Transforming into a stunningly beautiful fox spirit, leaving a scar on the heart of a prodigy.

The damp, chilly atmosphere in the cave hadn't dissipated, and there was even a faint, lingering smell of blood in the air.

Su Chang'an, however, had already pulled himself out of that state of utter grief.

She rolled over and lay sprawled on the still-warm stone bed, casually grabbing a handful of sunflower seeds from thin air and cracking them open with a loud cracking sound.

There was no trace of the life-or-death farewell they had just shared.

"System, process the transaction."

Su Chang'an spat out two melon seed shells, his tone languid.

[Ding! Congratulations, host, on completing the second node strategy mission: Bai Yin (Geng Metal White Tiger).]

Strategy Rating: Perfect (S+).

[Target's current status: Corrupted/Surviving.]

[Rewards are being distributed...]

A series of golden rays exploded in front of Su Chang'an.

The scene was even more lively than setting off fireworks during the Lunar New Year.

A massive, heart-pounding surge of heat appeared out of nowhere in her dantian, without any warning, and began to surge wildly along her meridians.

Su Chang'an grunted, scattering the melon seeds in his hand all over the ground.

This is not the kind of gentle nourishment, but rather an overbearing indoctrination.

The bottleneck that had previously held them at the peak of the Cave Profound Realm was pierced through by this power as easily as a thin sheet of paper, without even a sound.

Early stage of the Great Sage Realm.

Mid-stage of the Great Saint Realm.

The aura was still rising.

The nine tails behind Su Chang'an manifested uncontrollably.

The once snow-white fox tail has now changed, with each tail tip tinged with a faint golden-red, like a burning flame or congealed blood.

This is a sign of bloodline evolution.

The nine-tailed celestial fox, and then the ten-tailed divine fox, which is said to be able to fight against a true dragon.

Although she is still far from being a Ten-Tails, the appearance of this golden-red color means that her bloodline purity has reached the level of ancestral atonement.

boom!

A muffled thud came from inside Su Chang'an's body.

The heat finally stopped.

She slowly sat up and stretched her neck.

Crackle, crackle.

His bones were crackling, and every muscle was filled with a power that seemed capable of tearing a hole in the sky.

Peak of the mid-stage of the Great Sage Realm.

We're just one step away from entering the later stages.

With this evolved bloodline, Su Chang'an estimated that if he were to encounter a half-step Great Sage like Xuanjizi again, he could slap him into the ground and never be able to get him out.

"Is this the happiness of a rich woman?"

Su Chang'an clenched his fist, feeling the terrifying spiritual power flowing through his fingertips, and the smile on his face gradually became distorted.

The feeling of becoming stronger without needing to endure hardship or tribulations, simply by acting, is incredibly addictive.

[Ding! System detected that the host's cultivation has broken through to the Great Saint Realm. System shop access has been upgraded.]

[Bonus rewards are being distributed: A fragment of the Heavenly Rank Superior Cultivation Technique "The Supreme Record of Forgetfulness," a Divine-Level Movement Technique "A World Apart," and a special item: The Fate Map of Breaking the Emperor (fragment).]

Su Chang'an raised an eyebrow.

She reached out and pointed in the air, and three things appeared out of thin air.

She had no interest in "The Record of Supreme Forgetfulness". Just from the name, it sounded like the signature technique of that unlucky Supreme Forgetfulness Sect. Practicing it would easily cause facial paralysis, so she just threw it into the warehouse to collect dust.

"Close at Hand, Yet Far Away" is a good thing; it's a life-saving and escape technique. Just click to learn it.

Finally, her gaze fell on the yellowed parchment scroll.

The map depicting the opportunity to break through the emperor's grasp.

This is a bit interesting.

In the Central Continent, Great Sages are as common as dogs, but there is only one Great Emperor.

To break through the shackles of the Great Saint Realm and attain the Dao to become an Emperor, cultivation alone is not enough; one also needs destiny.

The picture is drawn with crooked lines, marked with a red dot, and next to it are a few small ancient seal characters: Luofengpo.

"Fallen Phoenix Slope..."

Su Chang'an stroked his chin.

She had heard of this place; it was located at the border of the Eastern Continent and the Central Continent, and was said to be an ancient battlefield, extremely dangerous, where even a Great Sage might perish.

To go or not to go?

Su Chang'an grabbed another handful of melon seeds.

I definitely have to go.

After all, who would complain about having too long a life?

But let her go by herself...

Su Chang'an glanced at the pitch-black night outside, then looked at the soft fox fur couch beneath him.

too tired.

Having just finished a major performance, she was exhausted both physically and mentally. Asking her to go on an adventure in some godforsaken place would be the death of her.

"The most important thing about being a human... no, a fox is learning how to boss people around."

Su Chang'an snapped his fingers.

[Supernatural power activated: External avatar.]

The air around her suddenly distorted.

A woman who looked exactly like her came out.

Dressed in the same pristine white robes, possessing the same breathtaking beauty, even that languid and irritating aura was almost perfectly replicated.

The only difference is that this avatar only has the cultivation level of the Perfected Manifestation Realm and does not have a system.

"Go."

Su Chang'an shoved the tattered map into his avatar's arms, and also tossed over a storage bag containing some pills and spirit stones.

The avatar took the item and glanced at the real body expressionlessly.

Although they are incarnations, their spirits are also interconnected.

But she was clearly protesting silently against the exploitative behavior of the host, who said "I sleep while you work."

Don't look at me like that.

Su Chang'an waved his hand without any sense of guilt.

"Good job, I'll give you an extra chicken leg when you get back."

The avatar rolled its eyes, turned around, and walked out of the cave.

Watching his avatar disappear into the night, Su Chang'an nodded in satisfaction and slumped back onto the bed.

"This is life."

……

half a month later.

Qingniu Town, on the border of Dongzhou.

This is the only way to Luofengpo.

Because of its proximity to a dangerous place, the town is a melting pot of all sorts of people, including desperate rogue cultivators looking to try their luck, as well as shady shops that specialize in murder and robbery.

Qingniu Town is located on the border of Dongzhou, a place where all sorts of people mingle.

To the east lies a prosperous land inhabited by ordinary people, while to the west lies the ominous Luofeng Slope, a place said to be avoided even by the Great Sage.

Su Qing wrapped her plain linen clothes tighter around herself, held a folding fan in her hand, and slowly strolled into "Tingyuxuan," the largest teahouse in town.

She is Su Chang'an's avatar. Although she only has the cultivation level of the Transformation Realm, this appearance is a one-to-one replica of the original body.

To avoid trouble, she deliberately used a smokescreen, appearing to outsiders as nothing more than a handsome traveling scholar.

As soon as he sat down, the gavel struck with a sharp "snap," silencing all the tea drinkers in the room.

The old storyteller on the stage had white hair and beard, and his spittle flew everywhere as he got into the story.

"As mentioned in the last chapter, the battle at Yunmeng Marsh was truly earth-shattering! Thirteen experts from the Supreme Forgetfulness Sect came out together, with the half-step Great Sage Xuanjizi also in charge, all to besiege and kill that newly awakened ancient white tiger!"

Su Qing raised an eyebrow, waved for a pot of the cheapest broken tea, and grabbed a handful of melon seeds to crack open.

The news traveled fast; it only took half a month for it to spread from the Western Continent to the Eastern Continent.

"As you may not know, the White Tiger Demon Lord was already at his last gasp, but in order to protect the fox clan woman named Su Xiaojiu in his arms, he endured Xuanjizi's 'Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Origin' attack!"

The old man spoke with great emotion, his eyes reddening: "Su Xiaojiu was also a woman of strong character. To save her lover, she lied and claimed that the fox clan had nine lives, sacrificing herself to the sword to shield the white tiger from certain death. She left behind only a straw effigy and the last words, 'I want to wake up with you,' before her life ended, her soul scattered!"

A wave of sighs swept through the teahouse, and several melancholy women wiped away tears with handkerchiefs.

Su Qing paused for a moment while cracking sunflower seeds.

"cough……"

She picked up her teacup and took a sip as if to cover up her unease, but felt inexplicably uneasy.

At the time, in an effort to gain favor with the audience, the acting was indeed a bit over the top.

Now, when others tell her this story, it sounds like a public execution of her conscience.

The old man sighed, gently waved his folding fan, and recited a poem to set the scene:

"The rain has just stopped by the Yunmeng Marsh, but the hatred for the withered bones that have turned to ash is hard to extinguish."

"The nine-tailed fox deceived the fool's tears, while the white-haired demon lord guarded the empty cave."

"People say demons are heartless, but who knows that love is the most bloodthirsty thing?"

"Bravo!" The audience cheered.

"And then what? What happened to the white tiger?" someone asked loudly.

The old man's expression was solemn: "That White Tiger's hair turned white overnight. After becoming a demon, he slaughtered all thirteen members of the Supreme Forgetfulness Sect, and even twisted off Xuanjizi's head to use as a football! Now he guards the depths of Yunmeng Marsh. Anyone who dares to approach him will die a gruesome death. I heard he's still searching the world for a way to resurrect himself, even if it means turning the underworld upside down, he'll find Su Xiaojiu."

Su Qing felt that the melon seeds in her hand no longer tasted good.

That silly tiger, was it really just guarding there?

She touched her chest; although the original system wasn't there, the memories were shared.

Bai Yin's final, desperate look is like a thorn stuck in my mind.

"What a tragedy..." Su Qing muttered under her breath, "Next time, let's choose a gentler script. Acting in too many melodramatic scenes can shorten one's lifespan."

Just as she was about to get up, pay the bill, and leave, not wanting to hear this story that was causing her conscience to ache any more, a crisp notification sound suddenly rang in her mind.

Although she is a clone and does not have a system panel, the main body has obviously enabled remote sharing permissions.

[Ding! Key figure from the third node detected.]

[Target: Guxiang.]

[Danger Level: SSS (Potential)]

[Current favorability rating: 0 (Passerby)]

[Location: To the host at the three o'clock position, in the corner near the window.]

Su Qing's hand froze.

So this is it?

They don't even let you breathe?

She turned her head without making a sound and looked in the direction indicated by the system.

A poor scholar sat in the corner.

We are really poor.

His blue shirt was faded from washing, the cuffs were worn out, and his cloth shoes were covered in yellow mud.

There was only a bowl of free water in front of him; he couldn't even afford tea.

This person was not bad-looking, with clear features, but his stale and rotten smell could be detected even three tables away.

At that moment, the scholar was listening intently.

When he heard the part about "Su Xiaojiu sacrificing herself to the sword," the scholar's eyes reddened. He took out a worn-out pen from his pocket and began writing furiously on a crumpled piece of paper, shaking his head and muttering incantations as he wrote.

Su Qing channeled her spiritual power and focused her attention to listen.

The scholar recited with grief and indignation, "What is love in this world that makes people willing to die for it... This fox demon, though an anomaly, is cleaner than most people in this world! The Supreme Forgetfulness Sect truly doesn't deserve to call itself the righteous path! If I had the strength to truss a chicken, I would definitely write an article to curse that Xuanjizi so that he wouldn't find peace even in the afterlife!"

Su Qing: "..."

Isn't this just an angry young man?

Moreover, he's just a weak, angry young man who only knows how to talk big.

Is there a bug in the system?

Chen Xuan is an imperial prince, Bai Yin is an ancient divine beast, so what the hell is this Gu Xiang?

[Note: This target is based on the "Sage of Confucianism and Taoism" template and is currently unawakened. Strategy suggestion: A true friend is hard to find.]

The ultimate sages of Confucianism and Taoism?

Su Qing narrowed her eyes.

In this world where cultivators are everywhere, Confucianism and Taoism have long since declined.

You can't gain immortality from reading books, nor can you acquire flying swords.

But since this scholar has been highlighted in red by the system, it means that beneath his seemingly useless exterior lies a talent capable of causing upheaval.

"A beautiful woman adding fragrance to your sleeves, huh...?"

Su Qing looked down at her men's attire and a playful smile appeared on her lips.

The main body was sleeping soundly in the cave, leaving this clone to do the hard work.

Fine.

Since we are scholars, we should do things the way scholars do them.

Su Qing closed the folding fan, casually tossed down a piece of silver, and strode toward that corner.

"Brother," Su Qing walked to Gu Xiang's table, sat down as if they were old friends, and pointed to the bowl of water in front of him, "what's the point of just drinking water? How about I offer you a cup of tea, and we can chat about that... deceitful fox?"

Gu Xiang, still immersed in grief, suddenly looked up upon hearing this, his clear, bright eyes widening in anger: "Brother, watch your words! Miss Su is righteous and deeply devoted; how could you say she's lying? If you intend to insult the deceased, I... I'll fight you to the death!"

As he spoke, he grabbed the worn-out pen and made a gesture as if he was about to stab Su Qing to death.

Su Qing was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh out loud.

interesting.

This is the first time someone has ever been willing to fight her to the death to protect her reputation as a "scumbag woman".

This scholar is a bit dull, but also kind of cute.

It seems the journey to Luofengpo won't be boring.