Chapter 429: 404 Fox Talk

"What do you mean? You want me to follow you?"

The white fox's continuous pauses and gestures made its meaning increasingly clear; Tang Zhao hesitated for a moment, but ultimately decided to go over and take a look.

This white fox had passed through his Sword Image, which counted as a forceful attack, but the malice had instead diminished, and there was no longer any clear intent to attack.

And the way it had suddenly accelerated to pass through his curtain of light just now was more like a show of force:

My strength is great, but I have no malice toward you, so follow me.

Tang Zhao first used the mental forging method of the Great Sun Divine Carriage to clear his own Spirit, confirming he had not been bewitched by this fox, before calmly making a choice—a rather pragmatic one: follow it, take a look and see, and if things really go wrong, just run. In any case, running away was what he was best at.

Black Widow was safe inside the Time Jar, so he had no misgivings.

After making his decision, he followed the white fox. After following for a few steps, he felt the group of Fierce Beasts nearby, which had been frantic just moments ago, quiet down; clearly, they were no longer being stimulated and had returned to their normal state. They had not dissipated, of course; the transformation of Fierce Beasts is irreversible.

Seeing them about to lurk back into the deep mountains, Tang Zhao turned back and pointed; a thick pillar of light shot out, dividing in mid-air into dozens of thin threads of light that pierced into the bodies of the Fierce Beasts. Amidst a chorus of roars, the Fierce Beasts turned into wisps of black smoke, and the surroundings were instantly filled with black smoke and a pungent, foul stench.

Fierce Beasts should not exist, every single one of them. Once they appeared before Tang Zhao, there was no possibility of them leaving.

After eliminating these Fierce Beasts, Tang Zhao also looked at the white fox; he wanted to see what the white fox's attitude was.

The white fox had no particular attitude; it didn't even look back and continued to move forward. Tang Zhao only saw its neck move, though he couldn't tell if it was baring its teeth or nodding.

The white fox did not run too far away, just running forward along a dried-up riverbed until it stopped under a cliff.

It paused slightly, then climbed up like a gecko, moving as if on flat ground on the nearly vertical cliff.

This cliff naturally could not stump Tang Zhao. Tang Zhao didn't even use Sword Art to take flight; he simply used Gang Qi to adhere to his feet and followed the white fox up step by step.

Halfway up, he saw a cave in the middle of the cliff.

The cave was covered by wild grass and located on a high, precipitous cliff; let alone at night, even in the daytime, if not for the white fox leading the way, others would never find it.

The white fox nimbly slipped into the cave through a gap in the withered grass, and Tang Zhao also pushed aside the weeds and entered the cave.

As soon as he entered the cave, Tang Zhao was shaken; a feeling of mental vibration washed over him.

The sword at his waist suddenly unsheathed three feet, its Sword Light cutting through the protective illusion and hanging abruptly in the air.

It was the sharpness of another sword!

Tang Zhao looked around; the surroundings looked like an ordinary cave, with messy grass and wood, but there must be traces of another sword here, and it was a pressure that reached directly into the level of Inspiration, that is, the Soul, forcing Tang Zhao's sword to unsheathe itself to resist.

One must know that ordinary pressure is resisted by the Sword Guest themselves; if it is a physical attack, one can use the sword body or Sword Art to block it, and if it is a mental attack, the Sword Guest also has Sword Essence and Mental Power to counteract it. Only attacks that reach the deeper level of Inspiration force a sword to unsheathe on its own, because the bond between the sword and the Sword Guest lies in Inspiration. The sword's strike is not only to protect the Sword Guest, but also a form of exclusionary defense—after becoming a Sword Guest, only one's own sword can connect to one's Inspiration.

"You have great talent, and your Sword Heart is not bad either."

The sudden voice made Tang Zhao shudder.

He quickly glanced around; the cave was in full view, and no one else was speaking.

Then it could only be...

Tang Zhao's gaze shifted and he saw the white fox.

The white fox was leaning against a rock, half-standing and half-lying. This posture could be called human-like, or it could be called beast-like, but that sentence—that faint female voice—was clearly spoken by it personally.

Tang Zhao's scalp tingled—rather than being surprised that a fox could speak human language, he was afraid of exactly this.

If a fox could truly speak, and this white fox was indeed the Sword Image he had judged it to be, that meant—this was a Manifestation of a Sword Image, the Sword Image of a Sword Hero.

If it were a Sword Guest's Sword Image, it would be absolutely impossible for it to speak, so it was basically impossible to use for delicate tasks like transmitting messages, no matter what the Sword Image was.

For example, the Bi'an, at the Sword Guest stage, was just a big cat playing with a ball, and it still had to rely on Sword Art to exist for a long time. But when Xing Ji became a Sword Hero, the Bi'an was already able to fight on its own. Correspondingly, the Pixiu Sword, General Cui, had also once sent the Sword Image Pixiu on the battlefield to give Tang Zhao verbal instructions.

And although Tang Zhao's Sword Image was light, if he became a Sword Hero, the light could transform into a human or animal form and also speak. But it couldn't now; even if his light could transform into human or animal shapes and look vivid and lifelike, it was ultimately a dead object.

Therefore, the white fox speaking meant that he was indeed facing a Sword Hero.

A Sword Hero of the Suisui Sword.

Tang Zhao truly had a headache; a Sword Hero and a Sword Guest were completely different. Facing a Sword Guest, even a veteran Sword Guest with deep qualifications and great strength, he was not afraid at all, and even felt that with the support of various Dharma Artifacts and Art Tools, he had the confidence to fight and win. But facing a Sword Hero, if he was not careful, it would be difficult to even activate an Art Tool to save his life.

Although the two had just fought, Tang Zhao did not feel he was being obviously crushed; there seemed to be room for maneuver. But he could not bet on whether this Sword Hero had some problem and their strength had declined; what if they were just playing the pig to eat the tiger and were just teasing him?

The only good news was that he had just activated the Sword Manual, so he should be able to "Simulated Hold" again. With Simulated Hold in hand, his trump cards were much stronger.

Since the white fox had spoken, it stopped pretending entirely. Its demeanor became increasingly human-like; through its furry cheeks, one could seemingly see a weary face. It looked at Tang Zhao's face and said, "You are a decent Sword Guest—balanced, careful, and you have upright principles. It's a pity... you are not perfect. Why must it be you, a Sword Guest, and not your companion, that young lady in white? Why did the heavens not grant a perfect match?"

Tang Zhao was a bit confused; what did "not perfect" mean, and why was it comparing him to Black Widow again?

The white fox said sternly, "You junior, where did you learn of the Ruyi Sword?"

Sure enough, its change in attitude was because it saw him say the words "Ruyi Sword."

Tang Zhao secretly blamed himself for not being cautious enough, actually reading the words on the Sword Manual aloud; he was also surprised that it was so sharp, as he hadn't made a sound, only the lip movements, yet it had still caught them.

He couldn't explain the origin of the three words "Ruyi Sword," and for a moment, he couldn't make up a watertight lie, especially when facing a Sword Hero of unknown origin. He said immediately, "I heard an old senior mention it. He said it was a famous sword from ancient times."

Saying "ancient times" was based on his guess; he had always felt that the Sword Manual should have its own thoughts, and it seemed to be a document from a previous period of history. The swords on it were all powerful swords of that time, and now they all belonged to the category of legends. Moreover, these swords were either Immortal Swords or Saint Swords, and those Sword Immortals and Sword Saints didn't know how many years they had lived, so saying "famous sword from ancient times" was not abrupt.

The white fox pursued, "Which senior? When did he say it? What did he say?"

Tang Zhao pretended to recall and said, "Um, it should have been a senior who fought side-by-side on the Qianxian... I can't remember when he said it. I can't even remember his name. We were just chatting at the time and it came up, just a passing remark."

Who told him he couldn't check the page for the Ruyi Sword right now? Otherwise, he could have said a few more things about the information on it.

It might be because he hadn't encountered the Ruyi Sword, and relying only on the Suisui Sword, he couldn't directly open the main page and couldn't flip through the Sword Manual.

The white fox pursued, "Qianxian? What is the Qianxian?"

Tang Zhao said, "The Qianxian is a separate area formed on the front line where we fight against the Heavenly Demons. It is very chaotic there, with complex factions. When the Heavenly Demons attack, everyone unites; as long as one is human, they can become a teammate and fight side-by-side. After the Heavenly Demons retreat, everyone loses the pressure, and various divisions emerge again, inevitably scattering, perhaps never to meet again, or perhaps becoming enemies."

The white fox's gaze turned gloomy and it said, "So you were talking about the Sword Domain... Are you fooling me? You just happened to remember a few words said by someone you met by chance, and today you just happened to say them—tell me, what was that sentence? And why did you choose to mention the Ruyi Sword today?"

Tang Zhao didn't have time to ponder what "Sword Domain" was. Seeing the white fox's white fur bristling one by one, about to return to its fierce nature, his heart stirred and he said, "Actually, I wasn't thinking of the Ruyi Sword; I thought of the Suisui Sword when I saw you."

The white fox was stunned, as if particularly surprised, even becoming a bit stiff, and said, "You know the Suisui Sword? How could you think of the Suisui Sword..."

Tang Zhao said, "Aren't you a white fox? I thought of swords related to foxes, and I vaguely remember there being a Suisui Sword, right? Yes, that's the sentence that senior said. When he was chatting with me, he seemed to have said—the Suisui Sword belongs to the Ruyi Sword. Just that one sentence. I had already forgotten it, but I suddenly remembered it when I saw you just now."

This statement was seventy percent true and thirty percent false; except for the part about the Sword Manual which he couldn't mention, the rest was true. Up until now, he really only knew that one sentence about the Suisui Sword being attached to the Ruyi Sword.

Because it was true enough, the white fox fell silent instead. In the silence, those emerald-green eyes gradually faded, turning a grayish-green color; they were not as magnificent as before, but they were also less dangerous.

"It seems you don't understand anything, yet you heard a sentence from somewhere... making me happy for nothing." The white fox looked at Tang Zhao and said, "And you even guessed it right."

Tang Zhao followed its lead and said, "Guessed what right? The Suisui Sword?"

The white fox tossed its head and said, "You don't need to worry about that. Your playing dumb is one thing, but it interrupted my plan. Because of that one sentence, you lured me out to say so much to you. I originally only intended to drop hints and slowly guide you here."

Tang Zhao said, "Originally? Guide? You deliberately released a Fierce Beast to attack me; is this what you call slowly guiding?"

The white fox said impatiently, "It was just to test you. You are a Sword Guest, after all; could you really be stumped by a Fierce Beast? My original script was for you to kill or repel the Fierce Beast, happen to save a pitiful white fox, and then the white fox would repay your kindness by leading you here. If you were particularly useless and ended up trapped by the Fierce Beast instead, then I would have come to save you. Once I saved you, I would have led you here in the guise of a mysterious white fox. In any case, you would definitely have discovered this place. And I originally had no intention of revealing myself before others."

Tang Zhao thought to himself: Calling oneself pitiful, that face is truly thick.

He looked around a few times, but did not discover anything unusual about this plain and unremarkable cave; why did this white fox want to lead him here?

The white fox continued, "Since I have spoken to you in a human voice, and you have guessed a bit about my identity, there is no point in being coy. I will just say it plainly. Back in the city, the moment I saw you all, I guessed your objective. You are traveling with that arrogant and rude brat, and you also want to find Baiyujing. I found you more agreeable, so I chose to come to you instead of him."

Tang Zhao did not deny it and said, "Then Your Excellency's objective is..."

The white fox said, "Just as you expected, I want to use your hands to return to Baiyujing. In return, I will show you the way and lead you straight to the clouds. Once the matter is accomplished, there will be benefits for you as well."