Cloudwing Demon Fox

In the dead of night, a sharp, piercing screech from a great demon suddenly echoed through the quiet mountain range! Li Guanqi snapped his eyes open, swept a hand across the campfire before him, and snuffed out the rising smoke. Leaning slightly forward, he pressed a hand to the earth. A moment later, he drew the Xue Ming Sword behind his back, donned a black robe, and darted off, sword in hand. His figure weaved and bounded across the ancient trees. His movement technique had now attained the Thunderclap realm. Faster than sound itself, swift as lightning. As he darted about, he left only faint afterimages lingering in the air. In merely a few breaths, Li Guanqi had covered tens of li. Ahead, an all-white demon fox nearly twenty zhang long swung its claws, felling a vast swath of ancient trees. At the same time, four human silhouettes darted through midair, dodging its attacks. The demon fox had pale-gold eyes and a pair of wings on its back, though it bore only a single thick, furry tail. Li Guanqi’s eyes glinted as he recalled the records in the Register of Myriad Demons. "The Cloudwing Demon Fox, shaped as bright as the moon, elegant as a cloud." "Its cloud-wings can span thirty zhang when unfurled. Flapping its wings, it commands wind and clouds to change; folding them quietly, it conceals itself into formlessness, its tracks impossible for worldly eyes to find." "Its demon core may be refined into pills, captivating and enchanting to the senses." "Should its wings be severed while unfurled, they may be refined into a cloudwing dharma artifact of the second grade." Li Guanqi had never expected to encounter a ranked great demon in this mountain range, and a formidable one at that... Only... it appeared the cultivators' true objective was not the demon fox itself. Concealing his presence, Li Guanqi hid atop a towering ancient tree, more than three hundred zhang away from the great demon and the others. The earth trembled, and amid the flashes of lightning and rolls of thunder, the fox demon could be seen crouching low and baring its teeth. Rain poured down in torrents. In the once-silent forest, countless demon beasts scattered in panic, while the white fox's deafening roars rang out continuously. Li Guanqi frowned slightly, looking toward the demon fox. He keenly noticed that it was deliberately shielding something. A massive, pitch-black cave entrance lay directly behind it. By now, the Cloudwing Demon Fox's snow-white fur was stained with blood, its wounds bleeding profusely. "Hiss! Squee!" The fox's cries were sharp and piercing as it restlessly bared its fangs. Its claws slashed relentlessly, its head swinging from side to side as it occasionally stepped back. It was intensely wary of the four figures treading on air before it! The four wore robes woven from celestial silkworm silk, a blend of pale blue and smoke gray. Cloud patterns were embroidered across their shoulders and chests, and shimmering white feather ornaments adorned their temples. Li Guanqi frowned, murmuring in a low voice, "People from the Qingwei Immortal Sect?" "Three at the seventh realm of Mystic Immortal, one at the eighth... inner disciples of the Qingwei Immortal Sect?" The Qingwei Immortal Sect was the single sect in all of Qinzhou most capable of threatening the Lin family's dominance. Its ruling authority was an ancestor at the peak of the True Immortal realm! Li Guanqi decided to wait and see. If an opportunity arose to reap some benefits, he would not hesitate in the slightest! "Senior Brother, let us strike together! The beast won't hold out much longer." One of them spoke in a low voice. Yet the youth with sword-like brows and starry eyes narrowed his gaze and warned gravely, "It's not that simple. Stay on your guard—this demon fox's strength is nearly at the second grade!" The four formed an exquisite sword formation, crisscrossing through the air as they fell upon the white fox! The Cloudwing Demon Fox swung its claws, but it could not touch them at all, and several new wounds opened across its body. Yet right at that moment, Li Guanqi noticed a subtle flicker in the demon fox's eyes. "Tsk. Those fellows are about to suffer a loss." Sure enough, the instant the thought crossed Li Guanqi's mind, the Cloudwing Demon Fox beat its wings and soared! In a flash, the sky shifted and a howling gale arose! Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes. The tree concealing him tilted abruptly, its leaves rustling and tearing away in the blast, its roots wrenched from the soil. Using the momentum of the gale, he vanished from where he stood. Fierce astral winds crisscrossed violently, tearing the four disciples' sword formation apart in an instant! Soaring into the sky, the demon fox spread its snow-white wings, and the temperature of the surrounding void plunged drastically. Tree trunks froze brittle, and every tree within a thousand-zhang radius was blanketed in a layer of frost. Hundreds, thousands of zhang-long ice spikes condensed around the demon fox! Amid the raging astral winds, only the youth at the eighth realm of Mystic Immortal withstood the onslaught, flashing in front of the other three and raising his sword with a sudden sweep! "Go, quickly!!" At his roar, the remaining three charged into the cave. *Bang! Bang! Bang! Boom! Boom! Boom!* Deafening explosions erupted as one ice spike after another shattered, yet countless fresh wounds appeared across the youth's body. The dense barrage had far exceeded the limits of what he could endure. Blood seeped from the corners of his mouth. Weaving and shifting, he gritted his teeth and held the line. "Hurry up!!!!" He bellowed fiercely. The webbing between the thumb and forefinger of his sword hand tore open, and his entire arm turned purplish-black from the frostbite. Right at that moment, however, a black shadow suddenly shot out from the cave! "Senior Brother!! Stop him!!!!" Li Guanqi beamed with delight, the corners of his mouth curving upward beneath his black cowl. "A thousand-year Moon Essence Rhinoceros Herb!!! Swallowing it is worth a hundred years of bitter cultivation!!" Li Guanqi had slipped inside the moment the Cloudwing White Fox unleashed its frost power. When he laid eyes on that spirit herb, his heart had thumped wildly. This single stalk was on the verge of becoming a second-grade immortal herb—an absolute treasure! Facing the flurry of sword lights slashed toward him by the youth, Li Guanqi showed no fear whatsoever. With a flick of his wrist, his sword struck out in rapid succession, knocking the youth back a hundred zhang with a single blow! Confronted by Li Guanqi's formidable strength, Liu Nansheng's expression turned stern. Frowning, he said in a heavy voice, "Daoist friend, isn't snatching our prize like this a bit underhanded?" "I am Liu Nansheng of the Qingwei Immortal Sect. I ask that you give me face and leave the spirit herb behind." Li Guanqi sneered, turned, and bolted! Liu Nansheng moved to give chase, only to find that the Cloudwing Demon Fox had already wheeled around and pounced toward the three disciples, ice spikes raining down across the sky! Liu Nansheng cursed bitterly under his breath, shifted his longsword to his left hand, and joined forces with the other three to resist the assault. He glared viciously toward the depths of the forest and barked, "Retreat!!" "But Senior Brother, the demon fox is already heavily wounded! If we can slay it—" "No buts! The immortal herb has been stolen, and the demon fox is enraged. In our current state, we cannot withstand it. Staying any longer is courting death!!" Liu Nansheng issued the retreat order without hesitation. Seeing this, the other three could only cover one another as they pulled back. The enraged Cloudwing Demon Fox spread its wings and pursued the four for a hundred li before they finally managed to escape... "Skreeee!!!!" A furious screech tore through the clouds. In its frenzied rage, the demon fox swept through the towering mountains for several thousand zhang around, razing them to the ground. A thousand years of guardianship, ruined in a single instant. Yet not long after the cultivators fled, the heavily wounded Cloudwing Demon Fox folded its wings, and they vanished. Immediately after, a flash of white light shone, and it transformed into a bruised and battered, beautiful woman tumbling from the sky. Just at that moment, Li Guanqi unexpectedly returned... He had shed his disguise, clad in white and casually strolling forward with a folding fan in hand.