The fox's ears flicked sharply, eyes narrowing at the lizard with suspicion.
Was it just sitting behind me this whole time? it thought. Waiting for me to finish cultivating?
The lizard appeared completely healed. Its torn wings were fully restored—gleaming, whole, and stronger-looking than before. There wasn't even a scratch left on its scales. In fact, the creature looked... bigger.
Hmmph. I don't know—maybe it's just my eyes.
The fox tilted its head slightly, then said aloud, "Alright. Since you've fully recovered, I'll be taking you to where the humans are now, okay? Just wait a moment."
With a sharp turn, the fox moved swiftly—almost vanishing mid-step—and in an instant, it reached the far end of the cave, where the silken cocoon still hung. Its glowing eyes fixed on it, glinting with greed.
Spirit silk...
Its heart beat just a bit faster.
Even torn like this... it would sell for a fortune. As if I'd leave something so valuable behind.
Its lips curled into a subtle grin.
The pouch hanging from its neck swung open, and it began to work quickly, muttering under its breath.
"Need to put everything inside. Can't leave any behind."
The fox's paws moved with astonishing speed, stuffing the remaining strands of spirit silk into the pouch. Behind it, Lizarius just watched—its golden eyes wide and silent.
Within five seconds, the fox had stripped every last thread of silk from the cave wall. With the final piece tucked away, it turned back, satisfaction gleaming in its gaze. It reached the lizard and said, "Alright, I'm finished. Let's go."
The lizard stared at it for a long moment before silently stepping forward.
It passed the fox without a word, claws scraping lightly across the moss-stained floor—still marked with the dried blood of the cultivator it had devoured earlier.
It stopped near the cave entrance, bent its head, and opened its mouth.
From the ground, it picked up a small, worn pouch—the same one it had discarded earlier after emptying the corpses from inside.
Holding it gently between its jaws, Lizarius began compressing its energy. In a flash, its body shrank, wings tucking tight as it turned and flew toward the fox.
The fox's eyes followed it, curious.
So that's what it went to retrieve... Hmph. Didn't think it still needed that. It tossed it aside like trash earlier.
The lizard, now small enough to perch without effort, landed softly on the fox's head. It dropped the pouch, then settled down, wings folding neatly along its back.
A shimmer passed over them.
Gradually, both the lizard and the fox faded from sight, until they vanished completely.
Invisible now, the fox raised a paw to its muzzle. It stared—seeing nothing—and lowered the paw, satisfied.
Alright. It's time to go looting.
With that, it turned and bolted forward. The scene shifted to the mouth of the cave.
Outside, the night was deep and quiet, the sky stretched with dark clouds and veiled moonlight. Without hesitation, the fox leapt from the narrow cave entrance, its paws barely touching the stone as it slipped into the forest—still cloaked in invisibility.
---
Scene Shift: Jinshi City
A sprawling metropolis loomed in the distance—Jinshi City, a stronghold controlled by three powerful cultivation families. No one lived within its walls without bowing to one of them. The city's power was split cleanly, ruthlessly, and completely—each family ruling their share with absolute authority.
Beyond the outer walls, dense forests stretched like a sea of shadow and silence.
---
Back to the Fox
Two hours passed.
The fox hadn't stopped moving once. Still invisible, still silent, it now approached the edge of the woods, where the trees gave way to an open field of wild grass. The land before it was bathed in pale moonlight—silver and cold.
The field was exposed, carefully watched by guards atop the city's wall. Even worse, it was lined with ancient spiritual wards, glowing faintly, pulsing with power. No ordinary creature could pass unnoticed.
But the fox didn't hesitate.
Without pause, it moved—a blur of displaced air and rippling shimmer. Its steps made no sound, its body cutting through the grass like a phantom.
Dew lifted in its wake, spiraling in a faint, swirling pattern—too subtle to notice, too quick to catch.
One of the nearby guards stirred, glancing out at the field. He frowned as the ward flared once—reacting faintly to the fox's spiritual presence. But the sigils calmed just as quickly, fooled by the powerful concealment.
Then, with a single effortless leap, the fox pierced through the ward.
An invisible needle threading a fortified veil.
The city was theirs.
The fox landed silently on the tiled rooftop of a small outer residence, claws gripping the curved clay as its body pressed low,