Chapter 10: Crisis

However, before she had a chance to do anything, Daoist Master White Stone swept a sleeve through the air to release a golden shadow that shot forth like lightning.

In the blink of an eye, the golden shadow transformed into a shimmering golden rope that bound Liu Le'er tightly.

As a result, Liu Le'er was tripped over and fell onto the ground with a dull thump.

"What are you trying to do, you old bastard?"

Liu Le'er glowered intently at Daoist Master White Stone while struggling with all her might, but the golden rope only constricted even tighter around her body as if it could feel her resistance.

Liu Le'er's expression became twisted with agony, and tears welled up in her eyes, but she gritted her teeth tightly and refused to make a sound.

All of a sudden, her ears abruptly vanished, but a pair of pointy triangular fox ears poked through the black hair on the top of her head.

A burst of potent restrictive force was released by the golden rope, completely sealing her magic power.

"What am I trying to do? Hehe, you naive little demon fox! Did you really think you could fool me with that magic tool of yours? What a joke!" Daoist Master White Stone said in a cold voice as he took a glance at Liu Le'er out of the corners of his eyes.

"So you already saw through my identity?" Liu Le'er's heart sank even further upon hearing this, but she still had a stubborn and unyielding look on her face.

"Hehe, is this the time for you to be worrying about that? You were brought into the manor by the young mistress, and the fox race is quite a powerful race in our Spirit Domain Realm, so I originally planned to turn a blind eye, but who could've anticipated that you would bring such a priceless treasure straight to my doorstep?"

Daoist Master White Stone cast his gaze toward Liu Shi as he spoke, and a hint of irrepressible excitement appeared in his eyes.

"Wh... What are you going to do to Brother Rock?" Liu Le'er asked in a trembling voice.

"Don't worry, I couldn't bear to kill this brother of yours. His body is more powerful than any that I've ever seen before, and to make matters even better, his spiritual sense has been harmed, reducing him to an imbecile! All I have to do is use a secret technique to erase what remains of his consciousness, and I'll be able to refine a puppet with boundless potential!" Daoist Master White Stone said with a triumphant expression.

A trail of blood began to trick down from the corner of Liu Le'er's lips upon hearing this, and a desperate look appeared in her eyes as a layer of crimson light emerged on her face. She arched forward violently as an animalistic snarl erupted from her lips, and her pupils began to glow green while large tufts of white fur sprouted all over her entire body.

Every single strand of fur was glowing with translucent light and was extremely hard, making it seem as if she had suddenly transformed into a white hedgehog. Furthermore, the fur on her tail was flashing with arcs of white lightning.

All of a sudden, the white fur abruptly stood up on end to force the golden rope away from her body slightly, and dazzling white light began to glow from her furry tail.

Countless strands of white fur were fired through the air, hurtling directly toward the block of black ice like a barrage of flying needles.

"Insolence!"

Daoist Master White Stone turned around with a furious expression before releasing an ovular black shield, which shot forth as a streak of black light at an incredible speed, arriving in front of the block of black ice just barely before the barrage of white fur arrived.

The ovular shield then immediately expanded to several times its original size to cover the entirety of the block of ice.

A string of loud clangs rang out as the barrage of fur struck the black shield, causing it to tremble incessantly, but ultimately, the attack was kept at bay.

The green light in Liu Le'er's eyes flickered violently upon seeing this, but before she had a chance to do anything else, the golden rope around her suddenly glowed brightly as its constrictive force increased by almost twofold, flattening the white fur against Liu Le'er's body. At the same time, countless finger-length golden needles emerged from the rope, piercing deep into her body.

"Argh!"

Blood began to flow incessantly out of her body, staining large sections of her fur red. However, she gritted her teeth and paid no heed to her own injuries as she swept her tail through the air once again with all of her remaining strength.

Another barrage of white fur was released, but this time, it dispersed before flying toward the block of ice from all directions.

The black shield was like an impregnable wall, but it couldn't cover the block of ice from every direction at once.

Daoist Master White Stone was furious to see this, and he opened his mouth to release a ball of black light, within which was enveloped a serpentine flying sword that flew into the air above the block of ice in a flash.

The flying sword circled through the air, manifesting a burst of black sword qi that formed a wall of sword projections, which enveloped the block of ice.

At the same time, the black shield glowed even brighter as it expanded further in size, protecting the block of ice alongside the sword projections.

A string of metallic clangs rang out, and most of the needle-like fur was kept at bay by the flying sword and the black shield, but there were still some that managed to sneak through the gaps and strike the block of black ice.

The block of ice trembled violently, and many thin holes were punched into it. Several cracks appeared on its surface, and they were rapidly expanding.

Right at this moment, Daoist Master White Stone arrived beside the block of ice in a flash, then raised his hands to release a vast expanse of black mist out of his sleeves. Some of the mist fused into the block of ice, while the rest formed a protective barrier around it.

The cracks on the block of ice immediately stopped expanding, then quickly began to seal, and after just a few seconds, it was already back to its original state.

Daoist Master White Stone heaved a sigh of relief upon seeing this, then turned to glower at Liu Le'er with a furious expression.

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Liu Le'er was laying on the ground with an indignant look in her eyes.

All of the fur on her body had already vanished, and her aura was severely diminished. It was clear that the two attacks she had just unleashed had already exhausted all of her magic power.

"Looks like I underestimated you!" Daoist Master White Stone harrumphed coldly.

If he had reacted even a split second later than he had, the block of ice would've most likely been shattered.

With a vicious sweep of his hand, Daoist Master White Stone conjured up a palm of black light, which slammed into Liu Le'er's body.

Liu Le'er was instantly sent flying before crashing into the wall of the secret chamber, and she threw up a large mouthful of blood before falling onto the ground in a heap.

Her entire body was stained with blood, and her hair was completely disheveled. Her face was deathly pale, and she was clearly in terrible condition.

If it weren't for the fact that Daoist Master White Stone intended to sell her for spirit stones, he would've already killed her with that strike.

"Brother Rock..." Liu Le'er raised her head in a feeble manner as she cast her gaze toward Liu Shi, but her body then suddenly spasmed, and she fell unconscious.

Daoist Master White Stone swept a hand through the air to release several talismans, which flew over to Liu Le'er before adhering themselves onto the ground around her.

A vast expanse of black light erupted from the talismans, forming a ball over her body.

Only after doing all of that did Daoist Master White Stone turn his attention back to the block of ice, and he couldn't suppress the smile that crept onto his face.

"Once I successfully refine this puppet, none of my current rivals will be a match for me!"

His smile faded as he raised his hands to release eight more talismans, which fell onto the ground near the block of black ice.

Inky black light rose up from the talismans to form an array, which lifted the block of ice around a foot off the ground.

Daoist Master White Stone then flipped a hand over to produce a black gourd.

There was a circle of blue runes engraved onto the gourd that were giving off a cold light, and it sounded as if there were some type of liquid sloshing around inside it.

He pulled out the gourd cork and carefully tipped it over to pour out a black liquid that gave off an aggressively nauseating stench.

There were specks of black light shimmering within the liquid, and it was squirming incessantly as if it were alive.