Chapter 45: The Dragon Palace of Surging River
Qin Mu stepped forward and, peering through the window lattice, saw the white fox holding a bamboo tube, puffing out its cheeks to blow air at the firewood beneath the stove.
Qin Mu coughed and said, "Is anyone home?"
The white fox in the thatched hut was startled, quickly hid the bamboo tube, and spoke in a hoarse, aged voice, bellowing, "Who dares to shout and disturb my cultivation? I am an ancient demon, and I will grind your bones to dust..."
Qin Mu couldn't help but laugh. Hearing the laughter, the white fox quickly looked up and, seeing the young man outside the window, relaxed. Its voice returned to normal, quite pleasant to the ear: "So it's the young man who borrowed the wind from me the day before yesterday. I was drunk at a banquet that day and was a bit rude, neglecting you. Don't stand outside; come in."
Qin Mu entered the thatched hut and looked around, somewhat surprised. The hut was surprisingly tidy and clean, with a bed, a rice jar, furniture, a folding screen, and even a dressing table.
The white fox stood upright and curtsied to Qin Mu: "My humble home is poor; please forgive its shabbiness, young master."
Qin Mu returned the gesture, curious. "Are you cooking?"
The white fox said, "Yesterday, my sisters invited me for a meal, and I had a few too many drinks. I woke up this morning with a headache, so I'm brewing a hangover soup. Please, have a seat, young master."
Qin Mu marveled inwardly. This white fox was even more intelligent than the demonic ape, actually knowing how to cook its own soup. But this fox was fond of drinking and got drunk every day.
He noticed a bookshelf nearby and walked over. On the shelf were some ancient texts. He pulled one out; it discussed methods of breathing and guiding energy, along with some spells, but all were incomplete.
"Young master, can you read?"
The white fox finished brewing the hangover soup and, noticing Qin Mu absorbed in reading, said delightedly, "I don't recognize the words in the books; I only practice by looking at the pictures. If you know the words, could you explain them to me?"
"Why not?"
Qin Mu sat down. The white fox's tail twitched, and a bowl of hangover soup was carried by the wind and placed on the table. The white fox sat across from him, its eyes bright and focused.
Qin Mu opened the first page and read aloud: "Circulate Qi through the Square Inch Mountain, refine the Primordial Elixir; the tiger moves beneath the lungs, shaking the Cold Sea of Qi..."
The white fox drank the hangover soup, listening intently, then suddenly asked, "Where is the Square Inch Mountain?"
"The Square Inch Mountain is between the eyebrows."
Qin Mu said, "Between the eyebrows is the Spiritual Embryo Divine Treasury. Circulating Qi through the Square Inch Mountain means guiding the primordial energy to the brow. However, when the primordial energy reaches the brow, a divine sound will come from beyond the nine heavens, blocking your energy."
The white fox tried it and shook its head. "I didn't hear any divine sound."
Qin Mu frowned. Previously, when he guided his primordial energy to his brow, a divine sound would prevent him from breaking through. He had thought the white fox would encounter the same situation, but it said it hadn't.
"Could it be that the structure of the Spiritual Embryo Divine Treasury differs between humans and foxes?"
He didn't dwell on it and continued explaining. Before long, he had finished the entire ancient text. The cultivation methods recorded in this text did have unique aspects, but they didn't align with Qin Mu's "Overlord Body," so he couldn't practice them.
The white fox was intelligent and grasped the content of the book, laughing, "I used to practice by following the pictures and thought I had learned everything in this book, but it turns out I made many mistakes. Thank you, young master, for clarifying things for me. My name is Hu Ling'er. May I ask your name, young master?"
"My name is Qin Mu, meaning a cowherd boy from the Qin family. I'm no young master."
Qin Mu smiled. "I live nearby, not far from here. Where did you get these ancient texts?"
Hu Ling'er drank the hangover soup, feeling her groggy head clear a bit, and said, "Sixty miles west of here, there's a ruin. One day, I was returning late and took shelter from the darkness there. I accidentally opened a stone chamber and found these books, along with a bottle of medicinal pills. After taking the pills, my ears and eyes suddenly became sharp, and I gained consciousness. I thought the books were good things, so I brought them back. But since I can't read, I've only been looking at the pictures. All my spells were learned from these books."
"Sixty miles west?"
Qin Mu was surprised and thought for a moment. "Could it be the Dragon Palace of the Surging River Dragon King?"
Hu Ling'er's eyes lit up. "There are indeed many dragon statues there, but it's very dangerous inside, with great perils. I didn't dare go in; I just brought some books back."
Qin Mu quickly said, "Can you take me there?"
This little white fox said, "It's very dangerous inside; you can't just go in easily. When I first arrived at the entrance, I was so scared..."
It looked embarrassed and didn't continue, presumably having been scared out of its wits.
Qin Mu was excited. "Don't you want to see the Dragon Palace? There might even be a dragon king inside!"
"No."
Hu Ling'er thought for a moment, then blinked her eyes cunningly. "If Young Master Qin can come often and explain these ancient texts, I'll take you there. But I won't go inside."
"Deal!"
Qin Mu smiled and raised his palm. Hu Ling'er hesitated for a moment, then raised her furry paw and tapped it against his, then finished the hangover soup in one gulp.
One human and one fox walked out of the thatched hut and headed west.
"Whose banquet did you attend the day before yesterday?" Qin Mu recalled the previous day's events and asked.
"It was a banquet hosted by the Demon Spirit King, inviting all the great demons from the area. After I obtained the ancient texts from the Surging River Dragon Palace, my intelligence greatly increased, and I became a somewhat famous great demon in the vicinity. But I can't beat those guys with brute strength, so I rank last among the great demons."
Hu Ling'er jumped onto a banana leaf, cast a spell to stir up a demonic wind, and the wind lifted the banana leaf into the air. She laughed, "The Demon Spirit King has already cultivated a human form and is very powerful. All the great demons for hundreds of miles around, whether they are beast lords or not, must obey his commands."
The demonic wind blew the banana leaf, carrying the white fox into the sky. Qin Mu leaped up, stepping on the crest of the wind and heading westward.
At that moment, two or three miles from the thatched hut, a giant Taotie beast was looking around, puzzled. "By my calculations, Mu'er should have arrived by now. This time, I'm disguised as a strange beast; he definitely won't recognize me... Strange, where has that brat gone? Hmm? Fox demonic wind! The brat went out hunting for the first time and got lured away by a vixen!"
A hundred miles from the village of the Disabled Elders on the river, a gust of wind carried a ten-foot-long banana leaf. On the leaf sat a white fox, and beside it, a young man ran on the wind—Qin Mu and Hu Ling'er.
"With my magical power, I can't fly yet. I can only use spells to stir up a demonic wind, and the wind blows the banana leaf to let me fly in the air. If I tried running in the wind like you, I'd definitely fall... The Dragon Palace is around here!"
Hu Ling'er lowered the demonic wind, and Qin Mu and the white fox on the banana leaf gradually approached the ground. After a moment, they landed.
Qin Mu looked around and saw that the Surging River curved around a large mountain here. Green waters embraced the green hills, birdsong echoed crisply through the valley, monkeys leaped through the forest, and large fish and river beasts swam in the water. It was very peaceful and serene.
The white fox bounded swiftly, leading the way. Qin Mu hurried to keep up. The direction Hu Ling'er was running was toward the mountain encircled by the river. Qin Mu was puzzled—could the Dragon Palace be built on the mountain rather than in the river?
After a while, they reached the mountaintop, and Qin Mu saw a ruin. It was a Dragon King Temple, with a massive water-calming stone in front, over eight zhang tall, like a stone stele. Below it was carved a giant stone tortoise, bearing the stone on its back. The stone tortoise had its mouth wide open, as if exhausted and needing to catch its breath.
This Dragon King Temple was already dilapidated, with broken walls and collapsed halls. Qin Mu looked around; there weren't even any statues. It probably couldn't withstand the darkness's invasion.
He was puzzled when suddenly Hu Ling'er disappeared. Then her voice came: "Quick, come in!"
Qin Mu followed the sound and saw the white fox inside the stone tortoise's mouth, waving her paw at him. Qin Mu quickly walked over. The stone tortoise was large enough for a person to stand upright inside. Qin Mu followed the bouncing white fox until they reached the throat, where a deep, dark staircase appeared before them.
There had originally been a stone door in front of the stairs, but it had fallen for some reason, revealing this passage leading underground.
Qin Mu followed the white fox forward. The passage grew wider and wider, as if they were gradually penetrating deep into the mountain. The surrounding rock walls were covered with glowing, fluorescent moss, damp and slick. There were also strange creatures, like dandelions floating in the air, with thin tentacles hanging beneath them. The tentacles waved, allowing them to fly.
The white fox jumped up, caught one in its mouth, and ate it. Then it hopped around, eating continuously, as if they were quite delicious.