“The Mountain Lord has been in seclusion for quite a few days now.”
Outside the cave, Hu Cuiling sighed.
Outside Huyue Gorge, the dense fog that had blotted out the sky finally dispersed. The blazing sun hung high overhead, casting scorching sunlight directly onto the ground, making the trees, flowers, and grass in front of the cave look increasingly vibrant and lush.
—Under the nourishment of spiritual energy, many familiar wild fruits and herbs seemed to have undergone transformations.
The wild grapevines grew increasingly thick, coiling around the banyan trees as they climbed upward ring by ring. The grapes, which had once been only the size of a pinky finger, swelled to the size of rhino eyes.
Beneath their purplish-black skin lay plump, juicy grape flesh, attracting birds and beasts to visit frequently. They would gorge themselves until their fur was stained purple and their breath smelled of alcohol before they were willing to leave.
The ordinary Big Leaf Curculigo grew even sturdier, its roots sinking deep into the earth. A fine, delicate thread of gold stretched from the root to the tip of its leaves, revealing a hint of the extraordinary.
The Pleione bloomed in vast patches. Their purplish-red flower heads were as wide as half a palm, with five distinct petals stretching out freely in all directions. The centers of the flowers gradually transitioned from pinkish-white to crimson, making them look like giant, splayed-out spiders at first glance.
As for the tall trees like wild pines, wild willows, and wild poplars, they were even more exaggerated. In just a few short months, their trunks shot up by over a dozen meters, their sharp branches pointing straight to the sky. Their lush, fluffy crowns spread out, perfectly concealing any movement within the dense forest.
—If anyone were to look down from an altitude of ten thousand meters, they would find that the flowers, grass, and trees within a radius of several kilometers around Huyue Gorge in the entire Qingmeng Mountain had mutated to varying degrees.
It was as if the color green had gained its own consciousness and was frantically spreading outward.
On the hillside 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 keep their distance, not daring to take a single step past the slope.
“Hey, little sis, why are you sighing? The Mountain Lord's cultivation is a good thing! Haven't you noticed that the spiritual energy outside the cave has grown even thicker over the past few days?”
Hearing her sister's sigh, Hu Cuixian rolled over on the ground, not caring about the blade of grass stuck to her fur.
“They say, ‘When one person achieves the Dao, even their pets ascend to heaven.’ Grandpa left the two of us here because he wanted us to serve the Mountain Lord well. When the Mountain Lord eats meat, we can at least have some soup.”
“Right now, the humans outside are fighting like dogs over spirit veins, yet we get to enjoy such a massive territory all to ourselves, soaking in spiritual energy every single day—”
“I didn't mean that. It's just that I haven't seen the Mountain Lord for several days.”
Hu Cuiling muttered, “Ever since the Mountain Lord came back, she's been cultivating in her cave dwelling every day. She meditates during the day and bathes in the moonlight at night, never taking a break.”
“Even a donkey turning a millstone gets to rest. For the Mountain Lord to be like this—”
“Forget it, you'd better shut your mouth right now! That mouth of yours is going to cause trouble sooner or later!”
Terrified, Hu Cuixian quickly covered her sister's mouth and slapped the worrisome girl's backside.
“Who do you think you are to feel bad for the Mountain Lord? The two of us are just helpers. Being allowed to watch over the Mountain Lord's cave dwelling was something our grandpa begged desperately for. Our status isn't even as high as that golden giant mouse.”
“And do you think the Mountain Lord is like our second uncle at the village entrance? You keep talking about her all day long, constantly saying ‘Mountain Lord, Mountain Lord.’ If you ever offend her, let alone our grandpa, even our great-grandfather won't be able to protect you!”
“I got it, Sis. I'll definitely change from now on.”
The slightly smaller yellow fox hesitated, nodded, glanced in the direction of the outer mountains, and then spoke cautiously: “Sis, is the situation outside really that severe?”
“What else do you think?”
Hu Cuixian glared at her. “Even though the authorities can use force to suppress the major mountains so they don't tear each other apart just yet, there are still tons of undiscovered spirit veins out there.”
“Who knows, whoever can occupy more spirit veins now might have a few more capable cultivators in their family in the future. This isn't just a fight for survival; it's a fight for the great path of cultivation—”
“I heard that last month, up north, the juniors of the Zhang family and the Pu family had a fight over a spirit vein on Lanhe Mountain. Three young disciples died, and quite a few were injured. What do you think they were fighting for?”
“What did Grandpa say before he went back? He told us to absorb more spiritual energy and try our best to stay. If we make something of ourselves in the future, our Hu family and Ma family will have someone to rely on, right?”
Hu Ban'er had eaten too many good things at once and couldn't digest them. He didn't dare to beg the Mountain Lord, only blaming his own greed. He had slunk back to the Northeast, planning to have the Bai family look at him.
Before leaving, seeing that the Mountain Lord wasn't angry, he used his poor health as an excuse to leave his two granddaughters behind.
This trip south had been a massive risk for the Hu family.
The south was not like the north. The Northeast was the Hu family's home base. No matter how far the sisters ran, if they encountered danger, others would still weigh the situation out of respect for the Hu family and the other four families.
—Therefore, they wouldn't face much danger there.
But the south was different.
In the Xiangxi region, the west was Yun-Gui, which was the territory of Gu arts, Nuo masters, Badai, and Grass Ladies. It was also close to foreign lands in the southwest like Tailande and Laos, where evil buddhas and ghost gods abounded. They might easily run into one of them any day.
The reason Hu Ban'er had brought the sisters along was that their aptitude was among the best in the younger generation of the Hu family.
The old fox wanted to take a gamble.
If he won, the fox clan would have a backer in the future.
If he lost...
Hearing this, Hu Cuiling was instantly struck speechless.
She remained quiet for a long while before shaking the grass blades off her head. She ran to the side, splayed her limbs on the ground like a wild beast, and worked hard to absorb the spiritual energy into her body.
However, what was on Hu Cuiling's mind was something else entirely:
The Mountain Lord was so powerful that there would surely be many demons wanting to follow her in the future.
Their Hu family had ridden the coattails of the authorities, only managing to connect with the Mountain Lord by chance, allowing them to get a head start.
If news of the Mountain Lord spread back to the Northeast, who knew how many demon clans would fight tooth and nail to send their young pups over to serve her?
Not to mention other little demons, just the ones who had grown up with the sisters since childhood had no lack of talent:
The Bai family's siblings, Bai Shuangxue and Bai Tiantian; the Liu family's Liu Yunlong and Liu Yunsi; the Huang family's Huang Baomi, Huang Xiaopao, and Huang Dingdang; and the Hui family's Hui Manjin and Hui Manyin...
If the Mountain Lord ended up favoring them, wouldn't she be unable to see the Mountain Lord in the future?
Bullshit!
Whoever dared to compete with her for the Mountain Lord's favor, she would bite them to death!
Goal: Surpass the yellow-furred giant mouse as soon as possible and become the Mountain Lord's favorite pet!
At this thought, a sudden burst of fighting spirit 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 foxes lay side by side, their golden bellies rising and falling rhythmically.
It actually looked rather cute.
Nan Zhi stared at the pair of 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 the cave were up to. So, she used her Hiding Art and walked out of the cave dwelling in broad daylight. Sure enough, not a single bird or beast noticed her.
—After purging the ghosts and evil demons in the southwest region, Nan Zhi had very casually resigned over the phone, completely disappearing from her colleagues' social circles.
As for her rented apartment, she still kept it. After all, Corn quite liked that place, and she had left its toys there.
Anyway, 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 make a trip to the Northwest to look for ore materials to refine Green Beetle Needles, and also harvest another wave of experience points along the way.
Who would have thought that as soon as she stepped out, she would overhear the conversation between the two fox sisters?
Nan Zhi rubbed her chin thoughtfully.
If she were to go out, although there was a defense formation set up in the cave dwelling, it still needed someone to tidy up regularly. Weren't the two little foxes right in front of her the perfect candidates?
However, she still needed to observe them a bit more.
If they proved useful, Nan Zhi wouldn't mind having two more furry subordinates.
Nan Zhi stood smiling for a moment, stretched, and then went back into the cave to grab Corn and tuck it into her hair. Then, she soared straight up into the sky, plunging into the soft clouds.
A moment later, in the high skies of Taiyuan, thousands of miles away, a passenger plane flew smoothly by. Sunlight refracted through the clouds, casting a sharp, golden gleam.
A cloud slowly condensed, and the white-furred, tiger-eared Mountain Lord slipped into it. When she emerged, the cloud and mist dispersed, and her form transformed. She was now a bright-eyed, beautiful girl in a green dress, smiling gently—none other than Ma Guniang.
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