The Vixen

I do not know how much time had passed, but Liu Chengfeng slowly drifted back to consciousness. Finding his entire body unharmed, he immediately scrambled to his feet.

He discovered he was in an unfamiliar environment, the room appearing simple and crude.

The fox was curled up beside him. After he woke, it merely cast a lazy glance at him before closing its eyes once more.

"Nephew, you're awake."

Nangong Renshe entered and let out a sigh of relief upon seeing that Liu Chengfeng was unscathed.

"Uncle, where is this?"

Liu Chengfeng felt that something was off about this place; it carried an ominous chill.

"The Imperial Capital, the Demon Slaying Division."

"The Emperor of Qiuchi has ordered you to be detained here."

Nangong Renshe explained the situation to Liu Chengfeng.

After the Ascending Wu Clan was wiped out, the Emperor of Qiuchi Kingdom issued an order to detain Liu Chengfeng at the Demon Slaying Division.

There were three reasons: destruction of Grandmaster Mansion property, collusion with the demonic path, and acting as a spy for a strange beast.

"You will be sentenced only after the joint trial of the three divisions."

Nangong Renshe told Liu Chengfeng that the Qiuchi Kingdom had only detained him here for now; no conviction or sentence had been passed yet.

"They can play it like this?"

Liu Chengfeng had not expected the intervention of the Qiuchi Kingdom.

"Don't worry too much. If we pull some strings and grease the wheels, it shouldn't be a big problem."

Nangong Renshe hurriedly comforted Liu Chengfeng, telling him to set his mind at ease. He had also brought many items with him.

"These were seized from the Ascending Wu Clan."

Nangong Renshe pushed everything in front of Liu Chengfeng.

There were cultivation manuals, weapons, treasures, Blood Medicine, and Mountain Pill.

The destruction of the Ascending Wu Clan was entirely Liu Chengfeng's merit, so Nangong Renshe had brought all the good loot to him.

Liu Chengfeng examined them carefully, eventually selecting only a few Mountain Pill and Blood Medicine, leaving the rest for Nangong Renshe.

"Uncle, these belong to the sect."

The Ascending Wu Clan had not been particularly wealthy; they were about on par with the Cloud Rising Sect.

There were only five or six portions of second-refined Blood Medicine and second-refined Mountain Pill.

"Keep the manuals, and pick out a few weapons or treasures for yourself."

Seeing that Liu Chengfeng had only taken a small portion of the pills and medicine, Nangong Renshe felt uneasy accepting the rest, as these items rightfully belonged to Liu Chengfeng.

"If I need them, I will ask you for them again, Uncle."

Liu Chengfeng did not accept the other items, as they were of little use to him.

"Ever since you fell unconscious, this fox has been guarding your side."

Nangong Renshe curiously glanced at the curled-up fox and mentioned this to Liu Chengfeng.

"I saved its life; I suppose it knows how to be grateful."

Liu Chengfeng chuckled. The fox opened its eyes, shot a look at Liu Chengfeng, and seemed to disagree.

Liu Chengfeng reached out to stroke its head, but it shook its head in disdain.

Liu Chengfeng and Nangong Renshe were both amused, and the fox ignored them even more pointedly.

"Rest assured, once I pull some strings, the Demon Slaying Division will release you soon."

Seeing that Liu Chengfeng was fine, Nangong Renshe felt relieved. He planned to use his connections to lobby for Liu Chengfeng's release.

Just as Nangong Renshe was about to leave, a middle-aged man walked in from outside.

The man wore a thin, dark robe, his face gaunt and his expression cold. A frigid, stern aura radiated from him, making others afraid to approach.

"This is the Chief of the Demon Slaying Division, Iron Hand Demon Breaker."

Nangong Renshe introduced the middle-aged man to Liu Chengfeng.

The Demon Slaying Division and the Grandmaster Mansion were the two major departments under the jurisdiction of the Qiuchi Kingdom.

The Grandmaster Mansion was responsible for contacting, managing, and communicating with the sects, lineages, and god-cultivators within the Qiuchi Kingdom.

The Demon Slaying Division was responsible for hunting down and judging god-cultivators or sects that committed crimes or violated the laws within the Qiuchi Kingdom.

The Chief of the Demon Slaying Division, Iron Hand Demon Breaker, Han Qi, was known as the fourth strongest expert in the Qiuchi Kingdom, at the Great Perfection of the Reception Fourth Rank.

Han Qi's expression was cold, indifferent to everyone. He nodded at Liu Chengfeng, acknowledging his presence.

"Brother Han, I leave this boy of mine in your hands. Please take care of him."

Nangong Renshe had a friendship with Han Qi, and as he left, he entrusted Liu Chengfeng to him once more.

"Stay in the Demon Slaying Division and do not go outside."

Han Qi left behind only that single sentence before walking away.

Liu Chengfeng was detained within the Demon Slaying Division; he was not thrown into a dungeon, nor was he shackled, but instead placed in a large courtyard inside the division's grounds.

Liu Chengfeng was the only person in the entire courtyard. Although the place was simple, in the capital of the Qiuchi Kingdom, where every inch of land was worth its weight in gold, this was already an extremely high level of treatment; he hardly resembled a prisoner.

In the Demon Slaying Division, aside from the restriction of not being able to leave, everything else was free.

After Han Qi departed, Liu Chengfeng sat cross-legged to regulate his breathing, circulating his cultivation technique to absorb spiritual energy, strengthen his blood essence, and forge his physical body.

While he had been unconscious, Nangong Renshe had already administered Blood Medicine and Mountain Pill to him.

Upon performing internal observation, he discovered that his blood essence was still somewhat depleted and there were hidden injuries within his body, so he hurriedly consumed a second-refinement Blood Medicine to replenish his Blood Sea and a second-refinement Mountain Pill to treat his internal ailments.

Blood Medicine and Mountain Pill were both essential elixirs for cultivators, categorized into first-refinement, second-refinement, third-refinement, and so on.

First-refinement Blood Medicine strengthens blood essence and is refined from century-old medicinal herbs.

Second-refinement Blood Medicine replenishes the Blood Sea and is refined from millennial medicinal herbs.

First-refinement Mountain Pill treats trauma and is refined from century-old medicinal herbs.

Second-refinement Mountain Pill treats internal ailments and is refined from millennial medicinal herbs.

Having consumed the blood medicine and the mountain pill, he circulated his cultivation technique and regulated his spiritual energy, allowing Liu Chengfeng's blood essence to strengthen and his internal ailments to dissipate.

It took several days for Liu Chengfeng to fully restore himself.

The only thing Liu Chengfeng regretted was that the She Tian Demonic Tree had managed to escape while he was unconscious.

Once his body was regulated, Liu Chengfeng activated his Celestial Body to perceive and listen to everything in the capital.

The capital of the Qiuchi Kingdom was the largest city in the entire kingdom, covering a vast area, prosperous and flourishing, with a massive population.

Using his Celestial Body to perceive, the first thing Liu Chengfeng sensed was the Spirit Vein Dojo beneath the ground.

The entire Spirit Vein Dojo was incredibly vast, more than ten times larger than the Spirit Vein Dojo of the Su Family in Tiger Mound.

If the Su Family's spirit vein was like a small stream, then the Spirit Vein Dojo of the Qiuchi capital was a mighty river.

The spiritual energy accumulated in the dojo was like a lake.

"Is this the power of a god?"

Upon sensing the Spirit Vein Dojo, Liu Chengfeng was astonished.

Deep within the capital's Spirit Vein Dojo, there was a majestic pressure, existing like a god.

What was most surprising was that the capital's Spirit Vein Dojo actually contained two Spirit Pools: one possessed the power of earth fire, and the other possessed the power of water marsh.

"A Spirit Vein Dojo with natural powers—one dojo, two pools. Water and fire do not mix, yet they can coexist in the same dojo."

Liu Chengfeng could not help but marvel; this was the foundation of the Qiuchi Kingdom, something that the Cloud Rising Sect or the Ascending Wu Clan could never compare to.

The spiritual energy in the lake-like Spirit Pools was so abundant that Liu Chengfeng wanted to take a deep breath of it.

Liu Chengfeng restrained himself, however; if he were to take a deep gulp, the Emperor of Qiuchi or the Grand Marshal might immediately come to kill him.

"Something is wrong."

As Liu Chengfeng perceived the Spirit Vein Dojo, he discovered that a portion of the spiritual energy containing the power of water marsh was toxic.

This toxicity was hidden very deeply; if not for his Celestial Body, it would have been impossible to detect.

"How could spiritual energy be toxic? It makes no sense."

Cultivators practice the Reception Divine Treasury to absorb the natural powers within spirit veins—such as earth fire, lightning, or water marsh—and transform them into their own strength.

Toxic spiritual energy did not exist, yet a small portion of the water marsh energy permeating the capital's spirit vein was actually highly poisonous.

Liu Chengfeng found it strange; there had to be a problem here.

Curious, Liu Chengfeng rotated his Heavenly Mound, listening to the heavens and earth, calling out to all things.

"If only I could go out for a walk."

"When will the sun rise?"

Liu Chengfeng ignored the daily chatter of birds, beasts, old trees, and rivers, but two voices were particularly unique, catching his attention.

"Where do you want to go for a walk?"

Liu Chengfeng used his Celestial Body to approach and perceive, opening his Sky Eye to observe.

The first voice was startled and immediately shrank back, like a timid young girl.

After watching for a long time with his Sky Eye, Liu Chengfeng finally saw that the voice wanting to go for a walk belonged to an ancient tree.

This ancient tree had branches and twigs intertwined like a nest; it was pitch black all over, with scorch marks from lightning and fire on its body.

"Who are you?"

After a while, the ancient tree asked cautiously.

This ancient tree spoke like a timid girl, yet its age was likely tens of thousands of years or even longer.

"Don't know where this junior popped out from, to be able to understand our speech."

Another voice cut in, and this one was clearly overbearing.

"You can communicate?"

This was the first time Liu Chengfeng had encountered such a situation, so he hurriedly used his Sky Eye to observe carefully.

The second speaker was a stone lion; weathered by wind and sun, it was mottled and ancient, yet its body was massive.

"Making a fuss over nothing."

The stone lion was not just overbearing, but arrogant as well.

"We were placed here by Divine General Lihuo."

The ancient tree was shy and timid, but having finally met someone who could communicate with them, it plucked up the courage to tell Liu Chengfeng.

"Divine General Lihuo, is he the founding ancestor of the Qiuchi Kingdom?"

"Pah, how could he be a Divine General."

The stone lion's identity was unknown, but its tone was incredibly haughty.

"The founding ancestor of the Qiuchi Kingdom was merely one of the attendants to Divine General Lihuo."

The ancient tree was easier to talk to and was willing to share information with Liu Chengfeng.

"Did Divine General Lihuo place you here to guard the Qiuchi Kingdom?"

"I am not—"

The stone lion seemed somewhat displeased and gave a muffled response.

"I am the one who channels the heavenly thunder and earthly fire; Divine General Lihuo planted me here."

"I have a supreme treasure in my Crow Nest."

"It's just a supreme Sage Scroll."

The stone lion sounded somewhat disdainful.

"A supreme Sage Scroll from the Blood Sea Divine Treasury."

The ancient tree said this timidly, and the stone lion fell silent.

"A supreme Sage Scroll from the Blood Sea Divine Treasury—"

Upon hearing this news, Liu Chengfeng felt a jolt in his heart.

Mental cultivation methods and techniques were all divided into Human Scroll, Sage Scroll, and God Scroll tiers.

Legend had it that the Blood Sea Divine Treasury had no God Scroll, and that the innate Sage Scroll was the most top-tier technique in the Green Meng Realm.

He possessed innate bones; if he could obtain a supreme Sage Scroll, couldn't he fuse and create an innate Sage Scroll, becoming the rarest and most powerful mental cultivation method in the Green Meng Realm?

"You can try."

The ancient tree was very friendly toward Liu Chengfeng; not only did it tell him that it harbored a secret manual, but it also encouraged him to come and take it.

"Pah, he isn't a member of the royal family or a descendant of the nobility, can he take it? He can't even enter the ancestral hall."

The stone lion's words made the ancient tree fall silent, and like a little girl, it secretly shrank back.

"What did the senior mean by asking when the sun would rise?"

Doesn't the sun rise every day?

"Why should I tell you?"

The stone lion was arrogant.

"You should bring him a pot of Golden Wind Jade Dew Wine."

"Not interested."

That was what the stone lion said, but it had already smacked its lips.

"Golden Wind Jade Dew Wine."

Liu Chengfeng committed the name to memory.

The stone lion ignored Liu Chengfeng further, and the ancient tree remained silent as well.

Liu Chengfeng continued to explore the imperial capital to see if there were any other discoveries.

"Yo, little guy, you're training very hard."

Ye Huijian appeared, interrupting Liu Chengfeng's exploration.

"I'm really not little, I'm quite big."

Liu Chengfeng cast a fierce glance at her ample chest.

"Is that all the lecherous intent you have?"

Ye Huijian crossed her arms over her chest, making the sight even more breathtaking.

"Do you want to try?"

A man could not tolerate such provocation. Liu Chengfeng's eyes turned fierce, ready to do something wicked.

Ye Huijian looked at him with a half-smile.

"A great person doesn't hold a grudge against a petty one."

Liu Chengfeng dared not do anything to this convenient martial aunt; if he angered her, she could pluck his head off in an instant.

Ye Huijian sat down beside Liu Chengfeng.

Upon seeing Ye Huijian, the fox was terrified and wanted to flee, but it was snatched up in one motion.

"Why are you scaring it?"

Seeing the fox shivering, Liu Chengfeng felt puzzled.

"This little vixen, where did you get it?"

"I picked it up at Great Meng Mountain."

Liu Chengfeng did not hide anything from Ye Huijian.

"Oh, out in the middle of nowhere, and you managed to pick up such a seductive fox."

Ye Huijian held the fox by the scruff, eyeing it with a half-smile.

Held up by Ye Huijian, the fox was scared out of its wits.