As Xu Ming carefully poured the ashes into the groove, a peculiar formation appeared around it, spreading outward like a spiderweb.
Strange, incomprehensible runes began to flicker on the formation, their light alternating between bright and dim. Moments later, the runes shattered like glass, crumbling into frost-like shards.
Meanwhile, the ashes in the groove began to solidify into delicate, snowflake-like shapes.
A gust of wind swept through.
The barrier on the groove dissipated entirely, and through his Dao Pattern Eyes, Xu Ming saw a box hidden inside.
He pressed the switch next to the groove. As the mechanism clicked open, Xu Ming retrieved the box.
Examining it closely, Xu Ming noted that it was crafted from phoenix wood—a material renowned for its millennium-long durability and value surpassing gold. Strange engravings adorned the box, forming a small formation that blocked spiritual perception.
Opening the box, he found a letter and a rolled-up parchment, both remarkably well-preserved.
"Miss, we'll be taking this item with us. I'd appreciate it if you didn't mention this to anyone," Xu Ming said to the pink fox without immediately examining the contents.
His request for discretion was also, in part, to protect her.
The pink fox nodded. "I understand."
She was well aware that this item was no ordinary object and had no intention of causing trouble for herself by speaking of it.
"Then we'll take our leave. Please accept this small token of gratitude," Xu Ming said, offering her a gold ingot.
The pink fox was startled by the sight of the gold and hurriedly tried to decline.
"There's no need to refuse," Xu Ming reassured her. "If it weren't for you allowing me in, I wouldn't have been able to retrieve my friend's belongings."
The pink fox's eyes sparkled as she glanced at Xu Ming twice. "If the young master truly wishes to repay me, perhaps you could tell me about the world outside someday?"
"I'm afraid I won't have the time for now," Xu Ming replied. "But when I do, I'll be sure to tell you. For now, please accept this as a token of my gratitude."
"Very well, then. I'll accept it as a keepsake from you," the pink fox said with a charming smile that quickened Xu Ming's heartbeat.
In his mind, Xu Ming quickly repeated to himself, "I am not a furry enthusiast. I am not a furry enthusiast."
Just as Xu Ming left the pink fox's courtyard, a sudden, thunderous boom came from the southern part of the city, shaking the very ground.
The pink fox's fur stood on end in fright.
"Miss, it's best if you stay indoors," Xu Ming advised before hurrying toward the source of the commotion with the Tianxuan Goose.
When they arrived, the scene was already packed with a crowd of onlookers. It was so congested that Xu Ming even spotted a weasel cracking sunflower seeds while gesturing animatedly.
A moment later, he saw more human cultivators flying in from above.
"Why are so many human cultivators showing up all of a sudden?" Xu Ming wondered.
"Excuse me, let me through."
"Who's pushing me? Huh? What a handsome young man," an old eagle remarked in surprise.
"Sir, please don't touch my behind," a cow girl said.
"My apologies, it was unintentional," Xu Ming said as he maneuvered through the crowd.
Eventually, he managed to make his way to the front, where he saw a rhino pummeling a human cultivator mercilessly. The man was bloodied and bruised, unable to fight back at all.
Nearby, another cultivator was being flung around by an elephant using its trunk, tossed from side to side like a ragdoll. His situation was equally dire.
Behind the rhino and the elephant stood two cat demons, visibly frightened.
"Assaulting animals like these—are these men really that desperate for it?" someone muttered in the crowd.
"Desperate for it? Even if they were starving, they wouldn't target two untransformed cats, would they?" another replied.
"They fell for a honey trap. I happened to hear the explanation earlier. Apparently, two cats wandered into their room, and somehow, they started taking their clothes off. Then, two burly guys burst in," someone in the crowd explained.
"So it's extortion? Should we help them? After all, they're fellow humans."
"I'm not going. That rhino and elephant are as strong as late-stage Sea Observation Realm cultivators. Helping would just get me killed," another replied.
The human cultivators nearby Xu Ming began chatting among themselves.
Listening to their conversation, Xu Ming pieced together the events: those two fellows had indeed fallen for a honey trap.
Watching the situation unfold, Xu Ming felt things were going downhill quickly. If this continued, the two cultivators wouldn't just suffer severe injuries; their cultivation foundations might even be permanently damaged. Judging by their attire, they seemed to be disciples of the White Deer Academy.
Xu Ming thought for a moment before stepping forward.
It wasn't because he had some overwhelming sense of justice or a desire to meddle in others' affairs. Rather, he had a good impression of the White Deer Academy—his first mentor, Xiao Mochi, had come from there. Moreover, he wanted to understand why so many human cultivators had suddenly appeared in Baiwa City.
"Could you both stop, please?" Xu Ming asked the rhino and elephant politely, stepping forward.
---
"Junior Sister, let's move faster. Who knows what's happening over there?" Xia Donghua, the Tianxuan Sect leader's son, said hurriedly.
"Instead of joining the commotion, we'd be better off searching for treasures and figuring out how to leave this place," replied Dugu Qiu, son of the Sword Peak master, with a disdainful glance at Xia Donghua. Despite his words, he quickened his pace.
"Or it could be that some treasure has appeared, causing a fight," suggested Qi Shang, a direct disciple of the White Crane Peak.
The woman walking alongside them remained silent, her face serene and her expression unreadable.
Before long, the group reached the scene.
Due to the size of the crowd, they couldn't get close, so they climbed to the third floor of a nearby teahouse. From the railing, they saw two scholars in White Deer Academy robes being beaten mercilessly by a rhino and an elephant.
None of the human cultivators in the crowd dared to intervene. They simply watched, relieved that it wasn't them being attacked.
Before the group could figure out what had happened, a young man in a green robe stepped out from the crowd. Bowing politely to the rhino and elephant, he appeared to be trying to mediate.
"That man… he's got guts," Qi Shang remarked.
Xia Donghua shook his head. "Regardless of what happened, the rhino and elephant are emanating demonic energy on par with late-stage Sea Observation Realm cultivators. Intervening is reckless."
Dugu Qiu squinted. "He's probably going to throw his life away."
"What do you think Qingwan? Qingwan?" Xia Donghua turned to address Qin Qingwan.
However, Qin Qingwan was clutching the railing, her gaze fixed on the scholar-like man below. Her eyes followed his every movement, unable to look away.
----------------------
If you want to read advanced chapters, you can read around 70 advanced chapters on Hiraethtranslations(.)com