What does the Eight-tailed White Fox intend to do?
It merely devised a plan to kill two birds with one stone, intending to use Xu Yi and the other demons as bait to force the Black-haired Ape out of Monkey Mountain to rescue them.
It had known for a long time that Xu Yi had arrived in Shenzhou.
After all, Shenzhou was entirely under its control, and Xu Yi, leading a large group of weak lesser demons, could not conceal their whereabouts.
Upon receiving the news, the Eight-tailed White Fox did not act immediately, nor did it recall the demon beasts ambushing on the way. It waited, waiting for Xu Yi to approach Monkey King Mountain.
The ape demons of Monkey King Mountain posed no threat to it, as they could not leave Monkey King Mountain.
Being unable to leave Monkey King Mountain meant they could not appear under its watchful eyes, nor could they disrupt its plans.
However, the Eight-tailed White Fox was not satisfied with all this.
The existence of Monkey King Mountain was like a thorn in its throat, impossible to spit out or swallow.
The Eight-tailed White Fox regarded Monkey King Mountain as the only obstacle to its unification of Shenzhou.
Once the ape demons on Monkey King Mountain were dealt with, no other demon beast could stop its advance.
But Monkey King Mountain was like an iron barrel, offering no place to strike.
The Eight-tailed White Fox's attempts to probe had all been in vain.
Xu Yi's appearance offered it a chance at victory.
Xu Yi's identity was no longer a secret, and her close relationship with Monkey King Mountain made her the perfect lure to draw the ape demons out.
Thus, the Eight-tailed White Fox suppressed its inner brutality and waited, and waited, until the most critical step of the plan arrived.
It narrowed its eyes, listening to its subordinate report that the group of demon beasts was nearing the planned location.
It slowly rose, its eight long tails swaying gracefully behind it, "Move out!"
"Yes!"
...
"Stop!"
A roar of anger stunned the demon beasts, who were excitedly charging forward, leaving them frozen in place.
The cat demon, lazily closing its eyes in Xu Yi's arms, was also startled, nearly puffing up its fur and jumping out of Xu Yi's embrace.
Although it didn't jump out, its expression became extremely tense, its large, spirited eyes darting around nervously.
"My lady, what is it?"
The one asking was the Black-toothed Dog, who bravely stepped forward.
If it had initially submitted to Xu Yi due to her natural imposing aura, then through all it had seen and heard along the way, it was now completely convinced and held genuine respect for Xu Yi.
Therefore, although it didn't understand why Xu Yi had shouted, it believed that something unknown must have happened.
"All demon beasts gather together, behind me. There's an ambush ahead."
Xu Yi's expression was cold, and a faint killing intent emanated from her voice.
It's finally here.
"An ambush?"
Upon hearing this, the demons immediately panicked and scrambled behind Xu Yi.
However, some demons remained rooted to the spot, not moving.
Confusion was plainly etched on their faces.
"My lady, there are no demon beast auras ahead. Are you perhaps..."
The demon speaking was the Gold-swallowing Beast, renowned for its keen sense of smell, rivaling the Treasure-seeking Rat.
It was precisely this skill that had allowed it to evade rounds of searches.
In past ambushes, it had always sensed danger in advance and informed Xu Yi.
But this time, it sensed nothing unusual.
Therefore, it suspected that Xu Yi was too nervous and had made a mistake.
Many demons shared the same suspicion as the Gold-swallowing Beast.
Some of these demons possessed special skills like the Gold-swallowing Beast and had not detected any danger, while others simply did not wish to heed Xu Yi's call.
They were inherently rebellious, unwilling to join any faction, even though Xu Yi had saved them.
Xu Yi remained unfazed.
She had already warned these demons.
If they chose not to listen, they had no one to blame but themselves.
She fixed her eyes ahead and said softly, "They're coming."
The Gold-swallowing Beast instinctively responded, "Who's coming?"
As the words fell, several white figures suddenly emerged from the front.
A piercing sound of air breaking through the sky reverberated.
The next moment.
"Ah!"
"Urk!"
"Pfft!"
The abrupt screams and splattering blood cast a bloody shadow over the forest.
The Gold-swallowing Beast stared blankly at the gaping hole in its chest and muttered, "There really was an ambush."
Bang!
The Gold-swallowing Beast's breath ceased, and it collapsed with a thud.
Beside it lay many other demon beasts with large holes ripped through their chests.
A look of terror lingered on the faces of these demons.
Death had come too swiftly.
Xu Yi was also attacked by the white figures.
However, she was prepared.
"Fire!"
She channeled her spiritual power into the Chastisement Ruler, and scorching flames instantly erupted, forming a wall of fire before her.
Crackle! Crackle!
Space warped severely, and sonic booms echoed incessantly.
Upon touching the wall of fire before Xu Yi, those white figures retracted with even greater speed, and their colors subtly shifted.
Three breaths later.
The wall of fire vanished.
Xu Yi was unharmed, with several charred corpses lying before her.
"M-my lady, have they left?"
The Black-toothed Dog climbed up from the ground and asked in a small voice, the lingering fear and joy of survival in its eyes.
It hadn't clearly seen what had attacked them, but it had seen its lady repel the white figures, just as before.
They should be safe... right?
As for the demons that had died, the Black-toothed Dog could only think they deserved it; who told them not to listen to its lady.
"It's not that simple."
Xu Yi was not as optimistic as the Black-toothed Dog.
While the Black-toothed Dog hadn't clearly seen what attacked them, she had seen it perfectly.
They were tails, one after another, white tails.
The fur was as white as a captivating cat's.
A demon beast capable of transforming into multiple tails and possessing such immense attacking power made it difficult for Xu Yi not to guess its true form.
Thus, Xu Yi became even more tense.
With the Chastisement Ruler, she could fight across realms and even slay ordinary Tribulation Crossing cultivators.
But she was facing a great demon of the Mahayana stage, the Eight-tailed White Fox.
Even Xu Yi lacked the confidence to retreat unscathed.
Moreover, she had a group of defenseless lesser demons behind her.
These demons were neither kin nor friends to her, but she had brought them to the foot of Monkey King Mountain, only one step away from their destination. To give up now, Xu Yi was unwilling.
"Black-tooth, come here," Xu Yi said softly.
The Black-toothed Dog obediently stepped forward and stopped beside Xu Yi.
Xu Yi smiled at it, then bent down and placed the Shadow Cat onto its back.
"Meow?"
"Woof?"
The black and white demon beasts froze.
"Protect it."
Xu Yi directed this statement towards both demon beasts.
"Meow!"
"Woof!"
The Black-toothed Dog and the Shadow Cat naturally took each other as their charges and loudly guaranteed it.
After barking, both demon beasts glanced disdainfully at each other before simultaneously turning their heads away.
Xu Yi couldn't help but smile. She then took out several formation disks from her storage ring, quickly placing them in different positions behind her, and instructed all the demons, "Do not leave this area."
The surviving demons were those who listened to Xu Yi.
Seeing Xu Yi's grave expression, they understood the seriousness of the situation and obediently nodded, not daring to speak loudly to disturb Xu Yi.
Xu Yi placed the last formation disk, sighed inwardly, and looked ahead again.
The opponent should appear now.