I am a full-level celestial master, you let me enter the strange talk of rules?

As Miss Fox spoke, she subtly adjusted her posture, trying her best to display her exquisite figure and stunning beauty even while in a cage.

Her eyes were watery and shimmering, carrying a fragile vulnerability born of lingering fear and a subtle invitation.

She knew all too well the allure of her appearance to many male monks; even humans, faced with such beauty and “sincere” allure, would inevitably be tempted and hesitate.

She felt that the Taoist priest was keeping her alive without killing her immediately, perhaps with ulterior motives. This was the perfect opportunity to demonstrate his value and tempt her to survive.

Xiao Xuan listened quietly, his face expressionless. Only when she finished speaking and looked at him earnestly did the corners of his mouth turn up slightly, almost imperceptibly, but there was no warmth in that smile.

"wrong answer."

Before the words were even finished, a flash of sword light appeared!
There was no earth-shattering display, only a cold and swift arc of light swept across the cage made of refined iron.

With a soft clang, the cage pillar broke.

Along with the astonishment on the face of the beautiful fox spirit in the cage, her alluring smile that had not yet fully blossomed, and her entire body, all were silently cleaved in two by a pure and sharp sword aura under this sword!

The protective demonic aura shattered like paper. Before she could even let out a scream, the light in her eyes dimmed instantly, her body went limp, and her life force was cut off, revealing her true form as a dull-colored fox. She then turned into ashes in the remaining sword energy.

Decisive, efficient, and without the slightest hesitation.

The kneeling fox trembled violently, nearly fainting from fright.

Xiao Wan shuddered, her pupils contracted, and she snapped out of her daze, an overwhelming fear gripping her heart.

Xiao Xuan's gaze had already turned to her, still calm: "And you?"

Xiao Wan was completely stunned, her mind buzzing.

The young lady of the Fox family lowered her stance so much, even resorting to seduction, and answered in a way that seemed extremely compliant to her. As a result, this god of death killed her with a single sword strike without even blinking!
So what should I do? What should I say to survive?

Beg for mercy? Plead loyalty? Claim innocence?

The shadow of death loomed over her. She knew she only had one chance to speak; if she uttered even half a wrong word, she would be beheaded in the next second!
A strong will to survive overcame her fear, causing her remaining rationality to operate wildly.

In a flash, she suddenly recalled the conversation between Xiao Xuan and Zhang Yangqing, especially Zhang Yangqing's indifferent "just kill him" attitude and Xiao Xuan's decisiveness in carrying it out.

They don't seem to care whether the other party was "forced" or had "difficult reasons," but rather care about their stance and the outcome!

Miss Fox's mistake was that she tried to use her beauty and "following" to curry favor, which is not what these righteous cultivators care about at all!
When they look at demons, they may value more whether they "harm people," "are they well-behaved," and "are they beneficial."
Having figured this out, Xiao Wan grasped at a lifeline, no longer caring about her image. She knelt down with a thud, kowtowing forcefully. Her voice was shrill and distorted with extreme tension, but her words were exceptionally clear, almost shouting:
"Immortal, please be wise! Although I am of humble origin and have shallow cultivation, I have been cautious and prudent since I gained sentience, and have never harmed any human life! At most, I absorb some essence from the moonlit mountains and forests, and occasionally help the villagers at the foot of the mountain drive away some common wild beasts. I have never committed any evil deeds!"

This humble demon hereby swears that in the future I will diligently cultivate, abide by my duty, never trespass into human settlements to cause trouble, and will uphold and promote the spirit of hard work and perseverance, striving to achieve enlightenment as soon as possible. If I have the ability, I am also willing to make a small contribution to the peace, prosperity, and flourishing of the Dragon Kingdom! This is no empty promise!

She poured out almost every harmless or even somewhat positive thing she could think of, the core of which was to insist that she "had never harmed anyone" and that she would "be a good demon" in the future, even bringing up the banner of "contributing to the Dragon Kingdom".

After saying this, she lay prostrate on the ground, trembling like a leaf in the wind, awaiting her final judgment.

Xiao Xuan looked at her, who was terrified but desperately trying to find the words to say, and listened to the words that came out of her mouth. He was stunned for a moment, and then laughed out loud.

“Interesting, you answered correctly.” He nodded, and the chilling killing intent he had been directed at Xiao Wan quietly dissipated.

Xiao Xuan's purpose was obvious. His senior brother told him that he was the rule setter, and the death rule, or the attack rule, that Xiao Xuan was subject to was exactly what Xiao Wan had guessed.

Seeing that Xiao Xuan had no intention of killing her, Xiao Wan felt completely exhausted, all her strength drained away. She collapsed to the ground, panting heavily, her back already soaked in cold sweat.

A mix of lingering fear and relief washed over her; she had made the right gamble!
This Taoist priest was indeed not interested in currying favor or loyalty; he wanted a law-abiding attitude!

The fox clan's young lady, even on the verge of death, still tried to play tricks and seduce the immortal; she was simply courting death!

Although his words were clumsy, they perfectly matched the immortal's underlying standard for a "demon that can survive." This is what Taoists often mean by saying things like, "I appreciate the difficulty of your cultivation."

This is the survival rule of this cruel world that she figured out at the brink of life and death.

Chen Wen, who witnessed the whole thing, was either stunned or wanted to imitate him and show his loyalty, and he stammered, "Immortal, Immortal Master, I...I haven't harmed anyone, and I'm willing to work hard to cultivate, for...for..."

Xiao Xuan interrupted him irritably, laughing and cursing, "Get lost, I didn't ask you anything, what nonsense are you spouting? Go away."

Chen Wen blushed deeply and awkwardly retreated to the side, not daring to say another word.

Xiao Xuan's gaze finally landed on the two foxes that had led the way.

The one that was kneeling was the more clever one. It quickly scrambled over and kicked its unconscious companion hard with its claws, pinching and roaring until it finally woke the guy up.

Upon waking up and seeing the surrounding scene and Xiao Xuan's gaze, the fox almost fainted again, but was held down firmly by its companions.

The two foxes knelt side by side. The one that had spoken earlier suppressed its fear and kowtowed repeatedly, mimicking Xiao Wan's "survival formula" as it spoke in a trembling voice:

"We are deeply grateful for the immortal's guidance, for eliminating evil spirits and restoring order! Although we two were previously affiliated with the Fox Clan, we were not involved in their core sins. At most, we ran errands and led the way. From now on, we will repent and reform ourselves, cultivate diligently, abide by our duties, never do evil, and wholeheartedly do good. We will make our own contributions to the prosperity, stability, and ecological balance of this mountain range! If there is any need for our service, we will gladly die for it!"

Although it also followed a formula, and the language was even more fluent than Xiao Wan's, the core meaning was clear: admitting mistakes, promising to behave oneself and make contributions, and adopting an extremely humble attitude.

Making contributions is important, as it shows that one's life is beneficial rather than harmful, and that one is not causing trouble for the Taoist priest.

Xiao Xuan stared at them for a few seconds, then gently tapped the ground with his Cleansing Sword before finally nodding and saying, "Remember what you said. If you disobey, you will be executed without mercy, no matter where you are in the world."

"We dare not! We absolutely dare not!" The two foxes were overjoyed and kowtowed repeatedly.

At this point, the on-site handling has come to a temporary end.

Xiao Xuan took out several jade tablets and command flags engraved with runes from his bosom and set them up at the ruins of the Fox Clan and several key points of evil energy in the surrounding area, forming a temporary sealing and monitoring array to prevent the residual evil energy from dissipating or attracting other unclean things.

This is a standard procedure used by Taoist sects to handle similar situations.

After doing all this, he waved to the two foxes who had led the way, his tone returning to its usual calmness, yet carrying an undeniable command: "Take me to the other houses."

The two foxes, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, were instantly on edge again, their fur standing on end!

They certainly understood what the other families were referring to: the other four great immortal families that occupied this mountain range, alongside the Fox Family!
This killer is going to "visit" the other four families!

Thinking of the tragic state of the fox family just now, they seemed to foresee that this mountain range would be completely washed away by blood tonight.

However, this is also their only chance to prove their usefulness, so how could they dare to hesitate even for a moment?
"Yes! Yes! This way, Immortal Master! This is the shortest route to the Liu family's cave!" The two foxes immediately jumped up, mustered their spirits, and led the way on the left and right, moving nimbly and pointing northeast.

Xiao Xuan followed, his figure disappearing into the night once more.

Chen Wen hesitated for a moment, his heart filled with great curiosity about what would happen next, and he vaguely realized that he was witnessing a major event that would shake the entire region's extraordinary world.

Of course, this is just his opinion.

Seeing this, Xiao Wan hesitated slightly, then silently got up and followed the group at a distance.

She knew she had been lucky to escape with her life, and now her best option was to stick close to the immortal who had decided her fate, and perhaps she would have another chance to express her feelings further.

As night deepened, new undercurrents and deadly intent began to stir within the mountains.

(End of this chapter)