Han Li was the last to descend into the valley. Seeing that everyone around him had started to take the miasma treatment pills, he couldn’t help but smile. With his body’s essence having been purified, any miasma entering his body was cleansed with a single breath.
At that moment, the group was flying straight towards the center of the valley.
“That demon fox is extremely clever, and we will only get one chance to capture it. As such, we must find a wide area so that it cannot escape from the formation. There is a flat field free of mud not far ahead of us. We won’t have to fear it running away by digging into the mud.” From Senior Martial Brother w.a.n.g’s plans, it seemed he had deliberated much about this matter.
Having followed Senior Martial Brother w.a.n.g this long, the others in the group naturally raised no objections. As for Han Li, he merely smiled and remained silent.
A short moment later, the five arrived in a lush, flat field with short shrubbery spa.r.s.ely scattered about.
Without waiting for Senior Martial Brother w.a.n.g’s instruction, Kui Huan and the others landed on the field and examined their nearby surroundings.
Following a quick discussion, Kui Huan walked to the center of the field and dug open a small hole. He then carefully took out the Huangjing that he bought from the market and shallowly buried it in the hole so that it slightly emerged from the ground. Afterwards, he sprinkled a bit more dirt on top to make it look a bit more natural. A faint medicinal aroma immediately began to spread out.
“Good, that will do. The Snowcloud Fox has a very keen sense of smell. Even if the Huangjing is three feet buried, the Snowcloud Fox will surely smell its aged medicinal scent.” Kui Huang stood up and dusted off his hands with satisfaction. He then recalled something and took out a white formation flag. “Ah right, Junior Martial Brother, take this. It’s an Obscure Track Formation flag.”
Han Li nodded his head and calmly received the small flag. At that moment, Senior Martial Brother w.a.n.g began to brief the party.
He solemnly said, “In a moment, everyone will take up a position on higher ground. When the demon fox appears, we’ll all use the formation flags at the same time and envelope the field in an illusion formation. I am confident that since the Snowcloud Fox only recently turned into a demon beast, it will not be able to flee from the formation.”
All the others nodded their heads in agreement before taking off on their flying magic tools. They all motionlessly floated about a hundred-fifty meters in the air with formation flags in their hands. They each used shallow invisibility magic techniques to conceal themselves as they waited.
Since this involved such a large amount of spirit stones, Kui Huan and the others each appeared rather nervous as they unblinkingly stared down below. Even Senior Martial Brother w.a.n.g wore a grave expression as he deeply stared.
In contrast, Han Li was the most calm amongst them. He was holding the white formation flag in a single hand as he swept his gaze around. In fact, Han Li had already enveloped the area of a kilometer around them with his spiritual sense. He would be the first to know if any winds blew or any bush shook.
The area became deathly silent as two hours pa.s.sed by. Kui Huan’s neck began to ache as he stood on his magic tool from continuously watching down below. His face revealed faint impatience. He glanced at Senior Martial Brother w.a.n.g and thought to say something to him, but after some hesitation, he shut his mouth upon further thought. There was nothing to complain about even if they had to wait a while longer. This was all in order to capture the demon fox.
After yet another hour pa.s.sed by, most of the group began to feel anxious. As for Han Li, his expression began to stir as he stared at a patch of nearby shrubbery.
At that moment, Kui Huan couldn’t help but stir. He licked his lips and was about to say something when he heard Han Li’s cold voice through a voice transmission, “Be careful, the demon fox has already arrived. It is hiding in a bush to the west. Don’t scare it away.”
The other three also heard Han Li’s voice transmission.
In response, all of them glanced at the west bushes in alarm only to discover that nothing strange could be seen. They couldn’t help but be skeptical of Han Li’s words, but their relaxed att.i.tudes became vigilant once more.
After the time it took to finish a meal, surprise was clear in their eyes as a foot-long, snow-white beast slowly walked out from a bush. It turned its head around with each step and its whiskers occasionally twitched in hopeful antic.i.p.ation. It was incredibly adorable.
Upon seeing this, the other four grew vigilant and nervously grasped the formation flags in their hands.
The white fox didn’t glance up at the five. After seeing that there was nothing strange in its surroundings, it grew slightly more courageous and it began to silently walk in the direction of the Huangjing.
However, when it arrived about thirty meters away from the Huangjing, it suddenly stopped and its small pink nose suddenly sniffed the air. A trace of doubt flickered in its eyes as if it had discovered something.
This scene had caused Senior Martial w.a.n.g to lose his calm and he loudly shouted, “Now!” His formation flag dropped to the ground in a streak of yellow light. When Han Li and the others heard this, they threw down the formation flags without hesitation and each uttered several incantations.
Five different lights began to s.h.i.+ne from the flags as soon as they touched the ground. A large expanse of yellow mist then enveloped the field, sealing it from every direction. The Five Elements Obscure Track Formation had taken effect.
When the Snowcloud Fox saw this, it naturally knew that it was trapped. It immediately released several panicked howls and turned into a white blur as it shot into the yellow mist in an attempt to escape.
The group of cultivators appeared somewhat relieved upon seeing this, but they didn’t relax just yet. The illusion formation merely changed the direction of the white fox so that it turned in circles and stayed within the formation. The cultivators naturally wished to exhaust the beast first before they set to capturing it.
The group of people beamingly smiled as if this operation was a success. After the small fox ran around inside the yellow mist, it suddenly blurred several times before collapsing to the ground. It no longer stood up.
When the others saw this, they couldn’t help but feel frightened and looked at each other in dismay.
Senior Martial Brother w.a.n.g’s face grew sullen and he calmly said, “Do not release the restriction. We will continue to maintain it. Junior Martial Brother Ma, go down and see what is happening. The Obscure Track Formation is only able to trap, it does not cause harm. From the fox’s sly nature, it is most likely pretending to be dead.”
The others were greatly relieved upon hearing him and the youth surnamed Ma wordlessly descended.
Han Li faintly smirked at the scene and glanced down with a mysterious smile.
The short and stout Senior Martial Brother Ma was rather fast. After a short moment, he had entered the yellow mist and was several steps away from the fox.
He carefully grabbed the white fox tail and boldly shook it several times. The white fox was unresponsive as if it were truly dead.
As a result, the youth surnamed Ma felt slightly panicked and immediately pressed his ear against the beast’s chest.
Soon after, Senior Martial Brother Ma fl.u.s.teredly shouted from within the mist, “Senior Martial Brother, quickly come down, the demon fox’s body is ice-cold. Perhaps its heart has stopped from fright!”
“Impossible!” Senior Martial Brother w.a.n.g couldn’t help but change his expression.
Kui Huan nervously said, “Senior Martial Brother, let’s release the spell formation and take another look. Our spiritual power cannot sustain the restriction for much longer.”
The cultivator surnamed Xi remained silent but a trace of worry appeared in his eyes. The demon beast wouldn’t be worth much if it were dead.
After a moment of hesitation Senior Marital Brother w.a.n.g nodded his head and said, “Fine! We’ll release the spell formation since Junior Martial Brother Ma has already grabbed onto the spirit beast.”
When Han Li heard this, he calmly rubbed his chin, but he didn’t display the slightest opposition.
Suddenly, the cultivators began to mutter some words and point to the ground, causing four of the flags to shoot back into their hands as streaks of light.
In the instant the yellow mist dissipated, a short and stout youth placed his finger on the small beast’s nose as if he were testing something.
The three dropped down with sullen expressions. However, Han Li remained standing in his original position as he glanced at the white fox down below. His face revealed an odd expression.