Chapter 1498: Fury Beyond Restraint

Everyone knew it was useless.

Everyone knew Kunlin Shu and Ao Feng were merely doing everything they could to delay the former Clan Chief’s death.

Fire Phoenix, Qin Guan, and Ke Dingjie were there as well.

The three were not kneeling.

They stood quietly at the edge of the gathering and watched the scene in silence, grief in their faces too.

By now, the three had also heard something of the situation outside.

Fire Phoenix was one thing, but for Qin Guan and Ke Dingjie, the impact was entirely different.

Five of the Nine Saints had already been taken down.

Elder Niu was fucking incredible!

The two almost felt honored merely to have been fortunate enough to serve Elder Niu for that period of time.

Back then, while following him, they had already felt that Elder Niu was no ordinary man.

And now, sure enough!

Some matters had been revealed to them precisely to steady their hearts and prevent them from thinking of escape.

After all, they had served at Niu Youdao’s side and followed him for some time.

He did not want to silence the two of them by killing them.

Kunlin Shu and Ao Feng, still circulating their cultivation to sustain Yin Ji, suddenly glanced at each other at almost the same moment.

Even they had sensed the change.

Naturally, Yin Ji herself understood her condition better than anyone.

She slowly stretched out one hand.

“Fei’er... Fei’er...”

Luo Fangfei had finished reading all the letters.

She held the stack against her face as she wept.

From certain details mixed into the letters, she could tell that Senior Brother had been leaking information about Daluo Sacred Land to this side for a long time.

Senior Brother had betrayed Father in secret long ago.

That realization made the grief in her heart even more complicated.

Hearing the call, she slowly lifted her head and looked at Yin Ji through tear-filled eyes.

Yin Ji struggled to speak. “Fei’er, Mother has wronged you.”

Luo Fangfei said nothing.

Suddenly, a trace of brightness returned to Yin Ji’s eyes.

It was the final rally before death.

Even her voice became clearer.

“In the Demon Fox Clan, my bloodline has inherited the duty of Clan Chief from generation to generation, charged with protecting the clan. I no longer have the strength to explain everything between your father and me in detail...”

She paused to catch her breath before continuing.

“Later, you can ask the people of the clan.”

“I don’t want to tell you which of your father and me was right or wrong.”

“I only want you to know that I truly did not abandon you deliberately back then.”

“After I was injured, I fell into a deep sleep and only woke again not long ago.”

“I truly wanted to see you all this time.”

“After I’m gone, you can stay with the Demon Fox Clan.”

“The clan can be trusted.”

“You are my daughter. They will certainly look after you.”

“If you do not wish to remain with the clan, no one will force you.”

“You can have them contact Niu Youdao and ask him to make arrangements for you.”

“Niu Youdao can be trusted.”

Luo Fangfei was no stranger to the name Niu Youdao.

A trace of confusion flashed through her mind.

Niu Youdao?

Wasn’t Niu Youdao already dead?

Only now did she begin to understand.

There were so many things she did not know.

She knew almost nothing at all.

“Of course, Mother still hopes you’ll remain with the Demon Fox Clan.”

“The people outside scheme against one another endlessly. Their struggles over interests and advantage never stop. It is all too complicated.”

“The Demon Fox Clan is simpler.”

“Neither you nor I have complicated hearts.”

“There are some things some people simply never learn how to deal with.”

“I’m afraid you won’t be able to manage out there.”

As she spoke, the light in Yin Ji’s eyes gradually dimmed again.

Blood slowly began seeping from her nostrils.

Yin Ji forced one hand upward once more.

She seemed to want to touch her daughter.

It had been so many years since she had last stroked her.

She wanted to touch her just once.

But Luo Fangfei merely knelt there and watched her, tears shining in her eyes.

She did not move to respond.

In the end, Yin Ji’s hand slowly fell.

Yet her straining eyes revealed one last hope, one final expectation.

She wanted her daughter to call her Mother.

Yin Ji had left when Luo Fangfei was still very young.

At that age, the child could not yet even say “Mother.”

From the day this daughter was born until this moment, Yin Ji had never once heard her call her Mother.

She wanted to hear it.

The understanding came all at once.

In that moment, everyone present realized what Yin Ji was waiting for.

Every gaze turned toward Luo Fangfei.

Luo Fangfei understood too.

But the word would not come out.

Somewhere deep in her heart, there seemed to be an impulse to call it.

Yet she truly could not speak.

Only two streams of tears rolled down her cheeks.

A faint trace of regret appeared on Yin Ji’s face.

Her eyes slowly closed.

Then her head drooped weakly.

Blood dripped steadily from her mouth and nose.

Kunlin Shu and Ao Feng looked at one another again.

Both faces carried the torment and self-reproach of men who knew even they were powerless to reverse Heaven.

Reality still had to be faced.

The two could feel that the demon power inside Yin Ji’s body had completely fallen out of control.

That meant she was about to revert to her true form.

Silently, they withdrew their hands.

Together they supported Yin Ji and gently laid her down.

Sure enough, the moment she was lying flat, her body transformed.

In the blink of an eye, she became a beautiful silver fox, blood staining parts of its fur.

She looked as though she had simply fallen asleep, resting there in perfect peace.

Kunlin Shu and Ao Feng stepped back.

Both lowered their heads in silence.

“Clan Chief...”

The Demon Fox Clan members kneeling on the ground bowed until their foreheads touched the floor.

The underground palace filled with weeping.

Fire Phoenix was crying as well.

During this period, she and Yin Ji had gotten along quite well.

She had deeply felt Yin Ji’s kindness.

Yet such a kind person had been forced to lead the Demon Fox Clan while maneuvering among a group of men as vicious as wolves and tigers.

Qin Guan and Ke Dingjie looked deeply saddened too.

They had been together for so long.

However things stood, feelings had naturally formed.

Luo Fangfei stared at the silver fox lying on the stone couch.

She still said nothing.

Only tears continued to flow silently.

Then sharp slapping sounds suddenly rang out.

Hei Yun struck himself across the face with one hand, then the other, again and again, each blow vicious.

He was crying so hard he had completely lost control.

“It’s me who deserves to die! I deserve to die!”

“It’s all my fault! All my fault!”

“I didn’t listen to Niu Youdao!”

“I killed the former Clan Chief! I killed the former Clan Chief!”

“I deserve to die! I deserve to die...”

No one in the Demon Fox Clan stopped him.

All of them were sunk in grief over the former Clan Chief’s death.

In the end, Ao Feng saw that Hei Yun had beaten himself until blood ran from his mouth and nose.

Ao Feng rubbed both hands over his face and sighed.

Then he walked over, reached out, and pressed one hand onto Hei Yun’s shoulder with spiritual power, stopping him from continuing to hurt himself.

“Too many things are impossible to predict.”

“This is no one’s fault.”

“If anyone deserves blame, blame those old dogs.”

“Restrain your grief and accept what has happened.”

Just then, shouting came from outside.

“Luo Qiu is dead! Luo Qiu is dead...”

An elder hurried in, Luo Qiu’s corpse still in his arms.

Then he saw the scene inside.

He froze on the spot.

The body in his arms fell to the floor with a heavy thud.

The elder instantly broke into loud sobs and rushed forward, grabbing one kneeling clan member after another.

“What happened? What happened...?”

He seemed unwilling to accept the reality before him.

The letters in Luo Fangfei’s hands scattered across the floor.

She rose slowly, almost like someone in a trance.

Hardly anyone noticed her.

She silently walked over to Luo Qiu’s body and stared down at it.

Her gaze settled on the wound in his chest.

Scenes flashed through her mind one after another.

Luo Qiu killing Sha Rulai.

Her own claw piercing Luo Qiu’s chest.

The yearning in Yin Ji’s eyes before death.

Those images and more tangled endlessly together in her mind.

Luo Fangfei slowly raised both hands.

Her father’s blood still stained them.

As she stared, her hair began changing color.

The white slowly turned black again.

Her fangs gradually retracted.

Her ears shrank back.

The sharp claws on both hands slowly withdrew as well.

When her hands had fully returned to normal, when her entire body had returned to its original appearance, Luo Fangfei slowly closed her eyes.

Then she collapsed backward with a thud.

Several people looked up and were startled.

Kunlin Shu flashed to her side, crouched down, and immediately circulated his cultivation to examine her.

...

Bang!

A thunderous impact shook the secret chamber.

Niu Youdao had slammed one palm onto the desk and risen so abruptly he nearly shattered it.

News had arrived from the Demon Fox Clan.

He knew Luo Qiu was dead.

Yet he felt not the slightest joy at having brought down another Sacred Venerable.

There was only limitless fury.

“What happened?”

“Didn’t I order every line of contact with Yin Ji cut off?”

“If there was no contact at all, how did Yin Ji end up meeting Luo Qiu?”

“How did anything happen to Yin Ji?”

“Who can explain this to me?”

Most of the time Niu Youdao was calm and rational.

That was precisely why he so rarely lost control this badly.

The sight of him furious beyond restraint left the several people in the secret chamber silent.

An incident this serious had happened.

Everyone who needed to be here had come.

But no one present knew the answer.

The only person on the Demon Fox Clan’s side who knew the truth was Hei Yun, and at present he was drowning in endless self-blame and had no mind for anything else.

The secret report had only been sent because Ao Feng knew this side needed to learn the situation as quickly as possible and had pressed the grieving Demon Fox Clan to transmit the news without delay.

Lü Wushuang frowned as well.

Indeed, according to Niu Youdao’s arrangements, something like this should never have happened.

In their earlier worst-case projections, they had already foreseen that Sha Rulai might meet with disaster.

They had also judged the chance of anything happening to Luo Fangfei as extremely small.

Yin Ji had been the least likely person of all to suffer an accident.

The possibility had barely even entered their calculations.

How had the least likely person become the one who died?

Yin Ji was dead.

She had led and commanded the entire Demon Fox Clan for so many years.

She had even known Shang Song and his wife personally.

Yet she had died in a completely unforeseen way.

Lü Wushuang felt regret as well.

Of course, she regretted it because she was now standing on this side.

Had she still stood with the Nine Saints, she might very well have been one of the people striking ruthlessly at Yin Ji.

Niu Youdao paced back and forth.

Suddenly he stopped, pointed at the others, and snapped, “Did one of you neglect to send the order?”

Lü Wushuang did not know whether to laugh or cry.

This man had become so angry his mind was muddled.

Once a person lost his calm, clear judgment naturally went with it.

She immediately reminded him, “Master Dao, aren’t you talking nonsense with your eyes shut?”

“You personally gave Wang Zun that order when you met him.”

“Don’t force this blame onto our heads.”

“We’ve all been behaving ourselves and following the rules.”

Naturally, she also understood where his fury came from.

Sha Rulai had died because this side’s arrangements failed to cover everything, and Niu Youdao already blamed himself heavily for that.

Now an unexpected development had killed Yin Ji as well.

Yin Ji was one of their Nascent Soul–level forces.

To lose her just like this—how could he not be enraged?

Yuan Gang said flatly, “Enough.”

Yun Ji could not help glancing at him.

Why did that tone sound so much like a man reining in his own woman?

Lü Wushuang looked back at him too, somewhat helpless.

But she obediently shut her mouth.

Her words, however, did help Niu Youdao calm down quickly.

He realized he had become too angry.

He was already speaking without thinking.

With the situation as it now stood, countless dangers could erupt at any moment.

As the man holding the helm, this was no time for emotional loss of control and mistaken judgments.

Once Niu Youdao’s mood had steadied, Yuan Gang spoke again instead.

This time, he offered his view from the perspective of investigation and analysis.

“Master Dao, either Wang Zun failed to convey your meaning properly, or Yin Ji didn’t follow your instruction.”

He raised one hand and pointed toward the map of the Sacred Realm on the wall.

“The Desolate Marsh Deadlands cover such a vast area.”

“For Luo Qiu and the others to stumble by accident onto a hidden refuge was almost impossible.”

“With something this important, Wang Zun would not fail to deliver the order.”

“Then only one possibility remains.”

“Yin Ji may not have followed what you told her to do.”

“We can contact the people over there afterward and ask.”

“That should make the matter clear.”

[End of Chapter 1498]