Building a sect from scratch.

Chapter 191 The Fox Girl is Hard to Deal With
No sooner had he said that than a notification popped up in the public chat, indicating that the task was complete.

Congratulations to players [Zhongzhou Jinli], [Yun Canghai], [Guangfu Ganxing Zhanglang], [Chai Gou Cai Cai], [Zhen Junzi], and [Jia Xiaoren] for successfully completing the public quest [The Secret of Groundwater]. Quest rewards are being distributed. This public quest has now ended.

"What happened!?"

Zhen Junzi asked blankly in the team channel.

Shen Yun replied, "Oh, I reported the cause of the groundwater to my senior sister, and the mission was completed."

Zhen Junzi then realized that many tasks could only be considered complete after reporting to the NPC who issued the task.

Shen Yun's actions saved Zhen Junzi some trouble, so Zhen Junzi thanked him, saying, "Wow! You were quick! Thanks, brother!"

"You're welcome."

As soon as the gold text popped up in the public chat, the other players started wailing – if someone else got to complete this public task first, it meant they wouldn't get any rewards!
The Jade Emperor, who was digging a well with a shovel, threw down the shovel, sat down on the spot, and sullenly said, "What the hell! I worked hard all day and got nothing! More than 10,000 experience points just vanished like that! I might as well have gone to grind monsters!"

Zhao Qing also put the shovel down beside her, took a breath, and said, "Wake up, there are no monsters to kill now. The queue for [Cold Pool Cave] is always six or seven minutes long!"

The Jade Emperor, utterly despondent, lay down on the ground, covered his face, and wailed, "What am I going to do?! There's nowhere to gain experience points anymore!"

Just as he finished howling, Zhao Qing said in a strange tone, "A player added me, saying there's a hidden quest they want my help with, and they'll let me choose the limited-edition items as the quest reward first... Anyway, you're free anyway, want to come along?"

"A hidden quest!?"

Upon hearing these four words, the Jade Emperor immediately sprang to his feet, his eyes flashing with a fierce light: "Can it be shared!?"

Zhao Qing shrugged: "No, that's why I can only say it's a limited-edition item and let me choose first."

The Jade Emperor immediately lost interest: "What's the point of going there!"

Zhao Qing raised an eyebrow: "Then I'll go by myself?"

The Jade Emperor exclaimed anxiously, "Hey, no! Never mind, I'll go too! What if I manage to get some good stuff?"

"Let's go! You leave the group and we'll rebuild it for you! I'll join that player's team!"

"okay!"

……

Ten minutes later, Shen Yun, Zhao Qing, and the Jade Emperor stood on a hill covered with Rhodiola rosea, looking at each other in bewilderment.

The Jade Emperor looked at the empty hill and asked expressionlessly, "Second Senior Sister, didn't you say that we entered the fox den here last time?"

"Um...maybe we should shout?"

Zhao Qing said, "Also, their name is Chiyuan Cave, so show some respect!"

"Okay, but how do I call out to them?"

Zhao Qing thought for a moment, then channeled her spiritual power and called out, "Disciples of the Taiyin Sect have come to pay respects to the Chiyuan Sect. We request that fellow Daoists of the Chiyuan Sect appear and meet us!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a massive stone gate suddenly appeared.

The stone gate appeared semi-transparent, carved with countless foxes, each unique and exquisitely detailed. A moment later, a woman in a crimson dress emerged from within. Her eyes were upturned at the corners, her allure natural. Her lips parted slightly, and a soft voice reached the three men's ears: "So you are fellow Daoists from the Taiyin Sect! My apologies for my rudeness. May I ask what brings you here?"

Not to mention the Jade Emperor and Shen Yun, even Zhao Qing was mesmerized by this beauty, swallowing hard. Only when asked did she blush and reply with a dazed look, "This, fellow Daoist, we've come to search for a lost fragment of a magical artifact..."

The fox-woman from the Crimson Plains Sect was immediately displeased and shouted, "Hmm? How could fragments of a magical artifact lost by your Taiyin Sect disciples appear in the Crimson Plains Cave?"

Zhao Qing hurriedly explained, "No, no, no, fellow Daoist, you misunderstand. Do you know Yun Guanxia, ​​who was brought back by Fellow Daoist Hu Zijun a while ago? She obtained two fragments. We have already found one, and we were told that she should have hidden the other one in your sect's Crimson Plains Cave..."

To everyone's surprise, the fox-woman sneered, "My sister from the Yun family gave her life for you, and yet you still keep chasing after her?"

The Jade Emperor grew anxious: "No, fellow Daoist, we can't possibly believe that! We just want to retrieve the fragments of the magic weapon!"

The fox-woman said disdainfully, "What kind of magical treasure is so precious that even fragments have to be searched for in the territory of other sects?"

The Jade Emperor wanted to say something, but Shen Yun, who hadn't had a chance to speak yet, tugged at his arm and stopped him.

Shen Yun answered methodically, "It is a fragment of the Douxuan Treasure Mirror forged by the ancient god Douxuan Gong. We have already inquired with the remaining fragments, and it is true that a fragment was lost in the Chiyuan Cave."

"Kabuto... Kabuto Xuan..."

The fox woman was stunned for a moment, then angrily retorted, "Are you all happy to mess with me? The Mysterious Mirror can't be broken? And there are still fragments in our Crimson Plains Cave? Are you kidding me?!"

As she spoke, the fox woman's pupils even contracted, and she released a powerful aura that only a great demon could possess, putting a debuff on all three of them.

Although the Jade Emperor and Zhao Qing did not yet understand what was so special about the Douxuan Treasure Mirror, they realized that the fox woman was clearly making things difficult for them at every turn.

Zhao Qing had no choice but to say firmly, "If you don't believe me, please inform the Hundred Flowers Immortal and let her decide. We really didn't intend to trouble our sect leader with such a trivial matter, but if you insist on not believing us, then we will have no choice but to ask our sect leader to come and ask for it!"

The fox woman breathed heavily, seemingly suppressing her anger: "You're threatening me?"

Zhao Qing felt that the fox woman's attitude was really inexplicable, and couldn't help but get a little angry. She said stiffly, "I wouldn't dare, but it would be best if you asked an elder or clan leader who can make the decision!"

"Hmph! I can make the decisions! You're simply bullying us! Go back to where you came from! Don't wait for me to take action myself!"

As she spoke, the fox-woman turned around and tried to retreat behind the stone door.

The Jade Emperor immediately became anxious. He subconsciously took two steps forward to open the door, but the fox woman seemed to be waiting for his action. She turned her head, opened her mouth wide, and spat out a stream of foxfire.

The foxfire flew towards the Jade Emperor like a long dragon. In his haste, the Jade Emperor only had time to slightly turn his body. In the blink of an eye, the foxfire that flew past his cheek scorched half of his face, almost revealing his bones, which was quite terrifying.

Zhao Qing, who knew a lot about magic and cultivation, was stunned for a moment, then angrily cursed, "You fox demon, what a vicious heart you have!"

Shen Yun, who was standing nearby, was also startled. He hurriedly rummaged through his backpack to find the Bone-Breaking and Muscle-Regenerating Powder, trying to save the Jade Emperor.

The fox woman, however, retorted smugly, "It was clearly your Taiyin Sect disciples who attacked first! How can you blame me for turning against you! You should thank me for holding back, otherwise you would have been in the Netherworld long ago!"

Although the Jade Emperor had long since adjusted his five senses and could not feel pain, his rapidly decreasing health bar still signaled that his life was hanging by a thread.

Seeing the fox spirit's unreasonable behavior, the Jade Emperor angrily exclaimed, "You—"

Before she could say anything, a woman's voice came from behind the door: "What happened?"

(End of this chapter)