Chapter 32: Immortal World Illiterate

Xu Chen secretly sized up Lin Qiu Ya and discovered she did not use a shabby waist pouch like his own; thus, her personal Magic Treasure, Spirit Medicine, and money were likely kept in a Storage Bag.

There were only five Storage Bags in the entire Taiyuan Sect; aside from the three Elders, only the Eldest Senior Brother and Second Senior Sister, who were at the mid-stage of the Zhenyuan Realm, possessed them. Even the Third Senior Brother, who was already at the early stage of the Zhenyuan Realm, did not have one, and those like the Fifth Senior Brother, Seventh Senior Sister, and Jiu Shixiong, who were in the Kaiyuan Realm, certainly did not have them either.

Yet, this female cultivator was only at the mid-stage of the Kaiyuan Realm and belonged to an unheard-of sect in the Eastern Wu Kingdom, yet she actually possessed a Storage Bag, which made her even more suspicious.

Therefore, the more they chatted and the more carefully he observed, the more Xu Chen grew suspicious of Lin Qiu Ya's identity.

"By the way, Daoist Friend Lin mentioned just now that my fox has an extraordinary background. Could you elaborate?"

Xu Chen secretly tucked the Soul Bead into his waist pouch, then placed Xiao Huli on the tea table and asked with a smile.

Lin Qiu Ya's eyes lit up. She lifted Xiao Huli with both hands and, with a face full of joy and tenderness, stroked it gently, saying, "If I am not mistaken, this should be a mutated Spirit Fox. It possesses a unique aura of a Spirit Beast. If raised well, it may have unexpected uses in the future."

Xu Chen asked in confusion, "Spirit Foxes are not rare, but what does 'mutated' mean?"

Lin Qiu Ya smiled and said, "Mutation is actually a form of advancement, but it is not a change in strength; it is a change in bloodline. We all know that any Demon Beast or Spirit Beast capable of advancing is, in fact, like a human—possessing a certain basic constitution that allows for advancement. In humans, it is called a Spirit Root, while in Spirit Beasts and Demon Beasts, it is called a bloodline."

This bloodline comes from ancient inheritance and can be traced back to the time when the world was first created and all things were first formed—to those gods, demons, and monsters that possessed the power to destroy the heavens and the earth. In reality, whether it is humans or the myriad beasts and birds, all have their own ancient inheritances, and their origins are those ancient gods, demons, and monsters. Therefore, whether it is human Spirit Roots or the bloodlines of Spirit Beasts and Demon Beasts, they can all form a traceable lineage.

This little fox currently does not have the abilities of a Spirit Beast, but it possesses the powerful bloodline aura of an ancient inheritance, which is completely different from ordinary Spirit Foxes and Demon Beasts. This bloodline will allow it to advance to a very powerful level in the future, and it may even possess unique special abilities. As long as Daoist Friend Xu cultivates and observes it carefully in the future, you will slowly discover these differences."

After saying this, Lin Qiu Ya looked at Xu Chen with some confusion and said, "These are just the most basic knowledge of identifying Spirit Beasts in the Immortal World. Could it be that Daoist Friend Xu is unaware of them?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Chen's heart pounded, and his face flushed red.

Lin Qiu Ya was right; he truly did not know.

Because after going up the mountain, he had been left there by his unreliable master to cultivate on his own, find his own food, and live a lonely life by himself. He was then assigned the job of collecting dung. Occasionally, he would hear his senior brothers and sisters talk about stories and anecdotes of the Immortal World, but the Taiyuan Sect did not have a systematic inheritance like a normal medium-sized Immortal Sect, let alone a Scripture Pavilion that every normal Immortal Sect possessed.

Because this Taiyuan Sect was not *that* Taiyuan Sect; it was not the glorious and magnificent great sect of the past, but one re-established three hundred years ago by a rogue cultivator who scavenged a Taiyuan Sect cultivation manual. Moreover, it had always been short-handed and lacked even a Scripture Pavilion, which every normal Immortal Sect had.

With cultivation manuals, Magic Spells, and Spirit Medicine being scarce on a daily basis, everyone in the Taiyuan Sect was struggling to find ways to improve their strength. When they could not even feed themselves, how could they have the heart to care for and raise Spirit Beasts?

Even if they encountered a Spirit Beast, they would usually either catch it to sell or eat it; in any case, they would not raise it.

Therefore, although the cultivation of the Taiyuan Sect disciples was not much weaker than their peers in other sects, their knowledge base was entirely dependent on self-accumulation, which made them appear lacking in knowledge.

And Xu Chen was not just simply lacking in cultivation knowledge; he was illiterate.

He had obtained this little white fox half a month ago, but he didn't even recognize it, despite Jiu Shixiong and Thirteenth Senior Sister teasing it every day, so he was even less able to see its peculiarities.

If not for meeting Lin Qiu Ya today, he would have continued to feed the little fox as an ordinary pet, not even treating it as a Spirit Beast.

Thinking of this, Xu Chen felt both ashamed and excited. He cupped his hands to Lin Qiu Ya and said, "Daoist Friend Lin is knowledgeable and experienced; I am full of admiration. When I first found this little white fox, it was nearly starved to death, but I did feel that its aura was indeed somewhat different, which is why I brought it back to raise. I just didn't know it was a mutated Spirit Beast with an ancient bloodline."

Lin Qiu Ya held the little fox to her chest and stroked it with great joy, saying, "Daoist Friend Xu need not be humble. In fact, it is already quite remarkable that you could discern its aura is different, because identifying Spirit Beasts is actually a profound field of study. Before I... knew this knowledge, I was just as ignorant. However, my Xuanqing Sect has many knowledge compendiums regarding the world's Spirit Plants and exotic beasts, and among them, there is specific content regarding the mutation of Spirit Foxes."

Xu Chen said happily, "Then I ask Daoist Friend Lin to explain in more detail; I would be most grateful."

Lin Qiu Ya thought for a moment, then lightly flipped her hand. In an instant, a white Jade Slip appeared in her slender, jade-like hand. She pressed it against her forehead for a moment, then smiled and handed it to Xu Chen, saying, "The knowledge compendiums regarding Spirit Foxes are all recorded in this Jade Slip. Daoist Friend Xu will know once you take a look."

Xu Chen hurriedly took it and probed the Jade Slip with his Divine Sense to test it. Finding no danger, he felt relieved and fully extended his Divine Sense into it. Sure enough, many illustrations and descriptions of Spirit Foxes appeared one after another like images.

These illustrations and descriptions were not systematic, but they listed more than a dozen varieties of Spirit Foxes, among which there were three types of Spirit Foxes with bloodline mutations.

One is the Red Fox, also called the Blood Fox, which is fierce and cruel. It inherits the Ancient Demon Bloodline. When grown to its peak, it is as strong as a True Immortal who has reached the Lian Shen Huan Xu stage, possessing the power to destroy stars.

The second is the White Fox, also called the Snow Fox, which has a gentle temperament and supreme wisdom. It inherits the Ancient Demon Bloodline. When grown to its peak, it is also as strong as a True Immortal who has reached the Lian Shen Huan Xu stage, capable of traversing the Void and walking through the Nine Heavens.

The third is the Black Fox, also called the Ghost Fox. Its inheritance is unknown, but because it lives in the netherworld, people of the world have never seen it; only those True Immortals who roam the Nine Heavens can occasionally encounter one.

The content was not much, but for Xu Chen, the impact was incomparable.

Although he was technically from a famous orthodox sect, it could only be considered a broken-down household among the Immortal Sects, and it was a facade barely propped up after being raided and wiped out. Its foundation was so barren it was beyond description.

The knowledge about Spirit Foxes that Lin Qiu Ya gave him filled the void of his illiterate ignorance, so he became somewhat engrossed in reading it for a moment.

Watching Xu Chen press the Jade Slip to his forehead and read carefully, with almost no defenses, a faint, imperceptible cold sneer appeared on Lin Qiu Ya's charming face.

She had already left her unique Soul mark inside this Jade Slip. As long as it remained on Xu Chen, he could be tracked even from a thousand miles away.

She did not expect that this little cultivator, whom Senior Brother Yuan Hua was wary of, would be conquered by her so easily.

Of course, she also did not expect that the moment she appeared, she had already been labeled with distrust by Xu Chen. The reason for such a lack of precaution was actually because she was too weak and vulnerable.

Furthermore, both of them knew that this was not the right time to make a move, as their goals were completely different.

Lin Qiu Ya wanted to accurately grasp the movements of Xu Chen and his two companions so she could seize the opportunity to snatch the Blood God Grass.

Meanwhile, Xu Chen and his two companions wanted to find the people from the Ziyang Sect and find a way to eliminate them.

After all, both sides had already fought a life-and-death battle, and the Ziyang Sect had also lost a powerhouse of the Zhenyuan Realm; this grudge was not small.

Perhaps only one in a hundred thousand mortals shows signs of a Spirit Root.

And among ten Kaiyuan Realm cultivators, at most one might be able to step into the Zhenyuan Realm. Those who can step into the Zhenyuan Realm are undoubtedly geniuses with excellent Spirit Roots and extremely powerful Spirit Roots, and most of them are concentrated in Immortal Sects with inheritances. Among folk families or rogue cultivators, almost one hundred percent stop at the Kaiyuan Realm. Being able to barely step into the entry level of the Kaiyuan Realm makes one a true immortal worshipped by all the people in the folk world. Those who can enter the late stage of the Kaiyuan Realm are absolutely rare, and even famous great sects have to give them some face.

Therefore, the Zhenyuan Realm is the absolute main force of the cultivation world, and none of them are unknown figures. Those in the Danyuan Realm are even more high and mighty; every one of them is famous and renowned for ten thousand miles. As for the Spirit Realm Great Cultivator, that is the heavens, which people of the world can only look up to and worship.

As for the True Immortals who have reached the Lian Shen Huan Xu stage, they have long since jumped out of the Three Realms, are not subject to the Five Elements, and have transcended this world to become another kind of existence, having nothing to do with this mortal world.

Therefore, the death of a Zhenyuan Realm cultivator from the Ziyang Sect would inevitably cause quite a stir among the Immortal Sects of the Song and Ming Kingdoms once the news spread.

Especially for the Ziyang Sect, the loss could be considered heavy.

What's more, it involved the entanglement of an heaven-defying immortal herb like the Blood God Grass, making it impossible for the two sects to just let it go.

After a full cup of tea's time, Xu Chen put down the Jade Slip and cupped his hands with an excited face, saying, "Many thanks, Daoist Friend Lin. These illustrations and knowledge have greatly broadened my horizons. I never imagined there were so many theories regarding the Spirit Fox bloodline."

Lin Qiu Ya nodded with a smile and said, "They are just some common knowledge of the Immortal World; they are not worth the word 'thanks'. As long as they are useful to Daoist Friend Xu, that is enough. Forgive me for asking, Daoist Friend Xu, but is this Spirit Fox for sale?"

Xu Chen was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and said, "I'm sorry, it's not for sale!"

Lin Qiu Ya was immediately somewhat disappointed. She stroked the little fox a few times, then handed it to Xu Chen and said, "I just arrived in Jingshi today and have not yet gone to the Imperial Palace to pay a visit. It is getting late, so I will go and present the birthday congratulatory invitation first, and come back tomorrow to drink tea and discuss the Dao with Daoist Friend Xu."

Xu Chen took the little fox and tucked it into his bosom, stood up, and said with a smile, "That is fine. I will see Daoist Friend Lin downstairs!"

Thus, the two went downstairs, but just as they were going down, they happened to run into Jiu Shixiong and Thirteenth Senior Sister Zhao Xuan, who were returning together.

Seeing Xu Chen coming down from upstairs with such a beautiful female cultivator, chatting and laughing, appearing extremely familiar and even intimate, the two were almost collectively petrified.

Xu Chen hurriedly introduced the two sides simply. After the three exchanged greetings and pleasantries, Lin Qiu Ya smiled beautifully and then gracefully took her leave.