Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox

Ten disciples of the demon clan gathered around Gu Changyuan, their expressions varied, but a shared light shone in all their eyes—the joy of bloodline evolution.

It was a radiance that seeped from the very marrow of their bones, impossible to conceal, making each of them glow from within.

Only their differing temperaments caused variations in how they expressed this joy.

On the top floor of the Immortal Demon Pagoda, another beam of light flared to life.

Gu Changyuan lifted his gaze toward the pagoda’s peak, a trace of a smile flickering in his eyes. He understood: Tushan Hanyan was about to emerge from seclusion.

Tushan Hanyan was considerably older than Jun Mukong, Jun Anshi, and Gu Xing’er. Back in the Nine Heavens Realm, she, too, had possessed a tenth-rank talent.

But the girl had always been easygoing and fond of amusement. In the early days of the clan, she spent her days idling and cultivating only when the mood struck.

Only later did she begin to cultivate in earnest. Steadily and solidly, she broke through to the peak of the Tribulation Transcendence Realm, eventually following Gu Changyuan as they ascended together to the Immortal Realm.

As the direct disciple of Tushan Youyao, she had always been clingy toward her master. So when they were assigning residences, she specifically chose a dwelling on the same floor of the Immortal Demon Pagoda as her master.

Every floor of the pagoda was vast—housing separate cultivation rooms, bedrooms, reception halls, and several vacant spaces for them to modify as they pleased.

Her chosen room was right next to Tushan Youyao’s.

As the light faded, a figure shot out from the pagoda, charging straight toward Gu Changyuan.

She moved with tremendous speed—so fast that the nearby disciples hadn’t even the chance to react.

“Ancestral Master! My bloodline has reached the Divine Grade!”

Tushan Hanyan scampered over and flung herself directly onto Gu Changyuan, who was reclining in a rocking chair.

The girl was not small in stature—she stood about one meter seventy.

She wasn’t slowing down at all as she came. It was like watching a human cannonball smash into Gu Changyuan’s embrace.

Gu Changyuan reached out and caught her. With one hand, he supported her back, and with the other, he steadied the arm of the rocking chair.

A gentle ripple of spiritual energy surged around him, absorbing most of the impact. The rocking chair wobbled twice before the energy held it steady.

Tushan Hanyan had fallen fully into his arms. Her legs straddled his waist from both sides, and her arms wrapped tightly around his torso.

Her face was buried in his chest, rubbing eagerly, like a kitten finding its nest. Her long white hair cascaded over Gu Changyuan’s arms.

Gu Changyuan let out a helpless sigh. With one arm, he encircled her back to keep her from sliding off, and with the other, he gently tousled her white hair, a smile curling at the corners of his lips.

“Alright, alright. Little Smoke, our little one—you’ve done splendidly.”

Tushan Youyao stood watching from the side. The smile on her face had shifted from faint amusement to something like knowing mockery.

She walked over behind Tushan Hanyan, extended a hand, and casually lifted her—still clinging to Gu Changyuan—completely into the air.

Tushan Hanyan, though not as petite as Gu Xing’er and having fully grown, was still light as a feather in Tushan Youyao’s grasp, lifted aloft by a cushion of spiritual energy.

“Little Smoke, you’re all grown up now. Stop clinging to your Ancestral Master like that. Don’t trouble him.”

Tushan Youyao’s voice came from beside her, cool and measured.

Tushan Hanyan kicked her legs in the air, trying to break free from the invisible grip of spiritual force, but her cultivation was nowhere near her master’s. The energy held her securely by the scruff of her collar, immovable.

She crossed her arms over her chest, lifted her chin slightly, and pouted so hard you could hang an oil bottle from her lips.

“Hmph, ╭(╯^╰)╮”

She let out a sound of strong discontent, her voice nasal, the tone rising at the end.

“Compared to our Grandmaster, I’m not even that impressive! And my master is always cuddling with the Grandmaster—why can’t I?”

Her words were straightforward and vivid, instantly drawing low chuckles from the surrounding aunts and senior sisters.

If Gu Xing’er was the beloved darling of the Heavenly Human Sacred Land, then Tushan Hanyan was the undisputed little darling of the Celestial Demon Pavilion.

With a lively, cheerful, and playful personality, sweet words and a knack for acting cute, she was innocent and charming, utterly endearing to everyone across the entire pavilion.

Tushan Youyao’s expression froze for a brief moment.

She looked at Tushan Hanyan, still hanging midair, and found herself at a loss for words.

Not because there was nothing to say, but because the other party seemed to be speaking the truth—she couldn’t refute it.

Still, her expression remained composed. She retracted the spiritual energy, lowering Tushan Hanyan back to the ground.

The moment the spiritual energy dissipated, Tushan Hanyan’s feet touched the ground, and she stood steady.

Tushan Youyao did not set her back into Gu Changyuan’s arms. Instead, she pulled her aside.

Once on the ground, Tushan Hanyan immediately moved closer to Gu Changyuan, hugged his arm, and pressed her face against his forearm.

Then she turned her head and stuck her tongue out at Tushan Youyao.

Tushan Youyao looked at her tongue, fell silent for a moment, then reached out and lightly flicked her forehead.

“Dong—”

The sound was not loud, but crisp and pleasant to the ear.

A faint red mark appeared on Tushan Hanyan’s forehead. She reached up to touch the spot and pouted, but her grip on Gu Changyuan’s arm did not loosen at all.

Gu Changyuan watched the master and disciple pair, the corners of his mouth curling slightly.

He raised his other hand and gently pressed down on the top of Tushan Hanyan’s head.

Her expression instantly shifted from sulky to sunny. Her pout vanished, her brows and eyes curved again, and her entire body relaxed.

Feeling Tushan Hanyan’s hold on his arm, Gu Changyuan lay back down in his chair.

A nine-tailed celestial fox.

He closed his eyes, and the bloodline information of Tushan Hanyan appeared in his mind from the system panel.

He still remembered that back in the Nine Heavens Realm, the system had classified Tushan Hanyan as a “nine-tailed demon fox.”

Now, Gu Changyuan completely understood.

It turned out that Tushan Hanyan was the true and supreme ancient divine beast bloodline of the nine-tailed lineage.

The nine-tailed demon fox, widely known among mortals, was merely a fragmented and diminished branch derived from the later generations of the nine-tailed celestial fox.

Back in the Nine Heavens Realm, Gu Changyuan had actually been curious about one thing.

The bloodlines of white foxes were either celestial foxes, snow foxes, or some miscellaneous hybrids.

Tushan Hanyan was a pure white nine-tailed fox, with flawless fur and pure demonic power; she should not have been simply rated as a “nine-tailed demon fox.”

Only now, as Tushan Hanyan’s bloodline had fully evolved and the system had issued a new classification, did he learn the truth.

It was just that the suppression of the Nine Heavens Realm had been too strong—strong enough to compress her bloodline from “celestial fox” to “demon fox.”

Upon reaching the celestial realm, the suppression lifted, her bloodline evolved, and she regained her original form.

As for Tushan Youyao’s nine-tailed celestial gloom fox, it was a collateral counterpart of the nine-tailed celestial fox—not a branch, but a parallel line.

A branch was a divergent offshoot, its bloodline’s power diminishing with each generation.

Parallel branches are those that differentiate horizontally on the same level, where the power rank of the bloodline is equal, differing only in direction.