White Bone Demon Trail

Chapter 61 Coming out of seclusion
In the early summer of the fortieth year of the Nanzhao era, outside Heishizhai, children ran through the mixed green and yellow rice paddies, their noisy laughter startling the birds that were stealing rice from the fields into flight.

Beneath the dense rice roots, frogs and toads croaked intermittently, here and there, creating a chorus of frog sounds in the rice paddies.

Not far away, under a peach tree, two or three foxes lay lazily on the tree, squinting their whiskers. The peach tree, which was more than ten years old, had grown stronger and stronger, perhaps because it was close to Skull Mountain.

The little white fox grew into a wondrous fox with snow-white fur. She possessed exceptional intelligence, surpassing even her brothers and sisters.

At this moment, the white fox was lying in a corner of the temple. She was squatting on the ground, holding her head up with her hands, and her fox eyes were full of thirst for knowledge.

Her narrow, fox-like eyes gazed at the Braille outside the temple, her furry ears twitching slightly from time to time as she listened to the old man explaining the text to a group of teenagers.

Since the cave master went into seclusion, there has only been one and a half living creatures on the entire Skull Mountain.

She herself counts as one, and that black crow counts as half a person too.

Aside from foraging for food at the foot of the mountain, there was nothing else to do. When she saw the black crows occasionally flying out of the mountain to go to many places, Bai Yuetang couldn't help but run out of the mountain.

She came to this temple and often heard the people there tell many stories.

This was the first time she had ever known that there was a vast world beyond the mountains, larger than Skull Mountain, and even more expansive than the Cloud Marsh Mountains, which she could not see the end of.

There are countless stories there, breathtaking scenery, talented scholars and beautiful women, kings and generals, chivalrous heroes and swans...

But I've heard that there are also ruthless killers and all sorts of bad things there.

Bai Yuetang longed for the outside world.

She would go to the temple every day to eavesdrop on the old man's sermons, and she learned to read and speak.

When the night is still and quiet, the white fox will climb the steps, stand on the wall covered with Braille, and look up at the wisdom of humankind.

She was more intelligent than human children. In just over a year, she learned to recognize all the thousands of characters on the wall. She could even imitate human speech in her mind, but the fox bone in her mouth blocked her breathing, so she could only make cooing sounds.

The white fox learned from the old man that it had probably become a spirit, a fox spirit.

They say that fox spirits are adept at disguising themselves and deceiving humans, and that they are lustful but devoid of affection. There are many love stories in the world between fox spirits and scholars, and the endings of these stories are all quite tragic.

Bai Yuetang thought of her mother, who gave birth to her and then left for the mortal world.

She also had her four siblings, who were of low intelligence and only knew how to play after eating. She had tried to find them, but they were afraid of her.

When the white fox saw the fear and awe in their eyes, it could only silently turn away.

That night, the white fox returned to the mountains.

She crouched under the moonlight, recalling everything she had heard that day, and before she knew it, she was dozing off. At some point, a wisp of pure white light was absorbed into her body.

A chilling sensation coursed through the white fox's body, and it suddenly snapped back to reality.

She watched as streaks of pure white light in the moonlight drew closer to her.

She recalled the old man's words about demons, who could absorb the essence of heaven and earth. Could it be that she had become a demon herself?

The white fox leaped up and swiftly traversed the mountain path strewn with bones. The thick miasma accumulated among the bones could not cloud her vision, and she climbed to the summit, a hundred feet high.

The white fox raised its chin, facing the moon, and silvery light shimmered all around.

On Skull Mountain, littered with skeletons and corpses, a white fox builds a path under the moon.

She's become a demon!
Inside the White Bone Cave, Bai Wuxiang, who had been in seclusion, also finished his cultivation. He opened his eyes, his pupils flashing with ghostly blue flames. He was dressed in a white robe, his skin was made of bones, and his pupils were transformed from ghostly fire.

His eyes were a pair of deep, dark blue pupils.

Bai Wuxiang was somewhat surprised. These dark blue eyes were not something he had conjured; they were something he naturally displayed when he donned human skin.

This mysterious feeling was like a demon taking human form.

"Could it be that this counts as me taking human form?"

However, unlike what humans understand, it transforms its demonic form directly into a human form.

Or is it that, over the long course of time, as one's cultivation deepens, one gradually takes on human form?

Bai Wuxiang stood up and walked out of the White Bone Cave.

He gazed at the white fox under the moonlight, a smile spreading across his face, and said, "This little fox has actually transformed into a demon."

Indeed, highly intelligent beasts like foxes are more likely to become demons.

Bai Wuxiang did not disturb the white fox who was still cultivating under the moon. He simply left the cave and prepared to take a stroll around the neighborhood to clear his mind.

A black crow flew down from the tree, cawing twice. Its demonic aura deepened considerably. In the past year or so, several more villagers in Black Stone Village had died.

They either died from illness or from accidents that occurred while hunting in the mountains.

The black crow inhaled several wisps of death energy, which greatly increased its demonic power, and its feathers remained shiny black.

He strolled slowly outside the cave. The locust grove had grown quite well in recent years, and the tiger bones and eagle feathers in the grove were still there, proving that no strangers had entered the White Bone Cave in the past year or so.

Once outside Skull Mountain, you'll find lush, dense forests.

Further on, a rice paddy comes into view.

Bai Wuxiang looked at the thriving crops and then thoughtfully gazed back at Skull Mountain where he lived.

The mountain was filled with a deathly, eerie atmosphere, forming a perpetual miasma that shrouded the peaks. The rains washed away the bones, fertilizing the land beyond Skull Mountain, nourishing the wild grasses, trees, and crops.

The vitality outside the mountain enveloped the deathly energy inside, while the corpses and inanimate objects inside the mountain, in turn, nourished the life force of creatures outside the mountain.

Life and death are interdependent and mutually dependent, which seems to have formed a mysterious force.

The coexistence of life and death energy seemed to symbolize a certain feng shui terrain. When Bai Wuxiang thought of building his cave dwelling, You Junzi had to put in a lot of effort.

Could it be that this geomantic energy is connected to something else?
He pondered for a while but couldn't come up with a solution. After all, everyone has their own expertise, and the art of feng shui is profound and complex; Bai Wuxiang didn't have the time to study it.

As long as the feng shui formation set up by You Junzi is not meant to suppress or kill him, there is nothing to worry about.

He walked along the weed-covered ridge, and the constant stream of people and frogs on both sides fell silent beside Bai Wuxiang. The crickets and other insects in the weeds also all crawled away.

Field mice, field snakes, pheasants, and mountain birds all seemed to be summoned and spontaneously retreated.

Bai Wuxiang was not surprised to sense this scene. Beasts instinctively fear death. He had increased his cultivation a lot, and his own power and aura had also increased significantly.

Instead, the trees and grass felt closer to him. He arrived at the temple, where the eight children had grown into teenagers and were fast asleep. Bai Wuxiang could hear their breathing as they slept without using any magic or mental projection.

The feeling was quite strange; what he heard was not the snoring of someone in a deep sleep, but the breath of a living person.

After more than a year of seclusion, he not only used the Vengeful Spirit Pearl to absorb and refine the resentment power, but also comprehended two new great techniques, and his own cultivation level improved further.

At this moment, the demonic power within his bones had condensed into seventy-two bones, reaching the mid-stage of the Spirit Building Realm.

The so-called realm is just a name used to distinguish strength. Bai Wuxiang can more clearly perceive the subtle changes that occur in himself with each step forward in cultivation.

Bai Wuxiang stood on the wall outside the temple, reaching out to stroke the Thousand Characters. These more than a thousand characters covered the most commonly used characters by the human race, and each horizontal stroke, left-falling stroke, hook, vertical stroke, and dot contained human wisdom.

The thousand words, like flowing light, were absorbed into his palm and imprinted in his mind.

He also needs to learn human wisdom, and he needs to understand these words as well.

Only when he resonates with the hearts of these eight boys can he create the Formless Sacrifice.

The formless sacrifice in his mind was different from a form of propaganda by external gods. Instead, it was a means to enhance the power of heaven and earth, concentrate it within himself, and strengthen his own power.

Bai Wuxiang excels at using illusions to kill enemies and winning through emotions, so the existence of Ji Le is the best way for him to increase his own power.

He left the temple and came to the outskirts of Black Stone Village. In the dead of night, the bells on the willow trees rang without wind, announcing the arrival of Wuxiang.

Bai Wuxiang stood outside the village, observing the bustling activity inside, and decided not to enter and disturb the villagers.

He walked around and found everything thriving, so he turned around and went back into his cave.

The breakthrough in cultivation was secondary during this seclusion; the real greatest benefit was the two new techniques I had comprehended.

The Vengeful Spirit Pearl now possesses seven major techniques and more than twenty minor techniques.

Most minor techniques are not very lethal; they are merely auxiliary methods.

The great arts are all extremely profound in their respective aspects.

His most frequently used technique is the Mind-Drawing Calamity, which can create multiple illusions and construct dreamscapes. He also possesses Netherfire, which is extremely detrimental to the soul and can be fatal.

The two new techniques I have just comprehended are the Puppet Show Technique and the Mysterious Flower of the Other Shore.

The Puppet Mastery technique requires the precondition of triggering a mental tribulation. It involves unleashing the enemy's deepest fears and transforming them into puppets, using a mix of reality and illusion to kill the enemy.

The Other Shore Flower is the most suitable supernatural power for Bai Wuxiang. He uses the Other Shore Flower from the Netherworld as a sacrifice to communicate with the divine and the divine, and to bring all things to the other shore flower. The mystery of his technique may come from the true meaning of the way of life and death.

These profound techniques have made Bai Wuxiang dare not delve any deeper into the question of what the true creator of the Resentful Spirit Pearl is.

The white fox on the mountaintop finally came to its senses when the sun rose the next day and returned to its cave.

She realized that the cave master had somehow emerged from seclusion.

Bai Wuxiang, who was sitting cross-legged on the stone platform, looked at the white fox, which had become much more lively, and said, "Now that you have awakened your intelligence and become a demon, you can say this."

Try to curb your temper and spend more time cultivating your inner energy in the mountains. When your cultivation reaches a higher level in the future, I will teach you some self-defense skills.

Remember this: it's good to listen to the teachings and learn wisdom, but don't get too close to the ordinary people down the mountain.

"Cuckoo..."

Upon hearing this, the white fox quickly responded twice, indicating that it dared not.

The old man said that those fox spirits met tragic ends, and she couldn't be like those infatuated fox spirits who would sacrifice their lives for mortals.

Seeing that she had taken his advice to heart, Bai Wuxiang stopped trying to control her.

Demons are inherently unruly and unrestrained, so raising them cannot be as strict as raising human children.

Bai Wuxiang began to cultivate these two great techniques. Unlike other great techniques, these two techniques required a medium to be used.

With a thought, a voice suddenly appeared in Ah Liu's mind inside the temple. Ah Liu, who had been at ease for more than a year, quickly jumped up from the soft couch, tidied himself up, and left the temple.

Inside the council chamber of Black Stone Village, the three leaders and Ah Liu gathered together.

More than a year has passed, and apart from Ah Liu, who remains unchanged, Li Yiguang and You Junzi have both aged considerably.

"High Priest, did Lord Wuxiang give any instructions?" You Junzi was the first to ask.

“That’s right. Lord Wuxiang has been in seclusion for over a year, and now that he has emerged, he has specifically entrusted something to us.” A-Liu said with a smile, “I’m afraid we’ll have to trouble the three of you.”

"What did Lord Wuxiang instruct you to do?" Li Yiguang frowned. The other party's explanation did not sound simple.

"Master Wuxiang said that he had been cultivating in the deep mountains for many years and inevitably felt lonely and bored."

"I'd like to see the opera performed at the pear orchard down the mountain." Ah Liu glanced at the group and continued, "We have a grand opera performance every fifteenth and first of the month. I hope the three of you can invite an opera troupe to come up the mountain and perform for Lord Wuxiang."

"What? Invite the opera troupe from the Pear Garden up the mountain?" Zhao Lengxiang couldn't help but question, "Could it be that you, High Priest, are using Lord Wuxiang's name to deceive us for your own selfish desires, just to watch the opera and listen to music yourself?"

"Third Master, what do you mean by that?" Ah Liu immediately retorted angrily, "How dare I falsely convey Lord Wuxiang's orders?"
Or are you saying you don't respect Lord Wuxiang at all?

"Hmph, respect isn't just about words," Zhao Lengxiang sneered. "Whether you truly respect Lord Wuxiang or are merely flattering a petty person for your own selfish desires, only you know the answer!"

"You! How dare you!" Ah Liu was furious and couldn't help but raise the divine jade staff in his hand and point it at her. Zhao Lengxiang's body immediately went limp and she collapsed to the ground, as if she had no bones left.

Seeing this, You Junzi's eyes flashed, and he quickly said, "High Priest, please don't be angry! We will do as you say and invite a troupe of actors to perform for Lord Wuxiang on the first and fifteenth of every month from now on."

"That's more like it." The high priest suppressed his anger, waved his hand, and released the spell on Zhao Lengxiang.

Although Zhao Lengxiang's face still showed anger, she remained silent.

Seeing this, Li Yiguang, who rarely spoke, relaxed his clenched fist and sighed, "But where do we, Black Stone Village, get the money to hire an opera troupe?"

After seeing Ah Liu off, You Junzi chuckled and said, "What we Black Stone Village have the least shortage of is gold and silver."

Last year I discovered a gold mine, intending to leave it for future generations to use.

But since Lord Wuxiang ordered us to hire an opera troupe, he must know that our Black Stone Village will inevitably enter the world!

"Lord Wuxiang has already made plans to enter the world, so what do we have to fear?"

(End of this chapter)