"No you didn't" Ning's voice came from behind the flames. When the fire disappeared, he could still be seen finalizing his breakthrough.
"What? How could this be? I clearly hit you!! How are you not hurt or distracted?" the fox cried out.
"Yes, you did hit me. But did you think I would get hurt because you hit me?" Ning's snarky voice came from his body once again.
"What's that supposed to mean?" the fox asked.
"Think about it," Ning said. "There are millions of places on this planet I could have gone to for breakthrough, yet I came here. Did you think that was a coincidence?"
The fox staggered backward. "Wh-What do you mean?" the fox asked.
Ning slowly stood up. Finally, he was done with his cultivation breakthrough and the aura of a newly ascended Nascent Soul cultivator spread out from him.
The fox took a step back. It wasn't afraid of a mere aura from a new Nascent Soul cultivator, but it was afraid of Ning who was steadily approaching it.
"I have lived for hundreds of years. You don't do that and still, come out a stumbling buffoon. I've learned things, experienced different stuff, with or without my consent. I've made enough mistakes, enough stupid decisions to know whether my next one is going to be one or not."
"Simply put, I didn't come here by mistake. I came here because this island has one of the densest Qi environments in all of the Central Continent, and because I knew for sure that not a single one of you could ever hope to hurt me," Ning said.
The fox started to get angry now. "You think I can't hurt you?" it said in anger and ran forward to strike at Ning.
Ning casually grabbed the fox's claw and threw it back. The fox used its fire tail to shoot 3 precise fireballs at Ning once more.
They directly struck Ning once more, but just like last time, they did nothing. The fox gritted its teeth. It couldn't possibly understand what was happening.
"You seem confused," Ning said to the fox. He could clearly see the rage, frustration, and confusion in its eyes.
"Let me explain a little," Ning said while continuously walking towards the fox that was backing away. "You see, the only reason I'm breaking through right now is that I spent most of my time just relaxing throughout my visit to the Southern Continent."
"I visited different places throughout the years, and most of the days, I didn't want to cultivate my Qi at all, as I felt that would make me stick out amongst the regular folks and that was the last thing I wanted."
"As such, my cultivation was slowed down a lot. However, while my Qi cultivation regressed, I never stopped cultivating my body for once."
"Do you understand what It means?" Ning asked.
The fox started shaking as it understood what Ning was trying to say. "Y-You have a strong body cultivation?" the fox asked with a trembling voice.
"Correct," Ning said with a smile and suddenly disappeared. He didn't teleport at all. Instead, he just stepped forward. However, due to his physical body that was at the peak it could be right now was simply too strong and he flew through the air at a speed the fox didn't notice.
Ning was already behind the fox, and by the time it noticed, Ning kicked it directly into the crater of the volcano.
The fox was sent flying, but it managed to balance itself before it entered the volcano. It was about to run away when Ning arrived right in front of it and kicked it once more, directly plunging it into the depths of the magma.
Ning didn't move after doing that, however. He simply stayed there, waiting.
The magma on the surface of the volcano kept bubbling, but nothing else happened. The fox seemed to have died at the bottom of the magma.
"Come out!" Ning said. "I know some mere lava can't kill you."
There was no movement in the lava yet again.
"Very well, Then I sha— "
"Wait!" the fox said as it came back out. "How did you send me through the lava?" it asked.
"I didn't," Ning asked. "I simply knew you weren't a type to go down just like that."
The fox frowned when it saw Ning smile. It started thinking of the different alternatives to survive, but it couldn't. There really was just one way to survive this battle right now, and that was exactly what he had to do.
"I give up!" the fox said. "Please don't kill me. I will do whatever you want."
Ning gave it a surprised stare. "You give up?" he asked.
"Yes. Please spare my life. In return, I can become your servant, just like three beasts of yours," it said.
Ning didn't immediately say anything and thought for a second. "Your offer is quite lucrative. The descendant of the legendary Nine-Tailed Fox, albeit the blood is diluted to an extreme, is truly something every human would desire to have as his beast," Ning said.
The fox gave a forced smile. It was biting down on its pride to sell itself right now. At least, it was happy it was going to survive.
"Alas… I told you already. I am not a normal human," Ning said.
"What? What do you mean?" the fox asked.
"I'm saying that I don't need you," Ning explained.
"B-But I am the descendant of the legendar—"
"I know, But you are way past your prime in terms of cultivation, and the energy I will need to make you worth getting is just… not worth it," Ning said with a sigh.
"What does that mean?" the fox asked.
"It means… that you can go and die."
Ning disappeared and reappeared behind the Fox as he brought out a spear from his storage and stabbed the fox right through the stomach.
In just a single attack, he managed to kill both the body and the soul at once.