433: Chapter 433 Shadow Fox

There were three void spirit fruits, each the size of a fist, with fine patterns flowing across their surfaces.

He did not rush to pick them, but instead crouched down to examine the surface of the meteorite beneath the void spirit fruits.

There was a three-foot-square stone slab carved there, covered in dense Formation patterns.

"Chu Lan, come take a look."

Chu Lan tucked the Shadow-Eating Vine into her sleeve and crouched before the stone slab.

She gently brushed her fingers over the Formation patterns, closed her eyes to sense them for a moment, and when she opened them, her eyes could not hide her excitement.

"This is the foundation of an ancient Spirit Gathering Array! It's not an ordinary Spirit Gathering Array, but a special one designed for Void Realm spiritual energy.

General Zhao Wuji said he had consumed void spirit fruits in the depths of the Void Realm; it must have been the ones produced by this fruit vine."

She gestured to the size of the stone slab, "The Formation foundation is well-preserved, and the patterns are clear. I can replicate it for use.

Using it in our Wuxiang Spirit Gathering Array will greatly extend the duration the Formation can be sustained."

Gao Feng nodded and instructed, "Collect the fruit vine along with the meteorite and bring them back for study."

Chu Lan took several high-capacity Storage Pouches from her sleeve, first picking the three void spirit fruits one by one and carefully placing them into jade boxes.

Then, she retrieved the Shadow-Eating Vine from the giant python's corpse and commanded it to completely separate the fruit vine's root system from the meteorite.

When the fruit vine was uprooted, its silver-white radiance dimmed slightly, but it did not wither.

Chu Lan placed it into another jade box and sprinkled some time spirit spring on it; the leaves quickly regained their luster.

Finally, there was the stone slab covered in Formation patterns.

Chu Lan used her spiritual power to peel the stone slab from the meteorite's surface and placed it into a Storage Pouch, completely intact.

Su Ning reminded, "It's time to return."

The group returned along the original path.

Chu Lan walked in the middle of the group, occasionally looking down to check the fruit vine and stone slab in her Storage Pouch, fearing something might happen to them on the journey.

Luo Li walked beside Chu Lan, clutching the flowing sound zither.

Lin Jingyu and Situ Lan walked on either side of the group, sword tips pointed outward, vigilant against any shadows that might appear.

Tianxin walked at the very back, holding a Void Positioning Talisman to guide the direction of the return journey.

Su Ning's Spatial Anchor Bead lit up ahead, its silver-white radiance guiding the way home.

Roars of shadows came from far away, but no one looked back.

Those intangible shadows in the Void Realm gradually receded behind the seven of them, swallowed by the gray-white mist.

The return journey was much calmer than the way there.

After the shadow beast herd was defeated, only a few scattered low-level shadows remained in the surrounding Void Realm, and they avoided the seven of them from afar upon sensing their aura.

Chu Lan's Shadow-Eating Vine had evolved to a brand-new stage after absorbing the giant python's shadow energy; the silver-white patterns on the leaves had spread to every inch of the vine's surface, and occasionally it would autonomously extend its roots, as if searching for its next prey.

Tianxin walked at the back of the group, holding a Void Positioning Talisman, the light of the Talisman guiding the direction toward the spatial passage.

As she walked, she suddenly stopped.

"Tianxin?" Yaoguang, walking in front of her, noticed something unusual and turned to look at her.

Tianxin did not answer.

She stood in place, tilting her head as if listening to something.

Her brows furrowed slightly, and a rare expression of confusion appeared on her face.

"There's a sound," Tianxin's voice was very soft, soft enough that only Yaoguang beside her could hear, "It's calling me to go over there."

She pointed to a patch of thick fog to the front right.

The gray-white mist there was thicker than the surroundings, making it almost impossible to see beyond ten zhang.

The Void Sensing Grass in Chu Lan's arms showed no reaction, indicating that there was no accumulation of resentment in that area.

Su Ning closed her eyes and sensed for a moment, but also detected no abnormal spatial fluctuations.

"What kind of sound?" Gao Feng swam over.

Tianxin shook her head; she couldn't explain it; it wasn't a human voice or beast language, but a call on the level of the Soul, echoing directly in her Sea of Consciousness—clear, persistent, as if something was waiting for her.

"Let's go take a look." Gao Feng did not hesitate.

He trusted Tianxin's judgment; her Dark Bloodline granted her special perception of certain things.

The seven of them deviated from the return route and swam toward the thick fog.

The gray-white mist grew heavier, and the light of the Void Positioning Talisman was suppressed to only illuminating three feet around them.

Su Ning had to turn the sensing intensity of the Spatial Anchor Bead to the maximum to ensure they didn't lose their way.

A black shadow appeared in the fog ahead.

It was not the surging, irregular black shadow of a shadow beast, but a huge black boulder, quietly suspended in the Void Realm, its surface covered in cracks like a meteorite forgotten by time.

The calling sound became clearer.

Tianxin felt her heart beating violently in her chest, and her Dark Bloodline surged within her, as if awakened by something.

She swam to the boulder and reached out to touch the stone surface.

The stone surface was cold, rough, and had no spiritual power fluctuations.

But the moment Tianxin's hand pressed onto it, a faint silver light lit up within the cracks on the boulder's surface.

Those lights spread along the cracks like a giant spider web, wrapping the entire boulder within.

"Back up!" Lin Yue's defensive Formation opened instantly, and the Rock Demon Phantom protected the seven of them behind it.

But Tianxin shook her head: "Don't, it has no malice. That sound is a cry for help."

The boulder began to crack from the inside.

The cracks grew larger and denser, and silver light poured out from the fissures, illuminating the gray-white mist brightly.

Fragments of stone peeled off one by one, drifting in all directions.

The inside of the boulder was empty.

A small creature was curled up inside.

It was the size of a cat, pitch black all over, with soft fur; it didn't have the surging mist-like feeling of a shadow beast, but a solid, real body.

Its limbs were slender, its tail fluffy, and its ears stood up sharply.

Most striking was the silver patterns on its fur, like a galaxy in the night sky, glowing faintly in the darkness.

Its eyes were light purple, clear and bright, completely different from the bloodthirsty, dark red gaze of Void Realm creatures.

Shadow Spirit Fox.

There was a deep wound on its hind leg, and shadow energy seeped from the wound, eroding the silver patterns on its body.

The fur around the wound had turned charred black; it was clearly injured for a long time, and the wound was still slowly expanding.

The Spirit Fox raised its head and saw Tianxin.

Its eyes lit up.

It struggled to stand up, dragging its injured hind leg, and stumbled toward Tianxin.

Chu Lan instinctively wanted to stop it, but was stopped by Gao Feng raising his hand.

The Spirit Fox walked in front of Tianxin, lowered its head, and gently rubbed its head against her lower leg.

Tianxin crouched down and reached out her hand; the Spirit Fox pressed its head into her palm and rubbed gently.

Its body was trembling slightly, not because of fear, but because it hadn't felt such warmth for a very, very long time.

A vague thought was transmitted from the Spirit Fox into Tianxin's Sea of Consciousness.

It wasn't language, but some fragmented scenes—a female Cultivator in a cyan robe sitting on a mountain peak playing the zither, the Spirit Fox napping on her lap; a battlefield, countless Cultivators fighting Void Realm creatures; that female Cultivator pushing the Spirit Fox into a spatial rift and turning to face a giant Void Beast herself; the Spirit Fox drifting in the Void Realm, consuming spirit fruits, avoiding shadows, day after day, year after year, until now.

The Spirit Fox raised its eyes to look at Tianxin, the light in its eyes filled with anticipation.

It wanted to acknowledge Tianxin as its master.

Tianxin looked up at Gao Feng.

The people who had accompanied her to see this boulder were all waiting for her to make a decision, and no one spoke to urge her.

Tianxin lowered her head, looking at the Spirit Fox's clear eyes, and the dim silver patterns on its fur: "You've been waiting for a long time, haven't you? You've been looking for her, can't go back, and can't find her; you've waited for a very long time.

Your master has already... fallen.

I... am not her.

I am not as strong as her, nor am I as skilled at playing the zither as she was.

I am different from her."

A dimness flashed in the Spirit Fox's eyes, but it quickly lit up again.

It rubbed against Tianxin's palm and transmitted a thought, not asking her to become someone else, just wanting to follow her.

Tianxin was silent for a long time.

The Spirit Fox just lay at her feet, waiting quietly.

It had waited for thousands of years and didn't mind waiting a little longer.

Tianxin bit her fingertip.

A drop of bright red blood seeped from her fingertip and fell onto the Spirit Fox's forehead.

The power of the Dark Bloodline surged within that drop of blood, and the silver patterns on the Spirit Fox's forehead suddenly lit up, absorbing the blood.

The Soul contract was established.

The Spirit Fox's wound began to heal.

The shadow energy was dispelled by the Dark Bloodline, new fluff grew under the charred fur, and the broken bones reconnected.

Its body slowly shrank under the shroud of silver light, turning into a beam of light that merged into Tianxin's shadow.

In that shadow, the Spirit Fox curled up and closed its eyes.

Tianxin's cultivation began to climb under the feedback of the Soul contract, breaking through all the way from the Early Stage of the 7th level of Foundation Establishment to the Middle Stage of the 8th level.

Yaoguang looked at Tianxin in surprise, her eyes filled with disbelief.

Chu Lan opened her mouth wide, and Lin Yue rubbed his eyes.

Luo Li's fingers plucked the zither strings lightly; that sound of the zither seemed to be congratulating Tianxin.

"You broke through?" Yaoguang's voice trembled slightly.

"8th level, Middle Stage." Tianxin's voice was very calm, but she looked down at her shadow for a long time.

Gao Feng asked, "What abilities does it have?"

Tianxin closed her eyes, and through her connection with the Spirit Fox, those abilities appeared in her mind one by one—it could travel freely in the Void Realm without being affected by spatial turbulence, sense the position and intensity of shadows, and though the short-distance teleportation ability could not be used at will yet and required time to harmonize, it was there.

There was a memory in the Spirit Fox's thoughts: its master had once relied on these abilities to evade countless fatal crises in the Void Realm.

"There is one more piece of news," Tianxin opened her eyes, her voice sinking, "The Spirit Fox says there is a 'Lord' in the depths of the Void Realm who has taken human form and possesses immense magical power.

It has a lady by its side who also seems to have a story."

The clue about the Lord brought out deeper hidden worries.

A Void Realm Lord who had taken human form—void anecdotes had recorded such existences, "at least equivalent to the Nascent Soul Stage."

And now the Spirit Fox had personally confirmed the existence of that Lord.

"Can you still sense its location?" Tianxin shook her head.