Chapter 324: The Little Fox's Past

When Lin Yifan was watching Ling Ling with puzzlement, Su Xiao xi, standing nearby, asked curiously:

"Ling Ling, you just said that your Moonshadow Fox Clan is the smartest right after birth and grows dumber over time, yet you're already five years old now, and I think you're still very smart, aren't you?"

"Could you have some mysterious bloodline that makes you look like a fox on the surface but actually a divine beast?"

"I don't know why either," Ling Ling said, scratching her little belly with a paw, the tiny fox's face showing a bewildered expression.

After a moment, she suddenly brightened, saying eagerly:

"I remember! Not long after I was born, our family was spotted by a big tiger. At that time, my mother had just given birth to me and my sisters, her body was very weak, and she was no match for the tiger."

"So it could only lead us to flee secretly, but the tiger discovered us. In panic, my mother hid us in a pit, and we stayed there for a very long time."

"But the pit had no food, so my mother had to go out to find food to feed us sisters, and one day, after going out, she never returned."

"My sisters and I were still young, the opening was high, we couldn't get out, and eventually my sisters starved to death, leaving only me, who was also on the brink of death."

"Perhaps driven by survival, I found in that cave the beautiful stones that were given to brother Yifan earlier, and starving, I ate those beautiful stones."

"Each time I ate, I would fall into a deep sleep, but when I woke up I wasn't hungry, so whenever I felt hunger I would dig for stones to eat, eat, sleep, wake, and dig again, and thus I grew up slowly."

"Eating spirit crystals to fill the belly?" Lin Yifan involuntarily inhaled a cold breath, his face full of disbelief as he stared at the little fox before him.

Spirit crystals are indeed valuable; not only are they circulating currency in the Intermediate Domain and Advanced Domain, they can also be used in various tools, belonging to the class of precious energy resources.

They are like petroleum on Earth Star, the most important resource for Humans.

But Lin Yifan had never heard of that thing being edible.

Even Mao Mao, although it swallows spirit essence into its belly, has an independent space inside its stomach, similar to a personal pocket dimension.

What it swallows is actually stored in that space, not truly entering the stomach for digestion.

After Mao Mao hides the spirit essence in that space, it can slowly absorb it for cultivation.

Being able to use spirit crystals for cultivation already makes Mao Mao unique, and Lin Yifan could not be surprised to find now a fierce beast that can swallow spirit crystals whole.

"So those beautiful stones are called spirit crystals! What a pleasant name," Ling Ling realized, then said:

"I indeed grew up eating spirit essence, but I find spirit crystals not that hard to eat; once in the mouth they taste like candy, with an indescribable sweet fragrance, basically quite tasty."

"Spirit crystals… quite tasty…" Lin Yifan at a loss for words.

However, he is now 100% sure that Ling Ling either mutated or experienced atavism.

Otherwise, an ordinary beast, especially a weak cub, could never survive by swallowing spirit crystals whole.

At that moment, Ling Ling suddenly lifted her head and said to Lin Yifan:

"By the way, brother Yifan, I noticed you seem to like spirit crystals. How about when we go look for the white cocoon later, we also visit that mountain cave I mentioned? That cave has a lot of spirit crystals."

Lin Yifan heard this and couldn't help but feel excited.

In fact, he now understood that the cave Ling Ling mentioned was likely a spirit crystal vein.

Earlier he had heard Aerilia say that spirit crystal stones, like other ores, are mined from spirit essence veins.

As long as one finds a spirit crystal mine, one will have endless spirit crystals.

Of course, no one knows how spirit crystal mines form, and the veins are extremely rare.

Whenever a spirit crystal vein appears, it becomes a target for all races to seize, leading to devastation and bloodshed everywhere; such is commonplace.

Precisely because of that, each spirit crystal is extremely precious, even the ones Lin Yifan currently holds were hard-won.

Whether the portion given as a reward or the portion taken from those Yi people, both required great effort.

After learning of the rarity and value of spirit crystal stones, he has been trying to stockpile more, so that after leaving the Primary Prison he will have some confidence.

He didn't expect that when drowsiness came, someone would give a pillow; if the cave Ling Ling mentioned truly is a temporary vein, he'll strike it rich!

So he didn't refuse, but he also didn't agree immediately; instead he asked tentatively:

"Ling Ling, you're so clever you should realize spirit crystal stones are valuable; if the cave you mentioned truly has a spirit crystal vein, that's a huge fortune. Are you really willing to take me there and share it with us? Are you sure you won't regret it later?"

Although this little fox has so far shown a very kind attitude and seems pure.

But a five‑year‑old fox could never be that simple, so Lin Yifan couldn't help but think more.

Ling Ling tilted her little head, her fiery red tail gently sweeping the ground, her eyes clear without a speck of impurity: "Regret? Why would I regret?"

"The cave really has countless such stones; I alone couldn't eat them all nor use them all. They pile there, and they can't lay eggs to produce little stones."

She gestured with a small paw, her tone tinged with naive confusion,

"And brother Yifan and sister Su Xiao xi are so kind to me, giving me good food and helping me find Mao Mao. I only told you the secret of that cave, okay."

She paused, and a trace of loneliness appeared on the fox's face:

"That place… was actually where my mother, sisters, and I were together at the end… it's sad, but there are many spirit crystals."

"Rather than leaving them buried there, it's better to bring brother Yifan to dig them out and use them. If mother knew I could use those stones and had made a truly good friend, she would be happy, wouldn't she?"

Its voice gradually lowered, yet the pure intention to share remained crystal clear.

Lin Yifan looked at the little fox's eyes, pure and free of any thought, and the last doubts in his heart dissipated like thin mist under sunlight.

It wasn't weighing pros and cons or testing hearts; it simply wanted to share the good and abundant things it had with those who were kind to it.