Time passed unnoticed in the mountains.
Another full cycle of seasons slipped by while Bai Heng devoted herself to focused study and silent cultivation.
Most of her energy went into mastering the various practical techniques recorded in the Heavenly Fox Moon-Drawing Art.
These techniques were the true bridge that allowed her to convert the different powers within her body into actual abilities.
The first technique she tried was one called Heavenly Fox True Fire.
This flame was neither ordinary fire nor the spiritual fire used by typical cultivators.
It required fire-attribute spiritual energy as a base, mixed with her own demon power, and then tempered by moonlight power to neutralize its ferocity before it could be condensed.
The resulting flame was a pale golden color with a faint moon-white edge.
When touched, it did not feel burning hot; instead, it carried a cool sensation.
Yet once it touched a living being, it would silently seep into flesh and bone, corroding them from within and destroying the soul.
It was extremely difficult to extinguish.
When practicing, Bai Heng used dead trees and boulders in the mountains as targets.
When the pale golden flame landed on a boulder, its surface showed no change, but the interior rapidly turned into a honeycomb of hollows.
Dead wood, on the other hand, turned directly into flying ash with almost no smoke.
She also experimented with some of her own “innovations.”
She infused a trace of her weak life force into the fox fire.
The originally cold, bone-eroding flame gained a kind of enduring tenacity.
It burned longer and its form became more solid and stable.
She further incorporated her divine sense into its control.
Under her precise and delicate control, the pale golden flames could take the shape of small flying swords, darting lightly through the air according to her will with smooth turns and changes.
Although its power could not compare to the true flying swords of sword cultivators that Yun Qing had mentioned, it excelled in being stealthy and unpredictable, with complete control. .
It allowed Bai Heng to satisfy her craving for “sword flight.”
Besides the fox fire, she also learned several other practical abilities.
Heavenly Fox True Vision: When activated, a faint golden light appeared in her eyes.
It could see through low-level illusions and concealment techniques, greatly enhanced her night vision, and allowed her to see farther and more clearly.
Heavenly Fox Howl: By fusing demon power with soul force, she could release a sonic wave that directly attacked the opponent’s mind, causing intimidation and disruption.
Heavenly Fox Seal: A more complex technique that condensed special runes using demon power.
It could seal or suppress targets and also serve as a one-time defensive or offensive measure.
Fox Tail Needle: Concentrating demon power at the tips of her tail fur and shooting them out.
They were as fine as cow hair, possessed strong penetration, and carried the properties of fox fire—making them insidious and difficult to defend against.
Unfortunately, she only had one tail at present, so both the power and quantity of this technique were limited.
Fox Shadow Step: A nimble and elusive movement technique.
Combined with her naturally light fox body, she could flicker and turn like a ghost, leaving behind afterimages.
Among all the techniques, the one Bai Heng valued most and invested the greatest effort into was a concealment and aura-hiding secret art called Heavenly Fox Concealment.
The foundation of this technique lay in the use of moonlight power.
Moonlight was cool, clear, and embraced all things. It naturally possessed a blurring and assimilating quality.
Heavenly Fox Concealment used this quality first on herself.
By enveloping her body with moonlight power, she could blur other people’s impressions of her appearance and figure details.
Even if someone looked directly at her, she would appear hazy and indistinct, making it difficult for them to remember her exact features.
Secondly, it concealed all of her auras—whether demon qi, spiritual energy fluctuations, or life signs—reducing them to the lowest possible level, almost to nothing.
When used under moonlight, the effect was even stronger, allowing her to nearly merge with the moonlight itself.
At higher levels, it could draw upon the omnipresent moonlight spiritual energy in the surroundings, subtly blending her presence with that of the grass, trees, rocks, flowing water, and breeze, reaching a profound state where “she was here, yet seemed to be everywhere and nowhere at once.”
According to the technique’s description, if cultivated to perfection, even if she stood right in front of someone, as long as their cultivation was not significantly higher and they lacked specialized detection methods, they would find it difficult to notice anything unusual.
Bai Heng deeply understood the importance of this technique.
The fate of Yun Qing and his wife had given her a clear understanding of the “human” side of this world—especially the conflicts and schemes between cultivators.
Staying low-key, cautious, and concealing herself was the foremost requirement for survival and fulfilling her promise.
She spent a great deal of time practicing Heavenly Fox Concealment.
From the beginning, when she could only maintain it for a few breaths with obvious flaws, she gradually reached the point where she could sustain it for nearly half an hour, concealing her aura so well that small animals passing nearby would almost completely ignore her.
Another month passed as Bai Heng repeatedly practiced and familiarized herself with these newly acquired abilities.
She felt that while her control over the various powers inside her body was still far from perfect harmony, it was worlds apart compared to a year ago.
At the very least, she now possessed some ability to protect herself and handle unexpected situations.
One early morning, sunlight filtered through the gaps in the forest, casting golden beams.
Bai Heng leaped onto a tall rocky outcrop and gazed into the distance.
Mountain ranges stretched endlessly, a sea of verdant green reaching all the way to the pale blue horizon.
The wind blew from afar, carrying the fresh scent of the mountain forest and the faint fragrance of flowers and grass.
It was time.
The thought rose clearly in her mind.
Her cultivation had reached a temporary plateau with no major breakthroughs in sight, and she had gained a basic grasp of her techniques.
It was time to set off and fulfill that promise.
She returned to the cave and first stood quietly before the tomb for a moment.
Then, she took out a palm-sized cyan jade wine bottle from the storage pouch.
Using her telekinetic power, she removed the stopper.
A clear, refreshing aroma of spiritual herbs spread through the air.
This was spiritual wine from Yun Qing’s storage pouch.
There wasn’t much of it; he had likely only drunk it occasionally.
Bai Heng slowly poured out half the wine, sprinkling it evenly onto the soil in front of the stele.
The liquid seeped into the earth, leaving dark traces behind.
She lifted the remaining half with her telekinetic power, faced the stele, and spoke softly.
“Master, Teacher, I’m leaving.”
With that, she tilted her head back and drank the rest of the spiritual wine in one go.
The liquid entered her throat—first cool and crisp, then transforming into a gentle warmth that spread throughout her body, refreshing her spirit.
This could be considered a simple farewell ritual.
She did not use the willow-leaf-shaped flying artifact Yun Qing had left behind.
Controlling an artifact required continuous expenditure of spiritual power and made one a highly visible target in the sky.
She preferred to use her own four paws to measure this unfamiliar land.
Perhaps, deep in her heart, she also wanted to see what this world—filled with demons, cultivators, and sects like Qingxu Sect—was truly like in its “mortal” aspect.
She had no clear purpose such as experiencing the mortal world or tempering her Dao heart. She simply… wanted to see it.
She took one last look at the cave where she had lived for nearly two years and at the quiet stele.
Bai Heng walked to the entrance, circulated her demon power, and pressed her paws lightly against the ground.
The soil and rock at the cave entrance seemed to come alive. They surged, stacked, and compacted according to her will.
In just a short while, the original entrance was completely sealed, blending seamlessly with the surrounding cliff face so that no trace remained.
Having done all this, she did not look back.
With a light tap of her paws, her figure turned into a wisp of white smoke and silently disappeared into the morning mountain forest.
She did not travel quickly, maintaining sufficient caution.
Her divine sense remained extended in a clear thirty-zhang radius at all times.
After walking for about half an hour, as she passed through a dense thicket, a faint rustling sound suddenly came from the side.
Bai Heng paused. Her divine sense swept over.
A strong young male deer with brown-yellow fur and white spots poked its head out from behind a low shrub, its clear large eyes looking curiously in her direction.
Bai Heng recognized it.
This was the young deer whose broken leg she had mended with a thread of life force more than a year ago.
It had grown significantly since then. Its antlers had split into two prongs, showing it had long left its mother and begun living independently.
The young stag seemed to vaguely remember the special, reassuring scent on Bai Heng, but it wasn’t entirely certain.
It hesitated, neither approaching nor running away immediately.
Bai Heng glanced at it without stopping and continued forward.
After walking a while longer, a thought stirred in her mind.
She adjusted her direction and headed toward the area in her memory where she had once buried Little White and her family.
That place was the origin of this fox body and her first emotional tie to this world.
Since she was about to embark on a long journey, she should at least say goodbye.
The location was not difficult to find from memory.
Although the terrain had changed somewhat due to the cultivators’ battle back then, she still remembered the general area.
When she gradually drew closer—roughly forty to fifty zhang away from the site—her ever-vigilant divine sense suddenly caught an unusual fluctuation.
Someone was there.
And their aura was not weak.
Their spiritual power was condensed and profound, far surpassing her own.
At least a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Bai Heng’s heart tightened.
She stopped immediately and activated Heavenly Fox Concealment at full power without hesitation.
Moonlight power surged from her qi sea and instantly enveloped her entire body.
Her presence rapidly faded and disappeared.
Her white figure became hazy and indistinct amid the dappled forest light and shadows, like nothing more than a casual gathering of mist.
She lightly leaped onto a nearby large tree with dense foliage, completely hiding herself among the thick green leaves.
Even her breathing and heartbeat dropped to the minimum.
Her divine sense extended out cautiously and extremely restrained, like the gentlest tendril, probing toward the direction of the unfamiliar aura.
A figure wearing a pale cyan daoist robe was walking slowly and unhurriedly toward the low-lying area where Little White’s family grave lay.
Thanks for the chapter!