Chapter 1077: A Hidden World

"The patriarch of my Azure Fox clan is my mother, but she has been unwell lately and is in seclusion healing, so she cannot come to welcome you two. Please forgive me," Ye Susu said apologetically, noticing Han Li seemed distracted.

"That's fine. We should have come to pay our respects to the host. Since she's in seclusion, we won't disturb her. The scenery of Azure Fox City is unique; could I trouble Fellow Daoist Ye to show us around?" Han Li snapped out of his reverie and said.

"Of course," Ye Susu agreed happily, dismissing Ye Ping and the others before leading Han Li and the other two into the city.

Azure Fox City spanned several thousand li. Though the terrain was mostly flat, there were a few rivers and low hills, and with many trees, the area was lush and verdant, offering quite pleasant scenery.

Before they knew it, the sky had darkened.

Ye Susu led Han Li and the others to the city center, where a cluster of grand palaces stood.

These palaces covered about two to three hundred mu and were also built of wood, appearing both majestic and exquisite.

In front of the palaces stood a statue of a giant azure fox howling at the sky, carved from a single piece of greenish jade. It was hundreds of zhang tall, with nine long tails trailing behind, looking extraordinarily spectacular.

"This hall is called the Celestial Fox Hall. It used to be where the patriarch of our Azure Fox clan lived and held meetings," Ye Susu introduced.

"Celestial Fox Hall? Your clan is called Azure Fox, so why isn't it called Azure Fox Hall?" Han Li asked, intrigued.

"The name was set by our ancestors; I'm not entirely sure either," Ye Susu shook her head.

Han Li gave an "oh" and didn't press further.

"Next to the Celestial Fox Hall are several quiet courtyards for honored guests. It's late today, so Senior Han and Fellow Daoist Ti Hun can rest here. I'll visit again tomorrow," Ye Susu said, leading them to a tranquil courtyard nearby.

"Thank you for your trouble," Han Li expressed his gratitude.

Ye Susu then summoned two attendants from the Azure Fox clan to guard outside the courtyard before leaving.

Han Li watched her go, his eyes flickering, then entered the courtyard with Ti Hun.

Inside, a path paved with green bricks led through the yard. On the left was a flower bed, on the right a grove of green bamboo. The night breeze rustled the flowers and bamboo, carrying a faint fragrance—very serene.

Han Li nodded in satisfaction, sat down in the main hall, and fell into thought.

"Master, are you planning to stay in Azure Fox City to go into seclusion?" Ti Hun approached and asked.

"What makes you think that?" Han Li raised an eyebrow, noncommittal.

"Otherwise, given your style, saving Ye Susu would have been enough. You wouldn't have expended your vitality to help her cultivate, nor followed her here. And just now, you had her show us around—wasn't that to scout the city?" Ti Hun blinked her big eyes and grinned slyly.

"The Azure Fox clan is an insignificant minor clan in the Gold Origin Mountain Range, remote and secluded—a good hiding place. I carefully inspected the city earlier and found no danger," Han Li said, giving Ti Hun an approving look.

"That's great! But how to stay is a problem. The Azure Fox clan seems quite排斥 outsiders. Of course, if you show a bit of strength, staying here would be easy, but that would change things," Ti Hun said, delighted at first, then frowning.

While walking through the city earlier, they had noticed hostility in the gazes of the Azure Fox clan members. If not for Ye Susu's presence, a conflict might have already occurred.

"Don't worry about that. I have my plans," Han Li said with a smile, looking toward the eastern part of the city.

...

Late at night, soft moonlight poured down onto Azure Fox City.

The residents had all retired, and the vast city was perfectly still.

A green figure flew out from within the city and landed before a dense forest in the east, revealing a person—Ye Susu.

She had changed into an elegant green palace robe and wore a green jade crown, giving her a more dignified air.

In front of the forest stood another statue of an azure fox, but this one was only half a zhang tall, very worn, and devoid of any spiritual nature—just an ordinary stone carving.

Ye Susu, however, looked solemn. She clasped her hands and bowed to the fox statue, then pricked her finger and dripped a drop of blood onto it.

The statue's eyes suddenly lit up with two shifting green beams that vanished into the void ahead.

The forest before her trembled slightly, ripples spreading across its surface.

Ye Susu's hand also glowed with bright green light as she reached forward, sinking into the ripples, and gently pulled.

With a "tear," a gap about a zhang high was torn open in the void.

Ye Susu quickly scanned her surroundings, seemingly confirming nothing was amiss, then stepped into the gap. The rift closed immediately, and the spatial fluctuations vanished.

At that moment, an extremely faint shadow materialized and, just before the rift sealed, flashed inside.

Ye Susu's vision blurred, and a basin dozens of li in size appeared before her.

There were few buildings in the basin, but large tracts of spiritual fields had been opened up, seemingly planted with many spirit herbs and medicines.

However, these fields were surrounded by barrier light screens that obscured the contents. A potent medicinal fragrance seeped through the barriers, refreshing the mind.

Ye Susu ignored the fields and flew straight ahead.

Behind her, the void flickered, and the shadow reappeared, revealing Han Li's face. He looked at the surrounding fields with surprise in his eyes.

Han Li was extremely familiar with various spirit herbs and medicines. Just from the scent, he knew the plants here were extraordinary, rivaling those in his own Flower Branch space. He was inwardly astonished.

After all, that garden had cost him immense effort and the aid of the Celestial Bottle to reach its current scale. How could the Azure Fox clan, not particularly powerful, cultivate a garden comparable to his?

He moved and flew toward the fields below.

...

Ye Susu flew forward and soon reached the depths of the basin.

A green pool appeared on the ground, its rippling water emitting a soft glow.

Several large green rocks sat by the pool. She lightly patted one.

The rock sank downward, revealing a dark cave entrance with a long staircase leading deep underground.

Ye Susu entered and soon reached the end.

A fairly large stone chamber appeared before her. Several fist-sized white pearls embedded in the ceiling illuminated the room with a milky light. The walls shimmered with starlight, quite beautiful, clearly enchanted with barriers.

Inside the chamber was a white jade bed, on which lay a young woman in green. Surprisingly, her lower body was sealed within a blue iceberg several zhang tall.

The iceberg emitted piercing cold, making the entire chamber freezing. Even the air seemed to form ice crystals, as if frozen solid.

The young woman's face was pale, her teeth clenched, and veins bulged on her forehead, clearly enduring great pain.

Sweat droplets the size of beans fell from her forehead, freezing into ice beads the moment they dropped.

A woman in white stood by the bed, her hands pressing on the young woman's shoulders, emitting bright green light that poured continuously into the latter's body.

The woman in white exuded a powerful aura, clearly a Golden Immortal at the early stage.

"Young master, you're back," the woman said, hearing footsteps and looking up to see Ye Susu. She stopped with a surprised expression and bowed.

The young woman on the bed also opened her eyes and looked at Ye Susu.

"Susu, you're back," the young woman's lips moved, forcing a difficult smile, her eyes full of tenderness.

"Mother!" Ye Susu quickly walked to the bedside, took the young woman's hand, and her eyes reddened instantly.

"Good child, mother... is fine. The cold energy has been a bit fierce lately, but with Elder Qiu's help, I can withstand it. But you, you went out again without permission, and for so long. Where did you go this time? Did you encounter any danger?" the young woman said softly.

"I went to Gold Rhino City to trade some goods. On the way back, I ran into a few people from Gold Horse Sect—it was a bit dangerous, but fortunately, two seniors rescued me..." Ye Susu omitted most of the truth and briefly recounted her trip.

To avoid sounding suspicious, she described Han Li and Ti Hun's matter in detail.

"What! Young master, you invited a human cultivator into Azure Fox City! Don't you know, even if others don't, that the patriarch ended up like this precisely because of those human cultivators!" the woman in white said, her face immediately turning cold as she scolded.

"Elder Qiu, it's true that the ones who harmed Mother were humans, but we can't hate all human cultivators because of that. The Gold Origin Immortal Domain is now under human rule. For the Azure Fox clan to develop, we must deal with them. As leaders of the clan, we must set aside personal grudges and consider the clan's interests in everything," Ye Susu said, a flash of hatred in her eyes, but she quickly suppressed it and sighed.

In the shadows of the passage outside the hall, a blurry figure stood silently—it was Han Li.

Hearing Ye Susu's words, a glint of approval flashed in his eyes.

The woman in white frowned, about to speak again, but the young woman waved her hand to stop her:

"Elder Qiu, let's do as Susu says. If those two fellow daoists are both at the Golden Immortal level, befriending them will greatly benefit our clan's future development. Don't dwell too much on my injury from back then."

"Since the patriarch and young master both say so, I'll comply," the woman in white said after a moment of silence, her tone flat.

"Thank you, Mother!" Ye Susu's face lit up with joy.