Fan Zhuo’s heart skipped a beat.
Run? His calves felt weak now; where could he possibly run to?
Besides, his purpose in coming here was to make contact with Ye Ying, to verify whether he could gain stronger power and extract more information from her.
He did get the information, but he never expected the process of “contact” to be so… harrowing.
Fan Zhuo took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.
No.
He couldn’t let this fox lead him by the nose.
“I think the ‘contact’ should be gradual,” Fan Zhuo cautiously suggested, “like… just touching your… tail once. That would be enough.”
In his view, touching a fluffy tail was already the limit he could endure.
Ye Ying’s constitution was quite special. If it was truly “deep contact,” he had no doubt he might be blown apart by that overwhelming energy on the spot—literally ascending to heaven where he stood.
But if it was just the tail, that was much better. After all, there was a layer of fur separating them, not the direct skin contact that could be… deadly.
Hearing this, Ye Ying smiled so brightly that her whole body seemed to sway, the waves on her chest rising and falling, making Fan Zhuo’s sacred light energy stir restlessly within him again.
“Little one, you really are interesting,” she said after laughing enough, then lazily continued, “You know? A fox demon’s tail is even more sensitive than the most private parts of the body. Are you sure you still want to touch the tail?”
Fan Zhuo’s expression froze.
There was such a setting?
Looking at the nine huge, fluffy tails gently swaying in front of him, he no longer saw them as cute plush toys but as nine bombs ready to explode at any moment.
“Since you’re so eager…” Ye Ying seemed to relish the look of defeat on his face. Her eyes flickered with seduction. “Then this humble one will satisfy you.”
Ye Ying didn’t do anything directly but gracefully sat down on the tatami mat, turning her back to him.
Nine massive, fluffy, snow-white fox tails spread behind her like blooming snow lotuses.
“Come,” she whispered, “just like when you helped me dry my hair earlier, sit behind me~”
Fan Zhuo hesitated briefly but then obeyed.
He sat cross-legged behind Ye Ying, staring at that fluffy “forest” of tails glowing with enticing luster, suddenly unsure where to start.
“Pick any one you like,” Ye Ying’s voice came from the front.
Fan Zhuo took a deep breath, stretched out his hand, and carefully touched the tip of the tail closest to him.
The sensation at his fingertips was softer and smoother than he could have imagined, like touching the softest cloud.
The moment he touched the fox tail, an energy far more overwhelming than any before surged violently into his body!
It was a scorching, seductive, aggressively potent Demonic Power!
As soon as this Demonic Power entered Fan Zhuo’s body, it immediately clashed fiercely with his sacred energy.
Fan Zhuo groaned, feeling his meridians tear apart with excruciating pain.
***
However, before he could react, the [Sacred Ring] within his soul flared brightly.
At this moment, the [Sacred Ring] no longer seemed like a punitive shackle but transformed into a divine furnace.
The raging Demonic Power, like iron ore mixed with countless impurities, was forcefully thrown into the furnace.
The sacred light energy in Fan Zhuo’s body turned into a divine flame that scorched all things, furiously tempering and purifying…
“Sizzle—”
Fan Zhuo seemed to hear the sound of his soul being forged.
Countless black impurities burned to ashes, leaving only the purest, golden-glowing essence of Demonic Power.
Then, this power was completely transformed by the [Sacred Ring], turning into an unprecedented new sacred energy tinged with dominance and burning heat, flooding into every limb and bone of his body!
This process was like throwing a piece of low-quality iron ore mixed with sand directly into a godly furnace and instantly refining it into steel.
Although an abstract analogy, it was a comparison Fan Zhuo had become muscle-memory familiar with after three years in the Mechanical Sacred Church.
At this moment, he could clearly feel an invisible barrier inside him shattering with a “crack” under the impact of this new power.
The bottleneck… was broken?
The sacred energy that had once flowed passively within him now seemed to have life of its own, beginning to operate autonomously along a profound trajectory.
His perception of the surrounding energy instantly became a hundred times clearer.
If before, he was merely a “trainee priest” possessing sacred light energy, then now, he truly felt he had stepped through the gates of the holy office, becoming a 【Holy Official】 who could actively wield this power.
A suppressed, slightly pained moan came from ahead, interrupting Fan Zhuo’s reverie.
He snapped back to reality and noticed that the fox tail in his hand was trembling slightly.
At the same time, Ye Ying’s body tensed tightly, as if enduring massive energy depletion.
“Sorry…” Fan Zhuo quickly released his grip.
“Don’t stop.” Ye Ying’s voice trembled faintly but remained firm. “Continue.”
She slowly turned her head, those amber eyes no longer filled with allure or playfulness, replaced by a complex expression mixing pain with a trace of hope.
“This little bit of pain… is nothing,” she murmured, “But you—your power… is even more… delicious than I imagined.”
Looking at her, Fan Zhuo felt an inexplicable surge of emotion.
He reached out, no longer just touching, but gently embraced the trembling fox tail.
At the same time, he diverted a sliver of his mind to control the newly transformed sacred energy inside him—not merely devouring and converting, but transforming a small portion into the gentlest golden aura, slowly feeding it back into Ye Ying’s body.
“Mm~”
Ye Ying’s body trembled sharply, and that soft moan no longer expressed pain but a hint of… comfort.
She could feel a warm and pure power repairing the meridians damaged by the Demonic Power extraction, soothing a heart frozen for a hundred years.
This feeling… was strange but… very warm.
“Not enough…”
Ye Ying suddenly spoke, her voice hoarse with seduction, “This is too slow, little priest.
Whether it’s the power you want, or the purification I crave, it’s all too slow.”
She didn’t turn back, but Fan Zhuo could feel the nine tails behind her come alive.
Slowly, actively, they entwined around his body.
One wrapped around his waist.
One draped over his shoulder.
Several others gently curled around his limbs, wrapping him entirely in this fluffy, warm, snow-white embrace.
The last tail—the thickest and softest one—playfully slipped under his chin and tickled his neck.
Fan Zhuo was completely “drowned.”