Chapter 284: Initial Exploration of Fire Cloud Cave, Snow Fox Asks About True Intentions

As the fox spirit left the Immortal Du Sect, her beautiful eyes still held a hint of bewilderment.

Li Changshou watched the fox spirit's retreating figure, weighing the full extent of the incident's aftermath in his mind and considering what else he could do.

Karma, if not severed when it should be, inevitably leads to chaos. Should it resurface later, one's life could be forfeit.

Well, he should have severed the karmic ties with this fox spirit by now. Although his method was a bit extreme, it was certainly better than letting the situation escalate further.

The Qingqiu clan...

Li Changshou had actually read about this clan in ancient texts. They were somewhat renowned even in ancient times.

They were a relatively romantic branch of the demon race, avoiding conflict and competition, and dedicated solely to weaving romantic and touching love stories.

Indeed, it was said:Though many powerful beings exist in the Primordial World,Only the romantics leave their mark.

"The Qingqiu clan should have no connection with the three demons of Xuanyuan Tomb. With so many fox demons in the world, it's unlikely to be such a simple coincidence."

Li Changshou mused, pondering a question he had been considering.

Xuanyuan Tomb was a mausoleum erected by descendants using the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan's clothing and hat after he returned to Fire Cloud Cave. It was once occupied by demons during the Investiture of the Gods calamity.

According to the Investiture of the Gods story Li Changshou knew, when the great calamity began, Goddess Nüwa, feeling offended by King Dixin of Shang, summoned all demons with her Demon-Summoning Banner. She ultimately chose the three demons of Xuanyuan Tomb – the Nine-Tailed Fox Demon, the Pipa Spirit, and the Nine-Headed Pheasant Spirit – to distract Dixin and accelerate the collapse of the Shang dynasty.

The Nine-Tailed Fox Demon possessed Su Daji, the daughter of Marquis Su Hu of Jizhou, and with Dixin, wrote a classic 'imperial harem favorite' love story...

Ahem, they collaborated to wreak havoc on the Shang dynasty's many 'loyal ministers', leaving behind endless infamy for later generations!

"So, what was the name of that nine-tailed fox in the story?"

Li Changshou mused for a moment, then chuckled to himself.

It was pointless for him to dwell on these thoughts. Even if he found the Nine-Tailed Fox Demon in advance, he couldn't do anything, nor would he; this was ultimately unrelated to him.

Instead, he should consider how to interact with the human sages when he met them later at Fire Cloud Cave, and how to build rapport with these great figures, while also inquiring about the whereabouts of the Treasure-Falling Copper Coin.

Li Changshou's paper effigy stood at the mountain gate, watching the departing demons.

On Little Qiong Peak, the Immortals of the Immortal Du Sect had already dispersed.

It was anticipated that in the coming days, various disputes between Dao companions would arise within the sect.

To stabilize the sect's atmosphere, Li Changshou had already conveyed standardized answers to common questions to Jiu Wu, urging him to quickly disseminate them within a small circle of the sect.

For instance...

If married couples within the sect encountered questions like "Did you only get together with me back then because you were lonely from cultivating Dao?", they should use a standardized reply:

"My dear, during the time you and I were apart, it wasn't loneliness that made me miss you, but missing you that made me lonely."

Whether it would be effective, Li Changshou couldn't guarantee, but it was certainly better than fumbling for a response...

Inside the thatched hut, Jiang Lin'er did not expose 'Qi Yuan's' true identity. She debated with Jiu Wu, Jiu Shi, and Jiu Jiu for a while about the question of 'loneliness versus love.'

Finally, Jiang Lin'er, fearing Li Changshou would be exposed, volunteered to tell Qi Yuan to go back and reflect in solitude for a few hours, and then took the few Immortals with 'Jiu' in their names away from Little Qiong Peak.

Li Changshou opened the outer defensive array and sat on his meditation cushion, letting out a slight breath of relief.

Beside him, Ling'e pondered for a few moments, her pretty face etched with seriousness.

How could she see on her master the expression her senior brother often wore!

Li Changshou's immortal sense swept over the surroundings, and his spiritual perception carefully observed. He then reverted his paper effigy back to its paper form, and called out, "Help your elder brother put away this paper figurine."

Ling'e blinked, thought for a moment, and then understood what had just happened.

"Senior brother, you helped Master reject such a beautiful potential mistress! Will Master blame you for this?"

"That fox spirit seemed quite devoted just now!"

Li Changshou's voice emanated from the paper figurine: "Nonsense! How can you casually call her 'Master's mistress'? What immense karma that would be! Master hasn't even met her! Three hundred repetitions of the 'Stability Scripture'."

"Oh," Ling'e made a face, and quickly put away the paper figurine, tucking it into her sleeve pouch.

No sooner had she put the paper figurine away than Li Changshou's form flew back to Little Qiong Peak from the direction of the mountain gate.

Li Changshou landed on a cloud in front of Ling'e's thatched hut, settled into his personal armchair, and continued to ponder potential future issues.

This matter truly showed how human plans often fall short of heaven's will...

"Senior brother..."

Ling'e's small head leaned over from the side, her pretty face filled with seriousness, just a foot away from Li Changshou's face.

"Hmm?"

Ling'e's face flushed, but she said with utmost seriousness: "I'm not lonely at all! Three hundred repetitions of the 'Stability Scripture', making a total of six hundred, this junior sister will take on herself!"

Having said that, she smiled triumphantly and even gave her senior brother a slightly provocative look.

Li Changshou: ...

After three years without a 'tap' (on the head), she's truly gotten audacious!

Just then, Li Changshou retracted the immortal energy barrier around Master's thatched hut. The hut door was instantly pulled open, and a beautiful woman ran out, holding a horsetail whisk, and letting out a furious, aged scolding:

"You rebellious disciple! Get over here!"

Li Changshou quickly pointed a finger at his master and simultaneously activated the multiple isolation arrays added after Little Qiong Peak's renovation.

With a 'poof', the beautiful woman transformed into the aged Daoist Qi Yuan, fuming with rage, his beard trembling, and rushed towards Li Changshou, whisk held high.

Li Changshou pulled Ling'e, and expertly... hid behind his junior sister.

"Master, your disciple has already handled the situation!"

"Handled what?" Qi Yuan's eyes widened, and he scolded, "And 'don't mistake genuine feelings for loneliness'—where did you even learn such skewed reasoning!"

"Isn't it because Master taught so well?"

Li Changshou chuckled twice and quickly said, "Master, your disciple merely applied the right remedy to cut off her lingering thoughts."

Aged Daoist Qi Yuan angrily said, "If you made a mistake in this matter, just admit it. Can't you explain it clearly and offer an apology?"

"Master, this matter absolutely cannot be resolved with an apology. That would only complicate things further. Moreover, your disciple didn't do anything to her, so there's nothing to apologize for. She just overthought it herself... Master, please don't get angry, it harms your liver—ahem, it harms your Dao foundation, harms your Dao foundation."

"This old Daoist today!"

Qi Yuan raised his whisk to strike, but Li Changshou, using Ling'e as a pivot, dodged using the 'King Qin Circles the Pillar' method, making Ling'e giggle incessantly.

Suddenly, Li Changshou thought of Jiu Yushi and Xiong Lingli in the adjacent thatched hut. After a brief consideration, he decided to play along for his master's sake.

"Oh dear!"

Li Changshou's foot slipped, and he instantly fell face-first towards the door.

Aged Daoist Qi Yuan rushed forward with his whisk raised, striking fiercely at Li Changshou's backside—the same spot he'd been hitting since Li Changshou was a child—while lecturing him eloquently:

"Be upright and benevolent towards others! How have I, your master, taught you!"

Ling'e watched from the side, covering her mouth with a light chuckle. From her observation, her senior brother was still a paper effigy, so she naturally felt no heartache.

However, she then thought of Junior Uncle Yushi, who had come to the lake with her, and suddenly understood something.

She cleared her throat and rushed forward in two steps, spreading her arms to face Aged Daoist Qi Yuan.

"Master, if you want to hit someone, hit me!"

Qi Yuan's raised whisk instantly froze, hovering for a moment, and he could only let out a soft sigh.

"Alas! So be it! Changshou, remember this: no matter how great your abilities, never be arrogant; no matter how powerful your divine abilities, never be conceited! Demons are also not inherently benevolent; do not get too entangled with them!"

Li Changshou, lying on the ground, clasped his hands firmly above his head and said, "Your disciple will respectfully obey Master's teachings!"

Ling'e quickly said, "Your disciple thanks Master for the grace of not striking!"

"This master is going into seclusion for cultivation."

Aged Daoist Qi Yuan shook his head and, holding his whisk, floated back to his own thatched hut, leaving behind only a back view full of vicissitudes and untold stories.

At the window sill of the adjacent thatched hut, two heads that had poked out to observe meekly pulled back in.

"Senior Sister Xiong, Senior Brother Qi Yuan is so fierce..."

"Yushi, that's our Little Qiong Peak Master! And that's not fierce, that's dignified."

"Hmm, I feel like Senior Brother Qi Yuan is a very good person."

Hearing this, Ling'e, who had just helped her senior brother stand up, exchanged a glance with him; the senior brother raised an eyebrow, the junior sister blinked, everything unspoken.

"Senior brother, do you want me to apply some medicine for you?"

"No need, it won't be absorbed anyway. Ahem, your elder brother is going back to the alchemy room for seclusion."

Li Changshou sighed lightly, conjured a white cloud, and unceremoniously flopped onto it, floating back to the alchemy room.

Having resolved this somewhat vexing matter, Li Changshou briefly composed his thoughts, halted the activities of all his paper effigies, and returned his consciousness to the Sea God paper effigy hidden underground.

He would still need to prepare a thank-you gift later, to send to his old friend, the Matchmaker.

In the future, he should avoid causing trouble using his master's image. It would be safer to use fictional characters as much as possible.

Using Earth Escape, he emerged from underground. Li Changshou, with his consciousness controlling the paper effigy disguised as the Sea God, continued his journey towards Fire Cloud Cave.

Fire Cloud Cave was hidden somewhere in Central Divine Continent, not openly visible to people, much like the Three Immortal Islands.

Even though it was known that the Three Immortal Islands were within a mist over a certain sea, without a method to enter them, no trace could be found.

When Li Changshou first wanted to find Fire Cloud Cave, a quick divination told him that this place was beyond his meager divination abilities to locate.

But now, backed by the Heavenly Court, finding the whereabouts of Fire Cloud Cave was no longer a difficult task.

He traveled by cloud, traversing thousands of mountains and ten thousands of rivers.

After traveling for half a day, a vast marsh stretching a thousand miles appeared before him.

Li Changshou flew directly towards the sky above the great marsh, then turned back in mid-air, descending towards the marsh. Just before his figure touched the water's surface, his immortal sense spotted a wisp of smoke gathering in mid-air.

He stopped his descent and steered his cloud towards this wisp of smoke...

This was the specific method recorded by the Heavenly Court for finding Fire Cloud Cave.

When Li Changshou reached the cloud of smoke, he felt faint strands of profound Dao charm ahead. He heard strains of string music, as if an unknown paradise lay before him.

Within the smoke, there seemed to be an invisible gateway, forcing Li Changshou to halt.

Li Changshou declared loudly: "Heavenly Court envoy, by the decree of His Majesty the Jade Emperor, I have come to pay respects to the sages of our human race."

As his words fell, he heard a soft chuckle in his mind. Before him, a Bagua plate appeared out of thin air. Its eight rings gently rotated, and the carved trigrams pulsed with faint light.

"Solve to enter."

Li Changshou performed a Daoist bow. His left hand conjured a water-fire Taiji, and he slowly pushed the Taiji diagram forward, placing it in the center of the Bagua plate.

Then, yin and yang flowed, the Bagua plate began to gently flicker with light, and another message appeared in Li Changshou's mind:

"Humanity Daoist disciple, may enter."

The invisible gateway instantly vanished, and a mountain cave appeared before him.

The cave was extremely deep, but its interior was brightly lit.

Li Changshou performed another Daoist bow, carrying the generous gifts prepared by Duke Dongmu from the Heavenly Court treasury, and stepped into the cave entrance.

His mind remained vigilant, always ready to self-destruct his effigy at any moment.

After walking sixty-four steps, the view suddenly opened up before him.

Before him was another vast marsh, which seemed to be the same body of water he had just seen, or perhaps a mirror image of it.

Above the marsh, there were clearly two major areas, left and right. On the left side, seven immortal mountains floated, each with distinct scenery, mostly tranquil.

The right side, however, was a continuous expanse of connected mountains, filled with palaces and buildings everywhere, from which wafted bursts of women's laughter and the sounds of zithers and flutes...

Clearly, the left side was the relatively normal dwelling place for the human sages, while the right side was the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan's family area.

Although Suiren, who led humanity's struggle and preserved its flame, along with Fuxi and Shennong, formed the Three Sovereigns and had accumulated more merit, the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan was clearly the ultimate winner among the 'retired Human Emperors'!

Were all three thousand members of his imperial harem brought into Fire Cloud Cave? Living in harmony, with endless laughter and joy, forming one big, happy family where everyone could enjoy eternal life and carefree existence?

This was simply too impressive.

Li Changshou marveled inwardly, not daring to presumptuously discuss the sages. He carried his gifts and looked around, unsure which peak to visit first.

Just then, Li Changshou spotted a small flat-bottomed boat in a corner of the vast marsh. His eyes lit up, and he flew over on a cloud.

From afar, he could see a burly man in a straw cape fishing on the boat. But as he drew closer, he heard the burly man softly... sobbing?

"Senior, senior?"

Li Changshou called out from a distance. The burly man fishing quickly wiped his face, turned and looked over, revealing a dignified, square-shaped face that showed signs of distress.

"Who are you? What are you doing? How did you get in? What's with all the noise? This is Fire Cloud Cave!"

Li Changshou listened to the burly man's deep voice, which carried an accent from a certain region of the Southern Continent, and was momentarily speechless.

***

"Was I really just lonely?"

On that large wooden ship, inside a quiet room, the fox spirit, her expression somewhat bewildered, lay prostrate on the bed. Six snowy white fox tails emerged behind her, gently swaying.

She was reminiscing, and also pondering.

No, it shouldn't just be loneliness!

The fox spirit propped herself up with her fair, jade-like arms, her expression inexplicably agitated.

She raised a hand and beckoned towards a nearby desk, summoning writing brush, ink, and a piece of cloth into the air. She spread it on the bed and began to write and draw with her brush.

"My Qingqiu clan cultivates Dao through emotion. Could it be that so many elders and seniors in our clan were all motivated by loneliness? No, perhaps I was stirred by loneliness, but at this moment, you are truly in my heart. Daoist Qi Yuan..."

Her thoughts raced, her delicate fingers moved, and a scene appeared on the cloth.

Within the dim dungeon, an old Daoist's figure stood quietly, gazing at the snowy white fox demoness inside.

The fox spirit wrote the characters 'Qi Yuan' on one side with her brush, then, as if all her strength had left her, she slowly lay prostrate beside the painting, protecting it with her demonic power, her delicate fingers gently touching it.

After half an hour, the fox spirit slowly sat up, crossing her legs to meditate. The painting floated before her, gently swaying, the figures within it seeming to come alive.

A wisp of Dao charm appeared around the fox spirit's body. She murmured softly:

"I still don't truly understand why I fell for you. Perhaps it was the backlash from my charm spell, or perhaps it was that unintentional gentleness you showed me. But I will go and understand my true heart and intentions. If the answer lies within the Dao, I will seek it there. You were right; if I can't even understand my own feelings, then I cannot refute your claim that it was 'just loneliness.' I, Xinlan of Qingqiu, would not be worthy of cultivating the Dao of Emotion any longer. But Daoist, you were mistaken... Emotion is not loneliness; emotion is true feeling."

As she murmured, the Dao charm around her continuously surged upwards. A blurry ethereal figure appeared behind her, which looked up at the void, as if questioning something.

Gradually, after an unknown period of time, this Dao charm filled the room and alarmed her clan members.

A seventh snowy white fox tail quietly materialized behind her...

"Daoist Qi Yuan, I will surely seek you out again."