Three-Tailed Fox Demon

Because of their conversation just now, neither Li Ye nor Bibi Dong spoke again. Both had a bellyful of words hidden away, yet neither said them aloud.

Hu Liena was no longer as happy as she had been earlier, either. Because of Li Ye, she had talked back to Bibi Dong for the first time.

Liu Erlong, however, was different. She could hardly wait for Li Ye and Bibi Dong to fall out, so she could claim a little more space in Li Ye's heart.

The Star Dou Forest bustled with activity. Every so often, they encountered soul beasts out foraging, some moving alone and others in groups, filling the forest with vigorous life.

After searching for two days, Li Ye had not found a single one of the target soul beasts Yu Xiaogang had planned out for him. Never mind ten-thousand-year soul beasts-they had barely even seen any thousand-year soul beasts. Most of the ones they encountered were only one or two thousand years old, utterly unsuitable for either Li Ye or Hu Liena.

Before long, Li Ye suddenly spotted a rabbit grazing in the distance. Judging by its age, it seemed to be over four thousand years old.

He immediately decided to go see what kind of rabbit it was. If it was a Soft Boned Charming Rabbit, it would suit Hu Liena quite well. After all, her martial soul was a fox, and her main means of attack still relied on her charm ability.

That made her rather similar to Spirit Hall's Hu Liena, though her charm ability probably was not as powerful as Hu Liena's. Of course, that was only Li Ye's own guess.

He still had no idea what Bibi Dong's martial soul was, though, and did not know how to ask her.

Li Ye quietly told Liu Erlong and the other two his plan, then carefully approached the rabbit of unknown species.

Once he got close, he discovered that the rabbit was indeed a Soft Boned Charming Rabbit and immediately prepared to cripple it with a thrust of his spear.

Xiao Wu: "Do you have any manners?"

But before Li Ye could act, a fox with three tails sprang out from the side and launched a sneak attack on the Soft Boned Charming Rabbit. Its ambush failed, however, and the rabbit instead kicked it more than ten meters away.

By the time Li Ye and the three-tailed fox reacted, the Soft Boned Charming Rabbit had already run far away.

"Damn it, did I poke a fox den? Why do I keep running into stupid foxes like this? You're this dumb, yet you dare come out hunting like everyone else? You can't even win with a sneak attack-what are you living for?"

After that burst of swearing, Li Ye turned his spear on the Three-Tailed Fox Demon, which had just climbed to its feet.

As his purple soul ring flashed, Li Ye unleashed his third soul skill, Six Harmonies Dao Spear, directing the energy spears straight at the Three-Tailed Fox Demon's four limbs, head, and tail.

Although Li Ye's attack was both sudden and swift, the Three-Tailed Fox Demon still dodged five of the spears. Only one struck a hind leg.

"Damn it, such fast reactions!"

"Spear Execution, Break!"

Li Ye darted forward, reaching the Three-Tailed Fox Demon's side in an instant. His dark-gold spear swept up dragon-shaped flames, broke through its rather frail defenses, and pierced its abdomen, where its organs lay.

At Li Ye's urging, the soul power within his body rapidly transformed into ultimate Lie Yan, burning away most of the Three-Tailed Fox Demon's internal organs.

With this single strike, the Three-Tailed Fox Demon, whose cultivation approached five thousand years, fell beneath Li Ye's spear.

Then Li Ye flicked his spear, sending the gravely wounded, dying Three-Tailed Fox Demon flying in front of Hu Liena.

Seeing this, Hu Liena could not spare any thought for whether the Three-Tailed Fox Demon suited her. She immediately drew a short sword and ended its life.

In short, she would secure ownership of the soul ring first and worry about the rest later. Without ownership, she could not absorb the soul ring, no matter how well it suited her.

"This is a Three-Tailed Fox Demon. Below a thousand years, this kind of soul beast has a relatively short, small tail. Its tail only grows to a normal length when it reaches a thousand years, but the fur on it is still short then. The fur only grows in fully when its cultivation reaches twenty-five hundred years. After that, it grows another complete tail every fifteen hundred years, until it reaches ten thousand years and has six tails. Then it needs another thirty thousand years to grow each additional complete tail. So when you encounter this kind of soul beast, you can judge its age from its tails. This Three-Tailed Fox Demon's third tail is still a little short of fully grown, so it's probably over five thousand years old."

"Of course, below ten thousand years, this kind of soul beast doesn't have a particularly strong charm ability. It excels more at speed, making it a relatively suitable soul beast for Nana."

As Yu Xiaogang's personal disciple, Li Ye listened to him go on about martial soul theory and soul beast knowledge every day. Naturally, he could not have learned nothing.

Yu Xiaogang might not amount to much in terms of strength, but no one could say his theoretical knowledge was lacking. Having collected, compiled, and summarized martial soul theory and soul beast knowledge for so many years, he naturally knew more basic theory than almost every soul master on the continent. Of course, that was limited to basic theory; after all, his strength did not allow him to explore higher-level theoretical knowledge.

That was precisely why Li Ye had chosen to study theory under Yu Xiaogang rather than go to Spirit Hall.

Everyone had to walk their own road to becoming strong. There was not much theory worth learning about that, but mastering the basics could lay a firm foundation for becoming strong.

Naturally, Li Ye did not want to be merely a soul master who possessed nothing but strength. He wanted to have strength while also crushing his peers in knowledge.

Bibi Dong and Hu Liena naturally recognized the Three-Tailed Fox Demon, but they were not as familiar with it as Li Ye was. As for Liu Erlong, all she knew was that it was a fox with three tails.

For a moment, the way Hu Liena looked at Li Ye changed, the light of admiration in her eyes growing ever brighter. Bibi Dong and Liu Erlong's gazes were also filled with delight.

A large part of why they had fallen for Yu Xiaogang back then was that he knew so much theoretical knowledge that they knew nothing about. Whenever they had questions about their cultivation, he could always offer them fairly good advice.

They truly had not expected Li Ye, who looked so rash, so foolish, and as though flirting with girls was all he knew, to actually be an educated man.

Presumably, Li Ye came from some secluded clan. Otherwise, he would not have been both so polite and so learned, nor would he have looked so innocent and inexperienced in the ways of the world.

Li Ye: Yes, yes, exactly. I'm the direct-line heir of some secluded clan, not Yu Xiaogang's disciple. Just keep thinking that. Don't let your thoughts wander, and don't feel too embarrassed to be with me because I'm Yu Xiaogang's disciple.

"Then, Sister, can I absorb this soul ring?"

"Yes, you can. You happen to be lacking in speed right now, so you need to strengthen it."

Seeing Hu Liena's expectant expression, Bibi Dong could hardly say anything more. Since she liked the soul ring Li Ye had obtained for her, she might as well let her absorb it. In any case, they would probably have few chances to meet again.

While Hu Liena absorbed the soul ring, Li Ye walked over to Bibi Dong and said, "Dong'er, let's part ways here. Long'er and I are going deeper into the Star Dou Forest to find a soul ring that suits me. It's relatively dangerous there, so just stay here and stand guard over Nana. Once she finishes absorbing her soul ring, leave the Star Dou Forest. If fate allows, we'll meet again."

Bibi Dong merely nodded without saying anything, but there was a sadness in her beautiful eyes that she could hardly conceal.

In the end, she did not tell Li Ye her true identity, nor did she invite him to join Spirit Hall.

Li Ye brimmed with the freedom she yearned for. She did not want him to become someone bound all over in shackles like her.

After following Liu Erlong for a while, Li Ye still could not hold himself back. He whipped his head around, turned, and ran toward Bibi Dong.

Seeing this, Liu Erlong merely stood where she was and watched in silence, while Bibi Dong's eyes filled with confusion.

The next moment, Li Ye took Bibi Dong's hand. As shock covered her face, he pulled her into his arms, stroked her hair, and lifted his head to kiss her crimson lips.

Bibi Dong wanted very much to push Li Ye away, and very much to avoid him. Yet as she raised her hands, she gave up resisting and embraced him instead.

After a tenth of an incense stick's time, the two finally parted, still wanting more. A few transparent strands stretched between them, and each etched the other's figure deep into their mind.

Bibi Dong had never experienced anything so wonderful, nor had she ever been kissed while fully conscious. For a moment, she found herself reluctant to leave Li Ye's embrace.

A little while later, Li Ye still left with Liu Erlong. Bibi Dong stood where she was, gazing in the direction he had gone, unable to let go for a long time.