Liu Xing summoned his gun in his left hand and activated both Lightning Cloak and invisibility.

"You trash all need to die!" The fox growled, its voice low and menacing. It balled a paw into a fist and kicked the ground, cracking the earth beneath it. Then, it leaped forward like a speeding truck.

Liu Xing jumped backward. As he moved, the fox smashed its massive fist into the ground where Liu Xing had been standing moments before. The ground surged like water struck by a boulder. He landed on a moss-covered boulder, half of his body already fading into invisibility. The fox glared at him, enraged, and launched itself forward like a rocket. Liu Xing jumped back again. The fox's fist connected with the boulder, and it exploded into smithereens. A gray cloud of dust and moss billowed outwards.

Liu Xing jumped back several more times, using the cloud of dust as cover. Moments later, fully invisible, he perched on another large boulder that jutted from the ground like a giant fang. On top of this vantage point, he calmed his heart and breathing, willing his presence to become as faint as possible.

The fox's shout scattered the dust cloud. Liu Xing observed that even though the fox was in the Core Splitting realm, it did not seem significantly more dangerous than the frog he had previously fought. Still, he had learned his lesson about direct confrontation with formidable enemies and resolved to utilize his invisibility more often. However, Liu Xing remained aware of his invisibility's limitations. The frog had managed to track him, so this fox might also possess a countermeasure.

Silently, Liu Xing jumped from the fang-shaped boulder to one of the trees circling the clearing. Unlike the central tree, these trees were not entirely covered in moss; only their bases were coated in green.

Liu Xing watched the fox searching left and right. It growled like a wild animal, its ears, eyes, and nose twitching constantly. He retreated as slowly as he could. His main strategy now was to stay hidden, to make the fox think he was gone. He would be on the lookout for an opening, and then he would strike.

"Coward human, show yourself!" the fox shouted. As it yelled, moss surged from its paws, creating a green wave with blackish tints that spread across the ground.

Seeing this, Liu Xing realized the moss was likely the fox's method of detecting nearby enemies. He pursed his lips and jumped again, careful to avoid the advancing green waves. As he moved, he observed the moss wave engulfing everything around the fox—trees, rocks, flowers, even a small pond near the clearing. Everything became coated in green moss.

"Coward! Coward! All you humans are cowards!" As it continued to shout, the moss surged faster and higher from its paws like a verdant geyser. Then, the moss began to swirl around the fox, circling it and forming a green tornado. Initially, the tornado was roughly the size of the fox, but it grew larger and taller until the clearing was dominated by a towering green vortex, so high Liu Xing had to tilt his head to see its peak.

The wind intensified, and the moss-covered trees began to bend towards the tornado as if pleading not to be uprooted.

Liu Xing's eyes widened slightly. He knew the difference between the Lock Opening and Core Splitting realms lay primarily in qi capacity and control. But witnessing the sheer size of the tornado and feeling the immense qi it exuded, he truly grasped that the Core Splitting realm was the first step towards wielding wide-area techniques capable of overwhelming everything.

"Should I attack?" Liu Xing muttered to himself.

Though he couldn't see the fox directly, he could sense its presence in the center of the moss tornado. Since the fox controlled it, he was certain it was attempting to spread the moss rapidly to locate him, similar to how the frog had jumped into the sky and struck the lake to create rain. Deciding it was best to attack while still concealed, Liu Xing aimed his gun at the tornado's center. He retrieved the Ethereal Pearl and placed it in his mouth. The pearl now contained significantly more qi than it had during his fight with the frog, thanks to his efforts to replenish it during his journey from the pond and before his encounter with the snakes.

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Liu Xing channeled qi from the Ethereal Pearl to activate Lightning Palm, using more qi than usual in hopes of strengthening the lightning bullets. As the technique activated, his gun absorbed the energy, and Liu Xing felt six lightning bullets charge within its chamber and pulled the trigger. A lightning bullet shot from his gun with blinding speed, appearing as true lightning. The projectile pierced the moss tornado, creating a momentary hole. Through the opening, he saw the fox's head snap in his direction, but before it could react, the lightning bullet struck its face, and the hole sealed shut.

The fox screamed in pain, undoubtedly feeling arcs of electricity wrack its body, paralyzing it. The moss tornado faltered, as if a cog had jammed in its mechanism. Liu Xing, heart pounding and adrenaline surging, kicked off the ground and launched himself directly into the tornado.

He crashed through the moss wall and landed directly in front of the fox, which was still crackling with blue electricity. As his feet hit the ground, the electricity around the fox diminished, its red eyes focused on him, and with a visible effort, its clenched fist lunged towards his face. Reacting instantly, he aimed his gun and fired in less than a fraction of a second. Just as the furred fist came within centimeters of his nose, another lightning bullet struck the fox squarely in the center of its torso. The receding arcs of electricity flared again, further paralyzing the creature. He rapidly fired the remaining lightning bullets, ensuring the fox remained immobile for several crucial seconds. The fox appeared trapped within a cage of electricity, growling deeply, like a volcano about to erupt.

With his heart pounding in his chest, Liu Xing wasted no time and poured half of the Ethereal Pearl's qi into his right gauntlet with a yellow spiral around it, increasing its durability and allowing it to handle even more qi. In a fraction of a second, he adjusted his stance, and a ball of white lightning three meters in diameter materialized in front of his palm as if summoned from thin air.

With a shout, Liu Xing thrust his palm forward. The massive ball of white lightning slammed into the giant fox, engulfing it and erupting in a blinding white light. The light was so intense, so overwhelming, that Liu Xing felt momentarily transported into his own consciousness.

The white light enveloped everything for almost a second, then the sound of an explosion, like millions of lightning bolts striking a single point simultaneously, shook the world, as if an earthquake had erupted. A pillar of condensed light, more than three meters in diameter, shot from his palm and completely engulfed Emerald Fox. Amidst the ringing in his ears and the deafening explosion, Liu Xing also heard a pained wail.

The Thunderstrike Gauntlets' usual attacks produced minimal recoil; he could even execute them in mid-air. But the sheer magnitude of this attack forced him to plant his feet firmly to avoid being blown backward.

He roared, sustaining the attack for several seconds that stretched into an eternity. Moments later, the giant pillar of condensed lightning subsided, the white light vanished, and sudden silence descended. Only the howl of the wind and the creaking of swaying branches could be heard.

Before Liu Xing, a deep trench scarred the earth, revealing burning red ground that resembled lava. This trench stretched for dozens of meters, obliterating boulders, trees, and everything in its path. Finding the area ahead empty, Liu Xing scanned his surroundings. The attack had been devastating, yet he doubted the fox had perished so easily.

Liu Xing scanned the area and quickly spotted the fox launched into the sky as if caught in a powerful gust of wind. As it ascended, he clearly saw that both of its hands were gone, leaving only smoldering stumps. It appeared the fox had attempted to shield itself from the attack and sacrificed its hands in the process.

The green robe it had worn was completely disintegrated, revealing charred fur covering its body. Even from a distance, plumes of black smoke rose from the burnt fur. Despite the extensive damage, it was less than Liu Xing had anticipated. He had hoped to obliterate at least half of its body. After all, this fox wasn't supposed to be tougher than the frog he had easily dispatched with less qi. However, the fox had proven to be far more resilient than it initially appeared.

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