Chapter 28

After spending some affectionate moments with the little creatures, Li Mengze didn’t forget to observe the movements of the black foxes outside. As soon as she dashed out, the female fox was the first to give chase, but unfortunately for her, Li Mengze moved quickly and slipped into her space. Although there was a faint fluctuation of spiritual energy, it was barely perceptible, and with such a weak aura, there was no way to track her whereabouts.

Having lost her target in an instant, the female fox shrieked in frustration, while the male fox remained calm, emerging leisurely from the cave to stand at the entrance and survey the surroundings. At the fork in the path, the two foxes split up, each taking a different direction in pursuit.

Li Mengze stayed put, unhurried and unconcerned. She had already resolved during her year here that as long as she honed her combat skills, she would be prepared. She had intended to seek out some so-called inheritance, but after acquiring the little foxes, she realized much more. Opportunities, she mused, are like pregnancy—they depend on the person.

If a married woman, after a long time with her husband, finally conceives, it's a blessing. But if she can't conceive no matter what, and suddenly gets pregnant from a single act of infidelity, that's hardly a good thing.

Inheritance works similarly for disciples. If one has a master, inheritance is dispensable—especially sword inheritance. As a disciple of Kunlun, it serves only as reference. Pill refinement, talismans, and array techniques are far more practical. However, without a master, one naturally hopes for fortuitous opportunities. Thus, fate must be divided among the worthy.

Having figured all this out, Li Mengze felt even less urgency. She calmly cleaned her wounds in her space, sprinkled healing powder to stop the bleeding, and kept a watchful eye on the outside.

Her decision not to rush out spared herself a great deal of trouble. She soon saw the male fox return to the cave entrance—he hadn’t chased after her at all, but instead hid to see if she had truly escaped. Li Mengze marveled; when did beasts become craftier than humans?

Just as she finished this thought, the scene outside shifted. The male fox straightened, alert and ready. Li Mengze glanced into the distance and saw the group of cultivators from before returning, now with more members—clearly reinforcements. She wondered how they knew there was treasure in the cave, enough to risk offending two fifth or sixth-grade beasts time and again.

She was also curious what treasure these people possessed to escape from a Nascent Soul beast, seeming none the worse for wear.

So she sat cross-legged in her space, carefully observing their movements.

The male fox let out a sharp cry, likely signaling the female fox, for soon she appeared. The newcomers numbered about a dozen, wielding magical tools and carrying themselves with arrogant pride. Li Mengze noted their uniform attire—disciples of the same sect, though not a major one. They belonged to Canglan Sect, a medium-sized branch attached to the Dan Ding Sect, guarded by only two Nascent Soul cultivators. Even if they had some treasure, it wouldn’t be distributed to disciples, let alone one that allowed them to escape from Nascent Soul beasts.

At first, with only the male fox, the cultivators had the upper hand; the male fox barely managed to protect himself. But with the female fox joining, the tide turned, and the beasts gained dominance.

After injuring five people, a female cultivator cried out, “Senior Brother Wang, we all came to help you—didn’t you say there was a treasure that could subdue these monsters?” Her voice tinged with urgency and suppressed anger, clearly unable to offend this so-called Senior Brother Wang.

“Alright, you juniors hold them off for a bit. I’ll set up the formation.” As soon as he spoke, relief flickered in the eyes of the others, proving he had some skill and was the leader. Their attacks intensified.

Li Mengze couldn’t help but laugh in her space. His shifty gaze, shadowed with malice, marked him as no good. Cooperating with him would be like seeking skin from a tiger.

Yet these people trusted him completely, testament to his skill at performance.

Li Mengze scrutinized his array-setting technique. Though she wasn’t an expert in arrays, she knew the basics—no legitimate array required sprinkling blood. Such methods belonged to the demonic arts of old, used only in sacrificial rituals. Li Mengze’s eyes narrowed; she realized his intention was to forge puppets, not to truly destroy the black foxes.

He was truly vicious, sacrificing so many fellow disciples for his selfish ambition. Li Mengze frowned. The black foxes weren’t innocent either—the pile of human bones in their den attested to their predatory nature. If Senior Brother Wang were less cruel and subdued the beasts by his own strength, she wouldn’t interfere. But with so many lives involved, and since it would cost her little effort, she didn’t mind making things difficult for him.

She took out a small bottle of scent-dispersing powder from her storage pouch, capable of eliminating human scent and masking the smell of blood. Then she produced an explosive talisman. Without leaving her space, she silently tossed it outside, aiming for a key node in the array.

Perhaps feeling confident after setting up the array, Senior Brother Wang folded his arms, watching his juniors fall beneath the black foxes’ claws.

As his group neared annihilation, someone shouted, “Senior Brother, is your array ready? We can’t hold out much longer!” Fighting as they retreated toward him.

Wang Mingzhe smiled slightly, directing his juniors to stand at specific spots within the array, his lips curling upward in satisfaction. These fools really believed there were black fox cubs in the cave. They never considered that, with his Nascent Soul lineage and countless treasures at hand, if there really were cubs, he’d have taken them already—why would he need their help?

They deserved to contribute to his blood demon array today. Once he refined the two black foxes, he’d gain another Nascent Soul-level minion. Then, when hunting those so-called righteous sect disciples, he’d someday achieve his demonic mastery, and nothing would stand in his way.

The thought excited him, reddening his eyes. Li Mengze looked up, catching sight of those blood-red vertical pupils—a familiar sight. She recalled hearing about blood pupils somewhere but couldn’t quite place it.

By now, the black foxes had been lured into the array. Wang Mingzhe pressed his palms together, chanting. As the array activated, Li Mengze saw the trapped cultivators grow paler, unable to control their bodies, faces contorted with terror.

The array was absorbing their spiritual energy and vitality. Once completed, they would become dried corpses, perhaps even corpse puppets. Such malicious arrays—who knows where he acquired them? Li Mengze made a mental note to warn her sect. If this array succeeded, it could cost countless cultivators their lives.

Frowning, Li Mengze quietly infused spiritual energy into the explosive talisman, detonating it just as the array reached its critical moment. Her interference struck Wang Mingzhe with a backlash from the array—he spat blood, his cultivation plummeting.

Those rescued cultivators came to their senses, ignoring the trapped black foxes. “Wang Mingzhe, you’ve secretly practiced demonic arts! I’ll report this to our sect!” a male cultivator shouted at the weakened Wang Mingzhe.

As if a switch had been thrown, another cried, “Wang Mingzhe, you dared plot against us! My master is Master Wanmei—she’ll never forgive you!” The once coquettish female cultivator was now grim-faced, clearly depleted of spiritual energy.

Seeing Wang Mingzhe begin to recover, Li Mengze shook her head in exasperation. She couldn’t understand why people wasted time with empty threats. If they had eliminated him while he was wounded, how much trouble could they avoid?

Yes, Li Mengze now remembered—a formidable character like this existed in the original novel, one of the heroine’s ardent pursuers. He had cultivated the Blood Demon Array, harming many righteous disciples, and when hunted by both good and evil factions, was rescued by the heroine. As the saying went:

“In his moment of despair, she was like the first light of dawn, warm and gentle, the most cherished memory in his life. She sheltered his broken body with her fragrant, soft embrace. From then on, he would live for her.”

This time, he was gravely injured, and the white lotus was in the secret realm. Who knew if this plot would unfold ahead of time?

Wang Mingzhe’s lips parted in a sinister grin, long fingers pointing at the noisy cultivator, who seemed irresistibly drawn toward his hand.

In an instant, a vibrant life shriveled to a charred corpse. With the cultivator’s energy severed, Wang Mingzhe’s complexion improved considerably.

Witnessing this, the others finally realized this was not their Senior Brother Wang—the cultivation was clearly above Foundation Establishment. A late Foundation cultivator had no power to resist.

Those regaining their senses scattered in panic. While not vanishing instantly, they used every trick at their disposal, but the array had already drained much of their spiritual energy and vitality, slowing them down.

Li Mengze reckoned that if even one escaped alive, it would be fortunate. If none survived, the story would remain buried.