Qiu Zu: From an apprentice in a medicine shop to an immortal ancestor.

Why are you crying?

Qiu Zhen looked strange, his heart filled with curiosity.

The white fox in front of him was huddled close to the wood-chopping knife, waiting silently.

A little thought made it easy to guess.

It had found his Xiangyang courtyard by following the wood-chopping knife—the wood-chopping knife had been in contact with the fox demon, perhaps leaving behind some kind of aura.

"Next time I encounter demons or ghosts, I must clean up the aftermath."

Qiu Zhen reminded himself secretly.

Fortunately, the little fox demon in front of him didn't seem to harbor any hostility.

But just why did it come?

The white fox seemed to sense the doubt in Qiu Zhen's eyes. Standing upright on its hind legs, it barked repeatedly, gesturing quickly with its paws, as if trying to explain something.

After gesturing for a while, it seemed to remember something. It turned its head and rummaged through the haystack, its rear end sticking up.

Soon, the white fox pulled out a tattered gray cloth package from the haystack, held it in its paws, and looked at Qiu Zhen with anticipation.

"Ying ying ying ~"

This...

If this had happened a few days ago, Qiu Zhen probably wouldn't have understood the white fox's abstract sign language.

However, with the blessing of his nascent soul, he quickly deduced what it meant by connecting the dots.

"Are you saying that you went to retrieve this package that day, but couldn't find me when you returned?"

The white fox was overjoyed upon hearing this, nodding like a chick pecking at rice.

"This is a gift for me?"

Qiu Zhen was a little surprised.

Just now, the gray cloth package was obscured by the white fox's body, and he couldn't see any clues. As soon as it was presented in front of him, the third eye in his brow penetrated the tattered gray cloth package and saw a ray of spiritual light inside.

Clearly, there was a treasure inside the package.

Moreover, it wasn't an ordinary, mundane treasure.

This situation made Qiu Zhen sigh inwardly.

How difficult it had been for him to obtain resources before.

In order to secure resources for survival, his parents had planned to send him to be a live-in son-in-law, to be a beast of burden, to be subservient, and to swallow his anger.

In order to practice martial arts, he had intercepted his own earnings, for which he had been branded with the infamous name of "unfilial son" and became a negative example of an "unfilial son" in the surrounding villages.

He had to work hard to obtain every bit of resource, and he was still not understood.

How could a golden dragon be confined to a pond? It transforms into a dragon when it encounters wind and clouds.

On the day of his hundred-day success, when he established his foundation and Dharma body, his circumstances immediately underwent earth-shattering changes. Encountering a demon could turn misfortune into good fortune, and he could even encounter an opportunity.

Amidst his feelings, Qiu Zhen looked at the white fox kneeling in human form, possessing considerable wisdom, and a faint smile appeared on his lips:

"You want to follow me and cultivate?"

The white fox nodded repeatedly upon hearing this, its furry fox paws making obeisances repeatedly, filled with excitement.

"Ying ying ying ~"

After a burst of joy, it actually knelt on the ground, offering the gray cloth package to Qiu Zhen.

Those fox eyes were sincere and eager.

The firewood shed in front of him seemed to have become a temple, with a believer prostrating before a prayer mat, piously offering a tribute, begging the immortal Buddhas and gods to accept its offering.

"What an intelligent fox demon!"

Qiu Zhen was quite satisfied in his heart upon seeing this.

The white fox had witnessed his hundred-day foundation building and knew his greatest secret. He had intended to contact the fox demon to keep the hidden danger within a controllable range. The other party's initiative to come over was undoubtedly a welcome surprise.

Moreover, the white fox in front of him was not as savage and cruel as ordinary demons and beasts. It was born with wisdom and had a connection with him.

Many times, choice is greater than effort.

The white fox had taken refuge in him, betting its treasure on him, and he did not show any timidity or dare to accept this karma.

"If I become successful in the future, I will definitely not mistreat you."

Qiu Zhen didn't ramble on, drawing a big pie in the sky. After giving a sentence of explanation, he immediately reached out and took the gray cloth package that the white fox held above its head with both hands.

"Hmm?"

Just as he took the tattered package, Qiu Zhen sensed a wisp of energy flying towards him from the white fox's body.

Curious, Qiu Zhen didn't say anything and used [Reflection], peering inward at the spiritual platform in his brow.

He saw that in the spiritual platform world, the [Dharma Body Qiu Zhen] was sitting on the clouds, a golden light blooming faintly, surrounded by countless numbers, mysterious tadpole texts, like a saint and a god. Beneath him was a torrent of steel, with flashing neon lights.

At first glance, nothing seemed to have changed.

However, Qiu Zhen was perceptive and soon saw a ball of white light in the cloud in front of the "Dharma Body Qiu Zhen."

Upon closer inspection, that white light was the white fox.

It was also kneeling in human form in the spiritual platform, piously kowtowing, as if it were a believer, worshiping his Dharma body.

"This is..."

Qiu Zhen was surprised.

A believer?

Or had he conquered and subdued the fox demon?

The drawback of not having a "master" was revealed at this moment. As a newcomer to the world of cultivation, he only had a superficial understanding of many common sense things.

The explanations in the silk book and the messages from predecessors were also fragmentary.

Fortunately, he never indulged in internal friction or entanglement.

Although he didn't know the specific reason, after the "White Fox Worship," he could clearly feel that he had a certain connection with the white fox, as if their hearts were connected, and they naturally became closer.

"This saves trouble."

Qiu Zhen nodded with satisfaction. Under the white fox's eager and expectant gaze, he opened the tattered gray cloth package.

A herb was presented in front of him, and there was nothing else.

This herb must have been picked not long ago. Its stem was upright, with leaves growing on the middle and lower parts of the stem, obovate-lanceolate in shape. The head had a cluster of purple-red buds, the pappus was white, and the rhizome at the bottom was relatively thick, slightly fist-shaped, covered in soil, and the quality was extremely complete.

"Atractylodes macrocephala."

As an apprentice in a medicine shop, Qiu Zhen dealt with various herbs all day long and recognized the herb in front of him at a glance.

Under normal circumstances, Atractylodes macrocephala is taken as medicine by using "dried rhizomes", and it is most suitable to dig it when the lower leaves are withered and yellow and the upper leaves become brittle in winter.

In spring and summer, the upper branches and leaves of ordinary Atractylodes macrocephala are still in the growth stage. Where can there be verdant and mature "Atractylodes macrocephala"?

As the saying goes, there must be something unusual about something that happens unusually.

At this moment, Qiu Zhen's third eye vaguely saw that the rhizome of Atractylodes macrocephala covered in loess soil was emitting a faint spiritual light, appearing magnificent and magical.

"Spiritual herb treasure medicine!"

Qiu Zhen was overjoyed.

As an apprentice in the Yaowang Valley medicine shop, he often dealt with herbs. Although he had not accepted or played with spiritual herb treasures at close range, he had indeed seen them from afar a few times.

Every time a spiritual herb treasure appeared in Qingmu Town, it would cause a sensation.

Regardless of the quality of the spiritual herb treasure, it would attract many martial artists and wealthy and powerful people to buy it at high prices, ranging from dozens of taels of silver to hundreds or thousands of taels of silver.

It can be said that as long as a herbalist who goes into the mountains picks up a spiritual herb treasure, he can make a fortune and change his life.

Previously, Qiu Zhen, Zhao Dou, and Shen Liang also occasionally went into the mountains to collect herbs together, fantasizing that they would be lucky enough to pick up such a spiritual herb treasure and make a fortune.

Unfortunately, it was purely wishful thinking.

A trip to the mountains only earned them hard-earned money for collecting herbs, which couldn't change anything.

"This Atractylodes macrocephala has a complete spiritual pattern."

Qiu Zhen removed the soil from the "Atractylodes macrocephala" root and found a magical pattern at the base, which surprised him.

A spiritual pattern meant that this Atractylodes macrocephala had changed its fate against the heavens, reversed its withering and prosperity, transcended the shackles of time, completely surpassed a growth cycle, and its rhizome contained a rich spirituality, fully reaching the standard of a "spiritual herb treasure."

Previously, a herbalist in Qingmu Town had picked up a treasure medicine, and it was said that it had not yet formed a complete spiritual pattern, but it could still be sold for dozens of taels of silver.

His spiritual herb treasure, placed on the market, would start at least a hundred taels of silver.

What a generous gift!

Qiu Zhen had lived two lives, but he wasn't the kind of person who couldn't move when he saw money.

Seeing the treasure medicine "Atractylodes macrocephala", his first thought wasn't to sell it for money, but to use it for practicing his skills.

He didn't have a proper cultivation method right now. The "Food Qi Method" was too crude, and no one was guiding him in martial arts. To become a "martial artist" step by step and stand out, it would take at least a year.

A year was not long or short.

Qiu Zhen was not an impatient person, but if there were conditions, he would not make himself suffer.

"I wonder how much hard work I can save by taking this treasure medicine."