Chapter 89: Mysterious Black Shadow

By the stream, Qin Yang squatted on the bank, carefully washing the wolf blood from his hands. Suddenly, the forest leaves rustled. He turned to see a small fox scurrying over, its tail wagging happily.

A Beast Slave and its master are psychically linked.

Even if they were thousands of miles apart, she could easily find Qin Yang’s location.

"Master, Master! I’m back!"

Xiaobai ran circles around Qin Yang, jumping around excitedly.

"Back so soon?"

Qin Yang looked at the excited Xiaobai and glanced down at his own wet hands. ’Perfect timing,’ he thought with a flicker of delight.

’I was just missing a towel to dry my hands.’

"Come here, Xiaobai!"

"What are you up to now... Master..."

"Don’t always bully me...."

Hearing this, a hint of vigilance appeared in Xiaobai’s eyes. She walked over cautiously, wanting to rub against Qin Yang’s leg to show her goodwill.

But she had only taken a few steps before his large hand snatched her fluffy tail. He ruthlessly manhandled her, flipping her over and using her like a towel to dry his hands.

"Nghh."

Xiaobai struggled with all her might in Qin Yang’s hands, her soft, seemingly boneless body twisted into various positions. She puffed out her cheeks, furious but not daring to say a word.

’How dare this human do this!’

’This is too much!’

’Doesn’t this Fairy have any dignity?!’

"Lift your leg a bit higher."

"O-oh..."

A moment later.

Her tail was sopping wet.

"Much better."

After drying his hands, Qin Yang finally let Xiaobai drop to the ground. "Has she left already?" he asked, quite satisfied.

"She’s gone."

Xiaobai landed on all fours, twisting her head to lick her fur and shaking her body disdainfully to get rid of the water. "I saw she was waking up, so I hid... Didn’t you say you didn’t want to reveal your identity, Master?"

Hearing this, Qin Yang nodded slightly. "Good job."

"Hmph."

Xiaobai snorted softly. Suddenly, she remembered what she had given Li Zixuan earlier and snickered inwardly. "Master," she asked, "what’s your relationship with her...?"

As she spoke, Xiaobai sidled up to Qin Yang with a conspiratorial look. "You know, while she was sleeping, she kept calling out ’Master’ for the longest time..."

"Eww~~ How sappy~"

"Tsk. Don’t ask questions you’re not supposed to."

Annoyed, Qin Yang sent a light kick her way.

PLOP.

Xiaobai went flying several meters away but landed nimbly on her feet. She continued shaking the muddy water from her fur, then lifted her head and huffed, "Hmph! Fine, don’t tell me then!"

’So arrogant!’

’You’re in for it tomorrow!’

As Xiaobai thought this, she cackled internally, her eyes narrowing to slits.

’When the time comes and Master sees Li Zixuan looking for him, I wonder what kind of expression he’ll make?’

’Shock?’

’Disbelief?’

The thought of how much Qin Yang cherished Li Zixuan made Xiaobai bubble with glee.

’You bully this Fairy, so this Fairy will bully your precious apprentice.’

’When the time comes...’

’I’ll pinch her cheeks every single day at home!’

’That’ll drive you crazy, you mean old Master!’

"What are you smirking about, Xiaobai?"

Qin Yang’s brow furrowed slightly as he watched Xiaobai staring into space with a goofy grin plastered on her face.

"Was I smiling?"

Hearing this, Xiaobai quickly wiped the smile off her face.

’The grand plan isn’t complete yet. I absolutely can’t let Master figure out what I’m up to.’

"Let’s go. Time to head back."

Qin Yang couldn’t be bothered to dwell on it. He simply waved her over and started walking out of the mountain range. "I’m in a good mood today," he said. "Let’s have a full lamb feast when we get back."

"Oh."

With her tail held high, Xiaobai trotted alongside Qin Yang. "Master, did you get the Beast Fire?"

"Nope."

"Nope? You’re lying again! I know you got it!"

"If you knew, then why ask?"

"I..."

Xiaobai was left speechless and could only glare indignantly at Qin Yang.

’So infuriating!’

Then, the man and the fox quietly departed.

........

「A short while later.」

Not long after Qin Yang had left the Da Li Mountain Range, a strange, dark figure suddenly appeared in the center of the Crimson Flame Demon Wolf’s basin, materializing instantly beside the Wolf King’s corpse.

"It’s actually dead?"

The dark figure bent down, turning over the Wolf King’s body to inspect its injuries. He immediately noticed the bloody hole where its heart should have been.

’The killer was clean and efficient—cutting straight to the heart to extract the core.’

’They hadn’t even damaged the surrounding fur, striking directly at its vitals for a one-hit kill.’

"What powerful Sword Intent!"

Shocked, the dark figure probed the wound with two fingers, then scanned the surroundings.

The basin’s cliffs were smooth and intact, just as they always were, with no signs of collapse. Nor was there a widespread scent of blood in the air.

There were no signs of a fight at all.

In other words...

’The killer’s abilities were heaven-defying. They had bypassed the pack guarding the Wolf King and silently extracted the Beast Core from its body!’

"How was that even possible?"

The dark figure muttered, his expression grim. He looked toward the deepest part of the Da Li Mountain Range. "I must report this to the Venerable One!"

At this thought, his form faded into ethereal gray smoke and vanished on the spot.

..............

「A moment later.」

In the depths of the Da Li Mountain Range lay a deep, secluded valley, devoid of all life. A strange mist shrouded the entire area.

The dark figure knelt on one knee, respectfully reporting from just outside the valley.

"Venerable One, the Crimson Flame Demon Wolf has been killed. Judging from the wounds, it appears to be the work of a human."

"...The wound was clean. The killer used a single sword strike for a fatal blow and didn’t alert the rest of the pack."

"Oh?"

An ethereal voice drifted out from the mist, seeming at times distant and at others near, swirling around the dark figure.

"To be able to kill the Crimson Flame Demon Wolf, the intruder must be above the Innate Realm. Could it be..."

"...one of the three from Jianghai City?"

"It’s highly likely, Venerable One."

The dark figure recalled the Crimson Flame Demon Wolf’s wound and conjectured in a low voice, "That killing blow was incredibly clean and decisive.

I have heard that among the Three Great Innates of Jianghai, Dean Li is a top-tier Sword Dao Master.

He has already reached the Peak of the Innate Realm and is currently stuck at a bottleneck, unable to advance... Perhaps he came to the mountains to hunt a beast and take its core, hoping to break through to the next Realm!"

"Enough. Since the person has already left, let them be. There’s no point in us making any more useless guesses..."

The voice from the mist, hoarse and strange, interrupted.

"If the Crimson Flame Demon Wolf is dead, then it’s dead. There are plenty of King Level Star Beasts in this mountain range; we’re not lacking for one mere animal.

The most important thing now is to initiate the Beast Tide plan as soon as possible to avoid any unforeseen complications. We have lain dormant here for many years, all to maintain the Blood Spirit Array!

Otherwise... if it fails, none of us will survive!"

"Yes, Venerable One."

The dark figure bowed even lower in reverence. "The Star Beasts in the mountain range have all been scouted," he said. "All we need now is for the ’east wind’ to blow, and the Blood Spirit Array will be successfully empowered."

As his voice fell, the one in the mist mulled it over for a long moment before slowly speaking again:

"Good. Remember, this operation must be foolproof....

Go and handle the final preparations with care. There can be absolutely no mistakes."

"As you command!"

The dark figure responded respectfully but then looked up with a hint of worry. "Venerable One... what about the Jianghai Sword God? If he is still in the city... won’t he interfere with our plans?"

As his words fell, a mountain wind suddenly whipped up in the quiet canyon, and a low chuckle echoed through the pine forest.

"Heh heh... It matters not. When the time comes, I will personally make a move."