foot apiece.

"Ptooey! Shameless humans!"

When the dizziness of crossing through space finally passed, the three looked up and saw an endless range of green mountains stretching before them.

Clouds drifted lazily between the mountains in the gentle breeze, and a faint aura of spiritual energy washed over them.

Even from afar, they could see a massive mountain gate standing tall. The nine-tailed fox carved into it looked incredibly lifelike.

Cen Yu exclaimed in amazement, "So this is Tushan... It's beautiful."

He'd heard of Tushan before, but had never seen it. He hadn't expected the real place to be so breathtaking.

Guang Ling said in wonder, "The energy here is so rich. On the Douluo Continent, the only place that seems comparable is Douluo Hall."

Hearing that, Tushan Jinci emerged slowly from the vortex and rolled her eyes at the two of them. "This is nothing."

Humans really had never seen the world. This was barely the beginning, and they were already so amazed.

"Before that catastrophe, Tushan was far more magnificent and beautiful than it is now. Even the spiritual energy was over a hundred times denser."

Just then, a huge purple fox tail appeared out of nowhere and smacked Tushan Jinci to the side.

Then, as purple light flashed, a woman with seven purple tails behind her walked over.

Her features were cool and distant, and an innate air of pride surrounded her.

She didn't even need to speak. Just from her bearing, Cen Yu and the others could tell that she held a high position in Tushan and was definitely stronger than the Fire Fox.

Sure enough, the woman gave a cold snort and scolded Tushan Jinci. "Who taught you to treat the king's guests like that? Where did all the manners you learned go?"

At that, Tushan Jinci trembled and quickly scrambled to her feet, cupping her hands with a grimace. "I know I was wrong, Elder Sister Lingyi."

Then she hurriedly cupped her hands toward the three of them. "I was rude. Please forgive me."

The three facing her were stunned, their minds unable to make sense of the situation before them.

Hadn't the Fire Fox been less respectful even to the Nine-Tailed Sky Fox? Who was this Seven-Tailed Purple Fox?

Just then, the woman nodded slightly to the three of them. "Please excuse what just happened. It's our first meeting. My name is Tushan Lingyi, and I'm the ceremonial officer of the Tushan clan."

"The king has already given instructions. I'll be handling all the arrangements for your stay in Tushan."

"Welcome to Tushan."