The Pangolin and Weasel, although they both possessed Foundation Establishment Level battle prowess, had yet to show signs of undergoing transformation.
The Pangolin's skin was rough and its flesh thick; Sun Lingtong executed his sword skill, the blade's light flitting like butterfly wings, directly shattering the Pangolin's eyeballs.
The Pangolin wailed in pain, curled up into a ball, and rolled back into the mountain mist.
In just a few breaths' time, Sun Lingtong had already defeated two generals and was charging towards the Scorpion Single Spear General.
The spear skill of the Scorpion Single Spear General wasn't bad. He managed to fight Sun Lingtong for five or six rounds before he could no longer hold on and was forced into close range by Sun Lingtong.
Dagger strokes raised trails of cold light, severing the Scorpion's fingertips. The long spear thus fell to the ground.
The Scorpion Single Spear General quickly drew back his hands, rolled on the spot, and returned to his original form.
His scorpion tail pointed high, he stung with all his might; the speed was so fast that it turned into a blur mid-air.
Sun Lingtong sneered coldly, the opponent's attack clearly visible in his Divine Sense eyes. But at the critical moment, the Fox God suddenly cast divine arts, greatly distracting Sun Lingtong.
Sun Lingtong couldn't dodge in time and could only manage to turn his body to the side.
The scorpion's tail struck his left arm, and the poison immediately began to corrode it.
With his left arm weakened, Sun Lingtong dropped his dagger and retreated explosively into the Array, swiftly utilizing his power to suppress and halt the spread of the potent poison, swallowing several elixir pills in succession to control the damage of the injury.
"Boss!" Ning Zhuo saw Sun Lingtong was injured and his face immediately filled with anger.
He slapped his storage waist belt, releasing more than thirty Mechanical Fireworks Monkeys.
These Fireworks Monkeys were connected by strings and, upon landing on the ground, leaped out of the array and pounced on the black scorpions outside the formation.
Boom, boom, boom!
A round of self-detonations left the black scorpion with its hide cracked and flesh split, one of its claws blown off, critically wounded and near death.
The Fox God used the same trick again, using the mountain mist to draw back the black scorpion.
Ning Zhuo sneered coldly, driving the Mechanical Fireworks Monkeys to pursue.
Sun Lingtong did not dare enter so deeply, but these Mechanical Fireworks Monkeys were expendables, and their loss was of no concern.
The Fireworks Monkeys went straight in deep.
Suddenly, from within the mountain mist, sharp glints flew, severing one string after another.
Yet, the Fireworks Monkeys were unaffected and continued their headlong charge, self-detonating upon encountering the black scorpion.
The black scorpion, amidst the explosions, turned into a lump of mountain mist, an illusory target created by the Fox God casting divine arts.
"I severed the strings and the mountain fog severely obstructed his Divine Sense; how can these Mechanical Monkeys still be operational?" the Fox God wondered in shock.
Ning Zhuo released another batch of Fireworks Monkeys.
The Fireworks Monkeys surrounded the Centipede Blade Man, scaring him into yelling, dropping his axes, and crawling on his hands and feet on the ground like a centipede, swiftly dodging away into the dense mountain mist.
Ning Zhuo drove the Fireworks Monkeys to closely pursue him.
Though the Fox God cut the strings and isolated Ning Zhuo's Divine Sense, and he was certain that there was no staff head inside the monkeys, he still saw that the monkeys were energetic and highly responsive, plunging him into deep perplexity.
Innate talent—Clouds and Mists!
The Fox God activated his innate talent, immediately causing the vast mountain mist to undergo a strange and mysterious change.
"Hmm?!" Just as Ning Zhuo was about to control the Mechanical Fireworks Monkeys to self-detonate, his finger ring suddenly tightened slightly.
Ning Zhuo stopped his movements, and the next moment, he saw Mechanical Fireworks Monkeys rushing out of the mountain mist and crashing into the Array.
Ning Zhuo's pupils constricted.
If he had been even a moment slower, allowing the Fireworks Monkeys to self-detonate, he would have been figuratively lifting a rock only to drop it on his own feet, subjecting his own Array to a fierce attack.
With a thought from Ning Zhuo, he once again controlled the Mechanical Fireworks Monkeys and sent them into the mountain mist.
But the moment they entered the mountain mist, the Mechanic Fireworks Monkeys immediately lost their sense of direction, not knowing north from south, east from west. Although they thought they were moving in a straight line, they were in fact circling the same spot.
Ning Zhuo wanted to control the Fireworks Monkeys to return; in his perception, they were definitely taking a straight line back, yet the Fireworks Monkeys couldn't find their way out no matter what.
Making a quick decision, Ning Zhuo temporarily gave up on these Fireworks Monkeys and released Mechanical Floating Hands, casting spells.
One spell after another was released—Fiery Fire, Rolling Stone, Leaf Dart, Water Arrow, Golden Needle—all plunged into the mountain mist, immediately vanishing without a trace, with no sound or light visible.
"What a dense fog!" Ning Zhuo's attempt to probe failed again, and he immediately stopped casting spells, releasing a Mechanical Spherical Device.
It was none other than the Weather Balloon·Ice Crystal Snow.
The Ice Crystal Snow emitted a strong cold current, spreading into the mountain mist. Wherever it went, the mist condensed into frost patterns, drifting about.
The mountain mist quickly weakened.
The Fox God chuckled lightly: "Interesting. Then I'll use thirty percent of my strength."
The next moment, the mountain mist abruptly thickened again, restoring its former appearance.
Ning Zhuo sneered, "It's not over yet."
With a thought, he reached into his storage waist belt and pulled out a ghost, tossing it to the Weather Balloon·Ice Crystal Snow.
Innate talent—Snow Soul Frost Spirit!
The spirituality within the Weather Balloon·Ice Crystal Snow, originated from Ning Xie, inherently possessed Snow Soul Frost Spirit as its innate talent.
The ghost, used as fuel for the innate talent, quickly dissipated. The cold current emitted by the Weather Balloon·Ice Crystal Snow grew several times more intense, once again causing the mountain mist to condense into ice and continually fall.
The Fox God snorted coldly, continuing to increase his power.
Just as the mountain mist was about to be restored, Ning Zhuo slapped his waist belt, releasing a cloud of vapor.
The cloud was blue and white on the bottom, emitting cold air, floating in the air, snowflakes falling along its path.
It was Cold Snow Cloud.
Ning Zhuo had purchased five clouds from Cloud City, one of which was this one.
Cold Snow Cloud enveloped the Weather Balloon·Ice Crystal Snow, though it was only at the Magic Artifact Level, it harmoniously enhanced the effect of the Weather Balloon·Ice Crystal Snow.
Hence, the cold current amplified further, causing the mountain fog to condense into frost flowers and gradually clear.
"How dare a mere Foundation Establishment Level mechanism try to dispel my Magic Fog?" The Fox God, incited with Heart Qi Strength, shouted charmingly, putting forth all her effort.
The next moment, the mountain fog surged violently, rolling forth oppressively.
Crack!
A clap of thunder exploded, and a streak of blue light suddenly shone through the cloud.
"Hahaha, I got it!" Sun Lingtong laughed exultantly, "So you really took my dagger, did you think my belongings were so easily taken? Hahaha."
He had already healed himself, though his face was somewhat swollen.
Slaying God with Saber Technique!
He had lost his dagger within the mountain fog, which was picked up by the Fox God. Caught off guard, it triggered an explosive attack from the dagger by Sun Lingtong.
Slaying God with Saber Technique was particularly lethal against divine beings, brilliantly complementing the Immortal Slaying Sword Technique.
Both techniques were extremely classic, and every Cultivator who practiced swordsmanship or saber techniques aspired to learn them. Sadly, the difficulty of these techniques was immense, and only those with exceptional spiritual nature could possibly master them.
Clearly, Sun Lingtong was one of them.
"I must have wounded It, ah, this fog is indeed troublesome," murmured Sun Lingtong who had long activated his Lingtong innate ability, but the thick mountain fog allowed him to see only three feet ahead.
"You, have, utterly, enraged, me!" The Fox God shrieked sharply, devoid of her prior grace.
From Her reaction, it was clear that Sun Lingtong had indeed delivered a fierce blow.
Sun Lingtong's face turned stern as he braced himself for the ensuing battle.
Ning Zhuo then pulled out his Mechanical Sickle, readying himself for an all-out fight.
The mountain fog rose higher, blocking out the sun, suddenly halted, and a low exclamation from the Fox God came: "Big Snake Scythe?!"
The fog froze.
Silence suddenly fell over the battlefield.
After a moment of silence, the Fox God spoke in a soft tone, "Young Ning Zhuo, so your mother had even entrusted the Big Snake Scythe to you. No wonder she was reassured to let you travel abroad."
Immediately, the mountain fog dissipated as quickly as rushing tide water.
Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong saw the sun again, surprised to find themselves no longer in the Fox God Temple but on the side of the mountain.
The mountain fog enveloped the Array, having transported them out directly!
The Fox God revealed Her true form, emerging suspended from the mountain fog.
Her hair, white as snow, cascaded over Her shoulders, and She was clad in a white robe, ethereal as an exiled immortal. Her figure was graceful, elegant, and behind her, fox tails fluttered lightly, ethereal as clouds, moving with inherent charm.
The only imperfection was a dagger stuck in her ample bosom.
The dagger emitted a blue glow like thunder, hissing lightly.
The Fox God grasped the handle firmly and pulled the dagger out. During this process, the light from the dagger flickered like electricity, binding to the wound, fiercely sucking in the dagger, creating a massive pulling force.
The Fox God snorted coldly, forcefully exerting strength, breaking off the electric light of the blade.
She tossed the dagger back to Sun Lingtong, and the wound on her chest quickly became shrouded by mountain fog, healing instantly.
Sun Lingtong fell into silence.
Evidently, the Fox God possessed the combat power of the Golden Core Level. The Slaying God Saber Technique, one of Sun Lingtong's strongest moves, had minimal success.
The Fox God looked at Ning Zhuo, her gaze lingering momentarily on the Mechanical Sickle in his hand, her face slightly smiling, "Worthy of being Meng Yaoyin's child. Just now, this deity couldn't resist testing you both, not truly intending difficulty for you two."
"Oh?" Ning Zhuo uttered, releasing the Cloud Concealing Petal from his mouth, "Does the noble Fox God no longer want this payment?"
The smile on Fox God's face became somewhat forced, "Young master, you took it seriously, haha."
Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong exchanged looks, neither had expected the Big Snake Scythe to intimidate the Fox God so significantly.
"Since that's the case, then we will take our leave," said Ning Zhuo.
The Fox God nodded, eagerly watching as Ning Zhuo swallowed the petal again. She suppressed herself, "Go on, then."
Watching the two steadily moving farther away, the Fox God suddenly spoke, "Wait a moment, young Ning Zhuo."
Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong stopped instantly, turned around, and were on full alert.
The Fox God smiled, "No need to panic, I merely wish to share some truthful information."
"The entire Mist Hidden Mountain has nearly been scavenged by Me, except for a valley in Shanxi which is beyond My reach."
"If you two still haven't found your target, it's likely hidden there."
Ning Zhuo's curiosity peaked, prompting him to inquire more.
The Fox God shook her head slightly, waved a sleeve, transforming into mountain fog, dispersing on the spot.
Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong both took out their Somersault Clouds, directly flying away from the Cloud Fox Mountain God Temple.
Far away, Ning Zhuo finally stowed the Mechanical Sickle.
He held his breath and focused, dispelling the irritability and murderous intent within his mind.
"This Night Rain Demon Weapon is indeed sinister, too heavy with the intent to kill. I haven't yet used it against a true enemy; merely holding it for a moment affects my inner peace."
Ning Zhuo inwardly startled.
Sun Lingtong transmitted a message, "Little Zhuo, what should we do next? Should we go to the Shanxi Valley? I always feel that Fox God has ulterior motives."
Ning Zhuo shared the sentiment with Sun Lingtong.
A Deputy Mountain God incapable of investigating a certain area of Mist Hidden Mountain seemed too far-fetched.
Ning Zhuo inquired, and the Fox God acted as if there was much she concealed, hinting at a potential lure.
But, concerning his mother, Ning Zhuo, aware he might be falling into a trap, was determined to uncover the truth.