The Yellow Fox Sect member bravely brandished the Fox Calling Bell, before the barking of the Ethereal Hounds got any closer. This was the right decision. Any second later, and the hounds would have descended upon her.
After desperately concentrating all her qi into a wave of the Fox Calling Bell, a loud bell shook the forest around her.
The Ethereal Hounds actually appeared stunned and wary during the ringing of the bell, as suddenly, dozens, even hundreds of yellow-orange foxes emerged from the depths of the earth.
The foxes were varying in size and shape, some had two tails, three tails, or even six. They were Spirit Foxes, known for their wise, crafty and agile qualities in battle. Soon, all of the forest was ringing with fox cries, barking loudly and angrily at seeing a Yellow Fox Sect member’s life threatened.
The spirit foxes were far more numerous than the Ethereal Hounds. Although one Ethereal Hound was three times the size of the average Spirit Fox, the pack leader of this Ethereal Hound hunting party barked in alarm, as if it was aware of their numerical disadvantage.
The Yellow Fox Sect girl knew she had to seize the moment!
“Attack them!” she waved the treasure in her hand, aware that she was expending more of her precious qi. “Don’t give them time to regroup and counterattack!”
With her gamble, she summoned a torrent of more Spirit Foxes from generations past, deep within the slumbering earth. She could only watch with tired satisfaction and relief as the Ethereal hounds were slain one by one, at the cost of many Spirit Foxes’ sacrifices.
“Huh? Something’s not right…”
She noticed the vulpine barks among her ranks, growing increasingly frightened and pained in their barking, until it was more like yelping.
There were initially 20 Ethereal Hounds pursuing her. After her usage of the Fox Calling Bell, her Spirit Foxes had managed to kill more than half of these hounds. Even the original alpha Ethereal Hound leader had been killed.
After the time it takes an incense stick to burn, only one Ethereal Hound was left. But instead of becoming overwhelmed, it was tossing the spirit foxes around like ragdolls. It alone was turning the tide of battle!
“I-it can’t be,” she said, her eyes widening in confusion and panic. “That’s not fair! How can one Ethereal Hound beat hundreds of Spirit Foxes?”
Because nature was not fair.
Hounds were the natural hunters of foxes. This fact remained true even in the spirit or Ethereal plane.
In addition, this particular Ethereal Hound treasure was unique. Its history was built upon generations of vying for dominance and hunting, and therefore was much more prone to combat than the well-rounded Spirit Fox. But most importantly was the fact the Ethereal Hound lived by the law of the Jungle: It’s a dog eat dog world. Only the top dogs persevere and survive, the surviving dog gets a morale boost.
“Not fair! Not fair!” the cultivator cried, vomiting in pure fear. She was out of qi to use, and her other hand was still gripping onto the Butterfly Bouquet stem as if it would do something to save her.
But it didn’t do anything. Tears and insanity flooded her eyes as the single victorious Ethereal Hound dug its canines into her neck.
Back at the Yellow Fox Sect…
“Hmm, it indeed is a 99% perfect Ensoulment pill.”
Considering the lack of effort Yin Na had put into refining the pill, had he not used the brick and simply used another tier 3 ingredient, the best pill he could have gotten would have probably been a 10% pill.
“I can consider consuming this immediately to enjoy its benefits, or pocket it in my void ring to sell it for potentially more,” thought Yin Na.
However, Yin Na was a cautious soul.
“I’m going to repeat this procedure a couple of more times to ensure that it isn’t some fluke, or that the brick doesn’t lose its alchemical effect in a few more tries.”
Yin Na took out the fanciest pill refining furnace he had in his void ring.
“Let’s see if the quality of the furnace, as well as me actually using proper alchemical techniques would have any further effect on the pill’s potency.”
The pill furnace was ebony black in color, with golden etchings of serpentine dragons running over its sides. This was an undeniably high-quality pill furnace that he had just stolen earlier from the treasury of the Yellow Fox Sect!
“Okay, now it’s time for me to get serious,” said Yin Na.
Yin Na did not practice refining extensively. However, not only was he talented in many things, he was a fast learner.
“If I take on a new endeavor, whether it be a martial arts or cultivation technique, I will do it well!” This was his work ethic as a cultivator. “If the endeavor is not worth my time and energy learning, I would simply pay spirit stones to someone else to do the task for me!”
The pill furnace was set. Yin Na was mentally at peace, but he knew better than to conduct the pill refining process while distracted or interrupted.
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Instead, he was waiting.
The Ethereal Hound beside him barked. Yin Na activated his qi sense, and saw through the vision of another Ethereal Hound.
“You’ve killed another one? You’re the only one left? Good boy, you made the right judgments and did well. Drag the corpse into a wild animal’s burrow for the beasts to eat. Then take any treasures on the Yellow Fox Sect member’s body back to me.”
Within the time it took an incense stick to burn, the other Ethereal Hound had returned from its killing of the first Yellow Fox Sect straggler.
“Ah, here’s a good boy.”
The first Ethereal Hound finally came back. It dropped the ashes of something on the floor by its master before it merged with the Ethereal Hound that was standing by him.
“What’s this?” Yin Na picked up the scattered remains of the Butterfly Bouqet. In the span of three breaths his eyes widened in understanding.
“This! This is-!”
A few li away…
The Butterfly Bouquet, which originally sprouted six from one stem, only had two left.
Yellow Fox Sect member Han Song watched them fall gradually over the hours, and he cried over the loss of each flower.
“Oh no, I can’t believe it’s come to this,” he sobbed.
When the Yellow Fox Sect members were clearly losing the battle against just two invaders, instead of joining the frontlines of defense, Han Song had wisely judged that it was best to escape.
“There’s no way the Yellow Fox Sect would be able to survive to see the sun tomorrow,” he thought.
He lead one, two… five of his favorite female companions to the Sect treasury building.
“You can’t be in here, only Sect elders and Immortals are allowed in the Sect treasury!” The low-level Core Formation guard berated him.
Han Song killed him with a single flick of his wrist. A paper talisman, straight and sharper than a blade, had shot out from his robe and severed the guard’s head clean off.
“Han Song, what are you doing?!” one of his Sect sisters cried behind him.
“We have no time,” he said darkly. “Quick, grab any of the treasures in the Yellow Fox Sect that your cultivation level allows you. And each of you, take this!”
He took out the treasure known as Butterfly Bouquet, which was a single stem with a flower that looked like a butterfly on the end of it. After he injected his qi into it, six stems quickly grew out of the single stem, and he handed them hastily to each member.
“I don’t have time to explain,” he was shouting to one of his female companions. “Using this treasure, may the surviving members of the Yellow Fox Sect call out to each other and reunite to avenge this terrible day!”
He began looting all the chests, shelves and boxes that his Qi Condensation stage allowed him according to the security rules set on the Sect Treasury.
Seeing his actions, as well as being motivated by the gristly sounds of murder outside, several of his female companions quickly began to do the same.
However, they had barely any time to make substantial gains before they heard barking.
“Quickly, run!” Han Song shouted. “Run and never stop, never look back. Remember the butterfly bouquet!”
“Indeed, remember the bouquet,” Han Song thought tearfully to himself in the present. “Oh, now only two of us are alive to do such a thing.”
The butterfly bouquet is a unique treasure, because it was actually a Heavenly crafting material. Butterfly bouquets grew in the Heavens, and the female stems were particularly rare and treasured because all the male stems which grew from it always try to return to its mother. Outside of Heaven, the petals of the “flower” will detach and fly slowly towards other “butterflies” of the same stem, when it is unable to reach its mother stem. Once injected with qi, the Butterfly’s petals would remain alive and healthy so long as the human which is carrying it was, too.
Han Song had originally intended for his surviving lovers to use the Butterfly Bouquet to relocate each other again, and if not, to indicate to the remaining survivors the number of ones still alive.
“Damn it!” Han Song cursed. “Why are they hunting us down, what sin did our Sect commit to motivate two lone cultivators to hunt each of our members down to extinction?! This is too far, this is vindictive, this is simply evil!”
In his grief, Han Song resorted to hypocrisy and petty judgments, instead of empathizing with the enemy.
Were he clear-headed, he would be able to understand that his pursuers’ actions can also be deemed to be vigilant, safe, and thorough.
Bark! Bark!
And sure enough, the barking of the Ethereal Hounds neared.
Han Song stood his ground. He was of the late Qi Condensation stage. He had also swiped more treasures than his Sect sisters.
“Better to fortify now and prepare to fight, than run and get killed with my back turned,” Han Song said.
There were about thirty Ethereal Dogs. They attacked immediately after surrounding him.
Han Song let out a battle roar, as he released his Qi Condensation stage aura. Talismans shot out from his hands, blasting with unique effects from elemental fires to freezing ice attacks.
“These Ethereal Hounds are really hard to kill,” Han Song thought with dismay. “I can see how my Sect brothers were overwhelmed.”
One particularly brave hound successfully got close, after dodging all his talismans and bit down on his ankle.
Han Song roared in fury, then took out a gigantic hammer, which was actually a treasure tool meant for blacksmithing weapons into fine quality weapons and gears. However, it was so heavy that it was able to kill the hound that bit him.
“You damn mutts!” screamed Han Song. “You think you can just corner me like a…like a fox?!”
Han Song was unable to think straight, adrenaline ran throughout his body, his ankle was broken as he ditched the hammer and ran, activating two other treasures.
The first one was a scroll summoning a giant Yellow Fox. It had six tails, and was the size of a small house, and it had multi-colored markings on its face and body. It immediately began attacking the hounds, shooting flames out of its mouth and whipping them with its tail.
The second treasure was an invisibility talisman, which unlike most common invisibility talismans, successfully cloaked the scent of the wearer, and even hid him from the detection of beasts from other planes such as Spirit or Ethereal.
Distracted by the gigantic Yellow Fox, most of the thirty hounds turned their attention to killing it, while a handful of the pack split off to regain the lost scent of their prey.
This was not hard to do, for although Han Song was hidden completely in sight and smell and even sound, he was bleeding.
All the hounds needed to do was follow the trail of blood on the forest floor.