Volume Three - The Tomb of the Fox Immortal Chapter Fifty-Nine - The Only Request

Currently, everyone was either unconscious or injured. Big Dog was still lying motionless on the ground, while Li Kun and Xu Tian leaned against the wall, panting heavily. Hu Yue'er had already returned to her human form; it seemed she greatly disliked turning into a fox, resuming her human appearance the moment the white fox died.

Li Kun gave me a thumbs-up and said, "Old Liu, you're still the most resourceful. One strike and that white fox was done for."

I collapsed onto the ground as well, but the moment I lay down, every single inch of my body screamed in pain. My back, my head, and my legs felt as though I had been hung up and beaten for over half an hour, covered from head to toe in wounds and bruises.

However, I was in much better shape than Hu Yue'er. Her face was completely drained of color, her pristine white clothes were covered in dust, and a large patch of blood was clearly visible on her upper body, with a thin trail of blood still continuously trickling from the corner of her mouth.

Seeing Hu Yue'er in this state, a sinking feeling arose in my heart—she was far too heavily injured. She was currently sitting on the ground, gasping for breath.

Noticing how severely hurt she was, I quickly hurried to her side and asked, "Senior, how are you holding up?"

Every time I used the word "Senior," I felt immensely awkward, because Hu Yue'er looked even younger than me, appearing to be only around twenty years old.

Hu Yue'er gently waved her hand, her movement still as soft and graceful despite her injuries, and replied, "I am fine. I just need to recuperate for a little while."

Hearing this, the three of us exchanged slightly stunned glances. Recuperate? There were no medicines around us—how was she supposed to recuperate?

Under our astonished gazes, Hu Yue'er crossed her legs, straightened her torso, crossed her hands in front of her chest, and began to regulate her breath. To our amazement, a series of faint white halos began to radiate from around her body, shimmering and pulsing with every cycle of her breath.

Seeing this, none of us dared to disturb her. I walked over to the other two and asked, "How are you both?"

Both of them shook their heads to indicate they were fine. I turned my gaze to Li Kun and saw that although he had deactivated his Blood Eye, his eyes were a glaring, bloodshot crimson, with the whites completely choked by a dense web of red veins.

Noticing the condition of his eyes, I asked, "Old Li, are your eyes alright? Do you feel anything unusual?"

Li Kun raised a hand to rub his eyes and said, "They just feel a bit sore and achy, nothing too serious. My head hurts a bit, though, probably due to the lingering deathly energy in my body, or maybe because I absorbed too much of it. It's nothing major."

Hearing him say this, I finally set my mind at ease. I turned around to look at Big Dog, who was still lying on the floor, stood up, walked over to pat him, and called out, "Big Dog! Big Dog, wake up."

After being shaken a few times, Big Dog slowly stirred back to consciousness. He raised his head to survey his surroundings, and upon seeing the utter devastation inside the grand hall, followed by the blood and injuries on all of us, he asked anxiously, "Brother Liu, what happened to you guys?"

Seeing that Big Dog was unharmed, the heavy stone in my heart finally dropped back to the ground. Although this trip to the Fox Immortal's Tomb had been fraught with danger, fortunately everyone was alright. The only lingering mystery was what the white fox had meant by the "Ghost Eye," though judging by Hu Yue'er's expression, she likely knew what it was. I would just have to ask her once she finished recuperating.

I said to Big Dog, "Don't worry, we're all fine. The trouble in your village is finally completely resolved; that headless ghost has been beaten until its soul was scattered."

Upon hearing my words, Big Dog's eyes were filled with lingering terror. "Right, the headless ghost! Brother Liu, is that headless ghost really dead? I saw him... he wanted to kill me."

I gently patted Big Dog's arm and said, "Don't worry, the headless ghost's soul is completely shattered. Even if you wanted to find him in the future, you wouldn't be able to."

Hearing this, Big Dog let out a long sigh of relief and whispered under his breath, "It's over... it's finally over."

Just at that moment, we sensed a blinding flash of white light erupting within the grand hall. We all instinctively closed our eyes, and a few seconds later, the brilliance finally faded away completely.

Hastily opening our eyes, we turned to look at Hu Yue'er. Her form was floating mid-air with her eyes closed and arms slightly raised, before she slowly descended to land gently upon the ground.

The thin gauze dress she had been wearing earlier had been stained with dust and blood, but as we looked up now, we were stunned to see that her attire was completely clean and spotless, without a single wrinkle remaining, let alone any trace of blood.

Hu Yue'er had fully recovered the noble and elegant aura we had witnessed earlier. While we weren't overly dramatic this time, we still stood there in a daze, staring blankly at the peerless beauty before us.

However, Big Dog, who was seeing Hu Yue'er like this for the first time, immediately dropped to his knees upon seeing her float in the air. He began kowtowing continuously, muttering words about immortals and deities under his breath.

Seeing Big Dog behave this way, the three of us said nothing. After all, ordinary people would naturally react this way upon witnessing such a sight, especially since Hu Yue'er possessed the very essence of a fairy maiden.

I walked up to Hu Yue'er and asked, "Senior, have your injuries fully healed?"

Hu Yue'er shook her head and replied, "My injuries are only a fifth healed, and my cultivation has only recovered about ten to twenty percent."

Hearing this, I nodded in realization. Come to think of it, since Hu Yue'er had only spent such a short time recuperating, healing a fifth of her injuries was already remarkably fast. However, I didn't quite understand what she meant by her cultivation only recovering ten to twenty percent.

Hu Yue'er continued, "It seems it will take another five or six years of cultivation for me to fully recover." With that, she let out a deep sigh.

Hearing her words, I asked, "Senior, could it be that your cultivation is related to that white fox?"

Hu Yue'er nodded and said, "When you arrived, you already saw that grand array and those lingering spirits, didn't you?"

I nodded. Hu Yue'er went on, "Had I not used my cultivation to suppress that grand array, those vengeful spirits would have perished and scattered long ago. It is precisely because of this that my cultivation plummeted. But for me, perhaps it isn't entirely a bad thing; by suppressing the array day after day, my spiritual attainments have actually advanced quite a bit. Once I fully recover, I will certainly reach a higher realm."

Hearing this, I thought to myself: no wonder those spirits had been able to survive until today under the daily absorption of such a massive array; it turned out Hu Yue'er had been sustaining them all along.

At this thought, I couldn't help but feel a deep sense of respect for the fox immortal standing before me. To have persevered here for so long, she must have been a deeply enlightened fox immortal in her time. If Hu Yue'er continued to cultivate for some more time, she would undoubtedly ascend to the ranks of immortals and become a true deity.

Hu Yue'er turned her head to look at us and said, "Aside from breaking that array and saving the spirits, you must have had another purpose for this trip."

At these words, my heart tightened slightly. The ultimate goal of our journey was now within our grasp.

I took a deep breath, while Xu Tian and Li Kun stared straight at me. I said, "Senior, do you know of the Fox Corpse Blood Scab?"

Hearing this, Hu Yue'er looked slightly startled and asked, "Fox Corpse Blood Scab? Why would you want that?"

I softly explained, "I was entrusted by someone on this trip to acquire a piece of Fox Corpse Blood Scab to lift the curse afflicting their family and save their lives."

Hu Yue'er nodded and said, "The Fox Corpse Blood Scab is a clot of blood that sheds from the body of a fox immortal when they attain human form through cultivation, and it is also the vital essence of the fox immortal's body. While it can treat certain ailments, it cannot lift the kind of curse you are speaking of."

Hearing this, I was slightly stunned. Xu Tian asked, "Senior, can the Fox Corpse Blood Scab really not lift a family curse?"

Hu Yue'er nodded. "To untie a bell, one must turn to the person who tied it. If you wish to break a curse, you must first know what kind of curse it is and find the corresponding method to break it. Only then can it be completely eradicated. The Fox Corpse Blood Scab only has the power to delay the effects of a curse; it cannot completely root it out."

Upon hearing this, Xu Tian and I exchanged glances. If that was the case, wasn't Sun Wufang's granddaughter beyond saving?

I quickly asked, "Senior, how long can the Fox Corpse Blood Scab delay a curse?"

Hu Yue'er pondered for a moment and replied, "If it's a particularly stubborn curse, it can delay it for at most a year. For more ordinary curses, the delay ranges from a minimum of two years to a maximum of five years. It all depends on the specific nature of the curse afflicting the victim."

Hearing this, I gave a slight nod, though a pang of reluctance weighed on my heart. If it could only delay the curse without completely eradicating it, Sun Wufang's granddaughter would still die a few years down the line.

At this thought, I sighed. Yet, even if it couldn't be completely rooted out, it was fortunate that it could buy a few more years of time. If Sun Wufang could find a method to break the curse during this period, that would be even better. If he couldn't find a way, at least his granddaughter would get to live a few more years. It seemed that relying on the Fox Corpse Blood Scab to break the curse was simply not going to work.

Seeing my expression, Hu Yue'er shook her head slightly and said, "It seems we can only search for another method."

As she spoke, Hu Yue'er produced a small white cloth pouch from her waist, from which a faint fragrance drifted—resembling the sachet worn by women in ancient times.

She handed the small pouch to me and said, "The Fox Corpse Blood Scab is inside. However, I have one condition."