Nine-Tailed Illusion Fox

At the border where the Chuyun Empire, Mulan Empire, and Luoyan Empire met.

Tens of thousands of magical beasts had already gathered here, all of them high-ranking beasts.

This place at the intersection of the three great empires was a valley enclosed by several mountains.

All kinds of magical beasts filled the valley below, while some flying beasts circled continuously in the sky.

It was as though they were announcing a grand gathering of magical beasts. At the very center of the valley, a cluster of yellow flames burned and danced.

This was the magical beasts' Heavenly Flame, the Myriad Beast Spirit Fire.

At the summit of the tallest mountain stood three enormous magical beasts.

Leading them were the Chuyun Empire's representative, the sixth-tier Four-Winged Heavenly Demon Scorpion; the Mulan Empire's representative, the Golden Horned Tyrant Lion; and the Luoyan Empire's representative, the Mystic Fire Crow.

The Four-Winged Heavenly Demon Scorpion waved his massive pincers, and the beasts below immediately erupted into excitement.

Xiao Yan and the others, who were hiding in the shadows, were also stunned.

The Amethyst Winged Lion King said, "It seems there are a few more magical beasts than expected, but it's still within our estimates."

Elder Yao stared at the three sixth-tier magical beasts above and said in a low voice, "That Four-Winged Heavenly Demon Scorpion has likely reached the peak of the sixth tier. I'll deal with him."

Zi Shuang nodded. The other two sixth-tier magical beasts were no pushovers either.

Hai Bodong glanced at the countless magical beasts below, then turned to Xiao Yan. "Xiao Yan, looking at this lineup, I doubt I can hold them off for even a minute."

Xiao Yan had rehearsed this plan many times before taking action. As long as he could touch the Heavenly Flame, he could take it away.

"I only need a few seconds to obtain the Heavenly Flame, but getting away will be troublesome. There are many flying magical beasts here. Even if I can leave with the Purple Cloud Wings, it'll be hard to break through their blockade," Xiao Yan replied.

Hai Bodong also fell into thought, while Elder Yao let out a sigh.

"If I were still at my peak, these small fry wouldn't even be worth my effort."

Naturally, Xiao Yan believed Elder Yao when he said that.

But the current situation was clearly difficult, so Xiao Yan began formulating another plan.

With an angry roar from the Four-Winged Heavenly Demon Scorpion, the gathering officially began.

Zi Shuang said, "Don't rush. We'll strike after they let their guard down. The best time will be after the competition ends, when they're preparing to take the Heavenly Flame away."

The three sixth-tier magical beasts on the platform had not noticed Xiao Yan's group. With Elder Yao's soul power concealing them, even seventh-tier magical beasts might not have been able to detect them.

The Four-Winged Heavenly Demon Scorpion said, "This Heavenly Flame will surely remain under the control of the Chuyun Empire's magical beasts. After all, we've won three consecutive gatherings."

The Golden Horned Tyrant Lion snorted and replied, "You've only been lucky. This time, the magical beasts of the Mulan Empire have been preparing for a long time. We've been waiting for this gathering."

The Mystic Fire Crow said disdainfully, "Neither of you should even think about fighting for it this time. Our Luoyan Empire's ancestor is waiting for the Heavenly Flame. Once our ancestor succeeds in breaking through, the status of the magical beasts in the Magical Beast Mountain Range will rise once more!"

"Then we'll see whether your juniors are actually capable," the Four-Winged Heavenly Demon Scorpion said, clearly not believing his nonsense.

The Golden Horned Tyrant Lion added, "You're not the only ones with an ancestor. Our ancestor is also waiting for the Heavenly Flame to nourish his body."

The Four-Winged Heavenly Demon Scorpion quickly cut the two of them off and said impatiently, "Enough. Stop bickering. Don't forget the task of the three of us: ensuring that this gathering proceeds without incident."

"Do you really need to tell us that? We're not idiots. It's impossible for anyone to disrupt the gathering right under our noses," the Mystic Fire Crow said, showing the Four-Winged Heavenly Demon Scorpion no respect.

The Golden Horned Tyrant Lion raised his head and said, "That Amethyst Winged Lion King actually dares to set his sights on this place? Even if he had a few more guts, he still wouldn't have the ability."

"Haha, with the three of us here, even humans who want to snatch the Heavenly Flame will have to weigh their strength first," the Mystic Fire Crow chimed in.

The Four-Winged Heavenly Demon Scorpion slapped his head with his massive pincers. He was somewhat speechless, but he had no time to argue with them.

Among the magical beasts below, the younger generation from all three factions had already stepped forward.

Each of the three factions sent out two magical beasts to fight one another.

The Chuyun Empire was first to send out a snow-white fox, a third-tier magical beast.

On the other side, the Mulan Empire sent out a Golden-Armored Berserk Lion, a fourth-tier magical beast specialized in direct attacks.

Since this was called a battle among the younger generation, the magical beasts were required to be no older than a hundred years.

Because magical beasts generally lived much longer than humans, cultivation was more difficult for them.

The Golden Horned Tyrant Lion burst into laughter. "Does the Chuyun Empire have no beasts left? You actually sent a little third-tier fox out there. This will make our victory seem unfair."

The Four-Winged Heavenly Demon Scorpion said darkly, "Underestimating her will come at a price. We'll see whether you can bear it."

The Golden Horned Tyrant Lion snorted coldly and said disdainfully, "I'd like to see what she can do. This Golden-Armored Berserk Lion was personally raised by me. Even against a fifth-tier magical beast, he can contend with his body alone. Not to mention this little fox of yours."

"She isn't an ordinary fox. If you face her, you can only blame your bad luck." As soon as the Four-Winged Heavenly Demon Scorpion finished speaking, the match began.

The Golden-Armored Berserk Lion smiled at the White Fox. "Little sister, I really can't bear to hit you. Why don't you step down on your own?"

The White Fox brushed her cheek and said, "Is that so? Then don't let your guard down against me, or you'll be defeated by me in front of all these magical beasts."

The Golden-Armored Berserk Lion viciously slammed his huge paw into the ground, sending a terrifying force toward the White Fox's feet.

Xiao Yan inwardly sighed at how incredibly powerful magical beasts were physically.

Cold sweat also formed on Hai Bodong's body. Even with his current strength, facing this fourth-tier magical beast would put him under immense pressure.

Elder Yao, however, stared intently at the little fox and muttered, "This fox doesn't seem simple."

Sure enough, the White Fox used her nimble movements to evade the attack.

After landing on the ground, she smiled at the Golden-Armored Berserk Lion.

The Golden-Armored Berserk Lion was delighted and continued, "Little sister, with those soft little claws of yours, even if I let you scratch me, you still won't be able to pierce this layer of golden armor I'm wearing."

The White Fox smiled. "Is that so? Do you have to rely on brute force to win a match?"

After saying that, the White Fox stretched her body, and the Golden-Armored Berserk Lion was instantly captivated.

Then the tail behind the White Fox changed from one into two, and finally into three. A fourth tail appeared somewhat illusory and ultimately failed to take shape.

Elder Yao suddenly realized something and said in a low voice, "So it's a Nine-Tailed Illusion Fox!"