Wind howled around them as the unstable region drew closer—distorted currents of qi twisting like invisible whirlpools in the sky ahead.
Behind them, the demonic cultivator was gaining.
The fox's expression grew uncharacteristically serious.
She sent another voice transmission.
"This plan isn't foolproof."
The lizard did not slow. Lightning continued to coil along its body as it tore through the air.
"There's another option?" it asked.
"Yes."
A brief pause.
"We could surrender."
The lizard nearly faltered mid-flight.
"…Explain."
The fox's tone turned analytical—cold and detached, as if discussing someone else's fate.
"He's clearly interested in you. Deeply. Your bloodline. Your potential. If we surrender voluntarily, he is unlikely to kill us outright."
The demonic cultivator's laughter echoed faintly behind them as a surge of dark qi exploded forward, closing the distance further.
"He would take us in," the fox continued. "Place a soul restriction. Something absolute. Something that prevents betrayal."
The lizard's scales flickered.
"A slave contract," it said flatly.
"More refined than that," the fox replied. "A Golden Core restriction would bind our cultivation, our thoughts. We would live. We would grow. We would serve."
The lizard's voice hardened.
"And never act against him."
"Not until we surpass him," the fox said calmly. "Restrictions can be broken… eventually. If one grows strong enough. It would buy time. Survival."
Silence passed between them, heavy despite the screaming wind.
The fox continued, quieter now.
"We would not be free. Every action would answer to his will. He could command us. Control us. Perhaps even force us into battles we do not wish to fight."
The lizard's lightning dimmed slightly.
"And you're considering this?"
For a moment—
The fox did not answer.
Then she exhaled sharply.
"…No."
Her voice changed.
The calculation vanished.
Something fiercer remained.
"I hate that plan."
The lizard glanced at her mid-flight.
"Oh?"
"I don't like being under anyone's control," she said bluntly. "Not a sect. Not a master. Not a so-called benefactor."
Her eyes flashed.
"And anyone who thinks they can put a leash on you—"
Her lips curled into a dangerous grin.
"—will have to go through me first."
The lizard stared.
The demonic cultivator's aura crashed closer, a massive wave of oppressive force bearing down on them.
The fox's thoughts burned clearly.
*My dragon.*
*Mine to ally with. Mine to protect. Mine to scheme beside.*
*Not his.*
"Hell no," she muttered inwardly. "I'm not handing you over."
The lizard's voice cut through her thoughts.
"I don't want to be controlled either."
A pause.
"That plan wasn't necessary."
The fox glanced at him.
For a brief second, something almost soft flickered in her eyes.
"Good," she replied.
"Then we're on the same page."
Ahead, the chaotic region loomed—spiritual currents spiraling violently, space itself distorted, thunderclouds forming without rain.
Behind—
The demonic cultivator raised both hands.
Dark energy condensed.
"Enough running!"
A massive spear of black qi formed, crackling with destructive force.
The fox's expression sharpened.
"Get ready," she transmitted.
Lightning erupted from the lizard in answer.
No surrender.
No leash.
No master.
If someone wanted to claim the dragon—
They would have to survive the fox first.
Her eyes narrowed as pressure intensified.
"I'm going to push my tool to its limits," she transmitted. "Every formation. Every charge. I'll burn through it all."
Wind roared violently.
"All you need to do," she continued, "is hold back whatever he throws until we reach that region."
The lizard did not look at her.
He simply said—
"Okay."
His voice was steady.
Even as the wind tormented his ears and the Golden Core's aura distorted the currents behind them.
He listened.
Not only with hearing.
But with everything.
The tearing wind.
The tremble in the clouds.
The pulse of dark qi compressing and expanding as the cultivator accelerated.
He could sense him.
Every shift.
Every breath.
His focus narrowed to a single thread.
And in that narrowing—
Memories surfaced.
Since encountering humans in this world, he had watched, fought, and learned.
Though he carried memories of another place—Earth—those were distant and fragmented. Knowledge without feeling.
This world's memories were similarly scattered.
It was only after meeting humans here—after survival and conflict—that he began to understand this body… this power.
He remembered the last battle.
The moment instinct had overridden hesitation.
When lightning and earth fused.
Something new.
Something unplanned.
Yet it worked.
Not by theory.
But by sensation.
He had done it once.
So he could do it again.
He only had to remember that alignment.
That moment when separate elements became extensions of will.
He inhaled.
Energy surged.
His body expanded in the fox's arms, returning to combat size—compact and dense with strength.
Electricity erupted in violent arcs.
It wrapped around him like living veins of light—
But it did not harm the fox.
The lightning parted instinctively.
Recognizing ally.
Recognizing bond.
The fox felt the surge and smirked faintly.
"So you're serious now."
Behind them—
The demonic cultivator's attack struck.
A massive spear of condensed black qi tore through the sky, devouring air.
The lizard did not panic.
He thought.
Ice is condensed water.
Earth is solid mass.
Lightning is violent energy.
Wind…
Wind is everywhere.
Like water.
Like earth.
But different.
You cannot hold wind.
Yet it is always present.
It shapes mountains over time.
Carries storms.
Bends trees without ever being seen.
You do not seize wind.
You guide it.
His eyes narrowed.
He felt the currents tearing past.
Not resisting—
But slipping into them.
Molding them.
The way he shaped earth.
The way he shaped ice.
The way he commanded lightning.
Energy surged again—
But this time it spiraled.
Wind gathered.
Compressed.
Lightning laced through it.
At first unstable—
Then aligning.
The fox's eyes widened slightly.
"Oh?"
Before them, the air twisted violently.
Clouds warped.
A colossal serpent took form—
Not flesh.
But storm.
A Wind-Thunder Serpent coiled into existence, body composed of compressed air and racing lightning.
Its eyes burned electric blue.
Its roar was the scream of a hurricane.
The lizard's breathing steadied.
He had done it once with earth.
Now again.
Wind and lightning.
Different.
But possible.
The demonic cultivator's black spear collided with the charging storm serpent.
The sky detonated.
Wind imploded outward.
Lightning split the clouds.
Dark qi clashed against rotating storm currents.
The serpent shrieked as it absorbed, deflected, and tore apart portions of the attack—
Buying time.
Not victory.
Time.
The fox smiled sharply and poured spiritual energy into the device in her sleeve. Runes ignited one after another, glowing brighter than before.
"Good," she whispered.
The chaotic region loomed.
Spiritual currents unstable.
Space warped.
Perfect.
Behind the fading explosion—
The demonic cultivator emerged.
Unharmed.
No longer smiling.
His gaze locked on the small dragon in the fox's arms.
Interest deepened.
"Wind and lightning…" he murmured.
The chase was no longer amusement.
It was personal.