Azure Fox Clan, Jade-Green Lotus

Azure Fox Clan, Jade-Green Lotus

Only one year remained!

A Golden Core Realm being might come seeking revenge.

The gap between the Golden Core Realm and Foundation Establishment was far too vast. Unless Jiang Sheng could open his Purple Mansion within a year, facing a Golden Core Realm being meant certain death!

Gazing at the bright moon in the sky, Jiang Sheng's thoughts were somewhat tangled.

Even though Jiang Sheng considered his innate talent and comprehension extraordinary, cultivation had always been an accumulation built drop by drop.

Without a heaven-defying opportunity, he could not open his Purple Mansion within a year.

He had achieved Heaven's Dao Foundation Establishment at eighteen, yet it had still taken him over a year to reach the middle stage of Foundation Establishment.

Since descending the mountain to travel at the middle stage of Foundation Establishment, another two-odd years had passed before he reached the late stage.

With a soft sigh, Jiang Sheng cast aside his chaotic thoughts. No matter what, he had to give it a try.

Every trace of spiritual energy he gained would mean another sliver of opportunity.

Just as Jiang Sheng turned to return to the front hall and enter seclusion, he suddenly stopped.

From the corner of his eye, he had caught sight of a fluffy white thing mixed into the snow outside the temple. Had his eyes not been sharp, it truly might have fooled him.

"That is..."

Jiang Sheng narrowed his eyes and examined it, a hint of a smile appearing at the corner of his lips.

A gap suddenly opened in the flowing-light water curtain that shielded Qingxuan Temple. The blue-robed Daoist stepped out of the temple and walked straight toward that thing.

It cowered in the pristine snow outside the temple. With it being nighttime, it was utterly inconspicuous beneath the moonlight.

Jiang Sheng said softly, "I merely entered seclusion for a single year, yet Qingping Mountain has become so lively."

"Speaking of which, I truly am curious. Not to mention ordinary Foundation Establishment demons—even Purple Mansion Realm demons would not dare come to Qingping Mountain to seek trouble with me. You are merely a little demon at the Qi Refinement stage. Where did you get the courage to spy outside my Daoist grounds?"

"Hm?"

That one sound frightened the little creature so badly that its fur stood on end.

The next moment, it spat out a cloud of wind and snow, turned, and tried to flee, only to be bound in place by a strand of spiritual power.

The little thing struggled ceaselessly, but the spiritual power lifted it and delivered it before Jiang Sheng.

Looking at the fluffy white creature before him, the smile in Jiang Sheng's eyes deepened. "A white fox?"

"By rights, these mountains should be full of azure foxes. Where did a white fox at the Qi Refinement stage come from?"

Bai Ying's feelings were complicated.

She was currently being suspended in midair by the spiritual power of a terrifying Daoist.

She was at the Qi Refinement stage, while he was at Foundation Establishment. She had no power to resist whatsoever.

At the thought that she might be skinned and have her bones pulled out, Bai Ying's body shook like a sieve. She was only a few drops of urine away from wetting herself in terror.

She had never imagined that the terrifying Daoist, who had been in seclusion for over a year, would emerge just now—and that she would happen to run into him on this very day. What kind of cursed luck was this?!

Thinking of how this handsome Daoist before her had first slain the famed Tiger King of Qingping Mountain, then killed the river god of Taiping River, whom no one dared provoke, Bai Ying felt that this Daoist was drenched in killing intent!

Was she going to be killed too?

Just as Bai Ying was about to faint from fright, another voice suddenly sounded from the forest. "Daoist, you are a renowned master and worthy sage. All living beings of Qingping Mountain hold you in the utmost respect. Please spare this little one."

The voice was gentle, neither syrupy nor cloying. It was like that of a graceful, magnanimous young lady from a great family, soothing to the soul upon hearing it, as though one had met an old friend.

Yet the smile in Jiang Sheng's eyes had already vanished. With a casual wave, he withdrew his spiritual power. The little white fox fell into the snow and hurriedly scampered into the forest.

Jiang Sheng looked toward the woods, standing with his hands behind his back, his voice calm and mild. "Though I dare not call myself a worthy sage, I am no evil man either. Why would I bicker with such a little child?"

"However, there is one matter I do not understand, and I require Fellow Daoist to explain it clearly."

"And if this humble woman cannot explain it clearly?" the voice sounded again.

Jiang Sheng lowered his right hand, and a three-foot azure blade appeared in his palm. "This sword is three feet six inches long, black from end to end, with azure lotuses entwined around it. I have named it Azure Duckweed."

"Does Fellow Daoist wish to test whether its edge is sharp?"

Upon hearing this, the voice fell silent for a moment before releasing a faint sigh. "Ah..."

That soft sigh was winding and moving, making one feel as though a gentle beauty had suffered some grievance, stirring the urge to cradle her in one's palms and cherish her.

But Jiang Sheng's eyes remained clear. "Do not flaunt such cheap tricks before me."

"You have one breath's time left."

Faced with Jiang Sheng's naked threat, the one in the forest finally revealed herself.

She was not some gentle, delicate beauty, but an azure fox the size of a person.

At the azure fox's side was the fluffy little creature from before.

The azure fox spoke in human words. "This humble woman is Qingman. Greetings, Daoist."

"You know me?" Jiang Sheng asked.

Qingman's eyes were incredibly lively, as though they truly belonged to a beauty whose lovely gaze shimmered and turned. "Among those who live within these twelve hundred li of Qingping Mountain, who does not know Daoist Jiang's illustrious name?"

"Two years ago, Daoist slew Yellow Mountain Lord, who occupied the main peak. At year's end, you slew the river god of Taiping River. Who knows how many wicked cultivators and Demonic Beasts you cowed?"

"Though Daoist has been in seclusion for a year, those outside the mountains may have forgotten you. But among the living beings surviving in these mountains, who would dare forget you?"

Qingman's voice was melodious and pleasant. As she recounted Jiang Sheng's deeds, she sounded like a beauty admiring him, naturally inspiring goodwill.

Yet Jiang Sheng merely chuckled. "If that is so, why have you come here?"

"Qingping Mountain stretches twelve hundred li, covering the lands of three commanderies."

"You should know that so long as you do not come here, Qingping Mountain is vast enough for you to roam as you please. I cannot be bothered to concern myself with you."

Qingman looked with a complicated expression at Bai Ying, who had curled into a ball at her side, and finally explained what had happened.

Bai Ying was naturally not a fox native to Qingping Mountain.

The local foxes of Qingping Mountain were all azure foxes. Bai Ying had actually come from elsewhere; she was the child of one of Qingman's elder sisters.

Bai Ying had come to Qingping Mountain because the territory of Qingman's elder sister and her husband had been seized by a Blackfire Serpent.

Though Qingman's sister and her husband were also at the Foundation Establishment stage, they were only at the early stage. They were no match for the late-stage Foundation Establishment Blackfire Serpent and had been forced to abandon their territory and flee to Qingping Mountain.

Bai Ying had naturally followed them to Qingping Mountain.

These events had taken place while Jiang Sheng was in seclusion, so naturally he knew nothing of them.

The arrival of two Foundation Establishment beings in Qingping Mountain had naturally greatly increased the strength of the Azure Fox Clan.

But the elders of the Azure Fox Clan had warned them who the master of Qingping Mountain was, and whom they absolutely could not provoke.

Thus, those two Foundation Establishment beings had remained peacefully within Azure Fox Clan territory. They rarely approached Qingping Mountain's main peak and did not even dare go near Qingping Town, fearing they might anger Jiang Sheng of Qingxuan Temple.

All the living beings of Qingping Mountain knew Jiang Sheng's habits. So long as they did not approach the main peak, they could live freely and at ease.

Though Bai Ying's parents had warned her, she still could not resist coming to take a look.

In truth, Bai Ying had been observing Qingxuan Temple from afar for a long time. Only after discovering that Jiang Sheng had remained in seclusion did she dare come over.

After all, Qingping Mountain's main peak had the best location. Qingping Town lay just beyond it, and from atop the main peak, one could see the lights and bustle outside.

Bai Ying had actually come to watch the lights, never expecting that Jiang Sheng would emerge from seclusion on that very day as well.

"If that is the case, then take this little one and leave." Jiang Sheng turned and prepared to return to the temple.

"Daoist is willing to spare us?" Qingman was somewhat surprised.

Jiang Sheng glanced at Qingman, his voice even. "You are not villains of great evil, nor do you have any conflict or dispute with me."

"If I killed you merely because this little one came here to watch the lights, then what Dharma would I cultivate? What Dao would I seek?"

"Leave. If you wish to watch the lights in the future, go elsewhere. I must continue my seclusion."

Seeing that Jiang Sheng intended to go directly into seclusion, Qingman abruptly blurted out, "Does Daoist not wish to know why the Blackfire Serpent seized my sister and brother-in-law's territory?"

Without turning his head, Jiang Sheng entered the temple, leaving behind only one sentence. "This matter has nothing to do with me. I do not care. If they wish to remain in Qingping Mountain, I will not stop them."

Seeing the flowing-light water curtain about to close once more, Qingman hurriedly transmitted her voice. "There is a Jade-Green Lotus in the territory seized by the Blackfire Serpent!"

Jiang Sheng's footsteps stopped.

When Qingman saw Jiang Sheng turn around, the eyes like stars were finally no longer cold and indifferent.

"What did you say?"

Hearing Jiang Sheng speak, Qingman quickly said, "There is an ancient estate within my sister and brother-in-law's cave abode. Within that ancient estate, a Jade-Green Lotus still remains."

A Jade-Green Lotus was no ordinary spirit plant. It was a wondrous treasure ranked among heaven-and-earth treasures.

A single Jade-Green Lotus could greatly enhance a being's cultivation and foundation.

If a water-aspected being consumed a Jade-Green Lotus while opening its Purple Mansion, it would gain an additional ten percent chance of condensing a superior divine ability in the Purple Mansion Realm.

For demons, the Jade-Green Lotus's greatest use was that it gave them an additional ten percent chance of advancing into the Purple Mansion Realm and dispelled thirty percent of the tribulation fire.

If Jiang Sheng could obtain that Jade-Green Lotus, opening his Purple Mansion within a year would no longer be an empty fantasy!

Jiang Sheng was tempted.

Faced with such a heaven-and-earth treasure, he could not help but be tempted.

But Jiang Sheng remained vigilant. At the most critical moment for him, he happened upon this matter—and happened to encounter a heaven-and-earth treasure such as the Jade-Green Lotus.

Such luck made it difficult for Jiang Sheng not to doubt whether it was real.

"Why does your Azure Fox Clan not go seize such a treasure?"

Qingman's face turned bitter at his words. "Daoist does not know this, but in Qingping Mountain's Azure Fox Clan, aside from our clan elder at the late stage of Foundation Establishment, only this humble woman is at the early stage. My sister and brother-in-law are likewise only at the early stage of Foundation Establishment. As for our clan elder, her lifespan is nearly exhausted, and she can no longer act."

So that was it. Jiang Sheng understood.

If things were truly as Qingman said, then it was not strange.

Their sole late-stage Foundation Establishment fighter could not act, while the three who could were only at the early stage. Facing a late-stage Foundation Establishment Blackfire Serpent truly would have been courting death.

Jiang Sheng put away the Azure Duckweed Sword and studied Qingman. "I do not mind telling you that I am indeed interested in the Jade-Green Lotus."

"But are you not afraid that I will go take it myself?"

Qingman simply let go of all restraint. "If Daoist goes to take it yourself, then this humble woman, my sister, and my brother-in-law naturally cannot stop you."

"But leaving aside whether Daoist can find the place, even if Daoist finds it and kills the Blackfire Serpent, you still will not be able to open that ancient estate."

At last, Jiang Sheng smiled. "Then I can rest assured."

The first update is here; there is more to come~

Today concerns whether Lin Yuan can advance.

They say the competition among those of the same period is extremely intense. Lin Yuan does not know whether he can advance, but Lin Yuan is willing to give it a shot.

My lords, please lend Lin Yuan a hand for the sake of Lin Yuan's six thousand words every day!

Mwah~

(End of this chapter)