Chapter 27: The Substitute Little Fox

“…”

The two people before her fell silent simultaneously.

Yan Zhao’s throat bobbed as she gulped down the round Demon Core whole. She even stuck out a small sliver of her tongue to lick her lips.

Although the surface of the Demon Core was tainted with other substances, its innate quality wasn’t bad.

Yan Zhao thought to herself: This mouthful should last me two days.

The azure-robed young master seemed to want to speak but stopped himself. The gray-robed man, on the other hand, stared with wide eyes and cried out in alarm, “Y-you-you… you ate it?!”

That was the inner core of a Body Tempering Demon Beast! Who would dare do such a thing without Nascent Soul cultivation?

Could it be that this young lady was so unfathomably profound, that she was actually a Nascent Soul Realm Senior with the face of an immortal?! Had his eyes failed him? Had he kicked an iron plate?

The more the gray-robed man thought, the worse his expression became. Panic surged through him, and he began to feel afraid.

His panic made him struggle even harder, but that azure-robed young master was exceptionally strong, clamping down on him tightly without loosening his grip at all.

The man’s narrow escape a few days prior had relied entirely on a rare poison. Today, his opponent was prepared, so the poison had no effect.

The azure-robed young master, however, paid him no mind at all.

The moment he appeared, his gaze fell upon Yan Zhao, scrutinizing her carefully from head to toe.

Yan Zhao was exceptionally beautiful. Her features were clean and striking, her jet-black eyes bright and shining. She looked quite young, with a hint of naive innocence.

Although there was no fluctuation of aura around Yan Zhao to reveal her cultivation base, he always sensed a strangely familiar presence emanating from her, faint and elusive.

A thought stirred within him, and a possibility came to mind.

A human cultivator might not dare swallow a Demon Core whole, but if one were a transformed Demon or Devil, that problem wouldn’t exist.

The physical bodies of the Demon and Devil Clans were a hundred times stronger than those of humans. Though transformed Demons and Devils rarely came to the Mortal Realm, they weren’t completely untraceable.

And since he could sense a familiar aura from Yan Zhao…

The azure-robed young master had already reached a conclusion in his heart.

He took the initiative to show goodwill toward Yan Zhao. “Miss, may I have a word with you in private?”

Yan Zhao glanced at him, then looked at the gray-robed profiteer, who had been struggling for quite a while without breaking free.

She turned and ran.

In the blink of an eye, she was gone.

The profiteer stopped struggling, utterly dumbfounded.

Tushan Yu: “…”

“Cousin!”

The woman dressed as a scholar dashed out of the teahouse and caught up to Tushan Yu.

She looked around and realized the young girl who had just been standing there was gone. “Huh? Where did that young lady go?”

“She already left,” Tushan Yu replied.

“Oh.” Bai Jin accepted this naturally, then turned her gaze to the profiteer held captive by Tushan Yu, a grin spreading across her lips. “This is really… ah, how does that saying go? Something about iron shoes?”

Tushan Yu completed the phrase for her. “Wearing out iron shoes in a fruitless search, only to find it without any effort at all.”

“Yes, yes!” Bai Jin nodded vigorously. “Cousin is so smart!”

The gray-robed man’s face changed rapidly, his tongue tying itself in knots. “Y-you two, let’s talk this over nicely!”

Still refusing to give up on escaping, he cried out for help to passing cultivators. Unfortunately, within this Immortal Market, few people didn’t recognize him or know his despicable character. No one stepped forward to help.

Seeing that Tushan Yu still wouldn’t let go, the man became flustered and exasperated. “I-I am a member of the Great Saber Sect! You dare not touch me! My fellow sect brothers will avenge me!”

Bai Jin looked at Tushan Yu. “Great Saber Sect?”

The gray-robed man, seeing his threat was working, bared his teeth and became smug again. “Scared now?!”

Tushan Yu’s expression remained impassive. “Never heard of it.”

Bai Jin curled her lip. “Tch.”

Without further ado, they twisted the man into a small alley.

Soon after, miserable screams rang out from the alleyway.

~

Yan Zhao bolted away and arrived at a plum grove on the outskirts.

It wasn’t cold enough at this time of year for the plum trees to bloom; they were covered in lush green leaves.

Upon entering the grove, Yan Zhao began to feel sleepy. Every time she ate a Demon Core, she needed to sleep.

So she found a tree with dense foliage and thick, flat branches, scrambled up, and lay down in a tree hollow, closing her eyes.

Inside her embrace, the little fox felt its head swimming.

It had smelled that strange fragrance earlier. Although it had reacted quickly and held its breath, it had inevitably inhaled a tiny bit. Now, its limbs were weak and limp. It could only continue lying in Yan Zhao’s pocket to sleep.

So, human and fox lay together in the tree, whiling away the time in leisure.

Before long, a few people passed beneath the tree.

The little fox’s ears twitched. Though its body lacked strength, its hearing remained.

It heard someone speak: “Have you all heard? Immortal Ruins have appeared at Mount Yuliang!”

“Immortal Ruins? Which Mighty Figure manifested their spirit this time?”

The first speaker then said, “I heard, it seems to be the cave abode where Immortal Venerable Yuanqing of Fuyun Sect once lived!”

Upon hearing this, a woman among the travelers exclaimed in surprise, “Immortal Venerable Yuanqing? Really? Is your information reliable?”

The male cultivator, eager to impress in front of the female cultivators, thumped his chest and guaranteed, “Absolutely reliable. A friend of mine cultivating at Fuyun Sect told me. This matter has already spread like wildfire. I imagine within a few days, many more people will know!”

“What use is knowing?” Another woman who had remained silent until now suddenly spoke up. “With just the few of us, do you think we can snatch a share of the spoils?”

Her words were a wet blanket, and the male cultivator didn’t know how to respond.

It was the female cultivator willing to save face for him who laughed. “There’s no harm in chatting about it. You’re just too serious.”

Up in the tree, Yan Zhao slept soundly with her eyes closed, but the little fox in her arms secretly opened its eyes.

It poked its head out of Yan Zhao’s pocket and watched the three figures disappear into the distance.

One man, two women, dressed distinctly, likely all from different sects, traveling together to the Immortal Market to stock up on necessities.

Immortal Ruins? Immortal Venerable Yuanqing’s Cave Abode?

These key words floated through Ren Qingyue’s mind, but mere fragments of conversation weren’t enough to grasp the full situation.

She raised her head to check the sky. It was past the mid-afternoon hour, still a while until dark.

But her body was paralyzed by the toxin, and it would take some time to recover.

After weighing this, she pulled her head back in.

When the sky outside darkened and strength had returned to her body, the little fox crawled out from Yan Zhao’s embrace.

Yan Zhao was sleeping soundly. It was a wonder how someone who always tossed and turned in bed could stay so securely balanced on a tree branch without falling.

The child probably wouldn’t wake up for several more hours.

The little fox leaped down from the branch and transformed into a beautiful woman upon landing.

The beauty wore a light aquamarine robe, with long flowing hair pinned up neatly beneath a well-groomed crown, her bearing elegant and outstanding.

She stood beneath the tree and glanced up at the person in its branches.

To prevent Yan Zhao from being discovered or encountering danger in her absence, Ren Qingyue took out a few pieces of Spirit Jade and set up an array beneath the tree.

Once the array was complete, Yan Zhao’s figure merged into the canopy. If a stranger approached, unless they broke the array, they wouldn’t see her, even if they walked right up to the tree.

Having done this, Ren Qingyue had intended to leave straight away. After taking two steps, she retreated, feeling something was still lacking.

She paced around the plum tree a few times, resting her chin on her hand in deep thought before an idea came to her.

Ren Qingyue placed an object into Yan Zhao’s arms. Then, she made a mark in a concealed spot on the tree trunk.

That way, it would be foolproof.

~

Less than half an hour after the little fox left, Yan Zhao’s brows suddenly furrowed.

It was as if she was having an unpleasant dream, trapped in a nightmare.

Her hands clutched her clothes, her breathing quickened, and a thin layer of cold sweat seeped from her brow.

Moments later, her eyes flew open.

She gasped in deep breaths, her small face pale.

It had been a long time since she had such a dream. In it, she was in a dark quagmire, the swamp vast and boundless. With every step, she sank deeper.

Thick, heavy mud pressed against her body, creeping inch by inch up her throat, cutting off her breath.

No matter which direction she went, there was no end.

Ultimately, she could only sink into the endless darkness.

She couldn’t even call for help, for her throat made no sound.

Only upon waking, seeing her surroundings clearly, did that suffocating feeling slowly dissipate.

Night had fallen, shrouding the entire plum grove. Yan Zhao collected herself and rubbed her dry eyes.

Sitting up, she looked left and right, feeling that something was off.

Subconsciously, she felt inside her arms. Her pocket was bulging, but the texture was strange.

“?”

Yan Zhao pulled the object from her arms.

It was a little fox woven from straw.

At the tail position was a clump of withered grass. On its head stood two pointy ears, and two mung beans had been used for eyes.

Yan Zhao: “…”

~

A streak of sky-blue light cut through the forest as Ren Qingyue rode her sword to the Immortal Market.

With a light tap of her toes, she floated gracefully to the ground with an airy poise.

To avoid being recognized, she had even worn a veiled hat.

Despite these thorough preparations, when she appeared on the main street, she still drew the attention of various cultivators in the area.

Crowded places weren’t safe for long. She cast a Tracking Art to divine the whereabouts of the earlier travelers, following the divination’s guidance forward.

An incense stick’s time later, Ren Qingyue stepped into a Rogue Cultivator Relay Station at the eastern side of the Immortal Market.

A Spirit Gathering Array was built within this station. Spending the night here allowed one to absorb qi and cultivate with twice the result for half the effort.

When Ren Qingyue entered, there weren’t many rooms left.

The attendant busy behind the counter was also a cultivator. Judging by his external energy aura, he was likely at the early stage of Foundation Establishment.

Clink, clink.

A few Spirit Stones landed on the counter. The attendant looked up at Ren Qingyue.

Through her veil, a hint of an immortal face could be vaguely seen.

The attendant was momentarily dazed. Ren Qingyue tapped the counter with her sword. “Are there any rooms left?”

“Yes, yes!” The attendant snapped back to his senses immediately, lowering his gaze awkwardly, not daring to look further.

He hastily collected the room fee and led the way, guiding Ren Qingyue upstairs.

Ren Qingyue followed unhurriedly.

As she walked, she concentrated on observing her surroundings.

Passing by two particular rooms, her eyelashes, fine as cicada wings, fluttered beneath the gauze.

With a flick of her finger, a bean-sized Sound Recording Stone shot toward one of the doors, silently lodging itself into the door crack.

Arriving at the room at the end of the hallway, the station attendant bid Ren Qingyue goodnight and swiftly left.

Once the attendant’s footsteps had faded away, Ren Qingyue closed the door and affixed a Spirit Talisman to it. She then sat down at the table.

She bit her fingertip, drew a bit of blood, and painted a small array the size of her palm on the table.

Spirit Stones were arranged around it.

Then, she took out a white jade stone and placed it into the array.

Soon after, voices emanated from the stone.

“You really don’t want to go?”

It was a woman’s voice, sweet and coy—indeed one of the three people who had passed under the tree today at noon.

Presumably, the person sharing a room with her was the other woman in their group, the less talkative one.

But for some reason, the tone sounded a little strange.

“The immortal abode where Immortal Venerable Yuanqing once lived must hold many treasures. Even just picking up a single spirit herb would aid cultivation, far better than you or me… Mm! You’re too rough!”

“Ah, no, not there… I won’t talk about it anymore, mm~ hmm… don’t be angry, be gentler… ha…”

Ren Qingyue: “…”

A suspicious blush crept onto her face.

She covered her face with one hand and crushed the stone on the table with the other.

How absurd!