I Might Be a Big Shot — Chapter 47
Li Xinglun certainly couldn’t fight the Eight-tailed Fox. First, because he couldn’t win… though that wasn’t the point — for his master, he would fight even if he couldn’t win. The real point was the second reason: they came to the Mystic Fog Yao Valley to join forces with the yao clan to resist the calamity threatening the human realm, not to fight. Moreover, whether his master was truly the heir of Nüwa still required covert investigation. Even if Changkong Zhuoyu really was Nüwa’s heir, after millions of years, the yao of the Mystic Fog Yao Valley would hardly be willing to obey the command of a suddenly-appearing heir. For either purpose, it was unwise to provoke the Green Hills, known as the strongest power in the Mystic Fog Yao Valley.
But clearly Changkong Zhuoyu didn’t think so. Ever since the Eight-tailed Fox said he was going to eat people, he wore a face that said, “I must defend myself, you can’t blame me for this,” as he pulled out a fan from his waist, opened it with a “swish,” and began to gently wave it, looking far more carefree than the Eight-tailed Fox.
This fan wasn’t some trinket Li Xinglun bought with a few taels of silver from copying books, but one of the treasures Changkong Zhuoyu had casually taken from Xuan Minglie’s demon palace before leaving Heaven-Shaking Peak. This fan was certainly not the one Changkong Zhuoyu had once made up a name for that even Li Xinglun couldn’t remember anymore {The Dark Frost Underworld Fire Fan!} — this was the precious fan named “White Dragon Emerging from the Valley.” The fan’s ribs seemed to be made of dragon scales; it could cut water and cleave fire, and even a gentle wave infused with true essence could stir up a hurricane.
When Changkong Zhuoyu took this fan, Xuan Minglie’s perpetually slow-to-react face actually twitched painfully, as though feeling that Changkong Zhuoyu truly had a keen eye to pick out such a prized treasure at a glance. But Li Xinglun knew very well — Changkong Zhuoyu didn’t care at all about how valuable or powerful this fan was. He simply liked its color. A pure white fan paired with his flowing white robes exuded an immortal air and instantly elevated his charm by a whole level.
Li Xinglun knew that despite his master’s fondness for dressing up as various people, and changing his appearance to suit them, he still liked white most. From the moment he woke at the bottom of the Soul-Breaking Gorge — like a child seeing the world for the first time — he chose white, and ever since then had favored white robes.
With the fan added and striking a deliberate pose, Changkong Zhuoyu looked so beautiful he seemed beyond this world, as if he could ascend at any moment with a single wave of the fan. Such looks and bearing even stunned the Eight-tailed Fox. Just moments ago he’d been saying he would eat these two who dared trespass in the Green Hills, but now he understood a little why the Six-tailed Qingxin wanted to let them go.
Indeed — it was a pity to kill such a beautiful person…
Especially since foxes had always preferred scholars. When a fox spirit visited the human world, it was almost always scholars they seduced. Although the Eight-tailed Fox, Qingyuan, knew the fan in Changkong Zhuoyu’s hand wasn’t an ordinary object, he still adored that image of him lightly waving his fan as though composing poetry at any moment.
So while Changkong Zhuoyu was thinking, “Come on, make your move, so I can smash your face,” Qingyuan instead held back, retracted his killing intent, flashed a smile that could bewitch all beings, and said in his ambiguous voice: “Since you’ve come as guests, why don’t you both come sit in my residence?”
Then he turned and walked off, as if he hadn’t just been saying, “Cultivators deserve to die — it’s been ages since I tasted human flesh.”
Li Xinglun and Changkong Zhuoyu: “… …”
Changkong Zhuoyu looked utterly disappointed that they weren’t going to fight, while Li Xinglun felt a faint sense of unease. Just now, the Eight-tailed Fox’s voice sounded slightly different than before. Foxes naturally bewitched people — the stronger their cultivation, the greater their allure. Someone at the eight-tailed level might not even be actively seducing — it was an innate ability, and their words naturally carried charm. Normally, anyone without ill intent wouldn’t be affected, and those with impure hearts deserved to be. Yet after Qingyuan’s attitude suddenly changed, his voice sounded a little too different — even Li Xinglun, already a blood cultivator devoid of hot blood, felt a faint ripple. Clearly, the Eight-tailed Fox was using seduction arts.
Li Xinglun quickly sent a message to Changkong Zhuoyu: “Master, be careful. The Eight-tailed Fox seems to want to lure us to his place. Who knows what he’s planning — stay vigilant.”
Changkong Zhuoyu’s reply carried a hint of excitement: “Good, I’m just waiting for him to make the first move!”
Hearing his master’s clear-headed voice, Li Xinglun relaxed a little. Master hadn’t been bewitched — he was still sober. That was good. The Eight-tailed Fox was certainly good-looking; the face Li Xinglun had now, altered by the face-changing Gu insect, couldn’t compare at all. His master liked good-looking people and judged purely by looks. Li Xinglun admitted he couldn’t compete with the Eight-tailed Fox.
Fortunately, Changkong Zhuoyu’s current favorite was still Xue Qianjie. Compared to him, the Eight-tailed Fox fell far short, so master probably wouldn’t be swayed…
At that thought, Li Xinglun felt as though blood were choking his throat. He forced it back with all his true essence — as a blood cultivator, coughing up blood meant losing the true essence he’d painstakingly cultivated. Forcing himself into internal injury just by imagining things — Li Xinglun was probably the first cultivator to ever do so.
In the end, the master and disciple decided to go along with the plan and follow the Eight-tailed Fox to see what he intended. Changkong Zhuoyu dared agree because he was bold and skilled — and where did he get such confidence? Not fearing Great Ascension experts was one thing, but even someone of immortal level like the Eight-tailed Fox didn’t scare him.
The foxes’ dwellings were unlike human buildings. Foxes preferred caves, where they could change to their original forms and curl up, warm and cozy under their fluffy tails. Beds, on the contrary, felt too hot.
The Eight-tailed Fox’s cave was spacious, clean, and serene, imbued with a faint elegance of mountains and streams. With a casual wave, he summoned several vine chairs and tables that didn’t fit the environment at all. Then the Six-tailed Qingxin entered, carrying freshly washed fruits wrapped in leaves, placed them on the vine table, shyly glanced at Changkong Zhuoyu, and transformed into a six-tailed green fox, curling up in the corner without moving, his tails occasionally swishing.
Changkong Zhuoyu’s gaze was inevitably drawn to the fluffy tails. He stared for quite a while before sighing: “It’s said few can resist the fox clan’s seduction arts. I consider myself steadfast, yet today even my mind has been swayed — truly worthy of its reputation.”
As soon as he said this, the Grand Elder’s face almost twisted in anger. Along the way, Qingyuan had been lavishing his seduction arts on Changkong Zhuoyu and Li Xinglun, but the two of them were like wood, completely unmoved. Yet Qingxin had done nothing at all — just obediently curled up — and this man couldn’t take his eyes off him, looking like he couldn’t wait to pet that tail, and even said something so pompous. It was infuriating.
Sensing the Grand Elder’s anger, Qingxin looked up with clear amber eyes and a damp little nose, utterly confused.
Changkong Zhuoyu felt thoroughly crushed. He clutched his disciple’s hand and said with difficulty: “Disciple, the fox clan’s seduction arts are too profound — I may not win this battle!”
“Oh,” Li Xinglun replied calmly, completely uninterested in continuing the conversation.
At this point, he almost wished he had fur so his master could pet him at will.
The Grand Elder took a deep breath to calm himself, and after the frustration passed, he inexplicably felt a bit of goodwill toward Changkong Zhuoyu. Since ancient times, humans made vows of eternal love to the humanoid foxes, but once they saw the foxes’ original forms, they immediately turned hostile, as if all the sweet words before had been lies. Yet Changkong Zhuoyu ignored his seduction arts and clearly preferred Qingxin’s original form. This changed the Grand Elder’s impression of him.
After some thought, the Grand Elder also reverted to his original form — a giant white fox, whose fur shimmered faintly with a hint of green.
The foxes of the Green Hills were usually green. As their cultivation increased, their fur grew paler, and upon becoming a nine-tailed divine fox, it would turn completely white. The Eight-tailed Fox’s fur was nearly pure white, already extraordinarily beautiful.
The white Eight-tailed Fox sat in the cave with majestic grace, his tails swaying unconsciously, amber eyes watching the master and disciple, nose damp.
Changkong Zhuoyu was struck again, his eyes glued to the Eight-tailed Fox, following the sway of its tails.
Li Xinglun, on the other hand, looked numb, his eyes seemingly on the Eight-tailed Fox, but his soul elsewhere.
“Why have you come to the Green Hills? And how did you enter the Mystic Fog Yao Valley?” the Eight-tailed Fox asked, his voice unchanged.
This time, Changkong Zhuoyu seemed bewitched — despite their plan to keep things hidden, he spilled everything: the calamity threatening the human realm, how all cultivators must unite, that he was Nüwa’s heir, that he came to the Mystic Fog Yao Valley to obtain the Sacred Spirit of the yao race and become a god — he hid nothing.
Li Xinglun: “… …”
What could he even say? Changkong Zhuoyu clearly didn’t know the meaning of discretion, and he was already completely entranced by the two foxes, deeply infatuated with those fluffy tails, making Li Xinglun wish he himself were a fox.
After hearing Changkong Zhuoyu’s words, the Eight-tailed Fox didn’t get angry but asked: “Where is the token? Back then, Nüwa left a token in the human realm, guarded by the Hundred Flowers sect. When her heir enters the Mystic Fog Yao Valley, the birds sing in unison and the beasts bow in worship. Nüwa is the sacred goddess of the yao; the Mystic Fog Yao Valley is protected by her barrier, and all yao living here cannot resist her power.”
Changkong Zhuoyu: “… …”
Come to think of it, when he entered the Mystic Fog Yao Valley, it seemed Rang Weiran shouted something… heh… he couldn’t remember…
“You have no token — why lie?” The Eight-tailed Fox stood, eyes fixed on Changkong Zhuoyu, full of suspicion.
Such a beautiful human — yet still a liar.
Humans feared and loathed yao, yet they didn’t realize that in the eyes of the yao, humans were just as dangerous. The Mystic Fog Yao Valley had always had an ancestral commandment: never trust human honeyed words, never believe humans could truly love a yao. Sometimes yao fed on human essence, but they also admired and yearned for humans — otherwise why would they learn to take human form, when their true forms were stronger? Maintaining a human form even cost true essence… all because the yao, in the end, loved humans. But again and again, they were betrayed — intelligent yao skinned, dismembered, turned into pills.
No matter how often the yao warned their young not to fall for humans, some still did and got hurt.
Wasn’t this man the same? Full of lies, trying to deceive the Sacred Yao Spirit guarding the Mystic Fog Yao Valley.
“I didn’t lie,” Changkong Zhuoyu said, seeing the sadness in the Eight-tailed Fox’s eyes. “I just didn’t want to take the Sacred Yao Spirit — so I didn’t bring the token.”
Retreating after being exposed? The Eight-tailed Fox still looked skeptical — after all, this explanation only came after he’d been called out.
“Sigh,” Changkong Zhuoyu sighed, fanning himself again. “With my strength and talent, Soul Transformation is just a matter of time. Whether I take the sacred treasure of the Mystic Fog Yao Valley means nothing to me. I came only because I’d forgotten my past and wanted to rediscover my identity. When the sacred beast of the Hundred Flowers sect sensed Nüwa’s aura on me, I had doubts. To verify it, I condescended to come here. Do you know how busy I am? There are so many corrupted ones out there waiting for me to purify them. If not for regaining my memory, I wouldn’t bother coming here!”
The more he spoke, the more imposing he became. He even stood as he spoke, walking up to the Eight-tailed Fox with a proud expression, his previous airy demeanor gone, radiating authority.
Li Xinglun: “… …”
Ha — it’s decided then.
Sure enough, the Eight-tailed Fox’s eyes narrowed at once, his restrained yao energy bursting forth, filling the cave with murderous, terrifying force. The Six-tailed Qingxin couldn’t help but tremble and whimper in fear.
Li Xinglun gritted his teeth, circulating his true essence with difficulty to resist the fearsome pressure. The immortal-level strength was indeed nothing like ordinary cultivators — as a Nascent Soul-stage blood cultivator, he could barely withstand the killing intent.
But Changkong Zhuoyu was entirely unaffected. In a flash he appeared before Qingxin, scooped up the cowering little fox, and gently stroked his soft fur. In Changkong Zhuoyu’s arms, Qingxin no longer felt any killing intent. He looked up at him with worshipful eyes, his little ears twitching, rubbing his head against him.
The Eight-tailed Fox: “… …”
Before he could scold this disloyal junior, a surge of sword intent brimming with killing energy suddenly swept toward him — and Li Xinglun, who had just been struggling to resist the pressure, actually broke through the yao energy barrier with his sword intent!
~ Chapter End ~
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