Building a sect from scratch.

Chapter 83 Guess Who I Met

Before long, Hu Zijun returned on a cloud, carrying a dying three-tailed red fox in one hand and a huge red snake corpse in the other.

The three-tailed red fox reeked of a foul stench, its fur mottled as if it had been scorched, making it look rather pitiful.

“Fellow Daoist! It turns out that a python demon was behind all that, luring my fox cubs from the Crimson Plains Cave to work for him. When he realized that his scheme had been exposed, he even swallowed three of the fox cubs in an attempt to escape! Unfortunately, the other two fox cubs have already turned into pus in his belly, leaving only this one, who has a higher cultivation level, still alive. Look, the python demon's corpse is right here.”

With that, Hu Zijun threw the giant snake to the ground. With a thud, the snake's corpse hit the ground heavily, raising a cloud of dust.

After landing, Hu Zijun realized that Baili Shuang's junior sister was gone, and there was a young man beside her. The young man was surrounded by a faint, almost imperceptible demonic aura, so Hu Zijun asked with some doubt, "This fellow Daoist... is he also a disciple of the Taiyin Sect?"

Jin Li greeted him and said, "Greetings, fellow Daoist. I am a demon cultivator from Xizhuqiu. I only have a past relationship with some Taiyin Sect disciples who were captured and imprisoned in the Three Stone Cave. I have not joined any sect."

Upon hearing this, Hu Zijun's expression turned considerably colder, and she merely nodded in return.

Seeing that Hu Zijun was rather snobbish and looked down on the mountain demon cultivators, Baili Shuang quickly chimed in, "Fellow Daoist has a high level of cultivation! You brought down the evil demon so quickly! I wonder what will happen to this fox demon? To be honest, this fox demon raises humans to eat, and the village it harmed was only recently protected by my Taiyin Sect, and they have already made offerings to the Taiyin Goddess. As a disciple, I have to give the sect an explanation."

Hu Zijun said, "Fellow Daoist, please rest assured. After returning to the Crimson Plains Cave, the elders will use the Soul Searching Technique to investigate this sinful fox. If she is truly guilty of heinous crimes, she will certainly not be spared!"

Upon hearing this, Baili Shuang frowned and remained silent, but Jin Li suddenly spoke up and asked, "What constitutes offending someone extremely heinous?"

Hu Zijun released the oppressive aura of a demon cultivator with displeasure and said coldly, "Fellow Daoist usually cultivates in seclusion at Xizhu Hill. What, do you want to interfere in the affairs of my Chiyuan Cave?"

Jin Li's cultivation was far inferior to Hu Zijun's, and he immediately found himself unable to hold on any longer, reverting to his original form.

Seeing this, Hu Zijun sneered and said, "I wondered what kind of background you had, but you're just a yellow-skinned rat!"

Baili Shuang quickly came to the rescue, saying, "Fellow Daoist Hu, please don't take your anger out on those evil demons. I observe that this Fellow Daoist Jin's path of cultivation is quite correct and very compatible with Taiyin. I have already invited him to join my Taiyin Sect."

Upon hearing this, Hu Zijun withdrew her oppressive aura: "Taiyin Sect?"

Baili Shuang nodded and said, "That's right. I haven't had a chance to explain to you yet. Although we are currently still a sect under the Guangcheng Sect, we have already reached an agreement with the Guangcheng Sect that we will soon change our sect status to a sect. We would like to invite you to grace us with your presence at the sect's founding ceremony."

Hu Zijun thought for a moment and then realized, "That's right. The one you worship is the Taiyin Goddess, while the one worshipped by the Guangcheng Sect is the Jiaomu Star Lord. It's indeed not appropriate to classify them together."

Baili Shuang, however, raised her banner and said, "That may be true, but our Taiyin Sect also worships Jiaomu Xingjun, after all, Taiyin Niangniang and Jiaomu Xingjun are both considered star gods."

Hu Zijun laughed and said, "Haha, that's true. Then I'll wait for your invitation, fellow Daoist!"

"sure!"

……

After exchanging a few polite words, Hu Zijun left on a cloud, carrying the three-tailed fox. Jin Li asked somewhat indignantly, "Fellow Daoist, that fox demon ate a disciple of the Taiyin Sect! Are we just going to let it go like that?"

“Even if the elders of the Crimson Cave clan were willing to keep it, Lord Heart Moon Star would not keep it if it couldn’t survive.”

Baili Shuang was quite surprised by Jin Li's attitude, thinking to herself that this golden-haired bamboo fox demon seemed very friendly towards humans, wondering what the reason was behind it. Jin Li was somewhat skeptical: "Xin Yue Xingjun... would actually care about this matter?"

Baili Shuang asked, "Do you know why the Crimson Plains Cave is known as the 'Crimson Plains Sect' outside, and even surpasses the reputation of the Qingqiu Kingdom, which is known as the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Demons?"

"This... I truly do not know."

"It is precisely because Xin Yue Xingjun is not only the ancestor of all the foxes in Chiyuan Cave, but also lives in seclusion in the cave for many years, restraining all the foxes. Although she is a demon who cultivates a fox body to attain the Dao of the Star Constellation, she learns from humans in every way. All the fox children and grandchildren in Chiyuan Cave must read and write, distinguish right from wrong, and cultivate the Dao and virtue. Under such circumstances, no matter how protective Chiyuan Cave is, it will not let that fox demon go."

"So that's how it is. That fox demon is indeed hateful! I heard that she was so audacious as to go and imprison human villages and eat people?"

"Exactly."

Jin Li was utterly astonished: "She's not afraid of divine retribution!"

The "divine retribution" that Jin Li mentioned was not a curse, but a real "divine retribution," which manifested as heavenly tribulations, lightning tribulations, the severing of cultivation, and the inability to attain enlightenment, among other things.

These "divine punishments" do not only affect man-eating monsters; monsters that eat other monsters are also affected. However, whether or how such punishments will occur remains uncertain.

For example, wild beasts, before they gain intelligence and spiritual awakening, will not be punished by "divine retribution" if they eat woodcutters or hunters who have strayed into the deep mountains. Some highly skilled demon cultivators will also not be punished by "divine retribution" if they kill and devour other demon cultivators who are fighting for territory, or if they are cultivators who come to covet their demon bodies.

However, many lesser demons, in their quest for rapid cultivation advancement, lured their own kind or humans to consume them, only to suffer divine retribution during their tribulations, with most losing both their souls and spirits.

While it's true that whether or not "divine retribution" will befall one depends entirely on luck, those like Yun Guanxia, ​​who keep human villages in captivity and engage in cannibalism for a long time, will inevitably suffer "divine retribution."

Baili Shuang also guessed, "He probably has some kind of magical treasure."

Jin Li was silent for a moment, then said, "Cultivation begins with cultivating one's nature. Being greedy for merit and profit, harming others to enrich oneself, is ultimately not the right path."

Baili Shuang couldn't help but glance at Jin Li a few more times. Such understanding was not something a wild mountain demon cultivator could comprehend on his own. She became even more determined to recruit him, so she repeated her old trick and invited Jin Li to join the Taiyin Sect, fearing that he might change his mind after a while.

Jin Li kept his word, saying that he needed to settle things with the younger generation, and the two agreed to discuss it in detail a few days later.

After parting ways with Baili Shuang, Jin Li was so excited that she rushed back to Xizhuqiu at the fastest speed she had ever used in her life.

"Sugarcane! Sugarcane, sugarcane! Guess who I ran into!"

He emerged from the hole at Zhu Xian's feet with a large clump of dirt sticking out of his head, and began to chatter incessantly: "I've run into disciples of the Taiyin Sect, and that stinky fox from the Chiyuan Cave!"

Zhu Xian shook the sugarcane leaves on her head, looked at the disheveled Jin Li, and waited for what was to come.

Sure enough, Jin Li continued muttering, "The one causing trouble in the Three Stone Cave was actually a fox demon from the Crimson Plains Sect! Oh, and some snake demon too, but the snake demon was killed by a fox demon named Hu Zijun who came from the Crimson Plains Sect to clean house. I think Hu Zijun originally wanted to protect her own fox cub, but the brat from the Taiyin Sect stood up for her. Oh right! I was also planning to go to the Taiyin Sect... um, it should be called the Taiyin Clan. I didn't want to, but the price they offered was too high, at least ten Taiyin Essences a month! Do you think I can afford it!?"

"Hiss—do you think they accept bamboo spirits?"

(End of this chapter)