Chapter 1082: Master Dao Sent Me to Find You

That was the real reason Luo Qiu had come in person.

He wanted to see the one who had wanted to see his daughter.

Luo Fangfei said, "I saw her. But it wasn't a person. It was a silver-furred Demon Fox."

Luo Qiu's cheeks tightened slightly. "What did that Demon Fox say to you?"

"Nothing much."

As she spoke, Luo Fangfei sent spiritual power into Sha Huanli's body to check her condition.

Luo Qiu's expression instantly turned murderous. "Girl, are even you going to hide things from your father?"

Luo Fangfei looked up in alarm, startled by him.

Perhaps it was only her imagination, but she seemed to sense killing intent faintly rising from her father.

"Father, I'm not lying to you. She truly didn't say anything."

Luo Qiu obviously did not believe her. "They went to all that trouble to see you. You met, yet she didn't say a single word?"

"We did meet. I wanted to know why that Demon Fox wanted to see me too, but she couldn't speak at all."

"Couldn't speak?" Luo Qiu froze. "What do you mean?"

Luo Fangfei thought for a moment before answering. "That Demon Fox never opened her eyes. She seemed to be asleep the entire time. According to the man holding her, she gouged out her own third vertical eye to protect her daughter and damaged her foundation. He said she can only wake briefly once a year or something like that. I don't really understand it myself. But I did see a scar where the silver fox's vertical eye should have been."

Luo Qiu's throat moved slightly.

Those words all but confirmed his suspicion.

His expression shifted again and again.

Seeing something wrong with her father's face, Luo Fangfei asked uncertainly, "Father, what's wrong? You seem very concerned about the one who wanted to see me."

Luo Qiu came back to himself. "You're my daughter. Naturally I'm worried someone might mean you harm. What else did the man holding her say to you? Tell me everything in detail."

Luo Fangfei thought it over. "He said some strange things. He said he'd seen me when I was little, and that the silver fox had seen me too..."

She repeated the conversation from beginning to end.

As Luo Qiu listened, he watched every change in his daughter's expression.

When she finished, he asked, "That's all?"

"That's all. You appeared before he could finish speaking and frightened them away."

Luo Qiu understood his daughter.

Perhaps because she had grown up pampered from childhood, she had never been a person of much guile. If she were lying, he would be able to see it.

Once he confirmed she was telling the truth, he glanced at Sha Huanli in her arms and asked with a trace of concern, "Is she all right?"

"She's fine. She's only unconscious."

"Take her back first."

As he spoke, Luo Qiu looked around the surroundings.

Luo Fangfei was startled. "Father, aren't you coming back with us?"

"I know you won't hide what happened today from Sha Rulai. Tell him that today's events are not to be mentioned to anyone. You go first."

His final tone left no room for argument.

Luo Fangfei could only raise a hand and summon the Scarlet Hunting Eagle circling overhead.

Carrying Sha Huanli, she leapt aboard and quickly departed.

Luo Qiu watched until his daughter had disappeared into the distance.

Then he swept his gaze across the surroundings again.

Standing there alone, he unexpectedly looked somewhat desolate.

"So it really is you. You're actually still alive. If you truly care about your daughter, you'd best stop disturbing her..."

His gaze suddenly shifted.

Several figures were flying toward him from the distance.

Only when they drew near could he see that all wore Misty Pavilion clothing.

They were people from Misty Pavilion.

Ordinary Misty Pavilion personnel rarely had any chance to come into contact with Luo Qiu, so he did not know them.

Even if he had seen some of them before, he might not remember. Misty Pavilion had too many people for him to keep track of every face.

One look at their dress and the location was enough for him to know they belonged to the Demon Fox Bureau. At present, the only Misty Pavilion personnel operating in the Desolate Marsh Deadlands were from that Bureau.

They had probably been alarmed by the tremendous disturbance from the battle and had come to investigate.

Before the two sides could even meet or exchange a word, Luo Qiu abruptly swept one sleeve outward.

Surging spiritual power roared forth.

A huge dragon of swamp mud rose from the marsh and hurtled toward the approaching men.

The descending cultivators collided with it head-on.

Startled, they desperately circulated spiritual power to resist.

Boom!

All of them vomited blood in midair and were sent crashing down. Gravely wounded, they struggled as they sank into the swamp.

Luo Qiu flicked his broad sleeve again.

The mud dragon collapsed from the air like a landslide, burying the men completely beneath it.

He did not want any other people from Misty Pavilion to know that he had appeared here.

The churned swamp bubbled and gurgled.

Apart from that, the surroundings were silent.

Luo Qiu looked around again and again, but no Demon Foxes appeared.

In truth, he very much wanted to meet the Demon Fox who had met his daughter.

But he knew that under the present circumstances, there was no chance of that.

The Demon Foxes had fled deep underground. No matter how high his cultivation was, there was nothing he could do about it. Otherwise, the Demon Fox race could never have survived all these years in this swamp.

Whoosh!

His figure flashed and vanished from the spot.

In the distance, he became a black dot racing across the sky. The sonic howl of his passage gradually faded away.

He had come without a trace and departed without a shadow.

...

Far from the little "island," behind a clump of grass on the water, a head hidden among the reeds finally moved.

Niu Youdao let out a breath of relief.

His head had been plastered with mud as camouflage.

He had watched the entire affair from afar.

The moment Luo Qiu suddenly appeared, Niu Youdao had not dared move at all.

The overwhelming force that could overturn mountains and seas, the terrifying power that casually swept several Misty Pavilion cultivators to their deaths—today, Niu Youdao had finally seen the strength of one of the Nine Saints with his own eyes.

The muddy water beside him stirred.

Hei Yun's head emerged.

"He's gone," Hei Yun sighed.

Niu Youdao glanced at him and noticed blood at the corner of his mouth and beneath his nose. "You're injured?"

"Luo Qiu's strength is terrifying. We fled quickly enough, but the residual shock through the swamp still injured us. It's only a minor wound. Nothing serious."

"What about the former Clan Chief? Is she all right?"

Niu Youdao's concern was genuine.

This arrangement had been his doing. If the former Clan Chief had been harmed because of it, the blame would rest squarely on him.

"Don't worry. How could we possibly let anything happen to the former Clan Chief? Even if I had to take the injury myself, I wouldn't let her be harmed. I protected her with everything I had. She's fine."

Hei Yun looked up at the surrounding sky, still visibly shaken.

"I didn't expect we'd really draw Luo Qiu here. Luckily you warned us and we stayed alert from the beginning. Otherwise, with the speed of Luo Qiu's attack, I'm afraid we might not have escaped."

Hearing the former Clan Chief was unharmed, Niu Youdao relaxed.

He too scanned the surroundings, still carrying some lingering fear.

It was not that he had calculated with certainty that Luo Qiu would come.

He had merely guarded against the possibility.

Others might not understand the meaning of the letter, but Luo Qiu should have understood it. The matter involved Yin Ji. There was every possibility Luo Qiu himself might come.

That was why Niu Youdao had warned the Demon Foxes in advance.

And because he suspected Luo Qiu might appear, Niu Youdao had personally come here to watch.

He had not expected Luo Qiu truly to come, much less to witness Luo Qiu make a move with his own eyes.

That one display left Niu Youdao's heart heavy.

Judging by this level of strength, even Yin'er inside the Butterfly Dream Illusory Realm might not necessarily be Luo Qiu's match.

The thought prompted him to ask, "If the former Clan Chief used a Fox Immortal Fruit and recovered her true body, could she withstand Luo Qiu?"

Hei Yun shook his head. "The former Clan Chief said long ago that she was no match for Luo Qiu. The Nine Dogs control all beneath Heaven and gather the cultivation resources of the whole world for their own use. After so many years, his cultivation should be even stronger than it was then. The former Clan Chief's present condition, meanwhile, is certainly worse than before."

Niu Youdao said, "In other words, even if she obtained a Fox Immortal Fruit, she could only break through to the Nascent Soul Realm and gain immortality. In actual strength, she'd still fall short of these old monsters who've cultivated deeply for so many years."

"Immortality?" Hei Yun stared at him. "Who told you obtaining a Fox Immortal Fruit grants immortality?"

Niu Youdao was equally startled. "That's what people in the cultivation world say. Isn't it true?"

Hei Yun said, "The Fox Immortal Fruit reforges the body. For humans like you, improving the flesh can indeed extend lifespan and grant great longevity, but you still cannot escape the calamity of the Heavenly Dao."

"That was what your master Shang Song said back then. He said taking a Fox Immortal Fruit cannot grant eternal life."

"Your master was immensely learned. His spiritual power could shatter the void and seek the Dao from Heaven above. He possessed true insight. If he said it cannot be done, he should not have been wrong."

Niu Youdao asked, "Then how long can someone live?"

"I don't know. Can anyone say clearly?"

"The Fox Immortal Realm has only been connected to your human world for a few hundred years. I'm afraid even the Nine Dogs don't know the true limit of the Fox Immortal Fruit."

"Of course, the Demon Fox race is different from humans. For you humans, taking the fruit truly can extend lifespan and grant great longevity. But for our race, the Fox Immortal Fruit has no effect on lifespan."

...

Luo Fangfei returned with Sha Huanli.

The moment she landed, Sha Rulai, who had been waiting, immediately came forward and helped support his daughter.

Then he asked Luo Fangfei, "Are you all right?"

The question delighted Luo Fangfei.

His daughter had returned after being in danger, yet Sha Rulai's first concern was not his daughter but her. It made it seem as though she was even more important in his heart than his own child.

She had no idea that Sha Rulai already knew his daughter would be fine and was simply interpreting everything in the happiest possible way.

Luo Fangfei smiled and shook her head. "I'm fine. Huanli is fine too. She's only unconscious."

Then she looked at the guards keeping watch around them, leaned close to Sha Rulai's ear, and lowered her voice.

"Father came personally."

Sha Rulai was startled.

He immediately looked around but saw no sign of Luo Qiu. "Where is he?"

"I'm not sure. When I left with Huanli, Father was still at the meeting place. He told me to come back first."

Tension rose in Sha Rulai's heart. "Master appeared at the meeting point. How could he possibly spare the Demon Fox race?"

"Father attacked the moment he appeared. The Demon Foxes were frightened away. They fled quickly. Otherwise, Father certainly wouldn't have let them go."

Hearing that Luo Qiu had not managed to seize anyone, Sha Rulai relaxed slightly.

Then he asked, "Fangfei, why did the Demon Fox race insist on seeing you?"

"I don't understand either. It felt very strange..."

Luo Fangfei concealed nothing and told him exactly what had happened.

The details left Sha Rulai inwardly startled and suspicious.

There was unquestionably some unknown secret hidden behind this affair.

Luo Fangfei knew nothing of his thoughts. Her gaze returned to Sha Huanli. "Come on. Huanli is fine. Let's take her back so she can rest."

Sha Rulai looked around. "Should we wait for Master and go back together?"

"What would we wait for him for? There's no need."

"Even if we waited and he came, he wouldn't travel back slowly with us. He can come and go too quickly. If we stayed here out of good intentions, he'd probably only find us burdensome and leave us behind anyway."

"Don't worry. Nothing will happen to him. How many people beneath Heaven could possibly stop him?"

...

Amid towering mountains and deep ridges, a Gray-Feather Eagle descended into the wilderness.

Yuan Gang jumped to the ground and once again studied the surrounding terrain.

There was no mistake.

This was the place.

Yet the person he was supposed to meet was nowhere to be seen.

"Roar!"

A beast's bellow suddenly echoed through the mountains.

The Gray-Feather Eagle startled into the sky.

Yuan Gang whipped his head around.

Then, like a hunting leopard, he shot toward the direction of the roar.

He crossed a mountain ravine and entered a creek valley.

There, atop a great boulder, stood a golden-furred beast that resembled a lion yet was not a lion. It faced the setting sun, its coat gleaming gold in the lingering light like radiant sunset clouds.

Beside the stream below the boulder, a disheveled man sat drinking freely from a wine jug, looking perfectly at ease.

Zhao Xiongge.

Yuan Gang walked over, waded into the stream, and stopped rigidly opposite him, staring at the drunkard.

Zhao Xiongge raised a sleeve and wiped his mouth.

With drunken, half-lidded eyes, he asked, "What couldn't be said in a letter that you had to arrange a meeting with me in person?"

Yuan Gang's face remained expressionless.

"Master Dao sent me to find you."

[End of Chapter 1082]