The Truth Revealed

"Third Master, this lowly one spotted a little fox with a fine coat at the foot of the back mountain. Should I hunt it down to make a shawl for the Old Master? It would also show your filial piety, Third Master," Zhou Hai said respectfully.

Ever since the academy relocation incident a few years ago, Zhou Hai had been promoted to Zhou Minghu's personal attendant.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Minghu's brows fiercely furrowed. He immediately thought of the fox demon from the past.

"Oh? What kind of fox?"

"It is a little red fox, about this big. It looks quite spirited," Zhou Hai said, gesturing with his hands.

Zhou Minghu was inwardly startled. This was the exact secret signal agreed upon between his family and that fox demon. He had not expected the creature to return after so many years.

"You have done well. I will go take a look." Zhou Minghu smiled and walked outside. Zhou Hai wanted to follow, but seeing Zhou Minghu's hurried pace, he tactfully withdrew.

That fox likely involved some secret. Though Zhou Hai was not the brightest, he knew what he was allowed to know and what he was not.

Catching this from the corner of his eye, the corners of Zhou Minghu's mouth lifted slightly. This personal attendant was rather clever after all.

Immediately afterward, he relayed the matter to Zhou Ping.

Zhou Ping listened and pondered for a moment. He knew this was an opportunity to probe Mu Lushi's background, so he said, "Go meet the fox demon first. See if there are any changes in it."

With that, Zhou Ping shoved a stack of talismans into Zhou Minghu's hands. "If the situation looks wrong, run back immediately."

Although Zhou Minghu only had four strands of Spiritual Qi left in his body, activating talismans barely consumed any Qi, so he could trigger several in rapid succession.

"Your son understands."

Zhou Ping watched Zhou Minghu's retreating figure. He then called Zhou Xuanya over, instructing him to hurry down to Zhou Family Town and gather an assortment of sweet pastries and delicacies. Next, he summoned Zhou Qianling to his side. After some thought, he even marched into Zhou Chengyuan's room and snatched away a Jade Rock Green Origin Pill, leaving the boy wailing for a long time.

Although cultivating the Jade Rock Spirit Origin Art had changed Zhou Chengyuan's appearance considerably, his temperament remained exactly the same.

Zhou Ping took this Pill because Hu Li was notoriously greedy for human delicacies. This suggested the fox had likely never interacted with human society and was deeply curious about their creations. If a deal could be struck, this Jade Rock Green Origin Pill might serve as a bargaining chip to exchange for treasures.

Shortly after, holding Zhou Qianling by the hand, Zhou Ping appeared at the foot of the back mountain, gazing anxiously into the distance.

"Grand-uncle, what are you looking at?" Zhou Qianling asked curiously.

"Me? I am looking at your Third Uncle."

Zhou Ping was afraid that Hu Li had changed and might harm his son. With one foot hovering over the edge of the formation boundary, his entire body was drawn taut, his worry growing by the second.

Meanwhile, upon reaching the mountain cliff, Zhou Minghu saw a massive red fox the size of a calf. Its fiery fur billowed in the wind as it turned its head to appraise him.

Zhou Minghu's heart violently palpitated. His body trembled uncontrollably-a terrifying dread stemming from the very instinct of life itself!

A Foundation Establishment Demon Beast!

"Junior greets Senior!"

Hu Li merely swept a glance over him, yet Zhou Minghu felt as if his entire body had been thoroughly seen through.

Hu Li spoke in the human tongue, "Why did your family move up the mountain?"

"In reply to Senior, Junior's father broke through to the Qi Condensation realm a few years ago. According to the rules of the human race, he was allowed to claim a mountain peak and establish an immortal clan, so my entire family relocated to Baixi Mountain." Zhou Minghu bent his waist as low as possible, bead-sized drops of sweat sliding furiously down his face.

If Hu Li were still a Qi Condensation Demon Beast, he might have had a sliver of hope to escape using his talismans. But now, he dared not even entertain the thought.

"Oh," Hu Li responded, then asked, "Where is the food?"

"Junior feared Senior might grow annoyed from waiting, so I hurried ahead to pay my respects first. Junior will return to fetch it right now."

Hu Li scratched its head with a claw, then lazily sprawled out on the ground.

"Hurry up."

Zhou Minghu felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted. His back was already drenched in sweat. Suppressing his turbulent emotions with all his might, he sprinted back toward Baixi Mountain at a steady, unpanicked pace.

When he reached the foot of the mountain, he saw Zhou Ping holding Zhou Qianling's hand, waiting with eager eyes.

Deeply moved, Zhou Minghu took three steps as two to close the distance. He whispered, "Father, that fox demon has reached Foundation Establishment!"

Zhou Ping was violently jolted, but quickly forced himself to return to normal.

The fact that Zhou Minghu could return safely meant the fox demon had likely not changed its disposition. As for its high cultivation, there was no need to worry.

In fact, their family might even be able to reap benefits from Hu Li.

"Everything is here. Also, take Qianling along for him to see," Zhou Ping said softly.

Since Hu Li was now a Foundation Establishment Demon Beast and remained benevolent, it might be able to identify the source of the aura on Zhou Qianling, eliminating the hidden dangers and doubts plaguing their family.

Standing to the side, Zhou Qianling had not heard their whispers. She merely stared curiously at her grand-uncle and Third Uncle.

"Understood," Zhou Minghu acknowledged. He picked up the goods, took Zhou Qianling's hand, and walked back toward the cliff.

Up on the cliff, Hu Li was growing impatient. If not for the fact that it had not eaten human food in ages and was genuinely craving it, it would have returned to the deep mountains long ago. After a long while, it finally caught sight of Zhou Minghu's figure, who was now leading a child.

Hu Li first swept up a gust of demonic wind, snatching the scattered sweet pastries from Zhou Minghu's hands. It greedily devoured them, mumbling, "Why did you bring a doll along?"

"Junior wishes to beseech Senior to take a look at this child," Zhou Minghu said, bowing respectfully.

"An ordinary wild deer."

Hu Li struggled to pull its head out from the pile of pastries, shot a single glance at Zhou Qianling, and then resumed gorging itself.

Zhou Minghu blanked for a moment, then firmly committed those words to memory.

Zhou Qianling cowered in terror behind Zhou Minghu, hugging his thigh tightly, on the verge of tears. The oppressive aura this giant fox exuded was horrifying. It was not just the ultimate fear of a living creature, but the absolute Pressure of a higher existence bearing down upon a lesser one!

Zhou Minghu hastily comforted Zhou Qianling, placing his large hand on her head to gently stroke her hair.

Before long, Hu Li licked the food clean and stretched out its body with lazy satisfaction.

Suddenly, its nose twitched slightly, as if sniffing out something.

"Do you have any more delicious things on you that you haven't taken out?"

Only then did Zhou Minghu remember the Pill Zhou Ping had pressed into his hands. He hurriedly pulled it out. "This is a type of Pill from my human race. Senior, please appraise it."

Hu Li inhaled lightly, and the green Pill flew into its belly like a streak of flowing light.

Instantly, surges of gold and stone Qi violently erupted within its body, causing Hu Li to stretch out entirely, revealing an expression of pure ecstasy.

It was not as if it had never tasted gold and stone before, but it had certainly never tasted the profound flavor hidden within this Pill!

It possessed not only the sharp edge of gold and stone, but also the vibrant vitality of lush vegetation, a faint wisp of blood Qi, and rolling earth-fire Qi...

These auras intertwined perfectly, sending waves of numbing pleasure through its body. It simply could not get enough.

As for the so-called erosion of gold and stone, it was instantly refined the moment it entered the fox's stomach.

"Do you have any more of this stuff? Is there more?"

Zhou Minghu cupped his fists and said, "This Pill is exceedingly precious. My family currently does not have many left. If Senior desires more, Junior will return and fetch them."

Hu Li was immediately disappointed. Hearing that the Pill was precious, it found itself in a difficult spot, entirely unsure of what it could offer in exchange.

In its mind, those broken weapons and rusted iron chunks were worth about the same as sweet pastries. Now that it had consumed their precious Pill, it had to find something suitable to compensate them.

Hu Li scratched its head with a claw, suddenly feeling rather frustrated. "Wait here. I will be back in a bit."

With that, it dashed back toward Darong Mountain.

When Hu Li returned, it spat out a pile of broken copper and rusted iron, along with a single emerald-green Spirit Grass.

"Eat this thing. It will heal the injuries on your body."

"Many thanks, Senior!" Zhou Minghu was overjoyed. He hastily bowed in gratitude.

Hu Li, however, was exceptionally troubled. It could pick up those piles of rusted scrap metal just by doing a few laps around the mountains-trading them away did not hurt in the slightest. But this Spirit Grass was a treasure of its own territory. Naturally, trading it away made its heart ache.

"Alright, I am leaving." Hu Li tossed the items down and turned to walk back. "If you have more of these Pills in the future, just tell me. One stalk of this grass will trade for one... two... three Pills."

As it calculated this, Hu Li's heart continued to ache uncontrollably, forcing it to lower its standards again and again.

Zhou Minghu was secretly delighted but suppressed his emotions with all his might. "Junior understands."

Once Hu Li disappeared into the distance, Zhou Minghu hurriedly gathered the items from the ground and pulled Zhou Qianling along to head back.

Zhou Qianling was no longer as terrified as before. As she walked back, she kept turning her head, gazing curiously at the majestic and boundless Darong Mountain.

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