The lizard stood still, golden eyes gleaming. It lowered its head slightly, its tongue flicking out—slowly, almost thoughtfully—licking the warm blood from its maw.
The taste lingered: metallic and thick.
A smear of red stretched from its jaw down to its scaled chest.
Crackling arcs of lightning danced across its body, surging along its limbs and tail.
Jinhai stared, frozen mid-step.
Yulan, his breath shallow and eyes narrowed, stepped back instinctively, his hand twitching near his pouch of sealing scripts.
Neither elder moved. Neither spoke. But both were thinking the same thing:
What… is that thing?
Yulan broke the silence, his voice tight with disbelief.
"What kind of creature is that? It killed Meilin and Han… instantly."
Jinhai's jaw clenched. His jade fan lowered, his eyes narrowing in calculation.
"Its cultivation is only at the Third Layer," he muttered, disbelief shading his tone.
"How… how could something at that level move without detection? Not a ripple. Not a distortion. And yet—it killed Meilin and Han… instantly."
Yulan closed his eyes briefly, reaching out with his spiritual sense.
Exactly how many demon beasts are in the estate, huh?
His eyes snapped open. A cold dread washed over him.
Lianhai's presence… it's gone. And this creature just appeared. I can't sense any other demonic beasts. So this is most likely is the same one.
"It's gone," Yulan said grimly. "Lianhai… no longer exists here. That creature must be the one he was fighting."
Jinhai's eyes narrowed.
"Then we must be on guard. It could strike at any moment."
Above them, a fox—still cloaked in a shimmering barrier—watched silently from its perch. A faint, knowing smile curved its lips.
"…Well," the fox muttered under its breath. "That's my cue."
With a slow, deliberate motion, the barrier around its body flickered and faded. The fox shrank, its form condensing, becoming smaller, less imposing. It began to descend—cautious, deliberate—toward the lizard.
Jinhai and Yulan exchanged tense glances, minds racing with unspoken questions and warnings. But before they could speak—
Like a streak of pure lightning, the lizard's form blurred.
In a heartbeat, it struck.
It appeared before Yulan, jaws wide open, crackling with energy.
Yulan's eyes narrowed.
CLANG!
Sparks of lightning flew as the lizard's fangs met his defensive tool.
The creature's golden eyes narrowed. It glanced at Jinhai. With a swing of its tail, it launched golden scales charged with lightning—deadly projectiles hurtling through the air.
Jinhai's eyes sharpened. He gripped his jade fan, energy surging through him, and swung sharply.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
He deflected most of the scales—but not all.
A single scale pierced into his knuckles.
He flinched, but held firm. Then—
His eyes snapped wide.
The lizard was already in front of him.
Its jaws clamped down.
CLANG!
Jinhai barely managed to react, blocking the bite with his fan. He struggled, pushing the creature back. Lightning arced along his body. His teeth clenched, his limbs trembled.
Lizarius bit down on the jade fan, glaring into his eyes.
Its golden gaze flared—brilliant and terrible.
Jinhai stared back.
Then—his own eyes began to glow gold.
For a moment.
Then the light vanished.
His gaze dulled. The sparkle, the warmth—all gone.
His grip loosened. His body crumpled.
Lizarius hovered above him, wings spread, the jade fan clamped between its jaws.
It looked down at the fallen cultivator, his lifeless eyes frozen in death.
Hmm. The same. It also died from a soul attack, Lizarius thought.
Let's see if it'll be the same with that one.
It opened its maw. The jade fan fell to the ground with a metallic clatter.
But the fox didn't look back at the unfolding battle.
Walking forward slowly head raised.
Its eyes remained fixed on the black spear.
It hovered motionless mid-air, wrapped in pale sealing light, suspended like a caged beast. encased in sealing runes, its sharp edges dimmed by the glowing symbols that crawled across its dark surface like veins of light. faintly twitching reacting to the fox trying to control it.
The fox's expression flattened.
Tch.
That was my only spirit tool.
Damn that bastard.
irritation flickering beneath its cool exterior.
Its tail swayed once behind it—slow, annoyed.
It took a slow step forward, eyes narrowing as it studied the tangled web of sealing runes holding the weapon. Some of them were Yulan's. Old-fashioned script. Subtle work. A pain to unwind.
How long is this going to take to wear off…?
It tilted its head slightly.
Should I try breaking it now?
The fox shook its head slowly
No… not worth the effort. If I rush it, I'll probably damage the spiritual core. And I'm not exactly swimming in resources these days.
The glowing seals shifted faintly, reacting to the fox's Qi as it drew near.
The fox sighed through its nose.
Great. Even if I leave it, it'll just hover around like a cursed ornament until it fades. Ridiculous.
It glanced sideways at the pouch hanging from the thin rope around its neck.
A beat passed.
Then, with a quiet flick of Qi, the fox extended a paw, and the spear—still glowing with suppressing light—floated obediently down into its grasp.
Carefully, it slipped the bound weapon into the pouch. The seals flared slightly in protest, then dimmed.
Out of sight, out of mind.
For now.
The fox exhaled slowly and straightened.