CHAPTER 119: CHAPTER 119: DOES THE FAIRY PALACE ENTER THE WORLD?

EDITOR: DRAGON BOAT TRANSLATION

Is it the same person? Ren Suo couldn’t be sure, as the game graphics were somewhat beautified and anime-styled, making the face merely familiar to him.

Moreover, there was something slightly different about Dong Chengling compared to the girl Ren Suo remembered— At least when I was having breakfast, I remembered that girl’s legs were long and beautiful... No, wait, her legs were definitely intact.

But now, Dong Chengling was sitting in a wheelchair, struggling to tear open the space rift.

Apart from Old Zhao, two others came out from the rift, but Dong Chengling did not come over. Instead, she closed the rift from the other side, vanishing as if she had never appeared.

The two people behind Old Zhao only needed Ren Suo to activate his Spiritual Vision to see that the Spiritual Light on their bodies had almost faded, its bloody sheen replaced by a faint golden glow. This indicated they were among the top Cultivators in the Mysterious Country.

Plus, when they appeared, an invisible ripple emanated from them, looking like an evolved version of Magic: Garment.

They stood behind Old Zhao, remarkably able to extend their own Clothing to him, protecting him.

The Nine-Tailed Fox asked, "That girl just now..."

Old Zhao smiled and said, "This is a bustling area, and it’s inconvenient to talk here. How about you first come with us to the Embassy to discuss further?"

Ren Suo was startled. He had long thought Cultivators should be able to resist Charm to some extent, but he had never truly witnessed it.

The two Cultivators from the Mysterious Country could not only resist Charm themselves but also, by extending their Clothing, grant Old Zhao, an ordinary person, a Cultivator’s defensive power and resistances.

Otherwise, Old Zhao would have already spilled the information the Nine-Tailed Fox wanted to know.

But the Nine-Tailed Fox’s Charm was definitely still effective; it was just reduced from an absolute command to significantly boosting favorability.

Just as Ren Suo had expected, many cars soon arrived in the Sunny Sky Street area. However, the Flourishing Sakura Mysterious Faction people were prepared and reached the scene first, allowing Old Zhao and his group to quickly return to the Embassy.

However, the Nine-Tailed Fox declined Old Zhao’s invitation because—Riding in a car? That’s far too beneath an Immortal’s dignity.

Since they were already committed, Ren Suo decided to see the act through to the very end.

Suddenly, a crimson sword, its body suffused with a luminous aura as clear as autumn water, appeared floating in the air, revolving around the Nine-Tailed Fox. The blade met the hilt without a guard, and it exuded a faint, icy chill.

The Nine-Tailed Fox said, "I have been fortunate enough to learn the Fairy Palace’s Sword Control Technique. Now that I know the destination, I shall not trouble you further."

Without waiting for Old Zhao and the others to speak, a blaze of rosy light burst from the Nine-Tailed Fox, as if her entire being had merged with the Immortal Sword. Then, the sword streaked across the sky, leaving a red trace against the heavens.

The astonished onlookers gazed at this nearly divine method of movement. Several of them even fumbled with their phones, and those fortunate enough to capture the scene excitedly tweeted about it.

Seeing the Immortal Sword depart, Old Zhao and his companions were dumbfounded but quickly hopped into their car.

It was unclear whether it was a common spell or one of the awakened spells, but their car sparked and crackled, and all vehicles ahead automatically made way, granting them an unobstructed passage as if they were on an expressway.

And when the rapidly summoned Flourishing Sakura police saw this, they could only deploy forces to block Sunny Sky Street and the Sky Tree, attempting to find traces of the Nine-Tailed Fox’s appearance.

How did Ren Suo know their reactions so clearly? Because the Nine-Tailed Fox hadn’t actually left.

Where would the Nine-Tailed Fox get an Immortal Sword? It was all Ren Suo. He’d paused the game, spent an hour online finding an image of his favorite sword, and then had the Nine-Tailed Fox create an Illusion of it in the game. The illusory sword was, at this very moment, likely already hovering before the entrance of the Mysterious Country’s Embassy in the Port Area.

The earlier burst of rosy light from the Nine-Tailed Fox was merely a cover for her to use Knight’s Wind again.

Although the Nine-Tailed Fox had used Knight’s Wind once already, because she had exited the Status prematurely, the remaining duration was stored. She could continue to use this stored time until the Skill cooled down (the duration could not be stacked after cooldown completion).

Based on the Nine-Tailed Fox’s current Mobility Attribute, she could achieve a total of eight minutes of absolute Invisibility within a twelve-hour period. If it were otherwise—if one use triggered a twelve-hour cooldown and required all the time to be consumed at once—this Skill would be far less cost-effective than the other three.

As for the risk of exposing the Sword Control Technique as a mere Illusion, Ren Suo wasn’t worried at all—he refused to believe Old Zhao’s car could be faster than the Nine-Tailed Fox on her own two feet.

And indeed, that was the case. By the time Old Zhao and his companions returned to the Embassy, the Nine-Tailed Fox had already been using Illusions to conceal herself nearby for over ten minutes.

In front of the Embassy, diplomats from the Mysterious Country were already waiting next to the Immortal Sword, while a crowd of reporters armed with cameras continuously photographed the Immortal Sword from a distance.

Just as Old Zhao and his team alighted from their vehicle, the Nine-Tailed Fox activated Knight’s Wind again. She stepped out from beneath the Immortal Sword first, her appearance heralded by a dazzling array of colorful lights—as if she had arrived by possessing the sword itself.

Nine-Tailed Fox: "You took your time."

Old Zhao said helplessly, "Our abilities hardly compare to Your Excellency’s Divine Skills... Please, come inside. May I ask how to address Your Excellency?"

Nine-Tailed Fox: "In the Fairy Palace, I am the only member of the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan. Thus, I am known simply as the Nine-Tailed Fox."

However, at that moment, several more cars hurried over. A few middle-aged men in suits quickly got out and greeted the Nine-Tailed Fox, "Hello, Your Excellency from the Fairy Palace. We are diplomats from Flourishing Sakura..."

For some reason, these Flourishing Sakura diplomats chose English as their language of communication—perhaps due to the First Impression left by the English-speaking Fairy Palace Assassin from the Assassin game series.

Ren Suo could only barely understand them, like a high school senior struggling with an English listening comprehension test. However, it wasn’t the Nine-Tailed Fox’s cue yet; the Mysterious Country’s diplomats gathered at the entrance had already stepped forward to engage.

Soon after, the Nine-Tailed Fox was seated in an elegant private room within the Embassy, cradling a blue British Shorthair. Before Old Zhao could speak, she began, "You’re quite fortunate."

Old Zhao was visibly confused. "What makes Your Excellency say that?"

Nine-Tailed Fox: "The one responsible for this Spirit Vein happens to be Little Blue, whom I adore the most."

At that moment, Ren Suo was operating the controller, having the Nine-Tailed Fox stroke the blue British Shorthair through a different dimension. The cat, very cooperative, meowed pleasingly a few times.

"Other members of the Fairy Palace would certainly not emerge for such a trivial matter. But I have been in the Fairy Palace for many years, and among everyone, Little Blue is closest to me. Igniting a Spirit Vein indeed brings supreme merit, but if obstructed, the lightest consequence is awry Shape-shifting; the gravest is death and the obliteration of one’s cultivation."

"Take the Ridge Carp, for instance. Didn’t it encounter turmoil during its Shape-shifting, becoming stuck midway, neither human nor beast?"

The Ridge Carp is an ancient name for the Pangolin. A fable from the Ming Dynasty, in the Yuli-Zi, recounts how someone presented a Ridge Carp to the Lord of Shangling. The Lord initially mistook it for a dragon. When told it subsisted on ants, he harbored no suspicion. Another person claimed it was merely a Pangolin, and the Lord of Shangling had this man beaten. This continued until the Pangolin burrowed into the ground and escaped. The Lord of Shangling was deeply regretful. Later, when a true dragon appeared, the Lord eagerly offered it ants, only to be severely beaten by the dragon, which then destroyed his home.

Ren Suo had deliberately used the archaic name to emphasize the Nine-Tailed Fox’s ancient origins. Old Zhao quickly picked up on this, saying, "It was merely a small misunderstanding, as we were previously unaware that Comrade Pangolin was acting to benefit the Mysterious Country. We never intended to harm Comrade Pangolin... We will do our utmost to compensate it."

In the tale from Yuli-Zi, the presence of a true dragon exposed the Pangolin as an impostor. In the real world, however, no such Fairy Palace existed, nor could anyone uncover the Nine-Tailed Fox’s true nature.

But everyone believed in the existence of the Fairy Palace—only a truly existing force could know so many secrets, possess an unknown number of powerful beings, and act with motives unknown to the world.

Otherwise, how could one explain the Fairy Palace Assassin rescuing Karen Lanpelucci? Or how these small creatures knew that igniting a Spirit Vein would grant them merit and allow them to Shape-shift?

Nine-Tailed Fox: "Shedding the mortal coil to enter the gates of immortality by igniting a Spirit Vein for merit and Shape-shifting naturally involves countless risks; Mortal Tribulation is but one. Since you are willing to persuade the nations situated upon the Spirit Vein to assist Little Blue, and are also willing to let Little Blue come into contact with national treasures to improve her chances of successful Shape-shifting, then, as you wish, I shall once again grace the mortal realm. I will be responsible for negotiating with those beasts on your behalf."

Old Zhao clearly understood the Nine-Tailed Fox’s underlying message. "Rest assured, we will have the Flourishing Sakura officials arrange for the arrival of the national treasures as soon as possible. Please allow me to ask one question: You won’t take the national treasures away, will you?"

Nine-Tailed Fox: "The national treasures themselves hold little intrinsic value; they are merely common ironware, Jade Artifacts, porcelain, and other antiquities. However, beasts that have not yet Shape-shifted can improve their chances of success by coming into contact with such ancient objects. That is all."

Old Zhao seemed to sigh in relief. Then, taking a deep breath, his expression turned earnest as he asked,

"Your Excellency, Nine-Tailed Fox, on behalf of the Mysterious Country, I have one question—"

"Does the Fairy Palace intend to establish a presence in the mortal world?"