White Fox

Yan Jue spun around and stared at Qi Xianqing, eyes wide.

Did Qi Xianqing even understand what she was saying?

Qi Xianqing gave her a cool glance, then looked away.

“...”

Could it be that once someone had taught you, you were supposed to respect them as a teacher for life, as the saying went?

Was Qi Xianqing so convinced of that that she wouldn’t even let her go around bowing to random masters anymore...

Yan Jue couldn’t help remembering what Qi Xianqing had said to the little fox that day in Frozen Peach Haven.

Could it be...

No—better not think about these messy things.

Yan Jue: “Even though Immortal Yun Zhen said that to me, I’m not actually going to go look for that elder...”

She muttered, “I still prefer being taught by Senior Sister.”

Qi Xianqing pressed her lips together and stood with her hands behind her back at the edge of Cold Pool, gazing wordlessly at the calm water in the distance.

But a trace of amusement slipped through her eyes almost imperceptibly.

The air fell quiet for a moment.

Yan Jue suddenly remembered something and pulled something from her sleeve, breaking the awkward silence between them.

Yan Jue: “Senior Sister, that day in Fengxian Town, I accidentally came into possession of something in the painted-skin ghost’s residence. Do you know what it is?”

She held out two broken pieces of purple jade.

The jade was very pale in color; under the sunlight, it was almost translucent.

Qi Xianqing paused slightly, took the two pieces of purple jade, and fit them together. Faintly, she could make out the character xu.

Qi Xianqing thought for a moment. “When ordinary cultivators want to open a secret realm, they often use a jade pendant as the key. This does look very much like...”

Yan Jue caught her meaning. “So these two pieces of jade are the key to some secret realm, right?”

Qi Xianqing: “That’s possible. It’s just that this key is missing two pieces; no one knows who has them now, whether far south or far north. If you want to find the remaining fragments, it will be very difficult.”

Yan Jue nodded thoughtfully.

Qi Xianqing looked up and glanced at her. “Such a precious thing, and you told me about it. Aren’t you afraid I...”

She did not finish the rest of the sentence.

Although Yan Jue’s cultivation was improving too, for now she still could not surpass Qi Xianqing.

With Qi Xianqing’s strength and status, if she deliberately wanted to find the other two fragments of the jade pendant, it would obviously be much easier for her than for Yan Jue.

A secret realm was enormously tempting to cultivators.

If Qi Xianqing harbored any other thoughts and wanted to seize the treasure, Yan Jue would have no way to stop her.

Yan Jue’s heart lurched; she didn’t know how to answer.

At some point, she had developed an unaccountable trust in Qi Xianqing.

Yan Jue lowered her eyes, then suddenly asked, “May I ask Senior Sister to tell me more about secret realms?”

Qi Xianqing coughed lightly and said indifferently, “The three known great secret realms in this world are the Myriad Phenomena Secret Realm, the Descending Secret Realm, and the No-Delusion Secret Realm.”

“Inside secret realms, there are not only rare birds and strange beasts, but also countless magical treasures and immortal herbs. However, among these three great secret realms, only the entrance to the No-Delusion Secret Realm is clearly known now; it lies atop Kunlun Mountain in the Northern Frontier. But I’ve heard that no one in this world has ever actually reached any of these three great secret realms.”

“The key to each of these three great secret realms is a jade pendant.”

Qi Xianqing continued, “Aside from these three natural secret realms, there are also many artificial ones. For example, when a mighty cultivator is nearing the end of their life and has nowhere to store their rare treasures, they may choose to hide them in a secret realm.”

As expected, every time she spent time with Qi Xianqing, she learned something new.

Yan Jue said happily, “Thank you, Senior Sister.”

-

After taking her leave of Qi Xianqing, Yan Jue went back down the mountain.

She needed to go to Spring Blossom Cave again and find that so-called Jade-Faced Lady.

If she wasn’t mistaken, this Jade-Faced Lady was a very important opportunity for Chu Fu.

She had to find this opportunity.

...

Yan Jue soon arrived at Little Spring Mountain outside Qingye Town.

She had previously undergone body-strengthening training under Qi Xianqing’s supervision, and her physical stamina was already excellent. Flying Swallow Steps burst out at once; it took only one stick of incense to reach the summit.

The sunlight was gentle, and birds sang amid flowers and fragrance.

The cave dwelling soon appeared before her, half-hidden among the plants and flowers, faintly carrying an air of mystery.

Was the monster not home again?

Yan Jue closed her eyes, and her dense Divine Sense spread out instantly.

After a period of practice, her Divine Sense could already cover an area of ten li in every direction.

Nothing could escape her search.

After spreading out her Divine Sense, Yan Jue did not detect the monster’s whereabouts in Spring Blossom Cave.

Instead, she detected a mass of blue aura.

It seemed to be... a cultivator in the Fusion Realm!

A trace of suspicion flashed through Yan Jue’s mind when she suddenly heard a deafening explosion from not far away.

“Boom!!”

Something flew out of the cave.

The person wore a blue-and-cyan Daoist robe, had a bloated figure and a face full of flesh, and crashed heavily to the ground, looking extremely miserable.

Yan Jue froze for a moment, then suddenly noticed the talisman plaque at the man’s waist.

She quickly recognized the fat man who had flown out.

It was actually the South Tower immortal master she had met in Fengxian Town that day!

South Tower was a very famous name in the cultivation world.

It belonged to the Imperial Court, served the Imperial Court exclusively, and possessed absolute power within the cultivation world.

South Tower was an existence that had broken away from the six great immortal sects yet remained extremely powerful.

The last time they were in Fengxian Town, Yan Jue hadn’t had much interaction with that fat immortal master from South Tower, but she still remembered him quite clearly.

As Yan Jue was thinking, something suddenly rushed out from over there.

It was actually a white figure.

It was a frail white fox, its fur snow-white, its waist slender, its innate charm fully on display.

The fat man was covered in blood. “You little unruly fox, I’m going to deal with you right now!”

But he was badly injured and couldn’t even get up. He could only sit where he was and chant an incantation; in an instant, a long sword rose above his head.

The sword flashed, then shot out.

That white fox was clearly injured as well, moving at an especially slow pace.

Yan Jue paused slightly.

A faint streak of extremely weak blue light seemed to be glowing on the white fox’s forehead, indistinct and flickering as though it were some kind of mark.

The white fox dodged half a beat too slowly; just as the long sword was about to strike its body...

Yan Jue silently recited a heart technique, and the golden collar around her neck instantly fell away, condensing in the air into a huge shield.

With a thunderous crash, the shield formed from North Sea black iron forcibly blocked the sword’s attack!

The South Tower immortal master’s brows shot up. “Who is it!”

He turned around and saw a woman standing under a tree in a bamboo hat and veil, her features impossible to make out clearly.

Only the Daoist robe she wore could be vaguely identified; it was from Five Dragons Mountain!

Yan Jue formed hand seals, and the North Sea black iron shrank rapidly, unexpectedly turning into a gleaming golden flying sword in the air.

The golden flying sword, carrying immense force, pierced through the air and stabbed toward the South Tower immortal master.

The South Tower immortal master’s face went deathly pale. He clenched his teeth and shouted, “Five-Glow Treasure Sword!”

Another long sword shot over, colliding with the small flying sword.

This was the basic way cultivators fought each other; they simply summoned immortal swords into the sky.

Aside from martial cultivators, cultivators rarely fought with their bare hands.

Yan Jue silently recited her heart technique. The flying sword formed from North Sea black iron darted left and right in the air. Spiritual power from the Fusion Realm surged through her chest like a roaring river; her dantian spun madly like gears, and spiritual power kept flowing from Yan Jue into North Sea black iron.

The flying sword shone brilliantly in the sky. The more entangled the two sides became, the softer and weaker the South Tower immortal master’s sword strike grew.

Suddenly, the South Tower immortal master spat out a mouthful of blood and turned to run.

Yan Jue frowned and watched his retreating figure, then suddenly saw the injured white fox rush straight toward her and prostrate itself beneath her feet. “Thank you, Mistress, for saving me again.”

The blue mark on the white fox’s forehead flickered on and off, and its light gradually grew stronger.

Yan Jue was slightly taken aback.

The white fox lay on the ground, looking pained and speaking weakly. “May I ask Mistress to help me once more?”

Yan Jue had originally come to ask about fox seduction techniques, and upon hearing this, she could not help but pause. “How should I help you?”

The blue light on the white fox was flashing too intensely; it was impossible to ignore. Even if Yan Jue knew little about this cultivation world, she could tell something was wrong.

The white fox: “Pat my head.”

The fox’s head was precisely where the glowing mark was.

Yan Jue met the white fox’s resentful yet pleading gaze and slowly reached out, placing her hand on the white fox’s forehead where the blue mark was flickering.

A burst of spiritual energy suddenly exploded in the air.

Yan Jue felt something warm being poured into her body.

She suddenly realized that she had been tricked.

The pained expression on the white fox’s face vanished in an instant. It rose from the ground and looked at her gently. “Thank you, Mistress. From now on, you are my master.”

Yan Jue: “?”

Yan Jue asked in disbelief, “When did I become your master?”

The white fox looked at her affectionately. “The moment you patted my head, we formed a master-servant contract.”

Yan Jue: “......”

The white fox: “Master, I know it’s hard for you to accept this right now, but you helped me a great deal. Even if we hadn’t formed a master-servant contract, I would still have followed you to repay your kindness. Could you please be a good person to the end and temporarily form a master-servant contract with me? Once the contract ends, I will naturally leave.”

That line... why did it sound so familiar?

Wasn’t this exactly what the white fox had once said to the male lead when it formed a master-servant contract with him?

So this white fox really had formed a master-servant contract with the male lead.

Yan Jue just hadn’t expected that when she stole the male lead’s opportunity, she would be able to steal it so smoothly.

She had only come down the mountain this time to learn seduction techniques from this Jade-Faced Lady; she had never once imagined she could also end up forming a master-servant contract with her.

...

Among the demon races, status was taken very seriously.

The Red Fox Clan held a lofty position.

But the other foxes in the demon world inevitably suffered bullying.

White foxes... black foxes... yellow foxes...

Even though they were all the same species, their status could be worlds apart.

For that reason, foxes of this sort were extraordinarily eager to find protection.

If a lowly white fox could find a red fox as a master, then traveling this world would undoubtedly be much safer.

That was also why this white fox’s attitude toward her had immediately become respectful the moment it saw that she was a red fox.

As Yan Jue was thinking, she suddenly saw the white fox step forward and open its mouth, spitting something out.

Yan Jue froze.

A pale green pill.

It was actually the white fox’s demon core.

The white fox: “Master, you have to take responsibility for me...”

Yan Jue immediately returned the demon core to the white fox. “Don’t talk like that anymore. Tell me first exactly what’s going on. Why were you at the Li household’s residence last time? Why did you hurt people like that?”

The white fox said aggrievedly, “All right.”

And so the white fox roughly explained the origin of the matter.

This white fox’s name was Bai Ying.

It turned out that the reason Yan Jue had met Bai Ying in that residence in Fengxian Town last time was because Bai Ying had previously been captured by the painted-skin ghost.

The painted-skin ghost kept her and forcibly formed a master-servant contract with her.

Bai Ying would then occasionally help the painted-skin ghost do things.

But after that painted-skin ghost was handed over to the yamen, it was quickly executed by the county magistrate.

The painted-skin ghost was dead, but the master-servant contract between the white fox and its former master still remained.

Bai Ying had originally been the cave master of Spring Blossom Cave on Little Spring Mountain; after escaping from the painted-skin ghost, she naturally returned to her cave dwelling.

The master-servant contract still existed, and she was in immense pain.

The curse of the master-servant contract tormented her from time to time.

To rid herself of this agony, she had to find a new master for the contract seal as soon as possible.

In order to prevent her spiritual power from being completely devoured by the curse seal, she had no choice but to absorb large amounts of yang energy.

That was why the matter with Old Master Li had happened.

As for why the South Tower immortal master had come here today...

It was because the white fox had once followed the painted-skin ghost.

The South Tower cultivator had failed to catch the painted-skin ghost last time and had held a grudge ever since.

He somehow got hold of this news and actually found his way to Qingye Town.

And that was how the scene just now had happened.

By some twist of fate, Yan Jue had replaced the painted-skin ghost’s position and become its new master.

Bai Ying looked reverent. “It’s all thanks to Master for saving me.”

Yan Jue: “Just call me Yan Jue.”

Bai Ying: “Yes, Master.”

Yan Jue: “...”

Yan Jue had also read novels.

She knew that this master-servant contract was a mark cultivators specifically formed with spirits and demon beasts.

Once the master-servant contract was established, the cultivator could search the demon beast’s inner dwelling at will.

When necessary, they could even directly seize the demon beast’s demon core.

Yan Jue was a modern person who had transmigrated into a book; for a moment, she found it hard to accept this kind of setting.

In this book, basically every woman had some degree of indescribable relationship with the male lead; as the male lead’s pet, this white fox naturally was no exception.

Yan Jue sighed. “I came this time to ask the lady to teach me seduction techniques.”

The white fox’s eyes lit up. It raised its gaze and said, “So Master came here today for that very reason?”

Yan Jue: “Yes. I want to learn the most basic kind; the kind that can control a person’s actions.”

Yan Jue still did not know what the threshold for teaching was for this white fox.

Last time, when she heard Rou Yi say that the Jade-Faced Lady had taught her seduction techniques and had not asked for any money, she assumed it was free.

But if the white fox required payment before teaching her, then giving a little extra money would not be impossible.

But now she had somehow, inexplicably, formed a master-servant contract with this white fox.

The white fox glanced at the cave dwelling behind them, which had already turned into ruins, and said coyly, “Master came in such a hurry today; could it be that you wanted to learn seduction techniques all in one day?”

Yan Jue really had thought so, perhaps because ever since she returned from Nanxing Town, her pace of learning martial arts had become faster and faster.

Subconsciously, she had assumed that seduction techniques would be the same: attend one lesson, then go back up the mountain to review for two days, and that would be enough.

The white fox: “Fox clan seduction arts are profound and extensive; they certainly can’t be mastered in a single day.”

Yan Jue fell silent.

The white fox suddenly stepped closer, its moist nose brushing the back of her hand; then its tongue licked the back of her hand once. “Mistress can take this concubine home. This concubine will go home... and teach you slowly.”

Yan Jue was caught off guard by the lick and immediately jerked her hand away.

The white fox was unprepared and was slapped flying several zhang away. “...”

The white fox looked like it was about to cry. “Master... how can you treat me like this... this concubine didn’t even do anything.”

Yan Jue had reacted purely out of reflex. She hadn’t expected that the moment she asked the white fox to teach her seduction techniques, the white fox would directly put on a live demonstration for her.

Yan Jue: “No need. Find a place to stay on your own; I’ll come find you every day. I can provide you with lodging money. If... you’re willing to teach me.”

The white fox: “But I still can’t take human form right now... it’s too dangerous...”

It rolled on the ground, exposing its belly, a pair of fox eyes unique to its race teary and misty.

Yan Jue: “It’s inconvenient for me to bring you up the mountain.”

The white fox: “You probably don’t know this, but foxes are masters of transformation. Although this concubine can’t yet take human form, I can still follow by your side.”

This white fox... seemed to know a lot about foxes.

If the white fox followed her, it would indeed make learning the fox clan’s unique divine abilities much more convenient.

As Yan Jue was pondering, the white fox’s body suddenly flashed, then turned into a shadow.

Yan Jue was slightly stunned.

The shadow swayed in the air, then transformed into a small bracelet adorned with white jade, and landed on Yan Jue’s wrist!