A Fox's Miscalculation
Blood Jiangshi Ilho kept his distance from the people as his master had ordered, quietly patrolling the perimeter of the island.
It had been shortly after Ilho first developed a sense of self.
His young master had been incredibly delighted and handed him a small ring.
"Looking at the calluses on your palms, it seems you wielded a sword quite well in life. This might be crude for now, but use it anyway. I'll make you something better when I get the chance."
It was a wooden ring, slipped onto Ilho's pinky finger by the young master's own hand.
When infused with internal energy, the ring would instantly transform into a sword.
The young master had looked quite embarrassed, apologizing that it wasn't some legendary, renowned blade.
He had patted him on the shoulder, reassuring him that it would be serviceable enough for the time being.
To be honest, Ilho didn't care what it was.
It was the very first gift his young master had ever given him. Even if it had been a rotting twig, he would have treasured it.
Pitter-patter, tap-tap!
Ilho dashed along the neatly arranged riverside fields alongside his companions.
He replayed that memory from a few days ago over and over in his mind.
Receiving a gift from his master after gaining self-awareness...
...was, without a doubt, the most powerful memory Ilho possessed.
Ilho repeatedly rubbed his own palm, which possessed the signature icy chill of a Blood Jiangshi.
Each time he did, his fingertips naturally brushed against the ring his young master had slipped onto his finger.
Master's first command is to quietly guard the perimeter.
Even from nearly a hundred li away, his master's scent was vividly clear.
In truth, because Ilho had developed an ego, he could have found his master from even further away.
However, his fellow Blood Jiangshi had not yet awakened their egos. If the distance between them and their master grew any wider, it would become problematic.
Thus, they maintained exactly this distance.
They patrolled the surrounding area, keeping their young master at the center of their radius.
Master has stopped.
We stop as well. We rest where human eyes cannot reach, while simultaneously eliminating any potential threats.
We hunt for prey nearby to consume and replenish our strength.
Based on their accumulated learning, swift judgments and commands circulated through Ilho.
Concealing their presence in the darkness of the night, the Blood Jiangshi...
...began executing the "auto-hunt" command Ilyang had set.
In this manner, Ilho hovered near his young master, meticulously scanning for any potential hazards.
Then, something shifted.
Ilho, who had been catching river fish, twisting off their heads, and gutting them, froze.
From deep within the distant darkness...
...he sensed an unidentified entity approaching at an incredibly high speed.
Judging by its trajectory, its path directly intersected with the building where his master was resting.
Thud.
Having reached this conclusion, Ilho ceased all movement and instantly snapped his head to the left.
Following his lead, his brothers simultaneously shifted their gazes to the left.
It's coming.
Blood Jiangshi Ilho.
His cloudy pupils dilated significantly...
...as he rapidly analyzed the mysterious entity piercing through the darkness from the left.
Though his ego had only recently awakened,
Ilho knew instinctively.
Whatever was approaching from that direction posed an immense threat to his master.
Eliminate the threat.
With a subtle twitch of Ilho's finger,
No. 2 through No. 6, who had been stationed further away,
...the five Blood Jiangshi moved silently yet terrifyingly fast toward the riverbank bordering the fields.
Their objective was to intercept the approaching entity's path.
Ilho and the remaining four quietly shifted to the right, forming a fan-shaped encirclement.
A moment later.
Near the boundary where the riverbank met the fields,
...a rather peculiar wild beast revealed itself.
Bathed in the moonlight was a red fox with three tails.
The red fox stared intently at the shadows along the river's edge,
...scrutinizing each of the hidden brothers one by one.
Then, with a look brimming with curiosity, it spoke.
Ilho hesitated upon hearing the fox's words.
That fox was an extraordinarily dangerous entity.
It possessed more than enough power to harm his master.
An obvious hazard, yet should I allow it to meet Master?
It was an unfamiliar situation.
Ilho hesitated, unable to make a decision immediately.
Meanwhile, his companions stood like expressionless dolls, merely awaiting Ilho's command.
The decision rested solely on Ilho's shoulders.
Ever since he developed a sense of self,
Ilho found himself frequently thrust into situations requiring judgment and choice.
And then...
Promises are important. They must be kept.
For some reason, that thought suddenly flashed through his mind.
It was likely an echo of his past life's memories.
However, what Ilho overlooked here...
...was the possibility that the fox might be lying or playing a trick.
His nascent intellect was not yet capable of such complex skepticism.
Ilho glanced at his brothers for a moment, then immediately sent a pulse of consciousness to his master.
A response came back from his master almost instantly.
Shortly after.
Piercing through the darkness, his master descended silently onto the center of the sandy riverbank.
He looked at the fox and let out a soft chuckle.
"You actually came."
Ilyang let out a dry laugh as he looked at the fox, which was lying on its belly on the sandy shore, bathed in the moonlight.
Meanwhile, Ilho quietly waited in the shadows for orders.
He looked ready to pounce on the fox the very instant Ilyang flicked a finger.
"Good job. You can go rest now."
"..."
It was a disappointing command, contrary to his expectations.
But with an obedient expression, Ilho bowed his head to Ilyang.
He glared at the fox for a brief second before vanishing on the spot like smoke.
Only then did Ilyang...
...face the intermediate spirit of wind head-on.
Honestly, I was a bit worried she wouldn't show up.
What a relief that she actually did.
"So, what brings you here?"
Ilyang asked, maintaining an indifferent expression as if he had nothing to lose.
The fox tilted its head a few times, then stared intently at the boy with a charming, coquettish expression unique to its species.
"And the price?"
Ilyang kept his face as nonchalant as possible.
But inside, he was secretly celebrating.
There was no such thing as a free lunch in this world.
He didn't know what the fox wanted,
...but this might be an easy way to secure a spirit's assistance.
I have plenty of resources, but it's always better to save them.
The resources he had plundered from the Flood Dragon Fort were truly astronomical.
Purely using those resources, he could purchase a low-grade elixir and still have enough left over to erect one of the main pillars of a Magic Tower.
And if he reclaimed the remaining resources from the Yama Fort and the Blood Wolf Fort?
Frankly, he wouldn't be running low on resources anytime soon.
I might as well start raising the pillars of the Magic Tower step by step.
A Magic Tower wasn't something that could be completed with money alone.
Beyond the physical structure,
...one had to spend a significant amount of time and effort engraving semi-permanent magic circles.
But once it was completed,
...the Magic Tower would yield immense resources.
Once a Magic Tower was established, the structure itself would automatically gather vast amounts of mana.
With that mana, one could not only alter the climate within a certain radius,
...but also set up automated defenses over a designated area.
I can even use the surplus mana to craft spiritual medicines or artificial mana stones!
Spiritual medicines were outrageously expensive in this world.
Played right, he could become filthy rich.
So, for the sake of the future, investing in a Magic Tower is a must.
Spiritual medicines, elixirs, and mana stones were essential resources for a wizard.
Thus, even if building a Magic Tower required a colossal amount of resources upfront,
...it was far more beneficial in the long run to have one.
Though he had to budget his resources carefully for now,
With that in mind, securing a spirit's help is definitely the best move.
It was notoriously difficult to build rapport with spirits, who were inherently whimsical.
However, according to ancient texts,
...interacting with them in this manner could naturally lead to a contract.
In the lower dimensions, I just suppressed them with raw power.
Unfortunately, suppressing them with raw power was a method he had to reconsider carefully here.
The spirits of this world possessed physical bodies.
And not just any ordinary bodies, either.
The bodies of magical beasts, renowned for their sheer durability.
He couldn't quite gauge...
...exactly how much power this little fox could draw upon.
I just need to coax this creature and use it to break through to the 4th Circle, so let's play along for now.
When transitioning from the 3rd Circle to the 4th Circle,
...there existed an invisible wall.
This was one of the "Walls of Despair" that every wizard encountered for the first time.
Whether one could overcome this wall...
...determined a wizard's overall potential.
Though wizards were fundamentally brilliant individuals hailed as geniuses,
...nearly ninety percent of them remained stuck at the 3rd Circle for the rest of their lives.
The vast majority fail to cross the wall.
To simply cross the wall,
...the quantity of mana was important,
...though that wouldn't be a major issue once a Magic Tower was established.
What was far more crucial...
...was an overwhelming comprehension and enlightenment regarding mana itself.
And this was something Ilyang already possessed in abundance.
After all, I've already walked this path once.
Therefore, what Ilyang needed right now was a reliable assistant to continuously channel the mana of Mother Nature into him.
So go ahead, ask me. State your business and ask for help!
If this sly fox helped him, he could save a whole low-grade elixir.
And the price of a single low-grade elixir?
That's worth ten Nezha Dragon King-class galleons!
In monetary terms, ten thousand gold coins.
At this point, that was by no means a small sum.
The fox's eyes narrowed.
Regardless, Ilyang spoke his mind.
"Give and take, right? If you need help, you have to help me too."
It was a natural transaction.
However, Ilyang's train of thought was abruptly cut short.
A violet glow suddenly began to shimmer within the fox's narrowed eyes.
“……?”
The fox took a step forward.
As it did, the violet light spilling from its eyes deepened significantly.
It was beginning to unleash the Joyous Soul-Overflowing Art passed down by Cheonho.
An ancient, supreme charm technique of the Fox lineage, designed to completely dominate the minds of highly intelligent male targets.
No male can escape this.
Yokai foxes were naturally endowed with powerful charm techniques.
This was a racial trait granted to the fox lineage.
And among them, the Sovereign of the Fox Lineage,
...the Nine-Tailed Fox, Cheonho, had meticulously perfected this very technique: the Joyous Soul-Overflowing Art.
It was exceptionally effective against human males of high intelligence.
To illustrate its potency:
...during the great war that had raged in the Upper Realm in the past,
...the Nine-Tailed Fox had used the Joyous Soul-Overflowing Art to single-handedly charm and devour the hearts of a thousand Immortals.
A terrifying mind-control technique that compelled victims to rip out their own hearts while still alive and offer them up.
That was the true nature of the Joyous Soul-Overflowing Art created by the Nine-Tailed Fox of the Upper Realm.
Although the Three-Tailed Fox's low cultivation meant her execution of the Joyous Soul-Overflowing Art was only at the second stage,
...it was more than enough in the Lower Realm.
The Sovereign of the Fox Lineage, Cheonho, had personally guaranteed it.
And indeed.
"..."
The boy's eyes, which had been completely indifferent just moments ago, gradually grew vacant and unfocused.
As if gazing upon a priceless treasure,
...he began to move with slow, unsteady steps.
A goofy, vacant smile spread across his lips as he approached the Three-Tailed Fox.
Yes! He fell for it completely!
The Three-Tailed Fox planned to enslave this boy and use him to safely accumulate her cultivation.
Seeing how he commanded Blood Jiangshi at will,
...the brat clearly possessed some decent skills.
She intended to secure her safety through him while feasting on bountiful offerings.
Just as the Three-Tailed Fox was plotting her next move,
...a sharp, sudden gleam flashed within the slightly unfocused eyes of the boy standing right before her.
Ah!
Startled, the fox tried to leap backward, but—
Grab!
A split second faster,
...the boy's hand clamped tightly around the fox's neck.
"Yip! Ack!"
As the fox let out a choked yelp, its face contorting in shock at the sudden turn of events,
...the boy's eyes filled with a mischievous, devilish playfulness.
"You're the one who tried to seduce me first, right?"
"...!"
As the reality of the situation finally sank in, sheer terror flooded the fox's eyes.