Chapter 131: Subjugation

“Of course I’ll give you—ah… you…” Fox Bai Mei’s expression changed drastically, and her voice began to tremble. She could never have dreamed that Hu Mo would actually awaken from her bewitching arts!

The two balls of light in Hu Mo’s hands radiated intense fluctuations of battle power. They were both manifestations of the purest chaotic force.

Had Hu Mo still been under Fox Bai Mei’s control, those two powers would not only have been unable to harm her, they would even have become hers to use, strengthening her in the process. But now, the situation was precisely the opposite. His voice brimmed with killing intent, as though he intended to annihilate her with those two forces. With her battle power completely sealed and her bewitching arts rendered ineffective, how could Fox Bai Mei possibly withstand them?

As though she had seen a vicious ghost, she let out a shriek and scrambled back to the place where she had first been huddling. She stared at Hu Mo in terror and pleaded through trembling lips, “Take them away, please…”

“Oh? Take them away? Master, you really know how to joke. Weren’t you longing for them just now? Since you want them, how could I, as your servant, refuse to offer them to you? Look closely. This is the purest chaotic battle power. It would be such a waste not to accept it, wouldn’t it?” Hu Mo said with a smile, his tone growing colder and more sinister.

“I don’t want them! I don’t want them anymore! Please take them away! I don’t want them, all right?” Fox Bai Mei’s voice carried the faintest trace of sobbing. She knew all too well that if she touched those two balls of light now, she would certainly be annihilated by the domineering power within them. Chaotic force was naturally harmless to its master, but toward an enemy it showed no mercy whatsoever. It had reached the terrifying point where the slightest touch meant certain death.

“Oh? Does Master think there aren’t enough? It’s all right, it’s all right. I have more.” Smiling, Hu Mo spoke as a blue ball of light drifted out from between his brows and hovered before him. Much like the other two, it possessed a striking black line running through its center.

When the extreme yin and frigid cold of chaotic water was displayed before Fox Bai Mei without the slightest restraint, the last of her defenses immediately collapsed, and she sank completely into terror.

Chaotic water was practically poison to the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan, whose natural attributes centered on wood and fire. Even at the height of her cultivation, Fox Bai Mei would never have dared touch it lightly—much less now, when her strength was almost nonexistent.

“Ah—don’t come any closer! Don’t come any closer! I beg you, I beg you, don’t—don’t…” Fox Bai Mei was already weeping bitterly, tears streaming down her face.

She was not using her bewitching arts. This was genuine emotion, unfeigned and absolute. She was terrified of those three balls of light from the depths of her soul.

Hu Mo’s expression suddenly turned cold. He left the three balls of light suspended in the air, then slowly moved toward Fox Bai Mei.

“Now you know fear? When you used such vicious bewitching arts against me just now, why weren’t you afraid then? To be honest, I almost admire myself. If you had been dealing with anyone else, you would probably have been annihilated long ago. Do you really think they would have let you speak this much?” Hu Mo sneered as he moved a little closer.

Fox Bai Mei hugged her legs and trembled violently. The way she looked now was completely different from how she had behaved before Cang Ling. Hu Mo had truly shaken her spirit, as though a knife were cutting into her soul, making it quiver incessantly.

Seeing her like this, some of the anger in Hu Mo’s heart faded.

He did not withdraw the three clusters of chaotic battle power—water, fire, and wood. Instead, he left them hovering above Fox Bai Mei’s head. Such a powerful and sustained threat was the greatest torment to the soul.

Hu Mo leaned close to her face and asked with a smile, “Do you know why your bewitching arts had no effect on me?”

Fox Bai Mei said nothing. She merely whimpered and shook her head, clutching it in her hands, utterly helpless.

Hu Mo did not care about her reaction. He simply smiled faintly and said, “It’s very simple. Your bewitching arts make people relive beautiful memories. Unfortunately, there is nothing beautiful in my memories. So your bewitching arts were completely useless against me.”

Hu Mo naturally did not tell her that this body had been taken through possession, and that the memories he possessed belonged to its former owner. To him, those memories were filthy beyond measure. He felt sick whenever he thought of them, let alone became immersed in them.

But since Fox Bai Mei believed that he had already fallen under the influence of her bewitching arts, he had simply played along with her assumption. After all, he had nothing to lose.

Well, almost nothing. When he had seen Fox Bai Mei’s perfect body just now, his nosebleed had nearly burst forth. Fortunately, his self-control was still fairly good; otherwise, he would certainly have given himself away.

Fox Bai Mei had no mind to listen to Hu Mo. She merely huddled there, not even daring to lift her head.

A sudden sense of boredom arose in Hu Mo’s heart. Perhaps this was simply how the world worked. The law of the strong devouring the weak would never change.

Just moments ago, Fox Bai Mei had been so arrogant and imperious. Now she was cowering in terror. So what if she was beautiful? With such a vicious heart, she was still a beast, no matter how exquisite the skin she wore.

The thought struck Hu Mo as somewhat amusing. Why had he spent so long entangling himself with a fox demon? Why had he pleaded with Cang Ling on her behalf? Thinking it over, he found it all utterly meaningless. What good had his kindness done?

“I’ll still give you two choices. Submit, or perish. I had not originally intended to force you into such a decision, but you compelled me to offer it. You have three breaths. When they are over, do not blame me. One.”

Hu Mo’s voice was icy. Cold light flashed repeatedly in his eyes, and in that instant he seemed to transform into a death-dealing god of slaughter, radiating an unbearable, bone-chilling cold.

Fox Bai Mei’s body stiffened, and her trembling stopped at once. She raised her head, only to meet a pair of eyes colder than ice. Under that gaze, it seemed as though all the blood in her body were beginning to freeze.

Her heart gradually grew still, and the only thing filling her mind was Hu Mo’s voice.

“Two!”

Hu Mo’s voice sank even lower. The three balls of light hovering beside him began to churn, like three gaping maws stained with blood. The sight made Fox Bai Mei’s heart pound violently.

She still could not summon the courage to say anything. She only retreated uneasily, but there was nowhere left to go.

Hu Mo shook his head and sighed helplessly. “It seems you are still incapable of recognizing the situation. I can no longer see that feeling you once gave me. If you were still the woman you had been then, I might truly have been unable to bring myself to kill you. Disappear—three!”

Hu Mo slowly lowered the hand he had raised. The three clusters of chaotic battle power seemed to come alive, flying toward Fox Bai Mei in eager excitement.

As though a vicious ghost were devouring her body, Fox Bai Mei screamed, “I submit! I’m willing to submit! No—don’t kill me!”

“Stop!”

Hu Mo gave a cold snort. The three clusters of chaotic battle power halted in midair, then were drawn back into his body. He looked coldly at Fox Bai Mei and mocked her, “Couldn’t you have agreed sooner? Controlling chaotic battle power is no simple matter. If I had lost control, you would probably have already been reduced to nothingness.”

Fox Bai Mei did not utter a word. She merely nodded repeatedly, tears soaking the blanket beneath her.

Hu Mo glanced at her, without the slightest trace of pity in his eyes.

“Since you have submitted, you should know what to do.” Hu Mo spoke coldly, his gaze fixed sharply upon Fox Bai Mei.

Fox Bai Mei hesitated, then nodded with great difficulty. “I know. I know…”

As she spoke, a white point of light appeared between her brows. It grew larger and larger, and soon a faint white radiance drifted out and floated before Hu Mo.

The sphere of white light was only the size of an egg, yet it contained an exceptionally pure soul force. Within it, the vague forms of three tiny foxes could be seen. They appeared terrified, curled up inside the sphere.

Once the sphere emerged, Fox Bai Mei’s aura weakened noticeably. Her hands formed a series of strange seals, while obscure incantations spilled from her lips.

Before long, one of the three tiny foxes—a scarlet one—was summoned out and floated before her.

The moment the red fox appeared, Fox Bai Mei’s aura became even weaker, as though she might stop breathing at any instant. She pushed the red fox toward Hu Mo, bit her finger, and drew a strange symbol in the air. In a low murmur, she said, “I, Fox Bai Mei, willingly offer up my life soul and vow to serve Master Hu Mo for the rest of my life, as slave and servant, without the slightest resentment. Should I violate this oath, may my life soul shatter, and may my spirit and soul be extinguished!”

As soon as Fox Bai Mei finished speaking, a mouthful of blood sprayed from her lips, staining the life soul.

Hu Mo made a slight beckoning motion, and the life soul appeared in his hand. He then drew it into his body and sealed it inside the Divine Wood King Cauldron.

The white sphere contained Fox Bai Mei’s three souls. These were divided into the souls of heaven, earth, and life. When subduing high-level battle beasts, one generally collected the life soul. That way, should the beast ever harbor rebellious intentions, a single thought from its master would be enough to destroy it completely. This was precisely what made the method so overbearing.

Fox Bai Mei drew the remaining two souls back into her body. Her complexion, which had been pale to the extreme, eased slightly. Under these circumstances, losing her life soul was not fatal. As long as Hu Mo remained alive, her own life could continue. If Hu Mo died, she too would die immediately along with him, without the slightest possibility of escape.

Smiling, Hu Mo withdrew the three clusters of chaotic battle power. Then he gave a triumphant little laugh, collapsed onto the bed, and muttered, “I’m exhausted. Still, at least I managed to trick her successfully!”