Chapter 89 – Mysterious Black Shadow!

By the stream, Qin Yang crouched at the bank, carefully washing wolf blood from his hands. Suddenly, the forest leaves rustled, and when he turned around, he saw a little fox trotting over cheerfully.

Beast Slaves share a spiritual connection with their masters.

Even across thousands of miles, she could easily locate Qin Yang’s position.

“Master, master! I’m back!”

Xiaobai circled around Qin Yang, excitedly hopping about.

“Back so early?”

Qin Yang looked at the excited Xiaobai, glanced down at his wet hands, and felt a surge of delight—perfect timing.

Just needed something to wipe his hands with.

“Come here, Xiaobai!”

“What are you trying to do again… Master…”

“Don’t always bully me…”

Hearing this, Xiaobai’s eyes showed a hint of caution as she cautiously approached, intending to rub against Qin Yang’s leg to show affection.

But before she could get close, his large hand grabbed her fluffy tail, playing with it recklessly, flipping it around like a towel to dry the moisture from his hands.

“Ying.”

Xiaobai struggled desperately in Qin Yang’s grasp, her boneless fox body twisted into various positions. Puffing her cheeks, she seethed with anger but dared not speak up.

How dare this human do such a thing!

Outrageous!

Does this Fairy have no dignity?!

“Lift your leg higher.”

“Oh~”

In less than a moment.

Her tail was thoroughly soaked.

“Much better.”

After wiping his hands clean, Qin Yang finally released Xiaobai to the ground and asked with satisfaction, “Has she left already?”

“She’s gone.”

Xiaobai landed on all fours, tilting her head to lick her fur while shaking her body disdainfully to disperse the water. “I hid when I saw she woke up… Master, didn’t you want to keep your identity hidden?”

Hearing this, Qin Yang nodded slightly. “Well done.”

“Hmph.”

Xiaobai snorted softly, then suddenly remembered what she had given Li Zixuan earlier and snickered mischievously inside. “Master, what’s your relationship with her…”

As she spoke, Xiaobai sidled up to Qin Yang, winking suggestively. “While she was asleep earlier, she kept calling ‘Shifu’ for the longest time…”

“Eww~~ so cheesy~”

“Tch, don’t ask questions you shouldn’t.”

Seeing this, Qin Yang retorted irritably and directly kicked out.

Splash.

Xiaobai instantly flew several meters away, then nimbly flipped over and continued shaking the mud and water off her body, raising her head proudly. “Hmph, fine, don’t tell me then!”

So full of yourself!

Just you wait until tomorrow—you’re in for some fun!

At this thought, Xiaobai inwardly chuckled mischievously, her eyes narrowing slightly.

What kind of expression will Master have when he sees Li Zixuan coming to find him?

Shock?

Bewilderment?

The mere thought of how much Qin Yang cherished Li Zixuan made Xiaobai’s heart bloom with laughter.

You bully this Fairy, then this Fairy will bully your precious disciple.

When the time comes…

I’ll pinch her cheeks every day at home!

That’ll teach you, you bad master!

“What are you giggling about, Xiaobai?”

Qin Yang frowned slightly as he watched Xiaobai grinning foolishly in a daze.

“Was I laughing?”

Hearing this, Xiaobai quickly suppressed her smile.

The grand plan isn’t complete yet—must not let Master notice anything amiss.

“Let’s go, time to head back.”

Qin Yang couldn’t be bothered to dwell on it and simply waved, heading out of the mountain range. “I’m in a good mood today. We’ll make a whole lamb feast when we get back.”

“Okay.”

Xiaobai followed beside Qin Yang, tail held high. “Master, did you obtain the Beast Fire?”

“No.””None? You’re lying again! You definitely got it!”

“If you already know, why ask?”

“I…”

Xiaobai was left speechless, could only glare at Qin Yang in frustration.

So infuriating!

Soon after, the man and fox quietly departed.

……………………..

A short while later.

Not long after Qin Yang left the Great Li Mountains.

A strange black shadow suddenly appeared at the center of the Blaze Wolf’s basin, instantly moving to the wolf king’s corpse.

“He’s actually dead?”

The black shadow crouched down, reached out to turn over the wolf king’s body to examine the wounds, immediately noticing the bloody hole in the wolf king’s chest.

The killer had acted cleanly and efficiently, directly extracting the heart and core.

The killer’s technique was precise, not even damaging the surrounding fur, striking directly at the vital point for an instant kill.

“Such powerful Sword Intent!”

The black shadow was shocked by what he saw, probed with two fingers for a moment, then surveyed the surrounding traces.

The basin’s cliffs remained smooth and intact as always, showing no signs of collapse, and there was no widespread scent of blood in the air.

There were no traces of any struggle.

Which meant.

The killer possessed extraordinary means, directly bypassing the wolf pack guarding their king, and silently extracted the Beast Core from within the wolf king’s body!

“How was this accomplished?”

The black shadow murmured, his expression grave as water, gazing toward the deepest parts of the Great Li Mountains, “I must inform the Venerable One!”

With this thought.

His form dissipated into ethereal gray smoke, vanishing from the spot.

……………………………..

A short while later.

Deep within the Great Li Mountains, the valley was profound and secluded, devoid of all living creatures, with strange mist enveloping the entire terrain.

At this moment, the black shadow knelt on one knee, respectfully reporting from outside the valley.

“Venerable One, the Blaze Wolf has been killed. From the wounds examined earlier, it appears to be the work of a human.”

“…The injuries are clean. The hunter killed with a single sword strike, without alerting the rest of the wolf pack.”

“Oh?”

An ethereal voice came from within the mist, sometimes near, sometimes far, swirling around the black shadow,

“To be able to kill the Blaze Wolf, the intruder must be at least at the Innate Realm or above. Could it be…”

“One of the three from Jianghai City?”

“Highly possible, Venerable One.”

Recalling the Blaze Wolf’s wound, the black shadow whispered his speculation, “The killing strike was extremely clean and precise.

I’ve heard that among Jianghai’s three Innate Realm experts, Dean Li is a top-tier Sword Dao master.

He has now reached the Peak Innate Realm and is currently stuck at the threshold, unable to advance further… Perhaps it was him who came to the mountains to hunt and retrieve the core to break through his realm!”

“Enough, since the person has already left… let it be. There’s no use in further speculation…”

The voice from the mist interrupted, hoarse and eerie.

“If the Blaze Wolf is dead, then it’s dead. There are many King-level Star Beasts in these mountains, we’re not short of one beast.

What’s most important now is to initiate the Beast Tide plan as soon as possible to avoid complications. We have lain dormant here for years, all to maintain the Blood Spirit Formation!

Otherwise… if it fails, none of us will survive!”

“Yes, Venerable One.”

The black shadow responded respectfully, lowering his body even further, “All the Star Beasts in the mountains have been surveyed. Now we only need the final trigger for the Blood Spirit Formation to be successfully empowered.”

As his words fell.

The voice from the mist pondered for a long moment before slowly speaking:

“Good, this operation must be absolutely flawless…””Go and handle this matter meticulously once more. There must be no mistakes.”

“Your subordinate obeys!”

Black Shadow responded respectfully, then suddenly raised his head with concern and said, “Venerable One, but that Jianghai Sword God… if he is still in the city… might he interfere with our plans…”

As his words fell.

In the tranquil canyon, a mountain wind abruptly rose, and a low chuckle echoed through the pine forest.

“Heh, no matter. When the time comes, I shall personally take action.”

(End of Chapter)