Chapter 85: The Nine Nether Enchanting Body, Fox Shuxuan Was Acting a Little Strange!
“Sure, but isn’t what they said the truth?”
“Oh my, and you haven’t even married in yet, and you’re already helping outsiders?”
“Little sister, do you mean to say you are siding with Tianling?”
When the elder sisters heard their youngest say that, they could not help teasing her.
From their banter, it was plain that the sisters shared a very close bond.
Teased by her sisters, the fox maiden’s face turned red as an apple at once, yet she still tried to defend herself:
“Who said that? Who said I wanted to follow him?”
“You don’t mean that? I thought... In that case, your sister won’t stand on ceremony. To tell the truth, apart from that mouth of his, I’m quite satisfied with Tianling.”
“Yes! Since you say so, little sister, shall I make my move?”
The eldest and the fourth sister, seeing her reaction, grew even more interested and exchanged glances before voicing their thoughts.
“I think... he’s... rather decent.”
The shy third sister even timidly raised her hand.
“You, you all—anyway, don’t even think about it!”
The fox maiden stamped her foot, half furious and half flustered.
“Daoist Tianling, tell us, which of us do you think is the prettiest?”
At just that moment, Ling Tian had finished today’s tasks and happened to pass by. Of course the eldest sister would not let such a chance slip away, and she asked him this question.
Ling Tian paused for a moment after hearing it, then hastily fled.
These fox women were no easy company!
Behind him came peals of laughter as the fox maiden and her sisters began roughhousing, and for a time the place was filled with lively commotion.
Of course, they were not truly fighting.
That evening at dinner, Phoenix Feather bade Ling Tian farewell.
“Daoist Tianling, if I have time, I will come to your domain to exchange insights with you.”
Before Ling Tian could refuse, he had already left the Fox Clan.
Ling Tian looked after Phoenix Feather. Aside from being somewhat narcissistic, the man was otherwise quite decent.
An exchange of ideas would not be unwelcome.
He did not refuse.
After dinner, Ling Tian stayed another night in the Fox Clan.
That night, nothing strange happened.
Fortunately, with Fox Maiden and her sisters back, each keeping the others in check, Ling Tian enjoyed a comparatively peaceful night.
“Phew...”
At last it was done.
Ling Tian let out a long breath. One had to admit, this job was rather tiring.
A voice sounded in his mind at the right moment:
[Mission complete.]
[Reward: the Fox Clan’s overall loyalty rises; Nine Nether Charming Body obtained!]
As for the first reward, it was useful, yet somehow also not very useful.
After all, once Ling Tian had finished these matters, Fox Matriarch Fox had already declared her allegiance and offered herself as his subordinate. As for the exact degree of loyalty, that was unknown.
In Ling Tian’s understanding, this reward was more like a group blessing—for example, increasing the loyalty of the entire Fox Clan toward him.
Fox Matriarch Fox, who had been watching from the side, stared at Ling Tian’s face and fell into a brief daze.
Was she seeing things?
Why did Ling Tian suddenly seem so strikingly handsome?
Before she knew it, her hand had already touched his face.
Ling Tian: ???
A bad feeling struck him. If only he had known, he would not have activated the Nine Nether Charming Body so quickly; he had forgotten about this consequence.
“Ahem. Fox Clan Chief, since everything has been handled, I should be returning. Staying here is hardly appropriate!”
Ling Tian coughed, pulling Fox Matriarch Fox back to her senses. Seeing her own action, the tips of her ears reddened slightly, and she withdrew her hand.
Having been clan chief for so many years and gone through so much, she was no longer a young girl.
Even in such embarrassment, her expression changed very little, and she handled it quite properly:
“You have troubled yourself.”
Ling Tian nodded and rose to leave the palace.
The fox women who had already held an affection for him before were now even more utterly undone.
They surrounded Ling Tian and openly said all manner of inappropriate things.
Fox Matriarch Fox covered her face and gave a soft snort, releasing her pressure to bring those women’s minds back into clearer focus.
If even Fox Matriarch Fox, with such profound cultivation, could be affected, let alone those fox women?
Under her pressure, their behavior finally became less fevered.
Even so, the burning intensity in their eyes made Ling Tian unable to meet their gaze.
Ling Tian shook his head and sighed. The system had truly thrown him a difficult problem.
He had not intended to be so conspicuous, yet it had given him such a reward.
It seemed that if he could not control the situation in the future, he would have to use his chaotic energy to seal off the aura.
“Here, this is for you. You must keep it safe!”
Fox Maiden came to Ling Tian’s side with a flushed face, took out a sachet, and handed it to him, making all sorts of mischievous expressions.
Then she fled as if running for her life.
Seeing her do this, the elder sisters could not help but show a trace of disappointment.
“Truth be told, I really do want to try it. But compared with that, I would rather see our little sister happy...”
The eldest sister murmured softly, as if speaking to herself, yet her words landed clearly in the ears of the younger sisters beside her.
They all smiled in unison, taking it as such.
Ling Tian was not one for affectation; he accepted the sachet, bade them farewell once more, and then departed the Fox Clan with Luo Changsheng.
The road ahead was long.
When they had set out from the Sacred Land of Luoqiu, there had been four of them; by the time they returned, only two remained.
Along the way, some joined and some left.
Those departures all had their own reasons.
But was not the road to becoming an emperor like this as well?
Ascending to emperorship was hard.
It was, from the outset, a lonely road. Companions would change, would fall behind; such things could not be helped.
Ling Tian sighed a little, then let the matter ride upon the wind and chose not to think on it further.
To cherish the present was best.
This journey had taken several months and allowed Ling Tian to witness many things.
It could be counted as a worthwhile trial.
Only, the return journey was somewhat grueling.
Luo Changsheng and the other man were both miserly in their own way and unwilling to pay for lodging.
They slept only in the wilderness; one could truly call it camping in the wind and dew.
Still, with their cultivation levels, it was nothing much.
After several days of arduous travel, they finally returned to the Chaotic Dao Domain.
“Luo Changsheng! The way you’ve treated me—when I get back, I’m going to tell my master all about your conduct!”
Ling Tian’s face had, to the naked eye, grown weathered and aged from the wind and dew.
Glaring at Luo Changsheng, he now addressed him by name in their growing familiarity.
“So what? Suit yourself!”
After so long, Luo Changsheng had long since learned Ling Tian’s temper and wore an utterly indifferent expression.
“You, you... and you still call yourself some great expert! Not a shred of dignity!”
Ling Tian was so exasperated that he nearly choked, though his own skin had grown quite thick.
He cast a glance at the scene below and no longer bothered trading barbs with Luo Changsheng.
“Let’s go to the Divine Fire Sect. There’s something I need to get to the bottom of...”