The Azure Fox Realm lay shrouded beneath a dim barrier.

Sunlight could not pierce through, casting an oppressive gloom over the mountains—as if the world neared its end.

Qingqiu Nine Calamities slowly shed his disguise. His five fox tails vanished completely, replaced by pitch-black wolf tails. His azure hair darkened to an ominous black before their eyes, while wolf ears sprouted atop his head.

Qingqiu Nine Calamities?

No—he was Cursed Calamity Nine Banes: the last believer of the Greedwolf Church and sole inheritor of the Greedwolf bloodline.

Noble mythical beasts need not reproduce through ordinary means.

The Auspicious Fox, however, was a rare exception.

The first Golden Nine Tails bestowed her power and bloodline upon common foxes, birthing the Azurehill Fox Clan. From them, the Auspicious Blood would later emerge.

The Greedwolf Cursefiend held no interest in propagating its kind. It never sought to leave a legacy—not even unto death.

Yet as the Cursed Wolf, the antithesis of the Auspicious Fox, it possessed mysteries beyond mortal comprehension.

Unknown faiths forge unknown deities.

Clear faith empowers them.

Madmen worship dangerously powerful beings. The Greedwolf Church’s rise allowed the Greedwolf Cursefiend’s power to resurface. The most devout would inherit perilous bloodlines.

Cursed Calamity Nine Banes was the world’s last believer.

The ancient purge failed to erase the Church entirely.

He was no survivor of that purge. Later, he sought out its remnants, learned the Cursefiend’s legend, and fixated on that terrifying power.

But he was far more fanatical than the rest. He personally eradicated every last believer—leaving only himself worthy to inherit the Cursed Blood.

And he succeeded.

Appearing in the Azure Fox Realm was merely the first step of his ritual.

A faint smile played on Cursed Calamity Nine Banes’ lips as he fixed his gaze on Mulan.

“To be honest, I’m curious about your origins. Azure foxes are exceedingly rare. I searched the outside world but never found a single stray. So I used a secret art to disguise myself and enter this realm. Where did *you* come from? Could it be… you’re a fake too?”

Calm and composed, he strode slowly toward her, as if the world rested in his palm—still sparing leisure to chat amiably.

At least outwardly, he seemed far less unhinged than expected.

“Tch.”

Mulan stayed silent, mind racing: *How do I save Qingqiu Zili?*

Defeating Cursed Calamity Nine Banes was likely the only way.

But how could she—a mere three-tailed azure fox—challenge a vessel of the Greedwolf bloodline?

Moonlight Tier? Moonfall Rank? Solar Eclipse Tier?

One thing was certain: Mulan faced an unprecedented crisis.

Cursed Calamity Nine Banes continued his taunt.

“You were the first to suspect me. Qingqiu Zili sensed something off but never dug deeper—too naive from the start. But *you*… you investigated, sought proof. For that alone, I admire your initiative.”

He’d long tracked Azurefox Wuyue and Qingqiu Zili. Their attempts to interfere were expected.

So what?

The ritual required high status—and only one azure fox as sacrifice. Both were easily secured.

Even the outsider fox group he led in were deceived fools, just like the locals.

Azurefox Wuyue had no evidence. Who’d dare touch the clan’s only male azure fox—their hope, possibly the Golden Nine Tails’ sire?

No Azurehill Fox Clan member would move against him. Especially not elders drowning in pressure and faded vigilance.

Even Mulan had barely earned two elders’ trust through sheer effort.

This was Cursed Calamity Nine Banes’ favorable game from the start. Minor hiccups meant nothing.

“Yet your initiative went only so far. Your laziness amuses me. While I schemed for their trust, what were *you* doing? Playing happily with Qingqiu Zili? Guessing my identity changes nothing. These old foxes trust *me*—not you.”

“You think you’ve won?” Mulan met his approaching gaze squarely.

“Aren’t I? Soon, you’ll share Qingqiu Zili’s fate.”

Just as he moved to strike—

A surge of fierce energy erupted nearby. He halted, eyes narrowing at the scene.

“You have no right to touch her!”

The fallen elders rose one by one, wreathed in thick black aura that swallowed their forms. They stood before Mulan, arms outstretched to shield her small frame.

“Cursed Wolf! Return Zili!”

Only two crimson points glowed where their heads should be—indescribable horrors lurking within the mist.

The guardian barrier targeted Azurehill Fox blood—no elder, not even eight-tailed, could evade it.

But *not* being of the clan changed everything.

Remorse and fury had long consumed the elders. Their sin was unforgivable. To preserve the clan’s spark, they ignited the black fox bloodline within.

The Azurehill mark faded. The barrier’s pressure weakened.

When the bloodline burned out… so would their lives.

Yet they did not hesitate. For the clan’s future. For Zili.

Even if it meant turning to ash.

“Hahahaha! You old fools! I knew you’d snap! Come! This is *your* doing. Try to stop me—I’ll show you the despair of the calamity *you* unleashed!”

Unshaken before nine desperate Solarcrown Rank elders, Cursed Calamity Nine Banes laughed arrogantly, radiating absolute confidence.

“How vast is the gap between Solarcrown Ranks? The ancient calamity’s power will show you!”