The Eastern Sea, the Yu Clan!

Meng Wanshu frowned, but before she could act, Pengluo’s face darkened as well. He swung his hand and delivered a vicious slap across the young girl’s face. In a chilled voice, he snarled, "Ungrateful creature, watch your tone!" Boom! A terrifying pressure surged outward, smashing the girl from midair straight into the ground in an instant. With an earth-shattering crash, the earth buckled, carving out a crater over a hundred feet deep. The girl coughed up a mouthful of blood, her eyes brimming with sheer terror. She never could have imagined that a spirit creature resembling a white radish—one that had not even taken human form—could actually be in the Seventh Rank! That horrifying aura was like an abyss capable of swallowing all living beings, unfathomably deep. Yet such a terrifying entity still addressed those two humans as Master and Mistress. At first, judging by that spatial sealing ability, she had assumed they were merely Nascent Soul realm cultivators. When her attack failed, she had only found it strange that a Nascent Soul cultivator would possess a divine sense defense dharma artifact. As it turned out now... The strength of these two human cultivators was likely at least at the Body Integration Realm! And this spirit creature was Seventh Rank! Terror gripped her heart. It took the girl a long time to recover enough to drag herself out of the crater. The moment she crawled up, she saw a massive purple thunder dragon holding its tail in its mouth around the wrist of the man crouching beside the crater. In that instant, its golden dragon eyes slowly opened, and the horrifying dragon might nearly crushed her body to pieces! Pfft! The girl’s mind went completely blank. She could not fathom how, merely following the scent of roasted meat, she had run into such terrifying human cultivators! The only reason she had attacked earlier was that Li Guanqi had noticed something unusual about her eyes. Li Guanqi crouched beside the crater and asked softly, "Fire-Eyed Demon Fox... what is your name?" The girl hesitated for a moment before answering truthfully, "Yun Jie." By now, Yun Jie’s chest had caved in, and her fur was drenched in blood. Li Guanqi gave Pengluo a look. Pengluo reluctantly broke off a sliver of his fingernail and tossed it over. "Eat." Bowed by the pressure, the girl had no choice but to swallow what she assumed was poison. Yet the moment it went down, her eyes widened. A tremendously potent, terrifying surge of energy blossomed within her body. In the blink of an eye, her injuries were completely healed, and her fur turned sleek and glossy once more. As her aura surged upward, it quickly drew gathering heavenly tribulation thunderclouds overhead. Yet Yun Jie was now on the verge of tears, weeping helplessly. Desperation written across her face, she knelt and kowtowed repeatedly. "My lords, I beg you, please save me! I don't want to be captured and taken back! Please, I beg you, help me!" Pengluo suddenly asked an unexpected question: "How many are left in your branch?" Sorrow filled the girl's eyes as she spoke. "One... I'm the only one left. I risked everything to escape... I can't go back. If I'm taken back, it means death..." As soon as the words left her mouth, the churning heavenly tribulation in the sky began to take shape. At the same time, however, several exceedingly powerful auras came streaking toward them at blistering speed. Li Guanqi frowned slightly and said in a low voice, "Go ahead and break through first." Meng Wanshu asked with a furrowed brow, "Are we meddling in this?" Li Guanqi did not answer immediately. Instead, he turned and beckoned to Pengluo. Pengluo hopped onto his shoulder, and Li Guanqi asked softly, "Save her, or not?" Pengluo was somewhat taken aback. "I decide?" Li Guanqi smiled. "Yes. You decide." Pengluo gritted his teeth and said firmly, "Save her! The reason—" Li Guanqi raised a hand to cut him off, rising to his feet as he said quietly, "As long as you say save her, that's enough. The reason... doesn't matter." Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Several terrifyingly powerful auras arrived in a flash. An elderly man, accompanied by three grim-faced middle-aged men, moved to encircle them. Midair, facing the imminent heavenly tribulation, the demon fox girl trembled all over when she saw them. Her eyes turned bloodshot, filled with venomous hatred! "Hahaha! The little wench is actually breaking through? What a pleasant surprise!" "The Yu clan is conducting business! Uninvolved bystanders, begone at once!" "Hmph, don't go looking for trouble. She is a slave of our Yu clan. Don't poke your nose where it doesn't belong." All three men were Void Refining Realm cultivators, clearly stewards of authority within the Yu clan. In their perception, Li Guanqi and Meng Wanshu were merely at the Soul Formation Realm. As for the radish, it was only at the Foundation Establishment realm. Even Li Guanqi had to admire Pengluo on this front; he had truly mastered the art of playing the pig to eat the tiger. In Pengluo's own words: 'Even if I pretended to be Core Formation, they'd start wondering about taking me home to stew into broth. Foundation Establishment is much safer.' The white-browed elder, on the other hand, said nothing. With his hands clasped behind his back, he hovered in midair, his eyes narrowed as he scrutinized Li Guanqi and Meng Wanshu. As they appraised Li Guanqi, he was sizing them up as well. The mere sight of their attire made Li Guanqi's eyes narrow. Now, he finally understood what Pengluo had meant earlier... All four wore fox-head pelts as hats, and the pelts still retained their spiritual luster—a clear sign they had been flayed alive from Fire-Eyed Demon Foxes! The three middle-aged men had reddish pupils, each distorted into an unsettling, bizarre shape. Around their waists hung a belt of fox tails ranging in color from orange to fiery red, with at least a dozen dangling from each man's waist! Li Guanqi took a deep breath, looked back at Yun Jie, and said softly, "Focus on breaking through. You don't need to worry about anything else." At those words, one of the burly, bearded men sneered. Slowly drawing the blade at his waist, he said coldly, "There really are fools who aren't afraid of dying just to mind others' business! Since you're courting death, don't blame me!" Suddenly, an aged hand reached out in front of the man. Frowning, the man asked, "Eldest Uncle, what do you mean by this?" The elder did not answer. He merely drifted downward a short distance, coming to a halt about thirty feet away from Li Guanqi. "You look very unfamiliar, young friend... You are not a native of the Ethereal Immortal Domain, are you?" Li Guanqi gave a humorless smile. "Oh, no, I'm not. And so what? She's under my protection. If you're going to fight, make it quick; if not, get lost." Clang! Clang! Clang! Blades cleared their scabbards, and the auras within the three men erupted violently! Boom! Boom! The terrifying aura nearly shattered the heavenly tribulation behind them! Li Guanqi frowned. With a wave of his hand, he blocked the trio's full pressure. Muttering under his breath, Pengluo floated up into the air. "Consider it your lucky day. Hurry up and break through. Even if a fight breaks out down here, pay it no mind. It's just a trivial matter. I could resolve it all by myself." Yun Jie nodded silently, preparing to risk life and limb against the heavenly tribulation. Yet she still had no idea just how terrifyingly potent Pengluo's power was. This was merely a Nascent Soul realm heavenly tribulation. Having consumed a sliver of his nail, she would not die even if she took the strikes head-on. Reminiscence flickered in Pengluo's eyes. Gazing up at the sky, he murmured in a voice only he could hear, "Little fox... this favor is something I'll never be able to repay in this lifetime... Since I've run into your descendant, I might as well lend a helping hand." The elder narrowed his eyes, cupped his hands, and announced his identity. "I am Yu Cang of the Yu clan. May I ask your name, young friend? This demon fox is a slave of our Yu clan. The mark on her face proves everything. Are you truly intent on meddling in this matter?" Swish! A crimson beam flashed across. Half of the elder's face was sliced away, and the fox-fur cap atop his head was cleaved cleanly in two. Li Guanqi's face was cold as frost as he said softly, "You talk too much." The elder recoiled violently, his heart pounding with dread. A crimson glow instantly flared in his eyes as he sneered, "In that case, leave your life behind!!"