Upon hearing Luo Xiu call her "Nine-Tailed Fox," Su Shenyun suddenly felt a bit uneasy. The words the Gu Diao had said before seemed to still echo in her ears.

Luo Xiu looked at her gently. "Does it bother you?"

Su Shenyun's lips pursed slightly. "I'm afraid you'll be the one to mind. Who would have thought I was really... truly a descendant of a fox."

Luo Xiu laughed heartily. "What's there to mind? There's a saying: a fox isn't necessarily a demon, and being sexy isn't the same as being sleazy. I definitely wouldn't..."

"Oh, stop it!"

Before he could finish, Su Shenyun kicked at him.

But Luo Xiu merely reached out and firmly caught Su Shenyun's delicate, jade-like foot. "But Su Fox, I'm being serious. Your ancestor, the Nine-Tailed Fox, was no simple creature. You should be happy to have inherited its complete bloodline."

With a distressed look, Su Shenyun said, "But a fox is still a fox."

Luo Xiu asked, "What difference is there between a fox that has cultivated into a Great Demon and a human?"

"And if you can't even accept yourself, how can others accept you?"

"Anyway, it's like I said before... whether you're a fox or a human, I'll still sleep with you."

Hearing this, Su Shenyun's cheeks turned red. She pinched him irritably and said in a tender voice, "You can't be serious for one day."

Luo Xiu feigned innocence. "Think about how pure I was when I first came down the mountain. It's only because I met you that you've corrupted me into what I am now."

Su Shenyun scoffed lightly, gazing at the sparkling Gu Diao's Inner Elixir in his hand. "Are you really giving me something this good?"

Luo Xiu replied earnestly, "You're the most suitable one here. Dou Dou and the others are all in the Mahayana Realm, so the effect wouldn't be significant for them. As for me, I've been afflicted by the Blood Ban Technique, so it's of no use. It can only be yours."

"But..."

"Alright, that's enough. If you keep being so fussy, you won't get any of the good stuff in the future."

"You wouldn't dare!"

Anxious, Su Shenyun quickly snatched the Gu Diao's Inner Elixir, fearing Luo Xiu might change his mind.

Luo Xiu then helped her sit up. "That's more like it. How could we be a family if we acted so formal?"

Hearing the word "family," a warm feeling spread through Su Shenyun's heart.

"Go ahead and absorb it. I'll act as your protector."

"Mm."

A few moments later, Luo Xiu suddenly furrowed his brow.

Su Shenyun, who was in the process of absorbing the Gu Diao's Inner Elixir, also furrowed her brow, a hint of agony showing in her expression.

"Little Mule, I feel... a disgusting kind of spiritual energy is obstructing me from absorbing this Inner Elixir. It's similar to the black qi you emitted before," she said.

At those words, Luo Xiu's frown deepened. "This is the Aura of the Dead."

At that moment, Lin Tong's voice echoed in Luo Xiu's mind. "Big Bro, the spiritual energy in the Land of Lawlessness has all mutated into the Aura of the Dead. This Inner Elixir contains the purest form of spiritual energy, so the two are clashing. Su Shenyun will definitely be affected if she absorbs the Inner Elixir here."

Luo Xiu stroked his chin, pondering. "Then we'll have to go outside to absorb it. Two days have passed, so the beast tide outside should have dispersed."

Lin Tong said, "We can go to the Gu Diao Cave Mansion. Have Dou Dou and the others set up a barrier to isolate the aura of the Gu Diao's Inner Elixir, and that should do it."

"Let's do that."

Thus, Luo Xiu took the women with him and left the Land of Lawlessness. He returned to the giant crater on Mount Luwu, and after confirming the beast tide had scattered, he spent some time finding the Gu Diao Cave Mansion on the mountain.

For the next few days, Su Shenyun focused on absorbing the Gu Diao's Inner Elixir in the cave mansion.

For Su Shenyun, who was in the Gathering Spirit Realm, the spiritual energy contained in the Gu Diao's Inner Elixir was like a vast ocean. It seemed endless, so absorbing it would require a considerable amount of time.

Mu Xueyan, preferring quiet, took on the duty of protecting Su Shenyun in the Gu Diao Cave Mansion. Meanwhile, Dou Dou and Chi Sha couldn't sit still for a moment, spending all day foraging for herbs and hunting for treasures across Mount Luwu like a pair of mountain bandits.

As for Luo Xiu, he spent his days fishing by the pond behind the Gu Diao Cave Mansion.

Time passed without notice in the mountains. In the blink of an eye, half a month had quietly gone by.

...

"Attain the utmost emptiness; embrace the deepest tranquility. All things rise and fall; I watch them return."

"The myriad things flourish, yet each returns to its root."

"Returning to the root is stillness; stillness is to see destiny fulfilled."

By the pond, Luo Xiu sat cross-legged, rhythmically waving his hands. He was honing his Divine Sense with the mental cultivation techniques he had memorized long ago on Ghost Valley Mountain.

When he opened his eyes, a fish had already taken the bait.

It was a golden carp only the size of a palm, its body shimmering with a vibrant, spiritual light.

Lin Tong said, "And it's even a Dragon Carp, one of the most difficult fish to catch. It's a descendant of the Ancestral Dragon Carp, but its bloodline is faint, so it's not very valuable."

Luo Xiu tossed it into his fish basket. "But it's still good enough to make soup to help nourish Su Fox."

Then, he baited the hook again, cast the rod, and slowly closed his eyes.

"After honing my Divine Sense for the past half-month, I can feel it has grown stronger. I'm close to reaching the realm of Divine Separation."

Hearing this, Lin Tong was speechless. This big brother is a true demon when it comes to cultivation. He's fast at everything.

However, considering Luo Xiu's background, Lin Tong found it understandable.

Luo Xiu said, "I've decided to take a look inside that space."

Lin Tong asked, "Are you talking about the space for Summoning Evil Spirits?"

Luo Xiu nodded lightly and said no more. His Divine Sense followed the strange guidance from the Eye of the Reaper and entered the Evil Spirit Space.

Lin Tong's Divine Sense followed Luo Xiu's, condensing into a humanoid phantom that floated beside him.

Lin Tong spoke. "Actually, the term 'Evil Spirits' is just a name I came up with. When I first came here, I saw those giant beasts fighting and slaughtering each other. I thought they were evil creatures, so I started calling them Evil Spirits."

Luo Xiu smiled. "Speaking of which, I initially thought you meant 'Evil Spirits' as in, actual spirits or souls."

His Divine Sense then transformed into a beam of light, rapidly exploring the mountains and lands within the Evil Spirit Space. In this place, his Divine Sense was akin to having a "god-like perspective."

Lin Tong followed closely behind. "Also, I came up with the name 'Eye of the Reaper' too."

Luo Xiu asked, "Is there a story behind it?"

Lin Tong explained, "The name doesn't mean it's the eye of the actual Death God. It means it's the eye left behind by a god-like being after they died."

"I see. Initially, I thought there was a god named 'Death God,' and this was the eye he left behind after his death."

"..."

As the two conversed, their Divine Senses flew far into the distance within the Evil Spirit Space.

Suddenly, Luo Xiu's Divine Sense came to an abrupt halt. He gazed at a conspicuous crater on the ground below and asked doubtfully, "Lin Tong, don't you think this crater looks a lot like the one the Gu Diao created when it self-destructed?"

After looking carefully for a moment, Lin Tong exclaimed, "It doesn't just look like it—it *is* the same one!"

By the pond, Luo Xiu felt a jolt through his spirit, and his physical body couldn't help but blurt out, "Holy shit!"

What the hell... Don't tell me the Evil Spirit Space connected to the Eye of the Reaper is this Shanhai Territory?!

Lin Tong's mind was buzzing. What the hell... This is too miraculous!

Just as the two were reeling in shock, a heavy pressure descended upon the world. An immensely terrifying Divine Sense tore through the void, locking directly onto Luo Xiu's.

"This is bad, Big Bro! The intensity of this Divine Sense... it has to be a Level Ten Evil Spirit!"

"We need to get out of here, fast, or we'll suffer a backlash!"

Feeling that terrifying Divine Sense, Lin Tong immediately panicked.

However, in the next moment, that terrifying Divine Sense crossed the vast distance and appeared right before Luo Xiu, materializing into a colossal shadow.

The shadow was as large as an elephant. It had the body of a tiger but was crowned with nine heads, radiating an aura of unparalleled might.

Luo Xiu focused his gaze and was taken aback. "Is that the Kai Ming Beast from the *Classic of Mountains and Seas*?"

"Hahahaha... Big Bro! I've been waiting for you! I'm your little brother!"

Suddenly, the giant beast before him burst into hearty laughter.

"Big Bro?" Luo Xiu frowned, pointing at his own nose. "Are you talking to me?"

"Yes, Big Bro," the Kai Ming Beast said. "For the last hundred years, I've dreamt of you in every dream I've had. You are my Big Bro. In my dreams, you returned with a powerful eye, and we reunited just like this."

"Now, everything matches. Big Bro, I've finally gotten to reunite with you, hahahaha..."

Luo Xiu suddenly recalled the records from ancient texts. It seems the stories about the Kai Ming Beast's ability to foresee the future are true.

But how could I have appeared in the Kai Ming Beast's dreams? He just couldn't understand.

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