In the Ownerless Wasteland, Luo Xiu and Su Shenyun leaped nimbly through the dense forest, both having pushed their speed to the limit. However, the dark cloud in the sky was like a persistent specter, constantly hovering above their heads.

"Two little ants, still trying to run?"

"I'd like to see where you can possibly escape!"

Zhu Hui's taunting voice, filled with derision, echoed between heaven and earth.

Luo Xiu suddenly stopped and slowly tilted his head back, his gaze piercing through the gaps in the canopy to the dark cloud above. That was Zhu Hui's true form.

He promptly sat down cross-legged and began to concentrate his Divine Sense, preparing to use the Elysian Nether Earth to resurrect Lin Tong. He knew that escape was impossible; they would only be toyed with like mice. Their only option was to make a last stand. With Chi Sha, Dou Dou, and Mu Xueyan all tied up, only Lin Tong could take on both Xia Chan and Zhu Hui at once.

Just as Luo Xiu focused his Divine Sense, the mark on his forehead suddenly glowed, and a stabbing pain shot through his mind. A hoarse voice entered his thoughts, "Hold on a bit longer. We'll be there soon!"

Hearing this, a slight smile touched Luo Xiu's lips, and he abandoned the idea of resurrecting Lin Tong.

"Su Fox, how are your injuries?" Luo Xiu turned to look at the disheveled Su Shenyun.

Su Shenyun lightly shook her head, a faint smile on her face. "This sister of yours never takes a loss. If I'm injured, your little Xiaochan must be hurt too. But speaking of which, for her to gain such immense power in just a month, with her cultivation technique also taking a qualitative leap… she must have awakened her bloodline."

"Stronger than your bloodline?" Luo Xiu asked.

"I'm guessing it's the Zhu Jiuyin Bloodline," Su Shenyun replied.

"That is indeed very strong," Luo Xiu said.

Su Shenyun said with a look of displeasure, "I think you just didn't fuck her enough before. How else could she be so arrogant?"

Luo Xiu's face immediately darkened. "To say something like that at a time like this..."

Su Shenyun snorted. "Can't a girl complain a little?"

A bitter smile appeared on Luo Xiu's face. "Sorry, it looks like I've become the liability. Su Fox, you should go first. I'll find a way to hold them off."

Su Shenyun gazed at him gently. "In the past, you protected this sister of yours. Now, it's my turn to protect you." With that, she wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, and her body suddenly erupted in a brilliant light. "I'll hold off Xia Chan. You take this chance to open that entrance to the Land of Lawlessness."

"SWALLOWING MOUNTAINS AND RIVERS—!"

Suddenly, an enraged roar thundered from the sky. Luo Xiu quickly looked up and saw a human face as massive as a mountain. Its blood-red mouth was wide open, revealing a full set of sharp teeth.

A powerful suction instantly locked onto the ground where Luo Xiu and Su Shenyun stood, and their bodies flew uncontrollably toward the sky. Even the towering ancient trees nearby were uprooted by the terrifying force, ascending into the air along with them. Strangely, within this vortex, Luo Xiu and Su Shenyun felt their Spiritual Power being rapidly drained, leaving them completely depleted in mere moments.

"Damn it!" Luo Xiu couldn't help but curse.

He grew anxious as he was about to be sucked into that gaping maw, unable to break free. But just then, a fox tail formed from concentrated Spiritual Power shot in from a distance, wrapped around his waist, and pulled him away.

「A short while later.」

After landing safely, Luo Xiu let out a long sigh of relief. "Su Fox, thank you..."

He froze before he could finish. The person beside him was not Su Shenyun, but a young woman in a white dress with five fox tails. Su Shenyun herself was sitting on the ground nearby, having apparently tumbled from a bad landing.

The girl in the white dress glanced at them. "My name is Yue Ya. Follow me."

As she spoke, she extended two fox tails, wrapping one around each of them. With a flash, her delicate figure vanished into the forest as if she had evaporated.

「A moment later.」

Zhu Hui, now in his human form, landed with a crash and looked toward Xia Chan.

"My Queen, they fled toward that swamp!

"Don't worry. Although my 'Swallowing Mountains and Rivers' failed to capture them, I drained their Spiritual Power. They won't get far!

"Besides, I'm quite acquainted with the three old pals in that swamp. I can send a message ahead and ask them to block their path."

…

「At the edge of the swamp.」

Yue Ya, leading Luo Xiu and Su Shenyun, abruptly stopped.

"Ahead of us is the Thunder Swamp. It's extremely dangerous, but if we can cross it, we can reach Mount Green Hills directly." She glanced at Su Shenyun and added, "Once we reach the territory of Mount Green Hills, we won't have to fear them even if they catch up. Many of our kin are there."

Su Shenyun felt a sudden sense of warmth toward this beautiful, aloof young woman, likely because they were of the same tribe. "Why did you suddenly appear to save us?"

Yue Ya started walking toward the Thunder Swamp. "I received a tip earlier that the Lord of Zhangwei, Zhu Hui, had invited nearby Demon Beasts to Zhangwei Mountain for a grand feast, claiming a Nine-Tailed Fox had appeared. So I infiltrated the group and waited for an opportunity."

"I see."

"In this Shanhai Territory," Yue Ya continued, "the quickest way for Demon Beasts to become powerful, aside from steady cultivation, is to devour other Demon Beasts. Our tribe once produced a Great Emperor, the Pink Emperor. You possess the same Nine Tails and Innate Allure Bone as she did. Given time, you could become the second Pink Emperor. Therefore, your body is enough to drive those Demon Beasts into a frenzy. Until you are strong enough, you must never carelessly reveal your identity as a Nine-Tailed Fox."

Su Shenyun nodded. "Thank you for the warning."

"According to bloodline hierarchy, you are now the queen of Mount Green Hills," Yue Ya stated. "It is our tribe's honor to find you and welcome you back. Are you willing to come with me to Mount Green Hills and cultivate the astonishing Taoist Arts left behind by the Pink Emperor?"

Hearing this, Su Shenyun looked at Luo Xiu, her gaze filled with unspoken questions. Once so free and uninhibited, she now found herself thinking of this man before making any major life decision.

Luo Xiu answered without hesitation, "Of course we're going."

Yue Ya shot Luo Xiu a look, a flicker of disdain and even a hint of disgust in her eyes, before letting out a contemptuous snort. "Another man!"

Luo Xiu's face darkened. "What's wrong with men?"

Yue Ya ignored him. To think the Pink Emperor had abandoned her tribe and ascended to the Upper Realm all because she fell in love with a man. She really couldn't understand what was so good about them.

Suddenly, a patch of mud ahead began to churn, flashing with lightning and emitting a terrifying, spine-chilling aura. Luo Xiu looked up to see a Prehistoric Giant Crocodile, nearly twenty meters long with a back full of glowing, poisonous spines, crawling out of the mire.

"Haha, Miss Yue Ya, long time no see!" the giant crocodile boomed in a human voice, laughing heartily.

Immediately after, two other patches of the swamp roiled. Accompanied by flashes of electricity, two more enormous Demon Beasts emerged: a Prehistoric Giant Python as thick as a water barrel, and a hippopotamus the size of a Blood Armored Qilin Beast.

Yue Ya's expression grew solemn as she surveyed the three Demon Beasts. "What wind has blown you Three Bandits of Thunder Swamp out into the open?"

The Prehistoric Giant Crocodile replied, "Miss Yue Ya, you can come and go from Thunder Swamp as you please. We'll give you that courtesy, seeing as we're neighbors. But the two people with you must stay behind."

Yue Ya sneered. "Your information travels fast. Was it Zhu Hui?"

The giant crocodile laughed. "We can't help it. We have to show Zhu Hui some respect. Besides, once this Nine-Tailed Fox returns to Mount Green Hills, she'll become the next Pink Emperor before long. So, do you take me for a fool? Enough talk. Leave them behind, or I'll destroy you!"

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