The Charm of Soul Pets (WN)

“Wu wu~~~”

Mo Xie jumped off of Chu Mu’s shoulder and then ran over to the group of small Demon Foxes to join in on the fun.

Mo Xie had a silver-colored body and a faintly discernible angry purple-colored flame always lingered on her nine tails. She was comparatively stood out in this group of low species rank small Demon Foxes.

After Mo Xie walked over, these small Demon Foxes all curiously and adorably stared at Mo Xie. They didn’t recognize Mo Xie, and didn’t know what kind of species Demon Fox she was.

The Light King slowly opened its eyes and looked at Mo Xie who was staring back at it. Its apathetic eyes circulated with something.

A moment later, it closed its eyes again and ignored Mo Xie’s intrusion.

Mo Xie used the Demon Fox language to communicate with these small soul pets. The small Demon Foxes jabbered back, and didn’t stop letting out cries that made Mo Xie’s head spin.

A while later, Mo Xie finally understood. She waved her claws at the small Demon Foxes and returned to Chu Mu’s shoulder. She then told Chu Mu about what she found out.

“What did they say?” Lin Mengling quickly asked Chu Mu. She was obviously very curious.

Chu Mu was earnestly listening to Mo Xie’s account.

“Those small Demon Foxes said that they are all orphans. They aren’t sure where there mothers and fathers went. They’ve always been taken care of by the Light King.” said Chu Mu.

“Why is the Light King taking care of them? They have no blood relation…” Lin Mengling proceeded to ask.

“I’m not sure. These small Demon Foxes all treat the Light King as their elder. They live on this mountain and the Light King has never let them leave.” said Chu Mu.

“Wu wu wu~~~” Mo Xie let out a cry. She told Chu Mu that a few adult Demon Foxes had left, but ultimately never returned…

The fact they never returned meant they died. These Demon Foxes with monarch rank bloodlines and under were still extremely weak even if they were an adult in Imprint Valley. They simply didn’t have the ability to protect themselves.

“I saw in Divine Sect’s historical records that at the very beginning, Imprint Valley was the Seven Sins Fox Light King’s territory. The other high bloodline species, including the Martial Cloud Dragon, LIght Phoenix and Immortal Sparrow, all lived under it,” said Lin Mengling.

“This should have been over ten thousand years ago. All species have chances of declining,” said Xia Yin.

Chu Mu turned to look at the enormous light formation sprawling over the earth. He sank into thought.

"Young master, if the Light King of the past lived here and additionally brought about glory, there would definitely have been numerous other Demon Fox subspecies following it in Imprint Valley…”

After the Seven Sins Fox was shackled by fate, it would have declined. Once it declined, other creatures would rise. The Demon Fox species was no longer the lord of this place…”

“The rise of any powerful species is accompanied by merciless slaughter. The high bloodline Demon Foxes would have been slaughtered by the rising soul pets - for example the Celestial Mountain Curse Demon Fox, the Raging Flame Nine Tail Inferno Fox, the Flame Monarch, the Rock Rock Emperor, the Ice Fox Emperor and the other Demon Foxes at the monarch, emperor or dominator rank. None of these Demon Foxes would be able to obtain protection and would have to face immortal rank predators. Their extinction in this territory is only a matter of time.”

“The moment the monarch, emperor and dominator rank Demon Foxes go extinct, the remaining commander, warrior and servant rank Demon Foxes, for example, the Star Fox, Three Tailed Fox, Cloud Fox and Nine-Tailed Fox, will slowly die out as well…”

“Thus, over ten thousand years, only these scattered low ranking demon foes remain. This is the current situation in front of young master: a group of low ranking Demon Foxes living with an extremely high bloodline Demon Fox…”

“Indeed, how could they not live together? Only these few Demon Foxes remain in the entire Imprint Valley.” sighed Old Li.

Species extinction!

Old Li had always imparted Chu Mu with species theories.

In the past, Chu Mu had believed these holistic concepts of life were too far removed from him. His singular actions couldn’t affect an era of several ten thousand years or a species’ fate spanning through several ten thousand years.

However, when Chu Mu saw the lonely fox king living together with these extremely low rank Demon Fox orphans, an indescribable feeling of bitterness surged in his heart.

The scene in front of him was comforting because it resembled a lonely mother protecting these children with no homes of their own.

However, it also meant that the Demon Fox species had reached its end!

If a species wanted to survive in a territory, it had to have two things. Adequate strength and strong enough survival abilities.

The strength would frighten enemies and ensure they would have a foothold in this territory.

As for strong survival abilities, this referred to the ability to evade natural enemies and a perception of danger.

Of course, there was an exception to this. The creature could be weak, but their reproductive abilities had to be strong and they had to be suited to surviving in various environments.

The Light King of this era was being restricted by the shackles of sins. Its strength was far weaker than the past. It was no longer the strongest creature in Imprint Valley.

Most importantly, the Light King had no followers. If it were like the Light Phoenix, which had countless Light Sparrows to defend its nest, things would be different. However, the Light King was alone. and it alone could not support the survival of a species.

If things were to continue like this, probably within one or two hundred years, the demons foxes would completely disappear from Imprint Valley because they would be unable to survive alone here.

“The moment the strongest bloodline subspecies declines, the other subspecies of the species will also be affected. Young master is currently witnessing a case of bloody and cruel reality…” Old Li could see that Chu Mu understood the cause of the scene in front of him.

“This place is an independent space. In our world, the Demon Fox species probably wouldn’t be as miserable, right?” asked Chu Mu.

Old Li nodded his head: “Hades is the representative of the Demon Fox species and in the past, there were legends of an undying rank. In Imprint Valley, the Demon Fox Species has declined due to the Seven Sins Fox Light King’s shackles. However, in the regular world, the Hades Fox Noble has already led the Demon Fox species to the peak.”

Chu Mu’s heavy mood eased as he listened to Old Li’s words.

Perhaps the story the Monument Tears told was the reason behind the Seven Sins Fox. When he heard about the extinction of the Demon Fox species in Imprint Valley, Chu Mu felt that the Demon Fox species had disappeared from the entire world. The indescribable seriousness of this was even somewhat unimaginable to Chu Mu.

“Do the Heaven Boundary Monuments tell the story of the Seven Sins Foxes being sealed? Once we undo the Heaven Boundary Monuments’ mystery, will we undo the Seven Sins Fox’s shackles?” asked Chu Mu.

“Perhaps. I feel that the Heaven Boundary Monument is trying to tell people something. Its purpose is probably the same as the Messiah Tree. It exists for the survival of all living things… Unfortunately, the last Messiah Tree has gone extinct. I don’t know what danger the disappearance of the Messiah Trees will bring.” Old Li gave his opinion.

“There will be danger?” asked Chu Mu, confused.

“Definitely. The Messiah Trees were similar to the existence of a god. They were a selfless offering to the world of life. Numerous ancient species’ survivals were linked to the Messiah Tree’s aura. Once the Messiah Tree died, it would cause numerous ancient species to die along with it. Moreover, a few evil species that were suppressed by the Messiah Tree would rise. Perhaps the root of disease, the Plague King, will be able to sweep through the world… these things may not appear in just one or two years. However, in a hundred or a thousand years, the veiled accumulation of these things will suddenly erupt and a calamity of that scale will be extremely terrifying!” said Old Li.

“For example, take the Ancient Flood Dragon Person. This supremely powerful creature has lain dormant for a long time, but wasn’t it a problem left behind from another era?”

Chu Mu felt that Old Li made a lot of sense. He also thought of what Ning Maner had told him before. Often when one was weak, one was only able to see the surface of things when they looked at something. However, when this person reached certain heights and was able to look down on things, they would discover that things were no longer as simple as they seemed. Everything had a connection to karma.

“Mo Xie, go and ask the Light King whether it’s willing to let you take the small Demon Foxes away. Imprint Valley is no longer a place they can survive in. It will be better if we can take them to New Moon Land. Otherwise, they will be unable to escape their fate of death.” Chu Mu said to Mo Xie on his shoulder.

Regardless if these small Demon Foxes were to sign a soul pact with humans or live on their own in New Moon Land, it was still better than becoming prey for creatures in Imprint Valley. Although Chu Mu couldn’t be sure that they would be able to survive once they were brought to New Moon Land, it was much better than living in this place of inevitable death.

Mo Xie nodded her head and jumped in front of the Light King as she spoke with the Light King.

The Light King finally had a slight reaction. It lifted its head a little bit and stared at Chu Mu…

It was possible to see that the Light King actually cared about these small Demon Foxes. It would be best if they could be freed from this horrible environment. However, the Light King had no reason to trust a human…

Mo Xie was talking with the Light King while Lin Mengling and Xia Yin were full of curiosity. Why would Chu Mu want to help these small Demon Foxes?

“I really couldn’t tell that you had such a benevolent heart.” said Lin Mengling.

Same.” Xia Yin nodded his head.

Chu Mu had slaughtered countless beings and often, he had no concept of pity in his heart. However, for some reason, when he saw this comforting, yet reflective and sad, scene, he felt that he should do something.

Moreover, when he saw these Demon Foxes, it was like seeing Mo Xie back on Nightmare Island. Mo Xie had lived in the lowest level of the environment and if he hadn’t brought her out, there was a chance she could have met her end while still a Moonlight Fox.

Chu Mu was the same as well. If he hadn’t met Mo XIe, he may have lost himself among the millions and millions of other lives and disappeared without a trace...