The Little Fox's Immortal Cultivation Encyclopedia

Autumn's chill seeped into the bones; while the outside was still pleasant, the prison was shrouded in an oppressive dampness.

The titmouse leaned against the abbot's shoulder, shook its body vigorously to fluff up its feathers, and then tucked its head under its wings. But the musty smell unique to the prison, mixed with a fishy stench, kept it awake.

The titmouse shrank back, trying to avoid it, but suddenly felt itself lower and the smell stronger. It had to open its eyes to see the strange-looking person on the ground.

The man on the ground was bound hand and foot, his body covered in talismans. His face was vacant, his eyes empty. Filth and urine flowed freely beneath him, emitting a foul stench.

At this moment, Chang Sheng showed no trace of his former arrogance.

The abbot of Yun Temple bent down without any disgust, placed his fingers on Chang Sheng's forehead, and closed his eyes to sense it.

"His soul was incomplete to begin with, and now it is completely gone, not a single trace remains. He is now a cripple."

The jailer, pale-faced, explained to Magistrate Zhang, "Magistrate, when I came to inspect this morning, he was perfectly fine. I only turned around, and he seemed to have a sudden attack of his illness, and in just a few breaths he became like this."

"The methods of demons are unpredictable and impossible to guard against; it's not your fault," Zhang Enhuai casually comforted, but he had a headache and looked at Duan Mianli.

Duan Mianli understood and reported the situation: "Sir, Granny Li has been missing for seven days. I sent people to Huaxinfang to check, but her son is nowhere to be found. Now Changsheng is also a cripple... All clues have been exhausted."

"Don't be anxious, you two. These evil Taoists are quite arrogant and may not be willing to escape so easily." Abbot Yun took out a jade pendant from his robes and said with a smile, "Besides, that Yin ghost is still here."

Duan Mianli recognized the jade pendant; it was something Chang Sheng wore. That day, the ghost rushed out of the painting and entered the jade pendant.

Master Yun placed the sparrow on his shoulder into his palm, stroked its feathers, and spoke softly: "In my humble opinion, the magistrate is well-versed in the ways of governing people in the mortal world, so the matter of the missing person should be investigated by the magistrate."

"I have some knowledge of exorcising evil spirits in the netherworld, so I will trace the origins of this evil ghost."

"This is the proper way for each to return to its own path. It also prevents the tranquility of the mountains from being disturbed, and avoids causing the gods, who should be at ease, to be troubled by these mundane affairs."

"Then I'll come back to deliver the message," the sparrow said as the illusion dissipated.

The fox pondered, "Why does the fox feel that the person was speaking to the fox at the end?"

"Who cares?" The leader of the mountain sparrows looked at the craftsmen with curiosity. "I'm more curious about what news they had Xiao Jiu bring back."

The old craftsman had already read the letter, passed it on to someone else, and then went straight to the makeshift shed. In the center of the shed stood an object covered with a thick cloth.

The old craftsman reached out and steadily lifted the cover.

It is a statue. The head is slightly rounded, the body is seated, and each part is clearly defined without any fine carving. The tips of the ears and the base of the tail are only slightly carved. It seems to be a rough animal shape.

"Really...really a fox spirit?" The young craftsman looked at the statue in disbelief, his eyes wide. "Craftsman Li, you knew all along that this was to be carved?"

"This temple has been abandoned for a long time, and even the Taoist priest doesn't know much about it. What would I know?" The old craftsman waved his hand, his expression unchanged. "Why don't you come and lend a hand?"

The group carried the statue to a spacious area, where another craftsman examined it closely, raising an eyebrow slightly: "Old Li, isn't this the rare wood you specially brought back from the mountains? You finally decided to bring it out this time?"

"It's been air-dried for three years, and it's barely usable. Come on, let's start shaping it."

The craftsmen abandoned the rough axes and replaced them with narrow-bladed chisels and planes to carefully outline the previously rough contours.

They lightly carved two concave arcs in the eye sockets to define the narrow shape of the fox's eyes, and then worked on the tip of the nose to carve out the basic shape of the fox's nose. They also made a few moves on the ears, making them pointed and slightly upturned.

Finally, lightly carve under the jaw a few more times to smooth the lines, and the fox head will be roughly lifelike.

"Huh?" The leader of the tits flapped its wings and moved to a better spot, looking around several times before finally confirming its guess.

"Fox, they're carving you!"

The fox's curled ears perked up, and it instinctively straightened up. Seeing only the busy backs of the craftsmen, it spread its magic over them.

Its snout is longer than a fox's, its face is thinner, and its ears are smaller.

"This isn't a fox at all," the fox concluded.

"This is the fox. It's not finished yet, take a closer look!"

The craftsmen continued carving, the outline becoming more and more delicate. The body was upright, the front paws were tucked in front of the chest and abdomen, and the hind legs were crouching. Although they had never carved a fox before, their movements were fluent and swift.

When it came time to carve the tail that coiled around the rump, their movements slowed down. They gently chiseled out the overlapping ridges, mimicking the fluffy tail of a fox.

The fox swayed its tail in front of it, sat obediently, and its gaze darted back and forth between itself and the statue.

I looked at it again and again, compared it again and again.

The more you look at it, the more it resembles a fox. The fox has to admit that it really is a fox.

"It doesn't look like a fox at all!"

"Never mind these little problems, that's a statue! They're going to worship you!" The titmouse leader was even more excited than the fox involved.

The craftsman wiped his sweat and looked up. The sky was gradually darkening, and the last rays of the setting sun shone on the nascent sculpture, giving it a warm glow.

"It's time to go down the mountain. We'll come back to fix the lamps tomorrow."

The young craftsman stroked his chin, which was covered in wood shavings: "Alright, Craftsman Li, you know more. Shall we repair the hidden cave?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the surrounding craftsmen stopped in their tracks and stared at the old craftsman.

This was the first time they had ever done the job of sculpting a fox spirit statue. They had only repaired the mountain god statue, but they had personally completed the fox spirit statue. Who wouldn't want to write their name on it, seal it inside the statue, and pass it down to future generations?

More importantly, this image has been certified as efficacious by the county magistrate, so you'll have a lot of face to show it to your children and grandchildren in the future.

The old craftsman looked around and slowly said, "The letter said that the Taoist priest will personally come to consecrate it. Whether or not to put on the Tibetan robe, and how to put it on, we'll have to ask the Taoist priest!"

"Oh dear, the consecration ceremony doesn't affect our storage of the treasures, can you elaborate further..."

The group placed the statue in its proper place and descended the mountain with anticipation.

Once the people had gone far away, the foxes and sparrows that had been waiting for a long time all came to the statue.

The fox stretched out its paws, removed its cover, and patted the statue all over.

"Don't touch it, fox, or you'll break it. Didn't they say they still need to store grain and expand the area?" the titmouse said, hopping around on the statue.

"You must fill a whole granary with grain and then start scattering it everywhere," added Little Nine, the messenger sparrow.

"Nonsense." The fox tilted its head, listening intently to something. After a few moments, it corrected, "Consecration has nothing to do with grains; it's about imbuing the statue with spirituality."

"Consecrating a bone requires touching 360 joints and 84,000 acupoints? Wow, that's too many."

"Huh, foxes can consecrate themselves too?"

Upon hearing the voice's words, the fox used its magic to swat the troublesome sparrow aside and cover the entire statue. Under the shroud of magic, wisps of transparent lines appeared.

The fox recognized the threads; they resembled incense sticks, but were more dispersed, unlike the cohesive threads of incense.

That is the power of will, the power of will that naturally flows from the hearts of artisans when they pour their heart and soul into carving.

The fox calmed its mind and used its magic to connect with the power of the vow.

The magic power and the will power blended together seamlessly, and the fox's vision suddenly darkened.