"No!"
The Nine-tailed Celestial Fox let out a shrill, mournful cry as the radiance around her body dimmed.
Behind her, the magnificent, cloud-like mist of her nine giant tails began to fade, revealing that only seven of them were real.
The other two were mere illusions, forcibly simulated with an Illusion Technique.
They disintegrated into specks of crystalline light and vanished between heaven and earth.
"No wonder it failed! It turns out this Nine-tailed Celestial Fox was trying to achieve Divinity Transformation prematurely!" Zhao Yan exclaimed in shock.
...
High in the firmament.
The Venerable Daqian Python Robe, wearing a Nine-Streamed Royal Crown, clasped his hands in a salute toward the east.
"Our success in this gambit is all thanks to you, Fellow Daoist An. If you hadn't pretended to hold the Position of [Covered Lamp Fire] to obscure the heavenly secrets and sever the karmic senses for us, a Demon Fox this cunning might never have fallen into our trap."
