【First Life】
Deep within the Hengduan Mountain Range, atop the Enlightenment Tree.
A three-tailed white fox curled up, its body absorbing the radiant light flowing from the tree.
Below the Enlightenment Tree, an old woman with six tails sat cross-legged.
She would sometimes gently stroke the ground, sighing deeply, and at other times, she would look up at the three-tailed white fox in the tree, her smile tinged with the weariness of age.
Suddenly, the little fox awoke and leaped down from the tree.
“Old granny, who are you?” it asked, tilting its head as it looked at the old woman.
“I am your grandmother, and you are my granddaughter. We are both from the Mystic Fox Clan, and you are the Nine Heavens Mystic Fox, the Destiny Fox,” the old woman replied.
She had lost count of how many times the little fox had awakened and how many times she had introduced herself.
Each time the little fox awoke, it would forget her.The feeling of being forgotten by a loved one had once saddened the old woman, but over time she had grown accustomed to it.
“Mystic Fox Clan?” the little fox did not understand.
“Yes, the Mystic Fox Clan is an ancient fox tribe, and now only you and I remain,” the old woman sighed.
“Are my parents gone too?” the little fox asked again.
“They are and they aren’t,” the old woman said while touching the ground.
“This is our clan’s land. Your parents and the other clan members are imprisoned beneath the ground, their flesh and blood nourishing this Enlightenment Tree.”
“What?” The little fox was shocked.
Wasn’t this equivalent to becoming nourishment for the tree?
And since it had taken the tree’s natural vitality, didn’t this mean…
Was it feeding on its own clan members?
“Granny, can I choose not to grow up? Can you save our clan members?” the little fox quickly asked.
“No,” the old woman sighed and shook her head.
“That person is too powerful, and the seal he left is beyond my ability to break.”
“Who is that person?” the little fox pressed.
“Emperor, the Demon Emperor from another world.”
The little fox fell silent.
Although it had lost all its memories, it was very clear about the concept of an Emperor.
An Emperor was the ruler of a world, an existence above all others.
“Did we offend the Emperor?” the little fox was horrified.
The old woman did not respond, as she also did not know the details.
But she was certain of one thing.
As soon as the little fox grew its ninth tail and became a true Nine Heavens Mystic Fox, it would be able to break the seal and lead the Mystic Fox Clan back to the demon realm.
Her life was nearing its end, and she feared she would not live to see that day. But for the sake of the Mystic Fox Clan and the little fox’s future, she would die without regrets.
That was why she had endured great hardships to bring back an Enlightenment Tree seed from the Upper Domain and planted it above the clan’s land.
These things… she did not intend to tell the little fox for now, as it would be meaningless at this stage.
After some thought, she said, “The Central Domain is lacking in spiritual energy. Without this, the Enlightenment Tree could not grow, and you would not be able to accelerate your growth by absorbing the Dao light from the Enlightenment Tree.”
“Do not feel pressured. You are the Nine Heavens Mystic Fox. When you grow your ninth tail, you will be able to rescue our clan members, restore the Mystic Fox Clan to this world, and return to the demon realm!” she added.
Hearing this, the little fox nodded.
At that moment, it set a goal for itself.
To save its clan members and to break the seal!
“Granny, what exactly is the Nine Heavens Mystic Fox?” the little fox still had doubts.
“The Nine Heavens Mystic Fox, also known as the Destiny Fox, could only stop losing its memory and forgetting only when it finds its fated person,” the old woman explained.
“Is this fated person someone I will like?”
“Perhaps, or perhaps not.”
“What do you mean?”
“The fated person is determined by destiny. Your fated person could be the Emperor or a commoner, a handsome man as graceful as a willow or an ugly creature covered in sores.”
“Ah? So I don’t get to choose?”
“That’s right, you don’t get to choose.”
The little fox fell silent.
Seeing its disappointment, the old woman tried to comfort it: “But since they are your fated person, you should have some affection for them. Remember, you cannot resist destiny.”
“What happens if I resist?” the little fox asked.
The old woman pointed to the ground and said, “This will happen.”
The little fox fell silent again.
It understood the old woman’s meaning: resisting would bring great disaster to both its clan members and itself.
But why?
Why was its fate decided by the heavens?
Why was who it liked also decided by the heavens?
Didn’t it have any freedom at all?
“Granddaughter, do you know how human cultivators refer to the Nine Heavens Mystic Fox?” the old woman asked after seeing its trouble.
The little fox shook its head.
The old woman stood up, looked up at the sky, and said, “They say that the Nine Heavens Mystic Fox is a puppet, a gift prepared by the heavens for someone with great destiny.”
The little fox was speechless.
……
After a while, the little fox fell asleep again.
The old woman’s life was running out.
That’s why she, too, transformed into a white fox and feigned death atop the Enlightenment Tree to spend more time with the little fox.
During this time, many demon kings were attracted by the Enlightenment Tree.
Although no demonic beast wanted to get involved with the Mystic Fox Clan, the temptation of the Enlightenment Tree was too great, and demon kings came one after another to comprehend the Dao beneath the tree.
Time passed slowly.
Apart from the occasional awakening of the little fox, who would run out while the old woman was feigning death and forcing the old woman to search for it, everything seemed extremely peaceful.
……
One day, a man in white clothes entered the depths of the Hengduan Mountain Range and reached the Enlightenment Tree accompanied by a group of powerful beings.
This man was Jiang Chen.
His goal was to dig up the roots of the Enlightenment Tree to help stabilize the mind of his Fourth Junior Brother Mu Kui.
The old woman naturally refused, and a standoff ensued between the two parties.
The little fox was still in a deep slumber, yet in its sleep, it smelled a refreshing fragrance that touched its heart.
It groggily woke up, leaped down from the tree, and instinctively followed the scent.
It arrived in front of Jiang Chen and curiously asked, “Human, you smell so nice. What’s your name?”
This was its first encounter with Jiang Chen.
During this meeting, Jiang Chen made a promise, saying, “A lifetime is too long, but as long as I live, I will surely protect her.”
This promise gave the little fox a sense of security. It wanted to remember it firmly.
But… before Jiang Chen and the others left, the little fox fell asleep again. And this sleep lasted for six years.
When it woke up again, the little fox wondered as it looked at the unfamiliar old woman in front of it,
“Jiang Chen? Who is Jiang Chen?”
“Ah… isn’t he your fated person?” the old woman sighed with a sorrowful voice.
“Fated person? What’s a fated person?” the little fox asked again.
Clearly, it had forgotten not only Jiang Chen but also its own identity and mission.
With no other choice, the old woman had to explain everything again.
After the little fox understood everything, the old woman lightly tapped its forehead with her finger, where a faint blue ghostly fire mark was.
The next second, the ghostly fire condensed into a sprout, emerging from the little fox’s forehead.
The old woman drew symbols in the air with her finger, inscribing a line of large characters in the ghostly fire with her blood essence:
【After becoming a Demon King, go to the Upper Domain】
“Cough, cough!”
After everything was done, the old woman aged a bit more.
She rubbed the little fox’s head and said, “Even though you may lose your memory, this blood inscription in the ghostly fire will remind you. Granddaughter, no matter what you encounter in the future, you must remember to find your fated destiny…”
With those words, the old woman’s life force completely faded away as she slowly closed her eyes.
“Grandma!!”
The little fox cried out in despair:
“Grandma! Don’t die, I won’t know what to do without you.”
“I won’t run around anymore, please talk to me, okay?”
“Grandma, your granddaughter will be good from now on, I’ll listen to you, open your eyes and look at me!”
“Grandma…”
The mournful cries of the passing of a loved one continued.
The heartache was excruciating. Yet, it couldn’t shed a single tear.
Amidst its cries, the little fox fell asleep again.
It didn’t know how long it had slept.
All it knew was that it woke up in the embrace of a skeleton.
Looking up at the skull of the skeleton, the little fox felt a pang in its heart, yet it blinked in confusion and muttered to itself.
“Who is this skeleton?”
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter