"Enemies should resolve grievances rather than create them. It's not easy for us to cultivate; why must you persist in forcing the issue? As I see it, it's better to cease here. I will not pursue today's matters further..."
As the old vixen spoke, the cane in her hand was planted firmly on the ground, while she took a step forward, her aura undergoing subtle changes.
Xu Qing had rescued countless souls and was accustomed to the complexities of human nature. An old fox with millennia of cultivation, could she convincingly mimic the vicissitudes of a thousand lives?
Moreover, apart from the immortals of his hall, anyone who had seen him transform into the avatar of Lady Bao Sheng had been buried by him!
This was not about saving face or being cautious. From her inception, Lady Bao Sheng detested evil and could not bear to see any wicked person or demon alive in the world.
Xu Qing could swear to the heavens that he harbored no selfish desires, otherwise, he was certain a grim fate awaited him.
"Old fox, we're both not human here, so don't play Strange Tales games with me, nor pretend to be noble. I've come here today for only two things!"
"First, to skin you and make a nest for my cat."
"Second, my Immortal Hall lacks a moral teacher; I can use your skull as a gift to offer to Lu Xiu."
The old fox queried with a furrowed brow, "Who is Lu Xiu, and what grievance do I have with him?"
"Lu Xiu was the top scholar of the last imperial examination, the eighth County Magistrate of Ning County. You ensnared Yang Mingchun in the dark arts of earth spirit possession, harming countless people, Lu Xiu among them!"
"Today, not one of these old debts will you evade!"
The old fox chuckled strangely, "Young man, I was merely responding to you in kind, but do you truly believe you can contend with me?"
"Let's see."
It's no wonder people of the Jin Sect often say the words 'let's see' are most inhuman.
Master, I've been your apprentice, doing odd chores for two years. When will you teach me the real skills?
Let's see.
Then I'll work another year to make it three; will you teach me by then?
Let's see.
So, do you agree or not, acknowledge or not?
Let's see.
The vixen, adept at manipulation, had her lengthy speech casually rebuffed by Xu Qing's simple phrase.
The old fox was simmering inside, unable to fathom how this young one seemed to consistently counter her.
Xu Qing was unaware of the inner thoughts of the old fox but was determined to see his intentions through.
"Old demon, perhaps we should dispense with the pleasantries—a fox like you and a zombie like me, we're both characters from the same Strange Tales book. If we're to fight, then let's fight, without the trickery..."
Xu Qing squinted with a smile and promptly summoned the Mountain and Rivers Cauldron, setting it behind him, as a foundational artifact of the Yin Kingdom.
The cane that the old fox had planted in the ground was clearly no ordinary item, and his cauldron wasn't a mere cookware either.
Having broken through the seal of White Cloud Cave, the vixen's form halted as she was restoring her magical power.
Believing herself to be cultivated over many years, the fox assumed her recovery of magical power would be faster than Xu Qing's, but this newly ascended young man seemed to have already stabilized his foundation, reaching a peak state?
Xu Qing grinned, baring his teeth. The numerous Yin Essence Pills he'd acquired through exorcising corpses weren't just for show!
In this verbal skirmish, the old fox gained no advantage, but she was far from thinking herself defeated.
An old demon proficient in the seventy-two secret techniques of the Nine Heavens Secret Scripture, pitted against a young cultivator known by few with just over a thousand years of practice, the advantage was hers!
With a shared understanding, as Xu Qing finished speaking, the vixen took a step forward, unleashing the earth demon technique 'Pot Heaven'.
In a step, the ground shrank by yards.
Almost simultaneously, Xu Qing executed the dismemberment technique, nine figures dispersing in all directions with the Four-sided Lean Banner as anchor points.
Meanwhile, the supernatural power of the Yin Kingdom unfolded, instantly enveloping the entire White Cloud Mountain in a sinister ghost realm.
"Upon the borders of the kingdom, none are not subjects!"
Before his breakthrough as a Flying Corpse, Xu Qing's ghostly domain in the Yin River was only fifty miles in circumference, and in the mundane world, it was a mere twenty miles.
Yet now his ghostly domain spanned a fifty-mile radius. In the Yin River, it could likely encompass an entire city!
Within this fifty-mile radius, Xu Qing wielded absolute control over the territory; every blade of grass, insect, and ant within the Yin Kingdom was under his grasp.
Xu Qing could clearly perceive every movement the old fox made within this domain.
Where Xu Qing had stood, the hunched old hag swung the Ghost Head Divine Saber, but it didn't even graze him.
Only a single black banner was reduced to powder by the divine saber.
The old fox's eyelid twitched, sensing trouble.
Sure enough, as the divine saber descended, nine celestial axe shadows cut down upon her from all directions!
Without hesitation, the old fox executed the earth demon technique 'Scenery Shift', instantly altering the position of the White Cloud Cave.
At the southern yellow banner, the avatar of Lady Bao Sheng danced with her resplendent garments and flowing dress. This was the first time Xu Qing had stacked the Tiangang Axe Technique to thirty layers, slashing with all his might.
This slash was purely numerical, devoid of any transformation.
Before Xu Qing, a white rainbow grew with the wind, initially only two or three yards long, then seven or eight, then a dozen yards long. By the time it reached the predetermined spot, the white rainbow axe shadow was over a hundred feet in length!
As the white rainbow made contact with the mountain, the entire White Cloud Mountain quaked, carving a fissure over ten yards deep across the mountain top, cleaving two peaks before the several-hundred-yard-long axe shadow vanished.
Yet Xu Qing showed no sign of triumph.
Before executing the Tiangang Axe Technique, he had faced the White Cloud Cave directly. Even with the support of relocation banners, he should have been moving back, meaning the old fox should have remained directly opposite him.
However, at this moment, he had switched places with her, and even the position of the White Cloud Cave had shifted.
Only the Tiangang axe shadow he had swung followed its predetermined path, irretrievably!
"Young man, that axe is indeed terrifying, but alas, it cannot harm me."
Xu Qing gazed silently at the changing banners.
The Tiangang Axe Technique was a divine power that could split heaven and earth, consuming enormous energy with each use. Unless he could devise a means to counter the 'Scenery Shift' technique, he could do nothing to this fox.
As the celestial fox shrank the ground once more, flashing in front of him with the Pot Heaven technique, Xu Qing promptly abandoned the yellow banner, moving swiftly to the eastern green banner.
Simultaneously, nine divided figures released accumulated corpse poison, instantly transforming the ghostly domain of White Cloud Cave into an absolute wasteland.
Where the poison mist passed, insects vanished, flowers and plants withered.
The vixen raised her brow, fingers rapidly forming a spell, executing the earth demon techniques of 'Air Prohibition' and 'Poison Mastery'.
Xu Qing never intended to rely solely on corpse poison to defeat the old fox. His thoughts raced, and during the momentary distraction, he summoned the celestial-grade Mountain and Rivers Cauldron before him.
With the eight scenes of the Yin Kingdom rotating, ten thousand Fierce Generals roared as they crawled from the ghostly domain; deathly aura, corpse qi, and poisonous miasma surged like a tide, engulfing the entirety of White Cloud Mountain.
If the Tiangang Axe Technique, which was limited in its range, couldn't counter the Scenery Shift technique, then he would use an unrestricted, indiscriminate territorial divine power instead.
Outside White Cloud Mountain, the diviner and young girl who had retreated long ago from the Dayan Army's formation, watched the apocalyptic scene with tense expressions.
Bai Qiuyu was anxious about the intense battle between the sect leader and the demon; if the sect leader were defeated, she, as a conspirator of the Illusion Heaven Grand Formation, would certainly meet her doom.
Xuan Yu, on the other hand, was worried for the Xu Immortal Family, fearing not only the celestial fox but also concerned for the Xu Immortal Family's wellbeing...
After all, the Xu Immortal Family was not like the Nine-Life Profound Cat; the Xu Immortal Family had only one life.
Within the army formation, Wang Liang and Shang Shaoyang wore expressions of numb acceptance.
Following Xu Qing's instructions, no signal meant he was not in mortal danger, but could anything truly withstand such a sight as this?
Even an immortal wouldn't dare to take such risks...
White Cloud Mountain.
The vixen's expression fluctuated; the young man in front of her continually shattered her understanding.
The supernatural power of the Yin Kingdom before her, and the tens of thousands of fierce generals—there was no way this could be the work of a righteous person.
Whom had she truly offended?