Chapter 428: The Expert’s Qi. The Tip of the Iceberg

　　The little fox’s voice was still sounding childlike. However, nobody dared to ignore that. In fact, it sounded like an explosive bomb, making the scalps of the crowd itch.

　　Most importantly of all, this Qi was too terrifying. Even those like Lord Kunpeng, who had survived since Prehistoric times and had seen it all, still felt terrified.

　　Even the wind in the world seemed to have stopped.

　　How could there be such a powerful and terrifying Qi?

　　The only two who could move were Daji and Fire Phoenix.

　　They looked at the little fox’s back and exchanged a look. They saw shock from one another.

　　The Qi coming out from the little fox was familiar to them. It was very familiar.

　　This was the same Qi coming out from the chessboard when they played chess with Li Nianfan back in the four-part architecture. They remembered how they were drawn into the chess game, it was as if they were playing against this Qi. This terrifying pressure contained all of the paths in the world. It could easily crush and destroy one’s path!

　　Just by the look of this mega path, it consisted of both Yin and Yang. Even a Daluo Golden Immortal, Quasi-Saint, or even Saint would feel extremely small compared to this.

　　The Saint could use the world as his chessboard, but the Saint could very well be the chess piece of something else!

　　Everything was impermanent, everything was equal like ants.

　　“It’s the Innate Supernatural Power, this…”

　　Daji instantly recognized this.

　　She looked at the little fox trying to protect her. This was the same little fox who was always terrified. Daji’s cold eyes became watery. Her little sister had a spiritual breakthrough because of her!

　　This was indeed her cute little sister!

　　In her fox form, Daji took in a deep breath and dragged her worn-out body to jump on all fours. With a pull and bend, she jumped and turned into white light. She landed beside the Pig Demon.

　　The Xuan Water of the Xuan Bracelet rushed into the Pig Demon’s body, freezing it up.

　　The Pig Demon was still very dumbfounded. It did not dare to breathe against the overly powerful Qi. It was so terrified that it trembled and remained transfixed. Its black pigskin had turned white out of terror.

　　‘So terrifying! Please, don’t kill me!’

　　With that, it did not resist when Daji tried to freeze it into an ice sculpture.

　　Fire Phoenix stretched out her wings and red phoenix flames danced in the air. She burned down another Daluo Golden Immortal demon into ashes.

　　The phantom of the gigantic fox quickly vanished from sight. Other than the shock caused to the crowd, everything else seemed as if it was just a hallucination.

　　Styx Laozu woke up, too. He raised his eyebrows and cried out in shock, “It was only mind control? What a terrifying superpower!”

　　Lord Kunpeng looked right at the little fox. He seemed more shocked than ever.

　　“Indeed, mind control is the most powerful superpower of the Nine-Tailed Fox.” Lord Kunpeng’s heart was thumping. He had a look of disbelief on his face. Of course, he was not afraid of mind control. He was afraid of the… Qi!

　　As for mind control, the others might not understand it, but as the ancestor of all demons, he knew it clearly.

　　The primary level of mind control was simple. It was known as seduction. It could affect the mentality of the others but this was not the most powerful gift. The key laid on the secondary level, which was what they just witnessed—causing hallucination in others by thinking of it!

　　However…this was not as simple. They could not cause any hallucination as they liked.

　　Normally, although the mind control of the Nine-Tailed Fox was powerful, they would not be able to affect a powerful existence like Lord Kunpeng himself. He never would have thought that this little fox could create such a terrifying Qi. This Qi was too terrifying. It was able to cause terror in even a Quasi-Saint!

　　It showed that…the little fox had been spending a lot of time with an existence with such a terrifying Qi. Furthermore, this existence was willing to let the little fox feel his Qi and the little fox learned from it. This was why the little fox could create such a hallucination!

　　After all…that was the Qi of a Saint or an existence beyond a Saint!

　　In other words, this little fox had a bigshot behind it. Furthermore, it was closely related to this very powerful bigshot!

　　Combining that with what the Empress said earlier, Lord Kunpeng suddenly felt his lips dry up. His scalp was so numb as if it could explode anytime. A drop of cold sweat appeared on his forehead. He was very anxious!

　　No way, no way! No way the Empress was telling the truth!

　　The Jade Emperor and Empress had their lips slightly parted. Their faces flushed red with admiration and excitement.

　　That was…the Qi of the expert! Indeed, that must have been the Qi of the expert!

　　Ever since they met with Li Nianfan, he had not shown his Qi other than his Deluxe Merit in front of them. However, they could recognize this Qi. The little fox was definitely imitating the expert’s Qi!

　　How powerful!

　　It was apparent that the little fox had felt the expert’s Qi before. That was why it was able to imitate it.

　　There were fights going on. However, due to the emergence of such Qi, everything halted. Even though the Qi was no longer around, the crowd still felt terror all over them.

　　Not far away, on top of a mountain.

　　Blackie was standing on top of a gigantic stone. The Deified Dog was standing beside it. The wind blew at them and their hair danced in the air.

　　Blackie looked at Deified Dog’s long hair. He raised an eyebrow and did not seem pleased.

　　This dog had long hair! Now, it was even standing by his side making a cool pose! How daring of it!

　　Instantly, Blackie said, “Oh wow, you have nice hair.”

　　“Where, where,” Deified Dog said happily. An instant later, it realized and quickly pushed down its hair. It did not dare to make a pose anymore. It laid flat on the ground. “Lord Dog, your hair is the best of the best! I’m nothing standing beside you! I don’t even dare to stand beside you!”

　　Blackie seemed pleased. His mouth curled up slightly as he raised his head. He was enjoying the breeze, letting his hair dance freely in the air. His hair was smooth and shiny. He said calmly, “Wow, who’d have thought that the little fox is growing so quickly. Now I don’t have to step in. Good fox, nice…”

　　“U-whaa!”

　　The little fox moaned and with a big jolt, it seemed worn out and fell on its back. It had its legs stretched out, forming a big cross. Behind it, its nine tails that were standing tall had now dropped down abruptly. They were now soft and boneless.

　　Daji forced herself back into a human form. She carried the little fox in her arms, ruffling its fur lovingly.

　　The Jade Emperor laughed out loud. His originally greenish face was now gloating. He said coldly, “Lord Kunpeng, do you still want to continue?”

　　Lord Kunpeng’s side had lost two Daluo Golden Immortals in one go. They instantly lost the upper hand, though they could still continue the fight.

　　However, Lord Kunpeng was no longer in the mood to fight.

　　All he was thinking about was whether what the Empress said was true. Perhaps there really was an expert behind the little fox?

　　Lord Kunpeng had been cautious all his life. What to do now? Would he die?

　　Lord Kunpeng looked at the Empress. He wanted to verify whether it was true but he dared not ask. He was hesitant.

　　Seeing that Lord Kunpeng was looking doubtful, the Empress saw through him right away. She did not hesitate to add wood to the fire. “Kunpeng, good luck.”

　　Lord Kunpeng’s eyes went dull. He scoffed coldly, “You’re all in luck today. We’re retreating!”

　　He dared not stay on any longer. He turned into light and disappeared into the sky.

　　Styx Laozu’s face sunk. He scoffed unwillingly and turned into a blood-red light. “You all better watch out!”

　　A massive battle was called off by a newly immortalized little fox.

　　The Jade Emperor and Empress quickly rushed to Daji’s side. They asked, sounding concerned, “How’re you feeling? Are you hurt?”

　　They spoke as they brought out some herbs.

　　However, when they saw Daji’s side bringing out some oranges, apples, and other Spiritual Roots, they awkwardly stopped their movement.

　　Well, they were too poor to offer her anything.

　　The Empress said, “Hurry, General Xiao’s still in the hole, let’s dig him out.”

　　Not long later, Xiao Chengfeng was brought out by two Heavenly Soldiers. Unfortunately, he did not look so well.

　　His Immortal Qi had worn out. He was covered in mud and his hair was messed up. Grass and mud were all over his pale-like-paper face. His breathing was weakened.

　　An Immortal’s body had the power to make mud and wood fall off them naturally. The fact that they clung onto Xiao Chengfeng showed that his Immortal body was severely injured. Even if he survived, he would be useless.

　　Ye Liuyun saw Xiao Chengfeng’s look. He quickly took out an orange and peeled it for him. He said in a hoarse voice, “Old Xiao, you…”

　　Ao Cheng walked over, too. He was looking sad.

　　They knew each other well. They had followed the expert and helped the expert to solve many problems. They had bonded well.

　　Now that Xiao Chengfeng was so hurt, of course, they did not feel good about it.

　　“I’m powerful, right?” Xiao Chengfeng forced a smile. He raised his finger with difficulty and pointed at the frozen Pig Demon. He said proudly, “So what if this pig’s a Daluo Golden Immortal? I fought against it, I was severely wounded while it’s now dead! Ha-ha-ha, too bad, I’m too powerful. Don’t worship me!”

　　“Yes, yes, yes, this pig was killed by you!” Ye Liuyun held back his tears and forced a smile. He nodded and put the entire orange into Xiao Chengfeng’s mouth.

　　Xiao Chengfeng was force-fed. The orange juice oozed out as he scolded, “Do you even know how to feed others? Do you want to choke me?”

　　Daji looked at the surroundings. She said weakly with a pained expression, “We lost this battle, it cost us too much.”

　　In this battle, she lost a tail and a lot of Immortal Qi. She was severely wounded and it would have to take at least a thousand years to get it all back. Fire Phoenix was not so much better herself. There were also countless dead and severely wounded demons. They had no more power to battle again.

　　Luckily, they had help from the Heavenly Palace. If not, they would not even be able to defend themselves.

　　On the other hand, Lord Kunpeng was not harmed. Although they retreated, they had no major wounds.

　　Fire Phoenix sighed and comforted, “They’re too powerful. We don’t have a choice.”

　　Daji let out a long sigh. Her eyes reddened. “I feel like I’ve wronged my master.”

　　The Empress comforted, “Miss Daji, Lord Kunpeng’s the ancestor of all demons after all. He has survived since prehistoric times. You’ve done a terrific job. Now, you must recover speedily.”

　　The Jade Emperor nodded and said with concern, “Yeah, recover first. We’ll kill Kunpeng one day!”

　　Daji’s face was pale. She nodded at the Jade Emperor. She said with gratitude, “Thank you Heavenly Palace for helping us.”

　　“Don’t worry about it, Miss Daji, we’re doing what we should.” The Jade Emperor and Empress waved it off. They dared not take pride in it. “We’ve gained so much from the expert, we owe him too much. This is just a very small matter, not to be mentioned. Miss Daji, please, don’t thank us.”

　　Since Li Nianfan called himself an ordinary man, he did not give them a chance to thank him. Naturally, they could only express their respect and gratitude toward Daji.

　　The Empress asked, “Miss Daji, what’s your next plan?”

　　Daji thought for a while and said, “Of course, I’ll go back to the ordinary realm to recover.”

　　The Jade Emperor was excited. He said instantly, “Lord Saint has already gone back to the ordinary realm. Why don’t we send you back? We could also pay Lord Saint a visit.”

　　“Thank you.”

　　Instantly, the Jade Emperor sent his Heavenly Soldiers away while he accompanied Daji and the rest back to the Fallen Immortal Mountain.

　　On the way there, the Jade Emperor could not help but ask, “Please, may I be daring and ask a question. The Qi exuded from your little sister earlier…does it belong to the expert?”

　　“Yeah, kind of.” Daji nodded. She smiled and ruffled the little fox in her arms. She said, “You’ve done well this time. How did you suddenly have a breakthrough?”

　　The little fox was slowly recovering. It cuddled in Daji’s arms and said happily, “Ha-ha! I didn’t want to see you getting hurt. I panicked and it happened. Am I clever?”

　　Daji did not hold back from praising it, “Clever, you’re very clever. You managed to imitate our master’s Qi. Tell me, how did you do it?”

　　The little fox widened its eyes and recalled, “When I saw that you were in danger, I was thinking if only I can be powerful. Then… I thought of how Blackie’s so powerful, and I thought of when you played chess with our master…and the Qi from the chess board. So I imagined how good it’d be if I had such powers. If I did, then I’d be able to protect you!

　　“Then…it happened…”

　　Daji nodded. “Indeed, I noticed that it was the Qi from the chess game when our master played chess.”

　　The Jade Emperor was dumbfounded. He said blankly, “The Qi…was from him playing chess?”

　　The little fox nodded. It said, sounding a little terrified, “Yeah, my master’s chess skill is very advanced. I was caught inside and I didn’t dare to move. It felt as if…he had gathered all of the Qi in the world. So limitless! It exudes a very, very terrifying power! So everyone’s afraid of it, too? Ha-ha!”

　　Gasp…

　　This sentence exploded like a bomb. The Jade Emperor and Empress gasped in unison. They were transfixed instantly.

　　They thought this powerful Qi was likely to be given out by the expert during one of the times he exuded his entire Qi.

　　However, they just realized that that was not true!

　　This terrifying Qi was merely a small portion of his Qi when he played chess.

　　What realm was that?

　　How powerful would his actual Qi be?

　　They thought they were about to find out the expert’s true power. And yet, they realized it was just the tip of the iceberg.

　　This was…

　　Unbelievable! Terrifying! Scalp numbing!

　　On the other side.

　　As the battle ended, the demons dispersed.

　　However, as the losing side, the demons did not seem pleased.

　　A Rhino Demon with a long horn on its forehead said while smacking its leg, “What a disappointment! We were tricked by a small fox’s hallucination! Although it terrified everyone, it wasn’t real anyway! What’s there to be scared of? What was Lord Kunpeng afraid of? Why did he back off? We should’ve continued! I think we would’ve won!”

　　It was one of the three Daluo Golden Immortal demons that were lucky enough to have survived. Its skin was rough and hard and it had a mace in hand. Its eyes were glinting.

　　A small demon said, “Don’t be angry. Perhaps lord Kunpeng is being too cautious.”

　　Meanwhile, a Golden Eagle Demon flew over rapidly. “Demon King, we noticed two Dog Demons not far away!”

　　“Oh? Dog Demons?”

　　Rhino Demon’s eyes glinted. It had a cold look as it said, “Ha-ha, the dogs are rebels anyway. We might as well kill them. Bring me over, I’m hungry after the battle. It’d be nice to have dog soup.”