Translator: Cinder Translations
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"Please... spare me, I won't dare do it again next time."
The Nether Fox lay on the ground, emitting a painful, pitiful howl.
"Get out of the cave."
Song Wen ceased torturing the Nether Fox and coldly commanded.
The Nether Fox still had some use, it couldn't die just yet.
Trembling, the Nether Fox struggled to rise from the ground.
It looked at Song Wen with eyes full of fear and awe.
Song Wen hadn't used any magic tools or techniques, yet he had blocked the attack of the resentful spirits' spiritual assault.
To the Nether Fox, Song Wen appeared incredibly mysterious and terrifying, making it too fearful to entertain any malicious thoughts toward him, at least for now.
After the Nether Fox left the cave, Song Wen set up the Soul-Shadow Hidden Spirit Formation to prevent the Nether Fox from spying.
Next, Song Wen began devouring the resentful spirits in the cave.
One by one, the resentful spirits were consumed by the black hole in his sea of consciousness, turning into fragments of souls that merged into Song Wen's sea of consciousness, becoming nourishment to strengthen his spiritual power.
An hour later, Song Wen had consumed all the resentful spirits.
It's worth noting that these soul fragments hadn't fully merged with his sea of consciousness yet. Song Wen still needed to activate the Forbidden Divine Art to refine them and fully absorb their power to advance his spiritual strength.
Song Wen dismissed the formation and loudly called out to the outside.
"Come in."
The Nether Fox, trembling with fear, cautiously entered, worried that Song Wen would continue to pursue the matter from earlier.
Upon noticing that all the resentful spirits had disappeared from the cave, the Nether Fox was not surprised.
The core of resentful spirits is their souls, and for ghost cultivators, resentful spirits can also be used as cultivation material.
It believed that Song Wen had used some ghostly technique to either capture or refine the resentful spirits.
"Master, did you call me for something?" the Nether Fox asked carefully.
"Continue capturing resentful spirits, the more, the better," Song Wen coldly ordered.
The resentful spirits Song Wen had just consumed were not enough to push his spiritual power to the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm. He still needed more resentful spirits.
"Master, I've already captured all the resentful spirits in the nearby area. To capture more, we would need to venture deeper into the Misty Ghost Realm. There are fourth-tier resentful spirits there, and we might even encounter fourth-tier Nether Foxes. I'm no match for them, and if we do, I'll be doomed," the Nether Fox explained.
"Fourth-tier Nether Foxes!" Song Wen's interest was piqued. "Why are you afraid of your own kind?"
The Nether Fox replied, "Master, you may not know, but we Nether Foxes are solitary beings, each with our own territory. If we intrude into another's territory, it will be seen as a provocation. The Nether Foxes rarely interact with each other."
"Then how do your kind reproduce?" Song Wen asked.
"Unlike humans, we Nether Foxes do not have males or females. We can reproduce on our own. When a Nether Fox's life is nearing its end, it will naturally give birth to offspring. Usually, one to four young are born in a single litter to continue our lineage," the Nether Fox explained.
Hearing this, Song Wen felt even more intrigued by the mysterious nature of the Nether Foxes.
Their reproduction method seemed like something deliberately designed to prevent the Nether Fox clan from going extinct.
"You've been out for only half a month, and you've already captured all the resentful spirits in your territory? Before this, you lived here for many years. Why didn't you capture them all then?" Song Wen asked sharply.
The Nether Fox explained, "Master, every year, many fierce sea beasts stray into the ghost mist and get lost in the Misty Ghost Realm. Over time, they are corrupted by the mist and become resentful spirits. Also, resentful spirits wander and often enter other Nether Foxes' territories."
Song Wen nodded and said nothing further.
Seeing this, the Nether Fox's eyes flickered, and it continued speaking.
"If you want to capture more resentful spirits, it's not impossible. To the north of my territory is the domain of a third-tier Nether Fox. If we kill it, I can take over its domain, and the resentful spirits there will naturally belong to us."
The Nether Fox's voice carried a hint of anticipation.
"In that case, go and kill it. Capture all the resentful spirits in its territory," Song Wen responded indifferently.
The Nether Fox was momentarily stunned, then sheepishly replied,
"Master, to be honest, I fought with it twenty years ago, but I wasn't its match. To get rid of it, I'm afraid I'll need your help."
Song Wen shot a cold glance at the Nether Fox.
Foxes are indeed cunning by nature, always scheming in the background.
The Nether Fox pretended to want to help capture resentful spirits, but in reality, it sought to use Song Wen to eliminate its enemy.
It's even possible that it aimed to use its enemy to dispose of him.
"Since you can't defeat it, this matter is settled for now," Song Wen said dismissively.
He knew little about the Misty Ghost Realm, and it was better not to recklessly venture into unknown places.
"Take care of your own territory. If any new resentful spirits enter, capture them immediately," Song Wen continued.
"Yes."
The Nether Fox was extremely disappointed by Song Wen's refusal but dared not go against his decision.
"Leave now. Do not enter the cave unless I command it," Song Wen ordered.
The Nether Fox left the cave, and Song Wen began to close himself off for cultivation.
He activated the Forbidden Divine Art to begin refining and absorbing the soul fragments.
Over the next three years, the Nether Fox sporadically delivered resentful spirits for Song Wen to consume and refine. Song Wen's spiritual power rapidly increased, and he was on the verge of breaking through to the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm.
Song Wen had hoped to break through and emerge after his spiritual power reached the next level.
However, after staying in the Misty Ghost Realm for three years, he began to feel uncomfortable. His physical body showed signs of being eroded by the ghost mist.
Furthermore, recently, the resentful spirits captured by the Nether Fox had become fewer and fewer, forcing Song Wen to halt his cultivation.
Song Wen left the cave and saw the Nether Fox lying lazily on a rock, bored out of its mind.
"Prepare yourself. We're leaving the Misty Ghost Realm."
The Nether Fox stood up and asked,
"Master, where are we going?"
"Activate the teleportation formation. We're going to the Endless Desert," Song Wen instructed.
The Nether Fox's interest waned. "The Endless Desert is nothing but sand. There's hardly any life there. Why go there?"
"I'm not going to the Endless Desert, I'm going to the Tianyuan Continent," Song Wen clarified.
The Nether Fox's eyes lit up, "I've always wanted to see the human world. But you humans are extremely evil, you like to use our Nether Foxes' corpses to make magical treasures. If I show myself in human territories, I'll definitely be attacked by human cultivators. That's why I've never dared to leave the Ghost Mist Domain. But with you, Master, by my side, I won't need to worry about that, and I'll finally get to see the human world."
Song Wen glanced at the Nether Fox, unsure of how much of it was sincere.
He raised his hand, and a spirit beast pouch flew out.
"Go inside yourself," Song Wen said in a deep voice.
The Nether Fox glanced at the spirit beast pouch in the air, its eyes filled with reluctance. But it didn't disobey Song Wen's command and obediently entered the pouch.
"Master, this spirit beast pouch is just a low-level item. The space is too small, and the spiritual energy is lacking. Once we get to the human world, can we get a better one?" The voice of the Nether Fox echoed in Song Wen's mind.
"Enough with the complaints," Song Wen's tone became impatient. "You stay inside quietly and don't cause any trouble."
(End of the Chapter)
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