Chapter 478: with translation of chapter title

Hu Yulin found it hard to accept this fact.

He pressed on, "If they just wanted the Yin elixir, back then they already controlled the ten-tailed fox; they could have simply dug out her Yin elixir. Why bother lurking in Yin Mountain for so many years? Isn't that superfluous?"

"When they discovered the ten-tailed fox back then, it was already somewhat late; the Yin elixir had been tainted by the resentful qi of the gravesite's evil aura and could not be used," said the Grand Elder, "But this gave them a signal—that the Yin fox lineage exists among the Yin Mountain fox clan; they therefore exercised patience and waited, finally awaiting our fox immortal."

"It's a pity we understood the hidden truth too late; the fox immortal has already fallen into their hands. I am ashamed before our ancestors, sorry to the fox immortal, uh……"

The Grand Elder spat out a mouthful of blood, his body twitching several times, his eyes wide open, dying with unresolved resentment.

Hu Yulin broke down in a hoarse roar, his eyes bloodshot.

Hu Sanmei was captured, barely escaping death; the several elders protecting her, only the Grand Elder managed to flee, yet he still could not save his life.

The Yin Mountain fox clan was almost overwhelmed overnight; Hu Yulin suffered a heavy blow, almost to the point of his liver and gallbladder bursting.

At that moment, the ground suddenly trembled slightly.

Everyone's nerves instantly tightened.

Upon careful feeling, they realized it was not a tremor but like a heart beating rhythmically inside the chest cavity.

Liu Junyan immediately flung himself to the ground, pressing his ear to the soil to listen closely.

After listening awhile, he suddenly sprang to his feet, his vertical pupils constricting as he gazed into the distance.

Another bolt of heavenly thunder fell.

I no longer knew which number thunderbolt this was.

The white light shooting up from the depths of Yin Mountain toward the heavens remained; with each successive impact of the heavenly thunder, that white light not only did not fade but grew brighter.

Within the white light, two bewitching rays of light intertwined with each other.

One was a translucent red, the other golden.

The golden one was Merit Light, while the translucent red one was……cinnabar spirit bone?!

Yet Liu Junyan's attention was not on the depths of Yin Mountain; his whole body was tense, and I could even see the veins on his temples bulging prominently.

I instinctively grabbed Liu Junyan's hand and asked, "Āyàn, what's wrong?"

"It's the earth veins throbbing." Liu Junyan said, "That venerable monk wasn't mistaken; the ten-tailed fox truly can absorb earth vein spiritual qi. Xiao Jiu, I sense the Golden Scale continually drawing nearer to Yin Mountain."

I exclaimed in shock, "Is it the third Golden Scale giving feedback?"

"No." Liu Junyan shook his head, "If my sensing is correct, it should be the remaining five Golden Scales."

The remaining five Golden Scales represent five strands of Dragon Qi.

With such a tremendous impact……I widened my eyes in shock!

Tonight, someone is undergoing a tribulation.

We have been guessing all along just who is undergoing the tribulation.

Hēimǎng? The ten-tailed fox? Or Hu Sanmei?

Hēimǎng had just shed its skin; if it were to undergo tribulation, the most likely time would be that very day of shedding.

The ten-tailed fox had long been dead; what is sealed in the depths of the ancestral tomb is her Yin elixir.

They are using the power of the Yin elixir.

They set up a formation array using the Yin elixir to draw in several strands of Dragon Qi emanating from the Linghai Dragon Palace.

Previously we had thought those strands of Dragon Qi would eventually be gathered together, following certain predetermined routes straight to Zàng Qū.

But now it's clearly apparent our idea was wrong; the Dragon Qi has been accumulating via the Yin elixir in the depths of Yin Mountain……it must be aimed at Hu Sanmei!

The one truly undergoing tribulation tonight is Hu Sanmei!

Hu Sanmei's inner elixir shattered a hundred years ago, reducing her from nine tails to one, and that tail is a Yin fox's tail.

They intend to empower Hu Sanmei's Yin elixir with sufficient Merit and Dragon Qi, enabling her to rapidly mature and pass the tribulation!

"Here it comes!" Liu Junyan suddenly turned to Hu Yulin and said, "Brother Hu, take Xiao Jiu and leave."

Having spoken, he already launched himself toward the depths of the Yin Mountain ancestral tomb.

"Āyàn!"

I reached out to grab him, but it was already too late.

The throbbing of the earth veins grew larger; we staggered underfoot, barely able to keep our balance.

That throbbing was truly identical to a heartbeat.

The 'heartbeat sound' grew louder and more frequent, one beat piling on another, as if something underground were about to come alive.

Hu Yulin pulled me back swiftly.

I stared at Liu Junyan's silhouette as he rushed into that white light, and for a moment my heart felt like dead ash.

I had an extremely bad premonition……crackle!

Heavenly thunder fell again.

This thunderbolt was unprecedentedly huge.

Lightning and white light met; heaven and earth seemed to merge in that instant, a massive surge of air bursting from the white light hurled both me and Hu Yulin outward.

Hu Yulin immediately spat out a mouthful of blood and fainted.

I only felt a tremendous impact, yet at the moment that force struck, my lower abdomen suddenly warmed, and then a mighty surge of qi rushed into my limbs and bones.

It was Dragon Qi!

The Yin elixir, via the earth veins, absorbed those several strands of Dragon Qi and forcibly infused them into Hu Sanmei's body.

Hu Sanmei is a Yin fox, but not an omnipotent deity; the amount of Merit and Dragon Qi she can absorb is limited, so most of the Dragon Qi overflowed, helping her withstand this strongest heavenly thunder.

The opposition truly had everything calculated.

I, however, turned misfortune into blessing; the Little Guy in my belly helped absorb some of the incoming Dragon Qi from the impact, taking it all into my body.

In that instant, heaven and earth were a blaze of red and white.

I struggled to prop myself up and looked toward the depths of the ancestral tomb; there in that white light I saw a familiar figure seated cross-legged, nine tails swaying behind him with the airflow—who else could it be but Hu Sanmei?

Dragon Qi surged through my meridians, was quickly digested by Little Guy, and settled in my lower abdomen.

Heavenly thunder retreated, lightning vanished, and the surroundings fell into darkness again.

The white light in the depths of the ancestral tomb was rapidly sinking along with Hu Sanmei's body.

Liu Junyan's figure was nowhere to be seen.

I furrowed my brows, instinctively feeling something was wrong.

I reached out and grabbed Hu Yulin's shoulder, shaking it and calling his name a few times.

Not waiting for him to fully awaken, I sprang up and ran toward the depths of the ancestral tomb.

The white light grew fainter, and Hu Sanmei's figure sank lower and lower……

At the instant the white light vanished completely, I had already rushed up and reached out with one hand to grab Hu Sanmei……Thud!

I grabbed nothing, my whole body plummeted heavily, my vision went black, and all around was utter silence.

Gone……everything was gone.

Hu Sanmei, Liu Junyan, the Taowu Fierce Formation, Dragon Qi……all were gone.

Everything that had just happened seemed like a millet dream.

Yet the bloody smell permeating the air told me it was certainly not a dream.

I pushed myself up, the fall hurt a bit, but fortunately I hadn't injured my bones or meridians.

A bright light came from above, and Hu Yulin's voice immediately rang out: "Xiao Jiu……"

His voice fell from above my head, echoing endlessly in the underground, actually producing an echo.

Hu Yulin also jumped down, holding a lit match in his hand.

He saw me first, called out to me, I didn't respond, but instead took the match and quickly lit the oil lamps on the earthen wall.

The oil lamps gave off a strong odor; when their yellowish light illuminated the space, the first thing that came into view was corpse after corpse torn open by heavenly thunder……