Chapter 1002: Taking the Silver Fox Hostage

A Demon Fox whose strength rivaled a Nascent Soul expert!

Niu Youdao was deeply shaken. He had never imagined such a terrifying expert was hidden inside the Demon Fox lair.

In truth, he had never actually fought a proper Nascent Soul cultivator. The only known Nascent Soul experts in the cultivation world were the Nine Saints, so he could not say for certain whether Yin'er truly counted as one.

Even when Yin'er was lucid enough to communicate normally, she herself could not explain what level of strength she possessed. In that lucid state, she could not remember how powerful she had been while berserk.

Since Yin'er's attacking power could be compared with that of the silver fox before him, Niu Youdao likewise could not be certain whether this silver fox truly possessed Nascent Soul strength.

But one thing he did know. He had fought many Golden Core cultivators, even a high-ranked expert on the Golden Core Ranking like Yan Baoru. From that experience, he could almost certainly say that a Golden Core cultivator was incapable of displaying such terrifying power.

There had been no special attacking technique at all. Raw strength alone had been enough to make the attack horrifying.

Niu Youdao had used the Qiankun method of dissipating force to shed most of the impact, yet even what remained had easily left him badly injured.

The silver fox was simply too powerful, and its attacks were too fast. So fast that he could only respond in haste. So fast that his Qiankun method of dissolving force had no time to fully absorb and disperse the incoming power.

By everything his experience told him, this could not possibly be the attacking power of a Golden Core cultivator.

Faced with strength like this, a Golden Core cultivator would scarcely have the ability to resist. Meeting such an opponent would be like becoming a fish on the chopping block, helpless beneath the knife. Had Niu Youdao not cultivated the Qiankun Art and dissolved most of the force, that single strike would have been enough to kill him outright.

With strength like this, he could think of no possibility other than a Nascent Soul expert.

What happened next was even more alarming. An expert of such power gave him no chance to catch his breath and made no attempt to distinguish right from wrong. From the moment the silver fox attacked, it seemed intent on killing him. One claw had shattered his sword aura, another had badly injured him, and now, through the dust boiling from the collapsed stone wall, the fox's silhouette flashed into view again like lightning.

A claw stabbed straight toward his heart like a thunderbolt.

Blood still at the corner of his mouth, Niu Youdao had no time to speak, much less any chance to steady the other side with words. He hurriedly thrust his sword out to block once more.

In that flashing instant, two possible responses crossed his mind.

The first was to dissipate and redirect the incoming force into the stone wall behind him, using the silver fox's own power to collapse the underground palace and escape amid the chaos.

The second was to forcefully use Reverse Qiankun, borrowing the opponent's force and turning it back on her. If he could catch the silver fox off guard with her own power, perhaps he could injure her and then escape.

The first option did not seem reliable. With the silver fox's strength, even if the entire underground palace collapsed, Niu Youdao would probably still have no chance to get away. Even if he escaped the palace, he would have great difficulty outrunning her pursuit through the swamp.

That left only the second option and the faint hope it offered. It was extremely dangerous. Against attacking power this immense, he had no idea how much force his method of borrowing and redirecting strength could return, or whether his own body could endure the process.

A man who routinely gambled his life on a blade's edge naturally accumulated some experience in surviving crises. Or perhaps it was simply the instinct to seek life in a desperate situation. Either way, he could rapidly choose the course most favorable to survival. It might still fail, but it was better than waiting helplessly for death.

Blood staining the corner of his mouth, Niu Youdao's face twisted with ferocity. Both hands drove his sword forward with all his strength.

The silver fox's momentum was overwhelming. The force of its attack swept the billowing dust outward in ring after ring, leaving man and fox clearly facing one another with an unobstructed view.

The instant in which they saw each other's faces clearly was exceedingly brief. Niu Youdao did not know whether it was his imagination, but he seemed to catch a flash of surprise in the silver fox's eyes.

What happened next took him even more completely by surprise.

A clear metallic note rang from the sword.

The silver fox seemed to arrest its attack just in time. When its sharp claws touched the blade Niu Youdao held crosswise before him, they only struck it with a heavy tap. Using that tiny point of contact, the fox immediately sprang backward.

Niu Youdao had felt the change more clearly than anyone. The silver fox had withdrawn its power in time. It had stopped the killing blow.

Still braced behind his sword with both hands, Niu Youdao froze in confusion.

The Demon Fox elders who had withdrawn to watch were equally stunned. With the former Clan Chief's strength, she plainly could have killed this outsider who had broken into the Demon Foxes' most important stronghold. None of them understood why she had suddenly stayed her hand.

The silver fox landed, swished its tail, and stared at the highly vigilant Niu Youdao. Then, in a clear and gentle woman's voice, it asked, "Who are you?"

When its first strike shattered Niu Youdao's sword aura, the silver fox had noticed nothing unusual. But after the second direct collision, it had sensed something strange. Its own swift and violent blow had somehow failed to deliver all of its force into Niu Youdao's body.

In that instant, it had experienced a familiar sensation. It had fought against a similar cultivation art before.

That exchange alone had allowed it to gauge the measure of Niu Youdao's cultivation. Then, after charging through the dust and seeing that he could still resist, it confirmed that familiar feeling. With his level of cultivation, he should not have been able to withstand one of its attacks and remain capable of fighting. That was why the silver fox had stopped in time.

Niu Youdao did not quite understand what was happening. He replied cautiously, "I am Niu Youdao. I came here with absolutely no ill intent. Your Clan Chief misunderstood me. I came because I wanted to make friends with the Demon Fox race."

"Make friends?" the silver fox repeated. "What is your relationship with Shang Song?"

"Shang Song?" Niu Youdao froze.

Then something even more unexpected happened. The silver fox's body suddenly swayed. Its four limbs went limp, its eyes closed, and it collapsed directly to the ground.

"Ah!" The surrounding Demon Fox elders cried out and rushed forward.

Niu Youdao, still intensely alert to everything before him, had been watching their reactions. The instant the silver fox began to sway, he saw the worry appear on the elders' faces.

His eyes flashed. His reaction was no slower than theirs, and he too lunged for the silver fox.

It was an extremely dangerous gamble. The silver fox had already spared him. If he acted against her now, he might very well provoke her into attacking again.

But Niu Youdao had made his own rapid judgment. Something had clearly gone wrong with the silver fox, or there was something wrong with her condition. Otherwise, she should never have shown weakness in front of him. Combined with the Demon Fox elders' reactions, that was enough. Even badly injured, he acted without hesitation.

Seize her!

He had ridden the jianghu and dared chase an enemy all the way here alone. Without the nerve and decisiveness to seize a sudden opening, he would not have been Niu Youdao.

"How dare you!"

"Stop!"

The Demon Fox elders rushing in cried out in fury. They attacked Niu Youdao from every side, trying to rescue the silver fox.

But Niu Youdao had reacted too quickly, and he had been close to the silver fox to begin with. After forcing his way through their encircling attacks with all his strength, he snatched the silver fox into his grasp.

The underground palace, moments ago shaking with thunderous impacts, swiftly fell silent. The dust rolling through the air slowly settled. The black Demon Fox man had appeared again, and together with the elders he surrounded Niu Youdao on every side. Every face showed the same hesitation, afraid to act while the hostage was in danger.

The silver fox was now in Niu Youdao's hands. He held her with one hand while laying his sword across her throat, poised to slit it at any moment. His cold gaze swept the surrounding Demon Foxes in warning. The message could not have been clearer: let anyone try moving.

The expressions of the Demon Foxes twitched. None of them had imagined matters could turn out this way. They had never expected the former Clan Chief, who plainly possessed the strength to kill this outsider, to suddenly stay her hand and give him an opening. Nor had they expected Niu Youdao to possess such nerve and react so quickly. He knew perfectly well that he was no match for the former Clan Chief, yet he had still dared to make such a reckless move.

Niu Youdao himself was equally bewildered. He had seized the opportunity when it appeared, but the silver fox's condition was far too strange.

Now that she was in his hands, he could clearly feel her breathing evenly. When he used spiritual power to examine her, he found no injuries either. It was almost... almost as if she had fallen asleep.

What the fuck was that supposed to mean?

He could not understand it at all.

The black Demon Fox man broke the silence with a sharp shout. "Niu Youdao! So you are Niu Youdao. Release our former Clan Chief at once!"

Niu Youdao narrowed his eyes slightly. From that tone, the Clan Chief seemed to know who he was. What was going on?

He said slowly, "Whether your former Clan Chief lives or dies depends entirely on your attitude. If you refuse to speak properly and insist on fighting and killing, then I can only oblige you."

The Clan Chief said furiously, "Niu Youdao, now I know your name. I saw you kill Misty Pavilion's people with my own eyes. If you dare harm our former Clan Chief, Misty Pavilion will learn exactly what you did. When that happens, Misty Pavilion will not let you go!"

Niu Youdao countered, "I wonder whether handing your former Clan Chief over to Misty Pavilion would be enough to redeem my offense through merit? If you push me too far, I will certainly give it a try."

Just then, two gray-furred foxes came running in through the entrance to the underground palace. Their steps were unsteady, and as they came they transformed into human form. They were the same two old men who had fought Niu Youdao earlier.

Both clutched their chests, pain written across their faces. Their bodies trembled as they staggered forward.

Niu Youdao glanced sideways at them. One corner of his mouth lifted in something suspiciously close to a crafty smile.

The two old men were shocked when they saw the silver fox in Niu Youdao's hands. Apparently, they had not expected even the silver fox to be unable to defeat him.

"Clan Chief, why did you lead him back to the palace?" the sickle-wielding old man demanded angrily, plainly blaming the black Demon Fox man for bringing an outsider to their lair.

The Clan Chief gritted his teeth in silence. He had never expected things to turn out this way either. He had led Niu Youdao back to the lair because he wanted the former Clan Chief to silence him. Who could have known...

He also knew they were in serious trouble now. If Niu Youdao escaped, the location of the Demon Fox lair would be exposed.

The Nine Saints might have difficulty exterminating them while they hid within the swamp, but if the exact location of their lair became known, the Nine Saints would have no trouble overturning the place completely.

After this, they would probably have to find somewhere else to build a new nest.

But now was not the time to discuss that. The Clan Chief asked the two old men, "How badly are you hurt?"

The old man with the ghost-head saber said, "Our injuries aren't serious. It's just..." He looked at Niu Youdao, then muttered to the Clan Chief, "It seems we were struck by the Qiankun Palm."

Niu Youdao frowned slightly.

They actually knew the Qiankun Palm.

He thought back to the silver fox's strange reaction and what she had said. She had even mentioned Shang Song. As the pieces turned over in his mind, a thoughtful look appeared on his face.

Qiankun Palm?

The Clan Chief was startled and uncertain. Everything that had happened earlier had already made him suspicious. Niu Youdao had broken the Demon Foxes' combined formation and could move freely beneath the Desolate Marsh Deadlands. Every sign matched the legendary man. Now the Qiankun Palm had appeared as well, and just moments ago the former Clan Chief herself had spoken that man's name.

The former Clan Chief had known that man personally. Since even she had mentioned him, all their suspicions now seemed close to confirmation.

The sickle-wielding old man suddenly leaned close and reminded the Clan Chief in a low voice, "Clan Chief, this man seems to have some connection with the one from the legends."

Seeing the Demon Foxes muttering among themselves, Niu Youdao calmly considered the situation. The immediate crisis had been resolved. He checked his injuries, then weighed his chances if something unexpected happened again. Even if he could not win, so long as no other expert like the silver fox appeared, escaping should not be a problem.

After considering everything, he made an extraordinarily risky and consequential decision.

He suddenly tossed the silver fox out of his grasp.

Niu Youdao had abandoned the hostage and returned the silver fox to the Demon Foxes.

[End of Chapter 1002]