Four-Eyed Spirit Fox

The back mountain of Falling Cloud Valley.

The competition area.

Before them lay a clear, winding river, its banks covered in dense grass and low shrubs, surrounded by a forest of stone peaks and overlapping wonders.

Three Outer Sect Disciples, around twenty years of age, were pacing back and forth as if searching for something.

"Senior Sister Nie, I found it."

Suddenly, a young male cultivator discovered a hidden cave in a rock crevice and immediately shouted in excitement.

"The Ice Rat's nest is right here."

Hearing the voice, the only female Disciple among the three immediately showed a look of joy. She flew toward the cave, while the other male cultivator scratched his head in annoyance and followed somewhat unwillingly.

Soon, the three of them held their Magical Artifacts and surrounded the cave entrance.

"It really is a nest of rat Yao. Rat Yao are naturally social creatures; there might be more than one inside."

The female Disciple speaking was quite attractive, but her slightly pointed chin and the sharpness between her brows made her look a bit mean. She was Nie Cuilan, an Outer Sect Disciple of the Law Enforcement Pavilion.

At this time, the male cultivator who came with her suggested:

"The cave entrance is narrow, so let's not go in. Ice Rats are most afraid of fire. It would be better to start a fire outside first and use the smoke to force them out."

"That works."

Nie Cuilan nodded and took a fire starter from her Storage Pouch, igniting the moss and vines growing at the cave entrance. A thick smoke immediately spread and surged into the cave along with the wind.

Before long, a series of chaotic sounds came from inside the cave, and several icy blue figures darted out from the entrance. They were four Ice Rats in the Qi Refining Realm.

Seeing this, Nie Cuilan snorted coldly. The long whip in her hand transformed into more than a dozen vines, reaching out toward the group of Ice Rats like sharp arrows, tightly binding them in place in an instant.

"Squeak squeak squeak—"

The tightly bound Ice Rats struggled desperately, their small bead-like eyes filled with fear. They let out sharp cries as if calling for help from their surroundings.

"Die!"

Facing the points that were within her reach, Nie Cuilan naturally would not be soft-hearted. Just as she was about to finish off the four Ice Rats before her, she suddenly felt the sound of wind behind her and subconsciously pulled away to dodge.

Bang!

Two Magical Artifacts narrowly grazed her ear and struck the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Looking back, she discovered that the ones who had attacked her were actually her two companions.

Nie Cuilan's face changed drastically as she shouted angrily:

"Miao Kang, Yan Quan, have you two gone mad?"

She never expected that these two suitors, who were usually completely submissive to her, would actually dare to join forces to ambush her!

However, she saw the two of them with strange expressions, looking at her with Killing Intent as they shouted:

"Bold Yao Beast, how dare you harm Senior Sister Nie! Die!"

After speaking, they each brandished their Magical Artifacts and attacked her again.

At the same time, in Nie Cuilan's eyes, the two male cultivators before her had disappeared and turned into two Thunderstorm Bears baring their fangs and claws. She was startled and quickly summoned a small, entirely green ruler from her Storage Pouch to meet the attack... Bang bang bang!!!

For a time, the three of them were locked in a fierce battle, unable to be separated.

While the scene was in Chaos, an entirely snow-white fox slowly stepped out from the flowers not far away.

This fox was about five feet tall, its fur smooth and clean like silk. As it walked, its fluffy tail curled slightly and swayed lazily.

It first glanced at the fighting Nie Cuilan and the others, a flicker of playful amusement passing through its two pairs of amber double pupils. Then, it walked with elegant steps toward the group of Ice Rats bound by vines.

Swish!

The fox Yao raised its sharp claws and easily pierced through the tough vines, rescuing the trapped Ice Rats.

"Squeak squeak squeak—"

After being rescued, the Ice Rats chattered a few words at the fox Yao and then darted into the bushes, disappearing in a flash.

The fox Yao remaining in place turned to look at the three people trapped in the illusion, its gaze full of coldness.

Next, it opened its mouth and exhaled a cloud of white mist, quickly enveloping the three of them.

This white mist seemed to be the fox Yao's innate technique. After performing it, its aura also withered significantly.

Under the influence of this eerie white mist, Nie Cuilan and the others' minds became increasingly filled with Chaos. Finally, they all took out Sharp Weapons from their Storage Pouches and prepared to stab themselves.

Suddenly.

A Beast-Catching Net descended from the air, trapping the fox Yao from above.

"Chirp chirp chirp—"

The fox Yao struggled frantically, but this Magical Artifact-level Beast-Catching Net was incredibly tough. Not only did it fail to break free, but it also tightened further.

At the same time, under the suppression of the Beast-Catching Net, its innate technique also failed.

The white mist dissipated, and Nie Cuilan and the others immediately slumped to the ground, falling into a state of unconsciousness.

The next moment, an unfamiliar figure jumped down from a tree, stepped forward to tie the fox Yao up securely, and said with a face full of smiles:

"A Qi Refining Perfection Four-Eyed Spirit Fox, I finally caught you."

This figure was precisely Qi Yuan.

After arranging the work tasks for his employees, he had come to this forest alone, specifically for this rare Four-Eyed Spirit Fox.

The Four-Eyed Spirit Fox was born with a trace of the Nine-Tailed Sky Fox Bloodline. It was sharp and cunning, proficient in illusions, and its only weakness was its cowardly nature and relatively low combat power.

As if sensing that things were taking a turn for the worse, the Four-Eyed Spirit Fox stopped struggling. It pressed its paws together, and a human-like look of pleading appeared in its amber eyes, as if begging Qi Yuan to spare its life.

Seeing this, Qi Yuan gave a cold laugh:

"You vicious beast, you are truly ruthless. If I hadn't come in time, my three fellow Disciples would have already been manipulated by you into committing suicide."

Then, his face darkened, putting on a fierce look as he continued:

"They are all my Senior Brothers and Senior Sister. You actually dared to lay a hand on them. Little fox, you have found the path to your own death!"

"Only by skinning you and deboning you to make a fox-fur scarf can the hatred in my heart be appeased..."

Hearing this, the Four-Eyed Spirit Fox immediately trembled violently. The look of despair in its fox eyes grew even stronger, and it whimpered as if constantly begging for mercy.

Just then, Qi Yuan's tone suddenly shifted, and his expression softened accordingly:

"As the saying goes, Heaven has the virtue of loving life. If you don't want to die yet, I can show you a clear path."

As he spoke, he smilingly took out a yellowish-brown hide scroll from his robes:

"As long as you honestly sign this Beast-Taming Contract and swear to recognize me as your master, not only can I let you go, but I will also give you a supreme grade spirit nurturing pill to help you Breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment Realm on the spot."

"If you don't agree, then just obediently become a fox-fur scarf."

Hearing these words, the fox Yao was stunned...