The Golden Suanni was startled, its golden hair-like fur bristling as it suddenly turned to look at her. As Li Fei’s eyes met its cold, emotionless golden ones, she couldn’t help but shudder, her back instantly drenched in cold sweat.
Had… had she been too impulsive? Would it swallow her in a fit of anger?
She watched, wide-eyed, as the enormous creature approached her. It stopped less than ten paces away, then lowered its head and carefully sniffed her.
Seeing it continuously sniff while large globs of saliva dripped from its mouth, Li Fei felt as if her soul had left her body. She trembled as she spoke, “I-I don’t taste good! No meat!”
The Golden Suanni stared at her cautiously for a moment, then snorted through its nose. To her surprise, it turned and walked away—it left? She wasn’t eaten? Li Fei felt as if her heart, liver, and stomach were all about to leap out of her throat. Her legs were so weak she couldn’t stand, and she collapsed softly to the ground.
The Golden Suanni walked to a distance, let out a few low growls, and finally seemed to yawn before lying down and falling asleep right there.
This… this felt like being reborn after a catastrophe… Li Fei was still in shock. She tried to move a little, and the Golden Suanni suddenly opened its eyes, its golden pupils silently watching her for a moment before closing again. This happened several times, and she dared not move at all.
What should she do next? Stay in a standoff with this Golden Suanni in the restricted area until the end of time? Lei Xiuyuan and the others were seriously injured; leaving them unattended would surely lead to trouble! Moreover, Ji Tongzhou had been injured by the miasma earlier, and his life might be in danger.
Li Fei tried to move again, quietly standing up. She had barely taken a few steps when the Golden Suanni suddenly sauntered over. Its heavy paw landed on her, giving her no chance to resist. She was knocked down, pressed flat against the ground like a meat patty—was it going to crush her to death?! Li Fei was terrified to the extreme. However, the paw, which was larger than her entire body, didn’t apply much force. It seemed to just want her not to move, lightly pressing on her. The creature yawned, lay down heavily beside her, and even fell asleep!
Li Fei’s face was pressed against the ground, with a large, fleshy paw lightly pressing on her back. She couldn’t move at all, and it was as uncomfortable as could be. Just as she was about to despair, a familiar raspy voice suddenly sounded in her ear. At this moment, the voice was still drowsy and mumbling, “I sense it… a part of my demonic energy that was taken from me, is it here?”
Hearing Riyan’s voice at this moment was like seeing sunlight suddenly appear in the night. Li Fei was almost in tears, “Riyan! This is the restricted area you’ve always wanted to come to! This Suanni… those people… I…”
She was incoherent, not knowing how to explain the current situation to him. Riyan seemed unable to manifest as a white little fox, perhaps because he wasn’t fully awake. He was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, “My demonic energy is sealed on this Suanni monster’s back? You fool! You jumped down here?!”
These events were too long to explain, so Li Fei could only briefly recount the situation. Riyan’s voice sounded very weak, perhaps because he wasn’t fully awake. He laughed coldly, “The demonic energy sealed here is quite considerable. Hmph… In the past, I only felt a sense of familiarity at the bottom of the cliff, thinking some demonic energy must be sealed there. I didn’t expect… Let me think, it must have been a hundred years ago. Those immortals back then were truly brilliant. Even though I wasn’t in my year of calamity, I found them troublesome and had to abandon part of my demonic energy to escape. If that’s the case, those people must be the founders of this academy. They sealed my demonic energy on the back of this low-level Suanni monster! Truly laughable!”
Li Fei struggled to turn her head in a different direction, “Look, this Suanni is pressing on me and won’t let me move. What should I do?”
Riyan chuckled, “It quite likes you. No wonder, even though my demonic energy is sealed, some of it inevitably leaks out. This energy makes it restless and agitated. With you here, the demonic energy is blocked, so how could it bear to let you go!”
Li Fei was shocked, “Does that mean I can’t leave?!”
He was silent for a long time again. After a while, he said, “If you could break this seal… No, forget it. Don’t worry, you people won’t be stuck here for long. Someone from above will come to rescue you eventually. Since someone can keep this Suanni monster, they naturally have a way to control it.”
Li Fei sensed his unusual hesitation as if he was quite regretful. She remembered how he had told her to jump down several times before. His demonic energy was sealed here, and in considerable quantity, within reach but unobtainable. His disappointment and unwillingness were understandable. This once-mighty thousand-year-old nine-tailed fox, having his demonic energy sealed in his year of calamity, could only linger in a little girl’s body, barely surviving, only able to be awake for brief moments every ten days. How painful it must be.
“Riyan,” she suddenly spoke, “I’m willing to break this seal. Tell me how to do it… and also, help me think of a way to make this Suanni let me go first.”
Riyan paused for a moment, then suddenly said, “This is different from the second choice. If the sealed demonic energy is lost, you can’t escape blame. I advise you not to do anything.”
“Besides that Suanni, no one else would know, right?”
“You fool,” Riyan laughed coldly, “Do you think this seal is like those messy paper strips outside? As soon as your finger touches it, the person who placed the seal will immediately know who disturbed it. You’re welcome to try if you have the guts, but it’s suicide!”
“Then what about you?” she asked helplessly.
His attitude suddenly became very rude, “You can barely take care of yourself, you stupid girl, why worry about me so much?! Who told you to jump down here for no reason?! Even if my possessions fall into the hands of others, I will reclaim them one day! What right does a little brat like you have to interfere?!”
Li Fei was dumbfounded by his sudden outburst of anger. Wasn’t he the one who had been constantly telling her to jump down before? How had it now become her jumping down on her initiative? As she thought about it, she suddenly found it funny and couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.
Riyan became even more enraged, “What are you laughing at?!”
“Nothing,” Li Fei continued to find a comfortable position to lie in. “Just wait a few more years, Riyan. When I’m more powerful, powerful enough to break the seal without anyone knowing, I’ll come back.”
“Who wants you to come!” he snapped.
“You’re so stubborn. Would it kill you to say thank you?” she teased.
“Thank you for what, you big-headed ghost!” he retorted.
“Then let me say thank you. To protect me, you’re willing to give up something within your grasp. I’m touched…”
“Bah! I don’t want to hear these sweet words! Shut up!”
“Instead of being embarrassed and angry, why don’t you help me think of a way to make this Suanni let me go?”
“Who’s embarrassed and angry? You… Wait, what’s that thing in your arms? The scent seems familiar.”
Li Fei moved with difficulty; something hard in her arms was poking her uncomfortably. She thought for a moment, “Oh, I think it’s the fruit those demons gave me. Eating it heals all injuries. It’s a pity I can’t move now, otherwise, if they ate the fruit, we might be able to escape.”
Riyan said, “These demons here sure know how to curry favor. Giving you Yaozhuguo, they must be begging you to leave quickly!”
“Yaozhuguo?” Li Fei murmured this unfamiliar name. “Oh right, they gave me food and drink to make me leave? What does that mean?”
“Nonsense! You’re here blocking and purifying the miasma and demonic energy. How could they possibly cultivate and improve?! If they don’t beg you to leave quickly, do you think they dare kill you?!”
Li Fei asked curiously, “I block and purify miasma and demonic energy? Then how can you still hide in my body?”
Riyan became impatient, “How dare those low-level demons compare themselves to me! You’re so annoying with all these questions! If you want to leave, throw a Yaozhuguo out!”
Li Fei still had to ask, “Yaozhuguo… what is that?”
Riyan angrily said, “You stupid girl, why do you always have so many questions?! It’s so annoying! What does it matter what it is?! Anyway, eating it won’t kill you! Hmph, those fools over there who fainted, were knocked out by the Golden Suanni’s roar, right? They can’t even handle a Golden Suanni, and they’re all seriously injured. What a bunch of weaklings! When you have the chance, make them eat the fruit, then hurry up and leave! They’re an eyesore!”
Mo Yanfan and the others weren’t profoundly cultivated immortals, at most they were elite disciples, still far from becoming immortals. Riyan, judging by his standards, naturally saw them all as fools.
Li Fei shook her head and continued to struggle to move her limbs under the Golden Suanni’s paw, trying to take out a Yaozhuguo from her arms. It was harder than climbing to heaven. She suddenly remembered something and said, “Riyan, that woman just now called you a nine-tailed spirit fox. It’s the first time I’ve heard someone call you that.”
Riyan said indifferently, “Don’t be so surprised! The Mountain Sect even considers Suanni as spirit beasts! They even tame lizard demons to cook! Ridiculous! So that little girl from the Wanxian Hui finally revealed herself? A perfectly good Sea Sect disciple coming here to fraternize with Mountain Sect people, truly senseless!”
As he spoke, he seemed to reach the limit of his exhaustion, his voice becoming faint, “Waking up from slumber is damaging to me. This time I’ll need to sleep for several more days. I’m going now. Tell me everything that happened today when I wake up next time.”
Before he finished speaking, his voice had already faded away.
He was always coming and going in such a hurry. She wondered when he would be able to stay awake all the time. Li Fei sighed and continued to try to reach into her arms. Her fingertips were almost touching the Yaozhuguo, but the fruit was very slippery and extremely difficult to take out. She was sweating profusely from the effort.
Suddenly, a series of hurried footsteps came from behind. Someone was coming?! Li Fei raised her head as much as she could, as if granted amnesty. It was Hu Jiaping and the black-veiled woman. Seeing people fainted all over the ground, their faces changed. Then, seeing Li Fei pressed down by the Golden Suanni, Hu Jiaping’s face turned green.
“Little girl!” His voice trembled slightly, “Are you alright? Don’t move! I’ll save you right away!”
Li Fei said, “I’m fine… Sir, this Golden Suanni is very powerful. You can’t defeat it! Save the others first!”
“Amu, move the others away first,” Hu Jiaping instructed softly, his eyes fixed on the dozing Golden Suanni. It seemed that because it was pressing down on Li Fei, it couldn’t be bothered with the two strangers who had suddenly intruded. “No wonder Master Zuoqiu gave me a talisman before we came down. It’s meant to be used here.”
As he spoke, he took out a completely black talisman from his sleeve. The incantations on it were like blood, densely packed, very different from ordinary talismans.