Chapter 243: The Fox Clan's Struggle

He still had a disciple recruitment task at Qiong Hua Sect. By bringing Mu Xiaoyu there, he could complete it immediately. Though the number might be small, quality could compensate. With a Heaven Spirit Root disciple, he didn’t believe the Peak Lord in White would resist.

“Greetings, Master.”

Mu Xiaoyu had long adapted to the cultivation world and understood the status of a mountain lord. With this opportunity before her, she naturally wouldn’t let it slip away. Beside her, Ding Zhao looked at Xiaoyu, a flicker of envy in his eyes.

Same people, different fates. The five of them had toiled on the mountain for years, still remaining mere registered disciples. Chen Luo treated them like free-range chickens, never offering proper guidance. Their treatment couldn’t compare to Mu Xiaoyu, a direct disciple.

“Excellent.”

Chen Luo casually produced several Magic Artifacts and tossed them to Mu Xiaoyu. He didn’t have much else, but Magic Artifacts were plentiful.

He’d collected countless Pouches of Holding along his journey, each stuffed with miscellaneous Magic Artifacts. Most ended up discarded in the corners of his storage as junk.

After settling Xiaoyu’s affairs, Chen Luo turned to managing the accumulated spiritual materials on the mountain.

“Fire.”

Chen Luo skillfully formed the incantation gesture. His Pill Refinement technique had reached new heights of mastery, placing him among the foremost practitioners among second-rank alchemists.

By the time Chen Luo finished processing all the medicinal ingredients, it was already noon the next day.

“Senior Brother.”

The moment he completed organizing the Pills, Chen Luo heard a voice outside. It was Su Linlin, the Hu Clan maiden. He had set up numerous overlapping formations on Gu Demon Mountain, allowing only a select few free access - Su Linlin being one of them.

“What brings you here?” Chen Luo asked, opening the door to let her in.

He felt somewhat puzzled. Ding Zhao had informed him that a recent transaction with the Hu Clan had just concluded. By all calculations, Su Linlin shouldn’t have come until half a year later.

“I simply missed Senior Brother,” she replied. “I came to visit.”

The Hu Clan maiden looked just as she had during their first meeting, clad in a short crimson skirt. The difference lay in her more ornate hair ornaments - silver-white hairpins now adorned with small bells at their ends. As she moved, the bells chimed with a pleasant, melodious rhythm.

Su Linlin scanned the room. The cultivation chamber’s layout remained unchanged since her last visit, every detail preserved as if frozen in time.

In her memory, Chen Luo had always been this way.

His dwelling consisted of nothing but bookshelves, a Pill Furnace, and a meditation cushion - the very image of an ascetic cultivator. Unlike many pleasure-seeking Foundation Establishment cultivators, he’d never wavered in his pursuit of Core Formation, nor had he ever paused in his relentless advance.

His forward momentum remained unshaken, his resolve unwavering.

She’d never witnessed self-doubt or fear of failure in Chen Luo - qualities that drew her to him. Having observed countless prodigies and seen too many talents crushed by setbacks, she understood the rarity of such unwavering focus.

Not everyone could achieve a ‘unified Dao heart’.

“Senior Brother, do you remember the Core Formation secret technique I mentioned before?” Su Linlin asked, settling into a chair by the window. Her slender legs swung gently, giving her the appearance of a neighborhood girl.

The incident she referenced had occurred long ago. Chen Luo wondered why she’d suddenly brought it up now.

“Everyone who explored the ruins with me that day perished,” Su Linlin began, her voice carrying a weight of memory. “I survived only because I heeded my shixiong’s advice and stayed behind.” She paused, the silence stretching between them.

“My life was saved by my shixiong.”

She turned to Chen Luo, her smile softening the moon-like crescents of her eyes. “I’m not like my shixiong. From the moment I reached Foundation Establishment, I’ve lived in constant doubt. I’ve wondered whether my mediocre aptitude could ever achieve Core Formation, whether I’d survive the Heavenly Tribulation that comes with it.”

Su Linlin didn’t wait for Chen Luo’s response, her words tumbling forth like a stream released from its dam. Chen Luo listened quietly, sensing the undercurrent of her words - a major decision hung in the air, its shadow casting across her features.

“Whenever I wavered, I came to you. There’s a confidence in you that others lack, a steadfastness that never falters. I want to be like that too - a Dao heart unwavering.”

Su Linlin rose, her footsteps echoing across the room as she paced its perimeter.

The silver bell chimed softly.

Like the wind.

“After seeing Shixiong, I found my answer. Rather than dwell on fears and doubts, it’s better to forge ahead courageously.”

As Su Linlin reached the doorway, she suddenly stopped and turned back to say:

“Shixiong, thank you.”

Chen Luo was taken aback, unsure why she was thanking him.

Su Linlin had originally come to ask Chen Luo to accompany her back to the Holy Mountain and the Hu Clan’s sacred land. But after seeing Chen Luo, her thoughts had changed. She too wanted to become like her senior brother - as pure and resolute as he was.

The Hu Clan’s destiny path relied on others.

Was that truly right?

Chen Luo saw her to the mountain’s edge, watching until Su Linlin’s figure disappeared before turning back. Though he didn’t know what decision she’d made, it was good that she’d found clarity.

Cultivation was always like this. Without a clear heart, how could one achieve the Dao?

Su Linlin flew onward, leaving Gu Demon Mountain behind. After some distance, she landed on a desolate mountain where someone had been waiting - Hu San Kong, whom Chen Luo had met during his visit to Hu Mountain.

“Where is he?”

Hu Sansong watched Su Linlin return alone and couldn’t help but ask, “Are you sure two of us are enough?”

Su Linlin’s expression hardened as she resolved to try another path. “That’s not what you said earlier.”

Glancing toward Gu Demon Mountain, Hu Sansong felt a pang of fear. “I’m afraid I can’t handle it alone. That Su Ling girl is vicious, and those God Mountain bitches…” As he spoke, his expression shifted, as if recalling some lewd memory, his smile turning perverted.

The old lecher was up to his usual tricks.

Fortunately, his stance remained firm - his dalliances with fox spirits were strictly business, with mutual consent.

“Let’s go.”

In the past, Su Linlin would have beaten him black and blue. But today, she merely glanced back before a mystical light rose beneath her feet, carrying her toward the demon realm.

This parting left no room for reunion.

Days later, Chen Luo finished organizing the mountain’s supplies and entered seclusion once more.

He had returned to the demonic cultivation realm specifically to digest the ‘Demonic Heart Power’ he had absorbed from Qiong Hua Sect. This energy was highly sensitive within the sect, but here it aligned perfectly with the local atmosphere. With the Blackstone Ancestor, a great demon, serving as a protective umbrella, all attention focused on him. This allowed Chen Luo to cultivate in secrecy, avoiding conflicts with the outside world - safety being his primary concern.

The cultivators of the demonic realm had grown accustomed to Gu Demon Mountain’s silence. Without conflicting interests, none would come to trouble him.

After guarding the Blood Pool’s secret chamber for three years, Chen Luo, like Mei Xuan and the others, had accumulated vast reserves of Demonic Heart Power. The portion directly absorbed had been refined into enhanced strength, while the remainder settled in his blood soul meridians, requiring time to assimilate. Particularly during his final clash with the Old Demon, though he failed to reach the brain, he had gained a substantial amount of Demonic Heart Power.

He took out a freshly refined Guiyuan Pill and swallowed it. As spiritual energy circulated, he mobilized Gu Demon Mountain’s second-rank spirit meridians and the accumulated energy within his body to accelerate his growth. The 96th spiritual energy dragon began taking shape.

While Chen Luo was digesting the Demonic Heart Power, Su Linlin and Hu Sansong returned to the Hu Clan’s sacred mountain.

Upon returning to the cave dwelling, Su Linlin once again met her ancestral guardian behind her.

“Ancestor, I’ve returned.”

Su Linlin knelt before the Three-Tailed Vixen, her posture respectful and demeanor sincere. Beside her, Hu Sansong stood like a startled quail, barely daring to breathe.

The Three-Tailed Vixen opened her eyes, gazing down at Su Linlin. There was no surprise in her gaze.

She seemed to have anticipated this outcome all along.

“Your decision?”

“Yes.”

Su Linlin lifted her head, her voice steady. Her mind flashed with images of her senior brother - Chen Luo, always clad in azure robes, sitting alone atop mountain peaks. He had always been solitary, his eyes fixed solely on the path of immortality.

Only decades had passed since their first meeting. For the Hu Clan, this span was fleeting. Yet Chen Luo’s progress felt like a mist - each encounter revealed his growth, his rapid advancement defying all reason.

Su Linlin feared that in another few decades, she might not even find the courage to speak to her senior brother.

“Bring the Unlucky One, and your chances of success increase by twenty percent.”

“Senior Brother abhors conflict. Born here, still bound by mortal ties - the Hu Clan’s struggles are no place for him.” Su Linlin’s resolve hardened. She might have followed her kin’s methods - deception first, truth later. But she refused that path.

She refused.

She recalled the first time she saw her senior brother, the unpredictable fluctuations of his destiny. Then there was the loneliness she’d witnessed on Gu Demon Mountain, where he’d sat alone at the peak.

Human hearts are complex, and so too are those of fox demons.

“Very well, do as you will. The journey to the Ancestral Land is perilous. Three Kong still falls short compared to those others.” As the Three-Tailed Vixen spoke, she cast a deliberate glance at Hu Sansong standing nearby.

Already hunched in a corner, Hu Sansong immediately flashed a sheepish grin upon noticing the gaze.

A flicker of disdain crossed the Three-Tailed Vixen’s eyes.

Still too foolish.

“In the end, the final struggle must be fought alone. When you return, do not let your cultivation slip.”

“This disciple understands.”

“The path to immortality is arduous. Cultivating the body, mind, and freedom - each step is a battle. Should you triumph in the Holy Maiden Competition, you may soar to the heavens and glimpse the immortal path. Defeat, however, likely means you’ll never return. Humans and demons follow different paths. Those without destiny can never match those blessed with great fortune.”

“I will not disappoint the Ancestor.”

“Go then.”

The Three-Tailed Vixen sighed, and a circle of formation array suddenly illuminated on the cave floor.

Spiritual energy distorted as it pulled at Su Linlin and Hu Sansong standing in the center. Like leaves caught in a whirlpool, they vanished into the swirling light. The formation’s glow gradually faded, leaving the cave in darkness.

Only the Three-Tailed Vixen’s voice remained, echoing faintly from the shadows.