Chapter 25: The Gluttonous Tail

…
“I now understand all of Wang Xi’s schemes. Moreover, he is proud and arrogant, regarding himself highly. If that Song Yan is clever enough, perhaps he could overturn the situation.”

In a secluded mountain cave, a young man in black robes sat cross-legged, holding a strangely fashioned ancient flute in his hands.

“I am rather curious—what exactly do the Qiankun pouches of the inner disciples of the Xuanyuan Sect contain?”

“Unfortunately, in the end, Song Yan will have to learn the secret of this ancient flute.”

Wan Songran laughed softly, yet a cold murderous intent glimmered in his eyes. “Since things are as they are, perhaps it’s better to be honest.”

“Oh?”

“To abandon one’s own defensible territory and proactively seek confrontation… Hmph, they say the fox clan possesses extraordinary intelligence, but I see they are nothing more than beasts at heart.”

“Well, this saves me some trouble.”

Having calculated the timing, the youth rose from the ground and stepped out of the cave.

Below the cave, the earth was littered with dense corpses of wolf and fox demons. Wan Songran glanced at the flute in his hand, grinned, his eyes shining with delight and greed.

It was said that the ancestor of the Wan family had been a grand cultivator, with powers that reached the heavens, though no one knew the exact level he had attained.

Later, this grand cultivator was betrayed and perished in Danyang Prefecture, Chenzhou.

Afterward, the Wan clan flourished for a time, but with too many enemies and the declining talent of their descendants, the family gradually fell into ruin.

Now, aside from those without any cultivation aptitude, the true cultivators among the Wan clan of Chenzhou numbered barely over twenty.

They were battered by wind and rain.

Wan Songran was the most gifted disciple of his generation, and the family head sent him to the Spirit Talisman Sect, one of the six great sects.

A month and a half ago, the previous head of the Wan family, Wan Songran’s grandfather, summoned him home and bestowed upon him this peculiar flute.

“Such a bunch of foolish old men…”

Wan Songran muttered to himself.

“With a treasure like this, if it were put to proper use, how could the Wan clan have fallen so low?”

“But perhaps it’s for the best… Let me, Wan Songran, lead the Wan clan back to glory.”

He leapt forward.

“It’s not over yet?”

He paused on a tree branch, gazing into the distance.

“Auuuu—”

At that moment, not far away, a high-tier first-grade wolf demon was locked in a brutal struggle with a fox demon. The wolf king’s furious roar shook Wan Songran in the distance, leaving him dazed and dizzy.

“Even the Nightwind Wolf clan, whose intelligence is lacking, has such a terrifying howl.”

“My strength is insufficient now. The flute’s sound can only barely affect late-stage first-grade beasts, and only for a breath or two. To use it to challenge these two monsters is pure folly.”

“But…”

—

The flame at the big fox’s brow had fully ignited. It slowly lifted its head, fixing the Nightwind Wolf King with a cold gaze.

Those golden slit pupils gleamed with dazzling light, casting a deathly glow in the night.

“Boom!”

Explosive flames surged toward the Nightwind Wolf King, who tried to evade, but a melodious flute sounded from the woods.

A moment’s distraction and pause allowed the wolf king to take the full brunt of the flames, while the fox’s spell faltered for an instant.

The big fox glanced thoughtfully northward.

“Hiss—”

“Grr…”

With a pained cry, the wolf king sensed something was amiss, but its limited intelligence could not grasp the situation, urging it instead to vent all its rage upon its old foe.

The wolf king lunged at the big fox with ferocity.

“Nightwind Wolves are bloodthirsty and battle-hardened; Flame-patterned Foxes are adept at demonic arts. When both are exhausted, I’ll strike and claim the spoils. Two late-stage first-grade demon cores! And all these demon carcasses…”

“Wang Xi, oh Wang Xi, should I thank you?”

As Wan Songran indulged in his fantasies, another pair of lively eyes watched the battlefield.

Releasing his spiritual sense, he probed toward the source of the flute. As expected, Song Yan found him.

“Wan Songran…?”

Only at the sixth level of Qi Refining, yet able to command a group of Nightwind Wolves, including high-tier first-grade beasts—could that flute truly be so miraculous?

“No, the two great demons seem only affected for a brief moment…”

The beasts clashed again; the flute sounded once more.

The big fox tried to dodge the wolf king’s wind-bladed claws but hesitated for a breath, confused by the flute.

Thud.

This nearly tore off the fox’s right ear, and its eye was clawed, blood gushing forth.

“Uuu—”

Song Yan looked down and asked, “Xiao He, this flute seems able to control beasts. Are you affected?”

“I just feel a little sleepy, nothing else,”

Xiao He poked her head out and whispered, “The flute probably only works on the beasts he wants to command. If I stay alert, I’ll be fine!”

Song Yan nodded, somewhat reassured.

“Hiss—”

Under the fox demon’s claws, the wolf king caught the big fox off-guard, hooked its neck with its hind paws, then smashed its left eye with its forepaws.

The battle remained deadlocked. The Nightwind Wolf King’s body was scorched in many places; its left hind leg was broken by the fox. The big fox fared no better—its right ear gone, blood streaming from its right eye, its body riddled with wounds, panting heavily.

—

“Let me play you one last tune.”

Wan Songran sneered, as if both beasts were mere toys in his hand.

The flute sounded, and the wolf king and big fox threw themselves at each other for a final, desperate struggle.

“Friend Song, now that you’ve witnessed the miraculous effect of my Gluttonous Tail Immortal Flute, why not show yourself?”

Since Song Yan had come following the message talisman, there was no need to hide. He even released a trace of spiritual energy to make his presence known.

He walked out slowly, saying nothing, his gaze fixed on the two late-stage first-grade beasts whose life was fading fast beneath the battlefield’s carnage.

“Since you’ve come, I’ll take it as your agreement.”

Between clever people, words need not be explicit; the message talisman was clearly meant to propose an alliance.

“Who wants to kill us?”

“Xuanyuan Sect. Wang Xi.”

Wang Xi?

Song Yan frowned. In previous events, perhaps absorbed in the nuances of sword technique, he had not noticed anything odd about Wang Xi.

“Why?”

“Hah…”

Wan Songran snorted. “In the cultivation world, the strong prey on the weak. Murder and robbery—do you need a reason?”

“…”

“I, Wan Songran, cultivate for immortality, for freedom…”

His eyes flashed with brilliance. “I refuse to be cattle beneath another’s gaze!”

“Tell me, what’s your plan?”

Wan Songran raised an eyebrow. “Plan? There is no plan.”

“When he comes, we’ll use all our strength together and eliminate him. That’s all.”

Wan Songran seemed very confident in his own strength.

Song Yan was perplexed.

Even with this strange flute, two penniless outer disciples—how could they hope to face the elite inner disciple of the greatest sect in Chu?

“The secret realm will exist for only half an hour. When the exit opens, it will remain only for a moment.”

“Wang Xi’s spiritual energy is approaching.” Wan Songran’s expression was cold. Several emerald-eyed hawks circled and perched among the treetops. “The jade pendant at his waist can sense the location of the exit.”

“Only by killing him will we have a chance to survive.”