Chapter 201: The Fox-maid and the Sword Cultivator

Both were Foundation Establishment cultivators, and their sword flight was incredibly swift.

They raced across the land, covering the distance to the Hengduan Mountains in less than half a day. Continuing north lay the territory of the monster race, separated by Two Realms Mountain. Few human cultivators would venture there willingly.

Approaching Two Realms Mountain, Su Linlin descended, leading Chen Luo forward on foot.

“Two Realms Mountain is guarded by the powerful peng bird race. Flying directly over would mark us as enemies. The best approach is to follow the Two Realms Mountain Path, pass their inspection, and then enter,” Su Linlin explained, glancing back at Chen Luo.

Chen Luo followed without a word, adapting to local customs. Having entered monster territory, he would abide by their rules.

With Su Linlin guiding them, the pair passed through effortlessly, facing no challenges. The guarding peng birds didn’t even bother to look before allowing them entry.

Entering the monster race’s domain, Chen Luo distinctly felt a change in the spiritual energy, similar to his first experience in the demonic cultivator’s territory. Here, certain components of the spiritual energy were more active, creating an environment more conducive to the monster race’s cultivation.

After clearing customs, they didn’t continue flying on their swords. Instead, Su Linlin led Chen Luo to alight on a high mountaintop.

A fox-shaped incense stick ignited.

The smoke curled upward, drifting towards the horizon.

“Traveling by sword is too slow and fraught with danger along the way. Let’s wait here for a couple of days; someone will come to fetch us then.”

Su Linlin planted the fox incense in the ground.

Chen Luo nodded and dispersed his divine sense, discreetly observing this region seldom tread upon by human cultivators. He pondered whether he might stumble upon any stray brains lying around.

“Human cultivators rarely venture beyond Two Realms Mountain, and those invited by the fox race are even fewer.”

With a graceful leap, Su Linlin perched on a nearby tree branch, her pale, shapely legs swinging playfully.

“Am I an exception?” Chen Luo asked, somewhat taken aback. He had initially thought it was an open invitation to welcome all as friends, but now it seemed more like a recruitment drive for future in-laws.

“The invitation I sent to Shixiong was approved by the clan elders,” she replied.

Hearing this, Chen Luo cast her a sidelong glance. The fox maiden’s smile remained radiant, her inner thoughts and motives still opaque.

Chen Luo closed his eyes, remaining silent. Once he found that brain, all would be revealed.

Su Linlin felt slightly disappointed; she had expected Chen Luo to dig deeper. Nevertheless, this made things more intriguing. Such a shixiong was certainly worth her attention.

The destiny Su Linlin had tapped into from the beginning was unlike any other.

One day later.

The sky suddenly darkened. Looking up, a colossal roc dove from the clouds above.

“Here we are,” Su Linlin said softly.

With a graceful leap, she flew toward the roc’s back, Chen Luo following closely behind.

The roc, with its cargo on board, let out a powerful cry. Its wings spread wide as it circled once in the air before heading back the way it came. As they settled into a cross-legged position on the roc’s back, each of them raised a barrier of spiritual energy around themselves.

After several more days on the roc’s back, they finally reached their destination.

Before them stood an enormous mountain that seemed to reach the heavens.

The mountain resembled a crouching fox. ‘Fox Mountain,’ as it was called, disappeared into the clouds above its neck, hidden from view. Its lower slopes were covered in a dense forest of crimson trees, like the fur of a fiery fox.

As the roc descended, Chen Luo felt several powerful presences just as they approached.

“We’re here,” Su Linlin said softly.

She stepped lightly off the roc’s back.

Chen Luo followed suit.

They had landed on the left shoulder of Fox Mountain. The ‘left shoulder’ was surprisingly vast, so wide that walking on it felt like treading on flat ground. In the distance, a row of luxurious buildings had been constructed.

When Xu Chuqin and Chen Luo landed, several people were already gathered on the platform. Most were monsters, but there were also two humans. Chen Luo noticed that these humans were handsome youths, with cultivation bases at the Foundation Establishment stage. Surprised to find other humans besides himself, Chen Luo couldn’t help but give them a second look.

“Did you invite those two as well?”

The voice came from beside him. “They’re here with Miss Su Ling, just like you. Fox clan friends.”

Chen Luo turned to see a man approaching quickly.

This person was a burly man over two meters tall. His face was covered in yellow hair, with brown patches on both cheeks. His hair was also light brown, and his eyes were a pair of round, emerald green orbs. He clearly wasn’t human.

“Good Fellow is?”

Chen Luo remained on guard against this overly familiar stranger.

Especially considering this monster cultivator’s formidable strength. Chen Luo could clearly sense the coalesced monster essence within him—a great monster in the late Foundation Establishment stage.

Third Tiger of Empty Space introduced himself cheerfully, “I’m Third Tiger of Empty Space, a friend of the fox clan. Just like you, we’re all good friends of Lingling.”

“Lingling?” Chen Luo glanced back at Su Linlin, noticing her expression had unusually turned cold.

“He’s self-proclaimed as a close friend; I hardly know him,” Su Linlin retorted.

“Oh, come on, Linlin!” Hu Sankong protested, his tone turning anxious.

“You used to tail me all the time before you even learned to take human form. Remember that gray-skinned wolf that once invaded Tushan? It nearly carried you off as its trophy maiden. Who was it that saved you?”

“Mind your own business!” Su Linlin snapped, her embarrassment turning to anger. This dope had told this tale countless times, always with the same story.

To cut him off before he could babble further, Su Linlin raised her hand, aiming a slap at him to shut him up.

Hu Sankong, surprisingly, neither flinched nor dodged. He allowed Su Linlin’s palm to smack his chest, then dramatically pitched back his iron-tower-like body, hurtling away under his own momentum. He crashed into a stone wall behind him and theatrically spat out a mouthful of scarlet blood.

Such power! That palm strike… could she be a Core Formation patriarch?

The spectacle left everyone in the crowd dumbfounded—the performance was nothing short of over-the-top.

“Let’s go. We’ll enter first,” Su Linlin said, paying no mind to this buffoon as she led Chen Luo towards the main hall.

“Linlin, wait for me,” Hu Sankong called out.

In a blink, the man who had been wailing in agony just seconds ago, gracefully rolled over, rose to his feet, and hastened after them, his grinning face never far behind.

“Brother, what’s your esteemed surname?”

“Chen Luo.”

“Chen bro, I don’t know why Lingling chose to invite you, but being selected by her must mean you have something special.”

Husandkong quickly caught up, no longer joking around like before.

“Why do you say that?”

“Because Lingling is a Six-Tailed Heavenly Fox, capable of observing human destiny. Anyone who catches her attention is extraordinary. They’re either immensely fortunate or completely destiny-less.”

“I understand the immensely fortunate ones, but I’ve never heard of the ‘completely destiny-less’ before,” Chen Luo said, now intrigued.

Husandkong had close ties with the fox clan and knew many secrets outsiders were unaware of. Su Lingling, walking ahead, didn’t turn around, as if unconcerned about Chen Luo learning this information.

“The ‘completely destiny-less’ is a unique concept; in ancient texts, they’re actually referred to as ‘those destined for calamity.’ They’re called ‘destiny-less’ because their destinies cannot be observed. This type of person is extremely rare, even more so than the immensely fortunate ones,” Husandkong explained, engaging Chen Luo further with his knowledge of how the demonic race viewed destiny.

Chen Luo, having practiced the Gaze of Qi, had gained much from this.

The trio passed through the gate, entering the sacred land of the fox spirits. They found themselves in a vast cavern, its walls embedded with countless gems and adorned with intricate murals. Despite being within a mountain’s depths, the sight before them was as dazzling as the sun and moon amidst the stars—an awe-inspiring spectacle.

The path beneath their feet also shimmered with fluorescence. Night-glow plants emitted a gentle radiance, creating a winding corridor of light.

“So, am I most likely either extremely destined or utterly without destiny?” Chen Luo pondered aloud.

“That’s correct,” Hu Sankong affirmed. “Otherwise, given Lingling’s pride, she wouldn’t casually invite just anyone to the fox clan’s celebration.”

As they conversed, Hu Sankong’s expression suddenly shifted. He promptly stepped aside, clearing the path.

Su Linlin, leading ahead, also halted and swiftly turned, pulling Chen Luo to stand beside Hu Sankong. Sensing something amiss, Chen Luo followed suit, raising his gaze to investigate.

On the road before them, two figures walked side by side. An old woman, her snowy-white tail trailing behind her, and a middle-aged man, clad in black and carrying a sword, were deeply engrossed in their own world.

The two figures, oblivious to their audience, were lost in reminiscing about the past.

“If not for that battle back then, Senior Sister Yu wouldn’t have perished,” the old woman said softly. “And you wouldn’t have ended up in such a state.”

“It is merely my fate,” the middle-aged man replied, his face devoid of any expression. “I long ago let go of such things.”

His voice was as steady as his visage, making him seem more like a lifeless object—a sword.

Seeing him this way, a wave of sorrow washed over the old woman’s face.

“If you had truly let go, you wouldn’t have come here. The Black Rain Sword still weighs on your soul; you may fool others, but you cannot deceive me.”

“The sword is my dearest friend,” the man countered. “It must not be cast aside lightly.”

The old woman snorted derisively. “Sword cultivators—what a load of rubbish! In my eyes, you’re nothing but fiends and heretics, a bunch of lunatics who follow a path even more twisted than the demon race.”

As if struck by a sudden thought, the old woman erupted in anger, her words a torrent of curses.

The black-robed sword cultivator remained silent, his composure unbroken.

Behind him, his cherished sword trembled imperceptibly, the hint of emotion swiftly extinguished.

“It’s just a sword,” he intoned, a statement that seemed to encompass his entire world.

As the conversation drew to a close, the young man and woman faded into the distance. It was only after they had disappeared from sight that Chen Luo and his companions came back to their senses.

Tiger San and Su Linlin breathed sighs of relief, their tension finally easing.

Chen Luo turned, his gaze lingered in the direction the figures had vanished.

The two figures—a vixen woman and a sword cultivator— blended seamlessly into the crowd. Yet those who had experienced their true nature knew the terror they concealed. As they passed by earlier, Chen Luo had sensed nothing; his divine sense seemed to have faltered.

In his perception, these were two individuals who did not exist—they had merged with the very essence of Fox Mountain’s realm.

Core Formation cultivators!

This was the first time Chen Luo had witnessed such a formidable presence up close. It was vastly different from merely hearing tales of the legendary Sacred Lake Immortal Sect leader or stories about the enigmatic Blackstone Ancestor. Only through direct encounter could one truly grasp their terrifying power.

As the saying goes:

“A core of gold I swallow, my fate now mine to vanquish!”

These words aptly described the beings before him.

Core Formation cultivators were a completely different caliber from Qi Refining or Foundation Establishment cultivators. Having already harnessed the vital energy of heaven and earth, they could command the very forces of nature with each move. Unless they desired otherwise, even standing face-to-face, a Foundation Establishment cultivator’s divine sense wouldn’t even register their presence.

“It’s Granny Hu and Senior Gu,” Su Linlin explained, ensuring her guest—Chen Luo—received proper attention as she’d invited him here.