The forest became a place of execution.
The fox moved first.
It didn't chase the healthy. It didn't rush the strong.
It **finished**.
Those struck by lightning but still breathing—third- and fourth-layer cultivators, bodies twitching, qi shattered, cores unstable—never even had time to scream. The fox passed them like a shadow, weapons flashing once, twice, never more.
A throat opened.
A core shattered.
A head rolled.
Each kill was clean. Efficient.
No wasted movement.
At the same time—
Something else hunted.
The fifth- and sixth-layer cultivators hovering above felt it before they even understood what was happening.
One moment, a wounded ally below them would still be alive—gasping, crawling, trying to activate a talisman—
The next moment—
Their body **collapsed inward**, as if bitten by nothing.
Blood sprayed.
Flesh tore.
And yet—
There was **nothing there**.
No qi signature. No demonic aura. No fluctuation to lock onto.
Only the aftermath.
A sixth-layer cultivator swallowed hard, eyes darting across the battlefield.
"What… what else is here?" he muttered.
Another growled, forcing his divine sense outward again and again, panic creeping into his voice. "I can't sense anything! There's only the fox—but that—*thing*—it's killing them!"
Below them, a fifth-layer cultivator screamed as his chest was torn open by an invisible maw. His body lifted briefly off the ground before dropping lifelessly, blood soaking into the already-scorched earth.
The survivors' breathing grew ragged.
"This isn't right…" one whispered. "That fox shouldn't be able to do this alone."
They watched helplessly as their numbers dwindled—one by one, their companions erased by something they couldn't see, couldn't feel, couldn't predict.
To them, it looked like death itself was moving through the forest.
Invisible.
Unavoidable.
Above the chaos, the fox glanced up at them briefly, eyes cold and calculating.
"So," it said lightly, as if speaking to itself, "you've finally noticed."
Its weapons rose again, locking onto the hovering figures.
"Good. That means you understand."
This wasn't a fight anymore.
It was a **purge**.
And the ones still in the air?
They were next.
The fox's voice carried calmly through the ruined forest, cutting through the crackle of dying lightning and the hiss of steaming water.
"You *saw* it," it said, eyes lifting to the figures above. "You were aware the whole time."
Its gaze swept over them—one by one—measured, cold.
"And yet you chose to stay back. To watch."
A faint curl touched its lips, not quite a smile.
"That tells me everything I need to know."
As it spoke, its divine sense spread outward like a net. Corpses lifted from the ground—human, beast, half-shifted—along with shattered weapons, intact spirit tools, broken talismans, storage pouches slick with blood. One after another, they vanished into the fox's storage as if the battlefield itself was being erased.
"You weren't allies," the fox continued. "Not friends. Not comrades."
A corpse slid past a hovering fifth-layer cultivator, disappearing midair. His face twitched.
"You were waiting. Measuring. Thinking that every death below meant less competition… more gain."
The fox finished collecting the last dropped item. The forest floor was suddenly bare—only scorched earth, shattered trees, and pooled water remained.
"Too bad for you," it said softly, looking up again, "that isn't how this ends."
The five remaining cultivators—three at the sixth layer, two at the fifth—felt it then.
Pressure.
Not overwhelming. Not explosive.
Just… inevitable.
The fox's weapons rose, hovering at its sides, edges humming with restrained power.
"Because you won't be watching for much longer," the fox said. "You'll be joining them soon enough."
At that moment—
The fox's paw slipped into its storage pouch.
When it emerged, a small jade bottle rested between its claws—unassuming, almost delicate. With a casual flick, the stopper popped free, and a single pill rolled out, glossy and pale, faint spiritual light swirling within it.
The fox hovered the pill before itself for a heartbeat… then casually stored the bottle away.
A smile curved its muzzle.
With a light toss, the pill sailed through the air toward one of the hovering sixth-layer cultivators.
The massive **white wind tiger** didn't even blink.
Hovering in place, its true form fully revealed, fur rippling like storm clouds, pressure rolling off its body in waves. Without looking, it released a pulse of qi.
Qi surged outward in a sharp arc. The pill froze midair, suspended inches from the tiger's snout, caught in the tightening grip of compressed wind.
Frozen midair.
The tiger snorted, lips curling. "Cheap tricks—"
The fox's smile widened.
"That one," it said pleasantly, eyes gleaming, "is your target."
At that exact moment—
The words had barely left its mouth—
The air **rang**.
*Clang!*
A violent metallic chime tore through the air as something invisible slammed into the tiger's protective qi.
The tiger's eyes widened as cracks spider-webbed across its barrier. It reacted instantly, roaring as a violent spiral of wind erupted from its body—blades of compressed air shredding outward in every direction, forcing the unseen attacker back.
The forest screamed as trees were carved apart.
But the tiger had no time to breathe—
A **black spear** pierced the air from behind, flying straight for its spine, guided flawlessly by the fox's divine sense.
The tiger twisted, barely managing to block with a hastily formed barrier. The spear struck—sparks exploded.
The impact sent shockwaves rippling through its massive frame.
It roared in fury—
And then it saw the pill.
It had drifted.
Now it hovered right beside its face.
The tiger's pupils shrank.
Instinct screamed.
The tiger lunged sideways, qi surging as it lashed out at empty air, expecting another invisible strike—
But nothing came.
For a fraction of a second, there was only confusion.
Then—
Pain.
A sharp, invasive shock ripped through its side.
The tiger looked down just in time to see a **jade spear** buried deep in its flank, punching through fur, flesh, and muscle. Blood sprayed as the weapon pinned the tiger midair.
The white wind tiger howled, the sound shaking the forest canopy as its rage exploded outward. Its aura flared violently, wind tearing the ground below into ribbons, fur bristling, eyes blazing with murderous intent.
No more restraint.
No more waiting.
Its claws flashed.
With a furious snort, the tiger tore open its own storage space, pulling free its spiritual tools—two green blades.