Master of Ten Thousand Foxes

Bai Mo grinned. Leading the apprentices, they roamed, stopping and going, examining the inscriptions on the altar, searching for the ceremony to advance to Sequence Five.

"Do you need to stand at the highest point of the altar, reciting your self-written knowledge about plants?

"Hmm?

"Is this part of the ceremony?

"And three hundred immortals need to chant at the base of the tower to aid the sensing of... uh... what are they supposed to sense?"

This strange term doesn’t exist in modern Chinese.

Forcing a translation, it could be... Douluo Heaven?

"Need three hundred immortals to assist in sensing Douluo Heaven?

"This... with the assistance of three hundred immortals..."

Bai Mo glanced at the apprentices following him, seeing their furry faces, each exuding joy.

"Well, since it’s just assistance, perhaps it’s possible without it?"

He was uncertain, continuing to lead the apprentices, inspecting the writings on the tower.

Some inscriptions had decayed, making the context unreadable.

Some writings praised the history of the Immortal Kingdom.

Some celebrated the monarchs of the Immortal Kingdom through the ages.

Unbelievably, some even sang praises of the lower-tier immortals and slaves in the Immortal Kingdom.

Bai Mo sighed as he read.

Gradually, he approached the picture depicting the Alchemy Furnace.

The foxes became excited, pointing at the picture with their fox claws, gesturing animatedly, speaking in their fox language.

"Ying ying ying!"

"Ying ying ao ao!"

Where is this oversized Alchemy Furnace located?

Did the documents explain clearly?

They wanted to dig it out!

Bai Mo frowned, focusing intently.

He saw inscriptions beside the Alchemy Furnace.

"Uh, this Alchemy Furnace is... in... in Douluo Heaven?"

The foxes exchanged strange looks, glancing at one another.

Bai Mo found it peculiar as well.

What does Douluo Heaven really mean?

"According to these writings, standing on the altar and reciting the knowledge you have learned allows you to travel to Douluo Heaven.

"From Douluo Heaven, retrieving an Alchemy Furnace ensures a successful ascension, becoming Sequence Five, a [Grass Pill Master]."

The foxes looked at each other, and suddenly burst into joyous shouts, jumping around and dancing around their master!

"Ying ying ying!"

"Ao ao ao!"

"Ying ying ying!"

...They were all so happy!

The Alchemy Furnace so large turns out to be a gift!

A gift for ascending to Sequence Five!

Foxes are very clever, knowing that anything free is delightful!

Master will soon advance, and soon get this Alchemy Furnace for free!

This is so awesome!

...

The smoke above the cafeteria hadn’t dissipated yet.

Inside the cafeteria, beside small stone tables, each fox held a bowl, eating honey grape dumpling soup, licking the corners of their mouths, and bragging.

"Ying ying ying, ao ao ao ao!"

It’s Piaopiao Xue from the Foundry Workshop, proudly beating her chest, telling her siblings that the Foundry Workshop received a new task, to assist the master in creating a Bronze Altar!

"Ao ao ao, ying ying ying ying..."

It’s Quanquan Hu, boasting to the siblings, saying it unearthed several broken, cracked altars in just one morning!

In the corner of the cafeteria, Bai Mo ate grape dumpling soup, drank a sip of sweet-sour syrup, and held a Copper Plate while reading.

[...I’ve forgotten my age, recalling past parents, relatives, childhood friends, I can’t remember their faces, nor the words they spoke or deeds they did.]

[After all, a thousand years have passed. In this millennium, I’ve acquired too much knowledge in Immortal Dao, leaving no extra space for mundane trivialities.]

[Not to mention their faces, their words, even their grave locations have long faded from memory.]

[Tomorrow, I shall ascend, worship Douluo Heaven.]

[I am truly excited!]

[A thousand years of cultivation is finally yielding results.]

[I wonder what type of Alchemy Furnace I will bring back?]

This sounded like the self-narrative of some ancient immortal?

After reading one board, Bai Mo picked up the second.

[...Tomorrow, I’m going to ascend to the altar and worship Douluo Heaven!]

[My emotions are truly overwhelming!]

[I want to find an old friend from the Fruit Research Institute to have a drink, we once studied by lantern light together, encouraging each other.]

[...The people from the Fruit Research Institute said he passed away fifty years ago, having failed to form a Fruit Container...]

[Then let’s drink with an old friend from the Leaf Research Institute, share my joy with him, let him partake in my good fortune, let him bless me!]

[...The people from the Leaf Research Institute said he died thirty years ago, failing to form a Leaf Container...]

[Then I might still find Immortal Chen Tong from the Root Research Institute, once arguing over Immortal Technique, almost leading to estrangement.]

[But now I’ve formed a Condenser, proving I’m right, haha, I’m going to drink with him, mend the grudge between us while clinking cups.]

[...Immortal Chen Tong went out three years ago to fight the Fallen Immortal, hasn’t returned, some say he’s dead, unsure if true.]

[The Immortal Path is indeed long and lonely!]

[Tomorrow to worship Douluo Heaven, ascend to Sequence Five, and make new friends.]

Having read this section, Bai Mo sighed deeply.

The Immortal Path is long, decades and centuries pass by in the blink of an eye.

During a session of cultivation, losing track of the seasons.

When cultivation ends, the graves of family members are lost to time, old friends reach the end of their lives, leaving without a chance to say farewell.

"The Immortal Path is truly... long and lonely."

There were quite a lot of similar documents unearthed by the apprentices, Bai Mo continued to turn over the next Copper Plate.

[Does Douluo Heaven really exist?]

[I shouted myself hoarse on the altar, but only heard the wind from above, seeing nothing until nightfall.]

[Upon descending, I asked the Marquis if Douluo Heaven truly exists or if Immortal Dao could be a scam?]

[The Marquis said, firstly, the Immortal Dao has been this way for thousands of years, it’s not deceptive.]

[Secondly, perhaps my Knowledge Container is too low-tier, hence can’t sense Douluo Heaven.]

[Thirdly, after my usage, the Bronze Altar cracked with nine fissures, requiring reforge. She advised me to simply give up, otherwise settle the altar’s construction fees first.]

"Pfft..."

Bai Mo chuckled, spurting out a mouthful of soup.

He continued to look at the next Copper Plate.

[...I truly need to reconsider whether to worship Douluo Heaven?]

[Though it’s the dream ceremony for all immortals, some immortals truly went mad post-ceremony.]

[After descending, she couldn’t control her body, her actions, her excrement, always dazedly looking ahead, always extending her hand as if to touch something, constantly muttering, saying she saw it, saw it... what exactly did she see?]

Bai Mo held the Copper Plate, furrowing his brow.

This thing has risks?

Why didn’t they say this earlier?

What’s going mad all about?

He rummaged through the Copper Plates by the dining table, shortly encountering another discussing hazards.

[...Chen Pi Immortal completely went mad, didn’t retrieve an Alchemy Furnace from Douluo Heaven, nor successfully ascended]

[After the altar collapsed, he fell, constantly staring at the sky, drooling, stopped eating, stopped sleeping, ignoring anyone who addressed him, truly becoming insane]

[He drools, constantly muttering one phrase from the throat, saying he’s finally realized, finally realized...]

[When I visited him, due to starvation, he was skeletal, like a ghost.]

[Coincidentally, the Marquis went to visit him too, I asked her what happened to him?]

[The Marquis asked, you care much about him? Are you good friends? Want to help settle the altar expenses for him?]

[I felt disheartened, the Marquis seemed obsessed with money!]

[Also I and Chen Pi Immortal are merely ordinary friends, I naturally wouldn’t pay his bill!]

[The Marquis sighed as she left]

[Was she lamenting, after Chen Pi went mad, his debts died with him, no one to repay them?]

[Or did she lament the vagary and danger of the Immortal Path?]

[Mighthave lamented Chen Pi’s thousand years of cultivation, now reduced to a ruined corpse, a starvation-bound mad fool?]

[What truly is Douluo Heaven?]