464: Chapter 464 The Spirit Fox Saves the Master

Explosive Talismans flew in from all directions. Ying Li dodged one, but was struck in the back by another, his robes scorched. An Ice Seal Talisman exploded at his feet, and frost spread to his calves. He stomped to shatter the ice, but his speed had clearly slowed down.

The Spirit Fox launched a surprise attack from the side, claws swiping towards his eyes. Ying Li tilted his head to dodge and swept his curved blade horizontally. The Spirit Fox teleported to evade, but was caught by the blade wind and slammed into the rock wall.

Tian Xin felt heartache for the Spirit Fox, but dared not lose focus. She was waiting—waiting for Ying Li to reveal a flaw.

Ying Li's patience was gradually exhausted; his attacks grew increasingly volatile and disorganized. He finally revealed a flaw—a slash missed, his body leaned forward, and his back was exposed to Tian Xin.

Tian Xin no longer hid, appearing from the darkness and channeling most of the dark energy within her into the vajra sword. Black patterns emerged on the blade—it was the "Shadow Fatal Strike" recorded in the "Shadow True Scripture," condensing dark energy onto the blade for a single, lethal strike.

"Shadow Fatal Strike!"

Tian Xin's figure turned into a bolt of black lightning. The vajra sword pierced through Ying Li's back and out his chest. Ying Li widened his eyes, staring in disbelief at the sword tip protruding from his chest. His mouth opened and closed, blood spilling from the corners of his lips.

"You... how do you know... Shadow Fatal Strike... that is Shadow Venerable's... secret technique that is never passed on..."

Tian Xin said coldly, "Shadow Venerable is dead; I killed him with my own hands. Go keep him company." She withdrew her sword. Ying Li's body crashed to the ground, twitched a few times, and completely lost all signs of life.

Tian Xin knelt beside the Spirit Fox, lifting it up with trembling hands. The curved blade had pierced the Spirit Fox's body, entering from its left flank and exiting from its right abdomen. Blood stained its silver-black fur, dripping onto the scorched earth. The Spirit Fox's eyes were half-open, and its tail gave a gentle wag.

Tears streamed down Tian Xin's face as she said in a hoarse voice, "You cannot die... you promised to stay with me... you said you would go with me to find Gao Feng and the others... you cannot break your word..." She took out the rejuvenation pill Yao Guang had left for her from her Storage Pouch, crushed it, and applied it to the Spirit Fox's wound. The green medicinal powder seeped into the wound, but the rejuvenation pill was effective for human injuries and had little effect on a Spirit Beast. The Spirit Fox's wound was still bleeding, and its breathing grew weaker and weaker.

The Spirit Fox used its last bit of strength to lick her fingers, then closed its eyes.

Tian Xin held the Spirit Fox and wept bitterly. Her cries echoed in the darkness of the Shadow Realm, heard by no one.

At the moment she thought the Spirit Fox had died, the dark Bloodline within her suddenly boiled. A wave of black energy surged from her hands into the Spirit Fox's body. It was the "Dark Healing" recorded in the "Shadow True Scripture," a secret technique that used dark energy to repair the Physical Body, but it required the caster to pay a great price—consuming their own life force. Tian Xin did not hesitate, pouring most of the dark energy within her into the Spirit Fox.

The Spirit Fox's wound healed at a speed visible to the naked eye. The pierced muscles knit back together, the broken bones reconnected, and the damaged internal organs were repaired. The Spirit Fox opened its eyes and weakly rubbed against Tian Xin's hand. Tian Xin's face was as pale as paper and a few strands of her hair had turned white, but she smiled; tears were still flowing, yet the corners of her mouth curled up.

"It is enough that you are alive."

The Spirit Fox looked at her with its silver-gray eyes, and a faint message came through its consciousness—"Master, thank you."

Tian Xin held it in her arms, leaning against the cave wall. She was too exhausted, and the excessive consumption of dark energy caused her Meridians to ache faintly. She rested for a long time before slowly regaining some strength.

Ying Li's corpse lay not far away, his curved blade stuck in the ground, still stained with the Spirit Fox's blood. Tian Xin walked over, felt a black Storage Pouch from his robes, and searched the other six corpses for identical Storage Pouches. She tucked those pouches into her sleeves, crouched down, and retrieved a dark red soul crystal from Ying Li's body—it was left behind after a Shadow Demon Clan Golden Core Cultivator had fallen.

The soul crystal was warm to the touch, containing pure dark energy. Tian Xin held it in her palm, feeling that power. Not enough, still not enough. The Shadow Golden Core required the Fusion of soul crystals from multiple Golden Core Cultivators; one was far from enough.

She stood up, placed the Spirit Fox on her shoulder, and walked into the depths of the cave. The Spirit Fox lay on her shoulder, licking the white hair at her temple. Tian Xin stroked its head and continued her seclusion.

Ying Li's appearance was a reminder—there were still many remnants of the Shadow Realm, and they were all coveting the "Shadow True Scripture." She had to become stronger. Strong enough that no one would dare come to snatch her things, strong enough to protect everything she wanted to protect.

In the darkness in the distance, it seemed there were more eyes watching this mountain peak.

But Tian Xin was no longer afraid; she had the Spirit Fox, she had the "Shadow True Scripture," and she had herself.

That was enough.

For half a month, Tian Xin had been hunting throughout the Shadow Realm.

Following the records in the "Shadow True Scripture," she found the tracks of three Shadow Demon Clan Golden Core Early Stage Cultivators—all were former subordinates of Shadow Venerable, those who had participated in the hunt for her parents back then.

After Shadow Venerable died, these people did not leave the Shadow Realm but instead entrenched themselves in various ruins, continuing to dream of reviving the Shadow Demon Clan. They had sensed the aura of the "Shadow True Scripture" and were also searching for Tian Xin, only their goal was to snatch it.

Tian Xin first found the closest one. The man was hiding in an abandoned watchtower with only two followers. Tian Xin infiltrated the watchtower using the Shadow Evasion technique, silently eliminating the followers in the darkness. The Golden Core Cultivator woke from his sleep, and before he could even draw his blade, Tian Xin's vajra sword had already pierced his heart. She retrieved a dark red soul crystal from his body and put it into her Storage Pouch.

The second one was in an underground cave with five followers. Tian Xin spent three days observing his routine. When he went out to patrol, she followed him, hiding her aura with an Invisibility Talisman. Catching him off guard, she took the initiative with an Explosive Talisman and an Ice Seal Talisman, then slit his throat while his Qi was in chaos.

The third was the hardest to deal with; he had over a dozen followers and was extremely vigilant, never moving alone. Tian Xin waited for five days until he finally went out—there was an ancient ruin deep in the Shadow Realm that he visited to pay respects on this day every month. Tian Xin set an ambush on the road, laying a trap with the star demon suppressing talisman. As soon as he stepped into the trap, the Talismans activated simultaneously, and a golden beam of light trapped him. He struggled desperately, but Tian Xin appeared from the shadows and pierced his throat with one sword strike. The followers panicked and were killed one by one by the Spirit Fox.

Three soul crystals, three clusters of dark red light, radiating warm dark energy in her palm. Tian Xin returned to the abandoned temple she had found earlier, sat cross-legged, and placed the three soul crystals before her. According to the records in the "Shadow True Scripture," she used her dark Bloodline as a furnace and the soul crystals as material to refine the Shadow Golden Core.

This process lasted for three days and three nights. She turned the dark energy within her into black flames, enveloping the three soul crystals. The soul crystals slowly melted in the flames, turning into three clusters of dark red liquid that gathered together, fusing into a fist-sized dark red sphere. The Impurities were evaporated by the flames, leaving behind the purest dark essence. The sphere kept shrinking, from the size of a fist to the size of an egg, then from the size of an egg to the size of a longan. Finally, a Medicinal Pill, pitch-black all over with silver patterns flowing on its surface, floated before her.

Shadow Golden Core.

Tian Xin looked at the Medicinal Pill in her hand and took a deep breath. "By consuming this pill and using the dark Bloodline as a guide, I can Breakthrough to the Golden Core. Success or failure depends on this one move." She placed the Spirit Fox at the temple entrance to act as her Protector. The Spirit Fox squatted on the threshold, ears perked straight up, its silver-gray eyes scanning the surroundings vigilantly.

Tian Xin sat cross-legged and placed the Shadow Golden Core into her mouth.

The moment the Medicinal Pill entered her abdomen, violent dark energy exploded within her body. That power was more intense than she had anticipated, like thousands of needles piercing her Meridians simultaneously, and like countless venomous snakes running wild in her blood vessels. Tian Xin trembled all over from the pain, clenching her teeth, a trace of blood spilling from the corners of her mouth. But she did not stop; clenching her teeth, she persisted, circulating the Mind-Cultivation Technique of the "Shadow True Scripture" to guide the dark energy to gather in her Dantian.

The dark energy was like a black Dragon, rampaging through her Meridians; wherever it passed, her Meridians were torn and then repaired. As she guided it, she recalled her father's words—"Darkness is not evil, but the ultimate destination of all things."

She closed her eyes, sinking her consciousness into her Dantian, feeling the essence of the dark energy. In the midst of the agonizing torment, she finally understood the core of the "Shadow True Scripture." Dark energy was not meant for slaughter and destruction, but for protection. Darkness was the destination of all things, and also the origin of all things. It could devour everything, and it could also nurture everything. Just as dawn follows night, light follows darkness. They were not opposites, but one entity. Without darkness, there would be no light.

This realization caused a qualitative change in Tian Xin's state of mind. She no longer resisted the dark Bloodline, but accepted and embraced it. The dark energy that had been tormenting her became docile, beginning to gather in her Dantian according to her guidance, condensing into a black Golden Core within her Dantian. Silver patterns emerged on the surface of the Golden Core, echoing her dark Bloodline, and the silver patterns flowed slowly across the Golden Core.

The moment the Golden Core condensed, her cultivation Breakthrough to the Early Stage of the first level of the Golden Core. The surge in power brought by the Breakthrough made Tian Xin unable to stop herself from letting out a long howl. A wave of black Qi surged out from her body, making the temple walls hum and dust fall from the roof. The Spirit Fox turned to look at her from the entrance, its golden eyes full of surprise.

Tian Xin opened her eyes and looked down at her hands. The power of the first level of the Golden Core flowed in her palms, several times more robust than the Foundation Establishment Stage. The dark Bloodline boiled within her, resonating strongly with the Golden Core. She raised her hand, and a cluster of black light condensed in her palm—the light was not dazzling, but gave people a feeling of being bottomless.

She stood up, and the Spirit Fox ran over from the entrance, jumped onto her shoulder, and rubbed its head against her face. Tian Xin reached out and stroked its head, discovering that the Spirit Fox's size was a circle larger than before, its fur had changed from silver-black to pure black, with only a tuft of silver-white hair on its forehead. Its eyes had also changed color, from the previous red to gold, looking more spirited and deeper.