Chapter 308: Choice (Part 1)

By the time Li Brother Yuanping arrived, the entire alley had been sealed off. Both ends were empty, and there was not a soul on the street. Two rows of clan soldiers were lined up in a row.

Qi Refining monsters possessed demonic Qi. Ordinary flesh and blood would fall ill if touched, and die if serious, so no townspeople lingered.

The fox was sitting cross-legged on the side of the street at a wonton stall, waiting eagerly. This was originally a wonton stall, but the stall owner had long since fled for his life, leaving a mess behind.

Chen Donghe stood beside the fox, silently gripping his sword, guarding with a solemn face. He now had the cultivation of the fourth level of Qi Refining and was among the top few in the family.

An Jieyan sat opposite the fox, brazenly holding a bowl of wontons and smacking his lips. He was nearly a hundred years old but still loved these cravings, eating until his mouth was oily and fragrant, causing the fox to swallow its saliva repeatedly.

"Brother Yuanping greets the senior!"

Li Brother Yuanping identified it; this fox was indeed not much different from the rumors. He hurriedly stepped forward to bow, and the fox squeaked, shouting:

"Where is Li Li Tongya!"

Seeing Li Brother Yuanping arrive, An Jieyan dropped his bowl and stood up, and Chen Donghe also nodded in acknowledgment, saying in unison:

"Young Master!"

Li Brother Yuanping responded and said respectfully to the fox:

"Senior, the Old Ancestor is currently cultivating in the cave dwelling. Please, Senior, come up the mountain to speak!"

The fox's muzzle twitched, its long, narrow eyes scanning the surroundings, looking at the pale golden great array on Mount Lijing Mountain, hesitating to speak, and said in a muffled voice:

"Let's get this straight first... I am a close friend of your Old Ancestor, and I even have my name recorded in the demon cave. If you trick me into the array and kill me, Great Lishan will not let this rest!"

"Senior, what are you saying?"

Li Brother Yuanping apologized with a smile, waving his hand to disperse the clan soldiers and An Jieyan and the others who had followed. He led the fox for a while, passing through the golden barrier and entering the mountains. The fox said in a sullen mood:

"Is the injury so serious... that you can't even come down the mountain to show your face."

Li Brother Yuanping knew that fifty percent of the news about the Old Ancestor Li Li Tongya came from the fox. This fox likely knew the secrets involved, so he only smiled bitterly in his heart, secretly thinking:

"After all, it is a fox spirit; it must be cunning and good at calculating."

He only replied:

"Please wait a moment, Senior. You will know once you see him in person. Brother Yuanping only saw the Old Ancestor once a few months ago when I sent medicine for healing and nourishing the foundation up the mountain. I don't know how he is now."

The mountain path wound, and after walking for a while, the Mount Meichi Mountain cave dwelling appeared before them. Li Brother Yuanping looked at the tightly closed stone door, hesitated for a moment, stopped, and said respectfully:

"Please wait a moment, Senior... My elder brother will arrive immediately; let him open this cave dwelling."

Although this Bai Rong fox was a close friend of Li Li Tongya for many years, it was ultimately a demon. Li Brother Yuanping still couldn't set his mind at ease. Li Li Tongya was now seriously injured; if this demon harbored evil intentions, there was truly no way to restrain it.

Li Li Yuanjiao was at the middle stage of Qi Refining and had Foundation Establishment talismans on his person. Li Brother Yuanping still wanted his elder brother Li Li Yuanjiao to escort them in. The fox nodded ignorantly, but only heard a harsh grating sound, and the stone door in front of them creaked open.

"Let it in."

Li Li Tongya's voice was hoarse. Li Brother Yuanping had no choice but to nod, making a gesture of invitation. The fox did not suspect anything and hurried into the cave dwelling.

The cave dwelling was filled with abundant spiritual energy, and the magic lamps lit on the walls emitted a white, glowing light. Li Li Tongya sat cross-legged on the stone bed in the cave, looking at it with a smile.

On the stone table in front of him were piled various spiritual objects and elixirs, emitting a faint glow, most of which had not been touched and were placed on the table as they were.

"Li Li Tongya!"

The fox squeaked, seeing Li Li Tongya with a head full of white hair, his complexion withered, his eyes looking at it gently. The fox was shocked, darted up in a few steps, grabbed his hand to probe, twitched its nose, and shouted:

"This... this..."

Li Li Tongya laughed and replied:

"Thanks to you for gathering information, I was able to save my life in the hands of that Wrathful Maha!"

"You are laughing, damn you."

The fox didn't know where it learned such words, cursed with a foul face, and squeaked:

"Your path of cultivation is broken."

"Not only that."

Li Li Tongya lifted his sleeve, revealing the arm underneath. Only then did he see that the arm was covered in cracks, with drops of pale blue water seeping out. He dipped his finger in this water and said gently:

"My cultivation base has regressed."

Pointing to the spiritual objects on the stone table, Li Li Tongya shook his head helplessly and said:

"I originally told them not to send these things over. The juniors truly have a sincere heart, but it's a pity that most of them are of no use; it's just a waste."

The fox swallowed its saliva silently and squeaked:

"If you ask me... this is easy to handle! This is a sign of your five viscera being shattered and your five energies being out of balance. I have a magic art that can harvest human hearts, spleens, stomachs, lungs, and livers to replace those in your chest and abdomen. Then, let your disciples and grandchildren harvest energy for you for a few months, supplementing your five viscera and six bowels one by one. In less than three years, you will be as good as new!"

The fox became more excited as it spoke, squeaking and shouting. It danced with joy and said:

"As for your broken path of cultivation, we can go find a horned dragon, feed it with 6,600 people, build a blood pool, and every three years, we can continue it..."

Only then did the fox stop as if waking from a dream. Li Li Tongya shook his head and replied:

"This art of yours to replace hearts, spleens, stomachs, lungs, and livers likely uses living people, right? As for harvesting the energy of the five viscera and six bowels, it also uses blood sacrifice... and this art to continue the path of cultivation is even more of an evil art."

He raised an eyebrow and smiled:

"I, Li Li Tongya, come from a farming background and was originally a person of lowly life. Although I have killed many people in this life, most of them were evil people and cultivators, or I only killed when it truly concerned my life and family. I have never had the thought of slaughtering commoners... what I seek is merely to survive."

"This is the clan rule left by my father... and it is also my family's bottom line."

Li Li Tongya spat out the words "bottom line," and suddenly recalled that bright, glowing mirror in his mind. He paused and continued:

"My Li family are not good people, but we also have no use for these immortal magic arts... forget it."

"You!"

The fox was stunned for a moment and said aggrievedly:

"It's just eating people! Isn't that how it has always been! If you don't eat, there are plenty of others who will!"

Seeing Li Li Tongya remain silent, the fox became furious, stood up from the stone bed, bared its teeth, and shouted:

"Stubborn and unchangeable! You don't recognize a good demon's heart!"

No matter what the fox said, Li Li Tongya just sat at the head, looking at it with a smile. The fox babbled for a long time, then wailed and cried, cursing:

"I still have over a hundred years of life, how am I supposed to get through this!"

The fox wallowed in self-pity for a long time before stopping. It opened its mouth, and its blood-red maw opened like a large basin, spitting out a fruit that was as smooth as a jade bead, emitting a cool, refreshing light.

The fox poked it twice with its claws before shouting:

"This is my precious fruit, called the Huashang Fruit. Among you cultivators, it can be considered a precious medicine. It can help increase magic power and vitality. If you put it in your abdomen, you might be able to live for a few more years and make a few more moves."

Li Li Tongya was shocked, but didn't know how to refuse. The fox had already closed its ears, flicked its tail, jumped off the bed, and cursed:

"This is a huge loss... we agreed to save our own lives, but you are good; you're going to kick the bucket in a few years."

Without listening to Li Li Tongya, the Bai Rong fox leaped and jumped out of the cave dwelling.

Li Li Tongya was left in the cave dwelling, silent and speechless, looking at the Huashang Fruit in his palm that emitted a white glow like a night-luminescent pearl. All his emotions turned into a single sigh.

(End of chapter)