One Person, One Fox

Little Fox was truly starving.

So much so that she had even forgotten Li Jiusheng was still beside her.

Having been trapped inside the Demon Refining Tower of the Luochuan Sect for centuries, though never born into the world, she had possessed consciousness. She knew her mother had suffered endlessly, and the chief culprits were those detestable humans.

Thus, the moment she emerged into the world, Little Fox had been terrified at the sight of Li Jiusheng and immediately fled. Even after learning that Li Jiusheng was the person her mother had entrusted her to before death, she still refused to get close. Even feeding could only be done from a distance.

Between Little Fox and Li Jiusheng, there had never been such close contact before.

There was no helping it. Little Fox's mind and eyes were now filled with nothing but food.

She devoured the food Li Jiusheng had prepared for her at an astonishing speed. Her small body somehow managed to hold far more than its weight in food, all thanks to her being a Nine-tailed Demonic Fox. Her innate absorption ability was incredibly strong—whatever she ate was instantly absorbed by her body and transformed into pure energy.

However, the way Little Fox's body absorbed energy was extremely primitive. She had no idea how to utilize it herself. After all, she had only just been born, with no parents to teach her. It was perfectly normal that she couldn't cultivate yet.

Li Jiusheng had no idea that Little Fox possessed inherited memories. Watching her like this, he thought of the Thousand-Year Sword God of the Old Land, thought of her mother. With a sigh deep in his heart, he said, "I'll teach you how to cultivate."

Little Fox's eating came to an abrupt halt. She lifted her head, her brilliant eyes gazing at Li Jiusheng with confusion. She did have inherited memories—they would unlock in time. For instance, she knew how to write because she had learned it through those inherited memories.

With inherited memories, did she still need to learn from Li Jiusheng?

Little Fox lowered her head and continued eating, ignoring Li Jiusheng entirely.

Li Jiusheng, however, assumed Little Fox simply didn't understand what cultivation meant. After all, she had only just been born. He wasn't in a hurry either; they would take things slowly.

Little Fox finished her food quickly. Coming back to her senses, she realized she was far too close to Li Jiusheng. In a flash, she transformed into a streak of white light and vanished from the spot.

Li Jiusheng smiled faintly, said nothing, and turned back toward the Scripture Repository Pavilion, continuing to contemplate the Fish Leaping in the Sea of Time.

"My cultivation has reached the middle stage of the Grandmaster realm." Li Jiusheng felt the surging power within him. When he stretched his domain to its limit, it unknowingly covered a hundred li in radius.

At this range, even a peak Grandmaster could only gaze from afar in admiration. Only a Great Grandmaster could rival him.

His strength was also steadily increasing, reaching one hundred and fifty Dragon Elephant Powers. This was even with Li Jiusheng diverting most of his energy toward preparing for his next Nirvana Rebirth.

Li Jiusheng had already completed his first Nirvana Rebirth with both the [Mountain and Wild New Life Method] and the [Great Sun Nirvana Scripture]. Now, he was accumulating the foundation for his second Nirvana Rebirth.

The [Mountain and Wild New Life Method] was about learning from the mountains and rivers' constant renewal. A human life lasts but a single generation, a blade of grass but one autumn. After that autumn passes, the mountain wilds remain, welcoming new grass. A cultivator must also achieve this—continuous renewal, transforming into a better self upon the foundation of the former, until finally shedding the mortal to become an immortal.

The [Great Sun Nirvana Scripture] was a foremost Buddhist Sect technique for tempering the physical body. It required multiple nirvanas, each time blooming a new flower upon the old body, then bearing fruit from that flower.

The goals of these two techniques were aligned. Li Jiusheng cultivated them together, accumulated together. One new life, two nirvanas—to him, the gains were enormous.

So he was in no rush. The breakthroughs in minor realms came naturally. This time, comprehending the Fish Leaping in the Sea of Time, he had come into close contact with those Great Daos. Even if he had only remembered a millionth of it, for someone at the Grandmaster realm like him, it was a tremendous harvest. He needed time to settle, absorb, digest—to turn what he had remembered into something truly his own.

That night, Li Jiusheng sat in meditation, slowly contemplating, dissecting, understanding, and realizing the Dao.

The next day, at the break of dawn, Li Jiusheng rose early and made his way to the edge of the mountain wilds, not far from where Little Fox was. Bathed in the morning sunlight, he slowly began to practice his fist techniques, cultivating the [Dragon Elephant Prison Suppression Strength], tempering the bones throughout his body.

The morning sunlight was brilliant and radiant, piercing through the thick mist of the mountain wilds and shining upon Li Jiusheng. Multicolored rays of light draped over him like a robe of radiant clouds.

With every punch and every stance, Li Jiusheng pushed against the light of dawn. The spiritual energy flowing through the surrounding wilderness followed his body, dancing along with his movements. Butterflies from the mountain forest flew over, circling around Li Jiusheng, fluttering gracefully.

Not far away, a pure white Little Fox hid beneath a tree, watching without blinking.

Cultivation!

This was her first encounter with it.

Even with inherited memories, those memories wouldn't teach a newborn less than a month old how to cultivate. Being able to impart written language was already remarkably fast.

After all, the inherited memories had no way of knowing that Little Fox had spent centuries in her mother's womb, already fully developed.

Little Fox stared with longing. She wanted to cultivate too. Especially the painful, agonizing memories from within the womb made her desire cultivation more than anyone.

Last night, when Li Jiusheng had asked if she wanted to cultivate, Little Fox had actually wanted to very much. But she was afraid of getting too close to Li Jiusheng, and she also believed that her inherited memories would eventually grant her cultivation methods. That was why she had refused.

But now, watching Li Jiusheng practice his fists, drawing in all the life of the mountain wilds, this scene filled her with yearning.

Especially seeing Li Jiusheng bathed in the morning sunlight, surrounded by countless colorful butterflies, cultivating amidst their company—Little Fox was deeply envious.

Watching and watching, she began to imitate Li Jiusheng's posture, following along bit by bit.

After all, Li Jiusheng was moving slowly. This couldn't really be considered stealing his techniques, since yesterday he had said he wanted to teach her cultivation.

Being separated by a distance still counted as teaching, right?

Little Fox was quite skilled at comforting herself. Once she shed that psychological burden, she carefully observed every single movement Li Jiusheng made.

Since Li Jiusheng was practicing his fists slowly, she could just learn every stance completely.

And so, near the Scripture Repository Pavilion in the mountain wilds, an old man and a fox, separated by a distance, practiced the same set of fists.

A faint smile curled at the corner of Li Jiusheng's mouth. Little Fox was still too green. He had gotten up early to practice, moving deliberately slowly, even intentionally attracting the butterflies—all to lure Little Fox into following along.

The [Dragon Elephant Prison Suppression Strength] wasn't just suitable for humans; it also suited the Demon Race. After much thought, this was the most fitting technique for Little Fox. It would lay her foundation without any issues.

As Li Jiusheng performed the [Dragon Elephant Prison Suppression Strength], he pushed the spiritual energy surrounding his body toward Little Fox, letting her absorb it as she practiced her fists, building a solid foundation.

Little Fox muddled her way through learning the [Dragon Elephant Prison Suppression Strength]. She found that absorbing spiritual energy was incredibly easy, completely effortless. Her body felt extremely comfortable, light and airy. Her bones and constitution were being nourished. Having just been born, nothing was set in stone yet—she could still be shaped into something better. Though she was a Nine-tailed Demonic Fox, even among Nine-tailed Demonic Foxes there were strong and weak. Li Jiusheng was using the [Dragon Elephant Prison Suppression Strength] to strengthen Little Fox's infant body.

As she practiced, Little Fox suddenly realized that the spiritual energy of the mountain wilds was all swirling around her, which was why she could absorb it so easily.

Little Fox glanced at Li Jiusheng, knowing he was behind this. But strangely, she didn't dislike it. In fact, her heart unconsciously began to feel a flicker of joy.

Though she hated humans, when it came down to it, she was still just a newborn child. Being carefully nurtured and gently treated—even the most hardened heart would slowly melt away.