The morning air was heavy, as if the forest itself was struggling to breathe.
Jiutian stopped, his eyes fixed on an invisible current rippling across the ground. It wasn't wind. It wasn't natural Qi. It was something… broken.
—A rift —he whispered.
Beside him, Xiao Huli tensed. Her ears lifted like spiritual antennas, catching the same dark whisper Jiutian could feel deep within his core. It was a distant murmur, full of voiceless hatred and formless hunger.
—That… is no ordinary demon —he added.
They followed the path until they reached the ancient Sanctuary of the Silent Thread: ruins wrapped in roots and moss, ancient stones carved with forgotten Dao characters. The air grew heavier with each step, as if the heavens themselves refused to look upon this place.
—There was a battle here a thousand years ago —Jiutian said—. I remember these columns… burned by infernal Qi. We fought here… and here, one of the lunar sages fell.
Xiao Huli stepped forward slowly, cautiously. Then, suddenly, her paws froze against the ground. She stood still. Growled, the fur along her back standing on end.
The ground trembled.
A cracked slab split open.
And from its depths poured black mist, like vapor seeping from a festering wound.
A roar erupted from the rift.
A shapeless creature emerged: faceless, formless, only a mass of shadow with red eyes glowing like coals. Its limbs writhed like twisted branches, and its Qi was scarred and fractured.
—An ancient demon… still partially sealed —Jiutian murmured, raising his sword—. I can't let it cross.
But his spiritual core was still weak. He could contain it… but not defeat it.
The demon attacked.
The shadow lunged with unnatural speed, like an arrow of darkness.
Jiutian fell back, blocking with his sword, but the shockwave slammed him against a wall.
The demon roared again.
And in that instant…
Xiao Huli leapt in front of Jiutian.
She did not run. She did not tremble.
A silver aura burst from her small body, wrapping her like a mantle of moonlight. Her single tail seemed to split for a fraction of a second, and an ethereal mark, shaped like a crescent moon, briefly flared on her forehead.
The demon froze.
And for a moment… stepped back.
The Qi emanating from Xiao Huli was not normal.
Not mortal.Not bestial.Something older… something lunar.
She growled softly, focusing all the energy her small body could hold. A wave of silver light expanded outward like a barrier, forcing the shadow back.
Jiutian, stunned, could only stare.That Qi…
—Who… are you? —he whispered.
Xiao Huli didn't answer. She just stood firm, a living shield between him and the darkness.
The demon, burned by the lunar light, roared one last time before dissolving into a whirl of shadow, retreating back into the rift.
The rift itself seemed to close slowly, as if the temple exhaled one final breath.
And when it was over, Xiao Huli collapsed onto the ground.
Exhausted.
But still in her fox form.
Jiutian rushed to her, lifting her into his arms with a gentleness that contrasted with his immense spiritual strength.
—What I saw… that mark… that Qi… you are no simple beast —he whispered.
The little fox lifted her eyes, weak but serene.
And though she couldn't speak, in her gaze there was something beyond words.
A bond.
A wordless promise.
A hidden moon.