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Boom!
Just as Zhou Jiaqian and Zhou Jiacai, the brothers, escaped the swamp, the monster in the dark tore through the "Spiritual Light Shield" and leaped onto an exposed rock.
Bathed in moonlight, it finally revealed its figure.
The monster wasn't large, only a little over a meter long, with white fur on top and black underneath, and a body of solid muscle.
If Ye Feng had been here, upon seeing the appearance of this monster, he would have taken a sharp intake of breath.
Because, it was a honey badger!
Known by the nickname "Brother Flathead," it would challenge the heavens, the earth, and the air itself, with thick skin and strong flesh, fearing nothing. Every day, if it wasn't fighting, it was on its way to a fight.
This Brother Flathead, having grown up in the cultivation world, was small in stature, but its claws and sharp teeth were incredibly tough; a single swipe was enough to shatter a thousand-pound boulder.
It looked up at the sky and let out a roar imbued with a sense of "I'm the boss."
...
Whitefloat City, the night market.
Ye Feng was eating skewers at a street stall with his disciples.
"I'm so full!"
Shi Lei patted his belly, then gazed at the various classical beauties passing by on the road and felt content.
Sitting next to him, Huo Yunjie felt the same.
Li Jiaojiao, on the other hand, kept silent, her head down, busy cutting grilled meat for Ye Feng.
Although Mo Ying was eating, she threaded the skewers from underneath her black veil to her mouth. She had never revealed her true face in town and ate very little.
At that moment, Ye Feng realized the sense of danger had lessened a lot, and they could start their journey back to the Misty Sect.
He clapped his hands and, using a few dozen copper coins, paid for the skewers. He said to everyone, "After feasting and drinking to our heart's content, it's time to go back. We'll come again early tomorrow morning."
"Okay!"
The disciples wiped their hands clean and followed Ye Feng out of the city before flying away on their swords.
A moment later.
The group arrived at Misty Sect.
Seeing the open gates, Ye Feng was at a loss for words.
Ever since Si Taijian kicked down the gate with one foot, they hadn't bothered to close it anymore; it was very convenient.
But this meant the Misty Sect was wide open, which made it easy for all sorts of strange things to barge in.
"Eh, there's demon qi!"
As soon as they stepped into the courtyard, Mo Ying, with her keen senses, scanned the area and pointed under the table in the Sect Leader's Great Hall, "There's a Lower Rank Demon Soldier Level fox demon, equivalent to the third level of Qi Refinement."
"Where's the demon?"
The timid Li Jiaojiao was startled and immediately executed the Fire Cloud Palm; a small flame lit up in her palm, illuminating the surroundings.
"Ah! Such a cute Little White Fox."
Upon seeing the Little White Fox lying asleep under the table, Li Jiaojiao actually wanted to grab it and stroke its soft, snow-white fur.
"A Lower Rank Demon Soldier Level, that's not simple at all!"
Ye Feng said in surprise.
On the Shenzhou Continent, monsters have their own ranks of cultivation: Demon Soldiers, Demon Generals, Demon Kings...
Demon Soldiers correspond to the Qi Refining Realm.
Such creatures generally possessed low-level spiritual intelligence, especially the likes of the white fox, which were even more clever.
"Ah! Now I remember, could this be that old white fox's cub?" Shi Lei recalled an incident from years past, his eyes widening in realization.
The others all looked over.
Shi Lei hurriedly explained, "Several years ago, the Old Sect Leader and I went down the mountain to catch demons, and we saved a pregnant white fox. This Little White Fox might be its cub and could have followed its scent here."
Li Jiaojiao added, "When I was little, my mother told me that demons are sentient. If someone saves them, once they grow up and transform, they will come back to return the favor."
"That does seem to be the belief. In Whitefloat City, I've heard storytellers relay the tale of 'The Grateful Fire Fox.'"
Huo Yunjie seemed lost in memories, "It's said that a scholar saved a fox, and later that fox transformed into a red-haired beauty, married the scholar, and they had several beautiful daughters."
Mo Ying didn't say anything.
She stood there prettily, her face hidden behind the black veil, so no one could tell her expression.
The disciples spoke excitedly amongst themselves, causing Ye Feng to curl his lips.
Mythical tales?
Do you think I haven't heard them?
Xu Xian, Dong Yong, Ning Caichen—none of those guys were simple characters.
```
The previous two's objects were a white snake and an immortal fairy, which were quite acceptable. But the third one, nicknamed "Wraith Knight," might scare them silly if they ever found out.
However, Ye Feng only complained inwardly.
Clearing his throat, he said, "We can discuss these matters later. The urgent task at hand is to determine whether the Little White Fox bears any ill will towards us. If not, we can keep it."
Lower rank Demon Soldiers are equivalent to the third level of Qi Refinement.
Keeping it in the sect may allow us to nurture it into a Mountain Guardian Spirit Beast, but I wonder if the system has this function.
Ye Feng thought to himself.
"Ding, as the Sect Leader, you can establish a 'Spirit Beast Pavilion' for your sect. However, since you're still in your assessment period, the Spirit Beast Pavilion cannot be opened yet."
The system suddenly emitted a notification sound.
Ye Feng's mouth twitched as he thought to himself that this damn system always pops up unexpectedly - is it trying to scare him to death so it can conveniently find a new host and continue its scare tactics?
"Since the Spirit Beast Pavilion isn't open yet, let's focus on completing the assessment period tasks."
Ye Feng planned accordingly.
By now, Li Jiaojiao had picked up the Little White Fox, who opened its large watery eyes and looked around at everyone.
Then it fell asleep again.
"Yo! It doesn't seem to be afraid of strangers."
Ye Feng exclaimed in surprise.
"If the Little White Fox truly is the offspring of the old white fox saved by the Old Sect Leader, then it must have inherited the memories of the previous generation of the Fox Clan and feels a sense of familiarity with the aura here."
After a long silence, Mo Ying finally spoke, "Perhaps, the old white fox has passed away, leaving only this Little White Fox, which has followed the scent to find this place."
On hearing this, Ye Feng felt it made a lot of sense.
Monsters have a strong memory inheritance.
When he first crossed over to the Shenzhou Continent, he already knew such introductions.
Therefore, monsters are famously vengeful.
If possible, do not offend them, especially not the adorably clumsy beasts like Brother Flathead.
"Since the Little White Fox isn't afraid of strangers, let's keep it and see if we can train it into a Mountain Guardian Spirit Beast later on."
Ye Feng announced his decision.
"That's great!"
Li Jiaojiao was delighted as she stroked the Little White Fox's fur, "From now on, let's just call it 'Xiao Bai'."
Xiao Bai, what a plain name!
Ye Feng couldn't help but feel an urge to complain but kept it to himself, not wanting to hurt his disciple's feelings.
"Let's rest for now. We have to go to Whitefloat City to recruit new disciples early tomorrow."
After speaking, Ye Feng sat on the chest filled with Spirit Stones, took out the bottle of Spirit Eye Liquid that he hadn't finished, and continued to wipe his eyes with it, attempting to open his Spirit Eyes and advance to the Gazing Breath Realm.
But as the bottle of Spirit Eye Liquid was almost used up, Ye Feng realized that it had no effect.
"Could it be a substandard product?"
Ye Feng looked at the small bottle with a strange expression.
"The poorer the talent, the more Spirit Eye Liquid is consumed when opening Spirit Eyes."
Mo Ying, who was sitting nearby cultivating, suddenly spoke up.
Ye Feng raised an eyebrow, "My talent as the Sect Leader can't be that bad, can it?"
"It's not necessarily a lack of talent. It might also be that your eyes have seen too many unclean things, which is why they require a lot of Spirit Eye Liquid to cleanse."
Mo Ying added another comment.
Ye Feng, even more puzzled, thought to himself.
Unclean things he had seen?
Impossible! It's just a few hundred; is that too many?
Besides, it should be the mind that's impure, not the eyes, right?
The more Ye Feng thought about it, the more confused he became.
Yeying, seeing him with a look of life's frustrations on his face, couldn't help but let her red lips curve slightly behind her veil as she thought to herself:
"This Sect Leader is quite interesting."
She fell silent again, forming hand seals and quietly circulating her cultivation technique, aiming for a higher realm.
Ye Feng refused to take it lying down.
He used up the entire bottle of Spirit Eye Liquid until he was so sleepy his eyes wouldn't stay open and then, reluctantly, he went to sleep.