Chapter Sixty-Four: Defending the Sacred Land

The soldiers of the Nether Ghost Sect, Raven Fortress, and the Mingyue Empire had already marched to the foot of the city walls, assembling outside the grand protective formation of the Nine Nether Sacred Land. At the forefront, Sect Master Wang Baigui of the Nether Ghost Sect let out a sinister cackle. "People of the Nine Nether Sacred Land, listen well! Open your defensive formation at once and hand over the family of that old thief Gongsun. Otherwise, when we break through your turtle shell, we will flood the Nine Nether Sacred Land with rivers of blood!"

Within the defensive formation, Song Miao, already standing ready with his forces, responded, "You think we'll surrender without a fight? Dream on! We will never betray our Lord Patriarch! We are willing to defend our sacred land, to fight to the death!"

Master Mo Ya, Lord of the Raven Fortress, said with boredom, "Brother Baigui, there's no need to waste words with them. I can't wait to smash this turtle shell and slaughter every last one of them in the Nine Nether Sacred Land."

Wang Baigui replied, "That’s not quite right, Brother Mo Ya. Don’t you find it far more entertaining to give them hope first, only to plunge them into despair afterward? Whether or not they open this defensive formation, I plan to turn them all into vengeful souls under my banner. But if they open it themselves, at the very least, we’ll save quite a bit of time, wouldn’t you agree?"

"You have a point, but since you’ve said this out loud, they definitely won’t open it now."

As Wang Baigui and Master Mo Ya bantered as if victory was already in their grasp, all the people within the Nine Nether Sacred Land clenched their fists, their eyes burning with fury.

At last, Wang Baigui and Master Mo Ya gave the command to attack the Nine Nether Sacred Land. The Mingyue Empire had assigned fifty thousand elite soldiers, all at the late Yuan Foundation realm or higher, to support Wang Baigui and Mo Ya. These fifty thousand troops surged forward, unleashing tens of thousands of magical barrages against the protective barrier, causing it to flicker and grow unstable.

Standing atop the city walls, the elite disciples of the Nine Nether Sacred Land manipulated the formation nodes and launched a counterattack, and soon the Mingyue Empire’s elite soldiers began to suffer scattered casualties.

Then, generals of the Yuan Core realm began to attack the barrier as well, with Xu Changye and other great powers joining the fray. The top experts, Wang Baigui and Mo Ya, also joined the assault, each strike delivered with full force, causing the defensive shield to flicker ever more precariously.

Song Miao thought to himself that he could not allow Wang Baigui and Mo Ya to continue their assault. The attacks from the Yuan Foundation and Yuan Core realm soldiers and generals could be endured, but the onslaught from two late-stage Yuan Infant realm experts would quickly bring the formation to its breaking point—at this rate, it would survive at most half a day.

Gritting his teeth, Song Miao turned to Chen Mu and asked, "Young Master Chen, has your senior beast agreed to join the battle?"

Chen Mu scratched his head awkwardly. "She agreed, yes, but Rou’er said she was originally reluctant to intervene. It’s only for my sake that she’s agreed, albeit reluctantly. She also said that, once this affair is over, she wants to take a look at the Nine Nether Sacred Land’s treasury. If she finds something she likes, it must be given to her. If you agree to this, Rou’er will fight."

Song Miao pondered for a moment, then nodded. "Very well. As long as the Nine Nether Sacred Land can be preserved, no matter the treasure, I will present it to the senior beast."

Hearing this, Rou’er, who resided within the Spirit Beast Bracelet, leaped out from the inner space and said, "You said it yourself. When I go to your treasury and take what I want, don’t you dare go back on your word."

When the crowd saw that the senior beast Chen Mu had spoken of was actually a delicate little fox, they were stunned. But the pressure radiating from her forced them to swallow any thoughts of underestimating her.

This was a genuine powerhouse. Song Miao bowed respectfully and said, "Senior, I am one of the three elders of the Nine Nether Sacred Land. My word carries weight. If you take a liking to anything in the treasury, the Lord Patriarch and I are close friends. As long as I speak on your behalf, I am sure he will allow you to choose as you wish. Furthermore, your defense of the sacred land is a great merit; I doubt the Lord Patriarch would refuse any request you make."

Rou’er nodded. "Fine! I’ll trust your words."

Thus, Rou’er followed Song Miao out of the protective formation, preparing to face Wang Baigui and Mo Ya.

Once Rou’er joined the Yuan Infant realm battle, Chen Mu released the Swift Eagle Beast to slay enemies on its own.

When Wang Baigui and Master Mo Ya saw Rou’er, their faces grew grave. This seemingly harmless little fox exuded an aura no less powerful than their own and, in fact, even seemed to suppress them.

Rou’er did not fully release her pressure, intentionally lulling them into a false sense of security to misjudge her strength.

Wang Baigui signaled to Mo Ya, "You go deal with that Song fellow first, then come support me. I refuse to believe that the two of us can’t handle a single fox."

"All right, but be careful not to underestimate her," Mo Ya nodded.

Wang Baigui cupped his hands and called out, "I did not expect Nine Nether Sacred Land to have such a peerless expert hidden away. Might you be the sacred beast protector of the sect?"

Without so much as a glance, Rou’er replied, "I have nothing to do with this Nine Nether Sacred Land."

Wang Baigui was surprised. He had thought this little fox was the sacred beast tamed by that old thief Gongsun Qingyang, but it turned out she had no connection to the sect.

"If you have nothing to do with them, why involve yourself in this muddy affair and oppose us?" Wang Baigui thought that if she truly had no ties to the sect, perhaps she might simply stand aside, saving everyone time and effort.

"Why do you talk so much? My Woodhead has taken up a position here in the Nine Nether Sacred Land. If the sect falls, he’ll blame me. If you want to fight, then fight. Spare me the chatter," Rou’er complained.

No one knew who this 'Woodhead' was, but it was clear that the battle was unavoidable.

With a sinister tone, Wang Baigui said, "If you refuse to stand aside, then I must offend you."

Wang Baigui unfurled the Vengeful Soul Banner, releasing hundreds, thousands of fierce spirits howling as they surged at Rou’er, attempting to consume her flesh, blood, and soul.

Rou’er snapped, "Mere ghosts dare to show their fangs?"

With that, a streak of Dragon-Fox Netherflame shot forth. The fierce spirits, like cats whose tails had been stepped on, turned from howling to shrieking in terror.

Dragon-Fox Netherflame was especially effective against spirits and soul forms, making it deadly to ghosts. Watching his vengeful souls vanish in the flames, Wang Baigui cried out, "What fire is this? It can burn my vengeful souls? No! My banner—"

Just as Wang Baigui tried to retract the banner, Rou’er’s netherflame scorched it, draining its vitality. The so-called Vengeful Soul Banner was now nothing but scrap.

"You… you dare destroy my banner?! I’ll kill you!" he roared, and, surrounded by a swirl of sinister black energy, he instantly appeared in front of Rou’er.

A blood-red saber in hand, he slashed at Rou’er’s head, but with a roll, she evaded the attack and transformed into a two-meter-tall giant demon fox.

With a swipe of her paw, she sent Wang Baigui flying like a ball, crashing him towards the ground.

He landed amidst the Mingyue Empire’s troops, killing many. In the center of a fifty-meter-wide crater, Wang Baigui struggled to his feet.

He was dumbfounded—how was it that he was sent flying by a single blow, unable to even land an attack? Weren’t their strengths supposed to be similar? Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?

Before Wang Baigui could recover, Rou’er’s paw came crashing down again. This time, it was not a casual swipe but carried a shadow of true essence shaped like a claw, pressing directly for his head.

Sensing mortal danger, Wang Baigui dodged desperately, barely escaping death. The paw missed and deepened the crater, shaking the earth and killing more of the Mingyue Empire’s soldiers caught in the shockwave.

Wang Baigui was terrified; had he not dodged, he would have been a corpse. He no longer cared for anything else and immediately tried to flee. Where was the talk of equal strength? This little fox had clearly hidden her power, lulling him into complacency to finish him off in a single stroke. Foxes truly were cunning.

After Wang Baigui fled, Rou’er wore a mocking smile and vanished as well.

The commotion had been noticed by Master Mo Ya, who cursed inwardly, "Wang Baigui is useless—he can’t even hold back a fox and just runs off? Looks like I’ll have to kill Song Miao myself."

An hour later, Rou’er returned, dragging a corpse in her jaws—none other than Wang Baigui himself.

Mo Ya and Song Miao, who had been dodging and dueling, stopped fighting, staring in shock at Rou’er. Mo Ya looked as if he’d seen a ghost. "Wang Baigui... is dead? Impossible! How could it be!"

Song Miao, on the other hand, breathed a sigh of relief—he had been barely holding on, waiting for Rou’er’s support.

Mo Ya tried to escape, but Song Miao blocked his path. Rou’er advanced slowly, the two forming a pincer, hemming Mo Ya in from front and back.

"You… you can’t kill me. If you spare me, I’ll give you whatever you want..." Mo Ya pleaded in panic.

Rou’er licked her fluffy white fur and replied, "Once I kill you and wipe out your fortress, won’t everything you own be mine? Why would I need you to hand anything over?"

Hearing Rou’er’s bandit-like words, Song Miao couldn’t help but marvel at how domineering this fox was. They would have to treat Chen Mu well from now on—if Rou’er ever turned against the Nine Nether Sacred Land, they would be in dire straits.

And so, Mo Ya was slain as well.

Chen Mu, too, was dazzling on his side of the battlefield. Together with the Swift Eagle Beast, he slaughtered enemies left and right, sowing terror among the enemy troops. The soldiers were frustrated—wasn’t that our army’s own eagle beast? Why was it so loyal to an outsider? All that training was wasted.

When the two late-stage Yuan Infant realm powerhouses fell, the coalition forces finally panicked and began to retreat in chaos. With their leaders dead, what point was there in continuing the fight?