Chapter 476: Xiao Jiu, send them on their way

The bowstring was drawn to its limit; upon release, the arrow whistled forth, striking precisely the beast I had aimed at.

The arrowhead sank deep into the beast's body.

That massive beast, while running, suddenly froze, lifted its head and let out a terrifying roar; the spot where the arrow struck burst into flames that instantly engulfed its entire body.

One hit, and the power was so great I immediately felt excited, retracted the arrow, nocked another, and prepared to press the attack.

But when I drew the bowstring again, I stared ahead and could not loose the shot for a long time.

Because the beast I had shot, at the moment its body ignited, the outer skin resembling a wild boar suddenly split open……and the inside was empty!

No, saying it's empty isn't accurate.

For that skin actually imprisoned a fox's soul!

That's why, after the arrow pierced the skin, the fire could burn so rapidly.

The flame shot by Feng Wu is not ordinary fire; it can ignite souls, and to souls it is a bane, a judgment.

Once ignited it cannot be extinguished; the end is only ashes and smoke.

Yet how could I have imagined that the souls imprisoned within these beasts' skins would be those of the Yin Mountain fox clan?

The skin burst apart, and the snow‑white fox, engulfed in flames, cried out miserably, its many snow‑white tails waving wildly behind it, looking utterly anguished.

Hu Yulin, who was also running, heard the fox's wail, led the remaining beasts on a circuit around Yin Mountain, then turned back.

When he saw the scene before him, he too froze for a moment.

Clearly, he could not believe what he was seeing.

Hu Yulin did not linger; he sped toward us, while Liu Junyan instantly gathered his true qi and struck at the beasts chasing him from behind.

The three of us stood in a line; Liu Junyan forced the beasts to halt a hundred meters away, where they glared at us, tiger‑like.

The next moment, as if sensing something, they suddenly leapt deep into the heart of Yin Mountain and hid.

Just then, a bolt of heavenly thunder struck out of nowhere, directly hitting the fox soul wrapped in flames.

Its nine tails flailed wildly behind it, then in the next instant turned to ashes and smoke.

I blurted out, "Sorry, I didn't know……"

"Xiao Jiu, you did nothing wrong." Hu Yulin's voice was tight, "These nine‑tailed foxes died long ago under heavenly punishment; by rights they should have vanished completely, their corpses buried in this valley long since rotted—how could any soul remain?"

Yeah, where did these nine‑tailed fox souls come from?

And how were these monsters nurtured?

"Obviously, a scheme of this magnitude couldn't be completed in just a few days or even months." Liu Junyan said, "Yin Mountain has actually been under their control all along; if back then Hu Sanmei had cooperated willingly, everything happening today would have occurred centuries earlier."

The earliest point should be when that so‑called eminent monk appeared; they had already planted the seeds of disaster in Yin Mountain's depths.

Just didn't expect the monk to suffer a backlash and die, while Hu Sanmei's bones were extraordinarily hard, so they could only proceed slowly.

Until Hu Yulin brought the phoenix‑fox lady back to Yin Mountain without any defenses.

Hu Yulin is now the party involved, perhaps he can figure this out, but his heart fiercely rejects it.

After a while he said, "In other words, the claim that cultivating nine‑tailed foxes in Yin Mountain invites heavenly punishment is likely a complete fabrication; the foxes struck down by heavenly thunder have their shattered souls imprisoned in the ancestral tomb's depths, used as nourishment for these monsters……Put that way, the fox immortal is comparatively fortunate—she endured, her golden core shattered, her nine tails reduced to a single one……"

"Is this the power of the Taotie Fierce Formation?" I thought in shock, "The Four Great Ferocious Beast Formation has already been solved three of its parts; the Taotie Fierce Formation has remained hidden, never imagined it was right under our noses."

Hu Yulin anguishedly said, "Losing Yin Mountain is largely my fault; what I care most about now is whether the fox immortal can still be rescued."

We three watched the white light surge up from the depths; whoever is undergoing tribulation tonight, being stuck at this juncture is no good for us.

"Kill." Liu Junyan declared firmly, "We no longer have spare time to investigate the truth; only by driving them to a dead end can we turn the passive into the active."

I and Hu Yulin both turned to look at Liu Junyan.

Knowing that, as a leader, uttering this single word 'kill' in such a dire situation is extraordinarily difficult.

It requires a resolve to stake everything.

Hu Yulin suddenly shifted his body, faced us, and snapped his folding fan open with a swish, waving it before him.

At this moment he seemed to have returned to his former carefree, unrestrained self.

He said, "This is our Yin Mountain fox clan's affair; I will find a way to settle it, you……."

"Shut up." Liu Junyan coldly rebuked, "Whether as your childhood friend or as the fox immortal, one of the Five Blessings Immortals, we are not outsiders and cannot simply stand by; drop your petty thoughts—this isn't just your business."

Hu Yulin was left speechless by Liu Junyan's retort.

Liu Junyan then turned to me and said, "Since those imprisoned nine‑tailed fox souls are doomed to ill fate, Xiao Jiu, send them on their way first."

My voice trembled slightly: "Āyàn, you……you want to do what?"

Liu Junyan didn't answer me; he half‑squatted, lifted me onto his back.

Before I could react, he transformed into his true form as the white flood dragon; I lay on the dragon's back as he surged upward, charging straight to the heavens.

Wind howled in my ears; at first I squinted, struggling to keep my eyes open against the gale.

But soon I calmed down and understood what Liu Junyan intended to do.

Since we cannot preserve or control them, we shall kill them!

Whether nine‑tailed or ten‑tailed, those imprisoned in Yin Mountain's ancestral tomb are souls.

And against these souls I am most skilled!

As my thoughts raced, Liu Junyan had already brought me close to that white light.

Such a commotion immediately provoked a reaction within Yin Mountain.

The beasts that had just dodged the heavenly thunder, their eyes glowing ghost‑green, emerged one after another from the depths of Yin Mountain.

This time we looked down from above and precisely captured their silhouettes.

I gripped my long bow, nocked the arrow, aimed at one beast, drew the bow fully, and released!

Swish!

The arrow struck a beast; flames burst from within and spread over its whole body.

The fox's plaintive cries rang out, tails sprouting one after another……