I hope the immortal will take care of me in the future? Jiang Wen returned to his body from the statue, still pondering the meaning of this sentence.
He had encountered this kind of thing several times. Once, a boat capsized in the river, and the True Dragon said it was wronged. The second time was the encounter under Joyful Lane, where the True Dragon again spoke of the immortal's own grievances.
It seemed that these divine beasts with great power all regarded him as an immortal.
Could all of this be related to the statue? Then what exactly is the statue? And what exactly is my identity?
Doubts and confusion arose, but Jiang Wen erased them after a moment.
He had never been easily confused. Since these were all things he didn't understand, he would temporarily put them aside. He could feel that as long as he continued to climb the path of cultivation, he would eventually understand the origin of all this.
The doubts in Jiang Wen's heart departed with the conclusion of the Heavenly Fox Ceremony. When the glowing light on the altar had completely dissipated, he saw dozens of fluffy, young white foxes on the high platform, crying out.
They were so small, no bigger than his thumb. But they were covered in white fur, with adorable and charming features. People couldn't help but feel joy in their hearts when they saw them.
"So many little ones were born," Bai Jing said happily. "In previous Heavenly Fox Ceremonies, it would have been a joyous occasion for the White Fox Clan to have ten little foxes born. I never expected that today there would be ninety-nine little foxes. It is truly the ancestors' protection that our White Fox Clan should not be wiped out."
"There's such a big difference?" Jiang Wen was also quite curious about Bai Jing's words. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ According to her, wouldn't the birth of nearly a hundred little foxes today be extremely lucky?
"Of course it is," Bai Jing said with emotion. "Official, do you know that although the Heavenly Fox Ceremony is held every few years, the results are not always good? Usually, three or four would be a good thing, but in bad times, there would only be one or two. Although the White Fox Clan has a long lifespan, they are easily hunted down. This servant still remembers when the clan had more than one hundred thousand members, but now in this servant's hands, there are only three thousand members left."
Bai Jing was somewhat saddened when she talked about the past. That period seemed to be a particularly difficult experience for her.
However, this sadness was only temporary. Now that the White Fox Clan had gained ninety-nine new members, Bai Jing was overjoyed.
The people from Quiet Void Temple came over to watch. Yan Gongli opened her eyes and curiously looked at the young foxes on the altar, unable to resist touching them. The young foxes were warm and soft, making people feel happy just by looking at them. She even wanted to pick up a young fox, but Jiang Wen slapped her hand away the moment she reached out.
"You're a senior who's tens of thousands of years old, and you're still so childlike?" Jiang Wen said helplessly.
"I'm just curious," Yan Gongli stared at Jiang Wen with slightly dissatisfied eyes. "Did you think I would hurt them? I'm more experienced than you."
"I don't believe it," Zi Yun said calmly. She also looked at the young foxes, her face expressionless, making it impossible to know what she was thinking. However, Jiang Wen knew from the swaying of the branches on her head that she had many thoughts in her heart.
As for Mo Xiang and Shu Xiang, the birth of the young foxes was a very magical thing. They had seen many strange and wonderful things with Jiang Wen, and today they were satisfied to witness the birth ceremony of the White Fox Clan. Shu Xiang also wanted to touch those young foxes, but Mo Xiang dissuaded her.
As for Shen Yueshu, this girl was already staring blankly, out of her mind. It was the first time in her life that she had seen such cute little things, and she couldn't resist them at all.
"Can I, can I raise one?" Shen Yueshu asked softly.
"No," Jiang Wen denied. "These young foxes are too small. If you raise them, you might kill them."
"How could I..." Shen Yueshu muttered softly.
Jiang Wen ignored these people and looked at the pile of small young foxes. His eyes wandered among the young foxes, and then he saw something unusual.
"This! This is!" Bai Jing stared at the little fox in Jiang Wen's palm, greatly shocked. Her eyes were fixed on the young fox's fur, and her mouth couldn't help but tremble.
"What is this?" Jiang Wen asked curiously.
"Heavenly Fox! It's actually a Heavenly Fox!" Bai Jing's voice was hoarse, and her emotions were difficult to suppress. "This servant didn't expect that this sacrifice would actually give birth to a Heavenly Fox."
"Heavenly Fox?" Jiang Wen looked down at the golden-haired young fox in his palm. He knew that the young fox in his hand was not simple when he heard the name, after all, the White Fox Clan's ceremony was called the Heavenly Fox Ceremony.
"For countless years, the White Fox Clan has actually given birth to a Heavenly Fox," Bai Jing's voice was excited and low. Her eyes never left the young fox, fearing that the golden-haired young fox would disappear in the next moment.
"This servant thought that the Heavenly Fox was just a legend in the clan, but I never thought that a Heavenly Fox could be born today," Bai Jing didn't know what to say, her mind was already in chaos.
Even though she had lived for thousands of years, even though the clan was on the verge of extinction, she had never had such emotional fluctuations as today.
Hearing their clan leader's words, countless white foxes in the audience stirred. They chattered and jumped down from the viewing platform, gathering around the altar to watch. They wanted to see what the legendary Heavenly Fox of the White Fox Clan looked like.
Even the students sitting in the corner were alarmed, with looks of wanting to see but not daring to see on their faces. They could only sit in the corner looking at each other, their expressions filled with confusion.
"Since a Heavenly Fox has been born, it means that your White Fox Clan will prosper. This is a good thing," Jiang Wen said with a smile, carefully holding the Heavenly Fox cub in his hand.
Then, he took out spiritual spring water and carefully fed it to the cub.
The cub desperately sucked the spring water, and its body visibly grew larger until it was satisfied. The small body was already the size of Jiang Wen's palm.
The cub's golden fur became more and more conspicuous. It raised its head and desperately opened its veiled eyes. A pair of light golden eyes opened, seeing Jiang Wen's face.
"Ying ~" The Heavenly Fox cub cried out, rubbed against Jiang Wen's finger, and then closed its eyes and fell asleep.
Bai Jing's expression was complicated. She looked at the cub and said, "The first person a White Fox Clan child sees when they open their eyes is the person they are closest to in their life."
"Official, you may have to be a father from now on."
"..." Jiang Wen looked at the Heavenly Fox in his hand, feeling both amused and helpless about becoming a father unexpectedly. However, with Bai Jing around, he wasn't worried about raising the cub.
The Heavenly Fox Ceremony ended in this harvest. Bai Jing erased the students' short memories. The foxes carefully sent their new clan members into the prepared nursery, where the white foxes would take turns caring for these cubs.
As for the Heavenly Fox cub, it had already clung to Jiang Wen and was unwilling to leave. Even Bai Jing, as the clan leader, couldn't do anything about this little guy.
After all, according to the White Fox's ancestral teachings, the Heavenly Fox was destined to become the clan leader.
So Bai Jing could only comfort Jiang Wen and tell him to just raise the little guy for now.
