Chapter 2: The Fox Spirit

For thousands of years, the path of immortality has flourished without decline. Various sects and schools dedicated to cultivation and the pursuit of eternal life have emerged in countless numbers, like fish crossing a river.

Over the long years, the sands of time have sifted through, and after thousands of years of evolution, the cultivation world has gradually formed into three major schools: Daoism, Demonism, and Buddhism.

The Cangyun Sect is an ancient Daoist cultivation sect, located in the Cangyun Mountains of the Divine Continent.

At the back of the mountain behind the main hall of the Cangyun Sect on the Wheel Peak, there is a valley shrouded in mist year-round, rich in spiritual energy, and home to various beasts, spirits, and demons.

One day, in this valley, a young girl in white, about ten years old, was playing by a small waterfall. The girl had a delicate and fair complexion, but strangely, she had three fluffy tails behind her.

A three-tailed fox spirit!

Suddenly, the little fox spirit noticed a group of gray monkeys chattering together, which made her angry.

"Stinky monkeys, what are you talking about!"

The little fox spirit, dragging her three snow-white tails, walked over and loudly demanded an answer.

The gray monkeys, seemingly afraid of the little fox spirit, immediately stopped their chattering and pointed to a large rock beside the waterfall with their monkey hands.

On the rock was a blood-red skull flag, and on the flag was a baby in swaddling clothes, blinking its big eyes curiously at the world.

The little fox spirit made a sound and, with one hand, threw all the gray monkeys surrounding the baby to the side. Then she walked up to the baby and stared at it with her big, watery eyes.

She examined the baby in the swaddling clothes from head to toe, as if she had never seen such a thing before. The little fox spirit then poked the baby's chubby cheek with her fair hand, but she poked too hard, and the baby started to cry.

The little fox spirit and the surrounding gray monkeys were startled and scattered, thinking the baby's cries were dangerous.

The little fox spirit, standing far away, saw the baby crying incessantly and suddenly remembered something. She screamed, "This is a human baby!"

She picked up the baby and ran to the east side of the valley, with the group of gray monkeys following behind. Two of the gray monkeys, who seemed quite clever, also carried the skull flag from the rock.

On the east side of the valley stood a towering ancient tree, its age unknown, estimated to be several thousand years old. It would take dozens of people to encircle it, and its branches and leaves were lush, reaching hundreds of feet high, like a small mountain.

The little fox spirit, carrying the baby, jumped up onto the ancient tree, and the group of monkeys also climbed up the trunk, as if this ancient tree was their home.

"Mother! Monkey King! Come and see what I found..."

The little fox spirit, carrying the baby, ran into a tree hollow dozens of feet above the ground, shouting as she entered.

However, she stopped mid-sentence when she saw the inside of the tree hollow.

The tree hollow was large, like a room in human society, with wooden tables, chairs, and beds. On the wooden walls around the hollow, green vines grew, bearing many fist-sized white fruits that emitted a gentle white light, illuminating the originally dark hollow as bright as daylight.

Inside the tree hollow were a man, a woman, and a monkey.

The man was quite old, with a face full of wrinkles, wearing a tattered blue Daoist robe, disheveled hair, and a large red wine gourd hanging from his waist, looking rather unkempt.

The woman, however, was very young, looking no more than thirty, with a tall and slender figure, beautiful features, and especially her eyes, which were gentle like water but also had a hint of coquetry. She wore a white silk dress, looking ethereal and truly a stunning beauty.

As for the monkey, it was quite unusual, different from the gray monkeys outside. This monkey was larger, with white fur, and must have been quite old.

The little fox spirit, carrying the baby, burst into the tree hollow and stopped mid-sentence, staring in surprise at the extremely unkempt old Daoist, as if she had never seen him before.

The unkempt old Daoist glanced at the little fox spirit and chuckled, revealing a mouth full of yellow teeth.

He said, "Three-tailed fox spirit, you must have three hundred years of cultivation. However, your powers are still not strong enough. Although you can transform into a human form, you cannot yet fully hide your three white tails."

The little fox spirit pouted, glancing at her three fluffy white tails, and said, "Who are you, old Daoist? You know quite a lot."

The gentle woman scolded, "Xiao Chi, don't be impolite. What are you holding?"

Xiao Chi, the little fox spirit, ignored the unkempt old Daoist and said happily, "Mother, I found a human baby in the valley..."

The gentle woman and the unkempt old Daoist were both slightly taken aback.

The gentle woman took the baby from Xiao Chi and placed it on the wooden table in front of her, examining it carefully. She was immediately surprised, "It really is a human baby. Where did you find it? Perhaps his parents are nearby; you should return him to them quickly."

Xiao Chi said, "It was by the waterfall. There was no one around. I don't know who left him there."

The gentle woman and the unkempt old Daoist were both shocked again.

The unkempt old Daoist said, "This is the back of the Wheel Peak. Ordinary people cannot come here. How could a baby appear here?"

Xiao Chi shrugged and said, "I don't know either."

At this moment, the baby started crying again.

The gentle woman, seeing this, said to the white-haired old monkey, "Monkey King, the baby seems very hungry. Find a mother monkey who has just given birth and get some monkey milk."

The white-haired old monkey, though unable to speak, had lived for many years and was already very intelligent. He nodded and left the tree hollow.

When the gentle woman held the baby, she noticed that the swaddling clothes were wet, realizing the baby had urinated. She then undid the swaddling clothes.

After undoing the swaddling clothes, the gentle woman frowned, "It's a boy. Which parents could be so heartless to leave a few-month-old child in this valley?"

The unkempt old Daoist said, "Check if there is anything on him that can identify his parents. If you can find them, return him as soon as possible."

The gentle woman thoroughly searched the swaddling clothes but found no papers or letters. However, she did find a crescent-shaped green ancient jade hanging around the baby's neck. The jade had no inscriptions or patterns, making it impossible to determine the baby's background.

Suddenly, the gentle woman reached out and carefully examined the jade.

She said, "This jade seems familiar."

The unkempt old Daoist was surprised, "Do you recognize it?"

The gentle woman nodded, "I should recognize it. However, I have lived for thousands of years and have rarely been in the human world for the past three hundred years. I have forgotten most things. Where have I seen it... Ah, I remember now."

Suddenly, the gentle woman's face changed dramatically, and she dropped the jade as if it were a plague, avoiding it like the plague.

Xiao Chi bent down to pick it up and said happily, "This is mine now."

The gentle woman called out, "Don't touch it."

Xiao Chi insisted, "Mother, I like this jade."

The unkempt old Daoist frowned, "Senior, what's wrong? What is the origin of this jade?"

The gentle woman paused, her tone becoming somber, "If I'm not mistaken, this jade is the Longevity Jade, a magical treasure of the Ghost King Ye Cha, who unified the Demon Sect eight hundred years ago. I met the Ghost King Ye Cha a few times in the past and saw the Longevity Jade. It's definitely the Longevity Jade!"