Xiao Ba was confused, unsure how it had lost and regained its connection with Su Luowei. It only realized it was back when Su Luowei stepped out of the tent after tending to Meng Shuying's wounds. "Did I disconnect again?" Xiao Ba asked, its tone filled with confusion. If it had a human form, it would probably be scratching its head right now.
"Yes, you disconnected as soon as I entered the well," Su Luowei replied, her eyes flickering with thought.
Since she entered this world, Xiao Ba had disconnected three times.
The first was at the bottom of Lin Manor's pond, the second was in Shifang Blessed Land, and the third was in Fox Valley.
In Lin Manor's pond, there was an altar to summon the Demon Lord; Shifang Blessed Land was an ancient immortal's relic, and Fox Valley had the presence of a Fox Immortal's divine consciousness.
It seemed that whenever she encountered something related to immortals or gods, Xiao Ba would automatically disconnect.
This led Su Luowei to speculate about Xiao Ba's origins.
But it was just a speculation.
"What a useless system, always disconnecting," Xiao Ba grumbled but suddenly paused, and then its tone turned serious: "A new mission has arrived."
Su Luowei's task panel lit up, displaying several golden characters.
[Main Task: Five Sects Grand Assembly]
The Five Sects Grand Assembly is a grand event held every twenty years in the cultivation world, open to all cultivators below the Nascent Soul stage. It's a golden opportunity for new talents to emerge and gain fame.
As the name suggests, the primary participants are the Five Great Sects, the largest powers in the cultivation world.
The Five Great Sects are Eastern Extreme Sect, Danyang Alliance, Penglai Pavilion, Kunlun Sect, and Qingxu Sect. The first four are located in the east, south, west, and north of the world, respectively, with Qingxu Sect in the center.
The Five Sects are loosely grouped into three factions: the Danyang Alliance and Penglai Pavilion form one faction; Qingxu Sect and Eastern Extreme Sect form another; and Kunlun Sect, residing in the northern snow mountains, stands alone.
Due to its central location, Qingxu Sect occasionally has conflicts with the other four sects. Among them, its relationship with Danyang Alliance is the worst.
Meng Shuying being hunted by Danyang Alliance earlier was not unrelated to her identity as a disciple of Qingxu Sect.
All the sects considered themselves righteous and virtuous, each aspiring to be the leader of the cultivation world. Therefore, despite deep-seated grudges, the sects had never engaged in large-scale conflicts.
Thus, the Five Sects Grand Assembly, held every twenty years, became a battleground for these sects to compete covertly.
The format of the Five Sects Grand Assembly varies each time, depending on the host sect's preferences, but a Golden List is always presented. Regardless of background—whether from a prestigious sect or a small faction—anyone who performs exceptionally in the assembly can make it onto the Golden List and gain widespread fame.
This time, the assembly is hosted by Eastern Extreme Sect and is set to begin in a month. If they leave immediately after resolving the situation in Fuxiao City, they can still make it in time.
Su Luowei asked, "What is the task?"
Xiao Ba replied, "Assist Wen Miaomiao in making it onto the Golden List."
This task didn't seem too difficult. Su Luowei recalled that in the original story, Wen Miaomiao had indeed made it onto the Golden List. With her assistance this time, it should be even easier.
She was about to ask Xiao Ba for more details about the Five Sects Grand Assembly when a thunderous cheer erupted nearby.
Meng Shuying also heard the cheer and emerged from the tent. She had changed into a black daoist robe, but the white inner garment underneath was disheveled, with the collar turned out.
Su Luowei reached out to adjust Meng Shuying's collar and smoothed the waistband.
"Thank you, Senior Sister," Meng Shuying murmured, her ears turning red again.
A familiar-looking burly man came running over, stopping in front of them. He was one of the official's subordinates.
The man's face was flushed with excitement as he exclaimed, "We caught him! We caught him!"
Su Luowei asked, "What?"
The man shouted, "Wen Xianzi captured the White Fox Lord! We had the matchmaker identify him, and it's really him!"
Thrilled at the thought of finally being able to report back to the city lord, the man's blood was pumping.
Su Luowei guessed that the Fox Immortal had fulfilled its promise and delivered the White Fox to them. She nodded and said nothing.
Unbeknownst to her, her calm demeanor made the man think she was even more mysterious and unfathomable.
"An immortal is indeed an immortal. She didn't even need to lift a finger, and the criminal surrendered willingly."
After this was all over, he would make sure to report everything to the city lord.
The man led them to a clearing beside the bamboo forest, where a crowd had already gathered—mostly the official's men. Seeing Su Luowei and Meng Shuying, they quietly made way for them.
As they passed through the crowd, Su Luowei spotted Wen Miaomiao standing there, holding a rope. The other end of the rope was tied around a man in white.
The man was tall and somewhat handsome, especially his fox-like eyes, which had an alluring quality.
"Where did you find him?" Su Luowei asked Wen Miaomiao through their spiritual connection.
Wen Miaomiao glanced at her and replied, "In the bamboo forest. I happened to find him hanging from a bamboo stalk."
The Fox Immortal's method of delivering the man was more straightforward and rough than Su Luowei had anticipated.
For someone who looked so cold and otherworldly, the Fox Immortal certainly had a simple and crude approach.
Su Luowei noticed the matchmaker nearby and approached her, asking softly, "Is this him, your master?"
The matchmaker's hands and feet were bound with rope, and she could barely sit upright, slumped on the ground. She gave Su Luowei a sidelong glance and weakly nodded.
So it was him.
Su Luowei walked up to the man in white and asked, "Those brides who went missing in Fuxiao City—where did you hide them?"
Before the temple collapsed, they had searched the entire area and found no one.
The man in white recognized her as the leader of this group. He looked up at her, his face pale, but his fox-like eyes were all the more captivating in the morning mist. "Cough... whatever else you want to know, just ask. Cough... I'll tell you everything."
Since he was willing to talk, Su Luowei didn't hold back.
"People call you the White Fox Lord. Who are you really?"
Though he exuded a faint aura of a demon, his demeanor and mannerisms had a certain elegance, like that of a nobleman.
The man in white smiled faintly, seemingly unfazed by his current situation, and sat down cross-legged.
"My real name is Chuntan. I was originally a white fox on this mountain. I cultivated here for two hundred years and finally took on human form."
Xie Hanzhu interrupted, "It's difficult for a demon to take on human form. Since you've already achieved it, why did you commit such heinous acts instead of continuing to cultivate?"
"This goes back to twenty years ago."
Demon cultivation differs from that of humans; they do not have the stages of Foundation Establishment or Golden Core, but instead are divided into lower, middle, and upper realms.
Lower-realm demons have power comparable to Golden Core cultivators.
Middle-realm demons have power comparable to Nascent Soul cultivators.
Upper-realm demons have power comparable to Deity Transformation cultivators.
Demon cultivation goes against the natural order, so when they break through to the lower realm, they face a lightning tribulation.
Without pills or spirit stones to replenish their energy, and without magic tools or formations to help resist the lightning, most demons, even if they survive the tribulation, are severely injured.
More than twenty years ago, after Chuntan survived the lightning tribulation, he was so badly injured that he couldn't maintain human form and could only lie on the ground, waiting to die.
In his despair, a little girl found his bloodied body and took him home.
The little girl said she found him by the pond beneath the chuntan tree, so she named him Chuntan.
The girl's name was Yuehui. Her family was wealthy, and her parents doted on her. Seeing that she refused to let go of the little fox every day, they agreed to let him stay.
Chuntan stayed with her for ten years.
Ten years later, Yuehui had grown into a young lady, and with her coming-of-age ceremony, it was time to discuss marriage. She was a well-known beauty in Fuxiao City, so many matchmakers came knocking on her door. After much deliberation, her parents finally found a good match for her.
However, Yuehui secretly told the little fox that she didn't want to get married.
She only wanted to stay with the little fox forever and live a carefree life.
One night, under the full moon, Chuntan revealed his true form to her for the first time, holding her face and asking her,
"Would you marry me?"
Her cheeks flushed from the wine, Yuehui gazed at him, her eyes sparkling like stars in the sky.
"I would, but…" Yuehui tilted her head to study him, as adorable as ever.
"But you're also a woman… how can you marry me?"
"That's easy," Chuntan smiled. "I can dress as a man."
She then donned men's clothing and returned to her mountain cave to retrieve the treasures she had been hiding for years, planning to give them to Yuehui as a betrothal gift.
But when she returned to the Yue family, she discovered that Yuehui had drowned that very day.
It turned out that Yuehui's betrothed had invited her for a boat ride. She had planned to use the opportunity to ask for the engagement to be called off.
But in the middle of the lake, the man tried to take advantage of her.
Panicked, Yuehui fell into the lake and was tangled in the water plants, never resurfacing.
That night, Chuntan avenged Yuehui by killing the man.
But what good did it do? Her beloved was never coming back.
The official's assistant, frowning at this point, couldn't help but interrupt, "Wait a minute. Are you saying that the young master of the Chen family, who was killed more than ten years ago, was killed by you?"
"Yes," Chuntan replied, smiling faintly at him. Her face was still deathly pale, but her lips were strangely red, as if painted with rouge.
"Not just him, but his entire family."
"No, no," the official's assistant shook his head repeatedly. "As far as I know, after the Chen family's young master was killed, the entire family moved away shortly after."
He remembered the incident clearly because the Chen family head had come to the city lord's mansion for help after the strange death of his son.
"They suspected it was the work of an evil spirit and hired a wandering cultivator to investigate. That cultivator was somewhat capable and traced the matter back to me, so I decided to eliminate the entire family." Chuntan's expression remained calm, as if to her, killing was as routine as chopping vegetables.
"The wandering cultivator never returned, so the Chen family suspected something had happened to him. They tried to flee that very night, but I was waiting outside the city, and I wiped them out."
The official's assistant gasped, "The Chen family had over forty members!"
Chuntan squinted her eyes, as if lost in thought.
"I didn't kill the young or the women. That night, I only took thirteen lives."
"You wicked fox demon, you're truly heartless!" one of the surrounding men shouted in anger, but Chuntan remained indifferent, as calm as ever.
Suddenly, Meng Shuying spoke up, "If you already avenged your beloved, why did you continue to harm those innocent brides?"
A soft smile curled Chuntan's lips, and her eyes filled with warmth as she looked into Meng Shuying's dark eyes. She slowly replied, "Because two years ago, someone told me that the dead could be resurrected."
The White Fox wasn't a lord, but a lady. She had never intended to marry those brides, which was why she wore white instead of red.