Fame Spreads Far and Wide – The Fox Appears

Chapter 617: Fame Spreads Far and Wide – The Fox Appears

Han Li descended unhurriedly, bringing up the rear. Seeing the others ahead of him take pills to dispel the miasma, a faint smile crossed his face.

With his marrow-washed and meridian-refined constitution, the miasma was naturally expelled cleanly with every breath he took.

By now, the group had descended to just over ten zhang above the ground and began flying toward the center of the basin.

“That spirit fox is extremely clever. If we want to catch it, we’ll only have one chance. So we need to find a wide, open area where it can’t avoid our formation. There’s a flat patch of solid mud not far ahead. That way, we won’t have to worry about it burrowing into the silt to escape,” Senior Brother Wang said with an air of confidence. It seemed he had already planned this out in advance.

The others naturally deferred to Senior Brother Wang and raised no objections. Han Li simply smiled and remained silent.

After a short while, the five of them landed on a flat expanse of ground covered in lush green grass. A sparse scattering of low shrubs dotted the area a little further off.

This time, without waiting for Senior Brother Wang to speak, Kui Huan and the others voluntarily descended onto the grass and began surveying their surroundings.

After a brief discussion, Kui Huan walked to the center of the grassy area and dug a small pit. He then carefully pulled out the yellow essence they had bought from the market town from his storage pouch. He buried half of it in the pit, leaving the other half exposed above ground, and sprinkled some loose soil over it to make it look more natural.

A faint medicinal fragrance immediately began to spread.

“Good, that’s enough. The Snow Cloud Fox has a very keen sense of smell. With the potency of this fifty-year yellow essence, even if it were hiding three feet underground, it would come sniffing it out itself. Oh, right, Junior Han, take this Illusion Banner,” Kui Huan said, standing up and dusting off his hands with satisfaction. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he pulled a white banner out of his storage pouch and handed it to Han Li.

Han Li nodded and took the banner with a calm expression. At that point, Senior Brother Wang began giving instructions to everyone.

“Everyone, take your positions up high. As soon as the spirit fox appears, wait for my signal and throw down the banners at the same time. We’ll use the illusion formation to temporarily trap the entire grassy area. I believe that since this fox has only recently advanced to the demon beast stage, it won’t be able to break through the formation and escape,” Senior Brother Wang said with a grave expression.

The others nodded in agreement.

With that, they once again flew up on their magic tools, hovering motionless at a height of fifty to sixty zhang. They each cast a simple concealment spell to hide their forms and held their formation banners at the ready.

Given the large amount of spirit stones at stake, Kui Huan and the others were naturally tense, their eyes fixed unblinkingly on the ground below.

Even Senior Brother Wang himself had a sharp, focused look on his face.

In contrast, Han Li appeared the most relaxed of all. He held the white formation banner with one hand, the other loosely clasped behind his back, his gaze sweeping casually across the surroundings.

But in truth, Han Li’s spiritual sense had already enveloped an area several hundred zhang in radius. If anything stirred, he would be the first to know.

And so, the place fell into utter silence. Not a single sound could be heard anywhere.

…

Over an hour passed, and nothing happened at all.

Standing on his magic tool, Kui Huan stretched his slightly stiff neck, a trace of impatience flickering across his face.

He glanced at Senior Brother Wang, hesitating for a moment as if he wanted to say something, but after thinking it over, he kept his mouth shut.

After all, for the sake of catching the spirit fox, waiting an extra hour or so hardly seemed worth complaining about.

Another half hour went by. Just as most of them were beginning to grow restless, Han Li, who had been standing motionless on his magic tool, shifted his expression slightly. He suddenly turned his gaze toward a nearby clump of shrubs.

Kui Huan could no longer hold back. He licked his lips and was about to speak to the others.

But just then, Han Li’s cold voice rang out in his ear.

“Careful. The spirit fox is already here. It’s hiding in the shrubs to the west. Don’t scare it off.”

Hearing this, Kui Huan’s heart jolted. He immediately sealed his lips shut and swept his gaze downward toward the west.

The other three also heard Han Li’s voice transmission.

Like the stout man, they stared in surprise at the western shrubs. But they saw nothing unusual, and doubt crept into their minds. Still, their previously lax attention sharpened into vigilance.

After about the time it takes to eat a meal, their gazes shifted from doubt to delighted surprise. A small creature, about a foot long, with fur as white and clean as snow, slowly emerged from one of the shrubs.

It took a step, then looked back. Its fluffy little head glanced left and right. Utterly adorable!

The sight made the other four’s hearts race. They tightened their grip on their formation banners, not daring to breathe too loudly.

The white fox didn’t notice the five people above it. Seeing that nothing seemed out of the ordinary, it grew bolder.

Its pair of emerald-green eyes fixed on the yellow essence in the distance, and it began to creep forward silently on all fours.

But when it was still more than ten zhang away from the yellow essence, it suddenly stopped. Its small, pink nose twitched several times, and a flicker of suspicion passed through its fox eyes, as if it had sensed something wrong.

Seeing this, Senior Brother Wang could no longer hold back. He shouted, “Now!” and his formation banner shot down as a streak of yellow light.

Hearing his command, Han Li and the others didn’t hesitate. They threw down their own banners at the same moment, and several incantations sounded in unison.

The five beams of different-colored light touched the ground and instantly dissolved into the earth, becoming formless.

Thick, yellow mist erupted from the ground all around the grassy area, sealing the surroundings tightly. The Five Elements Illusion Formation had been activated.

Seeing this, the Snow Cloud Fox inside the formation knew it had fallen into a trap.

Letting out a few sharp, panicked cries, its body flickered and turned into a streak of white light that plunged into the yellow mist, desperately trying to escape.

Watching this from above, Senior Brother Wang and the others wore relaxed expressions. They were in no hurry.

Once the white fox entered the illusion formation, it would be dazzled and disoriented by the mist-woven illusions. It could only run in circles, utterly unable to break free.

They were perfectly happy to let the beast exhaust itself before capturing it alive with minimal effort.

Just as they were all feeling that the mission was a success and grinning with delight, the little fox, after running briefly in the yellow mist, suddenly stumbled. Its body swayed a few times, then it collapsed to the ground and didn’t get up.

This startled Kui Huan and the others. They exchanged uneasy glances.

But Senior Brother Wang, his face darkening slightly, said in a steady voice:

“Don’t deactivate the formation. Keep maintaining it. Junior Ma, go down and see what happened. This illusion formation can only trap enemies, not harm them. This fox is naturally cunning. It’s most likely just playing dead.”

He warned the stout young man cautiously.

Hearing this, the other three felt a little more at ease. The Ma fellow didn’t hesitate and immediately flew down.

Han Li, meanwhile, gave a slight curl of his lips, a faint, knowing smile playing at the corner of his mouth. He shot a sidelong glance at the man but said nothing. No one could tell what he was thinking.

That Senior Brother Ma might be short and stout, but his movements were surprisingly quick.

In just a few moments, he had descended into the yellow mist and walked over to the little fox.

He was cautious, of course. Without a word, he first grabbed the white fox by its tail, then shook it gently a few times to make sure it was safe.

The white fox was completely motionless, like a dead thing.

This panicked the stout young man. He hurriedly pressed the creature’s belly to his ear, listening intently.

After a short while, his panicked voice came from the yellow mist.

“Senior Brothers, come down quickly. This spirit fox’s body is ice-cold, and there’s no heartbeat at all. It seems to have really died!”

“Impossible!” Senior Brother Wang exclaimed, his face changing color.

“Senior Brother, let’s dispel the formation and go down to take a look. We won’t be able to maintain the restriction for much longer anyway,” Kui Huan said anxiously.

The pale golden-faced Xi cultivator didn’t say anything, but his eyes showed his worry. After all, if the demon beast really was dead, it wouldn’t be worth many spirit stones.

“Alright! Let’s remove the formation first. Junior Ma has already caught the beast anyway.” After only a moment’s hesitation, Senior Brother Wang nodded in agreement.

Han Li, hearing this, touched his chin calmly and didn’t voice any objection.

Immediately, the group began to chant, pointing at the ground in succession. Several beams of light shot out from the mist, transforming back into the formation banners and landing in their hands.

The yellow mist dissolved instantly.

There stood the stout young man on the grass, holding one finger under the little beast’s nose, testing for something.

Seeing this, Senior Brother Wang and the other two descended with grim expressions. But Han Li remained where he stood, not moving. After glancing at the white fox a few times, a peculiar expression appeared on his face.

(End of Chapter)