Section 14: Perfect Heavenly Fox, Spirit Pressure Tunnel

This was a battle of an unconventional sort!

The opponent in this battle was neither a demonic beast nor a man, but heaven and earth themselves.

Under the threat of life and death, the Heavenly Fox and Chu Yun worked in total cooperation, their mutual trust growing from nothing to a rapid, surging peak. In this short span of time, the Heavenly Fox had developed an extreme sense of trust and intimacy toward Chu Yun!

This was an unexpected surprise.

Chu Yun could feel the intense sense of reliance emanating from the Heavenly Fox. He felt immensely comforted; the Heavenly Fox had finally been perfectly hatched by him. In this life, they would once again cooperate with sincerity to create miracles and glory.

"Old partner!" He crouched down and opened his arms.

As if a scene from his past life were replaying, the Heavenly Fox chirped happily and sprinted toward him.

Its snow-white fur was completely unblemished. As it moved across the mountain rocks, it was like drifting snow. Its beautiful fox tail flicked, and its four paws seemed not to touch the ground, as if it were riding the wind.

It dove straight into Chu Yun's embrace. The momentum of its sprint caused Chu Yun's chest to heave, and he sat down hard on the ground.

The Heavenly Fox let out a soft whimper, a flash of apology in its eyes.

Chu Yun couldn't help but laugh out loud, his eyes brimming with hot tears; he had experienced this same thing in his past life. Later on, however, the Heavenly Fox learned to be considerate of him, and every time it [rushed], it would dissipate its momentum. He believed that in this life, it would surely undergo the same change.

"Hiss..." His laughter stopped abruptly, and Chu Yun gasped in pain.

His tongue was throbbing!

He had bitten the tip of his tongue to perform the blood sacrifice. After more than an hour of shouting, now that he had left his state of total concentration, he immediately felt the heart-piercing pain from the wound on his tongue.

Gritting his teeth, he endured it.

Chu Yun held the Heavenly Fox, stroking its exquisite fur, and walked back into the cave. After such an arduous battle, the Heavenly Fox was starving. The moment it saw the eggshells on the ground, its eyes glinted, and it immediately tried to dart toward them.

Chu Yun grabbed it at once, not letting it succeed.

The Heavenly Fox looked up at its master from his arms and let out a whimper. The sound was delicate and soft, enough to make anyone's heart swell with pity.

Yet, Chu Yun remained firm, for the egg-hatching process was not yet over.

The eighth step—whetting the appetite.

This was a finishing touch.

The Heavenly Fox had just been born, and to protect its newborn stomach, it could not be allowed to eat anything too hard. Thus, it needed its appetite whetted.

As for what would whet its appetite, it was that bag of fresh coconut milk.

Under the Heavenly Fox's resentful gaze, Chu Yun gathered all the eggshells on the ground into his arms. At the same time, he took out the bag of coconut milk.

The Heavenly Fox immediately caught the scent and moved toward Chu Yun, its large tail swaying slowly behind it. Its eyes were watery, looking up at Chu Yun at a 45-degree angle.

Chu Yun couldn't help but laugh bitterly; this Heavenly Fox truly had the same personality as in his past life—a glutton!

He carefully pinched the opening of the skin pouch and slowly poured out a thin, pure white, fragrant stream of coconut milk.

The Heavenly Fox immediately cast the eggshells to the back of its mind, pounced forward, opened its mouth, and stuck out its bright red tongue to catch the coconut milk with precision.

Chu Yun, however, only poured for a short moment before putting the water pouch away.

The Heavenly Fox licked its lips clean, looking as if it still wanted more. It looked up again, gazing at its master with pure, innocent eyes.

So-called appetite-whetting naturally meant it couldn't drink too much. Chu Yun hardened his heart and, ignoring the Heavenly Fox's pitiful expression, firmly tucked the water pouch away. This was for its own good.

If it actually caused a burden on its stomach, the loss would outweigh the gain.

Half a day later, Chu Yun performed the ninth step—feeding.

What he fed it was, naturally, the eggshells of the Heavenly Fox egg, which were brimming with rich nutrients and energy. It was the best food for a newborn demonic beast.

This step seemed simple, but it was actually of great significance. This was the final step of hatching, marking the successful birth of the demonic beast, its ability to eat on its own, and its successful first step toward survival.

The Heavenly Fox naturally had no issues with this. However, as it chewed the eggshells, its eyes remained fixed on the water pouch at Chu Yun's waist. It was clearly still thinking about the exquisite taste of the fresh coconut milk.

Watching it finish the eggshells in its mouth, the heavy stone in Chu Yun's heart finally settled completely.

Cleansing the body, washing the egg, choosing the site, building the nest, blood sacrifice, spiritual calling, breaking the shell for Foundation Establishment, whetting the appetite, and feeding. The nine great steps of hatching were finally all completed.

The Snow Sand and Pearl Tears he had brought were all consumed. Even the 992 Earth-Fiend Stone Coins he had obtained from killing enemies were reduced to a pitiful 6.

The process had been full of twists and turns, even triggering a demonic tribulation. It had brought Chu Yun to the brink of success and failure several times. But, in the end, he had succeeded.

Having endured such hardships, Chu Yun had finally erased a great regret. From this day forward, a Heavenly Fox with perfect aptitude would become his most important and powerful aid!

"A new life truly begins from this step!" After resting for half a day, Chu Yun clenched his fists and, leading the Heavenly Fox, left the nameless volcano.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...

The tides rose and fell, the sea greeting the beach with tenderness. A moist and fresh sea breeze brushed against his face. The morning glow on the eastern horizon was as brilliant as fire, reflecting onto the sea surface, where the undulating waves danced like flames.

Along the coast, on a road paved with colorful, magnificent seashells, a luxurious carriage with a silver base and gold-traced lines traveled at a leisurely pace.

The crimson silk curtain was lifted, and Lady Shu gazed at the picturesque, water-and-fire-dancing coastal scenery, enjoying the fresh air rushing toward her.

In the thirty-eight years since she had married onto this Shu Family Island, there had never been a moment where her mood was so pleasant and relaxed.

As the saying goes: "Rainbows in the east, rain in the west; the men of the Shu family, the women of the Ning family." The men of Shu Family Island were famously strong and brave. The women of Ning Family Island were known far and wide for their beauty and grace.

In the past, Lady Shu had married from the Ning family onto Shu Family Island, becoming the wife of Shu Tianhao. It had been a celebrated match at the time. But who could have guessed the bitterness and hardship hidden within?

Back in the day, Lady Shu had a sweetheart of her own, and it was not the "crude and vulgar" Shu Tianhao. Yet, bound by family duty, Lady Shu had no choice but to obey.

"Thirty-eight years. I have looked forward to this day morning and night, and finally, I am about to see the light of day. As long as I support my children in becoming the successors, I will have fulfilled the mission entrusted to me by my family."

Gazing at the rising and falling tides of the sea, Lady Shu felt a surge of emotion.

Thirty-eight years.

After suffering through day and night, the time to finally come into her own was at hand!

Her two children were truly promising. Not only did they both possess the talent of a Spirit Beast Master, but their first spirit beasts were also high-potential seeds with excellent aptitude. Given time, how could their schemes fail?

Once the succession rights to Shu Family Island were seized, she believed that in the near future, Ning Family Island would become yet another vassal island.

"Shu Tianhao is the head of the Shu family men, fierce and extraordinary; no one can withstand his edge. But who says that expansion must be achieved through war?" As Lady Shu thought of this, a cold, sinister glint flashed in her eyes. She had always been loyal only to her own family, never to her husband.

"My darlings, you must perform well in this first assessment; do not be careless. As long as you show your true strength, the first and second places will surely be yours." Lowering the curtain, Lady Shu turned back to look at Shu Da and Shu Er, who were sitting beside her, her eyes as gentle as water.

Shu Da immediately patted his chest, held his head high, and shouted, "Don't worry, Mother! First place is a piece of cake."

Shu Er smiled craftily and said, "That little thief Chu Yun looks smart, but he is actually foolish to the extreme. Mother, with me here, are you still worried?"

"Good, good, good, you are both my good children." Lady Shu felt gratified in her heart, feeling that life at this moment was so happy—truly, the bitterness had ended and the sweetness had begun.

The first day was for receiving the spirit beast eggs. The second day, the youths incubated their eggs. Early on the third day, the first assessment of the coming-of-age ceremony began.

When Shu Da and Shu Er arrived at the Earth Altar, each leading their own spirit beast, Chu Yun was already waiting to the side.

Upon seeing Chu Yun, Shu Da immediately glared at him and said with a mocking expression, "Kid, arriving early doesn't mean you'll get the top rank. If you want to take first place, you have to rely on strength!"

As he spoke, he patted the head of the Sea Burst Crocodile behind him.

The Sea Burst Crocodile was massive and walked upright, reaching up to Shu Da's shoulder. Being patted by its master, it immediately opened its huge mouth, revealing teeth as sharp as saws, and let out a low growl.

"Hahaha..." Shu Da acted arrogantly, throwing his head back and laughing.

Chu Yun smiled slightly, remaining calm and composed throughout. The Heavenly Fox crouched at his feet, its eyes narrowed, its fur like satin and snow, appearing half-asleep. Man and fox alike did not even put the Sea Burst Crocodile in their eyes.

"You!" Shu Da could not keep laughing, his anger burning. Chu Yun's smile was so detestable that it made him gnash his teeth in hatred.

Shu Er's cold, sinister gaze swept over, turning instead to the Heavenly Fox at Chu Yun's feet, his eyes narrowing. "Eh? Your Fire Fox is a bit strange. Why is it so white all over?"

A Fire Fox was naturally bright red like fire. But the spirit beast at Chu Yun's feet was snow-white, exceptionally spirited and beautiful. It was astonishing.

Chu Yun was naturally not stupid enough to reveal the true grade of the Heavenly Fox, so he immediately raised his eyebrows and put on a look of disdain. "Have you never heard of a mutated spirit beast?"

A mutated spirit beast?

Shu Da also noticed the unusual "Fire Fox." Hearing this term, his expression froze—he really had never heard of it.

Mutation was relative to the norm. Among humans, there were similar phenomena, such as being born with a sixth finger on one hand, or having naturally keen senses of sight, smell, or hearing, or even being born covered in hair.

Naturally, this occurred among spirit beasts as well. Generally speaking, mutated spirit beasts had certain talents or specialties compared to normal ones, but they rarely lived long. Their cultivation was difficult to advance, and they suffered from innate defects.

"So that's it, no wonder he's so arrogant! How can a mutated spirit beast compete with my 8-year cultivation Green Fang Snake? He's courting death! Hmph, hmph..." Shu Er sneered, understanding what Chu Yun was relying on, and a cold, sinister light flashed in his eyes and vanished. He did not speak further, wanting to see the look of extreme disappointment on Chu Yun's face after the assessment; that would be truly satisfying.

"Alright, the assessment begins. Follow me inside." The Earth Altar Spirit Beast Master led the way.

The deeper they went into the Earth Altar, the more oppressive the atmosphere became. Although the surroundings were brightly lit, it made one feel as if they could not breathe.

A moment later, the Earth Altar Spirit Beast Master stopped. With a solemn face and an impartial tone, he said, "We have arrived. This is the Spirit Pressure Tunnel. I order your respective spirit beasts to go and retrieve the jade slips at the end of the tunnel. We will time you with an hourglass; the less time consumed, the higher the score. Begin."