Wisps of blue flame danced around me, while the Nine-Tailed Fox grinned smugly before my eyes. I was completely trapped by her foxfire. This foxfire had a peculiar trait: once it locked onto your aura, it would cling to you relentlessly, and none of the four powers within me could break free from it.
I've already fought the Nine-Tailed Fox hundreds of times, yet I still haven't found a way to break her technique. If I'm burned by this foxfire, the sensation is excruciating. I do my best to dodge, but clusters of blue foxfire keep shifting positions and speed, attacking me relentlessly.
I'm starting to reach my limit.
"Hehe, Ethan Zhang, what's wrong? Didn't you say you'd crack it soon? This move is my signature technique—if you break it so easily, all the years I've spent in this Illusory Realm would be wasted, wouldn't they?"
I didn't reply, focusing all my attention on dodging the foxfire. Sure enough, if I got distracted, I'd get scorched, and the pain was unbearable. I could only rely on my speed to quickly widen the distance, but even though the foxfire moved a bit slower, it followed me like a shadow.
This is my only option now—there's nothing else I can do. The Nine-Tailed Fox doesn't even need to control them with her mind; the foxfire seems alive, as if it knows exactly what I'm thinking. Just as I pull away, the foxfire instantly blocks all my escape routes and starts shooting toward me in clusters.
I concentrate on dodging, still searching for a solution. After all these days, I still can't break this foxfire. When facing the Nine-Tailed Fox, I used the power of karma and even gained the upper hand, but the moment I used it, I started losing ground. I couldn't spare any effort to fight her directly—if I got hit, I'd be suffering for a while.
Nearby, Eugenia and the Blueflame Warden sat on a floating stone slab, enjoying the desserts I'd made for them and sipping tea. They looked completely at ease, watching our side of the battle.
"You can do it, Ethan!"
Eugenia waved and cheered. I could only give a helpless smile and keep running. After a while, I finally couldn't take it anymore.
"Stop."
"I can stop, but who won and who lost?"
The Nine-Tailed Fox lifted her head arrogantly, tiptoeing with a seductive air as she stood at a distance, one slender finger pointed at me.
A little embarrassed, I nodded and shouted loudly.
"I lost. You won."
The Nine-Tailed Fox nodded in satisfaction, snapped her fingers, and clusters of Foxfire returned to her body. I sighed helplessly—these supernatural beasts here are truly fascinating, each with their own quirks. The Nine-Tailed Fox, though, has a natural penchant for tormenting others, always looking down from above, forever hoping to see someone make a fool of themselves.
I followed the Nine-Tailed Fox to where Eugenia and the others were waiting. The Nine-Tailed Fox immediately grabbed a piece of pastry, stuffed it into her mouth, and covered her mouth with both hands as she laughed contentedly.
"Tell me, can you act like this every time? Qingyuan doesn't know your true nature, but I do. How about you and I have a match?"
As soon as Eugenia said that, the Nine-Tailed Fox grew displeased and shot me a sidelong glance.
"No need for Miss Eugenia to expose me. I’ll figure something out myself."