Lu Xiao's crimson eyes narrowed sharply.
The glow of the chakra computer screen reflected across his pale face—yet that pallor now carried a dangerous vitality. The thin red veins around his eyes stood out clearly beneath the bluish-green light of the holographic map.
He had no time to analyze further.
With a smooth motion, his body began to blur.
His pale skin dissolved into thin black mist that spiraled where he stood. His vampire aura compressed inward, suppressed until it was nearly undetectable.
In the next instant—
the black mist shot out into the darkness of the forest,
merging seamlessly with the shadows of the night sky.
Lu Xiao's speed surged dramatically. The wind split apart as he streaked through the air, following the constantly shifting coordinates. The green dot was still blinking.
But moments later, the dot suddenly accelerated, forming a straight line across the map.
Lu Xiao's pupils contracted.
Just moments ago, the green dot had been circling in one place.
Now it was moving at extreme speed.
Was Xue Yunxue currently aboard an aircraft?
He had no time to dwell on it.
With a single thought, he pushed his speed even further.
The night sky tore open as a streak of black shot forward—cold, silent, and relentless.
-----
Inside Noctar's black aircraft, dim golden lights cast a somber, cold glow across the cabin.
Xue Yunxue was confined within the transparent crystal prison. Dark runes pulsed faintly along its walls, siphoning her energy little by little.
Her body trembled.
Not only because of her injuries.
The strength-enhancing potion she had consumed earlier was still raging through her veins—wild, scorching energy colliding violently with the suppressive force of the crystal cage. The sensation made her skin feel as though it were burning from within.
She bit her lower lip softly.
Refusing to appear weak.
Noctar stood before her, his shadow stretching long across the metallic floor of the aircraft. His gaze was cold, yet there was an unusual flicker of curiosity within it.
"What was your purpose in spying on my fortress?" he asked in a low voice.
"Are you a spy from the Yanhuo Kingdom?"
Xue Yunxue slowly lifted her head.
Her black hair was disheveled, her breathing unstable, yet her eyes still burned fiercely.
"You're holding someone," she replied. Her voice trembled—not from fear, but from the violent clash of energies within her body.
"I only wanted to free her."
Noctar stepped closer.
"And which prisoner were you trying to rescue?"
Xue Yunxue closed her eyes briefly. Pain spread to the tips of her fingers.
"Xuxu…" she whispered.
Noctar fell silent for a fraction of a second.
Then a thin, cunning smile curved at the corner of his lips.
"Xuxu?" he repeated softly.
"Ah… that little slut."
A low, dismissive laugh escaped him.
"For that woman… you invaded my fortress and risked your lives?"
"What do you mean?" Yunxue's voice tightened.
Noctar did not answer directly.
He simply raised his hand and activated a video call.
A projection appeared.
She was beautiful. Seductive.
Yet there was something hollow behind her eyes.
Her body was draped in thin fabric that left little to the imagination. Faint reddish marks lingered on her skin—traces of recent passion.
She smiled.
Soft. Coy. Practiced.
"Commander…" her voice flowed like slow-dripping honey.
"Did you miss me? If you call… Xuxu will serve you tonight."
Her tone was overly sweet. Overly obedient.
Her fingers trailed slowly along her curves in a deliberate, provocative gesture clearly meant to entice the man before her.
The sight made Xue Yunxue's stomach churn.
Noctar glanced sideways at Yunxue, savoring every shift in the girl's expression.
"This girl," he said casually, "willingly threw herself into my bed."
A faint smile tugged at his lips.
"And she's very skilled at pleasing me."
Xue Yunxue clenched her fists behind the crystal barrier.
Noctar continued, his voice like a blade being sharpened slowly.
"I heard she followed a soldier, joined the rebels, and turned that soldier into a spy… all so she could freely climb into the beds of higher officers."
His smile turned sly.
"An ambitious little woman."
A low chuckle left his lips.
The aircraft continued slicing through the night sky, dark clouds parting beneath its metallic wings.
"For a woman like that," Noctar went on, "you entered my fortress and offered up your lives?"
He looked at Yunxue with open mockery.
"What an amusing joke."
Xue Yunxue's eyes reddened—
not from despair,
but from slow-burning fury.
Noctar stepped closer to the crystal prison.
His gaze darkened.
"But you are special," he said softly.
"If you're willing to become my bed slave… perhaps I will consider sparing your life."
He pressed his hand against the crystal in front of her face.
The pressure of his Taigu aura seeped faintly through, as if trying to crush her will.
"I would rather die than become your slave," Xue Yunxue replied without hesitation.
Her voice was cold.
Filled with hatred.
Their gazes clashed through the transparent barrier.
Noctar smiled faintly.
But behind that smile, he understood one thing—
this girl would never submit.
And precisely because of that—
his interest in her deepened.
Silently, he had recorded everything.
If she survived this ordeal, she would whip Yun Wu for his foolishness in being deceived by a cheap woman and nearly getting the three of them killed.
------
Pain ravaged Xue Yunxue's body more violently than before.
This was not the steady heat of an ordinary strength-enhancing potion.
This was different.
The energy within her veins was not strengthening—it felt as though it were being crushed from both sides.
The potion she had consumed to amplify her plant element seemed to collide with something else within her.
Fox blood.
And the relentless pressure of the crystal prison that continued to drain her strength.
Her chest tightened. Her heartbeat became erratic.
"What… is happening…" she whispered inwardly.
But she had already sent Moa back with Lin Yuan and Yun Wu. There was no voice in her mind to answer her now.
This time—
she was truly alone.
Her vision blurred. The runes carved into the crystal walls pulsed brighter and brighter.
As if responding to the transformation taking place inside her.
Xue Yunxue struggled to remain conscious. She bit the inside of her cheek until she tasted blood.
But exhaustion struck like a crashing wave.
And finally—
her body went limp. She fainted.
"Looks like the girl's down," one of the soldiers guarding the cargo cabin muttered.
Another sneered.
"Not as strong as I thought."
He stepped closer and tapped the crystal wall with the butt of his weapon.
The knock echoed softly.
Silence.
Then—
Xue Yunxue's eyes snapped open.
But they were no longer the same.
Her dark pupils had turned a deep crimson.
In a single second, the temperature inside the cabin plummeted.
The soldier staggered backward.
"W-wait… what is that—"
Three thin red lines appeared on both sides of Yunxue's cheeks, glowing faintly like burning claw marks.
Fox ears emerged from her black hair. The runes on the crystal walls flickered chaotically.
The energies within her body no longer merely clashed.
They fused—yet violently collided at the same time.
Her fox blood merged with her plant element.
But the fire within her fox lineage suppressed the growth energy.
The pressure inside her body became extreme.
Her human form began to fade.
Not vanish—
but transform.
Black fur spread rapidly across her skin.
Her body expanded, elongated.
Within a few breaths—
the human figure was replaced by a massive black fox.
Her fur was darker than a moonless night. Her long tail was thick and powerful, tipped with pristine white that stood in sharp contrast.
The fox stood inside the crystal prison.
Her crimson eyes burned.
The aura radiating from her was no longer unstable—
it was wild.
The transparent prison was now filled entirely by the shadow of black fur. From outside, only the gleam of two red eyes could be seen.
"Quick! Inform the Commander!" a soldier shouted.
One of them sprinted toward the main cabin.
Inside the cage—
the black fox let out a low growl.
The sound was deep and resonant, making the aircraft's metal walls tremble.
And for the first time—
the crystal prison shook.
The runes etched across its surface flared wildly, flickering like candles about to be extinguished in a storm.
The soldiers retreated several steps.
The aura emanating from within the cage no longer felt human.
It was something far more terrifying.
More primal.
More… pure.
Behind the curtain of black fur—
the fox's tail moved.
Then it blurred—
and split.
Within seconds, more tails unfurled, blooming like a flower of darkness exploding within the narrow cabin.
Not one.
Not two.
Nine.
Nine massive tails spread outward simultaneously, covering the entire crystal prison like a curtain of night.
Spiritual pressure surged violently.
The crystal screeched.
Fine cracks spread like spiderwebs across its surface.
The soldiers held their breath.
The next second—
CRAAASH!
The crystal prison shattered into countless fragments.
Shards flew across the cabin, slamming into metal walls and flooring.
From within the dust and the dying glow of shattered runes—
emerged a massive, elegant black fox.
Her fur shimmered like thick ink beneath the emergency lights.
The white tips of her nine tails glowed faintly, like cold moonlight.
Her crimson eyes opened slowly.
Burning.
Not with rage—
but with a deep red, like ancient blood flowing through the veins of the world.
With a flick of one tail—
white flames ignited.
They were not ordinary flames.
Pale.
Sacred.
Not hot—
yet annihilating everything they touched.
When the fire brushed metal and seats—
they did not char.
They vanished.
The white flames swept across the floor and walls like a silent tide.
Soldiers screamed in panic. Some leapt backward.
Others collapsed, faces drained of all color.
The cabin doors burst open.
Noctar appeared.
His steps halted.
For the first time since the battle began—
his face paled slightly.
His eyes narrowed, scanning the black fox carefully.
Nine tails.
Sacred white flames.
An aura he had never sensed before.
"Impossible…" he murmured.
Ancient legends whispered in his memory.
A being that once dwelled in Jiutian Ling Shang.
Founder of an ancient kingdom.
A symbol of destruction and rebirth.
Could that girl—
be the legendary Nine-Tailed Fox Beast?
The black fox slowly turned her head.
Her gaze met Noctar's.
And for the first time—
Noctar's power pressure wavered.
-------
Good night. I'm feeling sleepy and will continue the story tomorrow morning.