At the Xu Manor.
Bai Ji and Xu Ling Yin were frolicking in the garden, chasing butterflies among the flower beds.
After Xu Qi An’s mediation, Xu Ling Yin accepted Bai Ji as a friend rather than prey. Since they were now friends, naturally, eating was out of the question.
The two had been playing together every day, finding themselves kindred spirits (with matching intelligence levels), both feeling they had found an intimate companion.
After playing for a while, Bai Ji raised her head, looking at the human child, and said in a delicate voice:
“Did you steal my chicken leg? The one I saved yesterday for my aunt.”
Xu Ling Yin’s round little face clearly showed panic, though she tried to maintain composure:
“I did not!”
Her voice was loud as if she thought volume could mask her guilt.
The little white fox tilted her head suspiciously:
“Really?”
Xu Ling Yin shook her head vigorously, “It must have been my master who stole it. Think about it, isn’t she always greedy for food?”
Bai Ji tilted her head to the other side, pondered for a long while, and finding this explanation plausible, suddenly believed Xu Ling Yin’s words. She said angrily:
“Right, she’s always greedy. She must have stolen my chicken leg.”
The little tot breathed a sigh of relief, feeling as if she had survived a crisis through her quick wit, courage, and composure.
“I’m done playing. I want to find auntie,” said Bai Ji, behaving like a little girl who couldn’t bear to be away from her mother.
“Let’s go find my mother. She’s in the hall, and we can continue playing there,” Xu Ling Yin said, not yet tired of playing.
“Your mother isn’t beautiful. I don’t want to find her,” Bai Ji declared.
“My mother is beautiful,” Xu Ling Yin raised her delicate eyebrows.
“No, she’s not. My auntie is the most beautiful.” Bai Ji raised her paw and stomped the ground firmly to emphasize her point.
“Tui!” The little tot angrily spat at her.
“Tui!” Bai Ji immediately retaliated.
Xu Ling Yin: “Tuitui…”
Bai Ji: “Tuitui, tui…”
Xu Ling Yin: “Tuituitui, tui…”
The human and fox spat at each other for quite a while until their mouths were dry. Then they both departed, agreeing to return later to settle the score.
Bai Ji’s fur was sticky. She made her way to the kitchen’s water vat, familiar with the route, and “splash” jumped in. Her tiny body, no bigger than two palms, swam around, her short limbs paddling.
After washing away Xu Ling Yin’s saliva, she leaped out of the vat, and violently shook her entire body, spraying water droplets everywhere.
Then she transformed into a white shadow and disappeared, heading towards Mu Nan Zhi’s room.
With a creak of the window, Bai Ji slipped into the room, sniffed the air, and caught a familiar scent.
On the luxurious couch, Mu Nan Zhi lay sleeping, exhausted. Her round, snow-white shoulders were exposed, along with her delicate collarbone and slender neck, and of course, her world-class beautiful face that could express both joy and anger magnificently.
Clothes were scattered on the floor – an undershirt, dress, silk pants, white socks, and other garments.
Auntie’s showing her true form again… Bai Ji bounced over happily, and at the bedside, made a mighty leap. Her little belly hit the bed’s edge, but no matter – her hind legs expertly pushed a few times, and she climbed onto the bed.
She moved close to Mu Nan Zhi’s face and extended her wet, pink tongue, enthusiastically licking her aunt’s cheeks.
Whenever she saw her aunt’s true form, she didn’t want to be a fox anymore, preferring to be a happy “devoted dog.”
“Tuitui…”
Bai Ji suddenly turned her head away and spat several times.
Auntie’s face was full of Xu Qi An’s scent – how disgusting.
Mu Nan Zhi’s eyelashes flickered as she awakened. First, she wiped the saliva from her face, then extended her arm to cup the little white fox and place it on her chest mounds. In a lazy tone, she said:
“Didn’t I tell you not to disturb Auntie while she’s sleeping?”
Bai Ji quickly complained:
“Xu Ling Yin bullied me. Auntie, help me beat her up.”
Mu Nan Zhi thought to herself, weren’t you two getting along so well?
While verbally agreeing, she yawned and said:
“Go play outside, don’t disturb Auntie’s sleep.”
She couldn’t be bothered to deal with children’s conflicts and squabbles, as long as Xu Ling Yin didn’t eat Bai Ji.
“Hmph, I’ll find Constable Xu to avenge me. Where is he?” Bai Ji angrily raised her paw and gave Mu Nan Zhi a few soft, powerless hits.
“He went to the Western Regions to fight,” Mu Nan Zhi said while yawning.
That despicable man had drained quite a bit of her spiritual essence last night, leaving her weak and exhausted, her whole body lacking strength. Otherwise, with her constitution, would she need to sleep in?
“Nasty child! Disturbing my sweet dreams!”
Mu Nan Zhi tried to recapture her sleepiness but couldn’t fall asleep. She tapped Bai Ji’s head and sighed, looking at the bed canopy.
The last time Xu Qi An had desperately drained her spiritual essence was during Luo Yu Heng’s tribulation.
This meant that there was a fierce battle in the Western Regions, even more, dangerous and terrifying than the tribulation battle because at that time he had been only at the Second Realm, while now he was at the First Realm.
…
Alantuya.
The sky in the Western Regions was pristinely blue, far clearer than in other places.
The terrain also had a certain ruggedness to it, far from the delicacy and fertility of the Central Plains.
By the quietly flowing river, several yaks lowered their heads to graze on grass, occasionally raising their heads to let out high-pitched calls. In the distance at the foot of the mountains, grasslands undulated, and White Head Mountain towered magnificently in an endless range.
That was Alantuya.
The sacred mountain of the Buddhist sect.
Excluding servants, Alantuya had 9,300 monks, including over 5,000 warrior monks and over 4,000 meditation masters. These were the core disciples who lived permanently at Alantuya to practice meditation and pursue Buddhist enlightenment.
Buddhism had developed in the Western Regions for thousands of years, establishing deep roots. Among the various Western Region countries, many nobles and commoners practiced Buddhism and made annual pilgrimages to Alantuya, though these people were scattered across the vast Western Regions and difficult to gather on short notice.
Sunlight fell on the golden tiles of the great halls, making all of Alantuya reflect brilliant light.
Today, there were no Buddhist chants at Alantuya; it was eerily quiet.
In front of each of the sacred mountain’s 208 great halls, countless monks sat cross-legged in the squares. They held their palms together in prayer, their expressions serious, as if waiting for something, preparing to face something.
Alantuya had enemies!
Just in recent days.
These over 4,000 meditation masters and over 5,000 warrior monks felt both confident and anxious.
The anxiety came from this being a unique occurrence in their lives. Throughout their varying lifespans, Alantuya had always been sacred and inviolable – no enemy had ever dared to attack Alantuya.
Their confidence came from the over 4,000 meditation masters forming a meditation formation, with the 208 great halls serving as 208 formation points, and three Bodhisattvas leading the formation. The defense was as solid as gold.
Who in the world could break through this world-shocking formation?
“Meditate!”
Suddenly, Bodhisattva Guang Xian’s voice, neither male nor female but extremely magnificent, rang in every monk’s ears.
Almost all the monks instinctively tensed. The warrior monks prepared for battle, while the meditation masters entered meditation without hesitation.
…
At the foot of Alantuya Mountain stood a tall, mighty headless giant.
He was bare-chested, revealing strong, robust muscles, wearing only hemp trousers on his lower body.
His nipples glowed faintly, like eyes.
Shen Shu was like a burning piece of charcoal; the air around him distorted, resembling boiling water.
This was a “presence rejected by heaven and earth,” a unique presence of a First Realm warrior. Simply standing there caused the elements of heaven and earth to fall into chaos.
When Xu Qi An had fought against “The Wasteland” overseas, he had also unleashed such a presence.
The meditation masters on Alantuya had entered meditation, as calm as still water, but the warrior monks guarding them felt their hair stand on end and chills run down their spines.
Shen Shu took a step forward, and with a “whoosh,” collided with the golden Buddhist light barrier.