One must admit, the Fox Spirit’s methods are truly mysterious. Zhang Chen only saw a blur before his eyes, and in the next moment, he found himself inside a pitch-black tomb.
The tomb was utterly dark, with not a trace of light. Fortunately, Zhang Chen had come prepared; he quickly pulled out a candle from his basket and lit it inside the tomb.
The tomb was vast, and it was hard to say how large the space was. After the candle was lit, all Zhang Chen could see was darkness and the bluestone beneath his feet, cut as smooth as floor tiles of modern times.
Zhang Chen raised the candle in his hand, trying to see what lay in the darkness, but all he could see was more darkness. It felt as if he had stepped into a world of deathly silence, the kind of darkness that made one’s skin crawl.
Yet the massive amounts of experience points on the ground made Zhang Chen’s eyes light up.
There were a lot of experience points, more than he had imagined. Although each was not worth much, their quantity was abundant.
"Stop gawking, this is just the passageway behind the bronze door, extending for five li. How far do you think that weak candlelight of yours can reach? You can’t even find your way forward." The Fox Spirit released Zhang Chen, staring at him with a pair of eyes: "Return my body to me!"
"This is your territory. Do you really think I would give your body back to you?" Given that he couldn’t see anything in the darkness, Zhang Chen simply stopped trying and turned to look directly at the Fox Spirit.
At the same time, Zhang Chen activated his Golden Finger, eagerly collecting the experience points on the ground.
[Experience Points +20]
[Experience Points +30]
[Experience Points +15]
...
As Zhang Chen moved inadvertently, large quantities of experience points were continuously collected by the Golden Finger.
As long as the experience points came within one meter of Zhang Chen, his Golden Finger would automatically collect them.
Watching Zhang Chen slowly pacing in the darkness, the Fox Spirit’s face suddenly turned grim:
"Are you planning to go back on your word?"
"I never planned to go back on my word, I’m just trying to protect myself. After all, this is your domain, and it’s pitch black here. I can’t even tell north from south, east from west. If you wanted to pull a fast one on me, how could I compete with you? Or if you lured me into some place with traps to kill me, or threw me into some stone crevice, I’d have no power to fight back." Zhang Chen stroked the fox in his arms, his eyes staring at the Fox Spirit, filled with confidence: "Of course, if there are traps aiming at me, I would place your body in front of them. If you decide to throw me into a crevice, I would first tear your body apart, and then we can both head to the Yellow Springs together."
"Despicable! In this life, I despise the ungrateful and treacherous the most!" The Fox Spirit’s face became as dark as water, eyes locked onto Zhang Chen with a gaze sharp as knives, seemingly wishing to tear him to pieces.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen chuckled, feeling more honored than ashamed: "Now we can talk about cooperation."
"Cooperation can be discussed, but before that, we need to talk about when you will return my body." The Fox Spirit’s eyes were cold as they stared at Zhang Chen: "If we reach the True Dragon’s body and then you use the body to threaten me, wouldn’t that put me in a passive position at your mercy?"
Zhang Chen looked at the Fox Spirit with understanding, thinking she had a point. But the problem was, once he returned the Fox Spirit’s body, he would have no sense of security, so returning the body was out of the question, no matter what.
"When we reach the Land of Creation, how about I return your body then?" Zhang Chen looked at the Fox Spirit.
"I fear your deceit!" The maiden’s eyes formed into tense crescents, staring at Zhang Chen unwaveringly.
"I’m right here inside this tomb; if you don’t lead me out, do you think I can dig my way out? I have food and water for seven or eight days only. If trapped inside, how long do you think I can last? Could I dig my way out before the supplies run out?" Zhang Chen looked at the Fox Spirit, his voice filled with an air of superiority, as if he were manipulating her emotionally, "You currently have the upper hand, controlling the situation entirely. It’s even up to you whether I can get out of this tomb. If you have a clear conscience, you should accept my conditions openly, not thinking about seizing what little leverage I have."
At this point, Zhang Chen’s voice turned solemn: "You control my life and death, whether I can leave this tomb or not. What are you afraid of? Unless you push me to the extreme, why would I choose mutual destruction with you?"
The Fox Spirit heard this and was at a loss for words. She found Zhang Chen’s reasoning unexpectedly valid, unsure how to counter it for a moment.
"But regarding my body, you need to set a clear plan for when you’ll return it. You can’t expect me to take you outside before you give it back, right?" The Fox Spirit’s eyes were filled with coldness as she spoke to Zhang Chen, "If outside, you use the body to threaten me, wouldn’t I be in a vulnerable position, subject to your whims?"
"Of course not! This tomb contains countless treasures. When we encounter them later, you need to leave a treasure most valuable to you with me, only then will I consider returning your body. And if by then you betray me and refuse to take me out, I will destroy that treasure, how does that sound?" Zhang Chen proposed, his voice grave and serious.
The Fox Spirit examined Zhang Chen, her expression flickering between uncertainty and determination, while she thought to herself: "For now, I’ll stabilize him. After acquiring the tomb’s treasures and recovering from my injuries, I have plenty of ways to eliminate this ant. For the time being, I’ll keep my body in his possession to ease his mind to work for me."