The moment Xia Li declared that he would protect his demon slave,

  a violent killing intent burst from Wang Xian's body at once.

  It was the kind of aura that made the heart tremble and even interfered with thought itself, as if a blade had already been laid across one's neck.

  Every hair stood on end.

  Cold sweat poured down his back.

  And that was not even counting the three-thousand-man army formation.

  Those three thousand soldiers all fixed their eyes on Xia Li at once.

  Even the most audacious of men would have felt fear under such a gaze, much less someone like Xia Li, whose courage had never been particularly great to begin with.

  "Are. You. Sure?"

  Wang Xian spoke slowly, one word at a time, asking whether Xia Li truly intended to seek death.

  It was his final warning.

  If Xia Li's next sentence contained the slightest wrong note, Wang Xian would attack immediately.

  With lethal force.

  And just then...

  A soft, sultry female voice drifted over, enough to make the body go weak.

  "Commander Wang, since when is it your place, as a human, to meddle in the affairs of demonkind? Or are you saying that the man who once held the pass alone with sword in hand for seven days has now betrayed humanity and joined demonkind?"

  The fox clan leader had finally appeared.

  She had also changed into a gorgeous red dress and applied a trace of makeup.

  Though there was no rain, she held a red parasol over herself all the same.

  The overall effect was irresistibly alluring. Every movement of hers was beauty enough to steal the soul.

  Yet hidden beneath that smile was unmistakable killing intent.

  "Each side takes what it needs. Why refuse something that benefits us both?"

  "From where I stand, true mutual benefit would be humanity taking her away and raising her well, just as we also accept humans from time to time."

  The fox clan leader was trying to protect Qiu Fu.

  And Xia Li also heard a deeper implication in her words.

  Apparently, Qiu Fu was not tolerated within demonkind either.

  Did demonkind have its own version of the Heaven Alliance or something?

  "Hmph. Those traitors who betray humanity today can betray you tomorrow. Let me offer you one piece of advice: never trust humanity."

  "We are treacherous and cunning. For profit, we will trample over anything. Brothers and parents alike can be killed. Can your demonkind do the same?"

  In order to make those demon defectors feel disgusted, Wang Xian did not hesitate to smear humanity itself.

  "And yet humanity also has saints who can sacrifice everything for righteousness. Among humankind are truly great figures revered by all living beings. You should not slander humanity."

  "Good, good, good. You fox spirit really are interesting."

  Wang Xian laughed.

  He, a human, was blackening humanity's name, while a demon instead defended humanity's reputation.

  If word of this got out, it would be absurd.

  "So tell me, dear Commander Wang. Have you truly made up your mind to help demonkind conduct its business?"

  "I came only for mutual benefit."

  Wang Xian raised the enormous greatsword on his shoulder high into the air.

  His gaze turned colder and colder.

  It was the sign that he was about to start killing in earnest.

  The fox clan leader glanced at Xia Li.

  There was admiration in her eyes.

  There was grief as well.

  Then she sent him a message.

  【Her bloodline is not tolerated by demonkind. She fell into hardship and was taken in by me. I originally intended to send her into human lands. I never expected some demon would work with humans just to eliminate her.】

  【Give up. I'll thank you on her behalf.】

  The fox clan leader understood that continuing to insist would only add to the casualties.

  She had long imagined that a day like this might come.

  She just had not expected it to come so quickly.

  Originally, she had hoped to provoke Qiu Fu a little, let her and Xia Li secretly leave behind an heir.

  Unfortunately, events had moved too fast.

  Presumably, certain old monsters within the tribe had their hands in this as well.

  Hu Ling being forced to run away had likely been their doing.

  After all, within the entire tribe, only Hu Ling had truly been close to Qiu Fu. The others all harbored prejudice against her.

  Seeing the regret written on the fox clan leader's face, Wang Xian knew she was probably trying to persuade Xia Li to give up.

  So he did not rush to attack. He simply turned his gaze to Xia Li as well.

  At that moment, Xia Li understood the fox clan leader quite well.

  She could not help.

  Behind her stood her entire tribe.

  【Thinking back twenty years... it was late autumn. She wasn't even as big as a single maple leaf.】

  【I watched her tear her way out through her dead mother's belly with my own eyes, howling and covered in blood. The moment she was born, the only thing she could drink was her mother's blood. Pitiful. Tragic.】

  【If I hadn't given in to pity back then, perhaps that would have been the best ending of all.】

  To the fox clan leader, Qiu Fu was like a daughter of her own.

  She claimed that, as a fox demon, she was passionate but faithless.

  And yet when it came time to be ruthless, she had still chosen mercy.

  After hearing that, Xia Li thought of Big White back home.

  He had found the dog in late autumn too.

  Filthy and curled up on a street corner, watching the pedestrians pass by.

  When Xia Li first picked him up, the pup had been gray all over. Only after washing him did he realize the dog was actually pure white.

  And Big White had had it rough when he was young too.

  After taking him to the pet hospital, they discovered he had canine distemper.

  For Xia Li, who had still been a student back then, the treatment cost had been astronomical.

  Fortunately, Xia Shu had fought as hard as she could.

  Brother and sister together had finally persuaded their parents to pay for Big White's treatment, even though the pet hospital had already said it was too late and the cure rate was low.

  But miracles required the conditions in which they could happen.

  That was why miracles could occur.

  If there were people willing to believe in them, then miracles could appear.

  Big White really had recovered in the end.

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  Xia Li still remembered the day they brought him home from the pet hospital.

  The weather had been strangely unseasonal that day. The sunlight was warm and blazing, as though summer had returned.

  Xia Shu had said that period was the final phase of the dog days of summer, called qiu fu.

  Big White had been born in late autumn and should have vanished in early winter.

  But their Xia family had saved him, as if turning autumn back into summer.

  That life which should have withered away had bloomed again like a summer flower.

  "I understand now."

  Xia Li nodded to the fox clan leader, then looked at Wang Xian.

  "Mutual benefit does sound nice. But for me, it means loss. I want the two of you to lose together while I take everything for myself."

  "Heh... and you think you're qualified?"

  Wang Xian lifted his greatsword high once more.

  How could a mere pseudo-Core cultivator dare challenge him, a Soul Transformation peak expert?

  And not just any Soul Transformation cultivator, but one in the prime of life, leagues above those old Soul Transformation elders.

  If Xia Li had not struck him as a useful talent, Wang Xian would never have wasted so many words on him.

  "Maybe... I am."

  Xia Li pulled out the Three-Apertures Stone Heart from his phase ring and activated it.

  Originally, he had planned to save it for use back on Earth.

  After all, Void Refining cultivators were nearly unseen on Earth. Soul Transformation stood at the visible peak.

  But at present, aside from the Three-Apertures Stone Heart, he had no other option.

  Trying to slip away in secret was unrealistic.

  Using a Void-Piercing Talisman in front of a powerhouse like this would be courting death. Even the Chaotic Phase Orb might not work. Its test data had only been based on standard Soul Transformation levels.

  And if he really fled in secret, Wang Xian would certainly shift his anger onto the fox tribe and assume they had helped him.

  So he had to kill his way out head-on.

  "A treasure that temporarily raises strength? A pseudo-Core ant like you can only..."

  Before Wang Xian could finish speaking, Xia Li's aura had already surged all the way to Void Refining.

  "You've got guts!"

  Wang Xian instantly cast aside every trace of contempt and prepared to meet Xia Li's next move with his full strength.

  As long as he endured the first strike, he would never give Xia Li a second chance to attack.

  Xia Li understood that just as clearly.

  So this blow, carrying Void Refining power, had to produce enough effect.

  He absolutely could not waste it on some ordinary spell.

  The Heaven Chip was already calculating at high speed which technique would achieve the greatest result.

  Unfortunately, nothing Xia Li had learned so far counted as a true killing move.

  Even if he used the smart-technique blade art, he might only wound Wang Xian and push himself into even greater danger. There would be no follow-up.

  【Current realm intensity is sufficient to forcibly cast a fragmentary shamanic art: Zhurong Witchfire. Do you wish to use it?】

  The Heaven Chip had calculated the move that, under Xia Li's current conditions, offered the highest combination of lethality and safety.

  It was a fragmentary shamanic art from the Mountain Sea Scripture: Foundation Chapter.

  【Use it!】

  Xia Li trusted the Heaven Chip.

  The Heaven Chip would not fail him.

  A string of obscure, complicated incantations immediately echoed through Xia Li's mind.

  "At the dawn of antiquity, heaven was dim and nothingness reigned..."

  "Chaos lay undivided, with neither shape above nor shape below..."

  "What is called life? None knew, for there was no Dao..."

  "Then Suiren brought forth fire, and from fire ten thousand spirits were born..."

  Xia Li recited the shamanic prayer.

  Wang Xian had intended to attack at once.

  Why would he stand there foolishly and give Xia Li time to finish?

  Yet for some reason, an indescribable pressure settled over him.

  Heaven and earth were changing...

  Something was changing.

  Something truly was changing!

  Xia Li's left hand gradually became covered in a pattern of runes, each containing endless mysteries.

  Then he slashed with that runic hand, like a mortal striking flint to make a spark.

  From the void, sparks burst forth.

  And then...

  In a single instant, Wang Xian and everything within the military formation behind him began to combust spontaneously.

  Stone burned.

  Earth burned.

  Grass and trees burned.

  Even the spiritual energy inside cultivators' bodies burned.

  The three thousand soldiers screamed in agony as the witchfire consumed them.

  Wang Xian roared in fury. Only then did he understand Xia Li's calculation.

  If he wanted to keep going after Xia Li, he would have to sacrifice the men he had brought with him.

  "You human traitor! You will die a miserable death! Human lands and foreign lands alike will reject you!"

  Wang Xian turned around in rage to save the soldiers trapped within the formation.

  At once, the Heaven Chip prompted Xia Li to flee.

  Only now did Xia Li fully understand the Heaven Chip's calculation.

  It placed his safety above all else.

  If someone else's life could help him escape alive, then from the Heaven Chip's perspective, that life was a consumable resource.

  There was no time for Xia Li to correct its behavior now.

  Objectively speaking, the plan had worked.

  It had left Wang Xian without even an opportunity to strike at him.

  The Heaven Chip had found Wang Xian's weakness.

  A righteous man would always be burdened by righteousness.

  Without another word, Xia Li turned and ran.

  The fox clan leader was astonished as well.

  Xia Li's move had been despicable, but it had been effective. Rather than attack Wang Xian directly, he had gone after Wang Xian's subordinates.

  【The terrain of Sunscorch Valley is as follows...】

  As Xia Li fled in haste, information suddenly rang out in his mind.

  It was the fox clan leader.

  She still remembered what he had asked for.

  She had not even had time to gather information from others yet, but at the very least, she had passed on everything she knew.