“The Mountain Lord has been in seclusion for quite a few days now.”
Outside the cave, Hu Cuiling sighed.
Outside Huyue Gorge, the thick mist that had blotted out the sky finally dissipated. The blazing sun hung high, its scorching rays falling directly onto the ground, making the trees, flowers, and grass in front of the cave appear even more vibrant and lush.
—Under the influence of spiritual energy, many familiar wild fruits and herbs seemed to have undergone changes.
Wild grapevines grew increasingly thick, winding around the banyan trees in circles as they climbed upward. The grapes, which were originally no larger than a pinky toe, had swelled to the size of rhino eyes.
Beneath the purple black skin lay plump and juicy flesh, attracting frequent visits from birds and beasts. They only left once their fur was stained purple and their breath smelled of wine.
The common Big Leaf Curculigo grew even sturdier, its roots digging deep into the ground. A thin thread of gold extended from the root to the tip of each leaf, hinting at something extraordinary.
Pleione orchids bloomed in large patches. Their purple red flower heads were as wide as half a palm, with five petals stretching freely in all directions. The center of the flowers gradually transitioned from pinkish white to crimson, looking at first glance like a large spider with bared fangs and brandished claws.
As for the tall trees like wild pines, willows, and poplars, the transformation was even more exaggerated. In just a few short months, their trunks had shot up over ten meters, their sharp branches pointing straight toward the sky. Their lush canopies spread out like fluffy explosions, perfectly concealing the activity within the dense forest.
—If someone were to look down from ten thousand meters in the air, they would find that the flora across the entire Qingmeng Mountain, centered on Huyue Gorge, had mutated to varying degrees within a radius of several kilometers.
It was as if the greenery had developed a consciousness of its own, frantically spreading outward.
On the slope in front of the Mountain Lord’s cave dwelling, the number of birds and beasts attracted by the spiritual energy had doubled. However, they only dared to stay at a distance, not daring to step a single inch onto the slope.
“Little sister, why are you sighing? It is a good thing that the Mountain Lord is cultivating. Haven’t you noticed that the spiritual energy outside the cave has grown even thicker over the past few days?”
Hearing her sister sigh, Hu Cuixian rolled on the ground, indifferent to the bits of grass sticking to her fur.
“They say that when one person achieves the Dao, even their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven. Grandpa left us here because he wanted us to serve the Mountain Lord well. If the Mountain Lord eats the meat, we can at least have some of the soup.”
“Right now, the humans outside are fighting tooth and nail over spirit veins. Yet, we get to enjoy such a vast territory all to ourselves, soaking in spiritual energy every day—”
“I am not talking about that. I just haven’t seen the Mountain Lord in several days.”
Hu Cuiling muttered, “Ever since the Mountain Lord returned, she has been cultivating in her cave dwelling every day. She meditates during the day and basks in the moonlight at night. She never takes a break.”
“Even a donkey at a mill gets to rest, but the Mountain Lord—”
“Forget it, you better shut your mouth! That mouth of yours will cause trouble sooner or later!”
Terrified, Hu Cuixian quickly covered her sister’s mouth and gave the reckless girl’s rump a slap.
“Who do you think you are to be worrying about the Mountain Lord? We are just here to do chores. Being able to watch over the Mountain Lord’s cave dwelling was something our grandpa begged shamelessly for. Our status is not even as high as that big golden haired rat.”
“And do you think the Mountain Lord is some Great Uncle from our village? You keep talking about the Mountain Lord this and Mountain Lord that. If you ever offend her, not even our grandpa—not even our great grandfather—would be able to protect you!”
“I understand, sister. I will definitely change in the future.”
The slightly smaller yellow fox hesitated for a moment and nodded. She looked toward the direction of the mountains and spoke cautiously.
“Sister, is the situation outside really that serious?”
“What else did you think?”
Hu Cuixian glared at her. “Even though the officials can use force to suppress the major mountains so they don’t start tearing into each other just yet, there are still plenty of undiscovered spirit veins out there.”
“Whoever can claim more spirit veins now will have more capable cultivators in their family later. This is not just a fight for survival; it is a fight for the Great Dao of cultivation—”
“I heard that last month, up north, the disciples of the Zhang family and the Pu family had a fight over a spirit vein on Lanhe Mountain. Three young disciples died, and many others were injured. What do you think they were fighting for?”
“What did grandpa say before he left? He told us to absorb more spiritual energy and strive to stay here. If we become successful in the future, our Hu family and the Ma family will have someone to rely on, right?”
Hu Ban'er had eaten too many good things at once and could not digest them. It hadn't dared to ask the Mountain Lord for help, blaming its own greed instead, and had slunk back to the Northeast to seek help from the Bai family.
Before leaving, seeing that the Mountain Lord was not angry, it used its failing health as an excuse to leave its two granddaughters behind.
This journey south was a huge risk for the Hu family.
The south was not like the north. The Northeast was the Hu family’s stronghold. No matter how far the sisters ran, if they encountered danger, the other party would hesitate out of respect for the Hu family and the other four families.
—So, they wouldn’t be in any real danger there.
But the south was different.
In the Xiangxi region, to the west lay the Yunnan Guizhou area, which was the territory of Gu masters, Nuo masters, Badai, and Grass Ladies. It was also close to foreign lands like Thailand and Laos in the southwest, where evil Buddhas and ghost gods were numerous. If they weren't careful, they could run into one at any time.
The reason Hu Ban'er brought the sisters along was that their aptitude was among the best of the Hu family’s younger generation.
The old fox wanted to take a gamble.
If it won, the fox clan would have a pillar for the future.
If it lost...
Hearing this, Hu Cuiling was instantly silenced.
She remained quiet for a long time before shaking the grass from her head. She ran to the side and, mimicking the movements of a beast, stretched her limbs and lay flat on the ground, striving to absorb the spiritual energy within her body.
However, Hu Cuiling was thinking of something else:
The Mountain Lord is so powerful; many demons will surely want to follow her in the future.
Their Hu family had benefited from their connection to the officials, managing to latch onto the Mountain Lord by chance and getting a head start.
If news of the Mountain Lord reached the Northeast, who knew how many demon races would fight tooth and nail to send their young ones over to serve?
Not to mention other minor demons, even the ones who grew up with the sisters had incredible talent.
There were the Bai family’s Bai Shuangxue and Bai Tiantian, the Liu family’s Liu Yunlong and Liu Yunsi, the Huang family’s Huang Baomi, Huang Xiaopao, Huang Dingdang, and the Hui family’s Hui Manjin and Hui Manyin...
If the Mountain Lord liked them more, wouldn't she never see the Mountain Lord again?
Nonsense!
Whoever dared to compete with her for the Mountain Lord’s favor would be bitten to death!
Goal: Surpass that yellow skinned big rat as soon as possible and become the Mountain Lord’s favorite pet!
At this thought, a surge of fighting spirit suddenly rose in Hu Cuiling’s large eyes.
Seeing her sister’s actions, Hu Cuixian finally breathed a sigh of relief. She also lay flat on the ground and began to cultivate.
The two yellow furred foxes lay side by side, their golden bellies rising and falling rhythmically.
It looked quite adorable.
Nan Zhi stared at the fox sisters, suppressing the urge to reach out and poke their bellies.
She had just finished a round of cultivation and wanted to see what the birds and beasts outside were doing. She had used the Hiding Art and walked out of the cave dwelling openly. As expected, not a single bird or beast noticed her.
—After clearing out the ghosts and evil demons in the southwest, Nan Zhi had quite freely resigned over the phone, completely disappearing from her colleagues’ social circles.
As for her rented room, she still kept it. After all, Corn liked it there, and she had left its toys behind.
In any case, as long as the rent was paid on time every month, the landlord wouldn't care where Nan Zhi went.
The 【Strange Pause Button】 was still on cooldown. Nan Zhi wanted to go to the northwest to find mineral materials for refining the Green Beetle Needle and harvest another wave of experience points while she was at it.
Who would have thought she would overhear the conversation between the two fox sisters as soon as she came out?
Nan Zhi stroked her chin thoughtfully.
If she were to go out, although the cave dwelling had defensive formations, it still needed someone to look after it regularly. Weren't the two little foxes in front of her the perfect candidates?
However, she still needed to observe them more.
If the two of them proved useful, Nan Zhi wouldn't mind having two more fluffy subordinates.
Nan Zhi stood there smiling for a while and stretched before returning to the cave to catch Corn and tuck it into her hair. She then shot straight into the sky, plunging into the soft and fluffy clouds.
A moment later, thousands of kilometers away in Taiyuan, a passenger plane flew smoothly through the high altitude. Sunlight refracted through the clouds, casting a sharp golden glow.
A cloud slowly condensed, and the tiger eared, white haired Mountain Lord stepped into it. When she emerged, the clouds and mist dissipated, and her form shifted. She was now a bright eyed and fair Ma Guniang wearing a long green dress, a smile playing on her lips.
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