Chapter 242: Chapter 242: Azure Purgatory Fox, Yao Xin

’Think…! Think…!’

Her thoughts raced.

If she couldn’t figure something out now, she would truly die here and she was still too young to die.

There were so many things she hadn’t experienced yet.

Her hands trembled, slick with sweat, as she scanned the surroundings for any possible solution.

Suddenly, an idea struck her, and a trace of hesitation flashed in her eyes.

She still had … a few final trump card left.

But—

“That’s too risky…” Yao Xin murmured.

If even a single step went wrong, it would mean her immediate death.

Her hands clenched around the thought of that plan.

For a moment, fear crawled up her spine as a sense of helplessness and dread surrounded her from every direction.

Doing it to others weaker than her had been fun, but… now she finally learned what it felt like to be on the receiving end of death, hunted and cornered.

Yao Xin had finally been shaken awake and got reminded to a simple, eternal truth, …the cultivation world is ruthless, dangerous, and utterly unpredictable.

“Haa…haaa…”

She forced herself to breathe, slowly and measured … trying to steady the panic that threatened to swallow her.

Then—

Slap!

Yao Xin slapped both of her cheeks hard.

Her eyes hardened, filled with resolve and determination.

“Screw it… If I don’t use it, I’m dead anyway !”

She gritted her teeth and forced herself to stand.

Surprisingly,

Her body moved normally again and not like it wasn’t under her control anymore.

The heavy suppression from before had weakened somewhat, and she didn’t feel completely helpless like before.

Maybe that strange power had a distance limit.

That single thought gave her a sliver of hope.

Without hesitation, she plunged her hand into her storage ring.

Light flashed as many talismans slid between her fingers one after another.

Five…eight…twelve.

All of them were high grade.

All of them were treasures her grandfather had stuffed into her sleeves for “just in case.”

She had always complained that he was overprotective and even creep out by his excessive care sometimes.

But now….

She really wanted to thank the old man.

“Heh… guess you knew something I didn’t, huh…”

Yao Xin murmured.

Then she bit her thumb as blood smeared across the first talisman.

First Talisman, Spirit Ignition.

Fwoom—

Scarlet characters lit up as the talisman burned.

And her dantian roared as her spiritual qi circulation doubled instantly.

“Ach—!”

Yao Xin groaned in pain as her meridians felt like molten metal was flowing through them.

This was a self-enhancement talisman, meant to temporarily boost strength.

But the side effects were severe.

Just like now.

Her entire face twisted in pain.

Still—

She gritted her teeth and activated the second talisman.

Bone Reinforcement.

Crack—

Crack—

Her bones hardened.

Her skin faintly glowed jade-white as her body grew tougher, her impact resistance skyrocketing.

Without stopping, she activated another.

Phantom Multiplicity.

Puff!

Puff!

Puff!

Three identical figures appeared beside her.

They were not illusions but real bodies.

Solid and breathing as each one holding talismans of their own.

And lastly…

An red orb.

Looking at it, Yao Xin hesitated only for a moment.

Then—

Crack.

She crushed it and slapped it onto her chest.

BOOM!

Her heart felt as it had been slammed violently.

And her blood temperature surged.

Something ancient within her bloodline awakened as her pupils slowly stretched vertical, like a fox’s.

Wind suddenly howled around her as fierce gusts whipped her hair into the air.

And then—

Blue fire began to spread around her, appearing out of nowhere.

It sparked at her feet and slowly crawled upward.

Then exploded outward.

WHOOM—

Azure flames wrapped around her entire body.

They weren’t hot.

Nor destructive.

They felt… spiritual, pure and dense.

Like condensed soul-fire.

Her silhouette began to change as her bones shifted and her spine lengthened.

Even her ears seemed to undergo a transformation, growing slightly sharper and longer.

Soft, blue, flame-like fur sprouted along her arms and thighs, streaking like living fire.

Behind her—

A tail of blue flame formed.

Then it split apart…

Two.

Three.

Four—

Four blazing fox tails swayed slowly behind her, each one made of dancing, ethereal blue fire.

Her pressure also began to skyrocketed as her qi surged like a tidal wave.

Despite her cultivation remained at the Qi Refinement realm, but her aura was comparable to a Foundation Establishment cultivator as it slowly rising.

Early Foundation.

Mid Foundation.

It stopped just short of the Late Stage.

Now…

She no longer looked like the usual short, mischievous Yao Xin.

Her figure had matured as she grew taller, her presence turning graceful and seductive.

Her voluptuous body have also grow and curved into that of a woman in her prime… an experienced beauty brimming with charm and quiet danger.

Her breathing turned slow and cold, mist curling from her lips.

“…Heavenly Fox Transformation…”

This was another one of her trump card.

Her clan’s forbidden technique.

It is basically burning her own lifespan, blood essence and bloodline.

And exchange everything…

…for power.

It wasn’t an exaggeration to call it suicide as every breath she took now drained her life force at a terrifying speed.

But Yao Xin had no choice.

If she didn’t gamble now…

She wouldn’t live long enough to regret it.

Behind her,

Her clones ignited with the same blue flames.

One by one, azure fire wrapped around their bodies.

Soon,

Four fox-women stood in the silent forest.

Each radiating terrifying pressure.

Each holding stacks of talismans.

If someone saw this, they might think a small sect army had arrived.

Then Yao Xin looked at the last thing in her hand.

It wasn’t a high-rank talisman nor any powerful treasure.

… Just a small worm like insect.

So weak it could barely be considered a Rank 1 demonic beast.

And yet….

It was her final hope of surviving today.

“…You better not screw me over.”

She murmured before tightened her grip.

Crunch.

The insect exploded into a pulp of green blood and flesh in her palm.

Looking down at her wet hand for a moment, Yao Xin shook her head and steadied herself.

She flexed her fingers, and could felt newfound strength flooded her limbs.

The best part was that the heaviness suppressing her qi had lessened slightly.

It wasn’t completely gone, but it was weaker.

“…So it can be resisted… good.”

That meant it wasn’t absolute.

Nothing in this world should be absolute.

“…I refuse to believe you’re some invincible god…”

Her fire tails swayed slowly as blue flames crackled.

Talismans slid between her fingers like she was playing cards.

And this time…

Her lips curled into a feral grin.

Not from fear or panic.

But killing intent.

“If you want my life…”

She bent her knees as if she were ready to face a dangerous foe as fierce flames exploded under her feet.

“Come take it!”

As if to answer her words—

Suddenly—

WHOOSH!

Like a ghost,

Goldie appeared in front of her, its black cloak fluttering.

“Eh?”

Time seemed to slow down as Yao Xin looked at the figure slowly raising its fist toward her.

BAM!

Goldie’s fist directly hit her chest—

Spurt!

Its fist even managed to pierce through her.

Goldie’s fist didn’t just strike, it punched clean through her chest… her heart.

Goldie at least knew that one of humanity’s weaknesses was the heart.

Once it was crushed, all of them would die.

And that was true even for Yao Xin, whose blood flowed from her mouth as she looked down at the hand in her chest.

“…Y-You—”

Before she finished her words,

Yao Xin couldn’t even let out a scream before her vision went blank.

Slowly, her body went still as her hands and head dropped lifelessly.

Goldie thought it had finally killed this woman, but something felt a bit off.

Then the next moment, the body in its hand turned into a paper talisman.

Poof!

And then, a terrifying azure flame engulfed the area, burning everything in its path.

Goldie glanced at the other “Yao Xin,” who had jumped into the oversized flames surrounding it.

Many Yao Xin began circling the area as the flames twisted into a tornado of azure fire, beginning to swallow Goldie’s figure whole.

All of the Yao Xin seemed to merge with the flames, hurling talismans that only made the fire fiercer and hotter.

Inside the tornado of blue flame, a faint golden aura surrounded Goldie, shielding it from the scorching heat.

Goldie wasn’t exactly afraid of the attack as it barely felt anything from it.

Goldie’s concern, instead, was for the new cloak it had just acquired; it didn’t want it destroyed so soon after obtaining it.

And…

Its eyes flared slightly in surprise as it realized this woman… no longer ran away.

It was almost as if a dying beast were giving it one last stand.

Recognizing this, Goldie straightened slowly.

As much as she was an enemy, for some reason, Goldie liked that she was no longer using cheap tricks.

Since she was going all out and fighting for her life, Goldie felt it should …. respond in kind.

“….”

Goldie slowly pressed its large palms together, as if performing… a prayer.

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