I am about to die of old age, and I have awakened the character of longevity.

Chapter 186 Meet the Red Fox!
A drop of water wears away a stone, a rushing river becomes a river, and all rivers flow into the sea, forming a vast ocean...

Key words flashed through Xie An's mind.

This is a top-level internal energy method that can break through the martial arts masters!
Compared to the internal energy techniques Xie An had seen in the Demon Suppression Division's library during the day, this one was infinitely more advanced...

You know, since the founding of Jingtai Kingdom, there have only been two grandmasters in the entire Nanzhou!
It's clear how difficult it is to create a martial arts master. The resources, talent, skills, precious medicines, opportunities, etc. required behind it... it's unimaginable.

The eldest princess gave a top-level internal energy method as soon as she made a move.

It's very atmospheric.

The gift was so heavy that Xie An felt it was weighed down in his hand.

However, Xie An did not hesitate and accepted it directly. After all, he was in need of it. As for the eldest princess's kindness, he thought of making up for it in other ways in the future.

After thanking him, Xie An asked about the many precautions of the Water Drop Internal Energy Method. Su Yuqing patiently explained them one by one.

After the exchange, Xie An also had a detailed understanding of the water drop internal energy method.

Generally speaking, this internal energy method wasn't particularly aggressive, but rather emphasized gradual development, with small gains adding up to a large one. The more you practiced, the more powerful it became. This actually matched Xie An's health-preserving exercises quite well.

Xie An was familiar with this set.

It is indeed the internal energy method that suits me best.

It can be seen that the eldest princess really put a lot of effort into herself.

When saying goodbye, Su Yuqing reminded Xie An, "You don't need to worry too much about Li Hao and the others. Just work hard on your training and improve your strength as soon as possible, so that you can break through the ninth level of martial arts as soon as possible. Only then will you truly have the ability to deal with the current situation. Your stage is not here, but in the capital. You still have six years to go, so you must work hard."

"Thank you, Princess, for your advice."

After leaving the backyard, Xie An took the dishes into the kitchen.

Chunlan happened to be busy in the kitchen. Seeing this, she hurriedly took the tray and glanced at the almost untouched bamboo shoots, braised pork, and stir-fried lettuce on the plate... She couldn't help but mutter in her heart that the big shot in the backyard was really wasting food.

Xie An returned to the courtyard and closed the door.

The stump still had no new shoots.

Xie An even leaned over and carefully examined the cracks in the bark.

What if a tiny germ emerges from the cracks in the bark?

However, it does not.

Xie An was slightly disappointed.

Fertilizing twice a day without interruption, and the silver consumed on this tree stump every day is 150 taels... Although the profit is a hundred times, it still feels that fertilizing is not cheap.

The training manual Su Yuqing gave me was indeed useful, but it was not the decisive factor.

There is no obvious pattern in its growth.

Back in the room, Xie An opened a book.

The handwriting on it is Yuhe's, which records in detail the daily development of Baozhi, as well as the time and amount of fertilization.

Extremely detailed.

Xie An flipped through the pages one by one, trying to find out the pattern of Baozhi's sprouting.

Finally, circle three key words with a wolf hair brush.

Winter thunder, cold, snow.

Daqian lacked precise temperature measurement tools, nor did it have such a definition. However, similar descriptions existed. For example, Yuhe used the following terms in her album: cold, chilly, and extremely cold, to distinguish the daily temperatures.

Finally, Xie An made a rough judgment: snow and cold weather are two indispensable conditions for the growth of precious plants. The colder the weather, the faster they grow. Winter thunder, like a catalyst, can make precious plants sprout and grow quickly.

It has snowed continuously in recent days, but the Baozhi plant has not grown any germs. It may be because the weather is not cold enough.

Xie An, judging by the records in the album, felt that his judgment was correct. He then went under the eaves, looked at the falling snow, and couldn't help feeling worried.

If the temperature doesn't drop further, that won't be good either.

"I wonder if the temperature will drop in the next few days. It would be nice to have a weather forecast..."

The people of Daqian predicted the weather by observing the shape, color, and movement of clouds. They also classified clouds into mountain clouds, water clouds, drought clouds, and rain clouds, each of which indicated different weather conditions.

In addition, the weather is judged based on the direction of the wind, such as "East wind brings moisture, west wind brings dryness, south wind brings warmth, and north wind brings coldness."

You can also predict the weather by observing animal behavior. Water droplets on spider webs indicate sunny days, while low-flying swallows, croaking frogs, and ants moving are all signs of rain.

These could easily satisfy the daily farming needs of ordinary people, but they could not meet Xie An's needs.

"It's a pity this isn't the capital, otherwise we could ask the Imperial Observatory. It would be more accurate."

Daqian had an institution dedicated to the study of astronomy and calendar phenomena - the Sitianjian. It was said that the people there were mostly extraordinary people proficient in unusual arts, who studied celestial phenomena, calculated calendars, and could accurately predict the upcoming weather conditions.

This is of great help to the court in governing the country, responding to disasters, or choosing auspicious days for holding grand ceremonies.

But Qingwu County is just a small border town...

Xie An put down the album and rubbed his temples.

Whether this precious plant will sprout or not depends on fate.

After closing the door, Xie An sat down cross-legged and looked through the Water Drop Internal Energy Method, thinking about Su Yuqing's explanation just now, and then began to practice according to the method.

The core of the Water Drop Internal Energy Method is to regard the internal energy of the whole body as drops of water.

When they are separated, they are water droplets all over the sky; when they are combined, they are a surging river.

The artistic conception is very beautiful.

But it is extremely difficult to temper it.

Just getting started is not easy.

This requires a meticulous grasp of internal energy, and is far more difficult than practicing Tiger Form Qigong in series.

But Xie An felt that this was his biggest shortcoming at the moment.

Previously, Xie An relied on the potential energy of the health-preserving exercises to quickly raise his internal strength to the seventh level, which was like forcing things to grow faster. As a result, Xie An didn't even practice the internal strength method, and his control over internal strength was very rough.

Now it is equivalent to making up for the basics and improving the internal strength method.

Only when you have mastered your internal strength to the finest degree can you make further progress.

The dripping water internal energy method is undoubtedly the most suitable for Xie An.

Admittedly, this may be a long process, but Xie An can endure it.

Time passes day by day.

Xie An still lived a life of going to work, going home, and returning home.

The only difference from before was that, in order to avoid giving Li Hao any leverage to criticize him, Xie An went to the Demon Suppression Division more frequently and stayed there a little longer. It was nothing more than having a few more cups of tea with Chen Tie and the others.

The rest of the time, Xie An was concentrating on practicing Tiger Form Qigong, Mingyu Qigong, and Water Drop Internal Energy Method.

Progress is very slow.

It's really a painstaking process.

Fortunately, Xie An did not become impatient and continued to work tirelessly.

Seven days later, it was night.

At the beginning of Haishi.

Liu Chun came to the door, exhausted.

Xie An finished his training and stood up, opening the door to welcome Liu Chun in. "Captain Liu, have you come to a conclusion on the task I asked you to do last time?"

Liu Chun ran so fast that beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. "I just got the news. If General Xie is free, please follow me."

"Walk."

How can I not have time?

The precious plant hadn't sprouted again, but Xie An still yearned for the white fox's white pupa stone. If he could gather ten thousand strands of demonic energy soon, he could advance his fetal breathing technique into the Black Tortoise Breathing Technique. If this advancement succeeded, Xie An estimated it would be even more powerful than the Bright Jade Technique.

Liu Chun came on horseback, and the horse was just outside Xie's house.

But there is only one.

Embarrassed.

Xie An increasingly realized the importance of having a good horse. Although he could use the Mingyu Gong to travel much faster than a horse, it also consumed a lot of energy. If he encountered a long distance, he would be out of breath. How could he compare to the ease and pleasure of riding a horse?
Finally, Xie An went to Tangjiabao, not far away, to borrow a horse, and then followed Liu Chun all the way to a peddler's house on the eastern edge of the city.

The house is not big and has a small courtyard.

The yard was filled with bamboo and polished bamboo strips. In the living room, a man in a ragged jacket was weaving a straw mat while lighting an oil lamp.

As soon as Liu Chun entered the room, he called out, "Liu Da, put down your work. This is the one I mentioned to you, Chief Xie."

The man quickly put down his work and bowed deeply, "I am Liu Da, the commoner, and I am honored to meet His Excellency the General Manager."

"No need to be polite." Xie An helped him up. "I just came to ask a question. There's no need to be nervous. Just tell me what you know."

Seeing Xie An so friendly, Liu Da's nervousness mostly disappeared, and he said everything in detail, "I mainly make a living by weaving mats and selling shoes. Occasionally, I also make some ramie bags and clothes. Ramie is not used much in the city. The ramie bag that Liu Dutou gave me last time was made by me."

Xie An was overjoyed when he heard this and gave Liu Chun a look.

Liu Chun understood and took out the same ramie bag from before, handing it to Xie An. Xie An handed it to Liu Da again, "Take a closer look." Liu Da took the bag, carefully examined it, and finally said, "It can't be wrong. The shape of this bag is very unique, only I can make this kind. It's usually used to hold some tobacco... My lord, smell it, it still smells like tobacco."

Xie An took it and smelled it carefully, and it really did smell like dry tobacco.

Tobacco is different from ordinary objects. Bags that have been filled with tobacco for years will become stained with tobacco dirt and leave behind a smokey smell. Because of coal tar and other residues, in ancient times, there were no powerful cleaning agents like Liby, making it difficult to rinse out.

"Do you remember where this bag was sold?"

Liu Da said, "I didn't sell it. I just wove this bag for my own use. It was ugly and no one wanted it. I later gave it to Lao Wang next door."

Xie An was stunned: "Old Wang next door?"

"Yes, Lao Wang next door is a Buddhist. He's a devout pilgrim. Every now and then he'd take this bag filled with incense sticks and candles to the temple to burn incense. About five years ago, Lao Wang never came back. Some say he abandoned his wife and became a monk..."

Xie An thought to himself that this neighbor, Old Wang, was truly a talent...

However, Xie An felt that something might have happened to Lao Wang.

Otherwise, this hemp cloth bag would not appear in the white fox's hands.

After gathering his thoughts, Xie An integrated the information in his mind and finally asked, "Do you know which temples Lao Wang often goes to burn incense?"

"The incense offerings at the City God Temple and Baohua Temple in the city are too expensive, so Old Wang can't bear to spend them. He tends to burn incense at the dilapidated temples outside the city." At this point, Liu Da glanced around and lowered his voice, saying, "Old Wang is also unlucky. He married a mean woman who often scolds him for being useless and not making any money. She also constantly calls him incompetent and often refuses to let him in. That's why Old Wang goes to pray to the Bodhisattva. I understand Old Wang."

Just then, Liu Da's wife came over with snacks and tea.

Xie An had no mood for tea. He took out two pieces of silver and put them on the table, then stood up and was about to leave.

Liu's wife was quite embarrassed and said, "Sir, please have some tea before you leave."

Xie An turned around and looked deeply at Liu's wife, then left with Liu Chun without looking back.

Liu's wife was still very curious, "The master was staring at me just now."

Liu Daheng glanced at him and said, "Maybe he's blaming you for not being a good host. You spent so much time making tea. As a result, the General Manager didn't even get a sip of tea."

……

After leaving home, Xie An strolled along the street, with Liu Chun following closely behind him.

"Captain Liu, do you know where there's a dilapidated temple outside the city?"

"That depends on how large the area is. There are three towns within ten miles of the city, and each town has a temple. But they are all very small, and some are so small that people can't even enter. You can only burn incense outside the small temple."

"What about the mountains?"

"There are several hilltops nearby with good feng shui, and they all have small temples that are closed to the public. Only villagers go there to burn incense during festivals."

"Is there a large temple that people can enter?"

Liu Chun thought about it for a moment, and suddenly said, "There really is one. There is a mountain temple on the Stone Mountain!"

Xie An's eyes lit up, "Where is it?"

Liu Chun walked forward to a crossroads with a better view and pointed to a black mountain in the southeast. "That mountain is Stone Mountain. On the top of the mountain there is an abandoned ancient temple. It is the Mountain God Temple."

Xie An looked up and saw a mountain outside the city that was not very high. It was as black as ink under the moonlight, leaving a dark shadow. "What does this mountain temple say?"

Liu Chundao said, "There used to be a small village at the foot of that mountain, right by the Huai River. There was a fine marble mine in the mountain. Most of the villagers made their living from mining. Many made fortunes from mining and selling marble, so they pooled their money and built a mountain temple on the top of the mountain, also known as the Stone Temple. Then one year, the Huai River flooded, submerging the village. Most of the villagers died, and the few who survived said their excessive mining had angered the mountain god, so they moved elsewhere.

Later, some greedy people tried to go back and mine, but they all met with disaster. After that, no one dared to pursue the mine anymore. But there wasn't much left anyway. Otherwise, the government would have definitely gone and mined it.

"Does Chief Xie think there's something wrong with this village?"

Xie An shook his head slightly. "Nothing, just curious. Thank you, Captain Liu."

"Well, why are you being so polite to me? If there's nothing else, I'll go back first. I'm exhausted from patrolling all day."

After seeing Liu Chun off, Xie An stared at the stone mountain in the distance for a long time, and finally activated the Mingyu Gong, turning into a black shadow and flashing into the darkness.

Although Qingwu County was under curfew, Xie An, as an official, was free to enter and leave the city gates. However, Xie An did not go to the main gate, but instead climbed over the wall. After walking six or seven miles in the dark, he arrived at the foot of Stone Mountain.

After making two deals with the white fox, Xie An was very curious about the big monster behind the white fox.

Moreover, Xie An basically judged that the big monster was seriously injured.

You can go and investigate.

While martial arts training requires personal effort, treasures and equipment are equally important.

Judging from Xie An’s experience of galloping through the Summoner’s Rift in his previous life, can the same max-level, six-god equipment and small orange equipment... be at the same level?
With the support of six divine equipment, you can kill a rookie of the same level with small orange equipment with one blow.

Besides, Xie An is now at the 19th level of Mingyu, so as long as he doesn't encounter a martial arts master, he will be basically fine. It's just a secret investigation, there is no big danger.

At the foot of the mountain, the Huai River lies beside it. Snowflakes drift across its surface, and the river surges. In the woods, jackdaws cry softly, the forest waves ripple, the shadows of the trees flicker, and the cold wind bites the bone.

Xie An activated the Mingyu Gong to the nineteenth level, fully opening his five senses to cover the surrounding area. After making sure the white fox wasn't following him, he accelerated up the mountain.

huh~
It was so fast that only a shadow remained.

Moreover, with the blessing of Mingyu Gong, Xie An's body could be light or heavy. When he was as light as a swift, he did not cause much noise. After a while, he arrived at the top of the mountain.

The mountaintops are mostly made of rocks, pines and cypresses.

Moreover, pine and cypress trees are generally not very tall, providing excellent views.

Sure enough, I saw an abandoned ancient temple on the edge of the cliff.

The falling snow dyed the ancient temple a silvery white, and the ground around the temple was covered with a thick layer of snow. Xie An clenched the demon-suppressing knife in his hand, stepping lightly on the snow and moving forward cautiously. After approaching the temple wall, Xie An quickly climbed to the top and poked his head out to look inside.

The temple had a small courtyard, overgrown with weeds and covered in snow. The door to the temple hall was open, but there were no oil lamps inside, and it was pitch black.

However, Xie An, with his extraordinary eyesight, saw the scene in the hall: next to the three collapsed Buddha statues, there was a huge red fox lying.

This fox, larger than a lion and extremely powerful, was already asleep, breathing softly.

It has a coat of smooth red fur, but its skin is covered with many noticeable wounds. The wounds have turned black, and the blood that flows out is also black.

There were conspicuous wounds on the abdomen, brain, neck, back...all one foot long, which was really shocking.

"Sure enough, there's a giant monster! It's rare for a fox to grow this big..."

Xie An crouched on the wall, examining it carefully. He pondered: They're all foxes, so the big brother behind the little white fox must be this guy. But where did the white fox's treasure come from?
Xie An moved his body gently and adjusted his sight angle, and sure enough, he saw a large box two meters long and wide behind the red fox.

It seems that the treasure came from this box.

Xie An wanted to go over and move the entire box away, but the extent of the monster's injuries and its strength... were all unknown.

Xie An planned to take a look first.

Not long after, a sound was heard.

He looked back and saw the little white fox, clutching a hare, clattering towards him. After entering the hall, the fox put the hare down and brought some dry firewood. Then, he found two flints he had gotten from somewhere, picked up a flint in each paw, rubbed them together, and started a fire.

Then, the little white fox used its claws to skin the hare, cut open its belly, took out its internal organs and threw them away, and then roasted the hare over the fire.

After going through the whole process, I became very familiar with it.

It doesn't look like a fox at all, it looks more like a human.

After a while, the aroma of barbecue spread.

Xie An was so hungry...

Xie An felt that this scene was very interesting and heartwarming, so he decided to continue watching.

After a while, the hare was roasted, and the white fox excitedly picked up the hare and brought it to the red fox, scratching the red fox's head with its claws.

The red fox woke up slowly and looked at the little white fox with a distressed look. Then he opened his mouth and ate half of the hare, leaving the other half for the little white fox. The little white fox shook his paw repeatedly, indicating that he was not hungry and let the red fox eat. The red fox turned his head away and ignored the little white fox.

Only then did the little white fox eat half of the hare.

Then, the little white fox waved its claws and gestured around, indicating that the baby plant had not grown yet.

The red fox snorted and fell back to sleep.

Fearing the red fox would get cold, the little white fox found some straw and covered it with it. The red fox woke up and angrily removed the straw. The white fox started to act coquettishly and cry, and the red fox obeyed.

After covering the house with straw, the white fox stood guard at the door, squatting under the eaves, looking around blankly, unable to hold back tears. When the fire died down, the white fox went to add firewood, and then continued to squat alone at the door to guard it.

Xie An lay on the wall until the early morning, watching the two foxes interact.

At first, Xie An was thinking of the treasure in the big box, but as he looked at it, he was somehow moved by the little white fox and instead focused his attention on it.

Got it wrong...

Dawn, daybreak.

Its daybreak.

The white fox walked up to the red fox, gestured, and told the red fox to stay where it was and go find food. Then the white fox quickly left the ancient temple.

After a long while, Xie An jumped out of the courtyard wall and left on the snow.

After a night of observation, Xie An had been trying to use his five senses to discern the Red Fox's strength, but he always felt that the Red Fox was ordinary and could be easily manipulated. However, Xie An instinctively felt that this fox demon was very dangerous.

Return to nature, simplicity is the ultimate truth?

In the end, Xie An did not take action and chose to leave.

Maybe he saw the white fox's loyal and righteous side and couldn't bear to let it go?
Just as Xie An was leaving, the red fox that was sleeping soundly in the hall suddenly opened its golden eyes and spoke in human language, "The spiritual mirror is with him, and with it... there is also an incredible spiritual object!"

(End of this chapter)