The Little Fox's Immortal Cultivation Encyclopedia

The moonlight was sparse, and the usual chirping of insects and birds had all disappeared, leaving only the sound of the mountain wind blowing through the forest.

Ever since a glowing object fell from the sky, all the animals in the vicinity have fled, except for one. It was entirely red, its fur swaying in the wind, its ear tips taut and its bushy tail sweeping through the fallen leaves.

"Ugh, so annoying! The forest is so big, why did it have to fall here and destroy the fox's den!"

The little fox tilted its head, wrinkled its nose, sneezed briefly, and continued to study the object in front of it.

It resembled a large, hairless creature without a tail, but it was bigger than any it had ever seen. The soft fur covering its body looked glossy and smooth, indicating it certainly had plenty of food. The fox turned its head, licked its own slightly rough fur, and silently compared it to the creature before turning its head back to look up at the sky.

The night was clear and cloudless, the moonlight was bright, and every branch was clearly visible, but there were no large birds in sight.

It wasn't prey for the large bird either, and the fox grew increasingly suspicious. It let out a few low howls, and seeing that the object still didn't react, it cautiously took a few steps forward and gently touched the object with its nose. First came a faint fragrance, like the scent of some kind of grass, followed by a bone-chilling cold. The little fox shivered violently, tightened its paws slightly, and jumped back to its original position.

"It's so cold, and it fell from such a height, it couldn't possibly be dead or unable to move." The fox licked its nose and concluded. It circled the corpse twice more, slowly approaching, tentatively biting at the hem of the garment. After several attempts, the creature remained unresponsive, so its actions became bolder. Seeing that its teeth couldn't hook the body, it opened its mouth as wide as possible, biting down on the entire limb, leaning back slightly, and tried to drag the corpse away.

"So heavy! So heavy! So heavy!"

The fox struggled to push off with its paws, biting even harder. Just as they were locked in a stalemate, its ears twitched, and it heard a faint, rustling sound coming from near its mouth. The fox's eyes widened as it saw countless cracks spreading across the corpse, followed by a blinding white light filling its vision.

The entire corpse transformed into a stream of light, rushing into the fox's body and knocking it backward, causing it to roll into a red dumpling.

"Eek—" A short chirp spread through the forest, and then everything returned to silence.

……

The red fox was curled up on the ground, the moonlight dazzlingly bright and spilling onto its furry back. Its eyes were closed, and it was fast asleep, clutching its tail. But there was always a voice lingering in its ear, neither loud nor soft, neither fast nor slow.

"Stretching its feathers and spreading its tail, it stands facing the moon..."

The fox had never heard this sound before, yet it felt a natural sense of familiarity with it. It instinctively swayed its body twice and pulled its tail out of its arms.

"It holds moon dew in its mouth, exhaling the turbid and inhaling the pure..."

The moonlight deepened, taking on a flowing, watery quality. That warm, gentle light resembled the soft, cozy fur beneath a mother's belly when the fox was young, enveloping it. The red fox instinctively opened its mouth, and a few strands of silver liquid flowed into its throat like milk. The warmth seeped down its limbs, even the finest hairs felt pleasantly numb.

In the blink of an eye, the river had waned and the moon had set, and dawn was breaking in the east.

The pink tongue stretched out unwillingly, trying to catch the last ray of moonlight, but only managed to lick a few mouthfuls of air in vain. Its narrow eyes widened in shock.

"What did the fox just eat?"

"The moon is the essence of Yin, taking its form from the accumulated coldness of Yin. Moonlight is the purest Qi, capable of cleansing the marrow and purifying the body, enlightening the mind, and purifying..."

"What's that chirping in the fox's ear again!"

Its belly felt warm and cozy, and its body was full of energy, but when it smacked its lips, it couldn't taste anything. The voice was right next to its ear, but looking around, there wasn't even a mosquito in sight. The fox tilted its head, its small head filled with great confusion.

Fortunately, the fox was the most intelligent of all. Faced with this sudden problem, it chose the most familiar way to deal with it. The fox yawned, curled up into a ball, and let all its doubts be enveloped in sleep.

Eat your fill, then sleep; if your heart is pounding, bask in the sun.

a few days later.

Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting a flickering flame. The fox darted swiftly through the forest, surveying its unfamiliar surroundings. The woods here were much sparser than elsewhere, and ahead, a dirt path could be vaguely discerned. The fox pondered for a moment, then stopped, cleared its throat, and let out a few clear bird calls. A few moments later, a bird, entirely black with a round belly and a rabbit in its beak, peeked out from a branch.

"Ahead, a human's den?" the fox squeaked, trying its best to express itself.

The bird hopped back and forth among the branches, examining its strangely shaped "kin" at its feet from different angles. The fox urged it a few more times before it snapped out of its daze and opened its mouth: "Yes, yes."

"Thank you!" The fox's eyes lit up, and it picked up the fallen rabbit with its mouth and continued on its way.

After absorbing the moonlight for several days, the fox felt its body growing stronger and its mind becoming more agile. It had fully understood what the voice in its ear was saying and was putting it to use.

Voice: "One who learns bird language must master all the bird languages ​​of the world, becoming omnipotent, before he can speak human language and take human form."

Fox: "I can mimic the speech of birds and do anything."

Voice: "The fox spirit, also known as the Hu fairy, initially resembles an ordinary fox, with red or white fur, pointed ears, a long tail, and eyes that gleam with spiritual light."

Fox: "So I'm a fox spirit."

Voice: "Fox spirits mostly dwell in deep mountains and ancient forests, ancient tombs and abandoned shrines, and beside spiritual veins."

Fox: "Mine, mine, all mine."

As a mature fox, it wanted to have it all, so after making several inquiries, it traveled for three days to inspect its own separate den.

This place is close to the territory of those hairless and tailless creatures, which is the area where humans live. The fox has recently learned a lot from listening to sounds and is quite wary of humans. After leaving the woods, the fox dared not walk on the dirt road and stayed close to the side of the road.

After navigating several ridges, the fox finally spotted its destination. The building nestled in a mountain valley, enclosed by an earthen wall, with a peach tree planted slightly to the left of the entrance. The trunk was so thick that it would take two foxes to encircle it, and it was laden with many peaches.

The fox entered the courtyard, sniffing around, then lightly nibbling at the neatly stacked branches in the corner. There was hardly any human presence here, and the branches were damp; few people must come here. Further on was a large hall, its threshold worn smooth by countless footsteps. In the center stood a tall wooden platform, upon which sat a clay figure, its face obscured.

Strange scratches were carved on both sides and directly above the temple gate. The fox didn't recognize them, but it recognized the voices.

"Be bold but humble; be wise but principled."

"Uphold righteousness and attain enlightenment."

Human behavior is always so strange. The fox was filled with countless curiosities and longed to learn to speak, but unfortunately, it hadn't finished learning bird language yet. The fox crossed the threshold and circled around inside the hall.

A small table and a futon sat before the wooden platform. On the table sat a lone stone object. The fox stuffed its muzzle into it, only to get a mouthful of grime. After spitting a few times, it stomped on the futon with its paw; it was a bit hard, but more comfortable than the floor. The fox then put the rabbit down and began plucking its fur, spreading it evenly on the futon.

Having done its work, it looked around and went to the innermost corner of the hall, where it began to dig at the floor. The hall's floor was paved with stone slabs, which were fairly sturdy, but they were no match for the fox. The fox waved its paws around like it was pounding garlic, and managed to dig a hole.

The fox buried the rabbit in the pit, then used its snout to push the soil back up, stomping on it a few times to restore the ground to its original state. It then dragged the prayer mat from the altar behind the platform, stood on it, and circled around a few times to adjust its position, ensuring every inch of its body fit snugly into the mat before finally letting out a comfortable sigh of relief.

It provides shelter from the wind and rain; it's a perfect place, and it should belong to the fox!