Climbing the Mountain, Part 3

“!!”

Yan Jue froze, then hurriedly tied her belt properly. She glanced around to make sure no one else was nearby before finally relaxing.

She was a modern person, and honestly didn’t care that much, but in ancient times, accidentally exposing yourself in front of others seemed like a very serious matter!

The kind of serious that could lead straight to a marriage proposal.

Recalling the way Qi Xianqing had looked at her just now, Yan Jue silently repeated a few times: I’m straight. She’s straight too. Then she turned and headed back.

That night, Yan Jue returned to the little wooden hut, sat on the bed, took out the herbs she had bought two days ago, and slowly treated the dog bite on her arm.

She had only been back on the mountain for a few days, and she’d already been injured twice. What bad luck.

But...

She had already broken through to the mid-stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm, and the feeling in her body was completely different from when she first transmigrated.

If her body before had been a stagnant pool, then now she could feel something else stirring deep within it... a vibrant, thriving life force.

Yan Jue understood it as the original host having spent too long by the male lead’s side, enjoying a life too comfortable and too peaceful, which had slowly dulled the physical functions of a cultivator’s body.

As a member of the Ghost Mansion Fox Clan, the original host’s aptitude was naturally not bad.

And after Yan Jue had transmigrated here and gone through all manner of things, she had naturally activated some of the body’s hidden functions.

As expected, cultivation really depended on opportunity. Living an easy, steady life was certainly pleasant, but it wouldn’t lead to such rapid progress.

After finishing the wound treatment, Yan Jue closed her eyes. Suddenly, she felt a surge of demon qi boil up in her chest; in the next instant, she transformed into a crimson fox.

Yan Jue leaped onto the windowsill, stretched, and went outside.

She wasn’t sleepy. The cultivation technique she had practiced during the day had only gotten halfway before being interrupted by the dog demon, so now she was going out to continue.

The bright moon hung high overhead; the night breeze was gentle and pleasant.

Yan Jue padded along on all fours, her paws crunching softly against the fallen leaves.

As a fox, the original body was of exceptionally fine quality; her fur was a pure, blazing red with not a trace of impurity, while her belly was snow-white, like a white lotus blooming amid flames.

Soon she arrived at Qiwu Peak.

Yan Jue walked to the side of the spiritual pool, just about to approach, when she abruptly stopped.

In that instant, she felt a dense, murderous aura; all the fur on her body nearly stood on end.

Through the hazy mist, a woman stood with her hands behind her back by the lake.

She was dressed in white. With just one step, electric light spread from beneath her feet; strong winds howled.

Her expression was cold as she advanced step by step, like a lotus rising from the water.

A pitch-black long sword swept above her head, shifting through countless forms as it cut through the night sky, leaving one gorgeous afterimage after another. It reminded Yan Jue of military parades back in her modern world, with planes sweeping overhead in exactly the same magnificent way.

That figure was too beautiful, the air of a transcendent immortal far too hard to ignore. Yan Jue recognized her at a glance.

The one practicing swordplay by the spiritual pool was Qi Xianqing, whom she had just seen during the day!

Yan Jue panicked for only a moment before calming down.

Setting aside her prejudice against the female lead, Yan Jue had to admit that Qi Xianqing was truly beautiful, completely matching her tastes.

She had presence, she had figure, she had looks.

Admiring her was a pleasure in itself.

Besides, the ice-cold female lead was fully absorbed in her practice and didn’t seem to notice her at all.

Although Qi Xianqing was selfish and cold, that didn’t stop Yan Jue from appreciating beauty.

So Yan Jue lay flat against the ground, belly to the earth, chin pressed low, crouching in the grass as she stared toward the lakeside in the distance.

Each strike of the sword was powerful; each move precise, with spiritual energy faintly drifting through the air.

Qi Xianqing’s sword, Zhuying, truly deserved its reputation as an immortal sword capable of cutting down all evil in the world. Once it left its sheath, even from dozens of li away Yan Jue could feel the oppressive force radiating from it.

What was more, Qi Xianqing wasn’t even holding the sword in her hand. She merely stood at the shore with her hands behind her back, quietly reciting a sword incantation, and the long sword tumbled through the air like a swimming dragon.

Watching, Yan Jue couldn’t help feeling sour.

Why did other people get to learn such amazing sword techniques, such formidable divine arts?

Why was no one teaching her any of that?!

Suddenly, the black sword frolicking in the air plummeted downward like an out-of-control dragon, whooshing past. Qi Xianqing turned to the side; Zhuying brushed her shoulder, apparently accidentally slicing off her hair ribbon. In an instant, her jet-black hair cascaded down, drifting softly in the wind.

Qi Xianqing clicked her tongue and said helplessly, “You really are...”

Zhuying hovered in the air, seeming frozen in fright, like a child who had done something wrong and didn’t dare move.

Yan Jue knew that famous immortal swords all had things called sword spirits.

Their minds were not fully mature, only at the level of a five- or six-year-old child, and the sword’s wielder could communicate with the spirit.

Then Qi Xianqing took something from her Qiankun bag, held it in her teeth, and lifted a hand to gather her jet-black hair, using that object as a hairpin to secure it in place.

Yan Jue froze. After seeing clearly what it was, her heart began pounding wildly: !!!

The female lead was using the peony she had sent over last night as a hairpin!!!

The peony was alluring and lush, while the female lead was a clear, dust-free immortal lord.

The combination of the two was simply stunning, vivid and eye-catching.

Yan Jue was still lost in a daze when she failed to notice that the spiritual energy fluctuations over there had already stopped at some unknown point.

When she came back to herself, she suddenly saw that Qi Xianqing, who had just been controlling Zhuying, had turned around at some point.

Their eyes met. In the moonlight, those peach-blossom eyes were deep and restrained.

Yan Jue let out a tiny yelp; all her fur puffed up, and she instantly wanted to run.

For some reason, the murderous aura Qi Xianqing gave off made her extremely afraid.

Qi Xianqing practiced the sword. Her sword bones were iron-hard; her righteousness was upright and vast.

It should be said that this was the kind of aura that made all demon races fear her.

Yan Jue turned and bolted on all fours. Suddenly, Qi Xianqing withdrew the long sword in her hand, crouched down, and somehow produced a bone to hold out toward her. “Come here~”

Yan Jue froze and looked back.

The Qi Xianqing who had just been full of murderous intent was now crouching on the ground, smiling gently at her.

Seeing her turn back, Qi Xianqing smiled softly, set the bone on the ground, and sat cross-legged with one hand propping herself up, still looking at her.

Yan Jue: “...”

“Grr...”

An eerie sound rang out in the air. She hadn’t eaten dinner today, and now she was actually a little hungry.

Maybe because she had turned into a fox, her thoughts had also become those of a canine.

Yan Jue had never thought that one day she would actually be tempted by a bone that smelled of meat!

In any case, she had already practiced the Clear-Mind Formula to a very skillful level, and the demon qi on her body had been mostly restrained. She should not be recognized... probably.

So Yan Jue, with all the dignity she could muster, slowly crawled out of the grass. Her ears stood alert as she advanced step by step, belly pressed close to the ground.

She was extremely vigilant; to prevent being cut down the moment she got close by Qi Xianqing’s Zhuying, she was already prepared to turn and run.

Even when she reached Qi Xianqing, nothing unusual had happened.

Yan Jue had never been this peacefully close to Qi Xianqing before. She moved up beside the bone and sniffed it.

Qi Xianqing smiled and asked, “Whose little fox are you, sneaking out in the middle of the night? You’ve been peeking here for half an hour; I noticed you a long time ago.”

“I don’t think I’ve seen you before.”

Yan Jue: Grr?!

Yan Jue suddenly realized she may have underestimated the female lead.

Qi Xianqing’s Divine Sense was terrifyingly sharp.

The Northern Sea black-iron demon-locking collar around her neck was still there.

Since she had turned into a fox, the collar had also become a small red-string bell, hanging around her neck and ringing softly with every movement; it was extremely cute.

Qi Xianqing probably mistook her for... some other family’s spirit beast.

The bone lay on the ground. Yan Jue only sniffed it, but didn’t eat.

She might be instinctively drawn to meaty bones, but she wasn’t really a fox.

Qi Xianqing crouched on the ground and looked at her twice. “You don’t eat? You don’t like bones?”

Qi Xianqing knew that the back mountain of Five Dragons Mountain was home to many rare birds and beasts; quite a few spirit beasts were at the second or third level.

Five Dragons Mountain was rich in spiritual energy, and the spirit beasts living there year-round had mostly already awakened intelligence; some even found ornaments to wear, and there were even some who cooked for themselves.

Five Dragons Sect and these spirit beasts, which stood somewhere between divine beasts and demons, had always coexisted peacefully.

This red fox had pure spiritual energy. Although there was some demon aura common to mountain spirit beasts, it was very mild; she probably hadn’t taken any lives.

And at this point, Yan Jue was not so calm.

Compared with the bone,

Qi Xianqing was far more tempting to her.

When Yan Jue had been in human form, resisting the pull of Qi Xianqing’s Immortal Spirit Physique had already been extremely difficult; now that she had turned into a fox, it was utterly impossible to resist.

Did Qi Xianqing know... how fragrant she smelled?

A faint plum blossom scent, clear as snow; gentle and lingering, like a thin layer of snow settling in a forest at dawn.

Her whole fox was dazed. She could only stare with those narrow fox eyes at Qi Xianqing, whose pupils were a clear amber, like translucent apricot stones.

Qi Xianqing extended one hand toward her, and Yan Jue inexplicably grew excited. Her blazing red tail wagged back and forth, and she let out soft whimpering sounds, her tongue licking nonstop at Qi Xianqing’s palm while her little paws rested on the female lead’s knee.

Even her whiskers brushed against her palm, tickling.

Qi Xianqing’s eyes curved. “What’s your name?”

Yan Jue felt as though her heart had been struck by

an arrow.

Damn it.

To actually hear the female lead speak to her so gently in her lifetime!!!

She became even less promising, her tail wagging in the air like a flower.

“..."

It was the little fox who wanted to do that.

What did it have to do with Yan Jue?

Qi Xianqing lifted her by the underarms and raised her a little. The little fox’s four paws were tinged with a faint pink, and her narrow fox eyes were slightly narrowed.

Then Qi Xianqing stroked her fluffy head. Her fingertips slid down to rest at the back of her neck, scratching her there now and then.

At first Yan Jue could still keep a straight face, but after a while her lips actually curled back by reflex, her eyes narrowing as her hind legs kicked in the air.

Qi Xianqing murmured, “So cute.”

Yan Jue and Qi Xianqing looked at each other.

Suddenly, the fox’s sharp hearing caught something; her ears shot upright.

She seemed to hear something in the deep forest not far away, rapidly rushing toward them, fallen leaves scraping against one another on the ground with a thick murderous intent.

In an instant, the smile in Qi Xianqing’s eyes vanished completely; her face was quickly covered by a layer of frost. She rose into the air and retreated two zhang in a flash. Powerful spiritual energy exploded around her like a sword leaving its sheath.

The next moment, a piece of extremely hard debris shot over and slammed into the lakeside where Qi Xianqing had just been sitting. The fragment’s edge was razor-sharp, burying itself two chi deep into the ground. If Qi Xianqing had not dodged in time, she would likely have been doomed.

A deafening roar erupted through the air: “Awooo—”

A violent gale swept in, carrying a strong stench of blood and filth.

From the grass in the distance, a black giant snake suddenly appeared. It was roughly as tall as three grown men stacked together. Its black scales glinted with a bizarre sheen under the moonlight, and its golden pupils flickered.

Yan Jue was terrified stiff. She knew the female lead possessed the rare Immortal Spirit Physique, a body whose blood was lethally attractive to demonic beasts; in the outside world, it was practically a walking danger.

“Roar!!”

The black snake gave an enraged bellow. Its fangs shot wide open, and a streak of dark green liquid cut through the air. Immediately after, its entire body lunged toward Qi Xianqing, snapping at her.

Qi Xianqing: “Go hide.”

Absentmindedly, she patted the root of Yan Jue’s tail. The base of a canine’s tail was naturally sensitive; that one pat nearly made all the fur on Yan Jue’s body stand up. Still, she obediently ran to a patch of grass farther away and flattened herself there.