Transforming into a stunningly beautiful fox spirit, leaving a scar on the heart of a prodigy.

The morning mist dissipated from Yunmeng Marsh, revealing the damp eaves of the newly erected wooden houses in the water village. Several newly dug irrigation ditches meandered around the reeds, their clear water carrying fallen leaves as it slowly flowed towards the heart of the marsh.

Bai Yin stood in front of the stone wall beside the cave.

The new regulations were deeply engraved on the wall, with the top two lines being particularly eye-catching.

One must not exchange one's life for loyalty.

One must not risk one's life for anyone without authorization.

He pressed his palm against the hilt of the knife and stared at it for a long time.

The sound of splashing in water came from behind. Su Xiaojiu, accompanied by several little demons, passed by the ditch, her sleeves rolled up to her wrists, her hands still covered in wet mud. She paused, her gaze falling from Bai Yin's hand to his waist.

"Did the knife rust?"

Bai Yin did not turn back.

After a moment, he took an old knife from behind his back and placed it flat in front of the stone wall.

The knife was only three feet long, its blade riddled with nicks and scratches. Black and red markings clung to the spine, like blood that had congealed over many years. The hilt was worn smooth and shiny, the grip marks so deep they were almost embedded in the iron.

"This sword accompanied me as I fought my way to the demon court."

Bai Yin said in a low voice, "For nine years, I polished it every day."

He gripped the hilt of the knife, and the black and red evil patterns immediately lit up. The evil energy of Geng metal climbed up his wrist bone, causing fine ripples to appear on the surface of the surrounding water.

"But every time I hold the knife, the first things that come to mind are the Moon Palace, the Blood Sacrifice, the Demon Court, and those I didn't have time to save."

He looked at his reflection in the blade.

"If I keep training like this, I'm afraid that one day I'll turn even Yunmengze into ruins."

Su Xiaojiu reached out and touched the back of the knife.

The blade immediately emitted a bloodthirsty hiss.

She withdrew her hand, leaving a shallow mark on her fingertip.

"You do have some self-awareness."

Just as Bai Yin was about to speak, a scream suddenly came from the west side of the water fortress.

The silt exploded with a loud bang.

A minor demon clearing old wooden stakes was caught by a demon-locking chain around his ankle and dragged into the water. At the end of the chain, a magic nail engraved with demon court runes emerged from the mud, and a grayish-white death aura surged into the waterway along the chain.

The newly repaired wooden house turned black and rotted at a visible speed.

Several waterways stopped flowing at the same time.

"Get out of the way!"

Bai Yin instinctively drew his sword.

The moment the blade was drawn, a murderous aura of metal surged skyward. The phantom of a white tiger stepped onto the water fortress, and a chilling white blade flashed across the marshland.

But the knife didn't fall for a long time.

Bai Yin could see the bottom of the water clearly.

There wasn't just one array nail. The demon-locking chains were buried in the earth's veins, intertwined with each other, and death energy had already spread along the waterways, enveloping the entire Yunmeng Marsh. In several water houses, there were still scattered lesser demons who hadn't had time to evacuate.

If this blade strikes, the lifeline will be severed.

The water house and the little demons inside will also be torn to pieces.

Bai Yin's most effective killing move had now become a blade that could not be laid.

The blade tip trembled violently, its malevolent aura forcing the water to part to both sides. The surrounding lesser demons, seeing the Asura-like markings rising beneath his skin, instinctively retreated.

"Mad Tiger..."

Someone called out in a low voice.

The bloodshot color in Bai Yin's eyes gradually intensified.

Just as the intent to strike was about to reach its limit, a cool hand pressed down on his wrist.

Su Xiaojiu waded through the shallow water to stand beside him, the hem of her white robe submerged in the water. She didn't look at the broken sword that could go out of control at any moment, but only at Bai Yin.

"Sheathe your sword."

"The death pulse is still spreading."

"I said, sheathe your knife."

The Heavenly Fox essence under Su Xiaojiu's palm lit up, and the fox mark on both of their wrists simultaneously became hot.

Bai Yin gritted his teeth and forcefully suppressed the murderous aura of Geng metal that was rushing towards the blade back into his body.

boom!

The sword intent surged back, causing his palm to crack.

But in that instant, the death vein spread outwards once more. Runes in the underwater demon court lit up one after another, and more demon-locking chains emerged from the mud, entangled several lesser demons who were retreating.

The sound of the iron chain dragging across the water was piercing.

Bai Yin stared at the chains, as if he could see himself again, driven by malevolent energy, only knowing how to kill. The fox mark on his palm burned painfully, and his hand holding the knife hesitated for a moment.

He is not afraid of the enemy.

But for the first time, he was afraid of the knife in his hand.

Su Xiaojiu grabbed his wrist and pulled him back to the stone wall.

She picked up the short blade with its engraved lines and sliced ​​it across her palm. Blood gushed out, carrying the essence of the Celestial Fox.

Bai Yin's face suddenly darkened.

"What are you going to do now?"

"Shut up."

Su Xiaojiu neither entrusted the fox mark to him for safekeeping nor transferred her blood into his body.

She gripped the old broken knife directly and pressed her bloodied palm against the hilt.

Two fox marks met across the hilt of the knife.

"You can use this knife to kill people in the future."

She looked at Bai Yin, her voice calm.

"But first remember who to protect and what to protect."

Dark red fox markings spread from the hilt to the blade, pressing down on the originally violent black and red evil markings.

The malevolent energy within Bai Yin's body suddenly surged back.

The broken blade emitted a piercing, mournful cry, cracks spreading from the edge to the spine, almost shattering on the spot. Su Xiaojiu clenched her fingers, channeling the essence of the Heavenly Fox into her palm, pressing the rampaging, malevolent energy inch by inch into the spine of the blade.

The black and red knife marks gradually faded away.

The broken sword, stained with the karma of killing, no longer emitted a bloodthirsty cry.

The blade fell, and the leaking gray-white death aura was firmly pinned back to the bottom of the water.

The little demons in the distance all stopped.

Some stared blankly at the fox mark on the hilt of the knife, while others looked at Bai Yin, their fear gradually changing.

Bai Yin gripped the knife again.

This time, he did not look at the remaining demon soldiers outside the water fortress.

He closed his eyes, immersing his nine years of honing his skills in the swamp. His sword intent flowed in reverse along the death veins, bypassing the water house, passing through every living being's aura, and finding the connection between the array nails and the demon-locking chains.

Su Xiaojiu stood behind him.

The nine-tailed phantom spread out, suppressing the churning water veins of the swamp. The fox tail passed between the deathly aura and the water house, leaving him a narrow path for his blade.

"Did you see it clearly?"

"I saw it clearly."

"Then execute him."

Bai Yin stepped into the deepest part of the deathly aura.

The Asura Blade Technique is unleashed once more.

It was not for killing, but for severing ties.

The first strike severed the anchor bolts on the west side of the water fortress at their roots, the blade grazing the ankle of the imprisoned demon without causing any injury.

With the second horizontal slash, all seven demon-locking chains shattered simultaneously, and the deathly aura was forced into the water.

The third cut pierced the earth's veins, slicing open the demonic runes hidden beneath the reeds, but bypassed the newly repaired irrigation ditch.

Bai Yin slashed one after another as he walked across the marshland.

Do not kill the demon soldiers, nor the refugees.

Cut only the vital veins, break only the chains.

The Geng Metal White Tiger Dharma Form emerged from above the Yunmeng Marsh, its massive claws not tearing at living beings, but instead pressing down on the entire turbulent marshland. A blade of light then pierced through the water fortress, stretching from the heart of the marshland all the way to the horizon.

Boom!

The demon court array nails buried under Yunmeng Marsh collapsed at the same time.

The grayish-white death energy was cut into countless tributaries, sinking along the path of the blade into the sealed ley lines. The surface of the swamp fell into a brief silence, with only the sound of broken chains falling into the water.

The demons stood between the water house and the reeds, watching the mad tiger that had once slaughtered its way through the demon court protect them with the same murderous intent.

No one spoke.

As the last wisp of death dissipated, the marshland cleared once more. The broken irrigation ditch made a soft sound as the clear water pushed aside the silt and flowed back between the wooden houses.

Bai Yin put away his Dharma image and walked back to the stone wall.

He planted the reforged broken sword into the ground, the fox mark on the hilt glowing quietly.

He picked up the short blade and, stroke by stroke, added two characters below all the rules.

Shouze.

Su Xiaojiu stood to the side and watched for a moment.

"Your handwriting is really ugly."

Bai Yin paused, his hand gripping the short blade.

"Should I wipe it off?"

"Keep it."

Su Xiaojiu raised her hand to wipe the mud splashed on his face, her fingertips pausing for a moment before she casually withdrew them.

"So that I won't forget why I drew my sword later."

Bai Yin looked at her, and finally sheathed the broken sword.

The malevolent energy of Geng metal no longer surged in all directions.

It spreads silently along the boundary of Yunmengze, crossing reeds, irrigation ditches and newly erected wooden houses, protecting this home that has come back to life.