The Second Elder's Scandal: Caught in Bed

"In a few days, a Secret Realm will open. Come with me. I'll ask the Medicine King Sect's Sect Master to check your pulse, and trade for a Marrow-Washing Pill while I'm at it."

Li Zi nodded obediently.

"Thank you, Master."

[So this is what having a master feels like? How thoughtful! He's going straight to the Medicine King Sect's Sect Master for a Marrow-Washing Pill. I really have found myself a powerful backer. I remember that in the original story, the female supporting character had to fight dozens of spirit beasts to get one. She survived by the skin of her teeth.]

The Fifth Elder stroked his beard and smiled with relief.

His little disciple had a lot of thoughts, but at least she was kindhearted and knew how to be grateful.

The system said, [Host, there's fresh gossip. Just now, the Fifth Elder's Fox Demon wife gave birth to his child—a little fox girl. But the little fox can't take human form yet. She and her mother are being hunted by a group of human cultivators. The Fox Demon risked her life to save her child. Also, that little fox is one of the later female supporting characters. Ran Zirou's man digs out her demon core and gives it to Ran Zirou to play with.]

The Second Elder's Scandal: Caught in Bed

Li Zi's heart ached. [What did that little fox ever do wrong? I really want to warn Master. If he goes to save them now, won't the Fox Demon survive?]

She pressed her lips together and looked up.

But the Fifth Elder stood frozen in place, as if lightning had struck him.

[But if I bring this up out of nowhere, will Master think there's something wrong with me?]

The system said, [The Fifth Elder hasn't seen his fox wife since he began cultivating. She's actually an exceptionally rare Nine-Tailed Fox Demon, and bearing a child was no easy feat for her. She gave up so much for him. Host, I think it's a shame too, for a Nine-Tailed Fox to die at the hands of human cultivators when she's at her weakest.]

Li Zi clenched her fists and made up her mind.

Even if Master scolded her or thought she was talking nonsense, she had to say something. She had to try for those two living souls.

Just as she opened her mouth, a gust of wind blew toward her. The Fifth Elder had vanished.

Li Zi: "..."

He just left?

Did that mean there was no saving the two foxes?

Did he have to take a dump that badly? Why the rush?

She looked at Ji Zheng in bewilderment.

Ji Zheng patted her head. "Master may have had to... enter seclusion. I'll teach you Qi Attraction into the Body today."

[Oh? Host, the Fifth Elder headed straight toward Star-Pattern Mountain. He might be going to save the foxes. I'll keep an eye on things over there. You focus on learning how to cultivate.]

Li Zi could finally relax.

Star-Pattern Mountain.

In a valley crawling with poisonous insects and snakes, dozens of cultivators blocked the only exit.

Several hovered in midair on their swords, sweeping the valley inch by inch with their spiritual senses.

Suddenly, a gaunt middle-aged man shouted, "Found her! The Heavenly Tiger Snow Fox is hiding in a cave in the southwest corner!"

Another man in a green robe brought his hands together and formed a sword-command gesture before his chest. His fingers shifted rapidly, conjuring dozens of swords that spun toward the cave.

Boom!

With a deafening crash, stones came raining down.

A white figure shot out of the cave as it began to collapse.

A spot of cinnabar marked the woman's brow. Her features were exquisite, her fox eyes shimmering with a beauty that stole the soul.

Dressed in white purer than snow, she was breathtaking.

But she looked disheveled now, and the blood at the corner of her mouth lent a striking splendor to her otherwise unadorned face.

The little fox in her arms slept soundly, nestled against her without a care in the world.

The moment the woman appeared, greed lit the faces of the dozens of cultivators.

"What a beauty! She must be a Heavenly Tiger Snow Fox of the purest bloodline to have a face like that. A snow fox of this caliber—her pelt alone is worth a fortune, never mind her core! That's a treasure you'd be lucky to see once in a hundred years!"

"Quick, kill her!"

Several of them closed in at once.

The woman struggled to hold them off with her sword.

Her wounds grew worse and worse.

Yet she kept the little fox in her arms tightly protected from beginning to end.

After knocking aside two more hidden weapons with her sword, the woman faltered. She stumbled forward and nearly fell face-first to the ground.

The cultivators grew excited.

"She can't hold out much longer! Everyone, strike together and cut this Fox Demon down!"

The woman let out a long breath. White mist billowed from her lips; she had clearly reached the very limit of her strength.

She looked down at the child in her arms, her gaze tender and reluctant to part.

I really don't want to leave.

She was at her weakest after giving birth.

Surrounded by so many attackers, she was already a spent arrow.

But she could not stand by and watch those beasts take her child.

She had only one move left.

Though it would cast her into purgatory and scatter her soul, it was worth it for her child.

She pressed one last kiss to the little fox's forehead and murmured, "My darling, you must live. Don't trust humans so easily."

As her lips left the little fox's brow, her aura surged higher and higher. The cinnabar mark between her brows glowed an eerie red.

The tails behind her unfurled.

One.

Two.

Three...

"A Nine-Tailed Fox! A Nine-Tailed Fox of divine grade! Hahahaha! We've struck it rich this time!"

"A Nine-Tailed Fox's core could fetch a pill of seventh grade or higher!"

The woman gently closed her eyes. Every one of her fox tails rose straight up, and demonic energy surged into the sky.

A tear slid slowly from the corner of her eye.

Just then, a hand settled on her waist.

An enraged roar, laden with crushing pressure, rang through the heavens. "Who dares touch my woman? You're courting death!"

The Fifth Elder pulled the woman urgently into his arms. With a single sword stroke, he split the heavens.

The Earth-rank cultivators touched by his Sword Qi were instantly reduced to dust and vanished without a trace.