CHAPTER 253: AN IMPOSSIBLE SPY PERFORMANCE

"Wind Dragon, do it. Send it back to wherever it came from."

Lu Chen could feel his strength gradually returning. He dispersed the wooden dragon and stood atop Wind Dragon's head as the spirit qi of heaven and earth surged around him.

Wind Dragon nodded. "Understood. Let's send them all down to the ravine."

He unleashed a whirlwind from his mouth, sweeping the skeletal fragments into the ravine.

At the cliff's edge, Red Fox gathered her nine tails. Crimson light flared around her as she struck out in a single devastating blow, shattering the skeletal remains and deliberately hurling the fragments toward Little Pup.

Once done, she winked toward the bottom of the ravine, a sly grin tugging at the corners of her lips, before reuniting with Wind Dragon.

Through voice transmission, Little Pup said, "I'll need a few more minutes to prepare the formation. Help me buy some time."

His eyes glowed violet as he focused on the ravine below, releasing waves of spirit qi to gather the skeletal fragments. Beneath them lay a carefully arranged formation that emitted a faint, steady pulse of energy.

Hearing his message, Red Fox nodded slightly and stepped beside Wind Dragon. "Kid, you were impressive just now. You've got a bit of the vigor that Lord Green Emperor had back in the day."

"Thanks for the compliment, but we need to go now," Lu Chen said.

He looked eastward, where the sky had turned crimson and the first rays of the rising sun glimmered on the horizon. "We've wasted too much time on this skeletal giant. The teleportation formation will activate in four hours. We must reach the central area before then."

Sensing Lu Chen's urgency, Red Fox shivered inwardly. She was about to come up with an excuse to delay him, but before she could speak, Jun Laoye arrived first.

"Little Lu, there's no need to rush," Jun Laoye said as he landed beside Nantian Yijian. He gestured toward the Scripture Hall's backyard. "The ancestor is still on the cliff. You've exhausted a lot of energy fighting that skeletal giant alone. Rest here for a while."

Red Fox couldn't help smiling at Jun Laoye's timely interruption. She found him unexpectedly likeable.

Lu Chen shook his head. "No, we have to leave quickly. I absorbed its core essence earlier, and my strength has mostly recovered."

He cast his gaze toward the ravine. "The entity below has fully awakened. If we linger any longer, something unpredictable might happen. We'll only find ourselves in greater trouble."

"Is it really that serious? You've barely recovered from your injuries..." Nantian Yijian retorted, but his words trailed off as he looked into the ravine and saw that the mountain of skeletons had vanished completely. He chuckled. "In any case, Lord Wind Dragon already pulverized the skeletal giant. With that mountain gone, what's there to fear? Worst comes to worst, if another one appears, we'll just fight it again. It'll make up for the battle we missed earlier."

He nudged Jun Laoye playfully. "Right, Little Jun?"

Jun Laoye nodded. "Exactly. We were supposed to undergo the trial together, but we never got the chance. The ancestor would scold me if we left without testing ourselves."

"Yeah, if there was danger, it would've appeared by now," Nantian Yijian added, releasing his Wish Power to hurl a massive boulder into the ravine.

A thunderous crash echoed below, but nothing else happened.

Nantian Yijian continued to persuade Lu Chen. "You see? Even with such a huge commotion, nothing happened. Boss, rest here a bit. Once you've recovered fully, we'll head out. With Lord Wind Dragon and Lady Red Fox here, we'll be safe, even if we can't win outright."

Lu Chen was about to agree when a sudden warning surged through both his Eye of the Ancestral Dragon and his Divine Eye.

It was Little Pup's doing. Having overheard their conversation, he casually shattered the boulder and said, "A trial, huh? Then I'll grant you your wish."

He turned his attention back to the formation below, pouring immense spirit qi into it.

Meanwhile, Lu Chen shouted, "Not good! We have to leave now!"

He reached out and pulled both Jun Laoye and Nantian Yijian onto Wind Dragon's back, while calling out to Red Fox to protect Nantian Wan'er.

Sharing a deep understanding with Lu Chen, Wind Dragon instantly grasped what he was about to do and surged forward, carrying all three of them away from the ravine.

Once Jun Laoye and Nantian Yijian were aboard, they turned to glance at the ravine, only to see black mist once again seeping up from the place that had been empty moments ago.

Seeing Lu Chen about to leave, yet still receiving no response from Little Pup, Red Fox rolled her eyes. She deliberately reversed the flow of her spirit qi, and a creeping weakness spread rapidly through her.

"Lu-gege, wait for us!" Nantian Wan'er called out.

She urged Red Fox to move, but Red Fox seemed possessed. She stood rooted in place, not moving at all.

"Lady Red Fox, we need to leave immediately!" Nantian Wan'er called out repeatedly, but there was no response. When she looked down again, she saw Red Fox lying on the ground, and she grew even more anxious. "Lady Red Fox? What's wrong? Why are you lying down?"

Red Fox feigned weakness and slumped heavily to the ground. "I've been suppressed. Don't worry about me, Wan'er... run!"

She swept her nine tails outward, sending Nantian Wan'er flying away. "Wan'er, go... ah!"

Once Nantian Wan'er was pushed a distance away, Red Fox acted as though her pain had worsened. She convulsed violently, the crimson glow of her fur fading rapidly until she shrank to barely a foot tall.

Nantian Wan'er glided through the air toward Lu Chen like drifting petals, panic in her voice. "Lu-gege, something's happened to Lady Red Fox! Please, come quickly!"

At her cry, Lu Chen turned at once. Red Fox had curled into a tight ball, her once-glossy fur now dull and lifeless. The golden mark on her forehead was fading fast.

Wind Dragon frowned. "Her spirit qi is collapsing... she's losing energy at an alarming rate. What's going on?"

***

Up on the cliff, Ancestor Suitian's eyes remained fixed on the ravine. Seeing what had happened, he leapt up from his wicker chair in alarm.

Venerable Hua Xin stepped forward and whispered to Heaven Venerable Hua Sheng, "Master, they seem to be in trouble. Should we go help? It's better to lend aid in hardship than celebrate success. If we risk ourselves to save them, Lu Chen will surely be grateful."

Heaven Venerable Hua Sheng approached Ancestor Suitian. "High Sage, what do you think? Should we intervene? The Nine-Tailed Red Fox's cultivation is near the early Human Core Realm, yet her spirit qi is suddenly collapsing. It must be the effect of the Void law."

"Wait a bit longer..." Ancestor Suitian's forehead glowed as he activated his Divine Eye, scanning the ravine below. "I'm observing her with the Heavenly Lightning Eye, but I sense nothing unusual."

Heaven Venerable Ban Yao shivered. "Honored High Sage, are you saying she did this deliberately?"

"Deliberately?"

Venerable Shuang Dao frowned. "Are you saying she's willingly dispersing her spirit qi? She'd gain nothing from it, and she'd lose her ability to fight."

At that mention, all the venerables on the cliff looked down at Red Fox, then at Lu Chen. Lose her ability to fight!

They had more or less realized the reason behind her sudden collapse. "If the Nine-Tailed Red Fox loses her ability to fight now, Lu Chen will have to face the danger alone."

Daoist Du exchanged a glance with Ancestor Suitian. "If I'm right, that skeletal giant was just an appetizer. The real trial meant for Lu Chen is about to begin."

Ancestor Suitian looked up to the sky to search for Blindman Lu, but found no trace of him. "Everything seems meticulously planned... but judging by the situation, we still can't be sure,"

Resigned, he shook his head. "Prepare yourselves. If anything happens, I'll shatter space and send you all to Lu Chen's side immediately."

"Understood."

The ten venerables on the cliff raised their hands, channeling their spirit qi to the limit as they prepared to assist Lu Chen.

***

By now, Lu Chen had released his Divine Tree's vines. He caught Nantian Wan'er and muttered, "What's happening to Red Fox? It feels like her spirit qi is collapsing."

Seeing Red Fox writhing in pain, he quickly directed the vines to pull her toward him, but the air around her was distorted. The moment the vines drew near, they were forced down against the ground.

Seeing Lu Chen's attempt fail, Wind Dragon fixed his gaze on the black mist swirling along the ravine. "Her spirit qi is indeed collapsing... and the laws of space are suppressing her movements. What's going on? How could things turn this bad so suddenly?"

Once Nantian Wan'er landed on Wind Dragon's back, Lu Chen formed hand seals and unleashed the vines once more. Just like before, as they neared Red Fox, the immense force slammed them down.

Jun Laoye activated the Divine Eye on his forehead and fixed his gaze on the ravine. The pull of the black mist had already immobilized him. "Little Lu, look there... something terrifying is about to emerge."

Hearing this, Red Fox lifted her head with difficulty, gritting her teeth. "Wind Dragon, take them and leave. The thing below has awakened... we're no match for it."