Chapter 7 The Fox Demon's Illusion

A boy of about eight or nine years old lay listlessly on the bed, barely clinging to life. Beside him, a woman packed her belongings, as if preparing to leave.

"Mother..."

The boy opened his mouth with difficulty, and the woman immediately stopped what she was doing, walked over to the boy, and helped him up.

"Ah Yuan, be good. Mother will be back soon. When Mother comes back, she will buy you your favorite jujube paste cake."

"I don't want it..." the boy started to cry, "I don't want jujube cake, I just want my mother..."

“Before… Father said he would come back, but he didn’t. Mother, don’t go.”

Hearing her child's plea to stay, the woman seemed to waver, turning her head away to wipe away the tears from the corner of her eyes.

"Mother, don't cry..."

The boy raised his hand to wipe away her tears, but the woman stepped back and avoided the child's hand.

She stood up, put the bundle back on her back, and parted her lips slightly, as if she wanted to leave something behind.

After hesitating for a moment, she left without looking back, leaving behind only the child and a ration of food that she didn't know how many days it would last.

“Ah Yuan, this…is that you?” Ji Shi turned to look at Cheng Yuan beside him.

At this moment, Cheng Yuan's eyes were full of gloom, as if he wanted to pretend that he didn't care. But Chu Jianshan saw it clearly. His eyes were getting redder and redder, and his hand holding the Liuyin Sword was getting tighter and tighter.

Only Chu Jianshan understood his inner pain. He longed to reach out and touch his head, to comfort him, and to tell him, "It's alright. Your parents are gone, but you still have your master. Your master wants you."

But now, he is no longer qualified.

During the years he disappeared, he spent a lot of time recuperating from his injuries. After recovering, he actually secretly returned to Changjin Mountain.

Seeing this once unruly and stubborn child now so mature and composed, he felt not only gratified but also heartbroken. If he were here...

Suddenly, Chu Jianshan lowered his head and chuckled self-deprecatingly. Even if he were here, what could he change? He was nothing. He brought Cheng Yuan back to Changjin Mountain, but he failed to fulfill his responsibility as a master.

Suddenly, the illusion shook violently, and the scenery before my eyes changed abruptly.

"Changjin Mountain?" Ji Shi was the first to recognize it.

To be more precise, it was the Sleepless Abode on Changjin Mountain, the former residence of Cheng Yuan and Chu Qingyuan.

It was the same boy as before. Now he was kneeling in front of the Weimianju residence, refusing to get up even in the pouring rain, stubbornly remaining kneeling there.

Suddenly a bamboo umbrella appeared above his head, blocking the raindrops that were falling wildly.

Following the gaze of Xiao Chengyuan, he saw a celestial being in green robes.

"Master..." Cheng Yuan called out softly.

"Um"

Chu Qingyuan responded and asked, "Why are you kneeling here?"

"Fighting with fellow disciples."

"Wow, you can take on so many people at once."

Chu Qingyuan squatted down beside him, her clean blue outer robe soaked in the sewage.

He pinched Cheng Yuan's cheek and laughed, "Very impressive."

Xiao Chengyuan raised his head, seemingly puzzled: "Master, aren't you angry with me?"

"Why blame you? It must be because they said some unpleasant things that A-Yuan got into a fight."

Xiao Chengyuan hadn't been crying at first, but now that Chu Qingyuan had comforted him, he couldn't hide his grievances any longer. His lips trembled and his eyes filled with tears. "They said, they said I'm an unwanted wild child..."

"How could that be? A-Yuan still has his master. His master wants you."

Chu Qingyuan pulled him up from the ground, tucked his rain-soaked hair behind his ear, and asked, "How was it? Did you win?"

Cheng Yuan quickly nodded and replied, "None of them hit me!"

"Not bad, you didn't embarrass your master."

The illusion shifted again, still in the Sleepless Abode, but the person in the scene had changed to sixteen-year-old Cheng Yuan.

"You're going to stop me too!" Chu Qingyuan shouted, pointing his Mo Yang sword directly at Cheng Yuan.

"Master..."

Cheng Yuan frowned slightly, as if pondering why his master would treat him this way.

"I can't let you go, Master... You can't leave."

Cheng Yuan seemed to have made up his mind and stood in front of Chu Qingyuan.

Chu Qingyuan sneered and slowly said, "I taught you every move. Do you think you can stop me?"

Cheng Yuan knew he couldn't stop Chu Qingyuan. At eighteen, Chu Qingyuan was already the number one person in Changjin Mountain, and at nineteen, apart from the mysterious Linyi Sect, he had almost no rivals in the world.

Even if he couldn't stop him, he couldn't let his master go to his death in vain. He had a premonition that his master would not come back this time, just like his parents when he was a child.

Cheng Yuan charged forward with his sword first. Chu Qingyuan dodged to the side, and then the Mo Yang sword flew from his hand toward Cheng Yuan. Cheng Yuan raised his sword to block, but was directly blasted away by the enormous spiritual power for more than ten meters. A large section of the bamboo forest behind him was also shaken down.

Cheng Yuan spat out a mouthful of blood and used his sword to support himself as he struggled to his feet. His eyes grew increasingly red; this was the first time his master had ever treated him so cruelly.

It wasn't like this before. In the past, when he practiced swordsmanship, his master couldn't bear to see him get tired. But now, he was defeated in one move and had no chance to fight back.

There was no trace of heartache or guilt in Chu Qingyuan's eyes, only hatred.

"Master..." Cheng Yuan called out tentatively again.

Chu Qingyuan did not respond to him, but turned and left directly.

This familiar scene made Cheng Yuan's heart stop, and he rushed over despite the pain in his body.

"Master! Don't go!"

The next second, a golden barrier appeared between the two.

Cheng Yuan crashed into the barrier and was thrown back, but he was still unwilling to give up. He struggled to his feet and pleaded with Chu Qingyuan to stay:

"Master... I beg you, please don't go..."

A tear slid down Cheng Yuan's cheek and landed on a fallen bamboo leaf. In the past, his master couldn't bear to see him cry. Now, could his master stay for him even for a moment?

But no... Chu Qingyuan left, just like his father and mother did back then, leaving without a trace of reluctance.

By this point in the illusion, Chu Jianshan could see that Cheng Yuan was clearly not doing well; his eyes were abnormally red, and his body was trembling violently.

"Cheng Yuan?" Chu Jianshan tried calling him.

Why...did you leave me?

Chu Jianshan's heart skipped a beat. Did he recognize him?

Why do they all have to leave me?!

The moment Cheng Yuan shouted, the barrier exploded, and Chu Jianshan and Ji Shi were thrown back, instantly returning to the bridal chamber of the Liang family mansion.

Cheng Yuan seemed to still be trapped in the illusion. He gripped the sword tightly in his hand, and a huge amount of spiritual power circulated around his body. With the help of the fox demon's demonic power, his spiritual power exploded many times over.

"It's over..."

These words were spoken by Ji Shi, but Chu Jianshan also knew that the current situation was indeed not good. Among the three of them, only Cheng Yuan's strength was barely enough to fight the fox demon, but now their strongest fighter was trapped in the fox demon's illusion.

"This isn't the worst-case scenario," Chu Jianshan said. "What if the fox demon controls Cheng Yuan to attack us..."

Before he could finish speaking, he saw Cheng Yuan turn around to face them, his scarlet eyes glaring at them fiercely.

Chu Jianshan: "..."

He'll never talk nonsense again; his mouth must be blessed!

"Chu Jianshan, run!" Ji Shi shouted and rushed over.

Chu Jianshan was immediately touched. This kid was at least quite loyal. He would scold him less in the future.

However, Chu Jianshan did not leave, because Ji Shi alone could not hold off Cheng Yuan, who was unleashing his spiritual power, for long; he could not escape.

Now he could only take it one step at a time. He retreated to the bedside and watched Ji Shi and Cheng Yuan fight.

As he expected, Cheng Yuan's burst of spiritual power was something that Ji Shi, whose cultivation level was not high to begin with, could not withstand. He was thrown out hard after only two moves.

Chu Jianshan stepped forward and caught Ji Shi steadily, then snatched Ji Shi's sword to block Cheng Yuan's attack once again.

"Hey, why are you taking my sword?"

Chu Jianshan did not answer, because Cheng Yuan began to walk towards him.

"Cheng Yuan, wake up."

Chu Jianshan tried to wake him up, but it was no use. The fox demon's demonic power was indeed considerable, and it wouldn't be easy to wake him up.

Chu Jianshan closed his eyes. He didn't want to die here today. He missed his former self who was the best in the world. What was going on?

Let's just go for it!

Chu Jianshan grabbed his sword and charged forward. Just as Cheng Yuan raised his sword to parry, he changed direction and flashed behind Cheng Yuan. Although Cheng Yuan, who was controlled by the fox demon, had a much higher spiritual power, his movements were a bit sluggish. Using the fastest move would definitely be the right thing to do.

"My God, what kind of move is that?" Ji Shi next to him looked completely bewildered.

Seeing that the opportunity was just right, Chu Jianshan prepared to thrust his sword forward, but as soon as he raised his hand, he hesitated. So, he switched the sword's head and tail in mid-air and used the scabbard to knock him back half a step.

Taking advantage of the brief respite, Chu Jianshan shouted to Ji Shi, "Ji Shi, grab that Liang Shide!"

They have no chance of defeating the crazed Cheng Yuan. Their only way out now is to rely on Liang Shide. Capturing him will force the fox demon to stop.

Ji Shi was speechless: "My sword is still with you!"

"Use mine!" Chu Jianshan threw his sword over.

Ji Shi took the sword, and with great joy untied the tattered cloth wrapped around it, only to be left speechless...

Because this is a rusty sword, so rusted that you can't even tell what the sword originally looked like.

Ji Shi cursed Chu Jianshan a thousand times in his heart, but he still had to bite the bullet and go up with the rusty sword.

Cheng Yuan reacted quickly. He steadied himself, made a hand seal, and the Flowing Sound Sword instantly split into dozens of swords, which alternated in the air.

"Oh no..." Chu Jianshan was worried about Ji Shi when he saw this, and quickly shouted, "Ji Shi, get out of the way!"

The next second, dozens of swords flew straight toward Ji Shi.

Just as Chu Jianshan was thinking about how to save him, Ji Shi suddenly swayed and leaned against the table and chairs in the room, managing to avoid the fall.

Ji Shi held the rusty sword and was about to reach Liang Shide's side.

But the fox demon reacted quickly, instantly appearing beside Liang Shide and sending Ji Shi flying with a single palm strike.

Ji Shi was seriously injured this time. When he landed, his head hit the edge of the bed and he immediately lost consciousness.