A flash of white light emanated from the crystal, revealing her form. She stood there, raised her chin, and asked in a loud voice, "Who are you, and where are you going?"
The golden light of the setting sun shone through the gaps in the branches and leaves onto the man in black. He was extremely tall and imposing, dressed in a black, close-fitting outfit. His black hair was loosely tied back with a red ribbon about two fingers wide. His face was stern and cold, with sharply defined features. Beneath his slanted, arched eyebrows were long, narrow eyes that shone like stars with a cold, sharp gaze. Below his straight nose were thin lips pressed tightly together, their color pale.
Just as Liuli was sizing up the man, he was also scrutinizing her. The woman wore a light white blouse, the fabric of which draped softly, revealing her jade-like legs, their pale whiteness dazzling to the eye. She had soft, black hair, which was not tied up but hung loosely down to her waist. Her small face had eyes with slightly upturned corners, and her every blink exuded an indescribable allure.
With just one glance, the man determined that the woman was from the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan. However, she was different from the image of the Nine-Tailed Fox woman recorded in the ancient books. The woman in the image had a bewitching charm that would overwhelm him with a slight smile. Perhaps other men would be unable to look away at her, but to him, such bewitching charm was simply disgusting.
But the woman before him possessed a girlish innocence and childlike charm, with a hint of mischief, like a refreshing breeze that dispelled her allure and added a touch of purity, as if she were a piece of clear and clean jade, untouched by the vulgarity of the world.
The man silently observed her for a moment, a cold smile playing on his lips, and said in a deep voice, "We're going to... Fox Plains!"
Liuli raised an eyebrow and frowned, asking, "What do you want?"
The man smiled indifferently and said calmly, "Why should I tell you?"
Enraged, Liuli raised her hand and countless crescent blades formed from white spiritual energy appeared out of thin air, slashing wildly at the man in black.
The man in black smiled coldly, and with a wave of his hand, black qi condensed into a black barrier in front of him, binding all the crescent blades. Then, the man suddenly flicked his sleeve, and the crescent blades shot towards Liuli even faster than before.
The crescent blade was so fast that Liuli was caught off guard and could only scramble three zhang into the air to dodge it. The crescent blade then struck the many large trees behind Liuli, cutting several trees that required several people to encircle in half. The open space was instantly thrown into chaos as several large trees fell, leaving behind many broken branches and leaves, and raising a cloud of dust.
Liuli's gaze sharpened in mid-air. She knew that the crescent blade she had casually unleashed was far less powerful than that; at most, it would only leave a mark on the tree trunk.
Liuli carefully observed the man in black, but she couldn't discern his cultivation level. In legend, demon cultivators, like Taoist and Buddhist cultivators, were divided into four stages. When demon cultivators first achieved success in their demonic arts, their hearts hardened, viewing all living beings as worthless—this was the first stage, known as becoming a demon. As their cultivation deepened, their hearts hardened further, becoming selfish and self-serving, preferring to betray the world rather than be betrayed by it—this was the second stage, known as demonic thought. Further demonic cultivation deepened, their emotions and desires diminished, viewing all human love and affection as shackles to be severed—this was the third stage, known as demonic heart. Continuing to cultivate demonic arts, their hearts hardened like iron, devoid of any warmth, showing no kinship or compassion, viewing all living beings as straw dogs or ants. At this point, they could no longer be called "human"; even calling them a moving statue wouldn't be an exaggeration—this was the fourth stage, known as the Demon Lord.
In short, those who cultivate demonic arts are cold-hearted, vicious, and selfish. They are capable of overturning the entire world with a flick of their wrist, as long as it benefits their own cultivation. Therefore, it is said that there are often conflicts in the demonic realm, and demonic cultivators will fight each other to the death over the slightest disagreement.
Those who emerge from the Demon Realm are all ruthless killing gods and cruel fiends. If one day the Central Plains were to be occupied by the Demon Realm, Liuli truly couldn't imagine what the world would become.
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