Chapter 124: Wait, Youyou... It's me!

Moonlight spilled through the window, bathing the room in a pale glow.

The white-robed woman remained on her knees, her nine tails unfurled like snow lotuses. Yet, the tip of the tail in the center was stained with a vivid, crimson blood—his blood.

Qian Sanniang, who had only reached the Dragon Gate realm, also knelt on the other side. Her body trembled incessantly, and even her breathing had become shallow and labored. The spiritual energy in the room was violently unstable, with a terrifying pressure radiating continuously from the woman before her.

Driven by a primal instinct for survival, Qian Sanniang kept her eyes locked on the woman’s every movement, fearing that if she displeased her in the slightest, she would be wiped out with a casual wave of a hand.

"Master..."

The twin white fox sisters, Bai Ling and Bai Qiao, entered the room and knelt on one knee behind Bai Juyi.

After a long while, Bai Juyi finally regained her composure. She rose slowly and turned to face the sisters, two tear tracks still visible on her cheeks. The sisters dared not ask a word, simply bowing their heads once more.

"It is nothing. Let us go; it is time to return... I am tired."

Bai Juyi folded her hands before her and stepped out slowly.

"As you command, Master." Bai Ling and Bai Qiao stood up and followed behind her. "But Master, what of the fox demon inside? Should we dispose of her?"

Hearing the sisters' suggestion, the fox demon in the room shuddered, yet she dared not beg for mercy. A woman's intuition told her that if she were to plead, she would only die faster.

Bai Juyi cast a casual glance at the trembling fox demon on the floor. "There is no need. If she can survive this night, it is her own fortune."

With those words, Bai Juyi and her two attendants vanished into the night. The fox demon collapsed, her clothes soaked in cold sweat, feeling as though she had just returned from the gates of death.

"What a pity... he was so handsome, too..."

Looking at the blood spilled on the floor, Qian Sanniang sighed to herself.

*Clink.*

A faint sound, like a copper coin hitting the floor, echoed in her ear.

"Actually... I think I'm quite handsome myself~~~~"

A voice like a ghost drifted from behind her. Qian Sanniang shuddered, her fur standing on end. Swallowing hard, she turned slowly to find the man already busy tying knots in her own tails...

***

High above Donglin City, Bai Juyi paused in the air, looking down, her silver eyes unreadable.

"Ugh..."

Bai Juyi hunched slightly, covering her mouth with a slender hand. Crimson blood trickled slowly from her palm.

"Master!"

"I am fine." She wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and straightened up.

"But Master, your cultivation realm..."

"Falling from the half-step Ascension realm to the early Jade Terrace realm—it is quite a drop, indeed," the woman said softly, her voice devoid of sorrow.

"Please, Master, have no fear! Bai Ling and Bai Qiao will follow you forever! We will never forsake you, but we implore you, do not return to the Myriad Demon Continent!" the sisters pleaded in unison, kneeling behind her.

A fall from the Immortal realm to the Jade Terrace realm could not be hidden for long. Her rule over White Emperor City relied entirely on the suppression of her overwhelming strength; she had never shown anyone any kindness. The old monsters of White Emperor City and the neighboring Demon Emperors had long coveted her position. Had she not been at the Immortal realm, there was no telling what those old wretches would have done to her.

If she returned now and the others discovered her cultivation had plummeted, the consequences would be unimaginable. Yet, what baffled the sisters most was how their master’s cultivation could have fallen so drastically. What had happened?

"What? Do you think I am not worth fearing at the Jade Terrace realm?" With her back to them, Bai Juyi smiled, though the smile was bitter.

"No... we are only worried for you..."

"Enough. There is no need to hide my loss of cultivation. I should like to see what those things can do to me. To deal with them, the Jade Terrace realm is quite enough."

Turning her gaze away from Donglin City, she looked up at the sky, her thoughts drifting.

"Master, the word 'love'... it is truly a strange thing."

Eight years ago, when she traveled to the Demon race's world with Bai Qianluo, a nine-tailed celestial fox had finally appeared in the Myriad Demon Continent after thousands of years, all because of the word "love." Now, on this night eight years later, because of that same word, there were no more nine-tailed celestial foxes in the nine continents.

"This Immortal realm... it is what I return to you..."

In her mind's eye, his lewd, cheeky little face appeared once more.

Shooting stars streaked across the sky. She remembered him telling her once that if you made a wish upon a shooting star, it would come true. But what was there for her to wish for now? The Immortal realm? The Ascension realm? The lost realms?

The woman shook her head.

Watching the shooting stars, she muttered to herself:

"I really want some dried fish..."

***

In the end, Bai Juyi chose not to confront the leader of the Dugu Demon Sect. The leader, known as Little Ye, said nothing when she learned that Bai Juyi had killed Jiang Lin with her own hands; she simply opened a gap in the Blood Name Array to bid her farewell. Both knew this was their final meeting.

After leaving the array, the fox demon—whose full name was Mo Xiaoye—fully activated the Blood Name Array. The moon above Donglin City turned the color of blood.

"Hey! Fatty! Why are you sleeping? Hey! Fatty!"

"Woof... woof woof! Woof!"

As the blood moon turned the sky crimson, Fatty Qian let out a yawn and collapsed onto the ground, fast asleep, impossible to wake. At the same time, the ordinary citizens of Donglin City drifted into a deep slumber. Those already asleep slept more soundly; those awake slowly closed their eyes.

In less than half an incense stick of time, the disciples of the Dugu Demon Sect were all in motion. Throughout Donglin City, flashes of spiritual energy erupted; battles had clearly begun.

In the backyard, just as Hu Shuang and the others were on high alert, Jiang Lin vaulted over the wall into the night, carrying a four-tailed fox demon on his back. Just as he landed and set the restrained fox down, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his backside! Immediately, his strength drained away!

"Ah!!!"

A scream pierced the air. Jiang Lin knelt on the ground, clutching his backside, blood still spurting out.

"Wait, Youyou... it’s me!"

"Bah! This Cheng-Huang doesn't know you."

Jiang Lin had forgotten that his mask had been destroyed by that nine-tailed celestial fox...

"Hmph! You little thief! You dare to climb my wall? See if I don't poke you to death!"

Youyou lowered her head, grinding her hooves as she charged toward Jiang Lin! Just as she lunged, several beams of cold light flashed, striking at Hu Shuang behind her.