The fox's grin did not falter.
"I told you," it said quietly, "you're exactly where I want you to be."
Lianhua did not respond at once.
Her gaze lingered on the place where the "White Scale Demon" had vanished.
An illusion.
She had been warned that the fox possessed illusion techniques.
She had dismissed the report.
To a Golden Core cultivator, the illusion of a mere Foundation Establishment beast should have been laughable—transparent, crude, impossible to miss.
And yet—
She had sensed nothing.
Even with the spirit-suppression dust interfering with perception, she should have detected some fluctuation in the qi structure. Illusions required maintenance. They displaced light, spiritual pressure, presence.
There should have been distortion.
A ripple.
An inconsistency.
There had been none.
Her thoughts narrowed.
Was it truly an illusion?
Before that line of reasoning could settle—
The fox spoke again.
"Don't overwork that pretty head of yours."
Its voice was calm. Almost amused.
"Just look down."
Lianhua's eyes remained fixed on the fox.
But she allowed her gaze to dip.
Through splintered trees.
Across shattered stone.
There—
Driven deep into the earth in a loose perimeter—
Rune-Infused Anchor Stakes.
Qi-Disruption Pins.
Not scattered at random.
Deliberately placed.
The stakes hummed faintly, binding themselves to subterranean qi veins and locking the land in place. The surrounding spiritual field felt… heavier. Fixed.
Reality itself felt nailed down.
The pins vibrated almost imperceptibly, sending microscopic oscillations through the surrounding qi flow. Not strong enough to overpower her.
Just enough to misalign circulation.
To destabilize precise gathering.
Lianhua felt it then.
A subtle turbulence brushing against her meridians.
Her condensed strike—
The Golden Core technique she had been forming—
Wavered.
The qi structure destabilized.
Then dissolved in her palm like mist scattering in the wind.
Silence followed.
She surveyed the field again, her eyes sharp now.
"…Rune-Infused Anchor Stakes," she said calmly.
Her gaze shifted.
"Qi-Disruption Pins."
She lowered her hand slowly.
"They interfere with spiritual movement. Stabilize terrain. Introduce turbulence into qi flow. They do not overpower an opponent."
Her eyes returned to the fox.
"They create instability."
The fox's tail twitched faintly against broken stone.
"Bingo."
Its smile widened.
"You figured it out."
Lianhua said nothing.
The fox continued.
"You're Golden Core. Overwhelming. Direct suppression won't work."
Its breathing was strained, but its tone remained steady.
"So I didn't try to overpower you."
The wind shifted through the trees.
"I just made sure you couldn't channel cleanly."
A faint hum pulsed through the ground.
"You can still move."
"You can still fight."
"But large-scale techniques?"
Its eyes gleamed.
"Not without backlash."
Lianhua stared at it, her expression composed.
The fox held her gaze without flinching.
For the first time since she arrived—
The battlefield no longer belonged entirely to her.
The fox pushed itself slightly upright within the crater, blood staining its fur.
"The suppression dust," it said, voice steady despite the pain, "was never meant to block you."
Its eyes gleamed faintly.
"It was meant to make you restrain yourself."
The wind shifted again, quieter now.
"You contracted your divine sense. Condensed it. Sharpened it."
A thin smile tugged at its mouth.
"Instead of casting it wide."
"That stopped you from noticing what was right in front of you."
Its tail twitched against shattered stone.
"And now," it continued, "with the anchor stakes locking the terrain and the disruption pins muddying your circulation…"
It exhaled slowly.
"As I said—you can still fight."
"But you can't channel properly."
Its eyes locked onto hers.
"I wasn't preparing for a Golden Core."
A faint chuckle escaped it.
"But I'm adaptable."
Lianhua looked down at the fox.
No visible surprise.
No anger.
Only calm evaluation.
Golden Core qi gathered around her once more.
Not explosively.
Deliberately.
"You are intelligent," she said evenly.
"Conniving. Patient."
Her gaze sharpened.
"You plan several steps ahead."
The ground beneath her feet cracked faintly as pressure mounted.
"That is precisely why you are a threat."
She began forming another technique—slower this time, more controlled—adjusting her circulation to compensate for the turbulence.
"You should also understand something," she continued calmly.
"For one at my level…"
The qi around her thickened.
"These are tricks."
The air vibrated faintly as condensed energy pressed against the disruption pins, straining against their interference.
"If I were at Foundation Establishment," she said, her voice steady, "this might have unfolded differently."
Her eyes hardened.
"But I am not."
The Golden Core within her rotated, stabilizing her meridians against the imposed instability.
"And that is why I will end this now."
A faint pulse radiated outward.
"And I will send your master to join you shortly after."
The fox's growl rumbled low and feral.
Its lips peeled back, revealing every blood-streaked tooth.
Its paw slammed against the ground.
Multiple defensive constructs ignited at once.
Layered barriers flared into existence around it.
Talismans burned to ash as their inscriptions activated.
The jade spear rose, lightning threading along its edge.
The glaive rotated into position, wind compressing around its blade.
Despite its injuries, its posture straightened.
It stared at her without retreating.
"Don't hope," it said, voice rough but unyielding, "that this will be easy."
The forest held its breath once more.
Golden Core force against layered preparation.
Mountain against fanged defiance.
And neither moved first.