Chapter 181: The Fox King's Tomb (First Update)

Entering from the mouth, it was initially very narrow, only wide enough for one person to pass.

After walking a few dozen more steps, it suddenly opened up.

……

Holding Huji as he moved through the secret passage, Ren Yidao reached another area shortly after passing through a narrow corridor.

"Whoa."

Raising his head, Ren Yidao looked toward the ceiling, where many fluorescent, shimmering gems were embedded, casting rays of light down upon this place.

Beneath Zizhushan, there was actually a crystal cave in the valley, with a large number of columnar amethysts growing inside.

Moreover, judging by the Spirit Qi radiating from those crystals, they were the rare kind that could be used directly as Spirit Stone after only rough processing.

Judging by the scale before his eyes, if one could absorb the Spirit Qi from these crystals completely, Huji's strength would definitely be more than just a mere entry-level Dharma Aspect.

It would be a Great Demon of Spirit Transformation, or even Spirit Transformation Late-stage!

However, this raised a question.

Occupying such a massive amethyst vein, why did Huji only have the strength of an early Earth Realm?

"……Hm?"

On a crystal somewhere, Ren Yidao saw a few traces of gnawing.

It looked as if it had been bitten by some small animal.

Lowering his head to look at Huji's eyes, Ren Yidao shook his head, then nodded silently.

"I understand now."

Huji:?

This little fox is about the same as a college student.

Has some knowledge in its brain, but not much, and usually can't even use it……

Sitting on a treasure mountain without knowing it.

It is like that, too.

Even if this thing is truly useful, one must know how to use it.

It's just like how, for a primitive person, the only use for gold is that it looks good.

But if you hand it to a modern person, not only can it be used in the development and use of various technologies, it can even be used as a financial product…… *cough*!

In short, for people at different levels, the same thing carries very different meanings.

Or rather, if you possess wealth that does not belong to your level of intelligence, it will eventually leave you in some other way.

Very sad, but very realistic.

For Huji, the way to use the amethysts here is just to gnaw on them raw.

How terrifying it is to be uncultured!

Huji:?

Why are you looking at me with such pity?

I keep feeling like I've been looked down upon by this guy; is it my imagination?

Carrying the fox as he strolled through the mineral vein, following his intuition, Ren Yidao walked toward the center where the Spirit Qi was densest.

The underground of Zizhushan was much larger than Ren Yidao had imagined, perhaps three or four times larger than the surface.

And as he got closer to the center, his expression gradually became strange.

"This feeling, it seems like……"

He felt the aura in the air begin to change, circulating in an orderly pattern.

This place did not seem to be born naturally!

But just before he took another step, he suddenly felt a slight pain in his palm.

"Hm?"

Looking down at Huji, Ren Yidao didn't know why it had to bite him at this moment.

What are you doing?

I'm just taking a stroll under your house, is there any need to be so excited?

It doesn't have your name written on it.

Even if it did have your name, didn't you change your name anyway?

The property deed isn't yours anymore.

"You can't go any further! You'll die!"

Huji didn't know what kind of wicked thoughts were in Ren Yidao's mind; it just looked at the front with fear.

Although it looked calm and peaceful, in its eyes, that scene was already filled with danger.

Like a bloody mouth ready to swallow a person whole!

"There is a secret hidden there, no one can pass, if you go any further, you will only die!"

Hearing these words, Ren Yidao raised an eyebrow.

Oh?

Ren Yidao had no reason not to listen to the advice of a local native who was familiar with the situation.

Standing still, Ren Yidao narrowed his eyes and looked carefully ahead.

Soon, he found the details he had subconsciously ignored before.

On the ground ahead, there were some tiny things that were not natural.

Bones.

Not the bones of the Human Race, but the much more slender bones of animals.

It is fox bone.

That pile of incomplete bones scattered at various distances, near and far, are all fox bones.

The difference between them lies in how much remains.

Some have smooth cross-sections, while others look as if they were roasted by fire, or even struck by lightning; one cannot know what kind of torture they suffered before death.

"Are these your ancestors?"

After a moment of silence, Huji still honestly admitted it.

"... Yes, they are my ancestors."

If she were not being held in his arms, Huji would very much want him to walk straight in there and then die a miserable death just like her ancestors.

But now she cannot break free and is forced to be tied to the same boat as him.

"The successive Fox Kings of Zizhushan have always wanted to explore the secrets here, but trapped by the Danger Star here, they were unable to advance at all."

"So, they came up with a crazy method... using their own lives to experiment."

With a look of pain in her eyes, Huji slowly opened her mouth.

"The final mission of every Fox King before death is to come here, to take a new step on the path of their predecessors, until they themselves also die."

Falling one after another for a single goal.

Huji felt regret for those Fox Kings, but what made her even sadder was another matter.

"So, you have already walked one-third of the way?"

"No, I do not know the route."

"Hmm?"

Shrinking her body, Huji spoke in a low voice:

"The previous Fox King ended this crazy challenge; she did not want her descendants to continue dying miserably here in such a meaningless way."

"She did not pass down the path, but instead chose to take the strongest few in the clan at the time to try together."

Looking toward the furthest point reached, that leg bone with only half remaining.

"She failed."

"And she was too impatient, which led to not only the known path being broken, but the Secret Technique of cultivation also being lost along with their deaths."

When speaking of this, Huji's tone was somewhat complex, and she only spoke after a pause.

"I am not the offspring of the previous Fox King, but only became the current Fox King of Zizhushan after successfully stepping into the Earth Realm."

"It was also at that time that I learned the missing previous Fox King had actually died here..."

Huji seemed to admire the previous Fox King's choice on one hand, but also felt resentment toward her irresponsible actions.

It makes sense; one can imagine what losing the cultivation method means for a clan.

The previous Fox King wanted to stop her descendants from suffering, but by a twist of fate, she took the blade in their hands away with her...

Huji did not say what the clan suffered after that, but Ren Yidao could guess a thing or two.

But in fact, Ren Yidao could understand the thoughts of that generation's Fox King.

Having spent over a dozen generations, they had only walked less than one-third of the distance in the end.

Such efficiency is truly enough to make one feel despair.

Rather than constantly butting heads with this place, it is better to give up early.

However...

"I, on the other hand, don't find it difficult at all."