Page 24

The Dust-Cleansing Pill, meanwhile, felt as though she had been tossed under a cartwheel and run over at random.

This went on again and again for two days.

Then Li Zi took an Essence-Gathering Pill.

The torment of the past few days finally paid off.

Every inch of flesh and blood in her body was like a sponge, greedily soaking up the spiritual energy around her.

As she circulated the Sect's Inner Sect technique, the Primordial Sage Secret Art, two of her meridians opened in an instant and became whirlpools, furiously drawing in the surrounding spiritual energy.

When Li Zi opened her eyes again, she stood up, power coursing through her entire body.

She clenched her fists. Her bones crackled with a crisp sound.

Li Zi gasped in wonder and looked down at her hands.

Spiritual energy had transformed her body. Her skin had become smooth and radiant, and every scar on her body had healed.

"System, is this what cultivation feels like? It feels amazing!"

The system cheered inside her head. "Host, you've already reached the Fourth Tier of Qi Refining. Once your Myriad Flower Divine Bone awakens, you'll cultivate even faster than this."

Li Zi thought of the agony she had endured a few days earlier, when she had felt neither fully alive nor dead, and shuddered.

"Sure, I'm cultivating fast, but I've suffered plenty for it. Come on, got any juicy gossip for me?"

The system was about to speak when a figure appeared outside the cave residence in a flash.

Li Zi's senses were sharp now. The instant the Fifth Elder appeared, her scalp prickled and every hair stood on end.

This was the pressure the strong exerted over the weak by their very nature.

The Fifth Elder held a white fox in his arms. As soon as he came close, he tucked it into hers.

"My little disciple, you've finally finished cultivating! Well done—you're already at the Fourth Tier of Qi Refining. This is my daughter, Lin Ninger. Let her get to know you."

His usually aloof face had opened into a smile as full as a chrysanthemum.

A few days earlier.

News that the Fifth Elder had brought back a little fox had spread throughout the Sect.

To ordinary disciples, it was no great matter.

But the Sect's powerful cultivators had all heard from Li Zi about the Fifth Elder's old romantic escapades.

The Fifth Elder had been thick as thieves with a Fox Demon back in the mortal realm. Now he had suddenly brought home a little fox that had yet to take human form or gain sentience. How could they not gossip?

After he returned, plenty of people came prying.

The Fifth Elder figured that even if he said nothing, Li Zi would eventually mutter the truth in her head anyway. He might as well lay his cards on the table.

"That's right. This is my child. My own flesh and blood."

In a single day, the Fifth Elder received congratulatory gifts not only from the Sect's powerful cultivators, but also from the neighboring Flying Immortal Sect, Spirit Beast Sect, Five Elements Sect, Medicine King Sect...

The Fifth Elder was speechless.

Did news really spread that fast through the cultivation world?

Did everyone already know he had a daughter?

And his trip to rescue her had eased the tension between him and his wife considerably.

He owed it all to Li Zi.

He was thoroughly pleased with this disciple and wanted his daughter to spend more time with her.

Delighted, Li Zi cradled the little fox and felt her nuzzle against her hand. "Master, when will she be able to take human form?"

[Probably next year.]

The system answered first.

The Fifth Elder's eyes were full of tenderness.

But the system's words surprised him.

His daughter was a descendant of the Nine-Tailed Fox. Even if she cultivated diligently every day, she should need around ten years to take human form.

If she could do it next year, her talent far surpassed that of an ordinary Nine-Tailed Fox!

That's my daughter!

"A Heavenly Tiger Snow Fox can usually take human form in five to ten years. If she stays in our Sect and we give her plenty of spirit medicines, she'll do it sooner."

"I see..."

Li Zi cuddled and played with the little fox while chatting with the system.

[Why does your answer differ from Master's?]

[Host, have you forgotten? Lin Wan'er is one of the major villains later in the story. Her talent is extraordinary. In just a few years, she'll be able to rival Ran Zirou, who had six men pour their power into her.]

The Fifth Elder had been about to leave on other business. At the system's words, he drew back the foot he had already stepped forward.

Ran Zirou again? I'd better listen closely.

Li Zi looked down at the white fox in her arms, no bigger than a two-month-old kitten. Her fur was wonderfully soft.

This tiny thing would become a major villain someday?

[In the original book, this is what happened: on the day Lin Wan'er was born, her mother sacrificed her life to send her away. Qu Cang of the Wind God Sect found her along the road and took her home. He raised her until she took human form, and she fell deeply in love with him. But during a demon-slaying mission, Qu Cang fell for Ran Zirou at first sight.]

Li Zi understood. [So it's one of those melodramas: she loves him, but he loves someone else.]

The system said, [If only it were that simple. Lin Wan'er wasn't the sort to let love hold her back. She meant to walk away, but Ran Zirou had set her sights on Lin Wan'er's inner core. Ran Zirou whispered in Qu Cang's ear, and he tricked Lin Wan'er into an Elder Formation and killed her. Then he took her inner core for Ran Zirou to play with.]

"Outrageous!"

The Fifth Elder suddenly burst out in fury.

Li Zi shivered and glanced at him cautiously.

"Master, am I petting her the wrong way?"

The Fifth Elder was nearly beside himself with rage.

Someone would lure the daughter he treasured above all else into an Elder Formation and kill her!

Then dig out her golden core and toy with it?

How could he stand for that?

The Fifth Elder snapped back to himself and hastily forced an awkward smile for Li Zi.

"I heard you can cultivate now, so I brought you a Marrow-Washing Pill. But it seems to have gone missing. Perhaps someone stole it. Stay here and play while I go look for it."

The Fifth Elder hurriedly made up an excuse so he could find out who this Qu Cang of the Wind God Sect was.

Rankings

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Transmigration into a book

Female supporting character fiction

Cultivation fantasy

Cannon fodder