The little white fox, seeing Ye Qiu remain silent, assumed he was unwilling and continued, “Among the ten great elders, only Elder Bear has reached the Great Saint realm. The other nine are all at the Divine Connection boundary.”
“Do not underestimate them.”
“These elders at the Divine Connection boundary, relying on their unique arts, can cross levels to fight against Saint powerhouses.”
“As long as you cultivate their unique arts to the great accomplishment stage, you will have the power to protect yourself. At that time, if you leave the demon clan, I can rest assured.”
Ye Qiu said, “The elders’ unique arts must be very difficult to cultivate, right?”
“Does reaching the great accomplishment stage require a very long time?”
“If it takes too long, I am afraid I…”
“Ye Changsheng, do you lack confidence in yourself?” the little white fox said. “You killed so many geniuses in the Undying Mountain, which proves your talent far surpasses those so-called geniuses.”
“I believe that with your talent, it will not take long to cultivate the elders’ unique arts to the great accomplishment stage.”
“Did you not just say you want to prove the Dao and become an Emperor?”
“I have also read the ‘Great Emperor Heart Sutra’. It says that the first prerequisite for proving the Dao and becoming an Emperor is to cultivate every realm to its extreme.”
“This is a perfect opportunity now.”
“The unique arts mastered by the ten great elders are all different. Some excel in alchemy, some in artifact refining, some in body tempering…”
“In short, as long as you master their unique arts, it will certainly be of great help to you in becoming an Emperor.”
Speaking to this point, the little white fox’s tone became earnest and heartfelt. “Ye Changsheng, you do not know how much effort I put in to convince the ten great elders to agree to teach you their unique arts.”
“Although I am the lord of the demon clan and those elders respect me greatly, you are human, and they harbour reservations towards you.”
“Asking them to teach you their unique arts put them in a difficult position.”
“For this, I persuaded them patiently for a long time, and they finally agreed. If you refuse, I would not know how to face those elders.”
“Ye Changsheng, do not let down my good intentions.”
“An opportunity like this comes once in a lifetime. You must seize it.”
Ye Qiu had not intended to refuse anyway. As the old saying goes, more skills do not burden the body. Mastering one more unique art meant one more life-saving trump card.
His concern was mainly that cultivating the elders’ unique arts to great accomplishment would take a very long time.
Hearing the little white fox’s words now, he could not say more and had to agree.
“Alright, I will listen to you. I will cultivate the unique arts with the elders.” Ye Qiu asked, “When do we start?”
“Anytime is fine,” the little white fox said. “The first to teach you is Elder Monkey.”
“Elder Monkey excels in alchemy. He is currently the only heavenly-grade alchemist in our demon clan.”
“I know you have some involvement in the Dao of alchemy. Starting with alchemy should be easier for you.”
Ye Qiu said, “You have done so much for me and considered everything so thoroughly. I do not even know how to thank you.”
“You want to thank me?” The little white fox’s eyes darted, her jade hand waving. The spiritual bed instantly folded up. She sat on the spacious bed, squinting with a smile. “How about offering yourself in marriage?”
Ye Qiu looked at the little white fox twice and smiled. “Alright!”
With that, he strode towards the spiritual bed.
Watching Ye Qiu draw nearer, the little white fox’s heart pounded wildly, her palms sweating from nervousness.
“I was just joking. How is he taking it seriously?”
“What do I do?”
“I am so nervous, so shy…”
The little white fox panicked. Seeing Ye Qiu already before her, she said in alarm, “Ye Changsheng, no…”
“Did you not say to offer myself? Come on, I am ready.” Ye Qiu grinned mischievously. “Forgot to tell you, I mastered a miraculous bedroom art. We can cultivate together.”
“No, do not come closer, do not come closer… Bang!” The little white fox leaned back, lost balance, and fell onto the bed.
Ye Qiu suddenly leaned in close, his face less than ten centimetres from hers. Their eyes met, and he could clearly smell her body’s fragrance.
The little white fox felt a wave of masculine aura hit her. Her pretty face flushed like blood. Amid fear, there was a trace of anticipation.
“I wonder what it feels like with a human…”
This thought just popped into her mind when suddenly Ye Qiu vanished from before her, retreating to his original spot.
“Hehe, I knew you were joking. I was teasing you just now.” Ye Qiu laughed.
“You rascal Ye Changsheng, always teasing me. Hmph.” The little white fox snorted coldly, glaring at Ye Qiu with dissatisfaction, a hint of disappointment rising in her heart.
“By the way, where does Elder Monkey live? I will go find him now.” Ye Qiu said.
The little white fox shouted loudly towards the door, “Elder Sheep, get in here.”
Her voice boomed like thunder, carrying ten li away, nearly shattering Ye Qiu’s eardrums.
On the other side, Elder Sheep, forced by Elder Rabbit to kneel before the immortal ball, heard the little white fox’s voice and turned to flee.
“Come back!” Elder Rabbit shouted behind him.
“Rabbit darling, the lord summons me. It cannot wait. We will chat properly tonight.” Elder Sheep vanished in a whoosh.
Ye Qiu had just emerged from the lord’s sleeping palace when Elder Sheep appeared before him.
“Brother Ye, what is wrong with the lord? Why does her voice carry anger? Who provoked her?” Elder Sheep asked.
“No one provoked her,” Ye Qiu said. “Elder Sheep, please take me to Elder Monkey’s residence. I want to learn alchemy from him.”
“Brother Ye, this way.” Elder Sheep gestured invitingly, leading Ye Qiu to a vast forest.
This forest was immense and boundless, with towering ancient trees, each branch thicker than a house.
Ye Qiu noticed many wooden houses built on the branches.
Numerous monkey demons frolicked in the forest, chattering noisily everywhere, lively and bustling.
“This is the gathering place of the monkey clan. Elder Monkey is the monkey clan’s patriarch,” Elder Sheep said.
Ye Qiu asked, “Does that mean every elder is a clan patriarch?”
“Brother Ye is clever. Exactly so,” Elder Sheep said. “I am the sheep clan’s patriarch, and Rabbit is the rabbit clan’s patriarch.”
As they spoke, the monkey demons squatted on branches, curiously eyeing Ye Qiu.
Suddenly, a little monkey demon leaped onto Ye Qiu’s shoulder, chattering away.
“Disturbing the lord’s friend, do you want to die? Get lost!” Elder Sheep scolded.
The little monkey demon was terrified, quickly jumping back to a branch, looking fearfully at Elder Sheep.
“Brother Ye, my apologies. Monkey demons are playful by nature and lack manners,” Elder Sheep said apologetically.
“No harm,” Ye Qiu said, smiling at the little monkey demon. “Sorry for scaring you.”
With that, he pulled out a ten-thousand-year spiritual herb and tossed it to the little monkey demon. “For you.”
The little monkey demon, receiving the herb, quickly bowed in thanks to Ye Qiu.
“No need for thanks. Eat it.” Ye Qiu smiled, following Elder Sheep deeper into the forest. Before them appeared a solitary palace.
The palace doors were tightly shut, a rich pill fragrance wafting from within.
“Brother Ye, this is Elder Monkey’s residence.”
Elder Sheep pointed at the palace. “Elder Monkey dislikes disturbances. He usually keeps the doors closed, hiding inside to refine pills every day.”
With that, Elder Sheep stepped forward to knock.
“Boom!”
Suddenly, a massive explosion rang out from inside the palace.
