Chapter 63: Great Grandmother Hu San

As the incantation was chanted continuously, the middle-aged woman shook her head. Soon, her eyes turned icy cold, the corners of her eyes elongated, and her entire body began to twitch violently.

Simultaneously, the temperature in the room plummeted into a chilling cold. Clearly, this person had invited a fox immortal to possess her.

The middle-aged woman extended her index finger and gently touched the forehead of the young girl kneeling on the ground.

"Roar—!"

A tremendous, ferocious tiger roar erupted from the girl's forehead, followed by a surge of black demonic *qi* that manifested into a gigantic tiger head with terrifying, fierce fangs, glaring menacingly at everyone present.

The sudden gust of demonic wind pushed the middle-aged woman back a few steps, leaving her full of dread toward the entity.

"It's the Mountain Lord!"

Up at the head of the room, a spirited and robust elderly woman spoke with a solemn expression. She had short, curly silver-white hair, a short and slightly plump figure, and wore two large golden hoop earrings.

Gao Dazhuang leaned over and whispered an introduction to Meng Fan: "That person is the matriarch and ancestor of the Guan family, Guan Shihua."

Guan Shihua rose from her seat, gazed at the massive black-qi tiger head, and said, "Tradition says, 'Step through iron shoes in fruitless search, only to find it effortlessly without a second thought.' The trail of this Mountain Lord has finally been found!"

A smoking pipe suddenly appeared in Guan Shihua’s hand. She took a fierce drag, billowing clouds of smoke, which then transformed into a white fox wreathed in auspicious vapor.

The white fox stepped lightly through the air a few times before sweeping its tail, capturing the black *qi* beside it. Finally, both the white smoke and the black *qi* receded back into the bowl of the smoking pipe.

The young girl slowly regained consciousness at that moment.

Guan Shihua looked at the girl and her parents, tucked the pipe behind her back, and asked, "When did this young girl start acting strange, and have you been to any unusual places?"

The girl's parents exchanged a glance. "We wouldn't dare hide anything from you. Ever since we returned from a trip to Mount Changbai, Junya has been afflicted with this madness."

"Mount Changbai, huh..."

Lost in thought, Guan Shihua signaled the others with a glance. Immediately, someone escorted the guests out. As soon as the family left, several people in the parlor could no longer sit still.

They were the men and women, young and old, gathered in the hall.

"Auntie, now that the traces of those three demonic immortals have been found, what's our next step?"

Guan Shihua glanced at the speaker and shook her head. "The time is not yet ripe. To be honest, the immortal beings behind us do not have much confidence in this."

"So many years have passed, and no one knows for sure what the current strength of those three demonic immortals is. Besides, they are the natural nemesis of our immortal patrons..."

"Granny, are we just going to cower like this?" A hot-headed young man with a flat-top haircut and mouse-like whiskers stood up and asked.

Meng Fan found his face somewhat familiar. Wasn't this Deng Youcai, who had appeared in the original comic series *The Outcast*, and whose worshipped entity should be the grey immortal?

"Cower is a strong word..."

"The immortal elders said that an honored guest would arrive today. I assume it must be our young friend here, right?" Guan Shihua suddenly changed the subject, looking toward Meng Fan and his group standing near the entrance.

Meng Fan merely cupped his fists without performing a full bow. "I am Meng Fan, here on a special visit. I assume that Lady Hu Badang has already mentioned my purpose?"

Guan Shihua nodded. "You want the heritage of the immortals. This is not a matter I can decide alone."

"Since you cannot make the decision, call someone who is in charge to talk," Meng Fan said bluntly.

Meng Fan represented far more than just himself. Do not forget, standing behind him was the 139th Bureau, an authority ranking even higher than Zhao Fangxu.

"Hehe, as expected of a young person, still so full of vigor."

"Would he still be a young person if he weren't vigorous?" Meng Fan retorted.

Unfazed, Guan Shihua took a leisurely puff from her pipe and probed, "You want the immortal heritage for the three little things residing within your body?"

"Not entirely."

A flash of sharp insight reflected in Guan Shihua's eyes. She tapped her pipe against the leg of the table, walked over to Meng Fan, and carefully scrutinized his physiognomy.

After chewing on the thought for a moment, she understood a bit of the reason behind it. "No wonder you are a figure valued by the old immortals. As for what comes next, you will have to speak directly with the immortal elders. I cannot interfere; I can only act as a guide."

Meng Fan smiled. "Then I'll have to trouble you!"

With that, Meng Fan started to lower his head and cup his fists in gratitude.

This gesture startled Guan Shihua instead. "Don't, don't! This old bone of mine still wants to live a few more years. If you want to bow, go bow to that annoying Wang Ai."

Meng Fan chuckled lightly at this, thinking to himself.

Wang Ai certainly wouldn't be able to handle it. If it were changed to Zhang Zhiwei, however, there might actually be a slight possibility.

Just at that moment, thousands of miles away on Mount Longhu, Zhang Zhiwei suddenly felt a palpitation in his heart and shivered with a few chills. "Who is plotting against this poor Daoist behind my back?"

---

Meng Fan followed Guan Shihua, driving hundreds of miles before switching to travel on foot. Half a day later, they arrived at a remote underground cave system.

The cave was extremely dry and crisscrossed with numerous passages. Even in the dead of winter, it was remarkably warm. Everywhere one looked, there were nests made of dried Wula sedge and cotton, along with offerings of dried meat, fruits, and statues of the Five Great Immortals.

From time to time, a few small foxes, rats, or weasels would stand on two legs like humans, or transform into the shapes of women and children to peek at them.

Most peculiar of all, these caves were divided into several upper and lower tiers, resembling pavilions and towers. There was even a theatrical stage, complete with tables and chairs arranged below it.

Passing through the long and narrow cave path, they suddenly entered a spacious hall lined with stone tables and chairs on both sides. At the very top were five thrones.

Guan Shihua bowed deeply from afar toward the five seats.

"Humbly inviting the Five Old Immortals to manifest their sacred presence!"

Suddenly, five eerie strands of black *qi* appeared above the seats, transforming into the appearances of a fox-headed human body, a hedgehog-headed human body, a weasel-headed human body, a snake-headed human body, and a rat-headed human body.

Dressed in oversized garments with fluttering cloud-sleeves and floating ribbons, they radiated a sense of holiness intertwined with demonic evil, possessing an uncanny strangeness as they sat majestically in the center.

At the same time, black *qi* with beast heads and human bodies—as well as some purely human-headed and human-bodied forms—manifested on the other stone tables and chairs. These were presumably the resident immortals worshipped by various halls.

Among them was Lady Hu Badang, who was currently eyeing Meng Fan with extreme apprehension.

The fox immortal at the head opened its eyes slightly and looked at Meng Fan. Its voice carried the aged vicissitudes of time, yet possessed a peculiar, seductive charm as it spoke, "Are you the brat who injured little Ba?"

Meng Fan stepped forward, completely unfazed. "It was indeed me. Are you Hu San Tai Nai?"

The fox immortal did not answer, but instead waved a hand, signaling Guan Shihua to withdraw. Only after only Meng Fan and Gao Dazhuang remained did the entity slowly speak, "Hu San Tai Nai is indeed my alternate title."

"Of course, you may also call me Third Great-Grandmother."

Seeing through the entity's intentions, Meng Fan let out a scoff. "Your abacus is quite slick, trying to coax me into establishing a familial relation. If I were to call you that, you would effectively receive my imperial enfeoffment!"