Chapter 155: 116. I think he is the real old fox (3.2K words - subscription requested) In the blink of an eye, two months have passed... In a dimly lit palace, a conversation is taking place. "Disappeared? How come we can’t find any trace of him anywhere?" "Don’t worry, we’ve already sent many young foxes to infiltrate major forces across the Three Kingdoms, including commerce associations, gangs, the government, and even the marketplace—all are covered. As for the desolate wilderness, haven’t we tried searching there in teams multiple times? Let’s keep looking; there must be some clues left behind." "That boy really has patience. I thought he would come to ambush us, so I deliberately left an opportunity for him, but it turned out to be all for nothing." "Patience? It’s cunning! If he weren’t crafty, how could he elude Hu Zhenzhen, making her search everywhere without finding him?" "That wretched Hu Zhenzhen deserves to die. The last Changwang Tiger was actually stolen by her. She doesn’t even understand how important that Changwang Tiger is. Despicable, truly despicable! By the way, did he last appear at the Nanwu Sword Sect? Do we have spies planted within the Sword Sect?" "Almost there. Besides this, I have another arrangement. This arrangement will surely grip that cunning boy’s neck tightly, forcing him to jump out, hehehehe..." "I’m curious though, where exactly is that boy hiding?" "Nothing to be curious about. Since he has already absorbed the Changwang Tiger Blood, I have reason to suspect that Hu Zhenzhen has also been skinned and drained of her blood by him. Hehe, now he’s just a little fox... hehehehe..." "Even a little fox as strong can’t outwit an old fox like you." "Of course, just wait and watch, the grand show is about to begin, hehehehe..." A humanoid fox clapped its hands and leaped down from the seat, chuckling into the darkness: "Hide well, little fox, the real search is about to start." ... ... Two months later... "Still haven’t found him, not a single bit of news. Is that boy really still within the Three Kingdoms?" "Don’t worry, I’ve already spread the news." "What news?" "Our Purple Mansion experts from the Fox and Wolf Races are coming soon." "It will take at least three years for them to arrive, not that soon." "That boy doesn’t know that, he must be anxious." "And then?" "I’ve already gone to take a look at that Ancient Teleportation Array before anyone else. Though I don’t understand array formations well, I know it surely needs one specific material for repair." "You’re talking about the Soul Gold Stone?" "Exactly. Only a stone as sturdy as the Soul Gold Stone can withstand the tremendous backlash force from the Ancient Teleportation Array; nothing else will do. So, I’ve quietly spread news through some very hidden channels, all pointing to a mortal force in Jin Kingdom called Lucky Commerce Association. The president of Lucky Commerce Association unexpectedly got hold of some peculiar stones, with quality no different from that of Soul Gold Stones." "I see. That boy wants to escape, so he’ll definitely come back to find Lucky Commerce Association." "You’re wrong. He won’t come. The only one who’ll come looking for Lucky Commerce Association is that young girl from Nanwu Sword Sect, Yu Xuanwei. Then... I’ll personally wait over there. When Yu Xuanwei comes knocking, I’ll reveal just a little bit, while tearfully telling her that the rest of the stones have been stolen. Yu Xuanwei can’t detect anything unusual about me, but I believe that boy certainly will because he has the blood of my Multi-tailed Fox Race inside him. By then, even if I don’t discover him, he’ll take action on his own, because I’m holding the Soul Gold Stone he desperately needs." "Don’t say anything more, my brain is about to explode. Anyway, I’ll follow you, then just wait for that boy at Lucky Commerce Association." "Hehehe, good." ... ... Three more months passed in the blink of an eye. In the dimly lit palace... "Sure enough, Yu Xuanwei found her way here, but where’s that boy?" "The boy hasn’t come yet." "It’s been half a month now... if he was going to come, he would have by now. Why hasn’t he come?" "He will come eventually." ... ... 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦 Afterwards... "Still hasn’t come, he still hasn’t come. You’ve led Yu Xuanwei’s people around half the circle, and that boy still hasn’t appeared! Could he be unable to see through your Illusion Technique?" "Probably not, I’ve already left enough flaws, hmm, starting tomorrow, I’ll expose even more." ... "Has he come?" "Let’s wait a while longer." ... "Has he come?" "Not yet." ... "Has he come?" "No." "I think you are the little fox; he’s the old fox!" "Maybe he’s already left the Three Kingdoms?" "From where? Surrounded by seas on three sides, there are only two exits: one is the Desolate Wilderness to the north, and the other is through the Ancient Teleportation Array. Which one do you think he took?" The humanoid fox paused in silence, then asked, "What about the other group? Have they noticed anything unusual with the Puppet Sect?" "No, absolutely no one, no one has shown any abnormalities! That kid hasn’t contacted anyone from the Puppet Sect!" A bizarre giant black wolf with bristle-like fur licked its lips, its eyes glowing eerily, "Why not just kill them all? We’re basically just putting on a show right now; sooner or later, we’ll have to feast." "Killing aimlessly will only waste our time." At that moment, the palace door suddenly creaked open, and a fox demon agilely leaped inside, bowing down while saying, "Grandma Hong, General Gu, there’s news about Song Yan." The fox demon and the wolf demon hurriedly looked at the little fox demon who entered, saying, "Quick, tell us!" The little fox demon said, "Someone saw him near Flower Box Mountain in the Desolate Wilderness. There’s a treasure unearthed over at Flower Box Mountain, the radiant glow reaching the sky, attracting many loose cultivators." The fox demon referred to as Grandma Hong and the wolf demon General Gu exchanged a glance, their forms transforming into two demonic lights, speeding towards the north. ... ... At this moment, Flower Box Mountain... The radiance from the center had grown increasingly blinding. A significant number of loose cultivators were already gathered around. Among the loose cultivators, there were many acquaintances, and now they spoke to each other with cold tones. "This phenomenon might be a Profound Treasure of the Crimson Palace level, let’s rely on our capabilities." "Whoever gets it, it’s theirs." "You’re naive; whoever gets it will be the target of everyone, they can all attack it." As these words were spoken, the radiance suddenly expanded, the mountains and forests shook, birds scattered in fright, and a column of light shot up to the sky. As the clouds in the sky were tinted gold at that moment, many figures shot towards that location. Some cultivators rode gourds or measuring sticks as profound artifacts, while others wielded swords and rushed forward. However, just as they were about to reach the center of the radiance, a wild and rampant laugh echoed from above. "Get the hell out of my way!!" The cultivators raised their heads only to see a massive Profound Robe figure, wearing a grim smile, surrounded by ten advanced demon beast shadow puppets descending from the sky. During the descent, that figure took a sharp breath, and the shadow puppets, like boats caught in a whirlpool, all surged into that huge mouth. Boom!! The body of the Profound Robe figure explosively expanded, showcasing various demonic features, sprouting wings on the back, transforming hands into claws, and covering itself in scales and armor, spikes standing tall and jagged, terrifying beyond measure. "Get out! Get out, get out!!" The demon shadow descended like a heavily armored giant crashing into the crowd, those who touched it were sent flying, those who were grazed fell. That demon shadow charged forward, knocking away over ten cultivators, before reaching towards the center of the radiance. With a grab, the radiance vanished. The demon shadow let out a sinister laugh, "It’s mine," and then quickly fled far away. Initially, some cultivators wanted to give chase, but the demon shadow casually tossed out two advanced demon beast shadow puppets, knocking the cultivators away, and no one dared to pursue further, leaving only puzzled expressions. After a long while, someone smiled bitterly, "It’s Demon Song." Next, someone said, "They say Demon Song killed Gu Huangzi, I didn’t believe it before, but now I do." "What is that Secret Technique of Demon Song’s, it’s terrifying, right?" "I don’t know, but I’ve heard Grandma Hong of the Mountain and Sea Demon Race and General Gu have been looking for Song Yan, turns out he was hiding in the north, no wonder they couldn’t find him." "Keep your voices down, be careful he hasn’t gone far." Instantly, the cultivators fell silent, frozen with fear. To them, "Song Yan" was a name as notorious as "Grandma Fox" or "Gu Huangzi," if not more so. ... ... While flying, Song Yan released his Divine Sense, quickly changing his appearance upon realizing no one was around, then pulled out two "Gale Charms" from his bosom and stuck them to his feet, followed by concealing his Qi and continuously flying at low altitude using sword control. As such... after a day and a night, he returned to Qingxi Market at an unthinkable speed and began purchasing herbs according to a list. Since this spring, after he met with his junior sister An Li, he had been visiting her frequently. As time passed, An Li and Song Yan found themselves talking more and more, often delving into the Alchemy Dao, talking until dawn before realizing they had lost track of time. An Li belonged to the Su Family, while Song Yan was from the Sun Family. Being together aligned with the Sword Sect’s "policy," and no one disagreed, especially since they were both researching the "Crimson Palace Pill," which was very important to the Nanwu Sword Sect. Soon, Song Yan had a bamboo hut on Warm Water Island, located next to his junior sister An Li, and the two were often seen together. This time, they needed some materials for alchemy, but the Sword Sect didn’t have them, so Junior Sister An Li suddenly mentioned, "Maybe Qingxi Market has them," prompting Song Yan to smack his forehead and head to Qingxi Market. After arriving there, he heard rumors of a Marvelous Treasure emerging from Flower Box Mountain in the north, and so decided to let the name "Song Yan" draw attention, shifting the focus northward, thus explaining this scenario. Of course, he didn’t just show his face. He went the whole nine yards, even creating a "burning the wooden hut" scene somewhere deep in the mountains, to leave behind some simple doubts, making those who came later think "Song Yan was hiding in the deep mountains nearby." This deep mountain was quite close to the Desolate Wilderness, fitting his logic of fleeing northward. ... ... A month later. Song Yan returned to Southern Wu with the herbs. The rainbow light landed on Warm Water Island. He arrived at the familiar alchemy room, then entered, skillfully cutting and preparing the herbs, handing them to his busy junior sister An Li. An Li hadn’t noticed initially, but after receiving them twice, she realized that someone was in the room, and upon a closer look, she saw it was Song Yan. Song Yan took out a small bag from his storage bag, shook it in mid-air, and smiled, "I’ve bought everything, Sun Essence Chrysanthemum, Ice Wheel Vine, we’ve got it all, we can experiment now." An Li stared at him in a daze, tears "dripped down" and then she rushed at him, punching him hard in the chest, saying, "Do you know how dangerous it is right now at Qingxi Market, how could you dare to go there? I was just saying it casually." As she was hitting him, Song Yan gently embraced his junior sister An Li. Her small body trembled for a moment, but this time, she didn’t break free. Song Yan held his junior sister, feeling a strong sense of security. If he were to rank the "levels of danger" of various environments. Where Song Yan was would be "university level," the Puppet Sect would be "high school level," while around his junior sister An Li would be "kindergarten level." Hiding in the "kindergarten," he felt very safe, with nothing to worry about.