Su Fu stood on a hillside blanketed in blooming peach blossoms, feeling that blowing up this dungeon was still possible.
Summoning the true Nine-tailed Celestial Fox, a divine beast from the Shan Hai Jing, the ancestor of all foxes, right here in the Qingqiu dungeon—wouldn’t that be a total one-sided crushing?
On her own home turf, how could she possibly lose?
But as she looked around, her brow gradually furrowed.
Something’s not right.
Where are the abnormalities?
Where did the demons from the Exam Paper go?
Where did they all run off to?
This is the college entrance exam, after all.
There should be quite a few abnormalities.
How could there not be a single one in sight?
Not only did she see nothing around her, but even after activating [Hundred Birds’ Eyes] and overlooking from the sky, she still saw no trace of any abnormalities.
She scanned the area again.
Distant mountains loomed and faded amidst the clouds, while the nearby peach blossoms swayed gently in the breeze, their petals reflected in the rippling waters of the Ying River.
It was beautiful.
Almost excessively so.
A thought suddenly flashed through her mind—’Qingqiu, Nine-tailed Fox, Illusion Technique!’
“Illusion Technique…” She drew in a sharp breath.
“Going this far? Don’t tell me the entire Qingqiu is an illusion?”
Good grief, so the abnormalities didn’t run—they just hid themselves!
If it had been a candidate unfamiliar with Qingqiu, they probably wouldn’t have thought of this at all.
Since when do abnormalities hide themselves?
Playing dirty right from the start!
“Fine, fine, Illusion Technique, huh?”
Then she would call upon Erlang God and open the Heavenly Eye!
“Let me see, where are you all hiding?”
“Wind Fire Wheels!”
Su Fu shot up into the sky on her Wind Fire Wheels, avoiding being deceived by illusions on the ground.
From high above, the peach forest stretched for miles, pink and white intermingled, almost covering the entire heart of Qingqiu.
“True Sight of Heaven!”
“Break!”
In an instant, two completely different worlds overlapped before her eyes.
It was still the peach forest, but utterly unlike what she’d seen before.
The peach forest in the illusion was tranquil and harmonious, but in reality, it was bustling with life.
On those seemingly empty clearings, little foxes were frolicking and playing.
Even where she’d just been standing, a little fox was lying lazily in the sun, its tail swaying gently, completely unaware that someone was watching from above.
“Interesting.” Su Fu raised an eyebrow.
“These foxes’ Illusion Technique is really something, huh?”
“They must be using a formation based on the peach forest, two spaces perfectly overlapping. So close, yet neither can see the other. No wonder I couldn’t find any abnormalities.”
“Let me see where your real fox den is—”
At the entrance of a cave somewhere, three white foxes were huddled together.
The smallest, Third Fox, was flicking its fluffy tail.
“Boss, why did that human suddenly fly up into the sky? She’s not going to find us, is she?”
The largest fox, Fox King, pondered for a moment before replying confidently, “No way.”
“Our Fox Clan is renowned for Illusion Techniques. This peach forest formation is our clan’s ancestral hiding art. How could a mere human possibly break it?”
“She could never find us hiding behind the formation.”
“Exactly, exactly!” Second Fox, lying to the side, seized the chance to flatter.
“Our Fox Clan has never lost!”
No sooner had he finished speaking than Third Fox shuddered all over, its fur puffing up in alarm.
“N-no, something’s wrong…”
Its voice trembled.
“Look! That human… she’s looking at us…”
“Nonsense, how could—” Fox King and Second Fox instinctively looked up, and instantly froze.
Eight eyes met!
“Gulp.” Fox King swallowed hard, his earlier composure gone.
“This… this must be a coincidence!” Second Fox forced himself to say, his voice quivering.
“Yes, she must have just happened to look our way! There’s no way she actually saw us…”
Before he could finish, the figure in the sky suddenly dove straight toward the cave—no hesitation, no deviation!
“Shut up!” Fox King snapped at Second Fox in a panic.
“Can’t you keep that jinxed mouth shut!”
The little white fox was already clutching its tail in terror.
“B-boss, didn’t you say our formation was super strong…”
“Don’t say a word!” Fox King covered his face in despair.
“Play dead, quick, play dead…”
Su Fu rode the Wind Fire Wheels closer to the cave, gazing with interest at the three white foxes inside.
The biggest one actually had three tails—the most in the group—so this had to be Qingqiu’s Fox King.
Just as she was about to “chat” with them in a friendly manner, the scene before her suddenly changed.
The peach forest twisted in an instant, the once-lush peach blossoms withering into pitch-black remnants.
The branches of the peach trees warped and stretched, like sinister bone claws stabbing at the sky.
The entire forest seemed to come alive, clawing and lunging to encircle her.
“Tch,” Su Fu raised an eyebrow.
“Switching from a hiding formation straight to a Killing Formation? These foxes really aren’t simple.”
At that moment, thick branches shot toward her.
Quick as lightning, Su Fu maneuvered her Wind Fire Wheels in a beautiful spin to dodge.
But that was only the beginning.
The entire peach forest surged toward her like a giant serpent, black branches weaving a tight net in the air, intent on strangling the intruder!
She weaved through the gaps between the branches, dodging the frenzied stabs.
No, she had to find a way to break the formation quickly.
Since it was a peach forest formation, there had to be a formation core.
Amidst the whooshing of branches slicing through the air, she activated the Heavenly Eye while dodging, searching for the core.
Let’s hope it’s not hidden too deep…
Suddenly, her eyes lit up.
“Found it!”
At the heart of the densely packed peach trees was one that looked like a double-headed peach tree.
Under the Heavenly Eye, it was shrouded in the densest black aura.
But just as she tried to approach, countless peach branches surged like a tide, blocking every path to the core.
Blocked?
“In that case, time to try Laozi’s new skill!”
“[Six Ding Divine Fire]!”
“Boom!”
In an instant, golden-red flames shot skyward.
With fire blazing a path, she charged straight for the core on her Wind Fire Wheels.
Everywhere she passed, the clawing branches turned to ash.
Fire overcomes wood, and this was Laozi’s divine fire—everything could burn!
The once-fierce branches now trembled in the firelight, not daring to advance a single step.
Golden-red flames traced a scorching path through the air, like a blazing dragon charging straight for the formation’s core.
In a flash, Su Fu was before the double-headed peach tree.
Another blossom of golden-red fire danced in her palm, casting flickering light and shadow on her face.
“If you don’t withdraw the formation—”
She raised her hand slightly, the flames in her palm swelling abruptly.
“I’ll burn your formation core—”
“To ashes.”
The three foxes were now in a complete panic.
“We’re done for!” Second Fox stared at the figure above, controlling divine fire.
“Boss, what do we do now? Can’t hide, can’t win…”
“This formation took us years to set up! If it’s destroyed like this…”
The little white fox was clutching its tail, trembling.
“This human is terrifying… Not only can she see through our concealment, she even has such powerful fire magic… She’s our natural enemy!”
Fox King looked in despair at the soon-to-be-burned core, forcing out, “Withdraw… Let’s withdraw…”
“Otherwise, we won’t even have the foundation left.”
With a sigh, the menacing peach branches reverted to ordinary branches, and the killing intent in the forest vanished.
Fox King watched the human approach, anxious.
If… if she really wanted to kill them, they’d have to use their last resort.
Even if it meant mutual destruction, the Fox Clan of Qingqiu would protect their core at all costs!
Before he could finish his thought, Fox King was dumbstruck by what he saw.
A silver-white radiance enveloped the human, and nine snowy tails slowly unfurled behind her.
Peach blossoms fluttered and swirled around her.
The nine tails swayed gently, stirring a breeze that scattered the blossoms.
The three foxes stared in shock, their fear forgotten, replaced by pure awe.
Nine-tailed Celestial Fox!
Their clan’s supreme deity, a legendary existence!
Second Fox was the first to react, his fur trembling with excitement.
“Th-this is… Lord Nine-tailed Fox?!”
Nine tails, pure white and flawless—this was definitely the most powerful Nine-tailed Fox in their memories!
Su Fu merely glanced at them coolly.
Just that one look, and the three foxes felt an immense pressure crash over them.
Their bodies trembled uncontrollably, and almost by instinct, they knelt.
“Welcome back, Lord Nine-tailed Fox!”
At that moment, Fox King raised his head and howled, the sound echoing through all of Qingqiu.
In the peach forest, countless ears perked up.
The next second, all of Qingqiu erupted.
White foxes surged from all directions, a sea of white racing through swirling peach petals.
When the foxes saw the figure standing there, all noise ceased.
Round fox eyes stared wide, nine tails!
It was Lord Nine-tailed Fox!
In an instant, countless white forms knelt in unison, a wave of worship echoing through the peach forest:
“Welcome back, Lord Nine-tailed Fox, to Qingqiu!”
Thunderous cries rolled through Qingqiu, shaking the blossoms as uncountable white foxes prostrated themselves.
Su Fu’s heart pounded wildly.
Heavens!
So many foxes!
If she slipped up now, wouldn’t they tear her apart on the spot?
Stay calm, stay calm, don’t panic.
She was using the Great Sage’s Transformation Divine Skill to appear as the Nine-tailed Fox deity she’d seen before.
The aura she radiated was simulated by the Nine-tailed Fox’s Illusion Transformation, mimicking the aura of the deity she’d witnessed.
Divine skill [Illusion Transformation]: with a single thought, myriad forms are born, simulating the aura and pressure of the target.
If the target of the illusion has seen or is familiar with the transformed form, the illusion becomes even more convincing.
Simply put, all fear comes from imagination.
The more reverence these foxes had for the Nine-tailed Fox, the more powerful she appeared now.
Su Fu steadied herself, took a deep breath.
‘No problem, definitely no problem.’
She knew these cunning Qingqiu foxes weren’t so easy to deal with.
Though these three foxes obediently withdrew the Killing Formation, with the Fox Clan’s wiles, who knows what other tricks they’d hidden.
Just look at all these foxes—clearly, they’d been hiding deep.
So, why fight head-on?
Her gaze swept over the kneeling foxes.
She’d summoned the Nine-tailed Celestial Fox—the ancestor of all these little foxes.
In all of Qingqiu, only one had reached the three-tail stage; the others were still striving for it.
Instead of a bloody battle, why not… directly take them in?
With nine tails, all of Qingqiu was in her hands—no bloodshed needed.
Fox King trembled as he raised his head, voice full of reverence.
“We deeply offended you earlier, Lord Nine-tailed Fox… we deserve a thousand deaths. But…”
He hesitated cautiously.
“Why did you not reveal your true form from the start, my lord?”
Su Fu glanced at him indifferently.
“I wanted to see how my little foxes have grown.”
She swept her gaze over all the foxes, deliberately showing a hint of disappointment.
“In the end—”
She sighed softly.
“You couldn’t even withstand three of my moves.”
At these words, all the foxes buried their heads even lower, ears drooping.
Was their lord… disappointed in them for being too weak?
A hint of bitterness flashed across Fox King’s face.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to be stronger.
But for some reason, three tails seemed to be the limit.
“We’ve shamed you, my lord…” He suddenly raised his head.
“Please tell us—how can we become stronger?”
Su Fu’s lips curled.
‘Plan complete!’
She slowly turned, her gaze sweeping over the countless fox descendants.
Her voice rang out, calm and clear: “Do you want to know?”
“Please, my lord, tell us!”
“Very good.” Su Fu nodded in satisfaction.
“Your strength may be lacking, but your spirit is commendable—you know to strive for more.”
She straightened, her tone solemn.
“In that case, I do have a way. If you want to become stronger, then…”
“Plant trees first!”
Countless foxes blinked: ???
“……”?
Fox King couldn’t make sense of it and probed, “My lord, wh-what does that mean?”
The little white fox blurted out its real thoughts: “Can planting trees make us grow more tails?”
“You lot…” Su Fu shook her head with a world-weary sigh.
“If your talent isn’t enough, don’t just force it. Learn to leverage your strengths.”
She looked at the peach forest.
“For example, your specialty, Illusion Technique. If you train to the extreme so even I can’t detect you, wouldn’t that be the strongest defense?”
“And your Illusion Technique relies on these peach trees, doesn’t it?” She smiled.
“If the quality isn’t enough, then go for quantity.”
“Or take the Killing Formation just now—if there were enough peach trees, I could burn one patch, but then a second, third, and more would come… Even divine fire would run out eventually, right?”
Second Fox seemed to get it.
“That way, it forms a cycle. Even if we can’t win, we can wear out the enemy!”
“I see!”
“As expected of Lord Nine-tailed Fox—one word reveals the truth!”
Su Fu nodded approvingly.
“A teachable bunch. Remember, don’t limit yourselves to this forest. Anywhere you can see, plant more.”
Why plant trees?
When the time comes, you can burn it all down like the Ghost Crow Forest.
Space collapses, and the dungeon is naturally broken.
“Brilliant, my lord!”
Fox King trembled with excitement.
“With Lord Nine-tailed Fox overseeing us, this land will surely become the Fox Clan’s heaven!”
“For the future of the Fox Clan!”
“Plant trees!”
***
Supreme Divine Palace.
The four Ministers of Education stared at the scene on the light screen, speechless for a long time.
They considered themselves well-versed in all things, but had never seen such an unbelievable… scene.
“This…” Xuanyuan Po finally broke the silence.
“That’s it?”
Su Fu just talked the abnormalities into submission?
An Muyu rubbed her brow, as if struggling to digest what she’d just seen.
“A B-rank Exam Paper, with intelligent and powerful abnormalities—there should have been at least one fierce battle…”
But look at these foxes on screen.
A fierce battle?
What battle?
They didn’t even have the will to fight!
White foxes covered the hills, kneeling devoutly as if in pilgrimage—where was the ferocity abnormalities were supposed to have?
They felt so normal that they seemed out of place.
It wasn’t just Su Fu; even these abnormalities were strange!
What were these foxes thinking?
With such strength, why not expand their territory or attack candidates, but instead hide themselves in an illusion?
“The problem is,” Xia Linyuan interrupted, “none of us noticed it was an illusion at first. We were even admiring the scenery.”
Then, the next second, Su Fu told them it was all fake!
“An illusion covering all of Qingqiu—these foxes are definitely not weak.”
An Muyu’s expression was complicated.
“So when they activated the Killing Formation, I thought they were finally going to show their true colors.”
What kind of colors?
The savagery and violence abnormalities were supposed to have.
They thought Su Fu would fight the foxes to the death, but what happened?