Han Li descended unhurriedly, bringing up the rear as he landed. Seeing the others ahead of him take the pills that dispelled the miasma, a faint smile appeared on his face.
With his constitution — one that had been tempered through marrow-cleansing and body-refining — the miasma was naturally expelled clean with just a few breaths.
At that point, the five had descended to a low altitude of only ten-odd zhang above the ground and began flying toward the center of the basin.
"That fox is exceedingly cunning. If we want to catch it, we'll only get one chance. That means we have to find a wide, open area where it can't escape before we set up the formation. Not far ahead, there's a stretch of flat, solid ground. That way, we won't have to worry about it burrowing into the mud and fleeing." Senior Brother Wang spoke with full confidence, making it clear he had already planned this out well in advance.
The others had always deferred to Senior Brother Wang as their leader, so naturally no one had any objections. Han Li, for his part, simply smiled without saying a word.
Shortly after, the five flew to a flat expanse covered with lush green grass. A little farther out in every direction stood sparse patches of low shrubs.
This time, without waiting for Senior Brother Wang to say anything, Kui Huan and the others proactively landed on the grassy area and began surveying everything around them.
After a brief discussion, Kui Huan walked to the center of the meadow and dug a small hole. Then, from his storage pouch, he carefully took out the astragalus root they had purchased at the market. He buried half of it in the hole, leaving the other half exposed above the ground, and sprinkled some loose soil over it to make it look more natural.
Immediately, a faint medicinal fragrance began to spread outward.
"Good, that should do it. The Snow Cloud Fox has an extremely keen sense of smell. With the medicinal potency of this fifty-year astragalus root, it will come looking for it even if it's buried three feet underground. Oh right — Junior Brother Han, keep this Disorientation Flag safe." Kui Huan stood up, patted his hands with satisfaction, and then seemed to suddenly remember something. He pulled a white formation flag from his storage pouch and handed it to Han Li.
Han Li nodded and accepted the small flag with a calm expression. At that moment, Senior Brother Wang began giving instructions to everyone.
"Everyone, take up your positions in the air above. The moment that fox appears, you listen for my signal and throw down your formation flags at the same time. We'll use the illusion formation to temporarily trap the entire meadow. I believe that since that fox has only recently advanced into a demon beast, there's no way it can break the formation and escape." Senior Brother Wang spoke with a solemn expression.
The others nodded repeatedly in agreement.
And so the group flew up on their magic treasures once more, hovering motionless at an altitude of fifty to sixty zhang. Each of them cast a basic concealment technique to hide their figures while gripping their formation flags tightly.
With such a large sum of spirit stones at stake, Kui Huan and the others were visibly on edge, their eyes fixed unblinkingly on the ground below.
Even Senior Brother Wang himself had a sharp, intense gaze, his face set with gravity.
In comparison, Han Li was naturally the most relaxed of them all. He held the white formation flag in one hand while the other was casually clasped behind his back, his gaze sweeping over the surroundings with an air of utter nonchalance.
In reality, however, Han Li's spiritual sense had long since enveloped an area of several hundred zhang in every direction. At the slightest disturbance, he would be the first to know.
With that, the area instantly fell into utter silence, not a sound to be heard anywhere.
……
More than two hours passed, and nothing happened.
Standing on his magic treasure, Kui Huan rolled his neck, which had grown stiff and sore. A hint of impatience crept onto his face.
He glanced toward Senior Brother Wang, hesitating as if he wanted to say something, but after a moment's thought, he kept his mouth shut.
After all, when it came to catching that fox, waiting a little longer didn't seem like anything worth complaining about.
After another half an hour passed, just as most of them were growing restless from the wait, Han Li, who had been standing motionless atop the magic tool, shifted his expression and suddenly gazed toward a nearby clump of bushes.
Kui Huan could endure it no longer. He licked his lips, about to say something to the others.
But at that moment, Han Li's cold voice reached his ear.
"Be careful. The spirit fox has already arrived. It's hiding in the bushes to the west. Don't startle it away." Kui Huan's heart lurched upon hearing this, and he immediately clamped his mouth shut. At the same time, his gaze swept downward toward the west.
The other three also heard Han Li's voice transmission in their ears.
Like the stout man, they stared in astonishment toward the western bushes but spotted nothing out of the ordinary, and a mix of doubt and belief stirred in their hearts. However, the relaxed vigilance they had let slip tightened into alertness once more.
After waiting the time it took to eat a small meal, a small beast about a foot long, its entire body as white as snow, slowly emerged from the bushes to one side under the surprised and delighted gazes of the group.
It looked back with every step, its fluffy little head turning left and right from time to time. Utterly adorable!
The sight made all four others hold their breath, their hearts leaping into their throats. They gripped the formation flags in their hands tightly, not daring to breathe a word.
The white fox failed to detect the five people above its head. Seeing nothing unusual around it, it finally grew bolder.
Its pair of emerald-green eyes fixed on the Yellow Essence Root in the distance, and its four paws carried it forward in soundless, unhurried steps.