Though the light outside the cave wasn’t especially bright, it was clearly far stronger than the dim light within.
Stepping out into that light, Ziqing suddenly felt a great urge to venture forward — but the moment she stood at the cave’s entrance and took in the sight before her, her heart lurched violently.
Before her stretched an endless, boundless expanse, like a vast ocean of wilderness stretching in every direction, with no sign of human settlement, no city, no visible edge to it at all.
And the sky above was a single unbroken sheet of gloomy gray, stretching just as endlessly in every direction, with no horizon in sight.
This was the world of poisonous beasts — vast beyond all reckoning, vast enough to drive one to despair.
But Ziqing wasn’t in despair.
She firmly believed that if she’d managed to enter this place, there had to be a way out as well.
Besides, if that old crone intended to use this place to cultivate her into a human Gu, that alone proved there had to be an exit somewhere — otherwise, what purpose would it serve to raise her here, only to trap her forever with no way out?
Ziqing walked forward, climbing up onto a high cliff. The big foolish bear followed close behind, its massive frame more than large enough to completely swallow up Ziqing’s small figure — and yet it trotted along happily behind her, looking for all the world like her devoted little follower.
Once they reached the edge of the cliff, it obediently crouched down beside her, settling into a posture so exactly like a dog sitting that, seen from the side, it truly did look the part.
Ziqing didn’t notice — otherwise she would surely have burst out laughing.
Ziqing gazed out at the distant horizon, brows furrowed tightly, deep in thought about something.
Suddenly, the big foolish bear scooped her up from behind and hoisted her up onto its own head. Ziqing couldn’t help but laugh — she had to admit, the bear’s head was actually far steadier a perch than an elephant’s back.
The only downside was that, without its fur, it would have been far more comfortable!
Standing atop the bear’s head, Ziqing could see much further into the distance — but the further she could see, the deeper her frown grew, because even from this height, there was still no end in sight.
Where on earth was the entrance and exit to this place? What could it possibly look like?
Was this poisonous-beast world truly the underground realm beneath Mingsha Mountain? If it truly lay underground, how could there possibly be a sky above it?
And this sky — it didn’t look like mist or clouds at all. It looked like a genuine, real sky!
There had to be something mysterious going on here!
But just as Ziqing was mulling this over, a strange, sinister laugh suddenly rang out from behind her.
Startled, Ziqing was about to turn around when she suddenly froze — because she could clearly feel the big foolish bear beginning to tremble beneath her.
What was going on?
She spun around urgently to look, and saw a white fox slowly emerging from the forest behind them.
It wasn’t nearly as massive as the other poisonous beasts, but the tail swishing behind it was enough to send a chill down anyone’s spine — it had nine tails. This was the Nine-Tailed Fox.
Foxes were the craftiest of all beasts, and a nine-tailed fox was cunning beyond measure.
It moved forward with elegant, unhurried steps, drawing slowly closer to Ziqing — and though it was the one intruding into Ziqing’s world, the scene felt strangely reversed, as though Ziqing were the one trespassing into its domain instead.
Even as a beast, it carried itself with a noble, exquisite beauty, like some handsome, refined nobleman.
Its entire body was snow white, save for those long, narrow eyes, glowing a demonic red like flame — eyes one dared not stare into directly, as though looking too long would leave one utterly bewitched.
This poisonous beast was no ordinary creature — far more formidable, without question, than the Roaring Hare and Henggong Fish before it!
Because it was intelligent.
And yet, none of this troubled Ziqing in the slightest. However noble or cunning the beings she’d encountered before, she had seen it all — a mere fox was nothing new.
What did trouble her, though, was the big foolish bear’s reaction — it had been trembling this whole time, and the trembling was only growing worse, so violent now that Ziqing herself could barely keep her balance atop its head.
Ziqing abruptly flipped herself down, landing directly in front of the big foolish bear.
Only then did the Nine-Tailed White Fox come to a stop, chuckling with a sinister edge. “Well, well, and who might this be? Ah, it’s just this foolish bear — coming out without even its own fur on, making a spectacle of yourself. Tell me, what’s even the point of you being alive at all?”
The moment it finished speaking, its sharp claws flashed into view, startling the big foolish bear so badly it instinctively reared back, its massive body nearly toppling over from the sheer size of the motion.
This was no ordinary fox — this was the Nine-Tailed Fox, one of the four great special-grade poisonous beasts, and the very ruler of the domain the big foolish bear called home.
Without question, a creature capable of tearing the big foolish bear’s heart out with a single claw.
Seeing the bear’s reaction, the Nine-Tailed White Fox regarded it with open disdain, continuing its elegant approach, completely ignoring Ziqing’s presence entirely.
But Ziqing said nothing either, simply spreading her arms wide to shield the big foolish bear, staring at the Nine-Tailed White Fox with open defiance.
The Nine-Tailed White Fox still didn’t spare her so much as a glance — such a small, oddly-shaped little creature was something it had genuinely never encountered before, and naturally, a tiny beast it could kill with a single swipe of its claw didn’t warrant its attention in the slightest.
But just as the Nine-Tailed White Fox was dismissing her entirely, Ziqing spoke up coldly. “They say foxes are shameless creatures, especially the males — and having seen one today, I suppose you’re not that bad, just… rather rude!”
The moment these words left her mouth, the Nine-Tailed White Fox, which had been strolling forward so elegantly, stumbled and toppled straight to the ground, crying out in shock, “You… you can speak!”
“Who told you I couldn’t speak?” Ziqing shot back.
The Nine-Tailed White Fox lay sprawled on the ground, its posture utterly comical, though it had no time to care about that. It let out a startled cry, “What exactly are you?”
“A special-grade poisonous beast,” Ziqing said coldly. After all, that was what the other two beasts had assumed as well — she could hardly say “human,” could she? It seemed the concept of “human” simply didn’t exist in this world of poisonous beasts.
But to her surprise, the Nine-Tailed Fox immediately denied it. “Impossible. A special-grade poisonous beast could never be pregnant. What exactly are you, and why have you trespassed into my domain?”
“This is your territory?” Ziqing asked, confused. She hadn’t expected the poisonous-beast world to have territorial divisions like this — the big foolish bear’s den was nearby, and it fell under the Nine-Tailed White Fox’s jurisdiction, which explained the bear’s terror.
At that, the Nine-Tailed White Fox suddenly leapt up, extraordinarily alert. “You don’t belong to this world of poisonous beasts. Exactly what are you, and where do you come from?”
“I truly don’t belong here. I have no wish to stay — could you tell me where the exit is?” Ziqing asked, unable to help herself, her tone softening.
She had no real quarrel with this fox — why did it have to be hostile? If she could get a straight answer, she had no objection to showing a bit of humility.
But the Nine-Tailed White Fox wasn’t buying it in the slightest, narrowing its long, slanted eyes and saying coldly, “You’re lying. If you know how to get in, how could you possibly not know how to get out? You’re here to destroy this place, aren’t you?”
There was something strange about that remark.
Sharp as she was, Ziqing caught it immediately, and asked urgently, “Someone has come here before, haven’t they?”
“Enough talk. I may not have concerned myself with matters here for quite some time, but this is a matter I cannot ignore. Prepare to die!”
The Nine-Tailed White Fox meant it in earnest now — all its foxlike elegance and charm vanished, replaced by something sinister and vicious, its demonic red eyes narrowed into thin slits, fixed on Ziqing.
It began circling around her, seemingly searching for the perfect opening to strike!
“I don’t want to fight you — can’t we just talk this through? I have no interest in this place at all. I was dragged in against my will. I only want to leave!”
Even as Ziqing explained, she had no choice but to prepare herself defensively. She knew this poisonous beast was far stronger than the previous two, and now that she knew she was pregnant, she had to split her attention to protect the child in her belly — she couldn’t throw herself fully into the fight.
But just then, the Nine-Tailed White Fox lunged at her without warning!