My eyes opened again to pitch darkness.
Jun Jiuli: "Shui Wa, what's going on? Weren't we supposed to go back to the system space to feel out the new body?"
Shui Wa: "This... I accidentally slipped my hand. It's not too late to try after we finish this task."
"My hand sure is slippery. Transfer the plot. Even though there's no point in doing more tasks, who asked me to be a helpful person."
"Okay."
This plane was ancient with a touch of fantasy. The male protagonist, Zhao Lingheng, was the Crown Prince of the Zhao Kingdom. He had a childhood sweetheart and fiancée, Chu Yanxin, the eldest daughter of the General's Mansion. They were deeply in love and a perfect match.
Chu Yanxin had been sickly since childhood and fell into a coma before her wedding. The General's Mansion searched for renowned physicians, but none could wake her. The Crown Prince was consumed by worry and remembered a legend.
The Zhao Kingdom's imperial palace was backed by a Qing Ling Mountain. Legend had it that an immortal once helped their ancestor establish the kingdom. The emperor always held sacrifices at the foot of this mountain, and there was an immortal elixir within that could bring the dead back to life.
However, apart from the foothills, the rest of the mountain was perpetually shrouded in mist, and it was said to be inhabited by man-eating monsters. People who had dared to enter Qing Ling Mountain before had never returned alive.
The Crown Prince, for the sake of his fiancée, resolutely chose to enter the mountain. Packs of fierce tigers and wolves in the forest tore his guards to shreds. He also lost his way inside. It was then that he was saved by the female protagonist.
Jun Jiuli: "Wait, the male lead, female lead, and female supporting character are all here. What about the original host? It's so dark and I just realized I don't even have hands or feet!"
Shui Wa: "Host, you are the golden finger." kuAiδugg
"Then this identity isn't bad."
The female protagonist was a two-tailed fire spirit fox that had cultivated into sentience in the mountains. The legendary immortal was the ancestor of the fire fox clan. In truth, the only animals with spiritual awareness in this mountain were from the fire fox clan.
Their ancestor had recognized Zhao's ancestor as no ordinary person, and together they pacified the chaotic world and helped him ascend to power. That emperor was a wise ruler who governed the realm in perfect order.
Thus, the fire fox gained merit and cultivated into divinity. Before ascending, he left behind cultivation techniques and some resources, hoping his descendants would be like him. Unfortunately, the spiritual energy in later generations grew increasingly sparse, and not even one could achieve human form.
The female protagonist was the most promising in achieving human form since that ancestor. She enjoyed priority access to all the clan's resources, and all the foxes doted on her like a precious gem.
A hundred years ago, an ancestor from the upper realm cast a divination and foresaw a calamity that would lead to the extinction of the fire fox clan. He did everything he could to send the news to the lower realm, warning that they must not allow mortals to enter the fire fox village.
Along with the message, he also sent his inner core, hoping it would protect the lives of his kin in times of crisis. Upon receiving the news, the clan chief, with the strength of the entire village, set up an ordinary hidden formation.
They were merely fire foxes with spiritual awareness, their magical powers extremely weak. Soldiers trained and armed with superior weapons could easily slaughter them.
Therefore, they could only hide, warning the younger generation of the clan not to wander out carelessly, lest they bring about the village's utter destruction. The little foxes were quite obedient, and for a hundred years, everything had been peaceful.
After achieving human form, the female protagonist secretly observed the lives of people in the world below for a long time. She yearned for worldly love. She had the highest cultivation in the clan, and no one noticed anything unusual.
The inner core guarded by the clan was also meant for her, hoping she could lead the fire fox clan to greater heights. Little did they know, her mind was filled with nothing but love and romance every day.
Jun Jiuli: "This is the legendary hope of the entire village."
Shui Wa: "At least she should have comprehended something like that ancestor and shared it with everyone, a waste of the clan's support for her."
She saved the male protagonist. After he woke up, he discovered the truth. Suddenly appearing in this desolate wilderness was a stunning beauty, and he immediately saw through the female protagonist's identity.
He pretended to be oblivious in his quest for the immortal elixir, gradually extracting information from the naive female protagonist. He gave her the name Jiayin, and she was delighted, acting like a complete fool.
"I have a name, I have a name."
The two held a wedding ceremony in the wilderness and lived as husband and wife in the mountains for three years. The male protagonist endured humiliation and hardship, while the female protagonist forgot about the other foxes in her village.
Jun Jiuli: "Aren't his brothers incompetent? The Crown Prince was missing for so long, and they didn't seize power?"
Shui Wa: "This... you should worry less about the plot."
After three years of living together, the male protagonist was certain that the female protagonist loved him to the point of no return. He went to fight a tiger and was half-killed. He bid a tragic farewell to the female protagonist and intentionally or unintentionally mentioned the immortal elixir.
After a series of heart-wrenching events, the female protagonist completely lost her mind and took the male protagonist back to the village. She stole the inner core and fed it to the male protagonist. After the male protagonist woke up and learned that there was only one immortal elixir, and he had consumed it himself.
He flew into a rage and injured the female protagonist. Disregarding her protests, he descended the mountain alone. Chu Yanxin, who had been lying in bed for three years, was still alive and well. The male protagonist felt himself to be impure and deeply sorry for her.
Ignoring everyone's objections, he intended to welcome the still unconscious Chu Yanxin into the palace as his Crown Princess. It was at this moment that the female protagonist, dressed in a red wedding gown, blocked his carriage.
"Do you truly intend to marry her? We have already performed the rites. In your human words, I am your wife."
"Who dares to speak such insolence here? Guards, seize her! You dare to delay the auspicious hour, can you bear the consequences?"
The two sides clashed fiercely. Jiayin's sword also split open Chu Yanxin's sedan chair, its energy slicing her face. Chu Yanxin threw herself into the male protagonist's arms and began to cry.
The male protagonist was filled with distress and gently comforted her.
"Don't you see it yet? This woman has been deceiving you from the very beginning."
Seeing the scar on Chu Yanxin's face, the male protagonist could no longer tolerate it. "Xin'er is pure and kind, incomparable to someone like you."
"Someone like me, what am I like? Are these three years of harmony, of deep affection, all lies?"
Her words caused an uproar among the onlookers. Fearing misunderstanding from the crowd and Chu Yanxin, the male protagonist drew his sword and lunged at the female protagonist. The female protagonist did not dodge and took a sword to her heart.
However, the pain in her body was far less than that in her heart. She abandoned the male protagonist and returned to Qing Ling Mountain. It was then that she discovered she was pregnant and decided to give birth to these two children alone.
When the children were two years old, Chu Yanxin's child was also born. Due to the influence of the inner core within the male protagonist, this child was born with two fox ears.
This nearly frightened Chu Yanxin to death. After realizing what had happened, she tried to strangle the child with her own hands. Fortunately, the male protagonist arrived quickly and stopped her, holding her and comforting her, explaining the situation.
This child would undoubtedly have problems if they stayed in the Crown Prince's mansion, and they always appeared listless. After discussing it, the couple set their sights on the female protagonist's inner core.
The Crown Prince performed his now formidable martial arts before the Emperor and spoke of his child's extraordinary nature, referencing stories from thousands of years ago.
This made the old emperor believe that he and his descendants could achieve immortality if they possessed the inner core and that Qing Ling Mountain was full of treasures. He immediately forgot the ancestral teachings and ordered troops to surround and attack the mountain.