Becoming a Fox Spirit from Under One Person.

Who's outside?

"Reporting to Master!" The boy immediately turned around. "We've come to ask for water. There's a young hero, and... and a fox!"

"Fox?" The hoarse voice paused abruptly. "Since they're asking for water, take a few bowls over and don't be negligent."

The fox secretly glanced inside the temple.

The bluestone path was swept clean, and several pots of withered chrysanthemums were placed on both sides. The incense table in the central hall was empty, without even half a stick of incense, making it look particularly desolate.

Is the abbot in deep meditation?

“My master knows some divination skills. Some time ago, he predicted that a calamity was coming, so he has been hiding in the temple these past few days, trying to avoid the calamity and refusing to show his face easily.”

"What nonsense are you spouting?" The old Taoist priest urged from inside the temple, "Go and come back quickly!"

"Yes!" the boy hurriedly replied, then turned and darted into the temple.

Quite some time passed before he finally came running out, clutching two rough porcelain bowls filled with clear water.

Lin Zifeng reached out to take it, but when he saw the boy's action, a look of bewilderment appeared on his face.

The boy made no attempt to hide anything, boldly sticking his thumbs into the bowl with his fingertips, which he unconsciously stirred in the water.

"Local customs?" Lin Zifeng asked.

"Please have a drink, benefactor."

Lin Zifeng frowned. Although people in the martial arts world are known for their roughness and the saying "a little dirt won't hurt you," even the most casual people shouldn't treat guests like this. It was far too sloppy.

"Are you going to drink it or not? If not, I'll take it all."

Chen Ruoan opened her fox-like mouth slightly, and the clear water in the bowl swirled into a thin stream, flowing gently into her stomach.

After saying "Thanks," the fox leaped away and headed towards the mountain path.

Seeing this, Lin Zifeng quickly chased after him.

“Brother Fox, that boy is acting strangely. He's handing us water so casually, it's like he's deliberately trying to keep us from drinking. Besides, what kind of disciple would so readily reveal their master's escape from calamity? That's too unusual. Aren't you worried at all that there might be something laced in the water?”

The fox tilted its head. "Why are you talking so much this time?"

"I... cough cough." Lin Zifeng coughed a few times.

Chen Ruoan opened his mouth and spat out the water hidden in his belly onto the ground.

The fox's demon core can detoxify, and ordinary poisons cannot affect Chen Ruoan at all. But this time Lin Zifeng guessed wrong. They were indeed two bowls of ordinary water, and there was no poison in the water.

"Are you kidding me?"

"uncertain."

"What happened?"

"Let's take a look tonight," Chen Ruoan said.

The fox is cautious. Knowing the notorious villain Liang Ting's viciousness and methods makes him easier to deal with. What it fears is what other hidden dragons and serpents might be lurking in this world.

"I'll go," Lin Zifeng volunteered.

Upholding justice is the duty of a sword cultivator. Moreover, if the black fox's glossy fur were to curl up for any reason, it would greatly affect the visual appeal when drawing it.

Seeing Lin Zifeng's eager look, the fox couldn't refuse. But just as it was about to respond, the fox smelled a strong stench of blood.

Chapter 57 Daoist Master, Times Have Truly Changed

Foxes have a keen sense of smell and can detect a faint scent of blood in the wind, like a mixture of rust, dampness, sourness, and the strange aroma of burnt herbs.

"Blood pills and medicine dregs... Could it be that the woman we met earlier escaped from Qingfeng Temple? But that doesn't make sense. At this critical juncture of avoiding calamity, there's no reason to let someone out and cause trouble."

As Chen Ruoan pondered, Jiang Guifei, who was responsible for "carrying the sedan chair" for the fox, stepped forward and volunteered, "Master, why don't I sneak a peek?"

"Old Jiang, you're a ghost, why are you picking a fight with someone who plays with talismans?"

"It's different. Ever since I had tea and listened to music with Master Zhang last time, I seem to be able to perceive something that makes the soul uncomfortable. Besides, I know how to set up a layout. I can guarantee that there are no talismans or formations for exorcising ghosts or warding off evil spirits in Qingfeng Temple."

Ok?

Zhang Zhiwei has this kind of function?

Chen Ruoan agreed, "Then go ahead, but don't stray too far from me, and be careful in everything you do."

huh~

A wisp of yin energy drifted into the temple. Jiang Gui searched for a while, bypassing the main hall where the statues of gods were enshrined, avoiding the angry curses from the backyard, and moving between the two small rooms on the east and west sides.

The little ones who were brought here by their parents are all in the guest room in the east wing, eating some dry, hard rice, and seem to be fine.

"If there's nothing strange up there, then it must be down below."

With his limited knowledge of geomancy, Jiang Gui quickly found a passage leading to His Highness. The cold stairs led to a secret chamber, where a large bronze alchemy furnace could be seen in the dim firelight.

The fire in the stove was blazing, but no one was tending it, and bottles and jars were piled up around it.

At first glance, there seemed to be no problem with the room. However, as Jiang Gui was searching through the pile of dregs, he found several long, thin objects that were not completely burned out from the black residue.

Having spent decades in the "Boundary Between Yin and Yang," Jiang Gui had seen countless skeletons and could recognize them as human remains.

"A demonic path, indeed a demonic path."

With a whoosh, Ghost Fourth turned around and ran out through the crack in the stone door.

······

In the backyard of Qingfeng Temple, an old Taoist priest who called himself "Black Wind Taoist" pinched a boy, watching as drops of blood dripped from the corner of his mouth and landed on the back of his hand.

"It seems that since you took over, there have been more troubles. So what if the other side is an alien? Your master will not easily provoke them."

"Born in a chaotic world, the reason I have been able to maintain a quiet little abode in this place is because of my constant caution and my desire to make good connections. How dare you, a lowly creature, try to trip me up in secret?"

The little boy, unable to breathe, still wore the same welcoming smile on his flushed face.

"Dirty thing." Black Wind Taoist's hand tightened suddenly, just as he was about to finish off this unruly disciple, but a thick black cloud rolled in from the horizon, obscuring all the light.

A biting wind swept across the courtyard, carrying a chill that cut to the bone. Even though Nankang in October was damp and cold, it was never as biting as this.

The Taoist priest suddenly looked up, and a fine white fluff landed on his forehead, instantly turning into a cool sensation.

Snowing.

A strong, eerie wind was blowing outside the temple, and there was a "thump, thump, thump" sound in front of the door, as if someone was raising their hand to knock on the door, or perhaps it was just an illusion caused by the wind hitting the door.

Black Wind Taoist was in the midst of avoiding calamity and could not tolerate any unusual phenomena, so he released his grip and sent the boy to check the situation in front of the temple.

The snow fell thicker and thicker, the snowflakes flying everywhere and falling with the cold wind, leaving a thin layer of white in the courtyard. The boy went to the front yard, pushed open the gate, and saw a black-clad boy holding an oil-paper umbrella.

Snowflakes fell on the eaves of the umbrella, scattered like the petals of newly blossoming white plum blossoms.

The boy peeked out and asked a question, to which Chen Ruoan politely bowed and replied.

The child paused for a moment, then nodded quickly, and hurriedly ran towards the backyard, his small steps crunching through the thin snow.

"What happened?"

“A benefactor is passing by.”

Black Wind Taoist frowned, and said impatiently, "If he wants water, let him go lick the snow."

"That benefactor neither asked for water nor lodging, but only asked me to pass on a message to you."

"What?"

He said—your tribulation has arrived.

"Hmm?" Black Wind Taoist rolled up his Taoist robe and ran towards the main hall.

Lin Zifeng, who was waiting behind the Taoist temple, did not find anyone. After a moment of doubt, he drew his sword and chased after them into the temple.

Black Wind Taoist's face was ashen. He strode into the hall and suddenly raised his hand, slamming it hard on the altar.

Bang!

With a burst of palm force, the statues of the Three Pure Ones, sitting high on the altar, exploded. The painted exterior cracked and fell off, and porcelain shards and mud fragments flew everywhere. However, the inside of the three statues were not real clay figures, but three grayish-blue corpse puppets.

Three corpse puppets sat cross-legged on a high platform, exuding an ominous and eerie aura of death, with an incense burner piled high with ash in front of them.

Chen Ruoan walked into the hall, shook off the snow from the umbrella, closed it, and leaned against the door frame.

The scent of foxes mingled with the stench of corpses.

After watching the meditating corpse puppet for a while, the fox nodded and smiled: "I've heard that when people are scared, they instinctively run to a safe place. So, this is your greatest reliance? Seeing it makes me feel much more at ease."

Black Wind Taoist glanced at the fox ears on Chen Ruoan's head and sneered, "Outcast, this is the only time you can be so stubborn. Speak! Why did you come here to cause trouble?"

"In order to help the Taoist priest overcome his tribulation and ascend to the Great Dao as soon as possible."

"Hmph, go!"

At Black Wind Taoist's command, the three corpse puppets, no longer stiff, slowly rose and prepared to pounce down from the stage.

Just as he was about to move, three sword energies as bright as crescent moons shot out from outside the hall, striking the corpse puppet's hard skin and creating a clanging sound like metal colliding with stone.

Lin Zifeng climbed in through the window and landed between Black Wind Taoist and Chen Ruoan.

"Corpse refining?"

Lin Zifeng used the "Wind Scattering Shadows" technique, his body moving like a drifting cloud in the wind, and in an instant appeared behind the Black Wind Taoist. He gathered his long sword and slashed at the back of the old Taoist's neck.

Clang!

Another clanging sound rang out as two corpse puppets crossed their arms and stood guard in front of their master.

"There's something, but not much."

Lin Zifeng infused his longsword with Qi, greatly increasing its power. With a single slash, he sent two corpse puppets flying out of the hall. In the courtyard shrouded in dark clouds, another sinister and menacing black sword aura appeared.

The technique of sword energy—Mo Zhe Shan.

The sword energy condensed into a dark, sharp blade, which resembled a nimble, writhing black python, and coiled around the two corpse puppets.

Lin Zifeng was one of the "Thirty-Six Thieves" who would form a brotherhood in the future valley, and was naturally a leader in the sect. Several sword blades quickly tore apart the stiff, grayish-blue body of the corpse puppet, twisting the corpse body wildly.

Several pools of viscous, dark brown bodily fluids seeped into the white snow on the blue bricks.

"Ah!" Upon seeing this, the arrogant demeanor on Black Wind Taoist's face vanished. Under the protection of the last corpse puppet, he slowly moved towards the backyard.

Chen Ruoan followed slowly: "Don't be afraid, Daoist. I don't have the skills of that guy outside. The supernatural powers of foxes are very gentle."