In the ancient forest.
Around a hundred foxes surrounded Yibai, the great snake.
The old fox leading them behaved in a human-like manner, with movements that were somewhat too strange to talk about.
In general, it was neither human nor fox.
Yibai didn't have the time to ponder these things, as he was currently worried that the old fox would suddenly turn hostile.
But the old fox showed no signs of aggression, just sizing up Yibai from top to bottom.
In its small eyes, a flicker of confusion passed.
'This Serpent Demon has such pure Monster Qi, it has actually never eaten a human before, which is utterly unbelievable. My Hu Family has always been kind to others, but when I was young, out of curiosity, I tried a little bit of human flesh myself. This Monster Qi is so pure, it's like it has never touched human flesh.'
The old fox was somewhat surprised in its heart.
It found it hard to believe that in this world, there truly existed a demon that did not eat humans.
In the present day, to become a spirit without eating humans, one would at least need to live a hundred years.
But ordinary animals, how could they live a century? Becoming a spirit was nearly impossible.
For instance, foxes have an average lifespan of about ten years. Hoping to live for a century without an opportunity was simply wishful thinking.
Therefore, under a short lifespan, to become a spirit, they had to eat humans.
The old fox was acutely aware of the extraordinariness of the great snake before its eyes.
With a multitude of thoughts in its heart, the old fox still wore a cheerful smile on the surface, speaking, "As a dragon's kin, you are a guest here. Why be so reserved? My daughter will soon be married, and if you are free, you could stay and attend the ceremony. Having you there would be an honor for my daughter."
Upon hearing these words.
Yibai's hanging heart relaxed, he could tell that the old fox had no malice on the surface.
But only on the surface.
Foxes were notoriously cunning, and he dared not let his guard down; it was necessary to remain cautious.
"Since Immortal Hu personally invites me, naturally, I'm willing."
Yibai agreed.
"Excellent, dragon's kin, my daughter's wedding will be tomorrow night. You might as well rest a day here in the Hu Family's territory," the old fox said, imitating human mannerisms with a smile.
Yibai had no objections and gladly consented.
The old fox immediately called a group of foxes to escort Yibai away.
...
After bringing Yibai deep into the ancient forest, the old fox stopped.
The old fox explained to Yibai that this area, spanning a kilometer, was his temporary resting territory, and if he needed anything, he could call out, and nearby foxes would come to his aid.
Yibai was astonished upon learning this; he couldn't imagine just how vast the Hu family's domain was that a whole kilometer was allotted for his rest.
But the old fox didn't know what Yibai was thinking. After settling Yibai in, it left with the group of foxes.
Yibai watched the foxes depart and finally let out a sigh of relief.
He had been on the move constantly and then encountered this old fox fond of impersonating humans. Although his body didn't feel too exhausted, his mind was tired.
Yibai closed his eyes, curled his body up, and began to rest.
But he found that he simply couldn't rest.
As soon as he closed his eyes, all that came to mind was the character with the reading 'Ah'.
This character shone golden in his mind, carrying a very strange flavor.
But no matter how mysterious the character was...
Yibai didn't want to know where the mystery lay anymore, he was beyond caring.
Not even permitted to rest.
It was as if he were meant to die.
But Yibai had no solution.
This character seemed to reside in his mind, appearing whenever he closed his eyes.
Helpless, Yibai could only choose to slowly observe the character, to see what it wanted to do.
Under his observation, the character didn't seem to have any other meaning, just like it purely wanted to reside in his mind.
Yibai had no other choice, he could only keep watching the character.
He tried to discern something from it.
But after looking for a long time, he couldn't make out anything useful.
However, as he kept looking,
Yibai felt that the text was, somehow, quite pleasing to the eye...
It was an indescribable feeling.
It just felt like this text was quite interesting.
It seemed as if the text had a kind of magic that made him unable to resist being drawn into it.
As Yibai read on, he felt that the text wasn't as incomprehensible as he thought.
This character, it seemed to read...
a?
"a!"
Yibai opened his gaping maw and uttered a mantra, the sound emanating from his mouth.
Boom!
After Yibai uttered this sound, a wave of invisible force swept out in all directions from his serpentine body.
The surrounding fragments of rock and leaves were blown away.
This wave carried with it a power capable of subduing and exorcising demons.
"How powerful!"
Yibai, looking at the mess around him, was surprised.
He seemed to understand the purpose of the text in his mind.
Visualize its form, utter its sound, and demons shall be subdued!
With the discovery of the character's use, Yibai was exhilarated. He finally had a practical move.
Previously, he hardly resembled a demon, fighting only by rushing forward to punch and kick. Afterward, he acquired the ability to launch demonic power, but that was a one-shot deal.
Now, with this 'a' character, he finally had a ranged attack.
"Dragon, dragonkin, you..."
A faltering voice came through, snapping Yibai back to reality.
Yibai was startled and quickly turned to look.
The old fox was standing a kilometer away without him noticing, looking as if he wanted to approach but was halted by Yibai's 'a' sound.
"Immortal Hu, I was merely practicing and unintentionally caused some destruction. I hope for your understanding!"
Yibai honestly apologized.
He had indeed wreaked havoc around him.
"No, no harm done, but dragonkin, how do you know Buddhist Techniques?"
The old fox was still somewhat in shock.
Upon hearing this, Yibai was momentarily taken aback. What Buddhist Techniques?
He looked down and met the old fox's gaze. He asked, "Immortal Hu, are you saying my technique is from the Buddhist Sect?"
His tone was somewhat bewildered.
"Of course, the presence of the Buddhist aura is all too obvious."
The old fox nodded, its hands clasped behind shaking slightly.
It didn't want this.
But there was no helping it.
Being a demon, it instinctively feared the Buddhist and Taoist Sects. The shock of that aura made it instinctively afraid.
Hearing this,
Yibai thoughtfully mused.
So, this 'a' character belonged to the Buddhist Sect. No wonder he couldn't understand it; it must be Sanskrit from the Buddhist scripture.
However, as a demon who had learned Buddhist Techniques, wasn't that a bit awkward?
If he accidentally got into a fight with some monk or high priest later, and he whipped out Buddhist Techniques, what would the other think?