41: Chapter 41 Fox Envoy

The wind was strong by the Baishi River, and the beast huddled behind a rock, bowing its paw toward Shoushan from a distance.

It was a gray-furred fox with a bright red tail and long, narrow eyes. A small copper bell hung on its body, ringing occasionally as it walked.

The White-browed Mountain Boar watched it from afar, rooting its nose into the ground, but did not approach.

The fox did not look at the boar, but stood at the foot of the mountain and said in a shrill voice:

"May I trouble you to announce me? This humble beast is the Tooth-Seeking Envoy from Cangya Ridge, here by orders to meet the master of this mountain."

Jiang Shoushan went back first to report to Jiang Chengning.

After listening, Jiang Chengning pondered for a moment and then said, "Let it come up."

When the fox was led to the newly built wooden shed of the Jiang Family, it scanned its surroundings first.

This place was very rudimentary.

A few wooden sheds, a few patches of newly reclaimed, thin fields; in the distance, the Sun Family was still piling stones at the water inlet, and the Chen Family had only fenced off a few plots of grassland over at the West Hollow.

If not for the few wisps of a Cultivator's aura pressing down upon the mountain, this place looked worse than a new Cold Household village.

The fox felt a bit of contempt in its heart.

It looked at Jiang Chengning again: second level of Qi Refining, shallow Spring Commencement Energy, and an unstable Qi path.

Low grade, and the Cultivation Technique was ordinary.

The fox flicked its tail slightly, and its tone became somewhat lazy.

"My good sir, please invite the person in charge of your house. This humble beast has serious business to discuss."

Jiang Chengning glanced at it.

"I am the head of the Jiang Family."

The fox was stunned, a flicker of disdain flashing in its eyes. Just as it was about to speak, a blade of green grass in the corner of the room suddenly swayed.

The next instant, Jiang Yuhe appeared inside the room.

With a flash of green Qi, she landed beside Jiang Chengning. Her sleeves had not moved, and her hair was not ruffled, yet a massive aura pressed down inside the shed out of thin air.

"The affairs of the Jiang Family," she looked at the fox, "are not for a small beast like you to gossip about."

The fox's fur stood on end all over its body.

It stepped back half a pace, its tail immediately lowered, and the laziness on its face vanished instantly.

"This humble beast is blind and has offended you, Young Miss."

It bowed its head hurriedly, its voice also softening significantly.

"Young Miss, this aura of yours... tsk, the first three stages have slight deviations, likely because absorbing Qi was difficult in your early years, but from the fourth stage onwards, it is flawless, with only the slightest of ripples visible at the seventh stage. I have never seen such a clean mid-to-Late Stage Qi path in my entire life."

It looked up to steal a glance at Jiang Yuhe, its tone becoming increasingly sycophantic.

"Young Miss is only nineteen this year, right? At this age, with this level of cultivation, even in a great clan, you could be called a Dao Seed. The last time this humble beast saw such a personage was my own Young Lord."

Jiang Yuhe did not respond to its flattery, only saying coldly, "You certainly have a keen eye."

The fox hurriedly replied, "This humble beast is born with a small talent for observing meridians, allowing me to slightly perceive the quality of auras, the grade of Cultivation Techniques, and the depth of one's cultivation success."

It glanced at Jiang Chengning again and quickly remedied the situation, "Of course, the Family Head is steady and profound; while the aura is shallow, it carries the bearing of a leader, which is also very rare."

Jiang Chengning was not angered by its shift from arrogance to obsequiousness.

He only asked, "What is Cangya Ridge here for?"

The fox smiled.

It glanced toward the depths of Baili Mountain, smiling somewhat slyly and even more obsequiously.

"This humble beast is the Tooth-Seeking Envoy of Cangya Ridge, responsible for scouting paths and delivering messages."

It fished out a thin-skinned map from the copper bell on its neck and spread it on the table.

"The Demon Kings of Cangya Ridge have co-founded a market with the Jinglan Lake Shen Clan, called Canghu Market. It is located in the forests on the western shore of Jinglan Lake, and usually deals in the trade of Spiritual Qi resources, Cultivation Techniques, Spells, and Artifacts."

"There is an auction house in the middle of every year, with a small auction once a year and a grand auction once every ten years. Even in the small auctions, there are occasionally Foundation Establishment Spiritual Qi resources as the finale."

Jiang Chengning did not hide his smile.

Foundation Establishment Spiritual Qi resources.

Seeing that he was tempted, the fox smiled even more warmly.

"My Cangya Ridge Master is the Green-tailed Fox King Xuanshuang, a Foundation Establishment Demon King. The Jinglan Lake Shen Clan is also a Foundation Establishment Family. The market rules are very simple: those who enter must swear a Non-Aggression Spiritual Oath, promising not to harm others or plunder goods within the market territory. Once outside the territory, everyone is free to do as they please."

Jiang Chengning asked, "How does the Spiritual Oath work?"

The fox waved its paw.

"Rest assured, Family Head, this oath is very common; any Family with a bit of foundation knows it. It only restricts fighting inside the market; it does not inquire about your ancestors or touch your Family secrets."

Seeing that Jiang Chengning was still deliberating, it added, "Family Head can inquire outside. Canghu Market has been open for decades, relying on this reputation. If it cheated even small families entering the market, it would have been torn apart by other clans long ago."

Jiang Chengning was silent for a moment, then nodded. "Very well."

The fox produced a small piece of talisman wood on the spot and recited a few lines of the oath. Jiang Chengning followed suit to swear the oath. A faint green light appeared on the talisman wood, which then turned to ash.

The fox nodded with satisfaction. "It is done. In the future, when the Jiang Family members go to Canghu Market, bring this map, find the Tooth-Seeking Envoy at the market entrance, and have the others swear the Non-Aggression Spiritual Oath to enter."

It pushed the map toward Jiang Chengning.

To the north was the direction of the Chengtian Sect, with a few mountain peaks circled in light ink. To the east, it marked the Zhou Family's Qingsang Main Peak, the Zhao Family's Black Stone Ridge, and the Lu Family's Dongping Ridge. To the southwest was Cangya Ridge, drawn with a mark resembling dog teeth. Further south, there was a Jinglan Lake, and in the forest by the lake, a red circle was marked with the words "Canghu Market".

The fox smiled and whispered, "If you have any familiar families, you may also recommend them; we do not fear having too many people."

Having said that, it bowed to Jiang Yuhe once more and turned to run down the mountain. After running a few yards, it turned back and laughed, "Young Miss, if you go to Canghu Market, you must be careful. With humans and demons mixed together there, a young Late Stage Qi Refining Cultivator like you will inevitably attract attention."

Jiang Yuhe watched it disappear down the mountain path without saying a word.

The room was quiet for a while.

Jiang Chengning put the map away and sat down with Lin Suwen and Jiang Yuhe to examine it closely.

"We must go to this market," Lin Suwen said. "Foundation Establishment Spiritual Qi resources, Pin Water Spiritual Qi resources, and Spells might all have news there."

Jiang Yuhe nodded.

She now possessed the Chenlin Grain Rain Sutra and knew roughly what she needed for Foundation Establishment: high-grade Grain Rain Spiritual Objects, Pin Water Spiritual Qi resources, Pin Water Spells, and a suitable location. The Jiang Family currently lacked every single one of these.

"We cannot rush," Jiang Chengning said after a moment of silence. He pressed his hand on the map.

"The Jiang Family has just escaped, destitute and penniless; even if we go, we cannot afford anything. Let us build our foundation for a few years first, then use Canghu Market to help Yuhe find her Foundation Establishment items."

"How much do we have left now?" Jiang Yuhe asked.

Lin Suwen brought out the items they had recently inventoried.

From the killing of the Zhou Family's Qi Refining Cultivators, the battle with the Chen Family that night, and the compensation from the Shi Family, everything usable had been counted.

There were almost no Cultivation Techniques or Spells; those Zhou Family Qi Refining Cultivators did not carry transcripts on them, likely because they only borrowed them from the Scripture Pavilion on the Main Peak.

Forty-six Spirit Stones.

Two pieces of Spring Commencement Spiritual Qi resources: one Spring Bud Stone and one Green-born Moss Core.

The Spring Bud Stone was blue-white like a bud; it could help Spring Commencement Cultivators stabilize their Qi during practice and could also nourish fields.

The Green-born Moss Core was a tiny spiritual core formed by moss containing Spiritual Qi; it carried a wisp of Spring Qi and could heal wounds and stimulate germination.

There was also a piece of Spring Equinox Spiritual Qi resource named Equinox Day Amber.

The amber was half-bright and half-dim; it looked as dazzling as the scorching sun by day, and as dim and lusterless as dead ash by night. It seemed suitable for Artifact Refining, but since it was not something commonly seen or heard of by Cold Households, they were still unsure.

Finally, there was a Rain Water Spiritual Qi resource named Stream Sound Pearl.

Inside the pearl was a faint sound of water; if held to the ear, one could hear the sound of flowing water. It could smooth water meridians, assist Rain Water Cultivators in their practice, and serve as the core for low-tier water talismans.

Besides these, there were some snake skins, Green Gravel Sand, medicinal herbs, and Spiritual Rice.

After looking it over, Jiang Chengning let out a soft breath. "Keep them for now."

If these items were from the past, they would already be a great fortune. But placed on the path to Foundation Establishment, they didn't even count as a crack in the door.

Jiang Yuhe said, "I will continue nourishing the fields tomorrow."

Jiang Chengning nodded. "Currently, we are not very clear about the cultivation of Spiritual Qi resources, so Spiritual Rice is definitely the most important source of income."

The next morning, Jiang Yuhe went to the southeast slope to nourish the fields.

It had rained a little last night, and the soil carried a hint of dampness. She stood by the field and cast the Catalyzing Green Technique from her palm. As the green Qi entered the soil, a hint of moisture immediately emerged from the originally dry, white gravel soil, and several newly planted Spiritual Rice seedlings straightened up accordingly.

Everything looked fine.

But half an hour later, Jiang Yuhe frowned.

She pressed her hand onto the ground again.

The Spiritual Qi she had just catalyzed into the soil had already faded by more than half, as if it had been dragged away bit by bit from the bottom of the field by something.

She tried a few other spots and tested it again. The result was the same.

Catalyzing Green could raise the Spiritual Qi in the field for a short time, even allowing the soil to develop the rudiments of a Spiritual Field. But as soon as she stopped, the Spiritual Qi would slowly sink, as if leaking into the depths of the mountain's belly.

Jiang Yuhe looked up at the slopes full of white gravel. Those white stones were quiet in the morning light, showing no signs of anything unusual.