Chapter 9: Eight-Tailed Heavenly Fox, Nine Tolls of the Bell

The atmosphere in the temple was awkward for a moment.

【...】

Looking at the deliberately fierce Peak Master Jing, the Sect Leader stone statue remained silent for a while before saying with a headache:

【My meaning is, you cannot possibly be unaware of the implications of the anomaly Ren Yidao created during his Descent of the Gods, can you?】

【That is the Heavenly Fox your master has been searching for all this time!】

That is a Heavenly Fox!

An Eight-Tailed Heavenly Fox!

It is not a matter of whether Ren Yidao will listen to you later.

Who asked you!

Jing Yueqin instead looked at the stone statue strangely and curled her lips in disdain:

"I know, how could I not know?"

【Then do you know that this is not the first time a member of the Divine Path Sect has manifested a Heavenly Fox Dharma Image during a Descent of the Gods?】

【Do you not know who that person was?】

"..."

Her expression shifted slightly; Jing Yueqin turned her back and gazed at the starry sky above Luoyue Peak.

The Sect Leader could not see her expression, only hearing a faint reply:

"I know."

Luoyue Peak, halfway up the mountain.

Jian Xinxin, his clothes in disarray, walked out of the cave with a hunched back; as if unable to adapt to the light of the outside world, he squinted at the peak.

He also saw the moment the silver moon descended.

"It is truly so."

He slowly unfurled the scroll in his hand, looking at the yellowed paper, a dim glimmer flashing in his dead, lifeless eyes.

He held it gently, as carefully as if he were afraid it might shatter.

The painting was not complex; it was merely a graceful woman with an indistinct face, lying on a couch on her side.

Even though she was just lying there leisurely, there was an imposing aura that made one afraid to look directly at her.

Behind the woman, there was also a massive white fox Dharma Image!

An Eight-Tailed Heavenly Fox!

Silently rolling up the scroll, Jian Xinxin slowly retreated back into the cave, hiding within the darkness.

From the gloomy space came his hoarse voice:

"Descent of the Gods, Heavenly Fox; for a thousand years, no one in the Divine Path Sect has surpassed this..."

The voice carried pride, nostalgia, and was mixed with a faint sorrow.

"My master, Luoyue Shangren."

!!?

"Luoyue Peak?"

"Who is it!"

Zuo Yungui watched helplessly as the thick fog of the anomaly he had created during his Descent of the Gods was blown away by a gale.

The intense wind tore through the thick fog on Lieyang Peak and also shattered the final barrier in Zuo Yungui's heart.

"No, no!"

It should not be like this!

Should this not be the best moment for me to prove myself?

What on earth happened?

Dong—

Even though he had deliberately tried not to think about it, Zuo Yungui still unconsciously noted which bell toll this was.

The sixth toll.

It was already the sixth toll...

"No, there will not be any more."

Let it end here!

I am the one who should be the protagonist!

I am the one who should be the center of attention...

Otherwise, have I worked so hard for so long just to become a foil for someone else?

As if hearing Zuo Yungui's inner prayer, the starlight filling the sky began to fade away, silently returning to a clear daytime sky.

"Ha, haha..."

His heart, which had been hanging, suddenly dropped; Zuo Yungui, whose spirit had been taut, collapsed powerlessly, his entire body relaxing.

"Great, great, haha."

Only six tolls.

... Not as good as me!

Sweeping away the dejection on his body, Zuo Yungui's arrogance returned to him once more.

No matter who he is, he is not as good as me!

He turned his head, wanting to share this joy of recovery with his grandfather.

But he saw a pair of sinister eyes.

!!!

Zuo Su looked at his grandson's unsightly performance and could not help but reprimand:

"Stupid."

To not even be able to distinguish such a situation and still be complacent, it is truly stupid.

What?

Without giving Zuo Yungui a chance to react, the Divine Path Bell hanging high in the Heaven gave a cruel answer.

After a few breaths of silence, it did not ring again and again as it had before.

Instead, it rang three times in a row!

Dong! Dong! Dong!

The bell rang, nine times!

After a thousand years, the Divine Path Bell had once again rung nine times in succession!

Zuo Yungui's spirit fell into complete stagnation, and he unconsciously spoke one word.

"Nine..."

Afterwards, he watched helplessly as those long rainbows that had been flying toward him made a right-angle turn in front of him.

They flew toward another direction!

Under such stimulation, Zuo Yungui's eye sockets turned red.

"Ah!!!"

He roared in grief and indignation, slamming his hand hard against the ground.

Boom!

"Damn it!!!"

Ignoring his grandson's posturing, Zuo Su did not dissuade him, but narrowed his eyes and looked at the departing long rainbows.

"... Very good."

He flicked his sleeves and turned around, no longer looking.

"Very good!"

Unlike the deathly silence of Lieyang Peak, Luoyue Peak appeared much livelier at this moment.

Sounds of congratulations arose everywhere; it was quite lively.

The Senior Uncles who had rushed over gathered together, greeting each other and discussing the miracle they had just witnessed together.

"To think that two heaven-gifted geniuses appeared one after another, this is truly a sign of great prosperity!"

"Not to mention the seven rings, the bell ringing nine times is something I haven't seen in a long time! I remember the last record was a thousand years ago."

"To have such demeanor when descending the gods at the Golden Core Realm, what will it be like when he reaches the Transformation Realm and merges with the Dao God in the future!"

Some even began to pull at their connections with Ren Yidao at this moment.

"Hey, listen to me, I felt this child was extraordinary before, so I gave him the Cleaving Demon Axe I used when I was young."

"Hahaha, me too. Some time ago, I had made a protective dharma treasure for my grandson, but I gifted it to him the moment we met that day."

"It seems that great minds think alike, ah hahahaha."

"Hahahaha..."

The Senior Uncles were all harmonious, as if they were distant relatives coming to congratulate at a wedding.

Although they were all relatives, they always liked to compare who was closer, insisting on making it seem like they had a better relationship with the newcomer.

They did not mention a word about how those "favors" and "gifts" were actually swiped.

Never mind that!

What does the method matter?

Just tell me if I gave it or not!

If I did, that's that!

At this time, they were still rejoicing in their hearts that they had luckily established a good relationship out of concern for their reputation, otherwise it would be awkward now.

Yan Changchun stood in a corner of the crowd, stroking his beard and blinking continuously as he watched this scene.

The two brothers worked together to guard the sect's secret treasures and could not leave their posts at the same time; he had only managed to run out after winning a game of rock-paper-scissors against his elder brother.

"The world says that the people of our Divine Path Sect have eccentric temperaments and are unwilling to associate with others."

After listening to this discussion that sounded like a marketplace, he shook his head and complained:

"Pure nonsense!"

The crowd at the foot of the mountain could not wait to come and congratulate, but the peak was calm.

Ren Yidao frowned slightly, repeatedly examining the Eight-Tailed Heavenly Fox "Dao God" beside him.

"This, this isn't right, is it?"

Amidst Yu Yu's hesitant gaze, Ren Yidao picked up a handful of fox tails and counted them repeatedly.

"Are there really only eight tails?"

Releasing the Fox Tail, Ren Yidao stroked his chin, not speaking the confusion in his heart aloud.

He muttered silently in his heart:

"But why do I feel... there is still one more?"