C10 Falling into the White Fox

Confronted by a wolf king larger than himself, Ye Mo found himself devoid of fear. His eyes, as deep as the night sky, betrayed an unusual sentiment—a craving for blood that pervaded his entire mind.

Roar!

The wolf king, sensing Ye Mo's challenge, didn't hesitate to lunge with its gaping maw, aiming for Ye Mo's head. One could only imagine the potential devastation of such a bite. But in that critical moment, Ye Mo's body shuddered, and intense black waves of energy burst forth, enveloping him like a smoky shroud that refused to dissipate, clawing at him like phantoms.

"Heh!"

With a focused gaze, Ye Mo cast aside the emptiness in his eyes and directed a sharp, light shout towards the Windchaser Wolf King. The force of his voice shattered every flower and tree within a hundred yards, sending debris skyward. Yet as the fragments touched the ground, they disintegrated into fine particles, absorbed by the earth. In mere moments, the landscape was stripped bare, devoid of any flora.

Chirp chirp chirp...

Within this cleared space, birds and other animals remained unscathed, though visibly shaken by the abrupt transformation.

The wolves, however, stood frozen, staring at Ye Mo with eyes wide with terror, as a sinister smile played upon his lips.

The Windchaser Wolf King's massive jaws hung suspended, mere inches from Ye Mo's face. Overwhelmed by Ye Mo's gaze, the Wolf King's mind went blank, his body rigid and immobile.

Wuwuwu...

The pack grew agitated. Suddenly, the Windchaser Wolves, each the size of a young calf, deserted their leader, scattering in all directions with tails tucked. This betrayal was unprecedented in the Windchaser pack, where loyalty should have meant fearlessness in the face of death.

Ye Mo maintained his mocking smile, watching the Wolf King intently, indifferent to the fleeing wolves.

Whoosh! As the wolves neared the barren threshold, only a step away from the underbrush, a gentle breeze emanated from Ye Mo, sweeping across the empty expanse. The Windchaser Wolves, on the verge of escape, halted abruptly. Some leapt into the air, others turned back in terror, but without exception, they all froze in place.

As naturally as one breathes, another breeze swept through, and without any warning, all the Windchaser Wolves dissipated into smoke and dust, vanishing into thin air as though they had never existed.

Yet, the Wolf King remained motionless before Ye Mo, frozen in the same stance it had held earlier. The only sign of life was the terror in its eyes. But the peripheral glimpses of its surroundings nearly drove it to madness.

Ye Mo's face was still a mask of cold indifference. "Now, it's your turn to die." His words came out as a whisper, but they carried the chilling echo of the underworld, sending a shiver down the spine of anyone who heard them and filling them with a sense of impending doom.

With a thud, as Ye Mo's voice faded, the Wolf King did not disintegrate into dust like its pack. Instead, it exploded into a cloud of blood mist from the inside out, staining the barren, desolate land a deep crimson.

The blood mist soaked Ye Mo, blood droplets seeping into his eyes, yet he seemed utterly unaffected, not even blinking. Amidst his grim expression, Ye Mo's hand, shaky and unsteady, clutched at his chest. Still, his expression remained unchanged, his gaze devilishly fixed ahead. From a distance, it was clear that the hand gripping his chest was his own, bloodied from self-inflicted wounds.

"What's happening to me? Can I only control this arm now? Why is this happening... Stop it..." But at that moment, Ye Mo felt as though he was trapped within a part of his own body. He was aware of his chilling expression, his lips moving, and the sound of his voice, yet he was not in control.

The recent events played back in his mind, a tumult of conflicting emotions overwhelming him. Suddenly, Ye Mo found that he could move his legs, but he still couldn't control his expression or his haunting gaze. Internally screaming, Ye Mo began to back away, step by cautious step.

But he had forgotten that he was already on the brink of a cliff. With one misstep, Ye Mo's foot found only air, and his body plummeted down the cliffside at breakneck speed.

"Give me back my body..."

As Ye Mo plummeted off the cliff, a faint twitch of his lips was the only sign of the weak voice echoing in his mind—a voice that was unmistakably his own. The roaring wind was all around him, yet he could do nothing but gaze silently at the sky above, his malevolent expression unchanged.

Rustle, rustle, rustle...

Throughout his descent, Ye Mo brushed against numerous objects. Flowers and trees on the cliff face blurred past, creating a whistling sound as they went by. Suddenly, he felt a jarring halt.

"I really thought I was a goner..." Ye Mo let out a wry smile, murmuring to himself, unaware that he had regained control over his body.

During his fall, a sturdy tree branch jutting out from the rocks had caught him. Dangling from the branch, Ye Mo swayed with the wind, the tree trunk creaking ominously. Unbeknownst to him, he was merely a few feet from the valley floor.

Creak, creak, creak...

The repetitive creaking filled Ye Mo's ears, and he was suddenly overwhelmed by an immense weariness. His heavy eyelids drooped closed, and his expression was one of tranquility.

Gulp, gulp...

Amidst the commotion, Ye Mo was sound asleep, oblivious to the creature lying in the grass beneath him. With its piercingly clear eyes, the creature gazed up at him. From a distance, one could see that it was a snow-white, fragile little fox with an injured front leg. Blood had stained the fur around the wound, and its mouth was smeared with blood. Its breath was faint as it watched Ye Mo, who had appeared out of nowhere, before lowering its head back to the grass. Its gaze remained fixed ahead, towards the tangled depths of the forest that bore the signs of a recent fierce battle.

Creak! Creak! Snap!

Ye Mo, still hanging from the branch, began to sway violently. A sharp crack signaled the branch's break, but Ye Mo, seemingly in a deep slumber, was unaware. The next moment, he and the broken branch plummeted to the ground.

The little fox on the ground shifted its gaze, looking up just in time to see the branch and the human falling straight towards it. After a brief assessment, the fox slowly shook its head, as if unconcerned, and laid its head back down, resuming its watchful vigil of the distant horizon.

With a resounding crash, Ye Mo hit the ground face-first towards the grassland. "Ugh!" he groaned as he landed with a thud, pain shooting through him as blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. As he lifted his head, he locked eyes with a snow-white fox, its body covered in wounds, its eyes brimming with a mystical energy.

Suddenly remembering something, Ye Mo exclaimed, "Oh no!" Summoning strength from somewhere deep within, he pushed himself up with his right arm and, with his left, pulled the injured fox into his arms. He bowed his head, embracing the fox, their heads touching as they huddled together amidst the cacophony.

"Damn it, you jerk..."

The sound of a massive branch crashing down was accompanied by the sound of an angry woman's voice near Ye Mo's ear.

Ye Mo's brow furrowed slightly; he had the nagging feeling it was all an illusion. Still in an embrace, he felt no weight pressing down on him. Slowly lifting his head, he realized he was nestled within the boughs of a large tree, with only a single leaf resting atop his head.

Taking a labored breath, Ye Mo felt as if his body had come undone. He gasped for air, the pain evident as he straightened up. Looking down at the fierce, not-so-friendly little snow-white fox, he chuckled, "You're one lucky creature..." His words trailed off as he seemed to lose all his strength, slowly collapsing backward. Blood began to pour from his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose. Ye Mo was just days away from adulthood, and without reaching it, one would die soulless. It seemed the heavens were not inclined to let him defy the odds.

"But I... I just can't go on... Nangong Xiaoyun, Nangong Si, it's hard to let go..."

As Ye Mo lay on the ground, his voice grew fainter. He struggled to open his eyes, but all he could manage was a twitch.

The little fox, with eyes that seemed almost human, looked on with profound confusion. Despite her grave injuries, she crawled to Ye Mo's side, gazed at his ghastly face, and then rested her head on his chest for a brief moment.

"It was clear that I had pushed my body too far and was simply too weak. How could I possibly die... You... You actually had the audacity to hold me." In the next moment, the snow-white little fox sat upright in front of Ye Mo, speaking to herself in human language.

"Huh? Hold on, this guy isn't a Soul Cultivator, he's just an ordinary person? Or rather, an ordinary person with a soul but no spirit?" The little fox's eyes brightened. She was astonished that an ordinary person could have made it to this place. His last words, "I can't go on," surely meant he was aware of his impending doom. The more she dwelled on it, the more a pang of sorrow struck her heart.

"Without a spirit, I can't save you either." As she spoke, the little fox was reminded of the moment Ye Mo had fearlessly pulled her into his arms. Her ears perked up involuntarily as she lay quietly before him, gazing at the young man with a determined expression and finely chiseled features, despite the blood that marred his face.

As days went by, the little fox's wounds gradually healed, yet she remained still, showing no desire to leave Ye Mo's side. Day in and day out, she kept him company. Meanwhile, there was no indication that Ye Mo would awaken. Every several breaths, his heartbeat would thump once, a testament to his unyielding consciousness. It was no fluke that Ye Mo had defied the death sentence everyone had expected for him.

Several more days passed, and now Ye Mo's heartbeat slowed to once every hour. Without the little fox's powerful spiritual sense, one might have assumed he had long since passed away.

*Plop! Plop! Plop!*

The little fox continued to lie in front of Ye Mo, gently licking his face with her tongue. Initially, the little fox was startled by her own actions. This instinctive behavior caused her heart to race. She had only intended to take a closer look at the man before her, but as time went on, it became a routine to clean his face.

*Roar! Roar! Roar!*

Suddenly, a low growl of a beast echoed from behind the little fox. She tensed up, her pink tongue withdrawing as she cautiously stepped back.