Chapter 343
Chapter 344: Foxy Is a Licensed Fox
Immortal Yuan Ling’s mention of that strange Otherworld completely sparked Yu Sheng’s curiosity, and of course Yu Sheng did not refuse the elder’s request.
Immortal Yuan Ling smiled and said: “That is no problem. If you are willing to help, that is the best news. I can arrange a Celestial Ship right now to take you and Xuan Che to the Nethermoon site for a look, but… you came from far away as guests. Sending you straight to the Otherworld before you have even rested makes me seem rude.”
Yu Sheng waved it off, answering without concern: “Oh, no need to say that. Once my curiosity wakes up I cannot sit still, and a quick trip will count as a walk after a meal.”
Then he paused, remembering there was a poor guy he had dragged along without much explanation. He turned toward his big nephew, who still looked a little dazed.
He thought for a moment, then said to Zheng Zhi: “You better not come with us. You have not even finished your probation, and going to that kind of place could get you killed… how about I just open The Door and send you back?”
Zheng Zhi snapped to and waved both hands: “No need. I can stay at the station and get familiar with the gear. You do not have to worry about me.” He scratched his cheek, a bit embarrassed, and added: “I am really interested in this place. This is the first time in my life I have come through a Door this far. Let me stay two days? If you think it is trouble, Brother Yu, then forget it and I will return to the Borderland.”
“That is not a bother,” Yu Sheng said after a thought, then turned to Immortal Yuan Ling: “Could I leave my friend in your care for now?”
Immortal Yuan Ling laughed and said: “Of course.”
After arranging for Zheng Zhi to rest at the Cloud Viewing Terrace, Yu Sheng and the others followed Immortal Yuan Ling and Xuan Che to the Immortal Ark Platform behind the Parted Clouds Palace.
On the way, Yu Sheng walked with Immortal Yuan Ling through the Grand Hall and along hanging corridors. The grand sight within Thousand Peak Spirit Mountain’s highest Immortal Palace, the Parted Clouds Palace, shocked him deeply. As one of the most powerful factions among the interstellar forces, this sect’s mountain top complex felt like part of the peak itself. Its linked pavilions and towers had been expanded and perfected for a thousand years. In Yu Sheng’s eyes it had already gone beyond the idea of a man made building and stood more like some natural megastructure among the mountains. This feeling hit him hardest when he looked down from the heights of the Parted Clouds Palace.
Terraces, stairways, platforms, and palace roofs stretched from the foot of the mountain all the way to the summit. Layers rose along the slope, piercing clouds and mist. Just looking at it, the four characters “Ladder of Ascension” seemed to stamp themselves like a strong idea right into the mind of anyone who saw it.
Even Irene, who was usually carefree, stood there stunned. She glanced down the mountain and blurted out: “How tired would you be climbing that from the bottom?!”
Immortal Yuan Ling smiled and stroked his beard as he said: “No problem. There are elevators in the mountain.”
Half of Yu Sheng’s awe drained away at once. [So much for sacred awe.]
“There is no helping it,” Xuan Che explained. “Not everyone in the sect can ride the clouds to the top. New disciples also have to come up for classes sometimes. We no longer keep the old rules of ‘menial disciples may not climb the mountain, outer disciples may not enter the halls.’ Also, vendors have to send goods up the mountain.”
While he spoke, Immortal Yuan Ling stopped and pointed ahead.
“This is a small Celestial Ship used to shuttle between the Grand Void Spiritual Axis and the Nethermoon. It is a little slower than your Borderland’s in system high speed shuttles, but it is much lighter and more flexible.”
Yu Sheng followed his finger and stared with interest.
At the edge of the cloud top platform hovered a Shuttle that shone with a silvery glow. It was twenty to thirty meters long, shaped like a curved feather, and wrapped in a hazy light screen. Faint talismanic runes flickered at the prow and stern, waves of light rippling out like circles on water, making the entire Shuttle look as if it were floating on an invisible lake. It was truly marvelous.
Yu Sheng felt his eyes open to a new world. Then another thought struck him. He turned to Xuan Che and asked: “You immortals can also do sword flight, right? You can fly even without a sword. Without a Celestial Ship, could you fly to the Nethermoon yourself?”
“I could,” Xuan Che nodded, then added, “but I only do that when tempering myself now and then. It is tiring. We even have a regular event for it every two years. You start from the Grand Void Spiritual Axis and must complete sword flight to Nethermoon, Everbright, and Everdark, all three, within one day and one night. I have joined it and luckily placed near the front.”
Yu Sheng thought about it and realized: [So that is a cultivator marathon.]
Just then, someone tugged his sleeve.
He turned and saw Foxy hesitating to speak.
She lowered her voice and said with a bit of doubt: “Benefactor, I do not want to ride this.”
“Ah?” Yu Sheng blinked. He rarely saw Foxy act willful, so he was surprised.
He quickly realized what she had in mind when she looked up at him and her eyes lit up: “I want to run by myself,” the fox maiden said, “I will follow this Celestial Ship and run.”
Yu Sheng stared at Foxy, then at the “space shuttle” not far away, and asked after a long half second: “Wait, what? You can keep up with that?”
“Probably. I do not know how fast it is, but I can go full speed in space,” Foxy said happily as she pointed at the sky. “There is nothing blocking the sky here, not like in the valley or Boundary City. I have not run ‘outside’ for a long time, benefactor.”
A demon fox wagging a huge tail and acting cute right in front of him made Yu Sheng waver, but shock rose with it, because only now did he realize something: “Foxy, have you been holding back this whole time? Even when you were running wild in the valley, you did not really go all out?”
Foxy nodded, then quickly shook her head, explaining as if she feared he would feel bad: “I am happy when I run normally, just not at full speed.”
Yu Sheng went quiet.
Foxy loved to run. She loved it very, very much, second only to eating.
Only now did he understand he had always underestimated how serious this demon fox was about running. He thought giving her a whole valley to run free would be enough. He never expected this honest young lady had never once run to her heart’s content.
He rubbed his face and said: “Well, okay then?” After he figured it out, his face twitched, and another thought jumped up. He remembered the two books of the Space Traffic Code he still had not finished. He looked at Immortal Yuan Ling and asked on instinct: “Can we let her run? In your near orbit, how do you classify moving pedestrians and non motorized pedestrians?”
Immortal Yuan Ling clearly had not expected this turn. He stared for a second, then said with an odd look: “That depends on what form she takes to ascend. From what I know, the demon fox race…”
Before he finished, Foxy darted forward and, with a swish, turned into a giant nine tailed fox. She turned her head and stared at him.
Immortal Yuan Ling froze. Then he flicked his sleeve. A streak of radiance flew from the air, and a jade token shining with soft silver light landed in his hand.
“Temporary Mobile Immortal Operating License,” he said, handing the jade token to Yu Sheng. “A demon fox is a spirit beast, but here on the Grand Void Spiritual Axis, spirit beasts stand as equals with immortals. Have her keep this jade token on her at all times. Also, you must command her properly. No dangerous flying. It is best if she stays right behind the Celestial Ship.”
“Got it, thank you,” Yu Sheng said quickly. He took the jade token, went to the nine tailed fox, and frowned. “Where do I hang this?”
Foxy lowered her head: “Under my chin. Tie it to a tuft of fur. Do not worry, benefactor, I will protect it with a protective spiritual aura so the wind will not blow it off.”
Yu Sheng had no idea what to say. [This world is truly strange.] He had come from the Borderland to a planet full of cultivators. He had not yet run into legendary treasures or classic adventures, but the very first thing he did was give his household’s fox immortal a temporary license. The fox herself was thrilled about it.
Foxy bent down with delight and almost flattened Yu Sheng, then peered at him from the bridge of her nose and asked: “Benefactor, ride with me. I will protect you with my protective spiritual aura.”
“Of course,” Yu Sheng said, giving the demon fox a look. “I have to go with you. That is your vehicle permit, and I am the one with the driver’s license.”
“Oh,” she answered.
Yu Sheng glanced at Irene, who was creeping toward the Celestial Ship, and at Luna, who was still standing obediently to the side, and asked: “Do you two want to…”
He did not finish before Irene shot up like a small rocket onto the Celestial Ship, shouting as she went: “No way. Silly fox only protects you when she runs.”
Luna looked at Yu Sheng, then at Irene’s direction, unsure what to do.
“Forget it. Go with Irene on the Celestial Ship,” Yu Sheng said, helpless. “I do not feel safe letting her go alone. She fumbles with everything and crawls everywhere. I am afraid she will get stuck in a seat and no one will notice.”
Luna nodded and went after Irene as told.
Moments later, Xuan Che lifted off in the Celestial Ship.
On the platform, Foxy found an open patch, stretched all four legs in a long lazy pose, and loosened up. Her nine tails flared like a grove of blades.
Fox fire gathered and swelled.
With a soft hum, the Celestial Ship turned into a streak of light.
Nine streams of fox fire roared to life, and the silver white figure shot into the sky, even more explosively than the Celestial Ship’s launch.
Immortal Yuan Ling stood by the Immortal Ark Platform and watched the otherworldly demon fox rocket upward with nine blazing tails. In the blink of an eye she accelerated and caught the Celestial Ship that had taken off first. Only after a while did he recover from the shock.
“No wonder she is a fox from another world,” the old man muttered as he wiped his face. “I might have been conservative with that mobile immortal license.”