Chapter 991: First Encounter with a Demon Fox

Chao Jing said, "Afterward? I'm already mired in trouble now."

Niu Youdao said, "Without solid evidence, what are you afraid of?"

A trace of ferocity appeared on Chao Jing's face. "My grandson knows the truth. The fact that you were able to get a grip on him proves he isn't some unbreakable hard bone. Once word gets out, Myriad Beasts Sect will seize him immediately and interrogate him harshly. Do you really think he'll be able to keep his mouth shut?"

Niu Youdao said, "We're all trapped inside Sacred Realm. News won't leak out that easily. Even if Misty Pavilion learns something, it won't lightly intervene in grudges between factions in the cultivation world, much less deliberately release word to harm you. It isn't as troublesome as you think."

Chao Jing lowered his voice. "And after the tempering ends? So many people heard it. Can it still be kept secret then?"

Niu Youdao sighed. "You're only now thinking about the hidden danger your grandson represents? Since you're worried, find a way to silence him permanently." In any case, it was not Niu Youdao's grandson who would be dying.

Chao Jing said, "Easy for you to say. Silence him now? That would only make Myriad Beasts Sect even more suspicious!"

Niu Youdao said, "Let them be suspicious. I refuse to believe Myriad Beasts Sect can do anything to an Elder without solid evidence."

Chao Jing said, "Once they have a direction to investigate, they'll have methods. Anything could happen!"

Niu Youdao said, "Afraid of wolves ahead and tigers behind. Then what do you propose?"

Chao Jing said, "Once this matter is exposed, even without evidence, the suspicion will be too great. The matters involved are no small thing. The sect will never trust me again, and no one will be in a position to speak for me. To prove its own innocence, the sect will force me to surrender every bit of authority in my hands. They won't let me touch sect affairs again. There's a very real possibility I'll be placed under house arrest!"

Niu Youdao gave a quiet "Mm." "Elder Chao has occupied a high position in Myriad Beasts Sect for many years, so naturally you know how the sect would deal with you. Ah, that outcome isn't so terrible. Treat it as peaceful retirement. You won't have to do anything, and you'll have food and drink provided. Sounds rather comfortable."

Chao Jing's expression twitched.

He had offended too many people while holding power. Once that power disappeared, he had no interest in debating with Niu Youdao what sort of consequences might follow. At the very least, spending the rest of his life under house arrest was something he found difficult to accept.

Gritting his teeth, he said, "It isn't as though there's no way to resolve it!"

Niu Youdao blinked. A teasing curve appeared at the corner of his mouth. "You want to join Misty Pavilion?"

Chao Jing was startled.

He suddenly found the man before him somewhat frightening. Niu Youdao had actually guessed what he was thinking.

Since he had already been seen through, Chao Jing no longer spoke in circles. "That's right! In this tempering, you have to find a way for us to beat Misty Pavilion."

Niu Youdao sighed. "Are you joking? You want me to find a way? You know perfectly well that whether it's hunting experience or familiarity with the terrain and environment of the Desolate Marsh Deadlands, Misty Pavilion has advantages we don't possess. What possible method could I come up with? Aren't you deliberately making things difficult for me?"

Chao Jing said, "The situation in the Tiandu Secret Realm was far more complicated than this, yet you still took first place. Surely some of the methods you used there can work here too."

Niu Youdao said, "How can the Tiandu Secret Realm be compared with Sacred Realm? We aren't allowed to rob one another here. We're competing directly against Misty Pavilion and can only build our results honestly, one kill at a time. Besides, Myriad Beasts Sect should have experience dealing with beasts. Why don't you simply bring out your sect's true skills and seize first place yourselves?"

Chao Jing said, "Stop talking nonsense. Use your head. If Myriad Beasts Sect truly had that ability, would Sacred Realm never have used us before? Do you think Sacred Realm has never mobilized Myriad Beasts Sect to exterminate these Demon Foxes? They tried that long ago. Myriad Beasts Sect's methods are completely useless against the Demon Foxes here. These creatures are born with extraordinary gifts, natural intelligence, and demonic power. Ordinary beast-control methods don't work on them, and they can even suppress their own aura, making them impossible to track."

"According to some records preserved in the sect, our predecessors wrote that when Sacred Realm dealt with the Demon Foxes back then, it didn't only mobilize Myriad Beasts Sect. It also gathered all kinds of demon cultivators. Once the Demon Foxes were driven into the Desolate Marsh Deadlands, however, there was nothing more anyone could do. Many demon cultivators capable of traveling through mud were killed after burrowing into this swamp. It is said that even a flood dragon entered the mud and never managed to crawl back out."

Niu Youdao was surprised. "These Demon Foxes are that formidable? Isn't their actual strength limited?"

"Their strength is limited, yes. The problem is this swamp." Chao Jing lowered his voice. "Something grows beneath it—the Corpse-Rot Vine mentioned in the handbook we were given. Once you burrow beneath the marsh and get entangled by that thing, ten thousand tendrils attacking together through the mud are terrifying. Demon Foxes, however, can treat the Corpse-Rot Vine as food. They're its natural nemesis. Demon Foxes can travel freely through the mud; others can't. That's the key."

"You remember the handbook's warning. Hunt them on the surface. Unless absolutely necessary, don't burrow beneath the swamp."

Niu Youdao said, "So that's how it is. Thank you for the warning."

Chao Jing said, "Why am I even talking to you about this? Niu Youdao, I'm warning you. If Myriad Beasts Sect uncovers my affairs, you won't escape involvement either."

"Are you threatening me?" Niu Youdao raised a hand and pressed one finger against Chao Jing's chest. "Have you grown tired of living? If I wanted you dead, do you believe you wouldn't survive the day?"

Chao Jing said, "You can kill me, but can you kill everyone who heard Taishu Shancheng's words? Once my grandson falls into Myriad Beasts Sect's hands and opens his mouth, confirming what you did, don't imagine your battle-hardened armies will save you. If Myriad Beasts Sect decides to intervene against you, have you considered the consequences?"

Then his tone softened. "Niu Youdao, I don't mean anything else. But joining Misty Pavilion is an opportunity for us. Once we become Misty Pavilion's people, will Myriad Beasts Sect still dare act rashly against you? I'm not asking for your help only because of the reasons I mentioned before. At the very least, everyone in front of us listens to you, and you know certain inside information besides. This isn't only helping me. It's helping you too!"

Niu Youdao stared at him, then suddenly smiled. "Reasonable enough. Fine. I'll do my best!"

But that was not what he truly thought.

He was different from the others. They had written down leverage and handed it to Sacred Realm, making it easy for Sacred Realm to cut off their retreat. The chicken-feather-and-garlic-skin trivialities he had written were nothing but bullshit. There was no reason for him to throw himself into Misty Pavilion.

He had already reached a judgment.

By writing those things, the others had handed initiative into Sacred Realm's grasp. Sacred Realm could manipulate those admissions in all kinds of ways. A problem could be made large or small at will. Most of the people who had entered had effectively lost their road of retreat.

They were the medicinal catalyst the Nine Saints had brought in to rectify Misty Pavilion, which meant they were being used against Misty Pavilion's entrenched interest groups.

Even if they succeeded in joining Misty Pavilion, so what?

It would hardly be a good thing.

So long as there was still a road of retreat, there was no reason to wade into Misty Pavilion's muddy waters.

More importantly, he still had a whole group of people outside. He could not abandon their lives merely for the sake of joining Misty Pavilion.

As for Chao Jing's threats, compared with the threat Sacred Realm posed to him, they were hardly worth mentioning.

To Niu Youdao, a Chao Jing whose connection to him had already been exposed, a Chao Jing who could no longer play a useful role inside Myriad Beasts Sect, had already lost his value...

Once the group finished discussing and settled their method of advance, they formally headed deeper into the seemingly endless swamp.

They had not traveled long when everyone landed on a small earthen rise amid the marsh.

Niu Youdao suddenly spotted a filthy oversized rat poking its head from the mud and could not help remarking, "Didn't they say there weren't many animals here..."

Before he could finish, Chao Jing flicked a finger. A blast of force shot out, intending to kill it.

The big rat reacted strangely.

More precisely, the instant it realized Niu Youdao had spotted it, it fled. With a gurgle, it plunged straight into the muddy water.

Boom!

Chao Jing's force exploded against the swamp and sent mud and water flying.

At the same time, he gestured with one hand. His two disciples immediately flashed forward and stirred the swamp with spiritual power, searching below the surface.

Niu Youdao laughed. "Elder Chao, are you taking your anger toward Taishu Shancheng out on that giant rat?"

"Giant rat?" Chao Jing looked back at him. "That was a Demon Fox. The mud made it look like a mess, that's all. Next time you see one, don't let it escape."

He had the benefit of records left by earlier generations of Myriad Beasts Sect.

Niu Youdao and the others, however, were stunned.

That was a Demon Fox?

At that moment, Xu Huo suddenly gave a sharp grunt and shot up out of the swamp.

Everyone looked over and saw what appeared to be a mud-covered snake wrapped around his foot.

As the mud coating the thing was blasted away, a black vine-like form was revealed.

Everyone instinctively thought of what the handbook had described.

The Corpse-Rot Vine!

At the same time, more than a dozen tentacles burst from the swamp, flinging mud and water as they lashed toward the other Myriad Beasts Sect disciple.

The man flashed aside and landed back on the earthen rise.

The tentacle wrapped around Xu Huo seemed intent on dragging him out of the air. Xu Huo abruptly hauled his leg upward with spiritual power, yet astonishingly failed to snap the tendril, revealing just how tough it was.

Shing!

The sword in Xu Huo's hand left its sheath.

Where the blade passed, it sliced cleanly through the entangling vine.

More than a dozen tendrils came whipping after him. Xu Huo's sword churned out a storm of sword qi, cutting them apart one after another.

Blue sap sprayed from the severed ends.

Xu Huo flashed back to the earthen rise.

He stamped one foot, and the section of tentacle still wound around his calf fell to the ground. Blue sap oozed from the cut end while the severed vine continued slowly curling and twisting, drawing everyone's attention.

Xu Huo reported to Chao Jing, "The Demon Fox escaped."

Chao Jing nodded. "Demon Foxes truly are cunning. It probably knew there was Corpse-Rot Vine below and deliberately lured us into a trap." He turned and asked, "Is your leg all right?"

"Just as the records said, it's a little numb." Xu Huo stared at his foot while circulating spiritual power. A patch of black bristles that had pierced his skin was forced back out.

Everyone exchanged glances.

According to the handbook, the Corpse-Rot Vine grew tough retractable bristles, incomparably sharp. When attacking prey, it used the bristles as part of its assault. The spines carried venom. Once they pierced a target, they numbed the victim and gradually robbed it of the ability to resist.

For cultivators, however, the toxin was not especially dangerous. It was not a deadly poison and could be expelled with spiritual power.

Seeing the vine for themselves still broadened everyone's knowledge.

A short while later, Xu Huo forced some blood from the punctures on his calf. Sensation returned to the leg.

The group continued their hunting tempering.

Along the way, they enjoyed a landscape unlike anything outside.

A faint mist always drifted over the marsh. From time to time, strange flowers of every color appeared. Some were flamboyantly gorgeous. Others were naturally carnivorous; the moment insects landed on them, the blossoms snapped shut and wrapped around their prey.

Whenever the group stopped to rest in wooded hills, food and drink were not difficult to find.

None of them had brought provisions on this trip. Edible plants grew in the hills. When they were thirsty, they could bend certain bowl-shaped leaves and clear dew would flow naturally from within.

What could be eaten and what could safely be drunk had all been explained in the handbooks issued to them.

[End of Chapter 991]