Section 28: Cultivation Advancement, Joyfully Obtaining Fire Eye

In fact, Chu Yun had long planned to cultivate the Heavenly Fox into an offensive-type spirit beast.

This offense was divided into physical combat and Daoist strikes.

Physical combat involved using demon essence to strengthen the physical body for head-on collisions, similar to the Leaping Technique. Daoist strikes consisted of techniques like the Minor Pill Fire or water bullets.

In Chu Yun's mind, the Heavenly Fox was a natural-born seed for Daoist-type attacks!

The Heavenly Fox possessed unique endowments, with a reserve of demon essence far exceeding that of other spirit beasts. At the same time, it held the potential for nine different attributes. Each time its cultivation reached a certain stage, it would grow a tail, representing one of those attributes.

A nine-tailed Heavenly Fox could master nine different elemental Daoist techniques. With a single flick of its nine tails, fierce fires would rage, evil waves would surge, Golden Halberds would pierce through, green woods would roll, and wild winds and thunder would darken the sky. When all nine techniques were unleashed simultaneously, it was like the fury of the nine heavens, a divine tribulation descending upon the world! It would shroud the universe, and no one could stop it!

What is a Heavenly Fox?

When a Heavenly Fox is angry, the blue sky itself trembles. With its nine tails swaying in unison, it can manipulate weather patterns to execute the most vast and magnificent Daoist strikes. It is an endless, overwhelming suppression of firepower.

This is the Heavenly Fox. Even among peerless spirit beasts, it is exceptionally gifted! Not to cultivate it into the strongest Daoist-attacking spirit beast would be a betrayal of Heaven's own gift!

However, the path to the Great Completion stage was still too distant and long. The wealth required to cultivate it to that level could not be matched even if ten Shu Family Islands were combined. And as for the current Chu Yun, he only had one hundred Earth-Fiend Stone Coins on him.

Yet, having wealth alone was not enough. One needed extremely powerful nine-element Daoist techniques.

Such peerless techniques were far beyond the likes of Minor or Major Pill Fires. They stood at the pinnacle of the world's Daoist arts and imposed strict requirements on the spirit beasts that practiced them. If even a whisper of their existence leaked out, the world would be shaken, and countless powerhouses would inevitably emerge to seize them.

Fortunately, in his previous life, Chu Yun had explored many hidden, mysterious places and knew that some dangerous, secret locations held peerless Daoist techniques.

"The Dunhuang Sand Eye contains the Golden Sand Strange Tome, which records peerless gold and earth elemental techniques. The Green Ox Valley hides a peerless true scripture involving the five elements. Beyond that, there is a sunken ship on the seabed that holds the Daoist jade slips of a legendary figure, inscribed with divine arts..."

As Chu Yun pondered this, he felt an itch he couldn't scratch. However, these places were either extreme secret realms or guarded by vicious spirit beasts. With his current strength, forcibly trying to open these treasures would be seeking his own death.

Even the Star Sea Dragon Palace, which had no guarding forces, was located near Wei Family Island. If he went to collect the treasures there, he feared it would attract the attention of the people on the island. If word got out, it would draw in powerhouses to fight over it, and he would only be making wedding clothes for someone else.

In his past life, Chu Yun was a top-tier explorer of mysteries, and the greatest wealth in his memory was this collection of secret realms and divine treasures. But given his current strength, he truly could not act rashly.

"One must eat a meal one bite at a time; you can't become a fat man in one go. Little Heavenly Fox, don't you agree?" He sighed and said to the Heavenly Fox.

The Heavenly Fox immediately perked up its ears, lifted its little head, and stared at its master with bright, black, ignorant eyes. With its current level of spiritual intelligence, it lacked the comprehension to grasp such complex words.

However, whatever the master said was right. The master's direction was the path of light. One had to cling tightly to the master's leg!

The little Heavenly Fox's eyes sparkled. Although it didn't understand the meaning of Chu Yun's words, that didn't stop it from nodding blankly.

Chu Yun couldn't help but chuckle. He stroked the Heavenly Fox's head and teased, "You little sycophant!"

The little Heavenly Fox's eyes lit up instantly. It didn't know what a "little sycophant" meant, but it could feel the joy in Chu Yun's heart. Its snow-white tail wagged back and forth, extremely happy.

Chu Yun glanced at its large tail; it was fluffy, white as snow, and possessed the luster of silk. At the very tip of the tail, a faint red hue appeared, making the Heavenly Fox look even more delicate and adorable.

This was the tail representing the fire element.

When it broke its shell, it had absorbed the essence of the nine elements and successfully achieved Foundation Establishment. But to unearth this potential, it needed to grow the other tails. For now, the Heavenly Fox could only use fire-elemental Daoist techniques.

Fire-elemental techniques had strong inherent attack power and could sometimes inflict additional burning effects. It had a great restraining effect on most spirit beasts in the forest that were primarily wood-elemental.

Coupled with the fact that the Heavenly Fox itself was a peerless beast and Chu Yun was experienced and nearly monstrous in his skill, this combination couldn't be trifled with in the inner forest, but in the outer perimeter, it was enough to walk sideways.

Just like that, without realizing it, they cultivated until the sun set and the moon rose, and night shrouded the forest. The man and the fox, who had turned the outer forest upside down, finally stopped to rest.

There were over a dozen wild spirit beasts that had died by their hands. In just one afternoon, the Heavenly Fox's cultivation had grown from 10 years to 18 years!

This was an even greater improvement than the Sea Burst Crocodile and the Green Fang Snake, which had each consumed Ascension Essence Pills worth 10,000 Earth-Fiend Stone Coins.

In fact, the growth of the Heavenly Fox was even more significant. Beyond mere essence, demon crystals contained the profound experiences and Daoist techniques of the spirit beast's life.

However, demon crystals could not be transferred to others for absorption; they had to be killed by one's own hand. Furthermore, they had a very short shelf life; if not absorbed within half an hour, they would automatically dissipate into the world.

Of course, pills like the Ascension Essence Pill also had their value.

For example, if a minor demon had 99 years of cultivation, the next step would be to become a Great Demon. It would need to survive the Great Demon Tribulation to advance further.

In such a situation, going out to fight spirit beasts and absorbing demon crystals would be unwise. If one were to win a pyrrhic victory and attempt the tribulation while exhausted and heavily injured, the success rate would be very low.

At such a time, it would be better to feed it Ascension Essence Pills. Increasing its cultivation by a year and undergoing the tribulation in a peak state would result in a much higher success rate.

Lady Shu feared that injuries from battle would affect the performance of the Sea Burst Crocodile and the Green Fang Snake in the second assessment. Therefore, she spared no expense, spending 20,000 Earth-Fiend Stone Coins on 20 Ascension Essence Pills. It was a grand gesture, but also a very wasteful one.

In Chu Yun's view, it wasn't worth it.

Especially since the final result was still Chu Yun's victory...

Lady Shu's mood was terrible, absolutely terrible. She had spent a fortune to boost the cultivation of two spirit beasts, only to lose at the coming-of-age ceremony. Not only did she lose, but her reputation and prestige were greatly diminished, and her own darling Shu Er had been beaten into a pig's head, lying in bed with no hope of getting up for at least half a month.

The word "failure" was no longer enough to describe her tragedy.

A miserable failure, a total failure, a failure that couldn't be more failed!

Sitting blankly in the dim, lightless room, Lady Shu's face was as pale as frost, her eyes staring straight at the vanity mirror in front of her.

In the mirror, she could vaguely see a face.

This face, now stripped of makeup, was sallow and dull, covered in wrinkles, with purple-black bags under the eyes—a look of decadence and despair. The ruthless passage of time and the cruel facts were like the sharpest carving knife, coldly and viciously etching the deepest, indelible marks onto a face that had once been radiant and beautiful.

Decades! After decades of forbearance and suffering, she had finally found a glimmer of hope, and yet!

Lady Shu clutched her chest, feeling a wave of suffocation and despair.

In a trance, the figure of a young man appeared in the mirror. He wore simple clothes, and in his deep, dark eyes, there was a bone-chilling coldness and hatred.

Chu Yun?

"Shut your mouth! When did I ever acknowledge you as my foster mother? You are not worthy of being my elder!"

"Sooner or later, I will return to this place openly and honorably."

"I will snatch the inheritance rights of Shu Family Island right out of your hands!"

The youth in the mirror suddenly twisted his face, speaking to Lady Shu with a sinister expression.

"Ah! You wolf cub, you little beast!" Lady Shu let out a sharp shriek, her entire body trembling violently like a black cat that had its tail stepped on, descending into a frenzy.

She grabbed whatever was at hand and, with all her might, smashed it against the vanity mirror.

With a loud crash, the mirror shattered. The phantom of Chu Yun vanished, and only then did she begin to breathe heavily, gradually calming down.

"No, I cannot allow it! I have endured for decades, and the end is finally in sight. I absolutely cannot let this little beast, Chu Yun, ruin my grand plan!" Her well-maintained hands were now twisted and gnarled like chicken claws, with veins bulging out.

Her eyes flickered with an unprecedented madness and coldness!

"The coming-of-age ceremony is best-of-three; unless Chu Yun voluntarily forfeits, I have no hope. He certainly won't forfeit on his own, so I will have to force him to forfeit. Chu Yun, you forced my hand! You forced me!! Hehehe, heh-heh-heh-heh..."

The cold laughter rippled through the darkness, and the temperature in the room plummeted instantly. Chilling gusts of wind blew, as if ghosts and demons were weaving through the air.

Light and warm.

As if returning to the womb, Chu Yun felt an extreme sense of comfort. It was as if he were soaking in a hot spring; he could clearly feel a current of heat circulating within his body, a sensation of indescribable relief spreading through his limbs and bones. Every cell in his body was rejoicing.

He groaned in satisfaction and opened his eyes.

He was awake.

It was already the next day.

The scene that met his eyes was still the volcanic cave where he had first incubated the egg. Chu Yun blinked, recalling the events. After sunset yesterday, he had continued his arduous training until midnight before returning to the cave to rest.

With the Heavenly Fox by his side this night, it had been many times safer than before, and he had slept quite soundly.

As he stretched, he heard a series of faint popping sounds from his bones. Taking a deep breath, Chu Yun felt refreshed. His body was brimming with energy, as if he had an inexhaustible supply of strength.

He paused, finally realizing that some changes had occurred within him.

Now, whenever he focused his gaze, the scenery in his field of vision would change. Some objects were covered in a faint layer of red, and traces of red energy flowed through the air.

"Is this Fire-attribute primordial energy? I can actually see Fire energy this early? Do I have a Fire Eye?" Joy surged in Chu Yun's heart. He hurriedly turned his gaze toward the Heavenly Fox, which was already looking up at him, its watery eyes wide as it waited for breakfast.

Chu Yun couldn't help but laugh, filled with a touch of gratitude and surprise as he began to feed it.

He knew that all these physical changes were thanks to the little creature before him.