Chapter 24: Kyuubi! ?

“Yao Hu… I might need to borrow your power again…”

Jiu Baiyun’s tone carried helplessness along with some embarrassment.

It was his own fault that had brought Yao Hu and himself to this state, yet every time trouble struck, he still had to rely on Yao Hu to clean up.

After so many times, no matter how thick-skinned he was, he felt too embarrassed to keep bothering the Yao Fox Demon Venerable, so he had been searching for a way to restore his power.

But often, he was left with no choice but to seek out the Yao Fox Demon Venerable.

Soon after Jiu Baiyun’s words fell, the impatient voice of the Yao Fox Demon Venerable rang out in his mind.

“Hmph, you should be grateful that my power has recovered quite a bit.”

Hearing the Yao Fox Demon Venerable’s somewhat displeased yet non-refusing words, Jiu Baiyun breathed a slight sigh of relief in his heart.

At least for now, the Yao Fox Demon Venerable was still willing to lend him power.

He didn’t know whether her willingness was due to their Shared Fate or something else, but having power to use was always good.

Without much hesitation, Jiu Baiyun immediately stirred the demon power within him that belonged to the Yao Fox Demon Venerable.

Instantly, demon power far greater than his own spiritual energy surged forth.

Hum

A deep blue light replaced the light gold, instantly covering Jiu Baiyun’s entire body.

At the same time, deep in his pupils, a point of deep blue foxfire ignited silently, cold and eerie.

The golden sword energy swirling around him also scattered instantly, replaced by spiraling, rising deep blue foxfire.

“Ugh—”

Jiu Baiyun grunted.

The violent energy impact made his body tremble slightly.

Immediately after, a pair of fluffy white fox ears stood up on top of his head.

Then a strange sensation spread from his tailbone, and accompanied by a slight sound of fabric tearing, a fluffy, soft fox tail unfurled from behind him.

“Huh?! Demon aura?! No… this aura…!”

The Gray Feather Mask Man, who had been about to manipulate the flock of sparrows for another attack, abruptly stopped.

The scarlet light under his mask flickered violently, filled with unbelievable shock.

Especially when he saw Jiu Baiyun’s waist-length silver hair wildly dancing in the air, a bad premonition surged in his heart.

And his premonition wasn’t wrong.

The moment Jiu Baiyun’s physical fox tail appeared, an even more shocking scene emerged.

Eight huge, condensed fox tail phantoms, entirely composed of deep blue foxfire, burst open behind him like a peacock spreading its tail.

They swayed and rose like burning deep blue flames, each swing stirring the surrounding air, emitting a suffocatingly terrifying pressure.

The nine tails gently stirred, and in an instant, they devoured all the mountain sparrows that had covered the sky.

Under the Gray Feather Mask Man’s mask, his scarlet pupils suddenly shrank to pinprick size.

The gray-white bird feathers covering his body stood on end as if startled.

His sinister laughter abruptly cut off, replaced by a choking, almost suffocating gasp squeezed from deep in his throat.

The scene before him made him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave, his very soul trembling.

The one he had considered a premium food before now seemed possessed by some ancient and terrifying existence.

Where was that Jiu Baiyun with light gold spiritual energy, the “premium food” he had coveted? The drastic change in appearance made him seem like a different person.

His originally perhaps handsome or ordinary features were now shrouded in an indescribable soft eeriness.

And that fluffy, soft white physical fox tail, along with those eight huge fox tail phantoms swaying like deep blue flames, made his heart stop.

In that instant, he felt that he himself was the prey.

“Hiss—Nine… Nine Tails…?!”

From under the Gray Feather Mask Man’s mask, his throat finally squeezed out broken syllables, filled with unbelievable horror and bone-deep fear.

Just by looking at the nine swaying fox tails, he felt his core screaming warnings frantically.

“This… this can’t be! You… what the hell are you?!”

Although as an eerie creature, his mind was mostly in a chaotic state, that didn’t mean he knew nothing.

In the few clear cognitions he had, he knew very well what these nine tails in front of him meant…

But this was impossible!

His perception couldn’t be wrong; this was a premium human ingredient!

How could it become a demon…

As for the Gray Feather Mask Man’s thoughts, Jiu Baiyun was unaware, still balancing the power within him.

But at that moment, the Yao Fox Demon Venerable’s voice rang out urgently in Jiu Baiyun’s mind.

“Hurry up. It’ll be troublesome if we attract the attention of those existences.”

Jiu Baiyun naturally understood this.

Both spiritual energy and demon power were highly attractive to those eerie creatures.

The greater the energy, the stronger the attraction.

Therefore, he had to hurry and not be detected by those existences.

However, the Yao Fox Demon Venerable’s power raged like a surging torrent within him, so powerful it made his heart palpitate, yet it also brought a sense of unfamiliarity completely different from his own spiritual energy.

No matter how many times he used it, he always had to spend some effort to adapt.

Moreover, every time he used it, he would undergo the Fox Demon Transformation.

From initially just his hair turning white to now transforming almost entirely toward the Yao Fox Demon Venerable’s image, it made Jiu Baiyun a little worried.

But soon, he shook his head and composed himself.

Regardless, after canceling the Fox Demon Transformation, the impact on himself was not significant, so there was no need to worry too much.

Thinking so, Jiu Baiyun’s eyes, burning with deep blue foxfire, instantly locked onto the Gray Feather Mask Man frozen in place.

‘Will die! Absolutely will die! Must run!’

Sensing Jiu Baiyun’s ice-cold gaze, the Gray Feather Mask Man screamed madly in his heart.

The fear from his soul’s instinct completely overwhelmed his greed for devouring.

Just the pressure from the aura of those nine swaying fox tail phantoms nearly shattered his Anomaly Core.

He couldn’t even muster a thought of resistance.

Only one thought remained: escape! Escape as far as possible!

Almost the moment this thought arose, his gray-feather-covered body blasted backward, trying to merge into the thick darkness behind.

However, Jiu Baiyun’s movements were faster.

He didn’t even need complex incantations.

With just a slight mental command—

Hum

A fox tail phantom burning with deep blue flames suddenly appeared in front of the Gray Feather Mask Man’s escape path.

The tip of the tail gently swept.

The movement seemed elegant and slow, yet it contained destructive power.

“No—”

The Gray Feather Mask Man only had time to let out a short, distorted scream before being instantly engulfed by the deep blue foxfire.

The eerie gray feathers covering his body continuously burned in the flames.

The hard Birdbone Mask shattered inch by inch, revealing the twisted, blurred face beneath.

First came frantic struggle, but soon, as if knowing death was inevitable, he instead stopped fearing and revealed a sinister smile.

“Heh… hehe… useless…”

“These surroundings… have been fattened up… it’s time… for the slaughter…”