Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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The sky to the right was densely packed with demons and demon hunters, like a thick, oppressive cloud.
You Xu glanced over and saw that, led by the top-tier Yao Guang and Tian Li mansions, almost every demon hunter with some cultivation had been mobilized. The demon hunter mansions had poured their entire resources into this effort, their various magical artifacts gleaming with silver light.
On the other side of the demon hunters were the demon race, various demon clans vying for dominance, some as individuals, others as entire clans. Some maintained human form, while others revealed their ferocious, menacing forms.
The two groups on the right were clearly separated. Demon hunters and demons had always been irreconcilable enemies, it was a fight to the death. That they could stand side by side today was a rare occurrence, a rare instance of them sharing a common goal: the last heart of a heart-eating fox in the human world.
On the left, only Shen Jue remained. The palace beneath his feet had collapsed and crumbled. A fierce wind blew, causing his dark hair to flutter and his robes to billow. His expression was languid, seemingly unafraid of anyone before him.
His hands were covered in blood, dripping from his silver claws. The ground was littered with torn remains— both demon hunters and demons— the only thing they had in common was a gaping hole in their chests.
Shen Jue’s eyes were icy, a half-smile playing on his lips as he narrowed his eyes and said, “I’ll play with you.”
The Lord of Yaoguang Prefecture shouted sternly, “Heart-Eating Fox, stop your arrogance! Today will be your death day! This demon is causing chaos, and we have no choice but to fight! Attack! Those who wound it will be richly rewarded!”
“The fox demon is fighting alone; it can’t withstand our thousands of troops.”
“Cut off its head and rip out its heart!”
The demon hunters shouted with fervor and high morale, but the demons on the other side couldn’t stand it: “Greedy for its heart, yet they shout so grandly! We can’t stand these so-called righteous sects! Attack! Get the heart of the Heart-Eating Fox before those people!”
Several thousand more rushed forward to approach Shen Jue. Shen Jue was surrounded by dark red demonic energy. He scratched his wrist, raised his hand, and swung out several bloody blades. He approached many people with lightning speed, his right hand piercing their chests.
Before many could even react, their breath ceased, and they plummeted to the ground.
Blood splattered in the air like a rain of blood and corpses littered the ground. Blood meandered among the rubble and gravel, a scene resembling a living hell.
One group fell, and countless others took their place, like a relentless, endless battle.
Until everything in sight was blood-red, and the air was thick with the stench of blood.
Some felt fear: “Wasn’t today supposed to be the centenary of the Heart-Eating Fox’s death? Why is he still so strong?”
So strong that it seemed no one could defeat him.
Compared to the expressions of fear, disbelief, greed, and cunning on everyone’s faces, Shen Jue remained expressionless throughout, only a faint smile playing on his lips.
With a wave of his hand, he killed two more demons.
Only You Xu knew that Shen Jue was actually nearing his end; his speed had noticeably slowed, and his demonic power was much weaker than usual.
Only the Heart-Eating Fox has the saying of “one day in a hundred years.” For the first hundred years after birth, it remains in its fox form, only transforming into human form on its hundredth birthday, much like how people in the original world become adults after their eighteenth birthday.
Within its hundred-year lifespan, the Heart-Eating Fox was relatively weak, needing the protection of its clan to grow up. The hundredth birthday was the weakest moment in its life. After transforming, it entered the “Godhood Stage,” a time of immense demonic power, making it difficult for others to harm it.
Everyone knows this, so before the Heart-Eating Fox reached its hundredth birthday, they wanted to pre-emptively kill it and steal its heart. Most Heart-Eating Foxes didn’t survive to adulthood, and those that successfully transformed were often used as hostages to blackmail and harm others who captured their young.
Shen Jue grew up constantly under threat of being hunted, forcibly transforming prematurely, but still couldn’t escape the weakness of the hundredth birthday.
At this time, Shen Jue’s state was extremely unstable; his scarlet eyes were elongated, his mouth split open into a fox-like shape, revealing cold teeth, his tail was exposed, and his hands had completely transformed into claws.
He maintained his half-human, half-fox appearance.
Seeing his opportunity, the Lord of Tianli Prefecture swung his sword in a side slash. Shen Jue grabbed the blade with one hand and attacked his chest with the other.
“Careful!”
“Careful!” shouted the demon hunters from Tianli Prefecture and You Xu, respectively.
Just then, a wolf demon attacked from behind, its claws carrying dark demonic energy. Shen Jue released his grip, retreated a few steps, avoiding a fatal blow, but his arm was scratched several times, blood dripping in an arc.
“Success!”
“No demon is invincible!”
“It’s clear today is his weakest day. If we don’t take his head today, he might retaliate in the future. Don’t be afraid, attack together!”
Even though the demon hunters and the demon race loathed each other to the extreme, they showed no shame or resentment at their first collaboration.
“Want my life?” Shen Jue scoffed. “How many lives do you have to use?”
Shen Jue tore apart his previously injured arm, using the blood to form a blood sword, which he then slashed at the crowd.
“Bang—bang—bang—”
Corpses slammed into the ground with muffled thuds, turning the previous rain of blood into a rain of corpses.
You Xu could see that Shen Jue had indeed reached his limit. He no longer defended or dodged, using all his demonic power to attack, neither dodging nor flinching, each strike taking several lives.
He had suffered many injuries, which fuelled the bloodlust of even more demon hunters, and the demons themselves were driven to madness.
Forget about digging out hearts; if they didn’t go all out today, they probably wouldn’t be able to escape unscathed.
You Xu was so nervous she was about to collapse, and hurriedly asked 78, “What’s the current corruption value?” Seeing Shen Jue’s villainous appearance, she would believe he had a corruption value of 100.
78 also tensed up: “Trust value 90, corruption value 75.”
You Xu hadn’t checked and didn’t expect the trust value to increase so much, but judging from the situation, the corruption value hadn’t broken through 80 yet. Why was that?
She had been paying attention to the left and right sides of the distant sky, and only then did she notice what was below and behind Shen Jue— a white patch. She squinted and looked closely, discovering it was the Feng Jinhua she had planted herself. The once magnificent pavilion was now ruins, but that pure white flower field remained untouched.
The sky was gloomy, the earth blood-red, and only that patch of white seemed flawless in the world.
That was the last vestige of color in Shen Jue’s heart under his corruption, his final bottom line.
You Xu noticed that Shen Jue hadn’t allowed anyone to approach that flower field, not even a single drop of blood to stain it.
You Xu suddenly remembered that half a month ago, when she was taking care of Feng Jinhua, she had casually asked him, “I heard that the Heart-Eating Foxes have a powerful magic array that uses the hearts of ten thousand people as an altar to rapidly increase one’s power, allowing one to kill millions with one’s own hands, but ultimately leading to a violent death, is that right?”
At that time, Shen Jue didn’t ask her why she knew such a secret about the Heart-Eating Fox clan; he only nodded slightly and said, “Yes.”
You Xu’s fingertips caressed the delicate petals, and after a pause, she asked him, “Would you do that?”
Shen Jue remained silent.
You Xu had received her answer. She raised her dark, bright eyes and looked at him, saying, “Then I would be the first among ten thousand.”
She couldn’t describe Shen Jue’s expression then, nor could she decipher any emotion from his complex gaze. But now, she understood.
Shen Jue no longer intended to set up a ten-thousand-person altar. From the moment he dismissed the demons who followed him, sparing the innocent, and from the moment he sent her back to Medicine Spirit Valley, having Cui Zhi guard her sleeping spot, she knew.
He had changed his strategy.
And what he wanted now was to perish together with those people.
The distance was too great, and coupled with his current state of demonic possession, he couldn’t hear her voice anymore; the smell of blood masked her presence.
You Xu gritted her teeth and ran towards the flower field.
As she approached the flower field, Shen Jue immediately noticed. He melted the blood sword in his hand into crimson blood, scattering it in the air to form a magical barrier, and then descended into the flower field from the sky.
The faint fragrance of the Feng Jinhua flowers softened the crimson in his eyes, though the demonic markings on his face remained a deep purple, and his demonic power was sharp as a knife. “Why have you come?”
You Xu gasped for breath, undaunted by his demonic state, and walked step by step towards the flower field, toward him.
Just as she was about to touch him, his sharp demonic aura instantly subsided, transforming into a gentle breeze that stirred white petals, swirling around them.
“Shen Jue,” You Xu called him earnestly for the first time.
“You said you would come to Medicine Spirit Valley to pick me up in ten days,” You Xu looked at him, wanting to explain clearly, but a lump formed in her throat, making her voice choke. “So… are you trying to lie to me?”
“I…” Looking into her bright, clear eyes, Shen Jue’s heart clenched. In truth, he had indeed planned to perish together with those people; he had even intended to die in this flower field with his last breath.
Seeing his reaction, You Xu knew she had guessed correctly.
Just then, the magic array Shen Jue had casually set up was broken, and the attackers continued their assault.
Watching Shen Jue conjure another blood sword and raise it into the sky, You Xu’s tears, which she had been holding back, finally streamed down her face.
She simply lay down in the flower field, closed her eyes, and thought with a touch of despair, “Fine, at worst we’ll all die here together.”
She never imagined such a karmic cycle. In the previous world, she planted a field of jasmine flowers to bury herself; in this world, she planted a field of Feng Jinhua flowers, and now she was going to die here again. What kind of magical curse was this?
Shen Jue, wielding the blood sword, suddenly lost his murderous intent. His mind was filled with the image of her weeping. She must be heartbroken; he had lied to her.
Seeing You Xu lying lifelessly in the flower field, he felt a sharp pain in his heart. He had no other thoughts; he only wanted to take her away from that flower field, away from this place.
Shen Jue stopped attacking and instead circled around the attackers, sprinkling his own blood.
Some powerful demon hunters noticed something amiss: “He’s setting up an array; he’s trying to escape!”
“We can’t let this demon get away!”
But they were too late. The blood array was complete, instantly blazing with a crimson light and bursting into flames.
Shen Jue threw down his blood sword, transformed into his fox form, and dashed down into the flower field. He grabbed You Xu with his teeth, tossed her onto his back, and began to run.
You Xu didn’t react in time, instinctively grabbing the fur around his neck. The scenery rushed past, quickly leaving the blood-red battlefield behind.
She noticed that Shen Jue was bleeding profusely, leaving crimson footprints wherever he went. The scenery seemed to slow down, and finally, Shen Jue led her into the forest before collapsing.
You Xu got up and saw that he had almost become a blood fox, his silvery-white fur matted together with blood, and blood dripping from the tip of his tail.
“Big fox!”
Seeing her so worried, Shen Jue bravely transformed back into human form, his clothes concealing his wounds, though his face was deathly pale.
You Xu knew the magic array could only hold them off temporarily, and she didn’t know when they would attack again. Just as she was wondering what to do, Shen Jue shoved a dagger into her hand.
You Xu: “?”
Wait, this dagger couldn’t stop a thousand troops, especially since she was so weak and sickly. She might be cleaved in two before she even drew it.
Could it be that the dagger given by the Demon King was blessed, imbued with some kind of magical magic, or perhaps this seemingly ordinary dagger was a family heirloom of Shen Jue? In any case, there must be some secret within it. Seeing Shen Jue about to speak, You Xu sat cross-legged, ready to listen attentively.
There’s always a way out; look, this is what it means to escape a desperate situation— it’s about to unfold. You Xu, about to shoulder a heavy responsibility, trembled so much she could barely hold the dagger. Then she heard Shen Jue say—
“They want my Heart-Eating Fox’s heart, but they don’t have the life to take it.”
“No one can have it.”
Shen Jue looked up at her: “So do you want it? I’ll give it to you.”
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