Seeing the indignant look on the large fox's face, an idea struck Li Tongya. He patted his storage bag, pulled out a sack of spirit rice, and said with a smile, "Big fox, take a look at this."
The fox's fiery red fur stirred. It lowered its head, sniffed, blinked slightly, and stammered, "Smells quite fragrant… This is spirit grain, spirit rice, isn't it? You don't see much of it in these mountains, but I've heard you immortal cultivators love eating it!
"If you… want to hire me for some work, I won't lift a paw for less than eighty or a hundred jin!"
Li Tongya smiled faintly. He quickly calculated in his head—eighty to a hundred jin was only worth a single spirit stone. If he could trade that for the assistance of a Qi Refinement cultivator, it would be an incredible bargain. Keeping that in mind, he chuckled and said, "Answer a few questions for me, and this bag of spirit rice is yours."
The large fox immediately raised its head and barked in delight. Li Tongya tossed the bag of spirit rice over and asked, "Do you know the specifics of that monster general?"
"Naturally!"
The large fox yipped and eagerly explained, "That boar monster has a Foundation Establishment cultivation and commands eight lesser monsters beneath him, all at the Qi Refinement stage. They scurry about collecting spiritual items on his behalf and reside in a monster den two hundred li to the south. Any beast in this territory that manages to cultivate to Qi Refinement is dragged away. He brands that speck of innate spirit between our brows, then sends us back to guard our posts."
Having said that, it sniffed the rice sack, looked up warily at Li Tongya, and spoke with increasing fluency, squeaking, "Can there really be such a good deal? You haven't poisoned it, have you?"
Listening with keen interest, Li Tongya pressed on, "What use is branding that innate spirit? Were you branded by that boar monster as well?"
"Hmph!"
The fox lifted its head defiantly and cried, "Among the six caves of Mount Dali, one of the cave masters is the grandmother of us foxes! How would that boar monster dare take my innate spirit? He'd have to be courting death.
"As for this innate spirit…"
The fox sighed dejectedly. "When we beasts absorb the essence of the sun and moon and condense the six wheels, a speck of innate spirit naturally forms between our brows. Once it is damaged, our cultivation suffers drastically and our vitality scatters. It's nothing more than giving that boar monster a hold over our lives…"
"So that's how it is."
Li Tongya nodded, gaining some understanding of the monster's methods. Watching the large fox pace back and forth around the spirit rice, he said softly, "Do you know of any Qi Refinement monsters in this area that haven't been captured yet?"
"There are still six around here. As for where they are, you'll have to trade more spirit rice for that!"
The fox blinked craftily. Li Tongya smiled and asked, "How long have you lived, fox?"
"About three hundred years, I suppose."
Leaning against the roots of the massive tree, the fox squeaked, "For the first sixty years, I was completely muddled. Only past sixty did I cultivate my fifth wheel and gain some memories. Then, at two hundred and seventy-seven, I finally condensed a mouthful of spiritual energy in my belly and broke through to Qi Refinement. Only then did I gain human-like sapience. After that, I cultivated alone for another hundred years, barely reaching the fifth level of Qi Refinement."
"Nearly four hundred years?!"
Li Tongya felt a wave of envy and murmured, "You beasts truly can live long. Even after breaking through to Qi Refinement, we humans only have a lifespan of two hundred years."
"What's there to envy!"
The fox squeaked loudly and said forlornly, "We foxes only have a lifespan of five hundred years in the Qi Refinement stage, and mine is nearly spent. The time I've had genuine sapience amounts to only the last hundred-odd years. The centuries before that were spent in a daze. It's nowhere near as good as being one of you immortals!"
Li Tongya nodded. Then, a sudden inspiration struck him, and he asked in a grave tone, "Three hundred years ago, a great battle took place in the Northern Foothills. Do you have any memory of it?"
"A great battle?"
The fox blanked for a moment and whispered, "It seems there was one…
"That night, I curled up inside my burrow. The earth trembled ceaselessly, and the voices of those immortals boomed like thunder, demanding the surrender of something or other…"
Seeing Li Tongya's anxious expression, the fox began to stammer, faltering, "They spoke of some… Record… Record Secret Decree, or something like that. Back then I was merely a tiny Embryonic Breathing beast. How could I… remember so much…"
Li Tongya pressed for more details, but could extract nothing further. Resigned, he shook his head in disappointment. Seeing this, the fox lowered its head with a trace of guilt and offered, "I do know of a rumor regarding the Northern Foothills, though."
Li Tongya looked up, intrigued. The fox opened its mouth and said, "I once heard a passing fox brother speak of the ancestral grandmother in the caves. Back when the old lady was in her three hundreds, she was also scraping a living here in the Northern Foothills. While she was fast asleep inside a hollow tree, a white-haired immortal suddenly yanked her out by the scruff.
"That white-haired immortal possessed an unfathomable cultivation. The moment he spoke, he asked: 'Little fox, have you ever eaten human flesh?' At that time, the Northern Foothills had just undergone the great battle and were devoid of people, so Grandmother answered: 'Never.'"
The fox was thoroughly engrossed in its storytelling, and Li Tongya listened with equal rapt attention. The fox imitated the voices with vivid precision, rendering the immortal's tone ethereal and aloof, and the little fox's voice stammering and meek, nearly moving Li Tongya to applaud.
"The white-haired immortal said: 'There is a group of villagers down below. Watch over them well and protect them for two hundred years, and I shall bestow upon you a great stroke of fortune.' Grandmother nodded repeatedly, whereupon the white-haired immortal tapped her between the brows, leaving behind that fortune, and then drifted away into the distance."
Li Tongya hurriedly asked, "What fortune?"
"How should I know!"
The fox rolled its eyes and continued, "Ever since then, our Mount Dali fox clan has never eaten humans. Even though the two hundred years have long passed, Grandmother still keeps the Mount Dali beast clans in check. A few years ago, a large bird devoured a person at the foot of the mountain. It displeased Grandmother so much that she banished it from the mountain and forbade it from coming within a thousand li of Mount Dali, on pain of being eaten by her."
"I see."
Li Tongya nodded, musing internally, *Our Li family has farmed here in the Northern Foothills for three hundred years, yet we have never heard of any immortal among our ancestors. Who knows whether this tale is true or false? I might as well just take it as a story for now.*
Looking at the fox, Li Tongya inquired, "Does my friend have a name?"
The fox curled its lip and squeaked, "I've lived beneath this big banyan tree for years, so they all call me the Bairong Fox. As for surnames, we beasts don't bother with such things."
Li Tongya nodded, cupping his fists. "I am Li Tongya. Your instruction today has benefited me greatly. I shall pay you another visit in a few months."
Watching Li Tongya ride the wind into the distance, the large fox let out a long breath and slumped to the ground with a thud. It pinched up a grain of spirit rice, popped it into its mouth, licked it cautiously, and mumbled to itself, "So fragrant…"
***
A full year had passed in the blink of an eye since Li Xuanxuan succeeded as family patriarch. Although the main branch of the Li family still wore white mourning robes, they had gradually grown accustomed to life under Li Xuanxuan's leadership.
Whenever Li Tongya returned to the mountain, he spent most of his time in seclusion, while Li Xuanfeng threw himself entirely into hunting beasts and cultivating. Li Xuanxuan had become the master of the Li family in both name and deed. In his early twenties, he handled matters with prudence, keeping family affairs orderly and well-arranged.
Seated at the head of the courtyard hall with Li Xiewen standing respectfully at his side, Li Xuanxuan smiled down at Chen Donghe, who sat below, and asked softly, "Have you thought it through?"
Chen Donghe frowned, cupped his fists, and said in a heavy voice, "Marrying into the family as a matrilocal son-in-law is a matter of great consequence. Donghe cannot make a reckless decision. I must return home to consult my father before we speak further."
Li Xuanxuan set down his teacup and said gently, "As you should. Donghe, you must not harbor any misgivings. After all, the family rules are clear: only the main branch of the Li family may cultivate the River Unity Qi Formula. I had to plead earnestly with Second Uncle to secure this opportunity for you…"
Chen Donghe nodded repeatedly, offered profuse thanks, bowed, and withdrew. Li Xiewen had someone clear away the tea from the guest's seat and spoke respectfully, "Patriarch, Xuanfeng is now fourteen. His marriage prospects should also be put on the agenda."
"Indeed."
Li Xuanxuan nodded slightly, unrolled the wooden slips in his hands, calculated for a few moments, and asked, "How many talismans did Second Uncle send down the mountain this month?"
"Answering the Patriarch: five."
"The family's stock of talisman ink and talisman paper is nearly exhausted. Xuanfeng will need to make a trip to the market square this month."
Li Xuanxuan gave the order. As the clan's manpower steadily increased and the spirit fields across their territory were largely brought under cultivation, they could generate a substantial surplus each year, even after paying tribute to the Qingchi Sect and supporting the family cultivators.
"Each year, our spirit rice yields three hundred jin beyond the required tribute. The annual clan stipend is ten jin for main branch cultivators, five jin for the lesser branch, and one jin for the collateral branch, totaling eighty-six jin. We can still save two spirit stones from the remainder."
Originally, the Li family had not possessed so many cultivators of their own bloodline. However, individuals with spirit apertures across the four towns had been steadily integrated into the clan through marriage and matrilocal alliances, mostly becoming cultivators of the lesser branch, which accounted for the distribution of spirit rice stipends.
"Each year, Second Uncle can craft around sixty talismans, selling for roughly twenty spirit stones. After deducting costs, that nets two to three spirit stones of profit. Added to what Xuanfeng, Donghe, and the others earn from hunting beasts in the mountains, our annual income reaches about seven spirit stones—roughly the price of an Embryonic Breathing magical artifact."
The family still had over seventy spirit stones in reserve. The Li family had been saving continuously, preparing to lay down a grand formation for Mount Lijing, and every single spirit stone earned brought a smile to Li Xuanxuan's face.
Chapter 107