The Man in Black

For several days in a row, Little Fox and Li Jiusheng maintained a peculiar understanding. Every day, she wandered around the place where her mother had passed away and scattered into the Dao, refusing to leave. Whenever she missed her mother terribly, she would let out a few mournful cries. She had only just been born, and her voice was still soft and childish, making her cries especially pitiful. Each time, Li Jiusheng would stop cultivating and sigh helplessly, then use True Qi to deliver food, water, and various nourishing pills to her.

Since Li Jiusheng did not show himself, Little Fox was not overly wary. After several times, she understood that Li Jiusheng was the one feeding her.

Little Fox had lofty ambitions and originally did not want to eat. She was a Nine-tailed Demonic Fox. Although her tiny mind did not yet understand what a Nine-tailed Demonic Fox was, she was very proud and would never take a bite unless she was hungry to a certain extent.

But those pills smelled far too good...

The proud Little Fox looked left and right. Unable to resist the temptation, she took a few steps forward, only to retreat again the next moment. She vigilantly watched her surroundings, wanting to know whether Li Jiusheng was observing her.

She could not let anyone see how greedy she looked.

After probing like this several times, the day passed. Only in the dead of night did Little Fox sneak over and finish the food, then begin nibbling on the pills.

Once the pills entered her stomach, a gentle energy flowed through her entire body. Little Fox narrowed her eyes in comfort. This was her happiest moment of the day.

The things that bad man sent really were quite tasty.

If he kept sending things like this without showing himself, how happy would life be? After finishing the pills, Little Fox curled into a ball. Compared to a few days ago, she had already grown a whole size larger and was developing well.

Sadly, Mother was gone...

Full and satisfied, Little Fox began missing her mother again. Her mood sank as she wandered through the places her mother had once stayed, occasionally letting out low whimpers. Those who heard them would weep; those who listened would grieve.

On a large bluestone nearby, Li Jiusheng, who had been cultivating beneath the moonlight, opened his eyes and silently sighed. Feeling sorry for Little Fox for a moment, he could only sweep his sleeve. His True Qi drifted over her like a breeze, carrying warm drowsiness that sent her into a deep sleep.

In her dreams, Little Fox saw her mother and played happily with her.

In the forest, Li Jiusheng held the sleeping Little Fox and skillfully cleaned her fur, wiped the corners of her eyes, and used True Qi to loosen her muscles and bones, raising her future potential.

Li Jiusheng did these things every night. Little Fox slept so deeply that she knew nothing of it. She only knew that she slept well every night, unaware of Li Jiusheng's efforts behind the scenes.

Of course, Li Jiusheng did not want her to know either. His purpose was simple: Little Fox would grow up healthy, and he would not fail the one who entrusted her to him, nor would he fail the Sword God from a thousand years ago.

For that reason, Li Jiusheng had sought out Li Qingshan and asked him to arrange for someone to send over batches of basic pills from time to time. He had use for them.

Li Qingshan did not ask why and simply arranged for disciples to deliver them. That was where the pills Little Fox ate came from.

Time passed in a flash, and several months slipped by in the blink of an eye.

Winter arrived. Last night, a sudden cold snowfall had blanketed the mountains and wilderness, dyeing the pines and cypresses across the mountain white. Even the breath one exhaled seemed capable of freezing into frost.

In the morning, snow was still falling thick and fast. Li Jiusheng gazed into the distance at that special forest and saw Little Fox warming herself alone.

Several months had passed, and she had grown well. She had shed her initial childish innocence, gradually unlocked her inherited memories, and begun cultivating. That was why she could still remain in the forest after the harsh winter arrived.

Over these past months, she and Li Jiusheng had not met. She was no longer confined to the woods where her mother had died, and she had wandered through every nearby mountain peak. In the end, though, she could not bear to leave this place.

Of course, that was mainly because this place still carried Mother's scent.

She had definitely not stayed because Li Jiusheng fed her every day, nor because of those pills.

She was a Nine-tailed Demonic Fox. What had she not eaten before?

At that moment, a gentle breeze swept past. It was Li Jiusheng's True Qi, delivering food and pills. Little Fox immediately stopped letting her thoughts wander, got up, and ran nearby. After pausing for a moment, she began eating.

Outside the mountains, within the Scripture Repository Pavilion, Li Jiusheng, dressed in black, smiled indulgently.

Over the past few months, Little Fox had overcome her initial difficulties and survived here. Recently, Li Jiusheng had watched her sleep soundly after eating and drinking her fill, then begin absorbing spiritual energy on her own and step across the threshold of cultivation. It made him feel envious. Was this what top-tier talent was like?

Little Fox had entered the threshold of cultivation in her sleep. Before long, she would reach the Houtian Realm.

This was a level of cultivation that he had only attained at the age of one hundred after striving for decades.

"Fortunately, my cultivation is not low now." After cultivating for several months, Li Jiusheng had stabilized his Grandmaster Realm and was steadily improving. His domain, once spanning ten li, had doubled to twenty li.

This way, Li Jiusheng could let Little Fox play freely within the bounds of the Scripture Repository Pavilion without worrying that she would run off and disappear.

To watch over Little Fox properly, Li Jiusheng kept his domain fully expanded at all times and did not dare relax in the slightest. This had, in turn, trained his control over his domain.

"Wait, someone has sneaked into the Scripture Repository Pavilion." Suddenly, Li Jiusheng frowned slightly. Within the range of his domain, two men in black had slipped silently into the Scripture Repository Pavilion under cover of night.

If he had not kept his domain fully expanded to look after Little Fox, he truly would not have noticed them.

Both men in black were in the Grandmaster Realm, their auras deep and restrained. Their own domains were also expanded at all times—one covered ten li, while the other nearly reached twenty. Neither was weak.

On the roof of the Scripture Repository Pavilion, Li Jiusheng remained expressionless. With a sweep of his sleeve, a breeze passed by and extinguished the candlelight. His figure vanished into the darkness, without even the slightest trace of aura leaking out.

He wanted to see just what these two Grandmasters, sneaking in under the cover of night like thieves, were trying to do.

On the small path outside the Scripture Repository Pavilion, the two men in black cautiously observed their surroundings for a long while. When they discovered that no one was guarding the Scripture Repository Pavilion, they immediately relaxed.

"Shangqing Palace's defenses are far too lax, aren't they? This is supposed to be a sect that produced a patriarch? My brother and I slipped in this easily. It cannot compare to those first-rate great sects," one of the men in black said disdainfully.

The other man in black nodded. "Shangqing Palace's defenses are indeed unworthy of a top sect. The disciples are lax, the elders neglect their duties, and such a vast Scripture Repository Pavilion is left completely unguarded. It is absurd. My brother and I have visited the major sects across the Old Land for years, yet we have never seen anything this ridiculous. No wonder the Old Land is sealed off and does not interact with the outside world. If these people ever went out, they would surely be enslaved."

"Historical records state that a thousand years ago, when the Old Land fought the other civilizations, Shangqing Palace's patriarch shone brilliantly. With the [Shangqing Sword Technique] in one hand, he made the patriarchs of the Outer Domain tremble in fear. He also seized the most important Anomaly Diagram. Yet we have examined Shangqing Palace's history over the years and found not a single accomplished cultivator. Even if there were any, they followed the path of self-enlightenment. There has been no news at all of the Anomaly Diagram he seized back then. That is not normal," the man in black said gravely, recounting an old tale.