Chapter 1005: Yin Ji

"This..." Niu Youdao was at a loss for words. He had dealt with Luo Fangfei before, and truthfully, he had never sensed the slightest trace of demon-kind about her.

What did "half Demon Fox" even mean? Luo Qiu's daughter was half Demon Fox? What kind of joke was that? The news left him deeply doubtful and astonished. Unable to resist the implication in the Clan Chief's words, he ventured, "Clan Chief, don't tell me Luo Fangfei is the daughter of Luo Qiu and your former Clan Chief!"

And, as so often happened, the very thing he feared was exactly what he heard. The black Demon Fox man sighed. "That is indeed the case."

"..."

Niu Youdao was genuinely stunned. When the other side had brought up Luo Fangfei earlier, he had sensed something amiss and deliberately probed, hoping to draw out the truth. He had never imagined he would uncover a truth like this. It was beyond anything he had anticipated, beyond anything he could have dreamed. It was simply too unbelievable.

At least to him, it seemed impossible. He truly could not believe it.

Luo Qiu was one of the "nine dogs" the Demon Foxes constantly cursed. The two sides shared a blood feud. Who knew how much Demon Fox blood stained Luo Qiu's hands? And the woman had been the Clan Chief entrusted with protecting the Demon Fox race.

If the two had merely had an illicit affair, Niu Youdao could still have accepted it. But people of their standing and intelligence actually producing a child together? That was almost impossible to comprehend. Neither was an ordinary mortal bound by some absolute need to continue the family line.

Could Luo Qiu possibly not have known what sort of repercussions there would be if he fathered a child with a Demon Fox? And how could the former Clan Chief not have known?

They could not have been ignorant of it. Surely they had not been that impulsive.

The black Demon Fox man sighed again and again. "It should have been impossible. All I can say is that it was an ill-fated bond."

"No..." Niu Youdao waved a hand, thoroughly confused. "Clan Chief, you've completely muddled me. Let me sort this out... No, it still doesn't make sense. How could Luo Qiu and your former Clan Chief ever have gotten together, much less had a child? It just doesn't make sense!"

An Elder beside them sighed as well. "It already happened. What use is there in saying it was impossible? If not for that wolf-hearted, dog-lunged bastard Luo Qiu, how could our former Clan Chief have ended up as she is now? How could she have been so easily taken hostage by you?"

Niu Youdao paused. He remembered the silver fox's abnormal condition earlier. He had found no injury on her. At first, her attacks had been swift and terrifying, yet in the blink of an eye she had suddenly collapsed. It had been far too strange. Could that condition somehow be connected to Luo Qiu?

He could not help asking, "What exactly happened? Please tell me."

The black Demon Fox man said, "There's nothing worth telling. As you humans say, family disgrace should not be aired in public. It's enough that you know what happened. There's no need to ask so much."

What kind of joke was that? How could Niu Youdao possibly resist getting to the bottom of something like this, especially with people who knew the truth standing right in front of him? If they refused to explain it now, he would probably keep thinking about it until he found some other way to uncover the truth. If they would not tell him here, was he supposed to go ask Luo Qiu? As if Luo Qiu would ever tell him.

Niu Youdao chuckled. "Come now, all of you. You want me to spare Luo Fangfei, yet you refuse to explain the situation. How am I supposed to believe you? You didn't trust me yourselves, but now you expect me to accept one or two unbelievable claims from you as truth and abandon my own plans despite the danger involved. You know what the nine dogs are like. Maneuvering among them isn't easy for me. One careless move and I'll lose my life! I'm not threatening you, but if I don't understand something like this clearly, do you really think I can casually take the risk of changing my plans? You refuse to take risks yourselves, yet expect me to take them. How is that reasonable?"

The Demon Foxes hesitated. In the end, the sickle-wielding old man spoke. "Clan Chief, since he already knows this much, hiding the details no longer serves any purpose."

The black Demon Fox man remained silent.

Niu Youdao added, "Besides, what you're saying simply isn't credible. I may not know the details of Luo Qiu's affairs, but I've heard rumors about things that are hardly secret. Luo Fangfei was born to Luo Qiu and his wife, Yin Ji. I heard Yin Ji was extraordinarily beautiful..."

"Yin Ji was our former Clan Chief!" the black Demon Fox man blurted, cutting him off. "When our former Clan Chief took human form, she truly was beautiful. Extremely beautiful. In human terms, she was like a celestial maiden descended from Heaven."

"..."

Niu Youdao was speechless. After a long while, he stammered, "But... but according to the rumors, Yin Ji lived with Luo Qiu for many years. Your former Clan Chief could live with Luo Qiu in Daluo Sacred Land for all those years? The other eight old dogs couldn't possibly have ignored that. And Luo Qiu couldn't have withstood all eight of them questioning him together!"

The black Demon Fox man said, "That was because none of the others knew Luo Qiu's wife was the Clan Chief of the Demon Fox race. In fact, before everything went wrong, even Luo Qiu himself didn't know. He only knew our former Clan Chief was a fox demon. He didn't know she came from the Demon Fox race of Fox Immortal Realm, much less that she was its Clan Chief. If even Luo Qiu didn't know, how could outsiders have known?"

Niu Youdao said, "Here in Fox Immortal Realm, Luo Qiu knew she was a fox demon but didn't know she belonged to the Demon Fox race? Isn't that rather self-contradictory? What else could a fox demon from Fox Immortal Realm possibly be? Luo Qiu couldn't have been senile enough not to understand that."

The black Demon Fox man shook his head. "Luo Qiu didn't meet our former Clan Chief in Fox Immortal Realm. They met in your mortal world."

Niu Youdao looked suspicious. "The passage between the two realms is heavily guarded. Your former Clan Chief could simply leave whenever she pleased?"

The old man with the ghost-head saber said, "That matter has something to do with your master, Shang Song."

Niu Youdao was surprised. "My master? How?"

A reminiscent look appeared on the black Demon Fox man's face. "Naturally it had everything to do with your master. Shang Song opened the passage between the human realm and the fox realm. Through him, our former Clan Chief encountered things from the human world and read human books. She also saw the love between Shang Song and Li Ge and began longing for the beauty of love between a man and a woman. The elders used to say our former Clan Chief often murmured about such things to herself. It was because of this that she had the Demon Fox race learn to speak the human tongue..."

He fell silent for a time, then slowly continued, "Back then, here in Fox Immortal Realm, Wu Chang of Tianmo Sacred Land was still with the Demonic Sect in the mortal world and had not yet risen into the ranks of the old dogs. The eight old dogs were repeatedly purging our Demon Fox race, and we were powerless to resist. Seeing our people forced to cling to life in the swamps, our former Clan Chief made a momentous decision. She would go to the mortal world and search for clues, hoping to find Shang Song. The hope was exceedingly faint, but she still decided to try everything she could."

In essence, the Demon Fox race had organized an attack on the passage between the two realms in order to cover the former Clan Chief—Yin Ji—as she entered the mortal world. The operation did not go smoothly, and many Demon Foxes died.

But to the Demon Fox race, if there was even a chance to change their tragic fate, they were willing to pay that price for the sake of countless future generations.

Fortunately, the attempt ultimately succeeded. After sacrificing many of their experts, they managed to slip Yin Ji out unnoticed.

Why send her out secretly? Because once Yin Ji entered the mortal world, she would be alone and vulnerable to encirclement. If that happened, she would have no one to help her. To create a safer environment for her, Yin Ji had not dared reveal her true strength when breaking through the passage. Otherwise, there would have been no need to sacrifice so many Demon Foxes.

Even within Fox Immortal Realm, while facing repeated purges by the old dogs, Yin Ji had always concealed her true appearance to protect herself and the clan.

After reaching the mortal world, Yin Ji continued hiding her true face. She was not entirely unfamiliar with the human world. When Shang Song was still around, she had accompanied him there several times and knew something of its affairs.

Once in the mortal world, Yin Ji traveled to places she had visited before, places Shang Song had once been. But the people and circumstances had long since changed. She asked everywhere, yet no one knew where Shang Song had gone, while the armies of the mortal states were locked in war across the land.

Unable to find Shang Song, Yin Ji refused to give up. She had not come all this way merely to return empty-handed. For the sake of her people, she began searching for another solution.

At the time, the Demonic Sect was an immensely powerful force in the cultivation world. Yin Ji hoped to form an alliance with it, so she sought out the Demonic Sect and met Wu Chang, who was then its Right Envoy.

The Demonic Sect had just suffered a sudden upheaval. Its Sect Leader had died, and Wu Chang was the Sect Leader's adopted son. He held the greatest authority within the sect, which was why Yin Ji approached him. She hoped to befriend Wu Chang and borrow the strength of the Demonic Sect.

If she wanted to establish a relationship, she naturally had to show some sincerity. Even so, Yin Ji did not dare reveal that she was the Clan Chief of the Demon Fox race in Fox Immortal Realm. At the very least, that would have to be disclosed gradually depending on circumstances. She could not lay all her cards on the table at their first meeting.

But there was one thing she could no longer keep hidden. If she wanted to befriend him, she could hardly refuse even to let Wu Chang see what she looked like.

Yin Ji removed her disguise and revealed her true appearance. Wu Chang was stunned by her beauty. He had never seen such a beautiful woman, and Yin Ji's bearing was anything but ordinary. For a moment, he simply stared.

Yin Ji had intended to show sincerity, but lust stirred in Wu Chang instead. He wanted Yin Ji to become his woman. He wanted to possess her.

Yin Ji had her own dignity. As the revered Clan Chief of the Demon Fox race, how could she allow another to violate her so casually? When Wu Chang tried to force himself on her, she had no choice but to fight back.

Wu Chang was no ordinary cultivator. Yin Ji was forced to reveal her true strength and succeeded in intimidating him.

At the time, Yin Ji believed Wu Chang was not her match. Only later did she learn that he had been hiding his true strength even then. Considering that Wu Chang later rose to become one of the Nine Saints and forced the other eight to accept his existence, the strength of this latecomer could be imagined.

Wu Chang admitted defeat at the time and changed his attitude. He proposed that he and Yin Ji become sworn elder sister and younger brother. Because of his earlier conduct, Yin Ji actually disliked him somewhat, but for the sake of the Demon Fox race, she agreed. And so the two became sworn siblings.

Yet the death of the Demonic Sect Leader had stirred up trouble. The Demonic Sect was already the strongest force in the cultivation world beneath Misty Pavilion and had long since drawn Misty Pavilion's attention. The Sect Leader's death alarmed those above Misty Pavilion. Fearing the people below might be unable to keep the Demonic Sect under control, Sacred Venerable Luo Qiu of Daluo Sacred Land came in person.

Luo Qiu descended with the overwhelming might of Heaven behind him. No one could stand against his presence. The entire Demonic Sect trembled in fear.

Wu Chang was terrified, because he had not yet finished preparing himself. To preserve his own life and stabilize Luo Qiu... sometimes, when people are desperate to survive, there is nothing they will not do. Wu Chang actually betrayed Yin Ji and offered her to Luo Qiu.

At the time, Yin Ji had no idea Wu Chang had sold her out. She even believed her meeting with Luo Qiu had been a coincidence.

When she saw Luo Qiu, Yin Ji was shocked. She had always hidden her true appearance inside Fox Immortal Realm, so Luo Qiu did not recognize her, but she certainly recognized Luo Qiu. She had never expected to encounter him in the Demon Palace.

Luo Qiu likewise froze the instant he saw Yin Ji's true face. Afterward, he began approaching her of his own accord.

Unaware that Wu Chang was using her, Yin Ji naturally spoke well of the man she had accepted as her sworn younger brother.

She never expected her words to carry so much weight. The moment she spoke, Luo Qiu, who had arrived with thunderous wrath, immediately turned storm into gentle wind and rain. The crushing pressure he had brought against the Demonic Sect was raised high, then set down lightly. Somehow, Yin Ji's words allowed Wu Chang to pass through the crisis safely. Luo Qiu did not touch her sworn brother.

Luo Qiu treated Yin Ji extraordinarily well, so well that it was like an incomparable dream. Apart from plucking stars from the sky, if there was anything Yin Ji wanted and Luo Qiu had the power to obtain it, he refused her nothing.

Only after spending time with Luo Qiu did Yin Ji realize he had never treated any other woman this way. In all the world, she alone was the exception.

At first, Yin Ji merely humored him while concealing her true intentions. Who could have known that, in the end, she would lose control of her own heart and fall in love?

[End of Chapter 1005]