The Nine-tailed Fox, while sneering at Qin Xin, intensified the oppressive force of Jiang Chen's gathered palm power.

Although Jiang Chen's palm hadn't been unleashed, the calm lake water was already churning wildly in response to his power.

The sheer force of this pressure made it clear that Jiang Chen's palm strike carried the might to overturn rivers and seas. If he were to strike, the entire still lake might cease to exist.

At this moment, the Nine-tailed Fox giggled and said, "Sister Qin Xin, aren't you going to release her?"

Qin Xin flung the demon-binding rope at the Nine-tailed Fox and swam rapidly in the opposite direction from Nie Xiao Chun.

The Nine-tailed Fox wanted to escape, but her hands and feet were entangled by the demon-binding rope, and she couldn't break free for a moment. She watched helplessly as Jiang Chen's palm descended from above the lake.

After an earth-shattering roar, half the lake's stagnant water was blasted into the air, turning into a torrential downpour.

The Nine-tailed Fox, directly within the range of Jiang Chen's palm strike, was shattered into pieces. The demon-binding rope wrapped around the Nine-tailed Fox's soul carried the remnants of her soul into the air.

A red rope stood out starkly against the backdrop of the heavy rain.

Jiang Chen looked up and raised his hand once more.

Seeing Jiang Chen preparing to strike, the Nine-tailed Fox cried out urgently, "I'm not from Liangjie Tang (Two Worlds Hall)."

"Nine-tailed fiend, your death is well-deserved!" Jiang Chen sneered and sent a punch through the air at the Nine-tailed Fox's fragmented soul.

The space filled with rain seemed to explode under Jiang Chen's heavy punch. The torrential rain was swept away by the fist wind, forming a roaring water dragon in the air that crashed into a distant mountain peak, breaking more than a dozen giant trees before stopping.

The demon-binding rope in the air had long disappeared, but Jiang Chen still stood with his hands behind his back, his face grim as he stared in the direction where the Nine-tailed Fox had vanished.

After a moment, the Nine-tailed Fox's resentful voice echoed from across the lake, "Jiang Chen, I had no grievances with you, yet you came out and punched me. Just you wait, I'll make sure you die without a burial ground."

Jiang Chen seemed not to hear the Nine-tailed Fox's threat and said calmly, "Ying Gou, flatten all the fox graves and exterminate the fox clan in the demon realm."

"Yes!" Ying Gou bowed and retreated step by step behind Jiang Chen until he was more than ten meters away. Only then did he turn around, wave his hand, and say, "Ying Gou Guards, follow me to slaughter the foxes."

The Nine-tailed Fox sneered, "Jiang Chen, don't be arrogant. I'll make you cry soon enough."

"Didn't you want to find an emperor?"

"Didn't you think Nie Xiao Chun wasn't an empress?"

"I can make Nie Xiao Chun an empress right now, so you'll never find an emperor."

Jiang Chen stepped into the lake, "Little Nine-tailed Fox, just because you think your soul is immortal, you dare to spout nonsense? Today, I will not only slaughter your fox clan but also make you regret obtaining the divine power of an indestructible soul."

"Then try it!" The Nine-tailed Fox's voice suddenly disappeared.

Jiang Chen, who had reached the lakeside, also stopped suddenly, facing the swirling lake water he had created and putting his hands behind his back, "Didn't you hear my order?"

Ying Gou, who had already left the lake, returned, "The Lord's orders can be carried out by the Ying Gou Guards. This subordinate must return to follow the Lord's commands, lest the Lord have no one to run errands."

Jiang Chen said coldly, "Ying Gou, do you know why you have always struggled to catch the Emperor's eye? It's because you have too many schemes and not enough courage."

"As a general, you can't become a great general. As a subject, you can't become a good subject."

"You came back clearly because you wanted to see if I killed that woman who looks like the Empress, so why don't you dare to say it directly?"

Jiang Chen's voice remained as calm as water, but Ying Gou's body trembled slightly behind him, and his hands clenched into fists at his sides.

Without even turning his head, Jiang Chen said, "A man, if he admires a woman, should admit it openly, even if it's just for a moment of passion, there's no need to hide it."

"It's just the heart, just the nature! What's wrong with showing it?"

Ying Gou said, "The Empress's status is extremely noble. How dare this subordinate have any improper thoughts."

"Haha..." Jiang Chen laughed loudly, "No wonder the Emperor said back then: If I had a choice, I would not choose you to become Ying Gou. Without any courage, how can you be a general?"

"If you want a woman, what if she is the Empress?"

"I, Jiang Chen, can even slaughter an emperor if I want to."

"What about you! You don't even dare to think about it, do you?"

"Step back! I don't need you here."

Ying Gou lowered his body even further, "Lord, didn't you also admire the Empress back then? Why..."

Jiang Chen said, "Back then, I did admire the Empress, but so what?"

"That Master Liu was right, one must choose between power and beauty."

"If I kept the Empress, she would persuade me to welcome the Emperor back, or simply inherit the Emperor's will to resist the heavenly tribulation."

"Since I have decided to enter the mountains and seas to become a king, I will not care about the affairs of the human world."

"Rather than wasting words with the Empress, it's better to kill her once and for all."

Jiang Chen's voice sank, "I'll ask you one last time, are you going to carry out my order and go to the demon realm to slaughter the foxes? Or, are you planning to stay here and stop me?"

"Remember, you only have one chance to choose."

Ying Gou's eyes darted back and forth, not knowing whether he was weighing the pros and cons or preparing to launch a sneak attack on Jiang Chen.