The giant fox's fur was glossy black, with a dark red stripe running all the way from its head to the tip of its tail.
Most striking of all, the giant fox had nine tails, each seeming to brim with power.
At over five meters long, it could already be called a giant beast.
Under Zhang Nanfeng's control, more than one Ghost Vine had attacked Duan Fan.
But after the Nine-Tailed Black Flame Demon Fox landed, the other Ghost Vines had already lost their best chance to attack.
The Nine-Tailed Black Flame Demon Fox whipped its tails, smashing the other Ghost Vines to pieces. Not a single one could get close to Duan Fan.
When Zhang Nanfeng saw the Nine-Tailed Black Flame Demon Fox, he sucked in a sharp breath. By then, he could no longer focus all his strength on attacking Duan Fan.
Two spiders were already charging toward him from nearby: a Giant Spider and a Dream-Weaving Spider.
They were both incredibly fast. Zhang Nanfeng couldn't help wondering whether he could have held them off if Duan Fan had sent all six spiders charging at him instead of choosing to defend after drawing them.
"They're way too fast!"
Zhang Nanfeng's face grew grave as he hurriedly controlled the Ghost Vines to block the spiders' advance.
But when attacking at full force, the spiders were far more nimble than when they were defending. They swung their Spider Spears, cutting through the Ghost Vines without getting caught up in a contest of strength. Instead, they deftly dodged and leaped around with their spears, drawing ever closer to Zhang Nanfeng.
Seeing how agile the spiders were, Zhang Nanfeng realized what was going on. The corners of his mouth lifted again, but this time, his smile was bitter.
"So you were using me to practice your Soul Skills. I thought you were actually wary of my Ghost Vines."
"Fine, practice all you want. I'll play along!"
Zhang Nanfeng sighed inwardly, then set his jaw. The Third Soul Ring around him suddenly lit up.
Like Duan Fan's Second Soul Ring, it was a purple Thousand-Year Soul Ring.
But from the depth of its color, it seemed to be younger than Duan Fan's Second Soul Ring.
"Ghost Vine Wild Dance!"
Zhang Nanfeng silently called out the name of his Third Soul Skill.
The next moment, the Ghost Vines coiled around him thickened, and new vines began growing at astonishing speed.
As the Dream-Weaving Spider and Giant Spider closed in, Zhang Nanfeng showed not a hint of panic.
He pointed forward, and all the Ghost Vines surged out at once, slamming hard into the two spiders.
"Bang! Bang! Bang—!"
Dull impacts rang out as the two spiders were knocked backward again and again.
At the same time, cracks appeared in their shells, visible to the naked eye. The cracks spread, then widened until the Ghost Vines smashed their shells to pieces.
In mere moments, the two spiders were engulfed by the Ghost Vines, then dissolved into wisps of black aura.
The Ghost Vines didn't stop attacking. They rushed straight toward Duan Fan.
Just like when Zhang Nanfeng had first sent them forward, the vines kept branching and growing as they advanced.
But these Ghost Vines were much thicker, and they moved several times faster than before.
In the blink of an eye, they were right in front of Duan Fan.
But to reach him, they first had to get past the Nine-Tailed Black Flame Demon Fox standing before him.
Or they could do what they had done to the two spiders: charge the Nine-Tailed Black Flame Demon Fox and crush it, burying it beneath the Ghost Vines.
The latter was obviously impossible. The Nine-Tailed Black Flame Demon Fox was a Thousand-Year Soul Beast, and its body was far tougher than those of the Dream-Weaving Spider and Giant Spider.
Besides, the Nine-Tailed Black Flame Demon Fox's attacks weren't as limited as theirs.
The instant the Ghost Vines drew near, the Nine-Tailed Black Flame Demon Fox opened its jaws and breathed out a torrent of black flames, instantly engulfing every vine.
The Ghost Vines kept surging forward, but they lasted less than two seconds. The flames swiftly burned them to ash, and they never even managed to touch the Nine-Tailed Black Flame Demon Fox.
Fire completely countered the Ghost Vines!
Seeing this, Zhang Nanfeng's expression turned even more bitter, but he didn't give up. He controlled the Ghost Vines to go around the black flames and continue their attack.
But the Nine-Tailed Black Flame Demon Fox could breathe fire more than once. As the Ghost Vines advanced, it opened its jaws again and sent out another wave of black flames.
In an instant, the black fire covered more than half the Soul Fighting Platform. The Ghost Vines touched by the flames burned to ash in moments.
The Nine-Tailed Black Flame Demon Fox's black flames weren't particularly powerful. Their fiery properties were quite ordinary; they only looked unusual in color. Their main purpose was to let the Nine-Tailed Black Flame Demon Fox grow stronger by bathing in them.
Yet even these ordinary flames completely countered the Ghost Vines.
They rendered all of Zhang Nanfeng's attacks utterly futile.
After breathing out black flames twice in a row, the Nine-Tailed Black Flame Demon Fox finally moved.
Its massive body charged straight into the sea of black fire. The flames didn't harm it in the slightest. Instead, it absorbed their strange power, and its body suddenly swelled.
In the blink of an eye, it had become a giant beast over seven meters long and four meters tall at the shoulder. Just standing there, it radiated crushing pressure.
When Zhang Nanfeng saw the Nine-Tailed Black Flame Demon Fox after it had grown, shock wiped the bitterness from his face.
"Even a Thousand-Year Black Flame Demon Fox can use its abilities? How am I supposed to fight that?"
Zhang Nanfeng could almost see his defeat coming, but he still refused to give up.
Under his control, all the Ghost Vines launched one final attack. They stopped spreading out and instead converged into a massive wave, surging toward the Nine-Tailed Black Flame Demon Fox and Duan Fan.
This was the strongest attack Zhang Nanfeng could unleash with his Third Soul Skill's boost.
Faced with the dense mass of incoming Ghost Vines, the Nine-Tailed Black Flame Demon Fox, enlarged by bathing in flames, opened its jaws and quickly condensed a black fireball, sending it straight toward the vines.
The instant the black fireball collided with the Ghost Vines, it exploded violently. A sea of black fire swallowed the vines, and a powerful shock wave spread outward.
Zhang Nanfeng, controlling the Ghost Vines, was forced back. The vines he had sent out were battered one after another, and the backlash affected him as well. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. Then he let out a "wah" and spat out a large mouthful.
Even so, Zhang Nanfeng still refused to give up.
"Second Soul Skill, Parasitism!"
Zhang Nanfeng's gaze passed over the enormous Nine-Tailed Black Flame Demon Fox and landed on Duan Fan behind it. His eyes held one last desperate struggle.
The Second Soul Ring around him suddenly lit up. Ghost Vines mysteriously sprouted from Duan Fan's body and, in an instant, bound him tightly.
"It worked!"
When Zhang Nanfeng saw that the Ghost Vines had successfully taken root, a trace of joy finally appeared on his grim face.
But that joy lasted less than a second before his expression turned even paler.
The instant the Ghost Vines bound Duan Fan, he somehow summoned enormous strength and snapped every single vine, freeing himself at once.
The spiders, nearly Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, had needed some time to break free from the Ghost Vines. Duan Fan had done it in an instant.
Zhang Nanfeng stared in terror. "How is that possible?"
"With my Soul Elder strength, no Second-Ring Soul Master could break free from the Parasitism I release!"
Before you continue