Chapter 19: Surviving Disaster, Receiving a Thousand-Year Elixir

But things in the world are often strange—those who don’t wish to be famous end up becoming so. (Gu Long)
……
The foxfox spirit
foxfox spirit
fox spirit
fox demon opened Liu Yi’s mouth with her left hand and blew gently toward the white light. The white sphere slowly drifted down, descending until it disappeared into Liu Yi’s mouth…
At the same time, something strange happened. Liu Yi’s complexion gradually regained its rosy hue, his body responded, and his hands moved slightly.
Shi Jieyi’s eyes lit up with excitement as he called out, “Boss, boss! You’re fine! Open your eyes and look at me!”
It seemed Liu Yi heard Shi Jieyi’s words. He slowly opened his eyes and moved his hands, saying softly, “Am I dreaming? It must be a dream. My body doesn’t hurt at all.”
Shi Jieyi exclaimed excitedly, “Boss, it’s not a dream! It’s real!”
Liu Yi turned his head and suddenly saw the foxfox spirit
foxfox spirit
fox spirit
fox demon. Her body was also undergoing incredible changes—she aged instantly, wrinkles quickly covered her face, parts of her transformed back to their original form, her long black hair turned silver-white, and her eyes no longer looked young but instead old and weak.
Liu Yi asked urgently, “What happened? What’s wrong with you?”
The foxfox spirit
foxfox spirit
fox spirit
fox demon smiled faintly and said weakly, “I just gave my internal elixir to you to help you recover.”
Liu Yi asked, “What about you? Why did you change like this?”
The foxfox spirit
foxfox spirit
fox spirit
fox demon replied, “For us foxes, our life force lies in our internal elixir. Without it, we die instantly.”
Liu Yi sat up and said hurriedly, “Why are you so foolish? Why did you save me?”
The foxfox spirit
foxfox spirit
fox spirit
fox demon shook her head weakly. “It’s not foolishness. Lord Liu is a good person who shouldn’t have died. I, having lost my will to live, saw no reason to continue. So… I must thank you, Lord Liu. You gave me an answer. If this world truly isn’t meant for us, then let’s leave. Perhaps we’ll be happier elsewhere.”
What could Liu Yi say? What was there to say? Maybe everything he had believed was wrong. In this chaotic world, what was right or wrong? Couldn’t a fox be right? Did humans always have to be right?
The foxfox spirit
foxfox spirit
fox spirit
fox demon continued, “Perhaps in the past, we indulged in sin and committed irreparable mistakes. I ask for nothing. My only hope is to meet my lover in the eighteen layers of hell. Even suffering together would be happiness.”
Gradually, her voice grew weaker and less clear…
Liu Yi comforted her, “Since you’ve repented, you’ll surely meet your lover. Not necessarily in hell, but perhaps in the Western Paradise. Buddhism is open to all—can’t it accommodate the two of you?”
The foxfox spirit
foxfox spirit
fox spirit
fox demon gave a knowing smile, her eyes growing vacant. She said softly, “I feel so light… I’m so tired. I want to rest…” She slowly stood up and walked toward the black bear’s corpse, getting closer and weaker by the moment. Finally, she collapsed in the bear’s arms.

Although the demon fox wasn’t killed by Liu Yi, it died because of him. Liu Yi shook his head helplessly and sighed, “Chang’e must regret stealing the spirit medicine; night after night, her heart is filled with sorrow. If only she had known what would happen, why would she have done it in the first place…”

Liu Yi wiped the blood from his mouth and said to the Ten Heroes, “Let’s bury them together.” The Ten Heroes nodded. With their combined efforts, they finally erected a wooden marker beside the cave for the fox and the black bear.

Liu Yi looked at the sun, which was just beginning to rise, and said, “It’s getting light. Let’s keep moving. We need to head to Wind-Bearing Cave soon. There’s not much time left. Sword King, let’s hurry. Can we make it by the hour of Wei?”

Sword King calculated the time—three hours. If they sped up, it should be possible… He nodded and said, “If we go faster, we should be able to make it.”

Liu Yi nodded and said, “Let’s set off.” With that, he walked ahead.

Having died once before, Liu Yi clearly felt his body had become very light. Walking didn’t take any effort at all, and he moved faster and faster… He found it hard to explain all this to himself.

The Ten Heroes and Sword King stood behind, stunned. Hadn’t Liu Yi learned martial arts? How could he walk so fast? The Ten Heroes could keep up, but Sword King couldn’t. After walking for a while, he shouted, “Young Master Liu, slow down! What’s the rush? Walking this fast will kill you!”

Liu Yi slowed down and waited for the two of them, then asked curiously, “Am I walking too fast? I think you’re the ones who are slow.”

The Ten Heroes and Sword King exchanged glances and shook their heads. Sword King said, “Young Master Liu, what happened in the cave? Tell us. I’m still confused about everything.”

The Ten Heroes also nodded and said, “Yeah, tell us, boss. What happened? Why did you block my punch for that monster?”

Liu Yi replied, “Let’s talk as we walk. Otherwise, we’ll waste time.”

The two nodded. Sword King continued, “Then walk slower so we can keep up.”

Liu Yi nodded. And so, as they walked, he recounted his experiences to them. The two listened in shock, as if Liu Yi were telling a story.

After hearing it, Sword King exclaimed excitedly, “I’ve long heard there’s a talented man in the Jiangnan region, but I, Sword King, never believed such a talent could be useful in the martial world. I never expected Young Master Liu to truly impress me.”

The Ten Heroes also laughed foolishly and said, “There’s so much you can learn. My master knows quite a lot.”

At that moment, Liu Yi suddenly slowed down. For some reason, he felt pain all over his body—not the kind from his injuries earlier. Sometimes it felt like he was in an ice cave, and other times like he was in a furnace. When it was cold, white vapor came out of his mouth; when it was hot, his body became so scorching that Sword King and the Ten Heroes cried out in pain.

Liu Yi felt extremely suffering. The extreme cold and heat had left him with no strength left. He sat down under a withered tree.

Seeing Liu Yi’s pained expression, the Ten Heroes rushed to ask, “What’s going on? How did this happen?”

The Great Sword King said, “Send some of your vital energy over and see if you can suppress what’s inside his body…”
Shi Jie nodded immediately, placed his right palm on Liu Yi’s shoulder, and transmitted his own vital energy into Liu Yi’s body. As soon as the warm flow entered Liu Yi’s body, it was scattered by two streams of energy—one cold and one hot. Shi Jie’s hand seemed to encounter tremendous repulsion, as if a powerful force was pushing it away.
The Great Sword King asked, “What’s wrong?”
Shi Jie replied, “There’s one stream of cold and one stream of hot vital energy in his body, repelling mine. I can’t get my energy inside him.”
The Great Sword King was at a loss too. What could they do? Should they just watch Liu Yi hug Shi Jie when it’s cold and tear off his clothes when it’s hot? That wasn’t right either!