Chapter 39: A Swarm of Demons in Wild Dance (32)

“Another illusion!” Shen Xiao shouted. “Linyuan! Go after Miss Xu! I’ll handle them!”

Linyuan’s agility and strength were rendered nearly useless by the illusions. Seeing Shen Xiao step forward to block the two faces, he immediately veered aside and continued his pursuit of the sedan chair ahead!

The two ghostly faces, formed from foxfire—one weeping, one laughing—lunged at Shen Xiao, aiming straight for his own face!

Shen Xiao hastily drew back his sword, using its energy to parry their attack!

He quickly realized that this was no mere confusion of the five senses. This illusion went further, capable of bewitching the mind itself. If the crying face caught him, he would be doomed to endless grief and wailing. If the laughing face seized him, he would fall into raving, uncontrollable laughter.

Swiftly, Shen Xiao flung a talisman into the air, then with his sword traced a charm in the void. The talisman instantly burst into flames, and within the golden fire appeared a furious visage—fierce and wild, like an enraged deity.

Sweat beaded on Shen Xiao’s brow. He planted his sword upright before him and shouted, “Break!”

The face in the golden flames erupted in a thunderous roar—like the bellow of lion and tiger. The two ghost faces, one crying and one laughing, shattered under its fury.

The illusion collapsed, but Shen Xiao did not dare relax. With a twist of his hand, several faint red threads appeared between his fingers. Each thread was connected at the other end to the distant bridal sedan—

Gritting his teeth, he chanted a spell, forcefully pulling the red threads back. Instantly, the sedan halted, held fast by his power and unable to move another inch forward!

At the same time, Shen Xiao’s hand that gripped the threads began to swell and redden, veins bulging beneath the skin.

He seemed to be enduring excruciating pain, yet gripped the threads tightly and roared ahead, “Linyuan! Bring Miss Xu back!”

Inside the sedan, Xu Xiangyun had already fallen unconscious. Linyuan reached in to pull her out, but suddenly a flash of red darted before his eyes. In an instant, Xu Xiangyun was snatched from his grasp!

Linyuan’s heart jolted. As a beast demon, his senses and speed surpassed all but the most seasoned cultivators, yet that shadow had taken the girl from his very hands?!

He turned to look. There stood a humanoid monster nearly three meters tall—fox-faced, human-bodied, claws curved like hooks, and nine crimson tails fanned out behind it.

A nine-tailed fox!

Stirred to battle, Linyuan’s pupils dilated, their golden color turning pitch black. His knuckles cracked as he prepared to leap forward, but just then, from a distance, Shen Xiao launched his attack at the fox demon!

The red threads attached to Xu Xiangyun suddenly transformed into a thousand sharp blades, stabbing straight at the fox demon. But the monster refused to let go, blocking the needles with its tails and, clutching Xu Xiangyun, fled toward the depths of the forest!

Linyuan gave chase relentlessly!

Demonic energy surged around them, thick as a storm. They raced after the fox demon, crossing a hilltop in mere moments. They were nearly upon the illusion array where Linyuan had once lost his way. Gritting his teeth, Shen Xiao summoned another fire talisman and ignited the red threads directly!

Golden flames raced along the threads, setting the needle-tipped tails ablaze as well.

In an instant, the fox’s nine bushy tails became balls of fire!

The fox demon turned in fury, baring its savage fangs and letting out a spine-chilling roar. A demonic wind rose, sending sand and gravel flying, snuffing out Shen Xiao’s flames.

Seeing this, Linyuan could wait no longer. Unleashing his claws, he pounced!

The fox demon, burdened with Xu Xiangyun in its arms, was forced on the defensive and quickly lost ground. As Shen Xiao closed in, the monster grew distracted, and Linyuan tore a large patch of flesh from its shoulder!

Driven to the brink, the fox demon’s eyes turned blood-red, its fur standing on end. It threw its head back and emitted a piercing shriek, stabbing into their eardrums like blades.

Both Linyuan and Shen Xiao froze, clutching their ears as a host of grotesque demon forms appeared before their eyes.

Shen Xiao recognized them as illusions and was shaken—clearly, the fox demon’s mastery of illusions had reached perfection. Now it was holding back, forced to protect Xu Xiangyun. If it ever fought without restraint, even he and Linyuan together might not be its match.

Linyuan, gritting his teeth through the pain, continued the pursuit, but, as expected, blinded and disoriented by the illusions, he stumbled back into the array. Though the fox demon was right ahead, he wandered the woods like a blind man, unable to find his way.

Shen Xiao fared little better—blood trickled from his ears, his eyes bloodshot. He dared not advance, fearing he too would be lost. All he could do was use the last remaining red thread to barely restrain the fox demon, preventing it from carrying Xu Xiangyun away.

But even this final thread was about to snap. Demonic energy surged everywhere. Linyuan was trapped in the array, Shen Xiao’s fire talismans had failed, and the fox demon was about to escape with Xu Xiangyun. Desperate, Shen Xiao made a final gamble—he pulled out a black talisman and began to chant—

The black charm transformed instantly into countless black moths, which swarmed toward the fox demon.

With a sweep of its tails, the fox demon scattered the moths, but as they dispersed into black ashes, the fine dust settled invisibly upon its body.

“A Soul-Chasing Talisman…” Shen Xiao coughed weakly, blood at his lips. “This charm does no harm, but whenever we meet again, no matter what form you take, I will see through you. Lady Xu, there’s no point in running anymore—I know who you are.”

The fox demon at last ceased its attacks, still holding Xu Xiangyun as it stared at Shen Xiao from a distance.

The illusion array faded, and Linyuan broke free at last.

The fox demon spoke again, but this time, instead of a beast’s roar, a woman’s voice rang clear and cold:

“When did you discover me?”

Shen Xiao answered solemnly, “From our first day in Qingshan City, we sensed you lacked the aura all humans possess. It was strange. Everyone in this world has their own essence—ghosts have deathly aura, humans have vital energy, demons have demonic qi. But you—your presence was too clean! I suspected you used some artifact to mask your aura, but I never imagined you were a fox demon, not until just now… You had multiple chances to kill me and Linyuan, but you never did. No matter how we attacked, you instinctively protected Xu Xiangyun.”

The fox demon was silent a moment. Its three-meter form gradually shrank, and its features shifted back to those of Lady Xu.

“You should not have come to Qingshan City.” Lady Xu’s voice was like a spring in winter, clear and cold. “I advise you to leave at once, or you will bring disaster upon yourselves.”

“Is it because of the Demon Path?” Shen Xiao asked. “You hid your demonic aura for fear of being discovered by the Demon Path? But why abduct innocent girls from the city? Is this also related to the Demon Path?”

Lady Xu no longer concealed the truth. “A little over a year ago, young women began vanishing mysteriously from Qingshan City every few days. My husband, as city lord, investigated with all his power, but found no clues. I thought of the Grand Preceptor of Great Liang, who once forged elixirs from living people, and suspected a demon cultivator had infiltrated the city. I set up illusion arrays throughout the city and eventually lured several demon path followers, but when I killed them, I discovered they were mere puppets. No matter how many I slew, the mastermind sent more. Despite my efforts, the city’s girls kept vanishing one after another.”

Shen Xiao understood at once. “So you used the legend of the fox’s wedding to hide those girls away before anyone else could take them!”