Yun Qing’s breathing grew weaker and weaker, and the light in his eyes faded rapidly.
Bai Heng watched him.
The sorrow in her heart was gradually replaced by a much stronger impulse.
She didn’t want to just watch like this.
She moved closer and once again raised her front paw, gently pressing it against Yun Qing’s chest.
The tuft of white fur between her brows suddenly turned a vivid red, brighter than ever before.
A purer, gentler stream of warmth, carrying the essence of purification and rebirth, slowly poured into Yun Qing’s exhausted meridians.
This time, she was no longer simply filling in the gaps with her power.
Instead, she tried to guide and awaken the last traces of primal life force deep within his body.
Like spring wind brushing across frozen soil, coaxing a hint of green from the seeds.
Yun Qing’s body trembled violently.
His previously unfocused eyes regained some clarity.
A long sigh escaped his throat, as if he had finally set down a thousand-pound burden.
A touch of unnatural but distinct rosiness returned to his face, chasing away some of the deathly pallor.
He turned his gaze toward Bai Heng. His eyes were complicated—filled with gratitude, understanding, and deep exhaustion.
“Thank you… Fellow Daoist Bai Heng. This… is truly the final flicker before the end.”
His voice was steadier than before. Though still hoarse, every word was clear.
Bai Heng withdrew her paw and quietly lay back down beside his hand, simply watching him.
Yun Qing caught his breath for a moment, his gaze drifting toward the cave ceiling as if looking at something very far away.
“The matter of our son’s spiritual root being stolen happened ten years ago. For these past ten years, my wife and I exhausted all our savings, searching everywhere for medicinal pills. We barely managed to pile up enough resources to try and help Zhuo’er step through the gates of cultivation.”
“However… a False Spiritual Root is still a False Spiritual Root. In ten years, Zhuo’er couldn’t even successfully draw qi into his body. He remained… a mortal.”
He fell silent for a moment. There was not much resentment in his eyes, only deep pity and helplessness.
“Last year, in a forgotten corner of an abandoned library pavilion within the sect, we discovered a damaged ancient travelogue. It mentioned that deep within the Frost Snow Valley of Ming Province, there might exist an ancient secret realm.”
“The travelogue stated that within the secret realm, there could be opportunities to repair one’s innate foundation and mend defects in one’s spiritual root.”
Yun Qing’s eyes brightened for a moment before dimming again, filled with recollection and pain.
“We… had no other choice. Even if there was only the slightest hope, we wanted to fight for it for Zhuo’er’s sake. So we left Qingxu Sect under the pretense of traveling and headed for Ming Province.”
“Perhaps Heaven took pity on us, or perhaps Zhuo’er’s fate was not yet sealed. We truly found the entrance to the secret realm. After overcoming numerous dangers, we finally entered it.”
“Inside the secret realm, we indeed found ancient records of a method that could potentially repair spiritual roots, several extinct soul-nourishing and foundation-strengthening spiritual herbs, and an ancient pill recipe.”
“In addition… we also discovered numerous cultivation techniques, artifacts, and treasures left behind by ancient cultivators, and even… several well-preserved ancient demon cores.”
He paused, his breathing growing labored again.
Fine beads of cold sweat appeared on his forehead, but he continued speaking with determination.
“The gains far exceeded our expectations. We should have been ecstatic. But the moment we left the secret realm, we were ambushed.”
“Those who attacked us included cultivators who held old grudges against us, as well as ruthless demonic path experts. They worked together seamlessly, clearly having planned it in advance.”
Yun Qing closed his eyes. His voice began to tremble.
“Our whereabouts… must have been leaked. And the leak was extremely precise.”
“Wan’er… my Dao companion Lin Wan… in order to let me escape with the items… she self-detonated her Golden Core.”
When he spoke these words, his tone was eerily calm, yet it was more suffocating than any wailing.
Bai Heng saw his clenched fists, knuckles white and trembling slightly.
“I… I forced myself through my heavy injuries and escaped through the gap created by Wan’er’s explosion. Along the way, I threw out the ancient artifacts, treasures, and even the demon cores we had obtained as bait.”
“As expected, the pursuers became greedy at the sight of the treasures and began fighting among themselves, giving me a slim chance of survival.”
“Using that chaos, I didn’t dare return to Qingxu Sect. I could only flee in the opposite direction, all the way to the deep mountains of Lan Province… until I finally exhausted my strength here.”
He took a long, deep breath, as if using the last of his energy to finish recounting the story.
After a moment of silence, Yun Qing used a trembling hand to painstakingly retrieve a ring from his robe.
The ring had an ancient, simple design. It was neither gold nor jade, but a dull cyan color, with fine, naturally formed cloud patterns on its surface.
Under the dim light, a faint glow seemed to flow across it.
“This… is an ancient storage ring we obtained in the secret realm. Inside… are most of the things we acquired, including the method to repair spiritual roots, the spiritual herbs, and the pill recipe.”
He held the ring in his palm, showing it to Bai Heng.
“The ring was jointly sealed by my wife and me with a bloodline restriction. Only our direct blood relative—Zhuo’er—can open it by dripping his blood on it.”
“If anyone else tries to force it open… the ring will self-destruct along with everything inside.”
Yun Qing’s gaze shifted from the ring to Bai Heng’s face, full of sincerity and entrustment.
“Fellow Daoist Bai Heng, this poor Daoist… wishes to implore you to deliver this ring to my child, Yun Zhuo.”
“More than a year ago, when we decided to go to Ming Province, we secretly placed Zhuo’er in a mortal village called Qingxi Village, just outside Qingxu Sect’s territory. It is… relatively safe there.”
“You only need to bring the ring to Qingxi Village and hand it to Zhuo’er. There is no need to enter the core territory of Qingxu Sect, so it should… not attract too much attention.”
After speaking, he looked quietly at Bai Heng, waiting for her response.
His eyes held expectation and nervousness, but no coercion.
Bai Heng barely hesitated.
She nodded, stretched out her paw, and gently touched the hand Yun Qing was holding the ring with. Then she touched her own chest.
She accepted.
Yun Qing was momentarily stunned by her actions. Then, a relieved, almost childlike smile slowly spread across his face.
That smile washed away the deathly aura between his brows, making him look as though he had finally set down every burden.
He struggled, trying to prop himself up as if wanting to bow deeply to Bai Heng.
Bai Heng immediately raised her paw. A gentle wave of telekinetic force lightly pressed down on his shoulders, stopping him.
Yun Qing was pushed back down. He looked at Bai Heng, first in surprise, then burst into loud laughter.
The laughter echoed through the empty cave, mixed with coughs, yet filled with boundless relief.
“Hahahaha… Good, good!”
He laughed until tears came, shaking his head as he laughed.
“People of the world all say that demons are savage, bloodthirsty, heartless, and unrighteous. Yet only today did I, Yun Qing, learn… that the ones who killed my wife and me were those who claim to be from righteous sects, people of virtue and propriety.”
“And the one who saved me in my final moments and agreed to this unreasonable request of mine… is a demon who has awakened her spiritual intelligence and possesses a pure heart.”
He stopped laughing.
His eyes became exceptionally bright and clear as he looked at Bai Heng and spoke solemnly.
“Fellow Daoist Bai Heng, I have no way to repay this great kindness. This poor Daoist has nothing of value left, except for some insights gained from over four hundred years of cultivation. Perhaps they may be of some help to you.”
As he spoke, he activated his mind and took out two items from the ancient storage ring.
One was a palm-sized white jade slip, warm and lustrous with a faint glow.
The other was a pigeon-egg-sized dark golden bead with natural cloud patterns on its surface, emitting a pure and ancient aura.
“This jade slip contains a secret manual from the ancient Heavenly Fox clan. We found it at the site where an ancient fox senior passed away in the secret realm. It is incomplete, but quite profound.”
“This golden bead is an ancient demon core. Its attributes seem compatible with that technique, and its energy is pure and vast. However, it must be refined with care.”
He placed both items on the ground in front of Bai Heng.
“Although this poor Daoist is a human cultivator and does not understand the specific cultivation methods of the demon race, the path of cultivation—drawing in qi, condensing the spirit, foundation establishment, core formation… the various barriers and principles often share common ground.”
“I see that Fellow Daoist possesses extraordinary innate abilities and has already awakened your spiritual intelligence, yet you seem to have not yet formally stepped onto the path of cultivation.”
“If you do not mind, this poor Daoist is willing to share some of the shallow insights and experiences gained over more than four hundred years of cultivation, in hopes of helping you enter the path and avoid some detours.”
His spirit seemed unusually good at this moment.
His eyes were bright, and his tone had regained its former composure, though the unnatural rosiness on his face still carried an ominous sign.
Bai Heng looked at the jade slip and demon core on the ground, then looked up at Yun Qing.
She could feel the sincerity and goodwill in his words.
She lowered her head and gently touched the jade slip with her forehead, then touched the back of Yun Qing’s hand.
She was willing to listen.
Yun Qing smiled with relief.
He sat up straight in a cross-legged position and began explaining to Bai Heng in a clear, steady voice.
He started from the most basic step of drawing qi into the body and sensing the spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth, then moved on to the circulation of meridians and the Great Cycle, condensing the spirit and tempering the divine sense, and finally the key points and insights for foundation establishment and core formation.
He explained things thoroughly yet accessibly, frequently citing examples from his own cultivation journey.
He also openly mentioned the detours he had taken and the bottlenecks he had encountered.
Although he stated that he did not understand demon race cultivation methods, whenever he reached a crucial point, he would remind Bai Heng that the demon race’s physique differed from humans, and that the way they absorbed spiritual energy and condensed their demon core might be different.
She should primarily rely on her own sensations and the records in the jade slip, treating his experience only as reference.
He also specifically explained the ancient demon core.
He said that although its energy was pure, after countless years its spiritual nature had been lost. Absorbing it directly could be risky.
He suggested that Bai Heng first comprehend the technique in the jade slip.
Only after making some progress should she slowly refine the core using the secret method recorded in the technique.
That would be the safest approach.
Outside the cave, the long night stretched on.
At some point, the wind and snow began falling quietly again.
Inside the cave, a single night pearl glowed like a small lamp.
One man and one fox—one speaking earnestly, the other listening quietly.
Time seemed to slow down and become peaceful in this moment.
The lecture lasted the entire night.
When the first faint rays of morning light filtered into the cave, Yun Qing’s voice gradually grew softer.
The unnatural rosiness on his face had completely faded, leaving only a transparent pallor.
Yet his eyes remained peaceful, even carrying a sense of release and tranquility.
He looked at Bai Heng with a tired but gratified smile.
“Fellow Daoist Bai Heng, the sky… is about to brighten. My time… has also come.”
His voice was very soft, but every word was clear.
“The path of cultivation is long and arduous. Fellow Daoist has extraordinary talent and a pure heart. Your future achievements will surely be limitless. I only hope that you can guard your original heart and clearly distinguish good from evil.”
With that, he weakly formed a simple hand seal with both hands and placed them on his knees. Then he slowly closed his eyes.
His breath, like a candle flickering in the wind, quietly extinguished.
He remained sitting there peacefully, as if in meditation. A faint smile that mingled worry and relief still lingered on his face as he passed away.
Bai Heng watched him quietly for a long time without moving.
Only after a while did she gently walk forward and touch Yun Qing’s now ice-cold hand with her nose.
Then, her gaze fell on the front of his robe.
There was a slight bulge there, as if something else was hidden.
After hesitating for a moment, she used her telekinetic power to gently retrieve it.
It was a plain, gray storage pouch that looked very ordinary—far more common than the ancient ring.
The moment Bai Heng touched the storage pouch, a faint light flashed at its opening.
The weak strand of divine sense imprint that had been attached to it dissipated silently like a bubble.
At the same time, Yun Qing’s final faint voice seemed to sound directly in Bai Heng’s sea of consciousness.
It was a pre-recorded transmission he had left behind.
“Fellow Daoist Bai Heng, inside this storage pouch is a portion of the savings my wife and I accumulated over the years, including some spirit stones, medicinal pills, commonly used artifacts and treasures, as well as our individual cultivation notes.”
“There are also two jade slips inside. One records the medical arts and pill refinement techniques that Wan’er specialized in during her lifetime. The other contains the Golden Light Sword Art that I primarily cultivated. You may refer to them in your future cultivation.”
“If the opportunity arises in the future, you may pass the medical and pill refinement jade slip along with the sword art jade slip to Zhuo’er, or find a righteous successor for us. The choice is yours.”
The voice paused for a moment, carrying a trace of hidden pain and vigilance.
“Additionally… I have always had my suspicions. Our journey was supposed to be secret, yet we were still ambushed with such precision. The four personal disciples under me were all carefully nurtured over many years and should have been the most reliable…”
“However, it is easy to know a person’s face but difficult to know their heart. If in the future, Fellow Daoist encounters anyone claiming to be my or Lin Wan’s personal disciple, please… be cautious and do not trust them lightly.”
The transmission ended there and completely dissipated.
Bai Heng looked at the now masterless gray storage pouch in her paw that anyone could open.
She then looked at Yun Qing’s peaceful remains and finally at the ancient dark-cyan ring.
Outside the cave, the sky was gradually brightening.
The reflection of snow made the interior of the cave appear cold and pure white.
A new day had begun.
And she now had a path she needed to walk.