Mo Qi also couldn't help but feel a flutter of panic, and for the first time in his life, he felt that way when facing an enemy.
If it were just him, he could fight with all his might. Even if he couldn't win, escaping should be no problem. But the issue was that Zhen Zhen's magical power was too weak. If he didn't spare some attention to look after her, she would surely die. However, if he divided his attention, he would be restricted in every way.
Mo Qi took out the Five-Colored Pagoda, intending to place Zhen Zhen inside. Thirteen Niang suddenly struck out with a red ribbon. With a flash of red light, the Five-Colored Pagoda fell to the ground.
At the same time, countless red ribbons attacked them from all directions. All that could be seen were red blurs like shuttles, their momentum like a rainbow.
The red ribbons were like burning fire dragons, lunging forward with bared fangs and claws, emitting intense heat and immense pressure all around.
Before they even reached them, their bodies felt as if they were about to be torn apart.
Seeing this display, Mo Qi realized that every fox demon seemed to have cultivation at or above the Core Formation stage. Dealing with one was already difficult enough; with over a dozen of them attacking together, it was truly a case of even the most skilled fighter being overwhelmed.
"You won't be able to fly away even with wings. Today is your day of death," Thirteen Niang said fiercely.
Mo Qi activated his Body Protection Golden Robes, erected an ice wall in front of him, and then pulled Zhen Zhen, turning to flee. Several red ribbons flew towards them. He unleashed his five-clawed hand shadows, tearing those ribbons to shreds. However, the explosive spiritual energy burst forth, creating immense impact force. Mo Qi was barely affected, but Zhen Zhen's blood and qi churned, and she sustained a not-insignificant injury.
Mo Qi continued to pull Zhen Zhen, charging towards the four fox demons opposite them.
At the same time, he swept his claw shadows horizontally. Two of the fox demons dodged, sustaining minor injuries. The other two fox demons were directly torn to shreds, their flesh and blood scattering on the ground, emitting a strong scent of blood.
Mo Qi then pulled Zhen Zhen and rushed out of the crowd, speeding forward.
The remaining fox demons were furious and pursued them relentlessly.
Knowing that a bloody battle was inevitable, Mo Qi took a Flash Shift Pill to increase his speed. After widening the distance between himself and the pursuers, he took out spirit herbs from his storage bag and stuffed them into his mouth. These were materials for refining the Golden Body Pill. By activating his Blazing Fire spiritual energy, he could refine them internally. Once the medicinal effects took hold, his body would be strengthened, forming an invincible golden armor.
After a period of rapid travel, he looked back and saw that the figures were gradually disappearing. He descended from the clouds and continued to speed along the ground. Reaching a hilltop, he stopped.
Mo Qi handed Zhen Zhen two pills. "This is a healing pill and an invisibility pill. After you take them, wait for me here. I'll deal with them. I'll come back for you after I've finished them."
Zhen Zhen obediently took the pills and took the invisibility one, disappearing from sight.
Mo Qi then turned around, also taking an invisibility pill, and headed towards the group of fox demons.
The group of fox demons also descended where Mo Qi had dropped from the clouds, landing on the ground and following Mo Qi's tracks up the mountain to search. They huddled together, rushing forward in pursuit, completely unaware that Mo Qi had already reached their midst.
Invisible arrow energy silently flowed out. With a hissing sound, five or six fox demons fell to the ground, dead.
Thirteen Niang cried out, "Everyone scatter, scatter quickly!"
The remaining eight fox demons scattered in eight different directions.
At the same time, Thirteen Niang opened her mouth and spat out a mist. It instantly spread out, seemingly filling the entire space. Mo Qi's body became visible as he was unleashing a claw shadow towards one of the fox demons, piercing it through the heart.
The fox demon fell to the ground, its life extinguished.
Thirteen Niang's eyes bulged with rage, and she roared, "Sisters, even if it means perishing together today, we will not hesitate!"
The hatred of the other fox demons was instantly ignited.
Mo Qi pursued one of the fox demons, while the other fox demons shifted their positions like shuttles, red ribbons flying back and forth.
A moment later, the fox demon Mo Qi was chasing was killed by him. He, however, was trapped within layers of red walls. Shadows flickered in the sky and on the ground, with fiery red everywhere.
It turned out that in the blink of an eye, the remaining six fox demons had set up a formation.
Everything in sight was fiery red.
He was now within a sea of fire. The flames surging from the ground reached several dozen feet high, while the sky was a void. He leaped up, attempting to escape through the air.
A bolt of lightning struck down, forcing him back to the ground.
He leaped up again, only to be struck down once more.
He had no choice but to sit cross-legged, right there in the sea of fire.
The towering flames engulfed him.
It was perfect timing; he could use the power of the flames to refine the pills within his body.
Lightning bolts occasionally struck from the sky, the flashes of electricity illuminating the darkness intermittently. Mo Qi brought out his Earth Arrow, making it spin constantly above his head, and the lightning bolts could not harm him at all.
Concurrently, Mo Qi took out a pill-refining furnace, threw in the bell that had exploded from the Gu Diao's body, along with some spirit stones and spirit herbs, and began refining the Exploding Pill using the previous method.
He felt that even the most stable formation only needed one Exploding Pill.
After an unknown amount of time, he heard a voice from outside: "Sister, once they enter our Myriad Ribbon Karmic Fire Array, even an immortal would find it hard to survive. At this moment, he's probably already turned into ashes."
"No rush. Let's keep him trapped for a while longer. We have plenty of time anyway," another voice replied.
Time trickled by. It seemed several hours had passed when Mo Qi suddenly remembered a problem: the invisibility pill's effect would only last for an hour. Zhen Zhen should have reappeared by now.
What if the six people outside sent one of them to find her?
What if she came back to find him?
The thought made him feel as if he were sitting on pins and needles.
At this moment, the Exploding Pill had not yet expanded to its maximum capacity and could not unleash its full power, but he had no choice but to proceed.
He hastily extinguished the furnace fire with his ice and snow divine abilities, affixed a restriction talisman, and prepared to blast his way out.
Just then, a voice suddenly came from his left: "Brother Mo, come out from this side. I'll help you open a gap."
It was Zhen Zhen's voice!
Immediately following was a series of explosive sounds, like the collision of spiritual energies.
Then, a white light pierced through the fiery red on the left side, like a door opening in a secret chamber.
Mo Qi immediately grabbed the pill furnace and rushed out through the white light.
Once he stepped out of the sea of fire, the view opened up before him, and the fresh air rushed to greet him.
But at the same time, he saw a scene that tore his heart apart.
A fox demon's red ribbon struck Zhen Zhen, piercing her chest. Zhen Zhen let out a scream!
At that moment, time seemed to stop, and the air froze.
His body trembled, his heart bled, his rage burned, and the air wailed!
Mo Qi tore off the talisman on the Exploding Pill and threw it backward, into the formation.
A deafening explosion erupted behind him, the shockwaves churning, kicking up sand and stones.
Without looking back, he lunged towards the fox demon that had attacked Zhen Zhen.
The fox demon withdrew its red ribbon, and Zhen Zhen fell to the ground.
The red ribbon swung towards Mo Qi, still carrying Zhen Zhen's blood.
Mo Qi's eyes glowed crimson, his entire body radiating a fiery red, like a descending god of war. He lunged directly at the fox demon.
The Earth Arrow appeared in his hand, and he thrust it forward, piercing through the red ribbon, tearing it apart layer by layer from the middle, and finally piercing into the fox demon's body.
The fox demon died without even a groan.
Mo Qi's heart shattered. He knelt down, looking at Zhen Zhen's cooling corpse, grief washing over him wave after wave, making it almost impossible to breathe!
At that moment, a loud bang echoed, and a sharp pain shot through his back.
Turning around, he saw Thirteen Niang standing behind him, covered in blood.
Her red ribbon had struck Mo Qi's back.
However, Mo Qi was protected by his golden armor at this moment, so the red ribbon did not injure him.
Mo Qi's hair stood on end in fury. "Damn it!" A beam of Earth Arrow sword light, connecting heaven and earth, shot out, instantly engulfing Thirteen Niang's body.
Mo Qi didn't even glance at her, his gaze returning to Zhen Zhen, his vision blurred by tears.
At that moment, miraculously, a golden light flared. The bloodstain on Zhen Zhen's chest gradually faded. A moment later, the wound on her chest had completely healed.
Mo Qi remembered the talisman pasted on Zhen Zhen's chest and felt a surge of surprise. It seemed the talisman had worked. Could she be resurrected?
He waited there quietly. After several hours, she still did not wake up, nor did she breathe or have a heartbeat.
His heart gradually cooled down again.
The artifact spirit flew from somewhere, circling in front of Zhen Zhen, emitting continuous whimpering sounds.
A moment later, Mo Qi suddenly thought: this talisman couldn't bring her back to life, so the fairy she met couldn't have given her a spiritual talisman for no reason!
This spiritual talisman was likely not for resurrection, but to preserve the physical body from perishing.
If not for this spiritual talisman, Zhen Zhen's body and soul would likely have been annihilated by now.
If her soul was not extinguished, and if she still had some lingering attachment, then her soul should not have gone far.
With this thought, Mo Qi activated his Heavenly Eye divine ability and began searching the vicinity.
Indeed, less than ten feet away, a shadowy phantom was drifting aimlessly, as if searching for something, or perhaps having forgotten something. It was vaguely possible to discern Zhen Zhen's outline.
Mo Qi's heart settled slightly. He immediately activated his spiritual power, pushing the phantom into Zhen Zhen's body. However, the phantom floated out uncontrollably. He pushed it in again, and it floated out again, repeating this cycle.
After a moment, Mo Qi was covered in sweat. He gradually realized that restoring a soul was not something that could be achieved through brute force.
The secret alchemy techniques of the Divine Pill Sect mentioned a Soul Returning Pill.
If the Soul Returning Pill could be successfully refined, it could bring her back to life.
However, the ingredients were extremely rare, such as Nine Lives Grass, Netherworld Water... some were only obtainable by chance, while others were impossible to find even when sought.
For now, he could only find a place to freeze Zhen Zhen's body, seal her soul, and then slowly find a way to search for those ingredients. Once the ingredients were gathered, he could refine the pill and bring her back to life.
To seal the soul, the Five-Colored Pagoda would be needed.
Looking up, he saw the Five-Colored Pagoda lying at the feet of the fox demon he had just killed.
At the previous battleground, Mo Qi's Five-Colored Pagoda had been knocked down. He hadn't had the chance to pick it up, and this fox demon had picked it up and carried it with him.