The basement was dim and shadowy, with emaciated corpses hanging from the ceiling, of all ages, both male and female. The bodies were covered in wounds, having suffered excruciating torture before death.
This scene reminded Fang Zhou of the pigs and sheep hung up in a slaughterhouse.
Beneath the hanging corpses was a small hill of skeleton remains, each missing half of their form, with internal organs and blood and flesh mixed together, the stench hitting him in the face.
In a corner of the ground, there was a heap of ghastly white bones, gnawed clean without leaving a morsel of meat, their surfaces marked with teeth indentations of varying depths.
A tall figure sat in the middle of the basement, perched atop a bed made of skulls.
It was a fox demon, with the body of a human but the filthy head of a fox on its neck, its fur matted with dried blood, as it tore at an arm with its sharp teeth.
The hellish scene in the basement rendered Fang Zhou silent - it confirmed his earlier guess.
Invasion of the nest!
These four characters once again surfaced in Fang Zhou's mind.
After discovering that the seriously ill girl on the bed was not the demon fox, Fang Zhou had speculated that she was likely the true member of the Hu Family.
And the rest of the Hu Family?
They were all here.
After escaping into the basement, Hu Yiling threw herself before the demon fox with a human's body and wept, "Big brother, our little sister was killed, this man is the murderer, please kill him and avenge her."
The fox demon tossed away the arm from its mouth and slowly stood up, like a small mountain of flesh, nearly ten feet tall, with muscles coiling like that of The Immortal of Colossal Spirit in the flesh.
It looked down at Fang Zhou from above, its pitch-black eyes filled with brutality and bloodlust. A deep, male voice emerged from its mouth, still speckled with bits of flesh.
"Dare to kill my kin? Have you prepared your last words, you animal?"
Animal?
A fox demon dares to call me an animal?
After a long silence, Fang Zhou slowly raised his longsword, pointing at it, and said in a low voice, "How many people... have you eaten exactly?"
The demon fox laughed heartily, the sound echoing eerily through the basement.
"How many? I've lost count. But of the Hu household's hundred and thirty some, the stewards and servants outside are all recent hires."
It sneered, "You tell me, how many have I eaten?"
Fang Zhou had no answer.
The chill in his heart had quietly vanished, replaced by a sudden upsurge of scorching emotions.
This was a feeling he had never experienced since transiting to this world. He felt as if his blood was boiling, his body became feverish, his eyes bloodshot, his teeth clenched with a creaking sound, his sword grip turned white, veins popping out.
He felt a surge of intense emotions pressing against his chest, growing swiftly, seeking an urgent release.
For no apparent reason, a phrase suddenly popped into his head.
"Demon Extermination, now is the time!"
Ding!
[Side quest triggered - Demon Extermination]
[Eliminate the Cannibal Fox Demon]
[Difficulty: Hard]
[Reward: 8 Male Gallantry Points, 1 Purple Card]
[Failure: Death, leaving no corpse]
Hu Yiling moved closer to the demon fox, whispering, "Big brother, this man is also skilled in the Illusion Technique and seems to be able to use Fire Technique. You must be careful!"
The fox demon seemed to be unconcerned, "What's there to fear? Have you forgotten my innate talent?"
Of course, Hu Yiling hadn't forgotten. Since childhood, her big brother was different from ordinary demon foxes, possessing little talent for illusion but having a high resistance to Illusion Techniques.
Instead of studying Demon Arts like ordinary demon foxes, it cultivated the path of combat, hence its colossal size and preference for eating humans.
The demon fox extended its hand backward, dragging out a massive iron axe with a heavy scraping sound.
"Stand back, once I've slain him, we'll share the spoils."
The demon fox gripped the iron axe with both hands, striding towards Fang Zhou.
Fang Zhou allocated all 4 points of his Male Gallantry into his physique, then threw an Illusion Technique at the demon fox, but it broke free in the blink of an eye, rendering the technique almost ineffective.
This was the first time Fang Zhou encountered an opponent immune to illusion; even Li Ruyu at the Foundation Establishment Realm had succumbed to it before.
Hu Yiling, from behind, also launched an Illusion Technique at Fang Zhou, assisting her brother.
The demon fox had a stalwart physique and wide steps, moving faster than a run. It reached Fang Zhou almost instantly and swung its axe overhead.
"Boom!"
The massive iron axe struck, producing a deafening collision, stirring up a large amount of dust within the basement, clouding the scene.
A fireball suddenly flew out from the dust, hitting the demon fox and exploding on impact, igniting the dust behind it and causing an even more intense explosion.
The scorching flames immediately engulfed the large body of the demon fox, and the dazzling firelight made the entire cellar instantly bright, forcing Hu Yiling to squint her eyes shut from the glare.
The next moment, Fang Zhou shot out from the flames, his clothes tattered and ablaze, his body covered in burn wounds.
His expression was icy, holding a longsword in both hands, he soared through the air like an immortal descending from the heavens, aiming directly at Hu Yiling.
As Hu Yiling's vision just began to clear, she saw Fang Zhou rushing toward her. Her eyes widened in shock, she instinctively wanted to show her true form, but an Illusion Technique hit her, leaving her in a trance.
Swift as the wind, his sword fell!
Blood sprayed along with the sword's blade, casting a piercing line of crimson.
Hu Yiling's head flew up into the air, landing on the bed made of skulls, lying among the remains of the Hu Family, her delicate face still frozen in that dazed expression.
It wasn't until now that her body slowly fell backward, a puff of blue smoke emerged, and she transformed into a headless fox.
Ordinary attacks weren't very effective, but decapitation would certainly bring death!
The demon fox, covered in dust from the explosion, had just turned around when it saw the scene of Hu Yiling being beheaded by Fang Zhou.
Its eyes were wide with rage, and from its mouth came an angry roar: "I will tear you to pieces!!"
The roar echoed throughout the cellar, creating waves of reverberations.
With a leap, the massive and burly body of the demon fox soared into the air, raising an iron axe overhead, creating sparks against the cellar's ceiling.
The demon fox descended like Mount Tai bearing down on Fang Zhou, swinging the axe with incredible force.
Fang Zhou dodged to the side in a hurry; he couldn't withstand such immense size and power by brute force.
The iron axe smashed into the ground, causing a loud crash that broke the solid floor and sent mud and rocks flying, kicking up another cloud of dust.
The demon fox pulled out the iron axe and swung it towards Fang Zhou.
The iron axe, with its gusty winds and howls, sliced through the dust, sweeping towards Fang Zhou.
Fang Zhou bent down to dodge, his feet slipped, and he slid to the side of the demon fox, thrusting his sword at it. The longsword pierced into the demon fox's ribcage, like it was stabbing into tough leather, only penetrating slightly before being caught by muscle.
The demon fox took the opportunity to grab Fang Zhou's arm and lifted its iron axe high, chopping down.
With his arm caught, Fang Zhou couldn't dodge and had to summon his invisible left hand, intercepting the descending iron axe.
This left hand held immense strength, tough beyond compare. The iron axe bent it, but ultimately, it blocked the attack.
Seizing the moment, Fang Zhou held his sword with both hands and pushed hard. With the strength of nearly six points, enhanced by the Qi Gathering Technique, the longsword penetrated deeper into the demon fox's body, injuring its vital organs.
The demon fox uttered a roar of pain, grabbing Fang Zhou's arm and throwing him backwards, flinging him through the air.
Pulled by the momentum, the longsword was yanked out, and blood immediately sprayed from the wound.
Fang Zhou was thrown across the entire cellar, only coming to a stop when he hit the wall; his entire back numbed.
Had he not just bolstered his physique with four points of manly fortitude, his body might have fallen apart from the impact.
Before Fang Zhou could catch his breath, the demon fox, axe in hand, charged towards him.
Fang Zhou frowned, his mind racing faster than ever. Basic swordsmanship seemed ineffective against an opponent both physically imposing and highly resilient. He needed to change his strategy.
Noticing the demon fox's splay-footed gait, Fang Zhou instantly had a plan and, sword in hand, confronted the fox demon head-on.
The two quickly approached each other. As the demon fox raised its iron axe, aiming a sweeping blow at Fang Zhou,
Fang Zhou started running, holding the longsword high, then suddenly dropped to his knees, sliding underneath the demon fox.
The raised longsword sliced from below, the blade drawing a trail of blood.
The demon fox let out a scream of agony like never before.
It turned around and hurled the iron axe at Fang Zhou.
The spinning axe carried a terrifying whistling and momentum.
Fang Zhou had just turned around and couldn't dodge in time, so he directed his invisible left hand to block the axe.
The left hand was knocked aside, but it managed to reduce much of the power from the axe.
Hurriedly, Fang Zhou lifted his longsword, blocking the axe; the resulting metallic clang marked the end as Li Ruyu's sword, after less than a month with Fang Zhou, was broken into two pieces in a heroic sacrifice.
While the iron axe was deflected, Fang Zhou was left with numb hands from the shock, and the broken sword fell from his grasp.
The enraged demon fox, brandishing fists as large as a large pot, rushed towards Fang Zhou and slammed down towards his head.
Fang Zhou controlled his invisible left hand to block upwards, stopping the demon fox's fist with a loud thud.
The demon fox's other hand quickly captured Fang Zhou by the collar, lifting him up and opening its huge mouth, aiming to bite his head off.
Fang Zhou extended his right hand forward, shoving his fist and half of his forearm into the demon fox's mouth.
A gleam of sadistic pleasure flashed in the eyes of the demon fox as it clamped down with its jaws, ready to crush Fang Zhou's fist and forearm.
It failed to notice the cold smile curling on Fang Zhou's mouth.
A burst of firelight, blossoming!