Zhongshan Shenzhu Chi

It was early morning, before dawn.

The white fox then led the rat horde and the earthworm demons to meticulously determine the terrain and watercourses of Zhongshan Mountain, inch by inch.

Until noon, when the sun was high in the sky.

The rats and the earthworm demons rested under the shade of the tree.

The white fox lay on the ground, no longer as busy as before, wandering around, and seemingly unconcerned about the mud. Its tail was tucked under its belly, as if carefully protecting something.

The "Grey Rat Girl" staggered and imitated a human's mannerisms, bending over.

Perhaps it wasn't bending over, but rather she stood up on her hind legs, dragging her tail, her body already hunched over.

"Great Fox Immortal, Great Fox Immortal, try some of the fruits we just caught." The gray rat girl held two bright red apples in her front paws, her face full of flattery.

"Hmm." The white fox nodded gently, gesturing for it to place the apple in front of it.

Seeing that the white fox had accepted her fruit, which was unusual for her, the gray rat girl was overjoyed and quickly asked:

"Great Fox Immortal, I did indeed receive a reward from King Zhu, but my descendants have been working day and night like this... their teeth are starting to malfunction."

"They have their own destiny," the white fox replied calmly.

"This..." The gray rat girl was speechless.

"The reward of the candle is for you and the earthworm demon; it's extra." With that, the white fox closed its eyes.

No matter how embarrassed the gray rat girl looked, it didn't say another word.

In the valley, the snake god talked with it for a long time.

Determining the location of mountains and rivers will not only help us better cope with future droughts, but also help Zhongshan increase its spirituality. The stronger the spirit of Zhongshan, the stronger the candle will be.

The gray rats, the earthworm demons, and even the raccoon clan that later joined in—as long as they did something meaningful, they were bound to be rewarded.

Perhaps they will receive spiritual enlightenment from Zhongshan, or perhaps they will be able to live a peaceful life without illness or disaster.

Perhaps, inheriting the spirit of Zhongshan, a divinely bestowed spirit beast will be born.

A nine-tailed fox who, from birth, broke free from the shackles of divine will and life force.

The white fox lay on the ground, its tail gently rubbing its belly.

It is said that this helps the embryo develop.

The blood-red lotus seed was transformed into a lifeless embryo by the serpent god using an unknown method.

The Azure Nurturing Method, inherited from the Shuowang Sect and found in that ancient book, was used to implant the lifeless embryo into the white fox's abdominal cavity.

As Zhongshan is gradually clarified, the vitality of this embryo is growing stronger, and now we can even faintly feel it beating.

"Grow up quickly, grow up quickly."

"Grow up healthy, grow up healthy."

"To accompany the god of Zhongshan for a long time."

The white fox curled its body into a ball around its abdominal cavity, closed its eyes, and drifted into a midday nap.

A gentle mountain breeze rustled through the treetops, plucking a few warm, sun-dried green leaves and gracefully draping them over the white fox.

Warmth flows through its blood, supplying the embryo growing inside its belly.

The sun was gradually setting in the west; noon had passed.

The white fox is still unconscious.

Seeing this, the gray rat girl did not step forward to interfere, but instead chose to step forward herself to try to communicate with the earthworm demons and let them go down to explore the water veins first.

But where does the earthworm demon have any intelligence?

The white foxes exhausted themselves to enable the animals to understand commands and comprehend what they wanted to express.

The gray rat girl gestured in place for a full quarter of an hour, but could only get some ambiguous replies.

"Hey! You bunch of idiots!" she muttered as she slumped down.

The earthworms couldn't understand, nor did they receive the white fox's order to start work, so they turned around and continued to hide in the soil.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, shall we wake you up..." a gray rat suggested.

"What are you yelling about? Can't you see the fox spirit is tired?" The gray rat girl turned around, grabbed the gray rat that made the suggestion, and rubbed its fur hard in her arms.

Suddenly, a huge shadow blocked out the sun in the sky.

One by one, the earthworms emerged from the soil and lined up facing the gray rat girl.

"What happened?"

The gray squirrel mother put down her cubs and turned her head.

What came into view was a crimson scale that seemed to be formed from fresh blood. Just one scale was enough to fill her entire field of vision.

"candle--"

"Quiet."

The gray rat girl immediately lay down, and the group of rats instantly fell silent. Even the wind stopped blowing, and the forest seemed to have been muted.

The giant snake turned its head and looked at the white fox, who was sleeping peacefully with its body covered by two or three fan-like leaves.

I don't think I've ever seen it sleeping soundly before; it's always there whenever I call it.

Come back later.

Just as it was about to leave, the white fox twitched its nose and caught a familiar scent.

"candle?"

"Awake?" The giant snake turned around and looked at the white fox who was slowly waking up.

"I'm sorry, I fell asleep." The white fox pulled out its tail, which had been pressed down and was a little numb, and tried to open its eyelids, which felt like they were filled with lead.

"Are you here to check how the Zhongshan watercourses are being drawn? Wait a moment, let me prepare it for you."

"No need." The giant snake shook its tail and placed the dragon pearl, the size of a human head and containing wisps of water energy, in front of it.

The appearance of the pearl instantly captivated the attention of all living beings present.

The next moment, they saw that the pearl was wrapped with a hideous snake tail, and they all looked away.

"this……"

The white fox looked at the bright pearl and was about to speak.

Suddenly, he remembered something and shook his head repeatedly.

"Candle, I can't take this."

"Hmm?" The giant snake was somewhat surprised, as it had rarely heard the white fox refuse it before.

"This isn't something that formed normally; there's something else inside..." Normally, the white fox would have accepted it.

But now, she is at a crucial moment in the development of her embryo.

Regardless, Zhu has said more than once that whether it is a fox or any other creature, they should be pure in order to have spirituality.

They only mentioned the unborn embryo in her womb.

She can still guarantee that her child will be a healthy, clever, and brave fox.

But if she were to be struck by something inside that pearl, at best she would be sexually altered, at worst... all her and the snake god's efforts would be in vain.

"Something else?" The giant serpent held the pearl up to its eyes.

The flickering of a snake's tongue can indeed give off a different scent, but it is ultimately a rootless tree that will eventually dissipate.

In addition, there is the water transport contained within the pearl.

Is the fox worried that it can't digest it?

It seems there really is a problem.

It has only broken the shackles of life force, and does not yet have enough blood and spirit to refine it.

The giant serpent swallowed the pearl and tempered it with water and fire, transforming it into the purest spiritual power.

As the snake moved, it caught a glimpse of all the creatures present, all of whom were looking at the white fox with envy.

The snake's eyes gleamed as it saw the gray rats' almost worn-down incisors and claws.

They also deserve a reward.

"You did a good job."

As soon as the words were spoken, a large mass of water formed from the spiritual energy of the mountains and rivers instantly condensed in the air.

It then separated again, landing precisely on the creatures present who were participating in the geomancy of the mountains and rivers.

"Is there another raccoon dog?"

"That's true. It's unlikely that foxes alone could control such a large team of geomancers."

With a thought, the giant serpent sent two more wisps of spiritual liquid to the Rat Queen and the Earth Badger.

"Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you, Your Majesty!" The two little ones kowtowed repeatedly.

It churned inside his stomach; the pearl had already been completely refined.

The giant snake suppressed the old man who was about to burst out of his throat, vomited out the pearl, and placed it in front of the white fox without saying a word.

"It's clean, now it's yours."