The air whistled past Ren’s ears as she blurred through the gap in the shattered rock. Kicking off a chunk of airborne debris with a precision borne of her high agility, her white form was a streak of light descending upon the panicked cultivators.
"Sun! Defend the rear!" Zhao roared, his iron broadsword still embedded in the cracked earth from his massive strike. His Stage 6 tendons bulged as he wrenched the heavy blade free, but he was a fraction of a second too slow to reposition.
A disciple named Sun, sitting at Stage 5: Orifice Opening, panicked. Seeing what had happened to Liu, he didn't want to get anywhere near Ren's blue flames. Instead, he reached into his spatial pouch and pulled out a handful of yellow paper rectangles—the exact same coercive Beast-Binding Sigils that Wang Chen had used.
"Stay back, you demon!" Sun screamed.
He didn't just throw one. Channeling his outward-projecting Qi through his open wrist nodes, he scattered a volley of six talismans into the air, creating a grid of crackling, crimson energy grids. They fanned out in different directions, sealing off her landing trajectories and forming a floating cage of enslavement arrays meant to trap her no matter which way she dodged.
Ren saw the glowing paper slips filling her field of vision. She could use Swift Step to try and weave through them, but her analytical mind ran the math instantly. My Qi pool is sitting at 180. If I burn more energy dodging, I give the remaining three disciples time to coordinate their formations.
She looked at the floating crimson arrays. A cold, feline amusement flickered in her golden-blue eyes.
I have cosmic insurance, she remembered.
Instead of twisting her body away, Ren intentionally let her front paw clip one of the descending talismans.
"I got her!" Sun shouted, his face instantly twisting into a look of hysterical, greedy ecstasy. "The array is locked! She's mine—"
The yellow paper slapped against Ren’s pristine white leg. The crimson cinnabar ink pulsed violently, trying to drill down through her flesh to wrap around her soul and force a master-servant contract.
[ ALERT: Forceful Beast-Binding attempt detected. ]
[ Blessing of the Primordial Kitsune Goddess: 'Untamable Spirit' is active. ]
[ Enslavement array... SHATTERED. ]
A high-pitched, metallic snap echoed through the clearing as the talisman violently cracked in half, its spiritual energy turning to useless grey ash. Before Sun could even process why his contract had failed, the interface flared in a blinding, golden hue that signaled the nuclear option.
[ Blessing of the Primordial Phoenix Goddess: 'Vermilion Backlash' is TRIGGERED. ]
The coiling dragon of white fire inside Ren’s soul awoke with a silent, cosmic roar.
A jet of pure-white, blindingly intense primordial flame erupted from the shattered talisman, traveling backwards along the invisible thread of Sun's channeled Qi with the speed of a lightning bolt. It didn't just target his hand—it targeted the spiritual source.
FWOOM!
Sun didn't even have time to scream. The white fire enveloped his body in a column of absolute heat. Because he was only a Stage 5 Body Refinement cultivator, his physical defenses were utterly nonexistent against the wrath of a primordial deity. In a single, horrifying second, his robes, his flesh, and his bones were completely incinerated.
When the white flame vanished, there was no body left. A neat pile of grey ash drifted onto the grass, topped by a melted iron sword.
[ Ding! Target Slain: Sun (Stage 5). ]
[ Experience Gained! Level Up! ]
[ Host has reached Level 6 (Mortal Beast). ]
[ Rewards Distributed: +50 System Points. Current Balance: 60 SP. ]
The sudden, absolute annihilation of their companion sent a wave of paralyzing horror through the remaining three cultivators. Zhao’s breath caught in his throat. The other two disciples took three steps back, their hands shaking so violently that their swords rattled against their scabbards.
"What... what kind of monster is this?" one of the disciples whispered, his face completely bloodless. "She didn't even cast a spell! Sun just... melted into ash!"
"It's the flame that broke Wang Chen," Zhao realized, a cold sweat breaking out across his forehead. His Stage 6 braided-steel muscles suddenly felt like lead. He finally understood why Elder Mo had sent a full squad. This wasn't a spirit beast. This was an anomaly that defied the very laws of the Azure Cloud Continent. "Don't touch her! Use ranged strikes! Cut her down from a distance!"
Ren landed gracefully on the blood-spattered grass, her paws completely unblemished by the ash. A pleasant warmth cascaded through her limbs as her System Level hit 6, her health and Qi pools expanding and completely refilling to maximum.
## 📊 Character Status Sheet: Ren
[ General Overview ]
* System Level: 6 / 10 [||||||||||||||||||||] (0% to Level 7)
* System Points (SP): 60 SP
* Health (HP): 220 / 220
* Spiritual Energy (Qi): 300 / 300
[ Cultivation Pathway ]
* Current Realm: 9-Stage Body Refinement ➔ Stage 2: Bone Tempering [In Progress 45%]