CHAPTER 189: THE MERCURIAL WOMEN, END OF THE SCRIPTURE HALL ARC

"What happened after that?" Lu Chen glanced at Jun Laoye, cleared his throat, and asked, "Wasn't that around the time when Lord Green Emperor rose to fame? The Beast King should have appeared as well. Had your younger sister awakened by then?"

"The Green Emperor..." Jun Laoye's eyes widened. He turned sharply toward Red Fox. "Lady Red Fox... were you also a spirit beast from the Green Emperor's era?"

Red Fox nodded calmly and replied to Lu Chen, "No. Even after I began cultivating under the Beast King, and even when Lord Green Emperor opened the passage to the Outside, my sister still showed no signs of awakening.

"By then, I had already reached the Earth Core Realm. It was also at that time that I first heard about the Dao of Reincarnation from the Beast King. I thought that if I, or if any of us, could pursue it, then perhaps my father and clan would be able to return."

"That's why you've been so determined to seek the Dao of Reincarnation?"

Lu Chen studied her in silence for a moment before continuing. "So you chose to remain on the continent with the Beast King, cultivating and pursuing the Dao of Reincarnation with them, while waiting for your sister to awaken?"

"That's right. The Dao of Reincarnation held an irresistible allure to us. Even the faintest hope kept me from falling into despair during those years of solitary cultivation," she said, and her face lit up with joy. "But things are different now. My sister has awakened. With her talent, her chances of attaining the Dao of Reincarnation are thousands, even tens of thousands of times greater than mine."

Lu Chen hesitated. "Aren't you worried her lifespan might have been eroded by the formation, or that her cultivation talent might have been worn away inside it?"

Red Fox chuckled. "You underestimate us. Illusion formations are our innate gift. No matter how powerful they might be, they could only trap her for a while at most. Besides, she has already condensed her golden tail."

Her smile turned sharp, her voice brimming with excitement. "As for lifespan, if it were a Red Fox with eight tails, then yes, hundreds of thousands of years might have drained her away. But for us Nine-Tails, never."

She straightened, pride flashing in her eyes. "Alright, I've more or less understood the situation now. When you all set out on your travels, I'll need to leave for a while. I plan to return first to the Green Hill of Southern Mountain to see how my clan fares, then head to the Central Continent to find my sister."

Lu Chen glanced at her. Unable to keep up with her mercurial moods, he could only relent. "Uh... fine."

"Hmph

, to think I, a dignified Nine-Tailed Red Fox, actually let a bunch of brats laugh at me." Regaining her proud and aloof air, she glared at Lu Chen and the others. "No one is allowed to speak a word of this. Otherwise, I'll trap you in illusions forever, and you'll never return to the real world."

"That's not very fair..." Lu Chen looked distressed. "You can't just deny everything afterward. If we hadn't mentioned it, you wouldn't even know your sister had awakened."

"You scoundrel, you'll listen when I speak..."

Shrinking down, Red Fox leapt onto Nantian Wan'er's shoulder, taking the form of an ordinary fox. With a proud tilt of her head, she warned, "Say one more word, and I'll seal you in an illusion this instant."

Lu Chen was about to retort when a blue flash lit up from the teleportation formation behind them. Wind Dragon and Nantian Yijian stepped out.

Nantian Yijian cried out in delight. "Wow, a little fox! Boss, is this one of your treasures as well?"

He reached out toward her. However, Red Fox would never tolerate such contact. With a cold snort, she instantly cast an illusion and trapped him inside.

Lost in the illusion, Nantian Yijian laughed madly, flailing about. He shouted for Jun Laoye to serve him tea, then raved that he was the King of Ten Thousand Arts, summoning all laws with a single thought.

Wind Dragon sighed helplessly at the sight. Turning to Red Fox, he asked, "Red Fox, what are you doing here? And why are you casting high-grade spells in front of them?"

Still in high spirits, she snapped back, "What of it? If you can show yourself, why can't I? Since when do you get to decide? What kind of logic is that?"

Not waiting for a reply, she closed her eyes with satisfaction.

Frustrated, Wind Dragon cursed under his breath, "Damn it... picking on me just because I'm a clone..."

Eventually, he turned back to Lu Chen. "What's wrong with her? Why does she come out all gunpowder and sparks?"

Lu Chen pressed his lips into a smile. "Nothing serious. She just learned her sister has awakened, so she's a bit excited. Typical woman. Give her some time, and she'll calm down."

It was the first time he'd seen Wind Dragon struck speechless. He couldn't help but think that releasing Red Fox might not have been such a bad idea, after all.

But shortly after the thought crossed his mind, he felt a wave of killing intent. He shuddered, looking up to see Red Fox's gaze sharp as blades, locked on him. "Filthy man, if you don't know how to hold your tongue, then shut it. Or I'll seal you this instant."

Lu Chen hurriedly made a zipping motion across his lips. Red Fox sneered, then lifted the illusion from Nantian Yijian. "Enough. Let's get moving. I want to return to the Green Hill of Southern Mountain while I still have time."

Lu Chen wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and helped Nantian Yijian up from the ground. "Uh... alright, alright, we'll leave right now."

He glanced around and saw that, aside from Nantian Wan'er, everyone else was also wiping at their foreheads. Red Fox's sudden mood swing had truly rattled these men.

They exchanged wry smiles, each urging the others to move faster.

"Hehehe, it's fine. We're all men here... let's hurry up and go."

Red Fox snorted coldly. "Hmph. If you're leaving, then get on with it! Or do you plan to ride on my back all the way out?"

"No, no, no, we'll go ourselves. I'll activate the teleportation formation right away..."

Lu Chen ducked his head quickly and began working the formation. At the same time, bitterness welled in his chest. What on earth had possessed me to release this temperamental woman?

Catching Lu Chen's face looking as bitter as a gourd, Wind Dragon mocked him through voice transmission. "Now you understand my suffering, don't you? With so many experts in the small world, why in heaven's name did you choose her? Wouldn't it have been better to bring Bai Ze instead of dragging out this madwoman?"

"What are you muttering about? Move!"

Impatient with his hesitation, Red Fox flicked out a needle-thin streak of spirit qi that jabbed him squarely in the butt.

Lu Chen yelped, clutching his backside. "Ow! We're going, we're going!"

He grabbed Wind Dragon and bolted into the teleportation formation. Seeing his miserable state, Nantian Yijian and Jun Laoye cried out and rushed in after him as though fleeing for their lives.

***

By the time they stepped out of the Scripture Hall, around one hour later, night had already fallen.

Nantian Yijian was the first to dash outside. Standing in the front plaza, he shouted back, "Boss, where should we go now? Boss, hurry! The night sky is beautiful tonight! Come see!"

Before Lu Chen could answer, dozens of black-robed figures appeared out of nowhere. "Who are you? Don't you know the Scripture Hall has been sealed? How did you get inside?"

The men at the front formed hand seals midair, conjuring a trapping formation that closed around Nantian Yijian.

Thirty cultivators descended in five squads. The leader frowned. "A Qi Regulation Realm cultivator? How could someone with such meager cultivation break through our outer defenses? We should have sensed that immediately."

Another barked, "Hey, you! Qi Regulation brat! How did you get in without triggering the defensive barrier?"

Under their crushing presence, Nantian Yijian trembled. "I... I've been here all along... We're disciples of the Serene Void Academy. We have the right to enter the Scripture Hall."

Hearing his faltering words, the black-robed men all exhaled in relief, then chuckled and jeered. "Oh? From the Serene Void Academy? Hah! Those useless things can actually activate teleportation formations now?"

"You don't look like disciples of the Six Academies. What are you doing here?"

Hearing the black-robed figures insult the Serene Void Academy, Nantian Yijian clenched his teeth, forcing down his anger. "Without an inner sect disciple's token, none of you should be able to appear here either."

"Heh... how dare a Qi Regulation brat like you question us?"

The leader of the second squad, a gaunt black-robed man, pushed back his hood. "When I, Zhou Long, first came here, you were nothing but a lost soul waiting to be born. And now you dare question me?”

In a blur of motion, he flashed before Nantian Yijian and struck with his palm.

The attack came so suddenly that Nantian Yijian couldn't dodge. He braced himself for the blow, but just as Zhou Long's palm was about to land, a shimmering curtain of water rose in front of him, forcefully blocking it.

Zhou Long wheeled around, eyes narrowing. "Who dares stop me?"

The one standing there was none other than Lu Chen, gently fanning himself with a folding fan as he led his companions out through the Scripture Hall's main doors.

Zhou Long studied Lu Chen's refined, dignified bearing, then glanced at the imposing figures behind him. "Hm? And who might you be, young master? Don't you know no one is allowed inside these days?"

Naturally, he mistook Lu Chen for a scion of some great clan, and at that moment, he dared not make another move.