Chapter 80: The Immortal Lord

The white fox was clearly here to cause trouble, not to play some kind of joke. Lin Ze felt a chill in his heart. With a great demon in front and a mysterious, enigmatic presence at his side, he found himself caught in a dilemma, unsure whether to advance or retreat.

He stood in place, pondering for a long time, but ultimately chose to wait and see. Based on everything he knew about the white fox, it wasn’t likely to lose its mind and try to kill him—unless this foolish fox no longer cared about its own life, prepared to drag itself and its cub down with a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

On the other hand, the Moon Immortal beside him was far stranger. He’d conversed with her at length but hadn’t detected anything unusual. True, cultivators had ways to conceal themselves, but how could one person be visible to some and invisible to others? What’s more, without relying on formations or hand seals, she breathed normally, spoke with ease—even if she was beyond the Golden Core stage, it would be impossible to completely hide her presence from the white fox.

It was utterly bizarre.

The white fox noticed that Lin Ze’s surprise lasted only a moment before his composure returned, and that he was now ignoring it, his gaze wandering elsewhere. Following his line of sight, it saw nothing but empty space. A trace of irritation rose within the fox.

It subconsciously roared, “Look at me!”

Noticing that Shu Yunyan had no intention of moving, Lin Ze helplessly turned his eyes back to the white fox. After all, he was still a cultivator—how could he allow a great demon to act so brazenly? Shouldn’t she step in and teach it a lesson?

But he had no idea what Shu Yunyan was thinking. For ordinary cultivators, a demon daring to set foot in an immortal sect would arouse universal wrath. But the Twin Moon Grotto was different; the serpent she once rode was also a demon beast, one that had guarded the sect for thousands of years, passed down from the founder. She seldom left her cave, in part because of that demon python.

To see a great demon now within Dongyue Sect moved her. Her gaze toward Lin Ze shifted slightly. Having spent years in the company of a demon python, Shu Yunyan was more accustomed to interacting with demons than with cultivators, so she could easily tell that, though the white fox appeared fierce, there was no true killing intent in its eyes, and Lin Ze’s reaction wasn’t that of someone facing mortal danger.

On the contrary… it looked more like a pair of quarrelsome rivals.

That was why she’d asked if the fox belonged to him.

“I don’t believe you’re not afraid,” the white fox muttered to itself, baring its fangs and advancing on the Daoist, step by step.

Teaching someone a lesson was only satisfying if the other party reacted appropriately. If it simply beat him up, the pent-up anger in its chest would hardly be vented.

Lin Ze stood motionless, his face expressionless. The more he resisted, the more excited the fox would become—he was no fool. This beating was inevitable; he’d just have to wait until Qin Hongxiu returned before making plans. The fox was always on Green Mountain—he’d get his revenge eventually.

Sensing his thoughts, the white fox arched its neck and snapped angrily, “You think I don’t dare kill you?”

Lin Ze merely gave it a glance, as if looking at an idiot.

Feeling his disdain, the white fox grew frantic. Why was this little cultivator so different from the others? Back when it was on Demon Mountain, though it never killed, any disciples from immortal sects who barged in would be scared out of their wits at the sight of it.

Could it really do nothing to him?

Recalling the cold look in Lin Ze’s eyes when he’d dragged off the fox cub, the white fox shook its head violently—no, it couldn’t let him off so easily!

Wait—

It suddenly paused, turning to look down the slope. There, a youth was practicing swordplay, sweat streaming down his back, oblivious to the commotion above.

The white fox began to contemplate. Since the Daoist dared to lay hands on its child, why shouldn’t it target the Daoist’s disciple? If he wanted to pretend to be calm, let’s see how long he could keep it up.

A cold smile crept over its face as it glanced at the Daoist.

Seeing the fox’s intention, Lin Ze frowned slightly and warned seriously, “I advise you not to.”

“Oh? So you are afraid?” the white fox mocked, delighted to have found the Daoist’s weakness. Excited, it turned and dashed down the slope.

Lin Ze could only shrug helplessly, thinking to himself, Afraid of what? Afraid you’ll end up miserable? If you quietly beat me up, you might succeed, but going for Yang Mu… and right in front of a certain person, too. All I can say is, you have guts.

Sure enough, the moment the white fox took a step, a majestic aura surged up behind it, enveloping it completely. It felt as if one more step would mean its very life was at stake.

Terror flooded its heart, its fur standing on end, its body going rigid.

Stunned, it turned to see Lin Ze gazing at it calmly. With that overwhelming aura, his dark eyes seemed unfathomable.

Golden Core stage…

No, it was the aura of a Nascent Soul!

The white fox’s legs gave out, and with a thud, it collapsed to the ground. Its throat quivered, letting out a pitiful whimper, “Wuu, wuu…”

Despair filled its heart. No wonder the Daoist hadn’t bothered to look it in the eye from the very start. So he was playing the fool, waiting to eat the fox!

Shu Yunyan lowered her eyes, gazing indifferently at the fox sprawled on the ground. Her waist-length black hair drifted gently, and in that moment, she seemed once more the lofty Moon Immortal of the Twin Moon Grotto.

From her spotless sleeve, she extended a pale, jade-like hand and pointed at the white fox’s forehead. Just as her finger was about to touch, a fleeting look of thoughtfulness flashed in her eyes.

She turned to Lin Ze and softly asked, “What does this mean?”

By nature, she was never one to hesitate. But because of Yang Mu, she’d realized she lacked certain things—such as how to interact with outsiders. This was Green Mountain, and the fox was the youth’s other master. Perhaps it was proper to ask his opinion before acting. Maybe they were just playing around.

“It means nothing,” Lin Ze replied, shaking his head, indicating he had no connection to this and that, since the fox wouldn’t behave and even threatened to attack its master, it could be punished however she wished.

Yet, in the fox’s eyes, all it saw was the Daoist withdrawing his gaze and murmuring “meaningless.”

Meaningless? Me?

Indeed… If the other really was a Nascent Soul cultivator, a little demon like itself truly was meaningless.

Wait, no!

Fearing for its life, the fox hurriedly raised its head to explain, “I didn’t really mean to do it!”

But before the words were out, a surge of spiritual energy blasted it dozens of meters away. The fox tumbled, shrieking wildly, and plunged headfirst into the distant ancient Spirit Spring well.

Shu Yunyan withdrew her hand. “A small punishment. Let this be a lesson.”

Disciples of the Twin Moon Grotto could not take even a joke lightly.

She knew the white fox couldn’t see her, so she spoke to Lin Ze, lest he misunderstand.

“It’s all right. In fact, you could have been even harsher,” Lin Ze replied, stroking his chin in mild dissatisfaction.