She unleashed hundreds of sword auras on her side as well.
The instant the sword auras from both sides clashed, it was like igniting firecrackers, erupting in a continuous series of booms.
The resulting shockwaves shattered the surrounding rocks and trees into pieces.
Fortunately, the flood dragon meat that Qu Ruyan had been eating recently hadn’t gone to waste. She used her spiritual energy to form a protective barrier around herself and Gu Qingxue.
“Hehehe, this woman is strong! But why does she keep calling senior brother ‘满是她’ (full of her)?”1
Qu Ruyan asked Gu Qingxue curiously, her face full of interest.
Gu Qingxue blushed and didn’t know how to respond.
Even though she could tell that Qu Ruyan probably didn’t mean it that way, hearing it said out loud still made her flush and her thoughts stray.
While the sword duel continued, Jiang Yanran had already quietly slipped away.
Lin Mo had actually noticed her movements, but simply couldn’t be bothered to stop her.
He had already done what he needed to do. There was no point in entangling himself with that woman any further.
In the clash of sword auras, Lin Mo not only shattered all of Zhu Shiyao’s sword energy, but his own aura still lingered. Although Zhu Shiyao managed to dissolve it with her sword, it was still clear that he held a slight upper hand.
But to Zhu Shiyao, this was like a stimulant that fired her up even more.
“Fellow Daoist Lin Mo, you’re the first man in all these years who’s made my whole body tremble with pleasure.”
“Miss, can you phrase things normally? That’s way too easy to misinterpret!”
Lin Mo replied awkwardly, “You’re welcome, you’re welcome.”
The spiritual energy around Zhu Shiyao grew even more violent.
At this moment, the Liuli Sword spoke up: “Master, be careful. It seems Zhu Shiyao is getting serious now.”
The next moment, Zhu Shiyao swung her Starshatter Sword. A sword-formed azure dragon let out a thunderous roar as it lunged toward Lin Mo.
Seeing this, Lin Mo summoned his system and instantly upgraded the Seven Kill Flowing Sword Technique to its max level.
He had a strong feeling that if it weren’t maxed out, he wouldn’t be able to withstand the sword-formed azure dragon.
[Congratulations, Host. You have spent 18,000 Regret Points. Seven Kill Flowing Sword Technique has been upgraded to full level.]
The system was practically weeping.
This host had hoarded over 100,000 Regret Points, but aside from a few lottery pulls, he never used any of them.
He cultivated completely on his own, leaving the system no chance to earn Regret Points from that. It had even begun to doubt its own purpose—was it just some sort of toy Lin Mo used for fun?
What happened to the dignity of being a system?
Lin Mo had no interest in the system’s grumbling. He immediately activated the full-powered SSeven Kill Flowing Sword Technique to counter Zhu Shiyao’s sword-formed dragon.
The dragon formed from Zhu Shiyao’s sword energy was ferocious. It easily destroyed the first five sword waves of the technique. It wasn’t until the sixth wave that it finally met some resistance.
But even that sixth sword wave began to unravel after a brief moment.
However, with Seven Kill Flowing Sword Technique, every set of seven sword waves grows exponentially stronger—each seventh wave being double the combined strength of the previous six.
The sword-formed dragon wavered. As both forces eroded each other, they were ultimately hurled in the direction of a cave that very likely housed the secret realm’s inheritance.
Right at that moment, a sudden change occurred—
A low, muffled roar echoed from within the cave.
The sound was deafening. Both Zhu Shiyao and Lin Mo frowned.
And then—
A massive figure burst out from the cave.
It was a fox demon with six tails, several meters tall. Its golden pupils glared fiercely at everyone present.
Zhu Shiyao, seeing her fight with Lin Mo interrupted by this unknown beast, instantly slashed out another azure dragon with her Starshatter Sword.
The six-tailed fox flicked its tail lightly, dispersing the dragon in an instant.
An ancient voice emerged from its mouth: “Humans… truly a disgusting species.”
Seeing her sword technique so effortlessly countered, Zhu Shiyao gradually calmed down. With a hint of respect, she asked, “Are you the master of this secret realm?”
“I’m merely a remnant soul of the realm’s true master,” said the six-tailed fox.
Lin Mo’s eyes widened slightly.
A remnant soul? And yet it could easily deflect Zhu Shiyao’s ferocious attack?
Lin Mo didn’t know if Zhu Shiyao still had other cards to play, but that dragon attack of hers had been at least equivalent to the full-powered Seven Kill Flowing Sword Technique.
And with that technique maxed out, he could probably seriously injure an average late-stage cultivator.
From that, it was clear—the six-tailed fox must have been terrifyingly powerful in life.
“If you’ve managed to find this place, it means you’re qualified to attempt inheriting my legacy.”
“However, as humans, you are unworthy of my inheritance.”
The six-tailed fox’s tone was full of disdain, clearly irritated at even having to speak to them.
Lin Mo stepped forward respectfully and asked, “Senior, then where is your legacy located?”
“Naturally, it’s within me. But to claim it, you’ll first have to pass two of my trials.”
As it spoke, the six-tailed fox glanced at Lin Mo. “You’re the one who killed the flood dragon guarding the Xuantian Spirit Gathering Stone?”
Lin Mo nodded. “It was a lucky kill, that’s all.”
The six-tailed fox narrowed its eyes slightly.
It knew the strength of that black flood dragon all too well.
That flood dragon had been sent specifically to guard the Xuantian Spirit-Gathering Stone.
And within this secret realm, he had restricted the cultivator level — no one above Golden Core stage was allowed to enter.
Yet a human at the Golden Core stage had actually managed to slay a Nascent Soul-level flood dragon. And among beasts of the same level, a flood dragon was one of the strongest.
Realizing this, the six-tailed fox couldn’t help but give Lin Mo a serious once-over.
That one glance made him pause in surprise.
Dual cultivation of Immortal and Demon paths? He actually had half demon bloodline in him.
And the spiritual aura around him wasn’t simple either…
Unexpected. To think that such a monstrous talent would appear in this generation.
Whether this was a blessing or a curse for the demon race, he wasn’t sure.
“What trial does Senior have in mind?” Lin Mo asked curiously.
“The original trial was the flood dragon. But you killed it — so there’s no trial anymore,” the six-tailed fox replied, sounding slightly helpless.
“Then… does that mean I’ve passed the first trial by default?” Lin Mo asked, a little surprised.
“You’ve passed. But the girl next to you hasn’t been tested yet.”
After a moment of thought, the six-tailed fox asked Lin Mo to retrieve the flood dragon’s corpse.
“Senior… why do you want the body?” Lin Mo asked, looking puzzled.
“To resurrect it, of course.”
Resurrect? Lin Mo was stunned.
A mere remnant soul could bring a flood dragon back to life?
Seeing the doubt on his face, the six-tailed fox chuckled.
“Human brat, don’t forget — everything in this secret realm was created by me. That flood dragon was brought here through a demon clan secret technique. As long as the realm remains and the body isn’t destroyed, it can naturally be revived.”
“In fact, that flood dragon was one of my more reliable subordinates.”
“He’s worked diligently with me in this secret realm for many years. Once this place closes, I had planned to let him return to the demon clan.”
Lin Mo hesitated for a moment, then asked in a low voice:
“And what if… the corpse is gone?”
“If the body’s gone, it can’t be revived,” the fox said, suddenly narrowing its eyes.
“Did you destroy the corpse when you killed it?”
Lin Mo gave an awkward laugh.
“Well… not exactly destroyed…”
“Then where’s the body?”
“We… ate it.”
As soon as those words left his mouth, the six-tailed fox’s expression turned dark. The look in his eyes grew dangerously sharp.
Zhu Shiyao, sensing the rising hostility, quickly warned:
“Fellow Daoist Lin, if a fight breaks out, you make a run for it. I still have a trump card I can use.”
Lin Mo wasn’t surprised that she was hiding something — but it wasn’t time to run just yet.
From his brief exchange with the six-tailed fox, he could tell that the creature deeply disliked humans, but valued his own kind.
And more importantly, he had said that humans couldn’t inherit his legacy — but what about a spiritual pet?
In a flash, Lin Mo reached over and lifted Qu Ruyan — still in her cat form — from Gu Qingxue’s arms.
The six-tailed fox had already noticed Gu Qingxue earlier and recognized her as an external avatar crafted by a human cultivator after severing connection with a clone body.
Humans… truly despicable. Always trying to sneak into his secret realm with tricks like that.
Did they really think he was blind?
But he didn’t care. His attention turned to Lin Mo’s so-called spiritual pet.
Lin Mo pointed at the still-confused Qu Ruyan in his hand.
“She’s the one who ate most of the flood dragon meat.”
Qu Ruyan rubbed her little head with her paw.
“Master, weren’t you the one who told me to—mmph!”
Before she could finish, Lin Mo quickly covered her mouth with his hand.
The six-tailed fox stretched out his tail and brought Qu Ruyan to himself, examining her closely.
She didn’t struggle, just stared up at him, blinking.
“You want some flood dragon meat too?”
The fox ignored her question. After circulating his spiritual energy through her body, his expression changed to one of surprise and delight.
Qu Ruyan wasn’t a pure-blooded demon — her bloodline was thin.
But even so, that faint bloodline carried an extremely potent and ferocious energy.
Seeing the fox’s expression, Lin Mo knew there was a chance this might work.
Then came the words he was hoping for:
“You two human brats — head into the cave. Inside is the final trial. If you both pass, you may each claim a portion of my legacy.”
“Only a portion?” Lin Mo sounded a bit disappointed.
“Don’t be greedy, human brat. Even a single portion of my legacy is enough to help a hundred Golden Core cultivators break through to the Nascent Soul stage,” the six-tailed fox snapped.
Lin Mo and Zhu Shiyao exchanged a glance.
In each other’s eyes, they saw the same flash of excitement.
If that was true, Lin Mo only needed to take what was most useful to himself, and the rest could go to his grandfather and father.
Whatever was left could be distributed by his grandfather to other Lin clan disciples — and their family’s strength would soar as a result.
Zhu Shiyao’s thinking was much the same as Lin Mo’s — she also planned to select a portion of the most valuable items to bring back to her master, Master Xuan Yi, and to her junior sisters.
Zhu Shiyao stepped into the cave first, while Lin Mo turned to look at Gu Qingxue, who was still waiting behind.
“Don’t worry, I wouldn’t hurt an ordinary girl with no cultivation,” the six-tailed fox said.
Indeed, the fox had no reason to harm Gu Qingxue.
With that reassurance, Lin Mo also stepped into the cave.
Not long after entering, he felt himself transported to another space. Everything around him became a blur — no sight, no sound, no sensation.
He walked forward for a while, until suddenly the space lit up and a figure appeared in front of him.
Lin Mo blinked in surprise.
Because the figure looked exactly like him.
“An illusion?” he wondered.
Then the copy of himself spoke:
“Defeat me, and you pass this trial.”
After a few rounds, Lin Mo had a general grasp of the trial’s difficulty.
The opponent had the same spiritual energy, the same cultivation level, the same techniques — even the same mastery of them. The sword in his hand was a replica of the Liuli Sword, complete with a simulated sword spirit.
This was truly a battle against himself.
Lin Mo actually wanted to see — if he didn’t rely on the system, could he defeat this version of himself?
Meanwhile, outside the cave…
The first thing the six-tailed fox did was seal off Gu Qingxue’s five senses.
“What I’m about to say isn’t something a human girl should hear.”
With everyone else gone, he turned to the small creature before him.
“Little one, did you eat that flood dragon meat earlier?”
Qu Ruyan nodded her little head.
“Yup! It was really yummy!”
“Do you still want more meat?” the six-tailed fox asked, smiling instead of getting angry upon confirming that it was indeed Qu Ruyan who ate the dragon meat.
If Lin Mo had been there, he definitely would’ve cursed the old fox for being such a double-standard hypocrite.
“Of course I want more! I love eating!” Qu Ruyan said, her mouth already watering.
Seeing this, the six-tailed fox waved his paw, and a mountain of top-quality demonic beast meat appeared in front of her.
These corpses were all at least Golden Core level, with some reaching even the Soul Formation stage.
“All of this… I can eat all of it, Uncle Fox?” Qu Ruyan asked, drooling uncontrollably.
“Of course. If you can eat it, it’s yours.”
Being called “Uncle,” the six-tailed fox’s tone became even gentler.
There was so much meat that Qu Ruyan couldn’t wait to roast it. Instead, she pounced directly on the enormous beast meat and started devouring it with wild abandon.
In just the blink of an eye, she had torn the huge chunk of meat clean.
The six-tailed fox was truly shocked by her eating speed.
He immediately began observing the changes in her aura.
As he had suspected, from the moment she began devouring the beast meat, demonic energy surged through her body, rapidly growing stronger.
He kept watching, eager to see just how far her limits went.
Piece by piece, Qu Ruyan ate her way through all the demonic meat.
Just when the fox started to worry she might suffer backlash from overeating — unable to handle the demonic energy surging through her — her aura flared violently.
Her cultivation shot from the early Foundation Establishment stage straight to mid-stage, and then again, in almost no time, to the late Foundation Establishment stage.
“This is the devouring ability of the Taotie…” the six-tailed fox finally realized.
Only one with the Taotie’s unique devouring bloodline could consume so much demonic beast meat and so efficiently convert the energy into power.
As she munched away, Qu Ruyan glanced up and asked:
“Uncle Fox, did you give me all this meat just to see if I had some kind of special eating ability?”
