hold head high!
A dragon roared high in the air, hurtling towards the fox like lightning. As it passed the fox's tail, it was like a long, Red Armillary Sash that swept up the seven fox tails, causing the fox's momentum to falter.
Taking advantage of this pause, the World-Breaking Blade unleashed a sword net, its surging light as bright as the midnight sun, and slashed fiercely down at the fox's tail.
The second fox tail, broken!
The fox recklessly broke through the blood dragon's obstruction, determined to strike directly at the youth. The blood dragon once again transformed into a beam of light, tightly binding the fox's tail.
Article 3...
Article 4...
Article 5...
"Chirp!"
As the air thick with the scent of blood, the fox could no longer bear it. She coiled her sixth tail, broke free from the shackles of the dim, blood-red light, and appeared before the youth with a furious roar, tearing through the spatial barrier.
boom!
The youth's body collided with the fox tail, and a huge amount of energy overflowed beneath his feet, emanating an astonishing spiritual pressure in mid-air. The youth's body flew out like a cannonball in front of the huge fox tail.
The World-Breaking Blade, carrying unparalleled power, severed the sixth fox tail. As the youth was sent flying, it seemed to lose control and streak across the sky far behind the fox.
The long blood dragon solidified again, and a huge Red Armillary Sash wrapped around the fox's true form. Having lost her eight tails, the fox was already at her last gasp. Her eyes revealed endless weakness as she struggled to curl up her last fox tail into a round shield.
The crimson eyes looked in the direction where the young man's body had retreated, where the hills had been smashed and collapsed, leaving a deep, human-shaped crater. The surrounding area, covered in dust, seemed to have no living people left.
When the dust settles down a bit,
Click click...
Suddenly, rubble fell from the pit, and a humanoid creature sprang out from it.
A flicker of despair flashed in the fox's scarlet eyes. She couldn't help but recall her path of cultivation. She had suffered hardship in her childhood and was a low-ranking member of a powerful clan, often bullied. Many demons coveted her like valuable goods simply because of her appearance.
Being chosen by the ancestor to receive the secret technique within his body was a matter of necessity. After gaining the ancestor's favor, he finally breathed a sigh of relief, but from then on, he was drawn into a fierce struggle for resources—for a mouthful of blood food, for a Spirit Stone, for a fortuitous opportunity, for cultivation resources...
Through countless struggles, she learned to protect herself. In the endless competition, she remained unassuming and cautious, which allowed her to survive until the very end when her clan was wiped out.
However, he could not escape the shackles of fate. His overflowing desires swelled him up, and what he thought was the understanding and insight into human nature ultimately led to his downfall.
Watching the young man approach her step by step...
"Senior, please don't kill me, I beg you... Don't kill me, I'll do anything for you. I'm a nine-tailed demon, I know the secret techniques of many races, please give me a chance, I'm willing to do anything for you..."
Looking at the pitiful girl before him, the young man unconsciously stopped in his tracks. She was lying on the ground, her eyes filled with Wuxian pleading, constantly yearning for the young man's forgiveness.
Those bright, large eyes seemed exceptionally lively, tightly holding back tears, and each glance at the young man carried an indescribable meaning.
"Anything is acceptable?"
"Yes! Senior, I'll do anything you ask of Lian'er, please Lian'er me..."
Lian'er raised her head, her large eyes filled with Wuxian mixture of sorrow and allure, as captivating as a deep, unfathomable pool.
The young man stared intently into Lian'er's eyes, unconsciously taking two steps forward. Lian'er looked up at the young man, a pitiful smile appearing on her face.
"Please spare my life, senior... If you're willing to spare me, I'm willing to do anything for you..."
Hearing the constant pleas and seeing the sorrowful eyes before him, the young man hesitated and paused thoughtfully in front of the girl, Lian'er.
Slowly lowering her head, looking at the feet that appeared in her field of vision on the ground, a barely perceptible cold smile appeared on the corner of the girl's mouth, and a cold killing intent flashed quickly in her eyes.
The girl suddenly raised her head, her thin body springing out like lightning. Her slender wrist, instantly covered with thick downy hair, reached out and viciously stabbed towards the young man's chest. The ruthless look on her face at that moment was a stark contrast to her earlier pitiful appearance.
A glint of crazed smugness flashed in her eyes, as if mercilessly mocking the foolish human before her, who was also deceived by her pitiful appearance. Little did she know that foxes were masters at mimicking human actions and manipulating human emotions.
The girl was completely insane; she could almost see herself tearing a hole in her chest, using her long fingernails to rip open her lungs and pull out her still-beating heart, while the young man would pay the price for his foolishness!
This distance is close enough!
Buzz!
A deafening sword cry rang out behind them, and the furry claws hung limply at the distance, their countless attacks ceasing at that moment.
Lian'er raised her head and slowly lowered her gaze, looking at the ferocious sword light piercing through her chest, where her heart, which had been beating in the ventricle, had already stopped beating.
The World-Breaking Blade his fox tail earlier had already streaked across the sky as if out of control, but now it was like a spinning blade that pierced his chest.
The young man's gaze was so cold as he looked at her. His Magic Power surged, and the sword light that pierced through her body burst forth, transforming into a dense net of swords. She felt the life force in her eyes rapidly dissipate, and her soul was shattered by an extremely tyrannical will.
The demon's life flashed before my eyes like a movie replay, and those past events swirled in my mind like slides, as the energy in my body gradually thinned.
Those images gradually blurred in my mind until there was no light left in the world, turning into complete darkness, as if I were a newborn child, unable to open my eyes yet...
The ethereal fox spirit, beheaded!
The young man looked at the girl's corpse on the ground. A large hole had been torn in her chest by the sword light that had pierced through her body. The terrifying energy had instantly evaporated the blood, and the hideous wound was no longer bleeding.
His lungs and internal organs were completely shattered, his soul crushed by his will. A once lofty and Earth Immortal was utterly annihilated in the world!
The World-Breaking Blade transformed into a beam of light and adhered to the young man's side. The crimson dragon was concealed by his sleeve, and the energy fluctuations that had been spreading around him were slowly gathered. The young man, whose face was flushed with an unusual flush, looked into the distance.
He had expended tremendous effort to kill the Hu Mei'er, and his chest had almost exploded the moment he was knocked away by the fox's tail. Fortunately, he had enough blood energy to adjust his own energy surge and dissipate the terrifying energy between the mountains.
This attack, though severely wounding him, also cost Hu Mei'er her life. Killing Hu Mei'er was half the battle won, but considering the old fox's true strength now, Hu Mei'er was merely an appetizer...
After calming his surging blood and qi, the young man needed to find a place to rest and recover, allowing his Magic Power and cultivation level to return to their optimal state. His clone did not yet possess the terrifying regenerative ability of the main body, Xu Long. The young man's gaze turned to the thick clouds beyond the nine heavens.
It should be about time...
" Dansheng... we... we really have to go up to the top of Mount Yunmeng to kill that demon?"
"Yes, Dansheng, just looking at Mount Yunmeng terrifies me, let alone the demons and monsters on it. I'm afraid we can't handle them..."
"Um... although the government said each family should send one person, my family has a lot of people, so only one person can go to do the labor..."
"Yesterday they demanded you pay taxes, today they demand you provide manpower, and the day after tomorrow they will take your own lives. Your descendants will become slaves of the government and demons, and they will do whatever they tell you to do!"
Would you want to live like this? Watching your family's food and people being plundered, you dare not speak out in anger. Now that your enemy is right before your eyes, don't you dare to go up and overthrow them...?
A slightly angry voice rang out from the crowd, and he asked the people around him in a very firm tone.
When his sharp gaze swept over them, people couldn't help but look away guiltily.
The speaker was not tall or imposing. Among the group of dark-skinned middle-aged people, he looked rather young. The fine, transparent down on his lips had turned into a thick, hard black stubble.
"If the government only levied grain once a year, there would still be a way to survive. If those forced to work could return to their hometowns, that would be acceptable. But how many times has the government levied grain these days? And how many people are left in each of your families?"
"Aren't you going to go check on Mount Yunmeng? Aren't you going to identify the corpses scattered all over the mountain to see if they're your own brothers and sisters?"
The young man's unyielding spirit stood out like a crane among chickens in the crowd, and those who were stirred by his words felt guilty and dared not meet his gaze.
"The road is right beneath your feet. You either wait for the authorities to take your life, or you pick up a hoe and a carrying pole and come with me to Mount Yunmeng to see what's going on..."
After saying that, the boy was the first to grab a steel fork, put on a straw hat, and head towards Mount Yunmeng.
" Dansheng, wait for me! I, Wang Er, will go with you. Laozi family has been torn apart by the government long ago. Today I'm going to Mount Yunmeng to see what kind of demons and monsters are out there!"
Hearing this, a man who toiled in the fields year-round could no longer bear it. He rolled up his sleeves, grabbed a hoe with his dark, powerful arms, and caught up with the boy.
Watching the two leave one after the other, the remaining crowd stood there looking at each other in bewilderment. Suddenly, someone shouted something in the crowd, and the crowd erupted in a clamor. They gathered their hoes, put on their straw hats, and marched in a grand procession toward Mount Yunmeng.
The boy came to the village some time ago. Because he was literate and knowledgeable in the classics, he was respected by everyone in the village. He helped the villagers build irrigation canals, reclaim wasteland, and collect grain, so that the villagers could have a piece of coarse grain cake to eat during the dry season and that they would not suffer a complete loss of harvest during floods.
Since the boy came to the village, he has been very attentive to the people without asking for anything in return. Since they heard his methods for farming and working, it has indeed become much easier and simpler, which has made everyone trust him.
But the good times didn't last long. The government's collection regulations became increasingly stringent, and the number of times taxes had to be paid increased. At first, everyone tightened their belts and managed to get by, but later the government even went door-to-door to conscript people for forced labor.
Good heavens, how can people live like this? Since ancient times, people who have been conscripted for labor have never returned to their villages, but those who work in the fields year-round are easy to bully. They give grain when they want it, and they give people when they want them.
Although they knew that being conscripted into labor was to fill the mouths of demons, they still dared not resist. But the boy's roar ignited the anger in their hearts. They no longer bowed their heads in a cowardly manner. No matter what demons or monsters lay ahead, they wanted to vent their anger!
They had lost everything; their only remaining few thatched huts had been washed away by last night's torrential rain. The boy's words were like a fuse, igniting the explosive force within them. Countless hearts that had endured to the extreme suddenly exploded. Even knowing that there was a dead end ahead, they would use the fire in their hearts and the hoes in their hands to burn it to ashes!
A Legion of people, weapons in hand, marched toward Mount Yunmeng. In the distance, they could see rolling black clouds over the Mount Yunmeng, with countless Vulture and owls circling overhead, their black clouds raging across the sky.
Along the way, countless ragged people and demons were bound hand and foot with iron chains, and could only walk forward step by step, crossing the iron chain bridge above the abyss to enter the Mount Yunmeng.
Rows of humans and demons stared at the terrifying scene on Mount Yunmeng, their eyes filled with Wuxian fear. However, under the oppressive atmosphere, they dared not utter a sound at the foot of the mountain, and the crowd numbly walked forward.
Upon reaching the foot of the mountain and getting closer, one sees countless piles of white bones on the ground, scattered hairs fluttering in the cold wind, and the chilling cries of eagles occasionally booming in the air.
A scene resembling a ghostly realm has emerged in the once ethereal Mount Yunmeng, making those who once came here seeking divine intervention feel as if they were in another world, and inevitably giving rise to a sense of despair.
Vulture circled atop the mountain, their cold eyes fixed on the numb crowd, as if they were nothing more than corpses in their eyes. A terrifying aura emanated from the summit, sending a chill down one's spine.
A gust of cold wind swept by, and the people bound by iron chains all shivered.
The once ethereal mountaintop is now desolate, the only remaining intact stone wall is covered with weeds, and the former nest of Luan Crane is now filled with Vulture and owls.
At their feet lay a mummy with a ferocious expression. Its sharp beak ripped open the mummy's chest and abdomen, burying its head deep into the wound and violently tearing out its heart and lungs. Vulture were feasting on it.
A wide, flat area had been carved out of the mountaintop by human hands. Leaning against the side of the mountain was a huge foundation, on which countless people were working, carrying huge stones with their tiny bodies, moving them step by step onto the foundation.
The moved stones were moved towards the side of the mountain, and the buildings built against the mountainside resembled a towering palace, with its huge dome and wide gates showcasing the grandeur and magnificence of the palace.
On the foundation of the enormous palace, countless figures, resembling ants, were being built under the watchful eyes of powerful demons, their meager human strength being used to risk their lives to construct this magnificent palace.
Those who didn't work hard and slacked off, along with the demons, were instantly captured and taken away. They were never seen on the mountain again, leaving only another eyeless, desiccated corpse on the cliff face of the abyss.