Chapter 70: The Little Fox Who Grew a Second Tail

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“Thunder rumbles in the sky, tigers leap and dragons soar, myriad transformations, coming and going like clouds, the Mother of Lightning roars, the Lord of Thunder charges ahead, ten thousand miles of thunderbolts shatter hidden ghosts and spirits…”

As Li Yunfei chanted the incantation, his brush danced swiftly across the paper, rapidly producing one “Heavenly Thunder Talisman” after another.

Among all the talismans he could currently wield, this Heavenly Thunder Talisman boasted the greatest offensive power.

However, like the Talisman of Exorcism and the True Fire Talisman, it belonged to the category of basic talismans, and if used directly, could only exhibit the most fundamental level of power.

The true extent of its might depended on which incantation was used to empower it at the moment of activation.

For instance, when Li Yunfei faced the White Boar King, he empowered the Talisman of Exorcism with the “Northern Dipper Evil-Breaking Incantation,” which was specially designed to dispel demonic energy and accelerate the depletion of a demon beast’s power.

The True Fire Talisman could be enhanced with various incantations such as the “Threefold True Fire Incantation,” the “Fivefold True Fire Incantation,” or the “Six Ding Divine Fire Incantation,” pushing its effectiveness to the very limits of Li Yunfei’s cultivation.

Of course, these incantations did not truly summon the legendary divine fires, but rather imbued the talisman with a measure of their qualities.

The Heavenly Thunder Talisman was much the same. It could be empowered with incantations like the “Five Thunders Spell,” the “Grand Thunder Lord Incantation,” the “Eight Directions Savage Thunder Incantation,” or the “Five Elements Divine Thunder Incantation.”

Depending on the chosen empowerment, one could unleash a concentrated single-target strike, a widespread area attack, a sustained electric shock, and so forth.

Thunder magic was considered the most potent offensive branch of Maoshan Daoist arts, and the Shenxiao Sect of Maoshan was especially renowned for its mastery in this field.

Disciples of the Shenxiao Sect could wield thunder magic even without talismans—merely with incantations and hand seals, they could conjure it out of thin air.

Their entry-level thunder technique, the “Thunder Palm,” allowed them to sketch a talisman in the air and smack it out with their palm, wielding formidable destructive power capable of shattering stone and breaking monuments.

If one used their own blood to draw the talisman in their palm, even ferocious spirits and vengeful ghosts would find its force unbearable, its might rivaling artillery and far surpassing the palm strikes of martial artists at the same level.

The Shangqing Sect, by contrast, had a far greater variety of talismans. Though less specialized in thunder magic than the Shenxiao Sect, this breadth gave them an advantage in versatility.

After drawing ten Heavenly Thunder Talismans, Li Yunfei immediately sold them to the system store, thus unlocking unlimited purchase rights.

Switching incantations, he quickly began to draw another highly practical talisman.

“Hide me, hide me, truly hide me; hidden beneath the protection of the General of True Martiality. The right hand governs the seven souls, the left the three spirits. Where shall I hide? At the bottom of the Poluo Sea…”

“Heaven covers earth, earth covers heaven; part the clouds and see the blue sky. A thousand evil magicians cannot find me, ten thousand fail to succeed. Should any evil magician discover me, thunder will strike and reduce them to dust. I respectfully invoke the six stars of the Southern Dipper, the seven stars of the Northern Dipper, and in the name of the Supreme Elder, so let it be done.”

The Concealment Talisman could obscure one’s presence and prevent fellow practitioners from harming them via remote sorcery.

Among Shangqing Daoist arts, there existed methods to curse enemies from afar—so long as one knew the target’s name and birth details, one could set up an altar and perform a ritual to kill the enemy.

If the name and birth details were unknown, possessing a part of the target’s body, such as hair, nails, skin flakes, or blood, would suffice.

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Once one’s cultivation reached a high level, even a personal belonging of the target could be used to cast the spell.

But if the target wore a Concealment Talisman, such methods became useless, for it was impossible to locate them; any attempt to force the ritual would result in backlash.

Thus, the Concealment Talisman was extremely valuable—though it offered no protection against martial artists or cultivators at close range.

A martial artist could sense disturbances through shifts in the air, and a cultivator, endowed with spiritual perception, could easily detect hidden foes.

In front of such adversaries, one could only remain unseen by remaining utterly motionless; any movement would give one away.

Only by attaining deeper cultivation and employing advanced concealment spells could one overcome this limitation.

After drawing ten Concealment Talismans and selling them to the system store, Li Yunfei turned to yet another type of talisman.

This one was especially peculiar: first, he drew a human figure on the talisman paper, then inscribed runes around it.

Li Yunfei recited: “Supreme Elder, oneness divides into three purities; by this decree, let this talisman become my avatar. Riding the wind, harnessing the breath, forming a body outside my own. By the Supreme Elder’s command—so let it be done.”

The Avatar Talisman allowed the user to create a doppelgänger.

However, this doppelgänger lacked self-awareness and appeared somewhat stiff, capable only of mechanically carrying out the commands of its original.

Once its instructions were completed or if it was attacked, it would immediately disintegrate and revert to talisman paper.

To create an avatar with true intelligence, capable of independent thought and action like a real person, one needed to reach the level of Yin Spirit.

Upon attaining the Yin Spirit realm, it was possible to infuse the Avatar Talisman with a wisp of soul, bringing the doppelgänger “to life.”

At the Yang Spirit realm, the avatar would become indistinguishable from the original, and could even be endowed with cultivation, granting it combat ability.

This was akin to the legendary Monkey King plucking a hair to create countless monkey clones—a high-level application of avatar magic.

Since breaking through to the Spirit Movement stage, Li Yunfei had become proficient in over eighty types of talismans.

He drew ten of each he could master and sold them all to the system store.

Thus, from now on, there was no need for him to painstakingly draw talismans by hand; whenever he needed one, he could simply purchase it, money being no object.

Excluding those he had previously drawn, this session alone saw him produce over six hundred talismans, completing his entire repertoire.

Six more days passed, and the little fox finally leveled up to thirty.

She too possessed her own unique cultivation method, but having relied on dungeon runs for experience, she had barely practiced it.

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Her cultivation technique was named “Heavenly Fox’s Inquiry into the Dao,” signifying a path that led directly to immortality.

For when a fox demon attained the stage of Heavenly Fox, it was equivalent to a human cultivator reaching the realm of Celestial Immortal.

This time, the little fox’s advancement brought Li Yunfei yet another great surprise.

At the very instant she broke through, a brilliant red light burst forth from her, and within its glow, a second tail sprouted from her haunches.

Upon witnessing this, Li Yunfei’s heart pounded wildly in his chest.

If she could grow a second tail, then a third could surely follow.

Once a fox attained three tails, she could take on human form.

When they reached six tails, they transcended the category of “demon,” their bodies almost entirely free from demonic energy.

At that point, they were known as Six-Tailed Spirit Foxes, and all their demonic power had been transformed into spiritual energy.

Unless a Six-Tailed Spirit Fox deliberately revealed her true form, ordinary people would never suspect she was anything but human.

And to reach nine tails was to be truly formidable indeed—a Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox, or Fox Immortal, counted among the ranks of those who had achieved true celestial fruition.

The Heart Moon Fox among the Twenty-Eight Lunar Mansions, and Tushan Shi, wife of the Great Yu, were both fox immortals who had achieved such ascension.

If the little fox were to assume human form, what would she look like?

Li Yunfei swallowed nervously, a strange anticipation welling up inside him.

For in all the legends, there was not a single tale of a fox spirit’s transformation resulting in anything less than breathtaking beauty.

Every last one of them was said to be a peerless enchantress, capable of toppling kingdoms and bewitching the world.

Steadying himself, Li Yunfei opened his system interface, navigated to the pet panel, and checked which new abilities the little fox had awakened at level thirty.

This time, the awakened skill was not a combat ability, but an auxiliary one—yet in the right hands, it could prove even more valuable than any combat skill.

Illusion Mastery: Manipulate the surrounding environment to create illusions indistinguishable from reality, ensnaring enemies within.

Charm Factor: Release the seductive essence inherent in the bloodline of the fox tribe, causing targets to become mesmerized and lose the will to resist; especially effective when used in conjunction with illusions.