The Little Fox's Immortal Cultivation Encyclopedia

The sun hung high in the sky, its warm rays sweeping over the green mountains and enveloping the mountain god's temple. Everything inside the temple was bathed in sunlight, feeling pleasantly warm. The sunlight was blocked by the fox's small shrine, but the warmth seeped into the cave, gently enveloping the sleeping fox.

The fox's posture was quite different from last night. This time, its entire face was buried in its tail, and instead of curling up into a ball, it lay flat on the ground. Its four legs were stretched out casually, its belly pressed against the soil, sleeping without any guard.

The fox's moist nose twitched, and it caught a faint, sweet scent in the air. The fox struggled to open one eye, but didn't move, its nostrils flaring a few more times.

Indeed, there was the aroma of cakes and fruits. The fox's ears twitched, but it didn't detect any human movement.

It yawned widely, slowly got up, stretched its front paws forward, straightened its hind legs, and stuck its rear end up high, stretching itself out into a long strip. After stretching, it shook its fur and crawled out of the hole.

The temple gates remained tightly shut, and the courtyard was in disarray, with no signs of human activity; everything was just as it had been the previous night.

The fox leaped onto the wall and looked outside. Several baskets, covered with cloth, were piled up outside the door, bulging with contents. It jumped over, stretched out its paw, and lifted them open, revealing dried fruit and pastries inside.

It seems that the villagers came by in the morning, but upon seeing the signboard, they didn't dare to come in. They simply left their things at the door and left.

The fox casually grabbed a few pieces of food to fill its stomach, then leaped back into the temple, came to the peach tree by the door, and craned its neck to look up.

The peach tree is still lush and leafy, with peaches hanging among its branches. The peaches are covered with frost and gleam in the sunlight.

The fox circled the tree, not using any magic to investigate, but simply counting with its eyes.

"Huh?" The fox counted again and again, and found something was wrong. It had specifically checked before coming down the mountain, but now there were two peaches missing.

Were those wicked ghosts the thieves? That doesn't seem likely; they only know how to eat incense. Who stole it? Possibly. But there are too many worshippers coming and going at the mountain god temple, and the fox can't find a suspect right away.

The fox pondered for a while, then put the matter aside and memorized the appearance and location of the remaining peaches. Next, it climbed up a branch and brought its nose close to a peach.

A chill ran through my nose, and if I smelled closely, I could detect a very faint peach scent mixed with another strange, mellow aroma.

The fox gently patted the peach with its paw, and the peach trembled on the branch, something seemed to be moving under the skin.

If all the peaches were still there, the fox wouldn't have touched them. But now that two peaches have been stolen, the fox's mind has started to stir. These were divine foods that the fox had created by drawing upon the moonlight; the fox hadn't even tasted them yet, how could it let someone else eat them first?

But Mo Ling said these were to be given to him as a welcome gift.

But... but... there are already few peaches left, and the little sparrow didn't say how many to leave. The sparrow has a small beak and can't eat that many.

The fox stretched out its paw, wanting to pick it, but then withdrew it. No, no, I promised to save it for someone else.

The fox's tail twitched back and forth, in a state of confusion, when suddenly an idea came to it.

It landed back on the ground, placed both tails in front of its eyes, and began to divine.

"You represent 'right'." The fox's paw pressed down on the red tail.

"You represent 'wrong'." The fox's paw pressed down on the white tail.

"A fox can eat the smallest peach, right?" The fox started with its red tail, pointing at its tail for each word it spoke, then pointing at its other tail for the next word, alternating between the two.

After speaking, the fox stroked its white tail and fell into deep thought.

"Hey, what does this mean again?" The fox's memory has been getting worse lately. It must be because he's been cultivating his Qi Concealment too well, hiding all his memories.

The fox carefully noted the meaning of each tail and performed the divination again.

"It's okay for a fox to secretly eat a small peach, right..." The fox tapped its white tail, drawing out its words, and then added, "Huh?"

The fox's paw landed on the red tail again. It nodded in satisfaction, went straight for the peach it had already reserved, gently bit the peach stem, bit it off, and held it in its paws.

It felt cool, like holding a piece of ice.

The fox brought its kiss closer, first licking the peach; it tasted like ice cream. It took a gentle bite, and the peach's skin was crisper than the fox had imagined. Its teeth pierced the skin, and the contents instantly flowed out.

It was thicker than water, with a hint of sourness and a touch of sweetness. It was smooth and creamy, warming as it went down my throat. A faint spiritual energy spread through my body, leaving me feeling light and refreshed.

The fox finished it in one gulp, smacked its lips, and continued to savor the taste. The peach flavor was very faint, overshadowed by a moonlit clarity, but this clarity was not strong, only a faint trace.

Only a thin peel remained in the fox's paw; the peach pit was nowhere to be found. Without thinking much of it, the fox stuffed the peel into its mouth and chewed it up.

It doesn't taste like much.

Just as it was about to get up, it suddenly felt its face getting hot and its head feeling a little dizzy.

The fox blinked, and the peach tree in front of it swayed, then steadied itself. The main hall in front of it shook, then straightened up again. The fox wobbled, but lost its footing and fell to the ground.

The paws felt light and airy; the fox tried to step on them several times, but couldn't get a firm footing. It froze, staring at the paws, its mind blank. After a long while, it suddenly remembered what the strange smell the fox had caught earlier was.

That's the smell of wine; the fox had tasted it before when it stole the offerings.

The fox sat up again, took several steps, walking unsteadily, and finally gave up and lay in the yard gazing at the sky. But the huge fireball in the sky was also hovering there, and the fox's eyes were blurry, so it simply closed its eyes.

"The fox isn't drunk." The fox seemed to be talking to someone.

"Sound, what kind of peach is this?"

No one answered. The courtyard was quiet for a while, then a clear voice rang out:

"Frozen peaches are brewed by a fox spirit using the moonlight. The outer skin of the peach freezes, while the flesh turns into water. When the fox spirit drinks it, he feels refreshed all over and his head spins. When ordinary people drink it, they drink it..." The fox couldn't think of anything, so he stammered, tilted his head, and fell asleep again.

Sunlight streamed across the courtyard, casting long shadows from the walls until they covered the entire yard. The moon, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, cast its silvery glow.

The fox was fast asleep.

The moon moves slowly, yet also very quickly; the stars disappear, and the sky begins to lighten again.

Sunlight streamed back into the yard, and the fox remained in the same pose.

The sun rose higher, reaching its zenith. The sunlight grew warmer, and the fox's tail twitched first, then it opened its eyes a crack.

The fox raised its head slightly, glanced around, and sat up halfway, but made no further move, as if it had not fully woken up yet.

After a long while, the fox slowly came to its senses.

"When did the fox fall asleep again?" The fox looked up at the sky, and the fireball was right above its head, exactly the same as before it fell asleep.

It breathed a sigh of relief and muttered, "Thank goodness I didn't sleep for too long."