You said you would practice martial arts. Have you mastered the Tiangang Dharma?

Chapter 499: Ah Xiong Reminisces the Past

In the picture of the book that Ichiwei saw, on a vast expanse of land, the vast sky was covered with gray clouds, as if about to crush this lifeless world. On the wasteland, the dilapidated buildings were scattered like dead bones. They used to be towering into the sky, but now they can only crawl helplessly in the wind, with empty window frames, as if telling the past glory and today's desolation.

The vegetation withered, and even the most tenacious weeds could hardly find hope to survive in this dead land. The land cracked with scars one after another, as if nature was crying silently. The streams that once flowed with the water of life were now only dry riverbeds. Insects and birds had long since disappeared, and even the sound of the wind seemed unusually dull, as if even the wind was mourning the death of this land.

In this desolate scene, you can occasionally see some hurried figures, their faces are haggard, and their eyes reveal confusion and fear about the future. They walk on the broken cobblestones, and their footsteps echo in the empty streets, but there is no warmth. There is no communication between them, and they keep a distance from each other, as if they are afraid of being swallowed by the despair emanating from each other.

From time to time, dark shadows flew across the sky. They were hungry birds of prey, looking for their last supper in this land that no longer had the song of life. Their cries were shrill and desperate, adding a bit of horror to this dead land.

As night fell, a waning moon rose above the wilderness, its light cold and distant, as if the world had been cut off from light. In the silence, only the sound of the wind and the occasional roar of wild beasts broke the tranquility of the night, foreshadowing the cruelty and ruthlessness of this doomsday world.

In this desolate scene, life is cut off and death becomes the eternal theme. However, in a corner, a touch of green quietly pokes its head out, as if it is a symbol of the tenacious vitality of nature. Even in despair, there is still endless hope.

Only the statue of the nine-tailed fox stands here. On this barren land, there stands the statue of the nine-tailed fox. It used to be the guardian of this land, but now it has been eroded by time and is in ruins. The hair on the statue has lost its former luster, becoming dry and broken, and it is like dead branches and leaves drifting in the wind. The eyes that were once lively are now empty and dim, as if they can no longer see the world clearly.

The tail of the statue was once its most magnificent part, but now only a few fragments remain, and the rest have broken off and fallen, forgotten in the dust of history. The hair on the tail is gone, leaving only mottled traces, allowing people to vaguely imagine their former elegance.

As the wind blows, the statue seems to whisper, telling of its former glory and honor. However, apart from the sound of the wind and the occasional bird song, no creature will stop for it anymore. The former believers have long gone, leaving it alone to watch over this desolate land.

The afterglow of the setting sun shines on the statue, stretching its shadow long, just like the years that have passed, dragging and unwilling to let go. But the sun will eventually set, leaving the statue with only endless darkness and loneliness.

As time went by, the nine-tailed fox statue gradually became a legendary existence. Only a few indigenous demons would pass by here, and their eyes were full of curiosity and awe for the statue. However, they were just passing by and could not truly understand the loneliness and sadness in the heart of the statue.

Even so, the statue still stands firm, as if waiting for a miracle to happen. Perhaps one day, this land will be revitalized, and it will restore its former glory and continue to protect this land and its people. But before that, it can only silently endure the vicissitudes of time and quietly wait for the reincarnation of fate.

Yes, this is the scene of the First Heaven. The Nine-tailed Fox is the statue in the Nine-tailed Fox City, which was previously the Sirius City. When arriving at the Third Heaven, the First Heaven had already undergone a major cleansing, and most of the creatures there had perished, but only this statue survived.

Seeing this scene, Yiwei was stunned. She originally thought that her statue, or the statue of the nine-tailed fox, would be immortal, but in fact it was not. Inexplicably, the power of faith in her body was also dissipating, as if it was slipping away like running water.

Her once youthful appearance was rapidly fading, and like the nine-tailed fox itself, her face bore traces of time.

As the scene changed, her sight jumped from the first heaven to
Arriving at the demon clan area of ​​the third heaven, the outline of the Emerald Valley loomed under the indigo sky before the morning mist dissipated. The first ray of morning light passed through the edge of the skylight barrier, shattered into gold foil on the crown of the thousand-year-old banyan tree, and drifted down along the hanging green vines. The roar of the Lingquan Waterfall was wrapped in the wet mist, like the breath of an ancient giant beast in its sleep.

Walking up the jade steps, you can see the morning dew condensed into beads on the spider web. The deer demon girl in a ramie dress walks barefoot on the stone steps, and the bronze bell hanging around her waist only makes a slight tremor like water waves. Her antlers are wrapped with newly picked moonlight vines, the back of the leaves are shining with the luster of mother-of-pearl, and they sway gently at her temples with her steps.

Firefly lanterns dotted the branches of the ancient banyan tree houses. The glowing spores were collected in translucent cocoons, hovering in the air like stars blown by the wind. On the terrace of a tree house, an old turtle demon was repairing a raincoat with tortoise shell patterns with a bone needle. Palm-sized mosses grew on his carapace. If you looked closely, you would find silkworms spinning silk hidden in the moss.

The surface of Jinghua Lake was like melted emerald, with flocks of water-moon butterflies laying eggs on the water. Their wings were as thin as cicada wings, and every flap of their wings would draw a tiny rainbow in the air. A rabbit-eared boy squatted on the shore, drawing water. The moment the pottery jar entered the water, three or two silver-scaled fish jumped out of the water. The arcs drawn by the fish tails in the air actually condensed into tiny ice crystals, which fell back into the lake with a tinkling sound.

The morning market was set up in front of a cave with dragon blood vines hanging down. The demon tribe used banana leaves soaked in dew to spread out their stalls. There was no jingling of coins here, only the fragrance of pine resin burning in a small bronze stove. The fox merchant used his tail to roll up a jade pestle and pounded the dried phoenix fern into powder. On the stone slab next to it, a barter pattern was painted with ochre - three handfuls of fern powder for a jar of beeswax, and five scales for a roll of snake slough paper.

Stalactites in the depths of the cave dripped earth marrow, and glowing luminous mushrooms grew between the stalagmites. Several newly transformed little demons were learning water control under the guidance of the old wolf demon. The water droplets condensed on their fingertips spelled out ancient demon characters in mid-air. The star map inlaid with fluorite on the cave wall suddenly lit up, startling the little hedgehog demon so much that his bristles stood up and pierced the water characters that were taking shape into a sieve.

The morning mist in the herb garden was faintly blue-purple, as the moonlight grass was gathering its nighttime spiritual energy. The snake demon who was in charge of looking after the herb field sat cross-legged on a bamboo frame, tapping the bronze chime with the tip of his tail in a rhythmic manner. As the sound of the chime spread like ripples, the ghost hand vine wrapped around the wooden frame began to stretch its curled tentacles and close the insectivorous flower buds that opened at night one by one. The Fusang sacred tree in the center of the Holy Tree Square was shedding its leaves, and each fallen golden leaf burned into ash in the air, with tiny fire spirits bursting out of the ashes. The crane demons in cinnabar-colored sacrificial robes danced in specific directions, their tail feathers dragging intricate totems on the ground. A little crane demon made a wrong step, and the scattered totem pattern suddenly turned into a group of red birds, fluttering towards the tiger demon coach who was doing morning exercises.

The tiger demon's roar startled the blue phoenix living on the top of the sacred tree, and the feathers that fell from the divine bird's wings turned into emerald rain. The old ape demon who was sorting out the astrological instruments looked up, and the pupils behind his crystal lenses suddenly contracted - the falling emerald raindrops condensed into hexagrams in the air, indicating that it was better to collect herbs today and not to cut wood.

On the training ground, young wolf demons were using demon fire to forge black iron. Their ears kept shaking in the heat, and sweat dripped onto the red-hot iron, creating smoke. Newly tanned demon hides were drying on wooden racks beside the field, and a leopard-print girl used a bone comb dipped in flower juice to draw protective spells on the hides, and the snake-shaped copper bracelet on her wrist bit her tail as she moved.

The stone lantern in front of the book cave suddenly went out, waking up the cat demon who was napping on the lantern cover. When he jumped up with his fur standing on end, he knocked over the inkstone, and the ink splashed on the bamboo slips that were drying. The cave keeper, who was about to get angry, suddenly stopped - the flowing ink automatically formed a lost demon nursery rhyme, and silver fish swam between the words.

At noon, the barrier above the Emerald Valley began to refract sunlight, casting a rainbow bridge on the surface of the Mirror Flower Lake. The mermaid singer sat on the reef at the end of the rainbow bridge and combed her hair. The crystal hairpin in her hair flickered with her singing. Her singing attracted a group of water elves. These translucent little creatures held pearl shells as hats and danced in a circle around the rainbow bridge.

The bronze tripod of the ancient altar hummed spontaneously, awakening the star-patterned spiders that had woven webs on the tripod ears. The lizard shaman who was drawing a new formation on the altar narrowed his eyes and quickly wrote on the tortoise shell with cinnabar on his tongue. The green smoke rising from the tripod suddenly condensed into the shape of a three-legged golden crow, and the moment it spread its wings, it scattered into fireflies all over the room.

As the sun sets, Mirror Flower Lake begins to reflect the starry sky. Night lilies bloom one after another in the center of the lake, and each petal holds a drop of solidified moonlight. The bear demon and his son are extremely careful when rowing a wooden boat to pick night lilies. Their oars are made of dream wood that will not alarm the water spirits. The little bear demon reaches out to catch the stars in the water, but instead shatters the Milky Way that fills the lake.

When the first star lights up, all the demons stop what they are doing. They lean on the treetops or sit on the edge of the cliff, with the starlight reflected in their eyes. When the wind blows through the valley, thousands of leaves hum at the same time, which is the demons talking to the starry sky in the most ancient language.

The peaceful appearance of the years obscured the cycle of years in the first heaven. An empty thought settled down from it. It seemed that it was good to give up her identity as the Nine-tailed Fox God and embrace such a life. Yes, she was a little tired. Her life gradually became free of worries. She felt a sense of the end of death and reincarnation.

Yiwei's thoughts have sunk into the book, and her image has changed. It seems that in the ancient fox clan, there was once a nine-tailed fox with peerless beauty. Her name has been weathered by time, but her legend still echoes in the depths of the forest. Time has ruthlessly carved marks on her face. Her face, which was once as beautiful as water and moonlight, now looks like the setting sun in autumn. Although there is afterglow, it cannot hide the tragic grandeur of the sunset.

Her eyes used to be the deepest among all the foxes, like the starry sky in the middle of the night, mysterious and distant. But now, the edges of those black pupils are covered with traces of time, one circle after another, like the annual rings of the nine-tailed foxes' history. Her eyes are no longer lively, but are replaced by a kind of calmness and composure, as if she can see the end of the world through her eyes.

The long and smooth eyebrows of the past are now a little tired, but the indomitable spirit is still vaguely discernible. Her eyebrows are like two sharp swords, slanting into her temples, revealing a heroic spirit. Time has made her beauty gone, but it has given her a deeper temperament.

The nine-tailed fox's tail was once her most proud symbol, each of which was as smooth as silk and exuded a charming luster. However, the erosion of time has gradually made them lose their former luster, and the old fur is mottled with gray and white. Even so, when she gently swings her tail, she still reveals her former elegance and demeanor.

Although her appearance is no longer young, her posture is still upright, revealing a kind of silent majesty. She stands among the lush ancient trees, with the ancient tribe relics that have experienced vicissitudes behind her. The sunlight shines through the treetops, dappled on her body, covering her old face with a layer of golden glory.

The Nine-tailed Fox itself and Jiang Qiu were both unaware of this change, and Ah Xiong was even less aware of it. She came to the third heaven for her master Jiang Qiu and had never thought about what she wanted.

Even though she missed a lot of sceneries along the way, even though she had to travel through wind and rain and was exhausted, she actually didn't miss it very much. The scene of Jiang Qiu being born amidst thunder and lightning in a barren territory in the first heaven was something she would never forget in her life.

I especially remember that time, between the vast sky and earth, in the primitive ancient forest, a dragon egg lay quietly. It was different from the eggs of the mortal world, the shell was glowing with a faint blue light, as if it contained the energy of the vast stars. The eggshell was engraved with intricate totems, each stroke revealed antiquity and mystery, which was a symbol of the wisdom and power of the dragon clan for thousands of years.

Around the dragon egg, there were green grass, rumbling thunder, and unknown wild flowers emitting fragrance, as if adding a bit of mystery and peace to this sacred place of birth. The lightning penetrated the gaps between the branches and leaves and sprinkled on the dragon egg, forming mottled light and shadow, making the egg look more solemn and sacred.

There seemed to be life growing inside the dragon egg, with weak fluctuations coming from inside from time to time. All of this was shrouded in a thin layer of mist, making it impossible for others to see the secrets inside.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew by, and the surrounding flowers, plants, and trees seemed to hold their breath. The air was filled with an atmosphere of expectation and awe. The blue light on the dragon egg suddenly flashed, as if the soul of the dragon clan was awakening, heralding the birth of a new dragon clan.

The cowering Ah Xiong crouched in the distance, carefully looking at the dragon egg, her eyes full of curiosity and desire. However, she just stared from afar, not daring to take a step beyond the line, because she could feel the powerful power contained in the dragon egg, which was the majesty and mystery of the dragon clan.
(End of this chapter)