Feng Zikang had never feared threats. Yet, this time, a bone-chilling cold seeped into him from behind.

He could not gauge the other party's depth, but the aura of the beautiful woman was like a ferocious viper, flicking its tongue, fixing him in place, immobile as if a single move would instantly cost him his life. Cold sweat beaded on Feng Zikang's forehead; this **blatant killing intent was something he could not withstand.

Still, he could not fathom why this beautiful woman sought to kill him. Just then, the locked-on spiritual presence suddenly eased.

“Ouch!” The beautiful woman gasped, collapsing to the ground, clutching her abdomen, her face contorted in pain. “Little fellow, you truly have a charmed life!” She snorted coldly through her nose, letting out a desolate laugh.

Feng Zikang blinked, utterly bewildered by what had transpired. This fierce woman was intent on killing him one moment, and the next she was on the ground incapacitated.

Was she having a seizure? “It seems fate decrees it so.

Since you have this karmic affinity, take it!” The beautiful woman pulled out a rouge box from her bosom, hesitating slightly, then gritted her teeth and gently tossed it before Feng Zikang. “What is this?” Feng Zikang did not lower his guard, stepping back instead of reaching for it.

The beautiful woman started, then burst into unrestrained laughter, “What a coincidence! Little fellow, your fortune is deep indeed!

I wondered how a mere disciple of the Military School had the skill and audacity to track me here. What benefits could the Wu family offer you?

I was overly concerned… it turns out you genuinely don't know who I am…” Her face was ashen, dripping with cold sweat from the pain, yet she maintained a cheerful expression. Beneath her robes, several fluffy tails slowly began to emerge.

“You are… the Nine-Tailed Fox?!” Feng Zikang finally understood the identity of the person before him. The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox who descended from the heavens and abducted Miss Wu of the Wu family.

Luo Kedi had implored him, his martial uncle, to find a way to rescue Miss Wu from the Nine-Tailed Fox. Feng Zikang had agreed verbally, but privately had no such intention.

The Nine-Tailed Fox was a master of the Core Condensation Realm; he had no desire to court death. Who knew that enemies would meet on such a narrow road, and here of all places?

And luckily, the Nine-Tailed Fox seemed to be suffering from an old injury, collapsed on the ground, and devoid of aggressive power. However, even so, Feng Zikang remained cautious, unwilling to easily extend his hand.

“So you are Senior Nine-Tailed Fox! Since this is merely a chance encounter, I shall take my leave now…” With the situation uncertain, it was best for him to depart immediately.

The Nine-Tailed Fox let out a sound like the tinkling of silver bells: “So you are a coward! Such a grand opportunity lies before you, and you intend to walk away without even a glance?

Rest assured, I am about to give birth. After the child is born, I will likely pass away.

You are probably the last person I will see in nine hundred years; how can you bear to leave me without anyone to see my passing?” Her expression was bleak, yet her smile remained radiant. “What?” Feng Zikang halted his steps, staring in astonishment at the Nine-Tailed Fox seated on the ground.

Indeed, he saw her abdomen was heavily swollen, and she gently stroked it with tender eyes. The Nine-Tailed Fox was about to give birth?

“… You truly have luck. I have been pregnant for three hundred years, but due to lingering severe injuries, I could not deliver.

I thought this return to the source and essence would offer a sliver of hope for survival; who knew that the mere thought of it would bring about catastrophe? The time is not yet right, and I am already turning to ash…” The Nine-Tailed Fox's tone was calm, as if she cared little for life or death.

“Three… three hundred years…” Legend stated that Li Er’s mother carried him for seventy-two years before giving birth to a son who emerged with white hair and beard, looking like a little old man. This fox carried her child for three centuries; what on earth would she deliver?

Perhaps it was because the dying speak more, that the Nine-Tailed Fox rambled on, confiding in Feng Zikang, a complete stranger. It turned out that the Nine-Tailed Fox conceived three hundred years ago, but at the same time, she was wounded by some profound divine ability.

She survived only by relying on the innate spirituality of the fetus within her, using a secret technique to cling to life, yet unable to deliver. She always felt she had wronged her child.

Recently, she sensed a change in the heavens and earth, and prepared to use the method of returning to the source and essence, sacrificing nearly a millennium of cultivation to heal her wounds and bear the child. Alas, defying the heavens was futile.

The time was not yet right, and labor was imminent. Once the child dropped, it would be the very moment she dissolved into ash!

“What an evil divine ability and technique…” Three hundred years had passed, and it could still cause a great demon of the Core Condensation Realm to crumble to ash. The power was truly terrifying, and Feng Zikang felt a secret dread.

“Senior, is there any unresolved matter you need to entrust? Though my abilities are humble, I am willing to exert myself to help complete it…” Listening to the Nine-Tailed Fox’s incessant talk, he still felt a degree of unease.

He wondered if this demon, whose killing intent had been so intense moments ago, might still wish to drag him along in death. He might as well ask if she had any lingering wishes, as that would at least indicate she would cease attacking him.

“You little fellow are quite perceptive…” The Nine-Tailed Fox smiled faintly: “Though you are fearful of death and cunning, you are hardly the best candidate for entrusting my final affairs. It’s just that you are the only one here, so I have no choice but to gamble on fortune…” She pointed at the rouge box before Feng Zikang: “Since it is useless to me, I shall not create further calamity for my offspring.

I return that Wu family girl to you; you shall escort her back. That is the first matter…” So, the daughter of Wu Ji was actually contained within this rouge box!

A treasure capable of holding a living being was akin to a divine ability that carved out a separate realm—this Nine-Tailed Fox’s prowess was indeed extraordinary! “The second matter,” the Nine-Tailed Fox lovingly caressed her belly: “is this child of mine… I roamed the heavens and earth for a hundred years, but only this child causes me concern.

I entrust him to you for a time, until he grows up.” Feng Zikang suddenly understood; the main reason for the Nine-Tailed Fox’s sudden change in demeanor was likely this child. In the Southern Barbarian Lands, monstrous beasts roamed.

If she gave birth here and immediately turned to ash, she naturally could not care for the child. He feared that come nightfall, a wild wolf would snatch it away for food.

Without someone to look after it, whether the infant was human or fox, it absolutely would not survive more than two or three days. And precisely at this moment, Feng Zikang was the only one capable of looking after this infant.

With this thought, his heart settled considerably. “This, I should naturally undertake without hesitation… however…” Feng Zikang adopted a worried expression: “My skills are meager, and I fear I may not be able to guarantee the child’s safety.

Might Senior bestow some protective treasure upon me?” Caring for someone else’s child, especially one belonging to such a prominent figure, how could he do so without compensation? The Nine-Tailed Fox possessed profound cultivation; surely she had some valuable items on her person?

If she were to turn to ash, wouldn't those treasures be wasted along with her? The time for shaking down the bamboo—extortion—had arrived!