Chapter Fifty-Nine: The White Emperor’s Tomb and the Trial 2

Yet at that very moment, a familiar voice once again resounded within the formation!

“Divine whip as tail, guided by the heart’s command.
Wherever the tail reaches, thunder’s might descends.
Nowhere is untouched, one tail to nine.
All are divine tails, nine becoming one.
Like a celestial whip, calling thunder with thought.
Ever-changing in an instant, the mind follows the whip.
Free as desire, boundless and wild!”

As the voice faded, a series of marvelous techniques surged into Su Su’s mind, profound and mysterious. In that instant, Su Su absorbed all the techniques that had poured into her consciousness. Though she hadn’t fully mastered them, they were more than enough to deal with this two-tailed spirit fox.

“With intent, the divine whip in my hand strikes true without a single motion!”

A mighty rumble sounded.

Sure enough, when Su Su tried to raise the divine whip in her hand, she did not even need to bring it down. A bolt of lightning suddenly struck the overconfident two-tailed spirit fox. A wisp of green smoke rose as the fox’s spiritual energy dissipated.

Immediately after, Su Su watched her surroundings with caution, fully prepared for any surprise, worried that the white fox statues nearby might suddenly break their seals.

For a brief moment, the Starshine Nine Palaces Formation was filled with silence. But soon, the remaining white fox statues around her began to tremble violently. Seven roars, some high, some low, resounded in quick succession. Everything within the formation shook along with them, and Su Su felt an ear-splitting roar echo in her mind.

Though she had made her preparations, Su Su had not expected what came next. She had been ready to face the three-tailed spirit fox breaking free, but this sudden development left her shaken and at a loss.

Then, with agile leaps, seven spirit foxes sprang toward the center of the formation and, in a wondrous display, merged into one. Even the spiritual energy of the two-tailed fox that Su Su had just dispersed joined in the fusion.

In a seamless moment, Su Su steadied her spirit, gripping the divine whip until her palm was slick with cold sweat—a clear sign of her uncertainty.

Above, the merged spirit foxes overlapped and merged, until at last, a sacred and imposing nine-tailed spirit fox appeared within the formation—robust and majestic.

Su Su watched as the white nine-tailed spirit fox descended through the air, its red eyes glinting with fierce light. As a fellow fox demon, Su Su felt an unprecedented sense of oppression, as if a god had descended. The pressure threatened to shatter her resolve, making it impossible to maintain her composure before it. Even as she struggled to withstand the overwhelming might, she found herself unable to gather spiritual energy for protection—almost driven to her knees.

A thunderous roar burst forth!

Seeing the determined defiance on Su Su’s beautiful, delicate face, the nine-tailed spirit fox’s crimson eyes blazed even more fiercely, and it let out a piercing howl skyward.

The roar thundered like lightning, reaching the heavens.

Unable to withstand the spiritual power pressing upon her, Su Su coughed up a mouthful of fresh blood. Propping herself up with one hand, she knelt on one knee, unwilling to yield so easily. Yet the nine-tailed spirit fox did not attack; just as the two-tailed fox had been arrogant and proud, so too was this nine-tailed fox even more aloof. How could it deign to attack her? It gazed down from above, regal as an emperor among foxes, regarding the young woman before it with cold indifference. In its fierce red eyes was a silent inquiry: “How dare you, child—when faced with the Fox Emperor, why do you not kneel?”

Finally, Su Su could no longer withstand the crushing pressure. Another mouthful of blood spattered forth, and with one knee already to the ground, she was nearly forced flat by the nine-tailed fox’s might.

Yet even then, Su Su’s other leg refused to bend. Clenching her lips, she summoned her stubborn will and forced herself to stand. Stabilizing her posture, she raised her proud head and met the nine-tailed spirit fox’s chilling red gaze with her own equally dark and enchanting eyes. Her look spoke volumes, and she spat her defiance: “I am the Empress of Qingqiu! You and I are both emperors—what right have you to demand I kneel before you?”

With those words, an unyielding aura burst forth from Su Su, a dark green vortex shattering the nine-tailed fox’s oppressive spiritual energy. Though she broke through the pressure in one decisive surge, she was still unable to truly withstand the fox’s supreme might. The gap between them was vast, a chasm that could not be crossed. Su Su’s resistance seemed as futile as striking a stone with an egg.

“Did you think I did not notice? You are but the incarnation of the White Emperor’s soul!”

“A mere fragment of soul dares to act so arrogantly!”

Thunder rolled.

At these words, the nine-tailed spirit fox hovering in midair was utterly enraged. Its body flared with crimson light, eclipsing the sun, its fierce gaze shooting toward Su Su.

A wild howl echoed—part wolf, part fox, impossible to distinguish.

The nine-tailed spirit fox raised its head and howled, then lowered its gaze to Su Su. A hurricane burst from its mouth, shooting toward her and sending her flying hundreds of meters. Yet Su Su had been prepared; gripping the divine whip tightly, she met the gale head-on and used its power to defend herself.

Even with her spiritual energy protecting her, Su Su suffered grievous injuries. The jagged edges of her dark green dress were shredded by the hurricane, leaving her looking haggard and battered. Yet as she gazed at the Starshine Nine Palaces above, her resolve only hardened. She had discovered a flaw in the formation, and the nine-tailed fox before her was not at its full strength—merely a shell meant to intimidate intruders and drive them away.

Through her calculations, Su Su became certain that this was a temporary power-gathering formation, each palace corresponding to the nine celestial stars above. The Grand Astral Star awakened only at midnight, and when the sun rose, the formation would cease to gather power. If Su Su could endure until dawn, she would surely win.

In truth, this trial was deeply unfair to Su Su. With her current meager strength, she stood no chance against any fragment of the White Emperor’s three souls.

Yet, when faced with an unjust predicament, calm resolve and careful observation could reveal the flaw, allowing the clever to overturn the situation.

At this moment, the nine-tailed spirit fox still hovered in the air, curiously unmoving.

This was exactly what Su Su found strange. Though she kept the divine whip ready in her hand, she knew it was useless against such a formidable foe; even her own feeble spells could not harm it.

Just then, the nine-tailed fox looked up at the stars beyond the formation, as if it had noticed the Nine Palaces Starshine Formation beginning to falter—perhaps the sky was brightening, and the formation’s power was waning.

The nine-tailed spirit fox did not speak, but as a fellow demon, Su Su could read its subtle expressions and emotional shifts. It was clear the fox was unsettled; the formation was its greatest reliance, and if it failed, the contest would be decided.

Though the nine-tailed fox was the strongest soul of the White Emperor, it could no longer remain calm. Should the formation fail, it would lose all spiritual energy, and the protective barriers of the White Emperor’s tomb would collapse in an instant.

If the tomb truly collapsed, Su Su might not obtain the legendary White Emperor’s inner elixir. Even if she didn’t hold the advantage now, if the tomb was destroyed along with the elixir, her entire journey would be for naught.

As the crucial moment drew near, a golden gust of light flashed from nowhere. The pillar of crimson light that had reached to the heavens vanished in an instant, and tranquility returned to the area.

In that same moment, Su Su saw that the nine-tailed spirit fox hovering in midair had disappeared without a trace.

Then, a long-missed voice sounded by her ear.

“Little one! Come in!”

Following the sound, Su Su’s eyes found a hidden chamber in the darkness of the tomb. Its door slowly opened on its own. The cessation of the formation’s power had unsettled her—if the tomb had collapsed in that instant, what would she have done?

She ventured down the hidden passage—a narrow corridor, too small for any human form. Realizing its purpose, Su Su smiled knowingly. Her graceful figure spun in place, her beautiful face breaking into a smile. With a soft pop, she transformed into a cute, lively, fierce, and utterly adorable little green nine-tailed fox, her plump body barely fitting in the palm of a hand. With a nimble leap of her short legs, she bounded down the secret corridor.

When she was gone, only a faint, inky-green fragrance lingered in the air—a subtle, melancholic scent drifting through the silence.

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What fate awaits her next? Stay tuned for the next chapter!