Bai Heng ended up staying in Qixia Mountain for seven or eight days.
Mu Xuejun was quite at ease in her role as “mountain lord.” Aside from her regular cultivation and breathing exercises, she spent most of her time dozing on the forest clearing or on a giant boulder at the mountain peak, interacting with the somewhat intelligent monkeys, deer, birds, and other creatures in the mountain, or occasionally checking on the mortal towns at the foot of the mountain.
She was exceptionally warm toward her newly acknowledged “little sister,” sharing her cultivation experiences and mountain survival wisdom almost without reservation.
She explained in detail the various stages of demon cultivation after awakening spiritual intelligence—sensing spiritual energy, refining demon power, and strengthening the soul—placing special emphasis on the critical threshold from the fourth tier to the fifth tier, when one condensed a demon core and prepared for transformation. She shared all her insights and precautions for that stage.
“Our demon race cultivation differs from that of humans. Humans focus on drawing qi into the body, circulating it through the meridians and the Great Cycle, refining essence into qi, and qi into spirit, step by step building their Dao foundation. We also absorb spiritual energy, but we rely more on bloodline inheritance and innate instincts.”
Mu Xuejun lay on the boulder, idly batting a few smooth pebbles on the ground with her paw.
“When you reach the peak of the fourth tier, with sufficient accumulated demon power and sufficiently purified bloodline, you will naturally sense the opportunity to condense a demon core. The demon core is the crystallization of your entire demon power and soul essence, and the foundation for future transformation.”
“This process is crucial and extremely dangerous. You must find an absolutely safe location with abundant spiritual energy and no disturbances. During condensation, your demon power will boil and your soul will shake. The slightest mistake can shatter your core and damage your soul, or even cause your bloodline to collapse. Being reduced back to your original form would be the least of your worries.”
She looked at Bai Heng, her pale golden eyes serious.
“Little sister Bai, I can see your foundation is solid and your technique is profound, but you have not cultivated for long and your demon power accumulation is still far from the peak of the fourth tier. Do not be impatient. You must build steadily, step by step. Especially with your technique—its aura is so pure and reserved, something I have never seen before. Condensing your demon core may hold unique mysteries, so you must be even more cautious.”
Bai Heng took the advice to heart and nodded.
Besides cultivation insights, Mu Xuejun’s knowledge of Lan Province and the wider region proved invaluable to Bai Heng.
“Lan Province has many mountains. There are lots of small sects and loose cultivators, so conflicts are relatively rare, but it is not entirely a pure land.”
Mu Xuejun spoke lazily.
“Some cultivator families or small sects resort to underhanded methods for resources. When passing through their territories, you must stay alert and never reveal your true nature.”
“As for Ping Province, it is the heart of the mortal dynasty, full of rules and watchful eyes. Cultivators actually dare not act too wildly—at least not openly. Once you reach that area, as long as you don’t stir up trouble and keep a low profile, it should be safer than the wilds of Lan Province.”
She also shared scattered information about the demon race itself.
“Our demon race does not have the strict organizations like human sects and clans. Most of us act independently and live scattered. The situation in the Sulfur Domain is more complicated—there are rumors of several powerful demon kings who have claimed territories. But within Li Kingdom, the number of awakened demon cultivators is small, and we rarely interact.”
“Ones like me, who live peacefully with the mortals below and even receive offerings of incense, are in the minority. Most fellow Daoists choose to hide deep in the mountains, avoiding the outside world to stay out of trouble.”
In return, Bai Heng shared some of the basic medical and pill-refining methods she had learned from Lin Wan’s books—techniques for treating injuries, regulating qi and blood, and neutralizing conflicts between different types of demon power.
Mu Xuejun was quite interested.
“You fox clan’s inherited knowledge is so refined. We tiger clan focus more on fierce tempering and are not as skilled with these delicate tasks. When we suffer hidden injuries or yin poisons, we can only rely on raw demon power to endure or swallow spirit herbs with matching attributes. The results are often less than ideal.”
Bai Heng then explained her method of using fox fire to refine medicinal liquids and prepare simple medicinal powders. She even demonstrated on the spot with several common spirit herbs Mu Xuejun had collected.
Watching Bai Heng use her divine sense to precisely control the pale golden fox fire, slowly extracting impurities from the herbs and refining them into crystalline medicinal liquid, Mu Xuejun clicked her tongue in admiration.
“Little sister Bai, your fire control and patience are truly impressive. This flame is also peculiar—cool and clear. It’s actually very suitable for handling these plant essences.”
She tried it herself, but her tiger paws were clumsy and her demon power leaned toward ferocity. A slight misstep charred both the herbs and a large patch of the stone platform. She could only give up with a wry smile, sighing that everyone had their own specialty.
They spent their days discussing and exchanging knowledge, and their nights cultivating separately.
The spiritual energy near the main peak of Qixia Mountain was indeed richer than in ordinary mountain forests. In particular, the forest clearing where Mu Xuejun usually rested seemed to gather faint earthly vein energy, which was quite beneficial for demon cultivators to nourish their bodies and refine their demon power.
Bai Heng chose to cultivate beneath an ancient pine at the edge of the clearing.
She circulated the Heavenly Fox Moon-Drawing Art, absorbing the spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth along with moonlight. The stream of demon power within her grew steadily stronger and more condensed, advancing firmly toward the threshold of the second tail.
She also combined the new demon cultivation insights with her own situation, constantly adjusting the details of her practice and deepening her understanding of the technique.
From time to time, she would practice the Heavenly Fox Concealment Art, further blending her aura with the mountain-forest qi of Qixia Mountain.
Practicing under the watchful eye of a fourth-tier demon cultivator like Mu Xuejun yielded excellent results. After several attempts, her concealment ability improved noticeably.
The monkeys in the mountain were quite intelligent. Following Mu Xuejun’s orders, they brought the freshest wild fruits, nuts, and occasionally rare honey every day, respectfully placing them at the edge of the clearing.
Mu Xuejun had a large appetite while Bai Heng ate little, so there was always more than enough of these mountain delicacies.
Sometimes Mu Xuejun would take Bai Heng on walks through Qixia Mountain, as if patrolling her own territory.
She showed Bai Heng several spots with slightly richer spiritual energy, pointed out areas with dangerous natural miasma or hazards, and indicated where certain rare spirit herbs grew.
“This ‘Seven Stars Accompanying Moon Grass’ matures once every seventy years and has a slight effect on nourishing the soul. It will be ready in a few more years—I’ll share some with you then.”
“Over there in that cave lives a nest of ‘Iron-Wing Eagles.’ They have fierce tempers, but they usually don’t stray far from their nests. We’ll just go around them.”
Bai Heng committed everything to memory. What was ordinary knowledge to Mu Xuejun was precious survival experience to her.
Seven or eight days passed in the blink of an eye.
One morning, Bai Heng finished her final Great Cycle circulation and slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air.
Her demon power had grown a little more condensed and pure. She felt even closer to fully growing her second tail.
She stood up and walked over to the boulder.
Mu Xuejun had just woken from a light nap. She stretched lazily, her massive body unfurling and stirring a gentle breeze.
“Little sister Bai, are you leaving?”
She seemed to have sensed Bai Heng’s intention.
Bai Heng nodded.
“I have already imposed on Sister Mu for many days and gained a great deal. However, I carry an important promise and cannot linger any longer.”
A flicker of reluctance crossed Mu Xuejun’s eyes, but she quickly regained her composure.
“Very well. Important matters come first. We are both cultivators—there will be plenty of time ahead.”
She leaped down from the boulder and walked up to Bai Heng, lowering her head to retrieve something from the thick fur around her neck with her mouth.
It was a small white bone pendant, carved from an unknown beast’s fang and strung on a tough vine. It was shaped like a crescent moon and bore natural cloud patterns on its surface.
“Take this.”
Mu Xuejun placed the pendant in front of Bai Heng.
“This is made from the tip of a fang I shed in my early years. It carries my aura. If you wear it within Lan Province, most awakened mountain spirits and wild creatures, or human cultivators who bear no ill will toward our kind, will give you some face and spare you unnecessary trouble.”
“If you encounter a crisis you truly cannot handle, you can infuse it with demon power. As long as the distance is not too great, I will sense it and come as quickly as I can. Of course…”
A mischievous smile appeared on her tiger face.
“If that Nascent Soul old monster from Yu Ling Sect chases you, even I won’t be able to help. I can only burn a few extra sticks of incense for you.”
Bai Heng was touched. The bone pendant looked simple, but it was a genuine token of goodwill and protection.
She carefully took the pendant with her mouth and stored it in her consciousness aperture.
“Thank you, Sister Mu.”
“No need to thank me.”
Mu Xuejun gently bumped her head against Bai Heng’s forehead.
“Be careful on the road. Once you’ve fulfilled your promise, if you still wish to return, Qixia Mountain will always have a place for you.”
“I will remember.”
Bai Heng took one last look at this straightforward yet thoughtful white tiger sister, then gazed once more at the peaceful forest clearing. Without further hesitation, she turned and set off.
Her white fox figure bounded away several times and vanished into the morning mist that shrouded the mountain forest.
Mu Xuejun stood where she was, watching the direction Bai Heng had gone for a long time. Finally, she let out a soft sigh.
“A pure heart, a profound foundation, and yet burdened by some unknown promise… I only hope you can return safely.”
She shook her head, leaped back onto the boulder, and lay down again. Her pale golden eyes slowly closed as she continued to enjoy the tranquil morning light of Qixia Mountain.