"Pull back all soldiers!"
Gu Huang shouted loudly, calling his troops who were still killing the villagers. Gu Huang was too late; several of his soldiers had been killed, their internal organs and bodies scattered everywhere. All that remained were their horses running into the forest.
Gu Huang's eyes widened, his pupils constricted. The troops that had been his responsibility had died, only 50 remained.
"Zhang Jiangxi, take the survivors away from here."
"What do you mean, General?!—Very well, I understand." Zhang Jiangxi left, taking the remaining surviving troops toward the Empire. He initially hesitated, but after seeing the burning gaze, he knew that General Gu Huang was going to use his full power, which might injure his own troops.
"Good, they have all gone far away from here. Now it's just the two of us, you damned monster!" Gu Huang paused for a moment, exhaling and inhaling deeply, ignoring the chaos around him, which was full of blood, fire, smoke, and the roar of the summoned monster.
An explosion filled with massive energy shot high into the sky, illuminating the ancient forest. Its light was so bright that part of the forest seemed like it was daytime, while the other part remained pitch black.
The eye-covered monster was thrown backward while closing all its eyes. The monster fell, causing part of the forest to shake and a massive landslide to occur.
The Silver Fox Spirit, who was sleeping in Xiaojun's shadow in the cave, woke up, sensing two great energies colliding with each other.
"Child, there is a great battle happening in this forest. What do you want me to do?" The silver fox whispered to Xiaojun, who was still asleep.
"As long as it doesn't disturb us, just leave it alone," Xiaojun said faintly, in a state between conscious and unconscious. The two of them returned to their sleep, although the Silver Fox Spirit remained vigilant, afraid of an attack coming their way.
In Jie Yang Village, Gu Huang and the summoned monster began their battle. The summoned monster slowly stood up amidst the ruins of the village houses and the trees whose ground had shifted into the earth's belly.
Gu Huang, who had released that massive energy, began to transform his body, revealing the level of understanding he had gained from fighting in various places for the Qin Empire. This was the understanding of a general who could lead his troops even in impossible situations.
His eyes glowed gold. His armor was enveloped in light, emphasizing every protection on his body. Behind his armor, there were also four triangular flags, each with a different color. The left side had yellow and red flags, while the right side had white and black flags. [His clothes resembled those of a ji-tong possessed by an ancestral spirit or deity, as performed during the 'Cap Go Meh' ceremony for the New Year.]
Gu Huang also held a spear enveloped in great energy. The spearhead had two blade edges on the left and right, shaped like crescent moons.
Now Gu Huang was equivalent to a Tao Immortal user. It could be said that he was capable of fighting two lower-level Divine Warriors, even though in the end, Gu Huang would surely lose. But that would be enough to leave both of them severely injured.
"Monster, let's begin the game!" Gu Huang leaped into the air, charging at the summoned monster. He spun his spear and stabbed several of the eyes on its body.
The summoned monster screamed loudly, creating an energy wave that could penetrate hundreds of li away. It countered by transforming one of the pupils on its body into something like an eye of annihilation. Every time that eye glanced at anything visible within its pupil, that thing would disappear without any existential remains.
Gu Huang dodged quickly, with movements invisible to the naked eye. He stared at that pupil and the traces of its attack.
"That monster closes its eyes that can destroy existence. It seems that attack cannot be used at all times." Gu Huang analyzed the summoned monster. He saw that the eye which had just unleashed that terrible attack was burned away without a trace.
The summoned monster still had 12 remaining eyes to fight Gu Huang. It moved quickly behind Gu Huang's body and attacked him with a stack of its large palms.
As those palms struck Gu Huang's body, the monster thought Gu Huang had been slammed into the ground and destroyed, with the surrounding trees already in utter chaos. The summoned monster thought it was over, but Gu Huang survived because of the protection on his back. The flags on the back of Gu Huang's armor transformed into a shield shaped like the body of the god Erlang Shen.
Even though it was merely a manifestation of the understanding of the flags behind his armor, it was still about 10% similar to the original.
Gu Huang took the red flag. Instantly, his armor changed into another form. This time, his armor was lighter, with red accents on the helmet like Phoenix feathers. Three flags remained unused on his back. Gu Huang's weapon changed; what was originally a spear became a sword with a blade as thin as cloth.
Gu Huang was now as light as a feather. He moved faster than before, cutting off the monster's hand and stabbing three other eyes on its body.
The battle grew increasingly intense, making all the forest inhabitants and warriors from the Falling Star Empire curious about the explosive energy at the northern border between the Qin Empire and the Falling Star Empire. However, they could not simply go and watch into another Empire's territory without permission.
Xiao Lin Mo, who was with Xiaojun in the cave, woke up from her sleep after feeling a strange turmoil in her body. She felt a bitter sensation. Her face turned pale, cold sweat dripped from her temples onto the ground, and her heartbeat was irregular.
"What is happening out there? Why are my feelings so mixed up?" Xiao Lin Mo raised both her hands to her chest and walked toward the cave entrance, where great energy was spreading everywhere.
The Silver Fox Spirit stopped Xiao Lin Mo's body from going outside. It made her body as still as a statue.
"Out there is too dangerous for you, careless girl," whispered the Silver Fox Spirit. Its voice echoed in Xiao Lin Mo's ears, making her raise her eyebrows and narrow her pupils.
"Who is that?!" Xiao Lin Mo's body trembled as she spoke.
"That is the three-tailed Silver Fox Spirit that awakened inside my body." Xiaojun called out as he walked to the cave entrance, approaching Xiao Lin Mo, who was as still as a statue. Xiaojun stared at the commotion outside. The surrounding nature suddenly seemed as if a disaster was coming from the sky. The wind blew strongly, carrying debris and fallen trees from the battle between Gu Huang and the summoned monster.
"Do you want to die when this forest is no longer peaceful? Look at that monster with a mountain-sized body covered in eyes," Xiaojun spoke while looking around without turning toward Xiao Lin Mo, who was still as a statue.
"That came from my village! I have to go there to save my father and mother!" Xiao Lin Mo insisted on going to the battle area, which was no longer approachable.
"Hah... You are very stubborn. Very well, I will take you there. But if the situation worsens, don't blame me if I leave you there." Xiaojun exhaled heavily. Family bonds truly could not be defeated. Suddenly, his head throbbed again. The memory of the five-year-old girl slowly began to reveal her face, even if it was only her lips smiling toward Xiaojun.
Xiaojun tried to stand up straight, even though his vision was blurry and his body was almost staggering to fall.
"It's fine!" Xiao Lin Mo asserted, her eyes sparkling.
Xiaojun nodded slowly, began to put on his silver fox mask, and released Xiao Lin Mo, who was as still as a statue. He lifted Xiao Lin Mo with one hand. From his back, he also released one silver-white fox tail, slightly transparent. The two of them shot toward the great battle. Rocks and soil at the cave entrance collapsed as Xiaojun shot away.
On the other side, Gu Huang and the summoned monster continued their rampage. The monster suddenly multiplied itself by transforming one of the pupils on its body into something like a star. After that pupil transformed, it suddenly turned into a crystal that grew and protruded outward.
The summoned monster had 8 eyes remaining. Even though it had lost its left arm, it still had various abilities originating from the eyes all over its body.
"So, the source of its power comes from the eyes on its body. I must destroy them as quickly as possible. My pure energy has been drained considerably." Gu Huang murmured while staying alert. He was surrounded by the summoned monster, which had turned into 10 copies. They were all equal to the original.
The summoned monster attacked Gu Huang together with power that could destroy a mountain with just a palm. Even though the only remaining hand was the right one, the summoned monster made strange hand movements, as if performing a ritual but using hand gestures to replace spoken words.
Suddenly, a portal opened in the sky, from which demonic language sounded: Hulang, Madhoing, Jhubailang. Three demonic language voices emerged. Instantly, the shadow of a demon's head appeared, with sharply towering teeth, earlobes extending downward, and a Taoist crown made of skulls around it. It stared at the ongoing battle, more precisely, it stared sharply at Gu Huang.
"What kind of creature is this?! Its head alone is this big. I don't know what to compare it to." Gu Huang stood in the middle, staring back at the demon that had appeared above him.
The Silver Fox Spirit in Xiaojun's shadow suddenly widened its eyes in disbelief. In this world, there was someone who could summon a demon from another realm.
"Hulang, Madhoing, Jhubailang. Hahaha... It's been a long time since the inter-realm war 50 thousand years ago." The Silver Fox Spirit laughed bitterly, imagining that terrible war.
"Child, when we arrive there, let me use your body for a moment to have a casual conversation with my old friend from another realm." The Silver Fox Spirit smiled, its eyebrows slightly lowered, and its pupils sharpened as if hunting.
"What are those demon words saying anyway?" Xiaojun asked curiously, before responding to the Silver Fox Spirit.
"Hulang means the mighty one who has fallen. Madhoing means gods and demons are created by the universe. Jhubailang means the ruler of the destroyed realm, a realm abandoned by the gods," explained the Silver Fox Spirit.
"Very well, after we arrive, you may use my body as an intermediary," Xiaojun answered calmly.
The demon at Jie Yang Village sensed a familiar energy nearby. It turned its eyes, which were blazing red like flowing lava. After looking around, it finally found it.
"Silver Fox, you are here?!"