Hundred Herbs Peak, without snow.
Xiao Bai sat by the lake, fishing with a bamboo pole, an elder's waist sash, and a straight hook, hoping to occasionally enjoy a decent meal.
The wind was somewhat noisy today.
Equally noisy were the discussions within the sect about the Sect Tour Ceremony and the possession incident at the Errand Disciple Quarters.
Yet the fish in the lake remained as lifeless as ever, exceptionally indifferent toward him.
Not far away, Senior Sister Mu Yun was bent over in the medicine garden, planting herbs, pruning branches, and removing pests.
Bamboo Membrane White Silk sank into the medicinal plants, and the Water-Green Mist Robe blended into the sea of flowers, leaving only a Daoist child's round bun floating in the center like a black flower.
This Demoness was quite serious about farming, and happy too... It did not seem fake at all.
"Senior Sister, your Martial Granduncle is about to attend the Sect Tour Ceremony. Haven't you finished my clothes yet?"
Mu Yun did not turn her head.
"The previous clothes were burned. Mere mortals are unworthy of an Elder's Robe."
After half a day without so much as a bite, Xiao Bai angrily snapped the eighteenth fishing rod he had made himself and turned toward the medicine garden.
He crouched amid the flowers, bringing himself level with Senior Sister Mu Yun's delicate, snow-white forehead so that he would appear approachable.
As he fiddled with the heart of a Poison Vine Flower, he curiously asked:
"So if I reach Qi Refining, Senior Sister will make one for me?"
Her plump round bun tilted.
"Make what?"
"Clothes."
"Oh..."
Only then did Mu Yun raise her head and glance at Xiao Bai.
After not seeing him for a few days, this guy had actually risen from the Fifth Level Fetal Breath to the Ninth Level Fetal Breath...
Did Dual Rest increase cultivation this quickly?
What exactly was that old fox Yuhu plotting?
She had to force him to talk!
"If you reach Qi Refining before the Sect Tour Ceremony, I'll make you clothes overnight."
Mu Yun said so.
The moment Xiao Bai heard it, the second Female Lead was within reach!
Excited, he patted the round bun on her dog-like head.
"Make it beforehand, and make it pretty. Your Martial Granduncle will definitely reach Qi Refining!"
With that, Xiao Bai nimbly flew off the cliffside.
A footprint fragrant with fresh soil remained on his face.
This showed that Senior Sister's kicking skills were fairly good.
Given enough time...
Over the next two days, reaching Qi Refining did not go as smoothly as Xiao Bai had imagined.
During both Dual Rest and his breakthrough attempt, Xiao Bai encountered a vast, impassable chasm.
The former could not be covered with one hand; the latter could not be crossed.
Even though Xiao Bai could absorb one hundred percent of the nourishment from Elder Yuhu, reaching Qi Refining in ten days was not as easy as he had imagined.
Though the elder had yet to teach him Medicine Techniques, Xiao Bai had picked up bits and pieces through constant exposure in the pill room.
The problem now was that the leap from the Ninth Level Fetal Breath to Qi Refining was not achieved by a linear accumulation of spiritual power.
It required Sudden Enlightenment!
It required breaking before rebuilding!
It required brute force to work miracles!
If Xiao Bai wanted to reach Qi Refining quickly, the elder would need to use Demonic Power for Dual Rest, or administer Pill Poison to him—
A supreme poison that destroyed and reconstructed the dantian.
Generally speaking, this sort of medicine was a breakthrough pill attempted only by elderly cultivators who had no hope of breaking through normally and were nearing death.
It was essentially a nine-deaths-and-one-life gamble, extremely likely to cause Cultivation Deviation.
The legendary Foundation Establishment Pill from cultivation novels was probably this sort of thing.
If Xiao Bai took a Qi Refining Pill and directly dismantled it into spiritual power for absorption, he could not advance.
If he used the complete medicinal power of the Qi Refining Pill to force a breakthrough, his dantian risked being destroyed.
Even if his dantian were destroyed, he would not die, but there was no time to cultivate anew. Besides, there was also the risk of the Spine Gu taking over his body.
Xiao Bai felt that since both options were dangerous, he might as well let the elder use Demonic Power for Dual Rest. At least he could enjoy himself and truly savor the fox's repayment of kindness.
The night before the Sect Tour Ceremony.
The snow fell heavily.
Xiao Bai decided to risk his life on one gamble.
Inside the pill room.
Elder Yuhu's pill-refining process was as tedious as a chemistry teacher's experiment, enough to make one drowsy.
Flower-shaped crimson light flickered between bright and dim, spinning and swaying as it cast interlacing fox shadows upon the walls.
Used to the sight, Xiao Bai nevertheless looked startled and suddenly pointed at the wall.
"Elder, I think I saw a fox tail!"
"This disciple has always been curious. Compared to that stiff ash-gray hair, isn't your white hair a little too soft?"
"...Elder, you couldn't possibly be a Fox Demon, could you?"
He was truly trying hard to act, but unfortunately, he still looked exaggerated.
Yet in Yuhu's eyes, it was convincing enough to pass for real.
The swaying furnace flames stirred rippling glimmers across her clear, water-like face.
Yuhu lifted her teacup and smiled brightly.
"You guess."
Let him guess?
Xiao Bai loved this sort of make-believe game most.
"It must be some illusion technique meant to add interest."
He said it with a straight face.
The guess was reasonable and logical.
"Wrong."
Yuhu gently shook her jade-like head, tea mist swirling around her.
"Guess again."
Xiao Bai thought for a moment and decided to let his imagination run wild.
"There must be a fox roasting inside the pill furnace, and its shadow is being cast on the wall."
The hand holding the tea trembled faintly. A trace of anger surfaced on Yuhu's face as she said in a low voice:
"I'll give you one last chance. Guess again."
"I know!"
Xiao Bai had a sudden enlightenment and abruptly gathered his courage.
"These shadows are actually spirit-seal graffiti, like the layered-image cards I played with as a child. From different angles, you see different patterns. As the saying goes, viewed from the front, it forms a ridge; from the side, a peak. Far, near, high, low—"
Before he could finish, Yuhu's voice turned icy and cut him off directly.
"I am a Fox Demon."
Xiao Bai played dumb despite knowing perfectly well, revealing an incredulous expression.
"Really?"
Yuhu nodded slightly.
In any case, she would erase Xiao Bai's memories after they slept together, so admitting it frankly placed no burden on her heart.
"The reason I infiltrated the Snow Flame Sect is because it has been Demon Race land since ancient times. The Demon Alliance needs to use this place to enter the sect and take the Cambrian Kingdom in one stroke."
She had even revealed the objective of her infiltration... She really did not treat him as an outsider!
Xiao Bai continued playing dumb.
"Really? I don't believe it."
Yuhu took a sip of tea and said lightly:
"Whether you believe it or not changes nothing."
Damn, this Demoness's words were fucking hurtful!
Xiao Bai argued on rational grounds:
"But Elder, you do not have any Demonic Power at all. You say you're a demon, then I'm a devil!"
Before he finished speaking, a snowy-white fox tail wrapped around his waist and lifted him into the air.
Yuhu held her teacup with regal grace. Amid the swirling tea mist, her nine fluttering tails spread like a peacock fanning its tail.
"You're trying to provoke me into helping you reach Qi Refining, aren't you?"
Before you continue