Chapter 23 - 23: A Man and a Fox
Chapter 23: A Man and a Fox
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
In the end, the little fox did not take up Li Qingshan’s offer.
She finished eating her fish and then gave him a deep look. Then, she swiftly ran back to her wooden house and hid away.
Li Qingshan looked at the silhouette of the little fox as she left and then at the sentence he had written. He shook his head in regret.
“That was too rash of me,” he chided himself.
He recalled that the little fox was born with a hatred for humans. Her nature was cowardly. She had communicated with him and had eaten the fish he grilled because she was starving.
However, that did not mean that she would continue interacting with him.
“If I want to get close to her, I still need to work on it for some time,” he commented. He was not disheartened. He extinguished the fire and entered the bamboo hut, then he lay in his chair and rested.
The aura around him expanded outward, stirring up spiritual Qi. It was like waves on the lake.
The Heaven’s Will of the Four Signs was a powerful technique. However, Li Qingshan was certain that it was not a Venerable or even a Great Venerable Plane technique.
As a result, it could only be a technique at the Saint Plane or higher.
Li Qingshan wondered, “Since that person cultivated the Heaven’s Will of the
Four Signs, did he break through to the Saint Plane?”
That stele was huge. The Heaven’s Will of the Four Signs was also very powerful. Considering both factors, had that cultivator broken through to the Saint Plane?
Li Qingshan pondered this as he cultivated.
In the end, he came to a conclusion.
The former had not!
That was the conclusion he came to because there had not been a Saint since the great war 3,000 years ago.
Even the exceptional Wu Shaobai had only managed to comprehend a sliver of the Saint Plane when faced with the terror of death.
How many experts and brilliant geniuses had cultivated to the peak of the Great Venerable Plane only to be unable to break through to the Saint Plane, despite having worked tirelessly and tried everything?
In the end, their ultimate age limit came, and they perished unwillingly.
It was something that they were helpless against.
Great Venerable Plane cultivators could prolong their lives, but they could not extend it beyond 3,000 years.
That was an eternal law.
Typically, a Great Venerable Plane cultivator’s lifespan was around 2,000 years. They had to use various lifespan enhancements to prolong their lives.
Nevertheless, the maximum limit for the soul of a Great Venerable Plane cultivator was 3,000 years. Once they reached that point, their souls would deteriorate. They would face the Five Decays of Heaven and Man and be inflicted with various diseases.
Hence, Li Qingshan concluded that this senior, who cultivated the Heaven’s Will of the Four Signs, had not broken through the shackles of the world. “Are the shackles of the world that difficult to break through?” he mumbled.
“Why do these shackles exist?”
He had read various manuscripts, and they recorded that 3,000 years ago, the world was a cultivation utopia. The Saint Plane was not the end goal of
cultivation. However, the Great Venerable Plane had now become the extreme
limit. What had happened?
What went on during the great war?
Li Qingshan fell into deep thought. This question he was pondering had been brought up by many before him, yet no one had found the answer.
During the day, Li Qingshan kept cultivating. Finally, he was inducted into the Heaven’s Will of the Four Signs.
At night, he slowly practiced katas beneath the stars in front of the bamboo hut.
It was as though he was practicing tai chi. His movements were slow, but the power behind them was great. It was like he was practicing katas while carrying a large mountain.
Starlight landed on his figure, seemingly cloaking him in dazzling robes.
He was manipulating starlight.
Under the moonlight, spiritual Qi danced around him, encircling him.
Fragrance filled the air as the youth practiced where the flowers bloomed.
Not far away from him, the little white fox was observing him intently without blinking.
He was cultivating!
This was the first time Li Qingshan cultivated openly in front of her.
The little fox stared at him eagerly.
She wanted to cultivate as well.
However, it had not been long since she was born. Therefore, she had not awakened the related part of her mother’s inheritance yet.
Therefore, she had no idea how to cultivate.
When Li Qingshan offered to train her that morning, she wanted to say yes. However, she bore such a great hatred toward humans. In the end, she chose to run away in a dilemma.
The little fox was envious as she stared at the youth practicing katas under starlight while being enveloped by spiritual Qi.
After observing him for a while, she mimicked his poses and attempted to learn from his steps since he slowly moved from one step to another.
A man and a fox practiced katas with the former in front and the latter at the back. There was a considerable distance between them.
Li Qingshan noticed that the little fox was mimicking his steps. His lips curled into a smile as he silently changed from cultivating the Heaven’s Will of the Four Signs to the most basic Immortality Method.
As he cultivated the Immortality Method, he gathered a cloud of spiritual Qi around him. However, he did not absorb much of it. Instead, he pushed the mass of spiritual Qi gently toward the little fox.
Unaware, the little fox learned the Immortality Method from him. She easily absorbed a lot of spiritual Qi since she had been surrounded by it.
She knew that the spiritual Qi was gathered by Li Qingshan.
She couldn’t help but feel happy about it.
Although she hated humans and was somewhat introverted, she was still a child, a newly born girl.
If others showed concern for her and treated her gently, she would naturally be moved.
She began to see Li Qingshan in a new light.
“This person is different from other humans. He is a good person,” the little fox thought to herself.
As such, the little fox embarked on her journey of cultivation.
Every morning, Li Qingshan would lead her to practice katas at various places so that she could absorb the spiritual Qi there.
Even though he was leading the way, he never spoke with the little fox.
He did not want to jump the gun.
He would practice the Immortality Method at some obvious places while gathering spiritual Qi around the two of them.
The little fox followed his example and subconsciously cultivated the Immortality Method. Since Li Qingshan helped to gather the spiritual Qi around her, it didn’t take long before she was inducted into the journey of cultivation.
Li Qingshan led the little fox to cultivate in various places, such as the garden, the Stele Forest, the bamboo grove, and the lush forest.
The two of them gradually grew closer.
The little fox was the one who took the initiative to close the gap between them. Li Qingshan did nothing other than treat her with gentleness. He would giggle internally every time he spotted her actively narrowing the distance between them.
He discovered that the little fox was actually a cute maiden in essence. So naturally, she wanted to become closer to him, but she would advance their relationship just a little bit at a time.
She was also trying hard not to let him find out her intention. She was being cautious.
However, her demure actions looked so cute in Li Qingshan’s eyes. Therefore, he did not expose her. Instead, he faithfully led her in cultivating daily.
A month later, he and the little fox stood side by side as they practiced their katas.
It took the little fox a whole month to get closer to Li Qingshan. She would now openly stay beside him as she followed his moves.
Of course, she would still go back to the wooden hut to rest at night.
After today’s training session ended, Li Qingshan and the little fox headed back to their base together. The latter was tiny in size, so one step for him was equivalent to a few steps for her.
Seeing her struggle to keep up, he picked her up and put her on his shoulder.
The little fox was in great shock. She immediately struggled to get away from him, but he said, “Here will be your seat from now on.”
Only then did she cease resisting. She turned and looked around. Then, her tail slowly and gently wrapped around his neck.
The corners of his lips curled up.
Unknowingly, their relationship had significantly improved..