Looking at the fox’s forlorn expression, Li Tongya felt a tug at his heart. He reached into his storage pouch and pulled out a bag of Spirit Rice, presenting it with a smile.
“Great Fox, take a look at this.”
The fox’s reddish fur rustled as it lowered its head to sniff the offering. Its eyes blinked with interest before it took a tentative bite.
“Mmm... it’s rather fragrant... this is Spirit Rice, yes? What a rare treat... I’ve heard that the immortal cultivators are fond of it!”
He paused thoughtfully.
“If you want me to do some work for you, I won’t settle unless there’s a hundred or eighty jin on the table!”
Li Tongya chuckled softly, mentally calculating that a hundred and eighty jin was merely equivalent to a Spirit Stone. If it could be exchanged for assistance from a creature of the Qi Cultivation Realm, it would be a lucrative deal indeed. Suppressing his initial hesitation, Li Tongya countered with a proposition.
“If you can answer some questions of mine... this bag of Spirit Rice will be yours.”
The fox’s ears perked up, and it eagerly accepted the offer. Li Tongya tossed the Spirit Rice to it and asked, “Do you know anything about the demon general?”
“Of course,” the fox replied confidently before beginning his explanation, “that pig demon is a creature of the Foundation Establishment Realm, with eight lesser demons at the Qi Cultivation Realm under its command. They collect spirit items for it and they dwell in a demon cave two hundred li south of here... those of us who have attained the Qi Cultivation Realm within this region are captured, marked with a seal between the eyebrows, and sent back to stand guard.”
After saying that, the fox smelled the bag of rice, then glanced at Li Tongya warily.
“You’re really going to give me this..? You didn’t poison it, did you?”
However, unfortunately for the fox, Li Tongya was too intrigued by its story of the pig demon and was not paying attention, and instead pressed for more information.
“What does the seal do? Did the pig demon do the same to you?”
The fox raised its head defiantly and snorted.
“Hmph, among the six caves in Mount Dali, one of the cave masters is the grandmother of the fox demons. If that pig demon dared to take our spirituality away... it would be courting death.”
However, the fox’s defiant expression soon turned somber.
“About this spirituality... demonic creatures like us absorb the essence of the sun and moon. After condensing the six chakras, a trace of spirituality will form between our eyebrows. If it’s destroyed, so will our cultivation and our essence qi. They too will disintegrate. It is nothing but a vulnerability in the hands of that pig demon...”
“I see.”
Li Tongya nodded in comprehension after gaining insight into the demon pig’s methods.
Observing the fox circling the Spirit Rice, he inquired softly, “Are there any uncaptured demons of the Qi Cultivation Realm in this area that you know of, fellow Daoist?”
“There are six more in this area, but knowledge of their locations will cost you!” the fox replied with a mischievous grin.
Li Tongya merely laughed and asked, “How long have you lived?”
“Three hundred years or so,” the fox replied matter-of-factly.
Leaning against the root of a large tree, it continued, “Spent my first sixty years in ignorance. It wasn’t until my sixties that I condensed the fifth chakra and gained memory. At the age of two hundred and seventy-seven, I condensed a mouthful of spiritual qi in my stomach and broke through to the Qi Cultivation Realm. This marked the beginning of my sanity... akin to that of a human. I then spent another one hundred years cultivating alone, reaching the fifth heavenly layer of the Qi Cultivation Realm.”
“Nearly four hundred years?!” Li Tongya exclaimed enviously. “Demonic creatures like you truly have longevity... those of us who’ve reached the Qi Cultivation Realm only have a lifespan of two hundred years.”
The fox, however, responded despondently with a bittersweet smile.
“What’s there to envy? Foxes who have attained Qi Cultivation Realm have a lifespan of five hundred years, and I’m nearing the end of mine... I’ve only had spiritual wisdom for the past hundred years or so; the first few hundred years were all spent in cluelessness. So... it’s not as advantageous as being an immortal like you!”
Li Tongya nodded in understanding before being struck by a sudden realization.
“Three hundred years ago, there was a great battle in the northern foothills... can you recall anything about it?” he inquired, hopeful.
“Great battle?”
The fox thought for a moment, then mumbled, “I recall there was indeed a great battle... I was huddled in the cave that night, and the earth shook more than once! The voices of those immortals were like thunder, saying that they wanted something to be handed over...”
Looking at Li Tongya’s anxious expression, the fox stuttered slightly as it continued, “Something... like a ... secret decree..? I was only a lesser demon of the Embryonic Breathing Realm at that time and so I can’t remember much...”
Li Tongya probed carefully for a while but was not able to get any further information, and so had decided to give up—though reluctantly. Disappointed, he shook his head, only to notice the fox still looking rather guilty with its head bowed.
“I did hear a rumor about the northern foothills,” the fox finally admitted.
Li Tongya raised his head with interest immediately as the fox continued, “I once heard an elderly fox passing by who was the one who told me about our grandmother in the cave... she used to beg for food here in the northern foothills when she was around three hundred years old. She was dozing in the cave when a white-haired immortal suddenly pulled her out of the tree hole.”
He paused, as though gathering his thoughts before continuing.
“The white-haired immortal’s cultivation was unfathomable. I remember that he asked my grandmother, ‘Have you ever eaten any human, little fox?’ At that time, the Northern Foothills had just gone through a great war and were not yet inhabited, so Grandma replied that she had never.”
Li Tongya listened intently as the fox continued with the story. The fox had mimicked the immortal’s ethereal voice perfectly while it stammered with its own. The performance it put on nearly got Li Tongya applauding, and he was rather amused.
“The white-haired immortal then said, ‘There’s a group of villagers at the foot of this mountain... watch over and protect them for two hundred years, and I will grant you a boon.’ Grandma nodded and the immortal tapped between her brows and left a mark there before departing.”
Li Tongya eagerly asked, “What boon did she receive?”
“How should I know?” The fox rolled its eyes and then continued, “Therefore, the foxes on Mount Dali never eat people. Although two hundred years have passed, Grandma still keeps the demons on Mount Dali in check. Some years ago, a large bird ate a person at the foot of the mountain... Grandma was enraged! She drove the bird away and forbade it from ever coming near Mount Dali again... or else she would eat it.”
“Oh,” Li Tongya nodded.
Our Li Family has also been farming in these northern foothills for three hundred years, yet I’ve never heard of any family having an immortal in their ancestry. I have doubts about the truth of this story... but for now, I should just listen.
He looked at the fox and asked, “Do you have a name, fellow Daoist?”
The fox squeaked, “I’ve always stayed under this big banyan tree... they all call me the White Banyan Fox. As for surnames, we demons don’t concern ourselves with such things.”
Li Tongya nodded, then cupped his fist respectfully and said, “My name is Li Tongya. I’ve gained plenty of knowledge from today’s conversation. I’ll come back to visit you in a few months, fellow Daoist.”
As Li Tongya rode away on the wind, the fox let out a long sigh and flopped onto the ground with a thud. Picking up a mouthful of Spirit Rice, the fox carefully savored it with a satisfying smack of its jaws.
“Hmm, this is really fragrant...” the fox mumbled quietly to itself in enjoyment.
————
Li Xuanxuan succeeded the position of Family Head, and a year had passed in the blink of an eye. Although members of the major sect still wore white attire, everyone was gradually getting used to Li Xuanxuan’s leadership.
Li Tongya secluded himself in the mountains most of the time, while Li Xuanfeng spent most of his time slaying demons and cultivating. Li Xuanxuan had become the nominal and actual Li Family’s figure of authority. In his early twenties, he handled family matters cautiously, ensuring that everything was arranged properly and in order.
Sitting in his seat in the main courtyard with Li Xiewen standing beside him, Li Xuanxuan smiled and looked at Chen Donghe.
“Have you made a decision yet?” he asked.
Chen Donghe cupped his fist and frowned, saying, “The matter of joining the main family is of great importance... I can’t make a final decision rashly. I need to return home to consult my father first.”
Li Xuanxuan set his tea bowl down and gently replied, “Indeed, but you shouldn’t be so concerned. After all, the family rule states that only those in the major sect can practice the River One Qi Technique. This is an opportunity I have found for you after pleading to Second Uncle...”
Chen Donghe nodded with gratitude, cupped his fist, then left.
Li Xiewen then called for someone to remove the tea cup that had been used by Chen Donghe.
“Family Head, Xuanfeng is also fourteen years old now... it’s time to consider his marriage too.”
“You’re right,” Li Xuanxuan agreed with a curt nod. He unfurled the wooden slips in his hand and calculated for a moment before speaking.
“How many talismans did Second Uncle send to the foot of the mountain this month?”
“Five, Family Head.”
“The talisman ink and talisman paper at home are running out. Xuanfeng will need to make a trip to the market this month,” Li Xuanxuan pointed out.
As the clan’s manpower gradually increased, the spirit fields on the land had now fully developed. After deducting the tributes to Azure Pond Sect and provisions for family cultivators, there was still a surplus.
“Excluding the tributes, we still have three hundred jin of Spirit Rice annually as surplus. The annual clan salary for major sect cultivators is ten jin, five jin for minor sects, and one jin for branches, totaling eighty-six jin. There is still a balance of two Spirit Stones worth.”
Originally, the Li Family did not have many cultivators. However, those with spiritual orifices from the four towns had merged into the Li Family through marriage, mostly becoming part of the minor sect cultivators, and hence were entitled to a reward of Spirit Rice.
“Second Uncle can draw about sixty talismans annually, selling for twenty Spirit Stones each. After deducting costs, he can earn about two or three Spirit Stones. With Xuanfeng and Donghe hunting demonic beasts in the mountains, the annual income can reach seven Spirit Stones. That’s roughly the price of a dharma artifact from the Embryonic Breathing Realm.”
There were over seventy Spirit Stones in the family’s inventory. The Li Family had been saving up to lay a large formation for Mount Lijing, so every Spirit Stone earned brought great happiness to Li Xuanxuan.