Chapter 191 - The Fox and the Hound
The Eclipse Demon Emperor was a Heavenly Hound rumored to be even stronger than the black peacock, Eternal Joy Demon Emperor. Now, that very being was before Moon Fairy.
Moon Fairy had never expected to be confronted by a youth—at least, he appeared to be one.
"You fool, kneel before my brother!" The girl in black grabbed Moon Fairy's shoulders and, with a surge of annoyance, forcefully pushed him down.
"Haha, It's fine. Stand up," Eclipse chuckled, descending from above. He said to the girl, "Don't be so violent, or you'll never find a husband."
"Marry? Not a chance. Our clan has you to carry on the lineage. I plan to live freely until the end," the girl in black retorted, pouting.
"Live freely until the end?" Eclipse now stood in front of Moon Fairy, his dark eyes examining her, a slight smirk on his lips. "It seems you've taken a liking to flirting with other species."
"Stupid brother! What are you saying?" She glared at him, teeth clenched.
Eclipse chuckled, patting Moon Fairy's shoulder. "Foxes are still canines. So, they're still under my dominion among the beast demons. You're similar to dogs in size and structure. So, there's no reason you two can't mingle!"
"Mingle?" The word made Tian Lu's cheeks flush red. "Stop talking nonsense. He's my servant!"
"Alright, no more teasing," Eclipse said with an affectionate glance at his sister. His gaze then shifted back to Moon Fairy, growing more authoritative. "Punch me! Give it everything you've got!"
"This..." Moon Fairy looked towards the girl in black.
"Do as you're told!" the girl commanded.
"Yes!" Moon Fairy nodded, clenched his fist, and with all his might, struck Eclipse's chest. With a thunderous boom, his punch landed on Eclipse as though he were striking a steel wall. A recoiling force reverberated from Eclipse, jolting his entire body.
CRACK! SNAP! POP! Moon Fairy's frame crackled, blood seeping through his skin. A mouthful of clotted blood sprayed from his lips as he was hurled backward through the air.
"Not bad!" In an instant, Eclipse grasped his collar, lifting him up. His voice was intense, "Lady Hua Lian is but a gentle demon, lacking ambition, foresight, and the bigger picture. You were raised by her. If I command you to slay ten thousand to prove your loyalty, what would you do?"
Wiping the blood from his mouth, Moon Fairy's eyes blazed as he looked at Eclipse. "Ten thousand? That's not enough. I'll kill a hundred thousand! The heavens are unjust to our demon kind, favoring humans as their darlings. They must pay for this sin! For my demon kin, I am willing to shed every drop of blood, to sacrifice my life!"
"Good!" Eclipse chuckled, dropping him to the ground. With a gesture, a suit of armor, glowing with silver flames, appeared in his hand. "This is the Lunar Flame Armor, an Upper Galaxy grade magic treasure, tempered with seven kinds of Desolate Essence. I bestow it upon you. In return, you must strive a thousandfold to live up to the Demon Continent's expectations."
Moon Fairy took the Lunar Flame Armor into his grasp. As he held it in his hands, his breath quickened and his eyes sparkled with excitement, as if he were too overwhelmed to speak.
He glanced back at Lady Hua Lian.
Hua Lian knelt gracefully, her delicate body trembling and her voice filled with gratitude, "On behalf of my disciple, I thank the Demon Emperor, I thank our clan!"
Eclipse looked at her coldly, hands behind his back. "Although the Fox Clan is traditionally weak, it's known for loyalty. Lady Hua Lian, you might lack prowess, but if you can raise another Emperor for our beasts, your name will be honored through the ages."
"Yes..." Hua Lian and Moon Fairy exchanged a glance, her lips quivering, her head bowed in silence.
"Enough," Eclipse waved dismissively. "I have important matters to attend to. You may leave. With the night full of changes, do not wander aimlessly."
"Got it, nag!" The girl in black was in high spirits. She huffed at Moon Fairy, "Lunar Flame Armor, lucky you, servant!"
With a flick of her finger, she beckoned Moon Fairy and strode away.
Moon Fairy followed the girl in black out of the palace.
As soon as they stepped outside, the girl blinked slyly and whispered, "Let's go wander around. The Heavenly Realm is full of exciting places."
"But your brother said..."
"Forget him. He's always overreacting. If anything happens, I'll protect you!" the girl in black declared.
Moon Fairy glanced at the armor the girl wore, a mischievous smile curling up on his lips. "Alright, I know a fun place. I'll take you there."
"Oh? It better be fun. If it's not, you're in big trouble!" the girl threatened playfully.
Just then, he felt a gaze upon them. Turning, he saw Lady Hua Lian still standing there, her expression worried. "Maybe we shouldn’t..."
"Shut it," the girl in black said coldly. "If you blab, I'll chop off your tail!"
"She's my master, the one who raised me," Moon Fairy said earnestly.
"Fine," the girl in black relented, rolling her eyes and softening slightly towards Lady Hua Lian. "Just keep quiet."
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Deep within the dark palace, in a hidden underground chamber, a scene of gorey beauty unfolded.
The chamber was shrouded in blood-red, with countless blood-red petals fluttering in the air. In the midst of the crimson fog, two blood-red lotuses bloomed—one large, one small.
Below them lay ninety-nine human corpses. The roots of these two lotuses were embedded in the bodies, drawing sustenance from the flesh and blood, thriving with eerie vitality.
The lotuses swayed rhythmically. The larger one enveloped the smaller, their petals touching tenderly, almost affectionately—an unsettling display of gentleness from such plants.
In their dance, the myriad blood lotuses occasionally faintly transformed into the silhouettes of two people, their voices echoing softly, lost in a haunting, intoxicating cadence.
As the Eclipse Demon Emperor knocked from outside, the myriad blood lotuses transformed into two figures.
One was the Red Lotus Demon Emperor, and the other, a young man with blood-red hair. His skin was pale, his frame slightly slender, and he bore an eerie beauty.
"Mother, I'm leaving now," the blood-haired youth said obediently.
"Go and have fun, but don't leave the Ancestral Temple tonight," Red Lotus replied, gently caressing his head with a tender voice.
"Yes." The youth turned and left. Upon opening the door, he politely greeted the Eclipse Demon Emperor.
After he departed, Eclipse looked at Red Lotus, now dressed and devilishly poised, and remarked, "You two are truly fascinating."
Red Lotus shot him a playful glare. "Lil Tian, we're spirits of nature, unbound by mortal ethics. In this chaotic world, we simply seek to survive."
Eclipse couldn't help but chuckle.
"If you desire, I wouldn't refuse," Red Lotus whispered with a soft laugh.
Eclipse was taken aback, shaking his head vigorously.
"Forget it. I may be a dog, but I'm not that reckless."
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"Little fox!" The girl in black gazed at the desolate mountain before her, turning to Moon Fairy in annoyance. "What is this place? Why did you bring me here?"
"Shush," Moon Fairy replied, his gaze gentle. "Don't rush; we're almost there."
"Oh?" The girl glared at him. "If I find out this isn't fun, I'll chop you to pieces!"
"Don't worry." Moon Fairy walked barefoot across the mountainous terrain, leading the way.
In the wilderness, a fox and a hound, true to their natures, reverted to their primal forms and ran wild through the forest.
Moon Fairy, in his fox form, was a vision of silver elegance, bathed in moonlight. The girl in black transformed into a sleek, agile black hound, her fur dark as night, with a blood-red crescent on her forehead. Her eyes were deep and chilling, a rare and exotic beast.
Demons had their whims, especially dog demons, for whom playfulness was inherent.
The genuine she-dog frolicked with the three-tailed demon fox, gradually losing their wariness amidst their play. Unexpectedly, the fox and the hound, matched in size and agility, appeared quite the pair in this magical, dreamlike dance.
"Little fox, don't run!" the hound cried out in a girl's voice. "God damn! You sure can slip away!"
Soon, the three-tailed demon fox stopped, transforming back into a silver-haired youth, while the heavenly hound halted abruptly, morphing into a slender girl in black, crashing into each other's arms. They both fell to the ground.
Moon Fairy casually wrapped his arm around her slender waist, gazing into her eyes.
"Let go!" The girl in black showed her canine teeth, her glare fierce, yet she made no move to escape.
"I won't," Moon Fairy said, looking around calmly. "Do you know where we are?"
Her attention diverted, the girl looked around in confusion. "Where is this? Is this the fun place you were talking about?"
"Exactly." Moon Fairy leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Just a few days ago, the son of Eternal Joy and the two Violet Sky princesses played right here on this rock beneath us..."
The girl in black froze, then flushed with both embarrassment and anger. "Little fox, you've got some nerve, even daring to tease me?"
"Don't you like me? If not, why do you treat me differently?" Moon Fairy's eyes swirled, drawing her in. The vortex in his gaze, like an ocean, became even more mesmerizing in the wild, desolate mountains under the open sky.
In that fleeting moment, as the girl in black's eyes wavered and her breath quickened, Moon Fairy's expression turned icy. His face morphed into that of a fox, and with a mouth dyed crimson, he bit fiercely into the tender neck of the girl in black, mere inches away.
Rip and tear! The sounds of flesh tearing and bones cracking filled the air. With a sharp snap, Moon Fairy bit off two-thirds of the girl's neck. THUD! He struck her head with a swift blow of his paw.
THUMP THUMP THUMP! The girl's head rolled away, transforming into the head of a dog, her eyes wide open in death.
"Ptui!" Moon Fairy pushed her body aside and spat out the blood and flesh from his mouth. Gazing at the dog's head, he uttered coldly, "In my life, I yield to no one. Yet, you forced me to kneel to your brother?"
With those words, he stripped the armor from the corpse and disappeared into the night, striding away.
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In the Heavenly Realm stood the Eternal Joy Inn. This inn was specially built years ago when the former emperor, Ye Qingtian hosted the Eternal Joy Demon Emperor. Now, the inn remained, but the Demon Emperor was no more.
The location of the Eternal Joy Inn was chosen with great care. On its highest floor was an elegant room, from which one could see all ten billion sword scars on the Sword Dao Monument.
At this moment, Ye Qingtian, You Fengya, Mu Tianshi, and many other clan heads from the Divine Dawn Immortal Empire's Ancestral Temple stood on the top floor of the Eternal Joy Inn.
With hands clasped behind their backs, they gazed at the Sword Dao Monument ahead. Under the night sky, ten billion bloody marks shone with a sinister and solemn crimson light.
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