Purple Fox of the Hidden Jade of Mount Tu

"By the way, Qingchen, you should still remember the location of that ruin, right? Let's go there together later; I want to see the situation there," Gu Changyuan said, looking at Luo Qingchen who had just sat down.

Hearing her master's words, Luo Qingchen nodded repeatedly, then shook her head somewhat helplessly. "Master, that ruin is inside a secret realm. When I finished absorbing that thing and left the secret realm, the entrance simply disappeared. I carefully sensed the surroundings at the time, but I couldn't detect any aura of an entrance anymore, nor did I find any other way to enter."

Gu Changyuan raised his eyebrows slightly.

The entrance just disappeared?

He thought for a moment, then gave a slight nod, already forming a conclusion in his mind.

It seemed this secret realm was a one-time use domain.

The thing Luo Qingchen absorbed should have been the core of the entire secret realm.

After she absorbed the core, the secret realm lost its support, and the entrance naturally vanished.

And the space inside would also slowly turn into nothingness over time.

He had seen this kind of situation many times in the Ruins of Disorder.

The Nine Tribulations Sword Array was obtained in a secret realm of an ancient ruin just like that.

"Since that's the case, we can skip the trip," Gu Changyuan said, glancing at the disciples present. "Since everything has been explained, you are all dismissed."

The disciples all stood up, bowed, and dispersed.

...

Nighttime.

By the window on the top floor of the Sky Demon Tower.

Gu Changyuan sat in a chair by the window, holding Xiaobai in both hands, casually stroking its white fur.

Outside the window, the starry sky was vast, and the galaxy was dazzling.

Gu Changyuan's gaze fell on the starry sky outside, lost in thought.

Right at this moment, a purple fox landed gently on the windowsill.

The fox was not large, just the right size to squat on the edge of the window.

Its entirely purple fur gave off a faint fluorescence under the moonlight.

Nine tails swayed gently behind it, like nine streaks of purple flowing light.

She glanced at Xiaobai in Gu Changyuan's arms.

Her gaze was very calm, even carrying a hint of carelessness.

But Xiaobai instantly felt all the hairs on its body stand up.

Then, very tactfully, it stood up, jumped out of Gu Changyuan's arms, and trotted away.

Gu Changyuan watched Xiaobai's disheveled retreat and shook his head helplessly.

His gaze then shifted to the purple fox on the windowsill. He reached out, gently pulled it into his arms, and rubbed its soft, smooth fur with his fingertips. His tone was gentle:

"What's wrong, Little Yao, suddenly turning into this form?"

Yes, this purple fox was exactly Tushan Youyao.

Her true form was the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Nether Fox.

Although she usually appeared in human form, she could naturally change back to her true body.

Moreover, she could change her size at will, as large as to blot out the sky and sun, or as small as palm-sized, entirely as she pleased.

At this moment, she had shrunk her size, just enough to nestle in her master's arms.

Tushan Youyao nuzzled against Gu Changyuan's palm and narrowed her eyes comfortably.

Then, her voice sounded, soft and gentle:

"It's nothing. I just wanted to spend time with Master like this."

Actually, an hour ago, Luo Qingchen had come looking for her.

Luo Qingchen had told her everything about asking their master that morning, "Can we still get along like this in the future?"

Including their master's answer.

Luo Qingchen knew very well that her Eldest Senior Sister's feelings for their master were exactly the same as hers—a deep-seated reliance and affection buried in the bottom of their hearts, which they dared not easily reveal but couldn't help wanting to get closer to.

Walking this path alone was too difficult.

It still required the concerted efforts of the martial sisters.

Gu Changyuan held Tushan Youyao, rubbing her soft purple fur, as his gaze returned to the night sky outside the window.

The moonlight spilled over them, quiet and gentle.

After a moment of silence, Gu Changyuan suddenly spoke, his voice very light:

"To think that it has already been over a thousand years since I first took you all in as disciples."

His gaze fell on the distance, where there was the starry sky and the endless night.

"Time really does fly."

To say it was a long time, he remembered everything he had truly experienced—the days in the Nine Heavens Realm, the days in the Heavenly Human Holy Land, the Sky Demon Pavilion, and the Heavenly Demon Sect, and the one thousand one hundred years of struggling to survive in the Ruins of Disorder.

To say it was short, a millennium had passed, yet those early days felt like just yesterday.

It was as if only yesterday he was still that young man who had just crossed over to this world, having absolutely nothing.

In the blink of an eye, a thousand years had gone by.

Tushan Youyao sensed a trace of loneliness in her master's eyes.

That loneliness was hidden very, very deeply. If she wasn't nestled in her master's arms right now, being so close.

If she hadn't spent a long time with her master and been able to sense his emotions, it would have been impossible to notice.

He seemed to be missing something, or perhaps lamenting something.

Tushan Youyao's heart tightened slightly.

Then, she squeezed further into Gu Changyuan's arms, pressing her entire body against him.

Her nine tails extended simultaneously, gently wrapping around her master's waist and abdomen.

It was like a comfort.

And also like saying—I am here.

Gu Changyuan felt the warmth in his arms and looked down at Tushan Youyao.

Under the moonlight, those purple fox eyes were looking at him, gentle and quiet.

The touch of loneliness in Gu Changyuan's eyes gradually sank away under this gaze.

He reached out, continuing to stroke Tushan Youyao's fur, gently scratching her fox ears with his fingertips, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.

...

On the other side.

On the top floor of the Sky Demon Tower, in the room separated by a single wall from their master's room.

Ye Qingxue, Bai Ling'er, and Yue Lingxi were currently sitting on the same bed.

To say they were sitting, their postures were actually all different.

Ye Qingxue leaned against the wall with her legs bent, her knees almost touching her chest. She supported her cheeks with her hands, curling herself into a ball.

Moonlight spilled in through the window, falling on the side of her face and outlining a soft silhouette.

At this moment, she had completely lost the demeanor of the First Ancestor.

She lacked the majesty of the ruler of the Heavenly Human Holy Land, and the composure of one who devises strategies.

She looked just like an ordinary little girl.

Bai Ling'er lay on her stomach on the bed, resting her chin on her hands, her two lower legs swaying slightly as her jade-like feet swung up and down in the air.

Her gaze occasionally glanced out the window, then quickly withdrew.

Yue Lingxi's sitting posture was similar to Ye Qingxue's, also leaning against the wall with her legs bent.

But her hands were placed at her sides, and her back was perfectly straight.

None of the three spoke.

It was quiet for a moment.

Ye Qingxue was the first to speak, her voice very light, as if talking to herself, yet also as if asking them:

"What do you guys think?"

Her gaze fell on the opposite wall.

On the other side of the wall was their master's room.

Just now, all three of them had sensed it—a familiar aura had appeared in their master's room.

It was Tushan Youyao.

The divine senses of the three simultaneously reached out the window and, through that half-open window, saw the scene inside the room.

A purple fox was curled up in their master's arms.

Their master leaned by the window, moonlight spilling over him. He held the purple fox with one hand and gently stroked its fur with the other.