Chapter 1167: Past Events of the Heavenly Fox Tribe

"Looks like you're a more important figure than you let on, Fellow Daoist Lekima. I wasn't planning to come to the primordial land after we parted ways all those years ago, but it seems like fate has brought me here anyway," Han Li said with a smile.

"I left that Featherform Scale to you precisely because I thought it would come in useful for you when you came to visit our primordial land, and that's proven to be the right decision. Looks like your fate is intertwined with our primordial land whether you like it or not, Fellow Daoist Han!" Lekima chuckled.

"Speaking of the Featherform Scale, it doesn't seem to be all that useful. I displayed it just now, only to be denounced as a fraud," Han Li said as he took a meaningful glance at Qing Dian.

Lekima's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this, and he smiled as he said, "I'm sure there must be some type of misunderstanding involved, isn't that right, Fellow Daoist Qing Dian?"

"Indeed, Young Master, it was all just a big misunderstanding," Qing Dian hurriedly replied as he clasped the side of his face where his tusk had been snapped.

"Seeing as it was a misunderstanding, let's all move on now that it's been cleared up. Go and recover your snapped tusk, I'm sure your patriarch will be able to repair it for you," Lekima said with a smile.

"Yes, Young Master," Qing Dian replied in a slightly reluctant manner, then pulled his snapped tusk out of the city wall before departing.

"I'm assuming there must be a reason why you came here, right, Fellow Daoist Han? If there's anything that I can help you with, please go ahead and tell me," Lekima said.

Han Li hesitated momentarily upon hearing this, but ultimately decided to tell Lekima about Xiao Bai.

A look of excitement appeared in Lekima's eyes after hearing Han Li's story, and he said, "If this adolescent beast that you speak of really does possess the bloodline of the Ink-Eyed Pixiu, then our primordial land will owe you a massive favor for his return!"

"That's not important to me. Xiao Bai is a cherished companion of mine, so I just want him to be saved," Han Li said in a serious manner.

"In that case, I'll take you to Eight Plains Mountain to see our True Spirit King right away," Lekima said.

However, Han Li was rather hesitant.

"Is there something wrong, Fellow Daoist Han?" Lekima asked.

"Meeting the True Spirit King is an important matter. I'm still a little shaken after what's happened here, so perhaps I'll meet with the True Spirit King some other day," Han Li replied with a smile.

Lekima could see Han Li's reluctance, and he said, "That's fine. In that case, you can come and stay in my manor for now, and I'll take you to see the True Spirit King when you're ready."

"Young Master, I've already invited Brother Rock to our Heavenly Fox Tribe," Liu Le'er interjected in an apologetic manner.

"So you're familiar with the little celestial maiden of the Heavenly Fox Tribe as well. Looks like yu're quite the womanizer, Fellow Daoist Han," Lekima chortled with mirth.

"It's not like that, Fellow Daoist, we're only..."

Lekima waved a hand to cut him off before he had a chance to explain, giving him a look that said, "I know what's going on here, you don't need to explain anything to me."

An exasperated look appeared on Han Li's face, while Liu Le'er was looking rather amused.

"By the way, the Silver Horn Rhinoceros Tribe and the Cloud Spot Tiger Tribe may only be a pair of small tribes, but they were the ones who first discovered Xiao Bai, and they also escorted him all the way here, so I think they should be rewarded," Han Li said.

"Rest assured, I'll personally see to it that those two tribes are rewarded for their efforts," Lekima promised, and Han Li cupped his fist in a grateful salute in response.

He then made his way over to Sang Tu and Yun Bao before telling them to go with Lekima.

The two chiefs were aware that their tribes were about to experience an imminent rise, and they were extremely grateful to Han Li, insisting on getting up to kowtow to him despite their injuries.

As they parted ways, Han Li returned the Featherform Scale to Lekima, but the latter insisted that he keep it.

"Keep it. I'll make it known that I personally bestowed the scale upon you, so something like this won't happen again," Lekima said in an apologetic manner.

Han Li duly obliged, stowing the scale away again, following which he entered the city with Liu Le'er, while all of the bystanders looked on with envious expressions.

"Why did you tell me to intervene through voice transmission earlier, Brother Rock? Aren't you acquaintances with Young Master Lekima? Why didn't you want to stay in his manor?" Liu Le'er asked with a puzzled expression.

"We are indeed acquaintances, but I know very little about him. On top of that, he clearly holds a very special status, and I'm a little suspicious of his objective for gifting me that Featherform Scale, so I don't fully trust him," Han Li explained.

What he had refrained from divulging was that he was a little apprehensive of the True Spirit King as well, and he wanted to gather more information about the True Spirit King before he made a decision on whether to meet him or not.

"How did you meet Young Master Lekima, Brother Rock?" Liu Le'er asked.

"That's a long story... By the way, why do all of you refer to him as young master?" Han Li asked.

"He's the son of True Spirit King Bai Ze, so he's naturally our young master. I heard that he's been traveling for a very long time, and it was only about a century ago that he returned to the primordial land. Despite his long absence, the True Spirit King still held him in very high regard, and even our chief has to refer to him as young master," Liu Le'er explained.

𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

"I see," Han Li replied with a nod.

"Our chief has been intentionally keeping your activities secret from me all this time, but I had my ways of finding out, and I heard that you traveled to many immortal regions, stirring up a lot of unrest in the process. It left me feeling both concerned and a little envious," Liu Le'er said with a smile.

"What's there to be envious of?" Han Li asked in a puzzled manner. "Most of my time has been spent running away from people who want to kill me."

"But you have so much freedom! Staying in the tribe is safe, but it's so boring. All I do is cultivate and listen to our chief's repetitive lectures all day. In comparison, I really miss the days I spent with you," Liu Le'er said in a slightly dejected manner.

"A safe and stable life is always better. We cultivate in order to attain immortality, not to live in constant fear and instability," Han Li said, and a hint of melancholy had appeared in his eyes as well.

Liu Le'er listened to him with her head cocked to the side, nodding absentmindedly in response.

The two of them continued to chat with each other while making their way toward the Heavenly Fox Tribe settlement.

At this point, the sun had already set, and the sky was gradually turning dark.

......

That night.

Han Li followed Liu Le'er to a cluster of tall buildings at the foot of Eight Plains Mountain.

The buildings here were rather different from the black stone city in that they were constructed using a type of green material, and the style was also completely different, with spirit beast designs and reliefs a very common sight here.

At the highest point of this cluster of buildings was a huge, nine-tailed fox statue that towered over all of the surrounding buildings, and Han Li's brows furrowed slightly at the sight of it.

The statue was giving off an indescribable aura that was suppressing his true spirit bloodlines, impeding their circulation in his body.

Liu Le'er immediately noticed his discomfort, and she hurriedly said, "This is our Heavenly Fox Tribe's settlement on Eight Plains Mountain, Brother Rock. That's a statue of the Heavenly Fox Holy Patriarch, and it contains a hint of his true spirit bloodline, so it'll have a subjugating effect on the bloodlines of other tribes. All you have to do is suppress your own true spirit bloodline."

Han Li heeded her advice, channeling his Heavenly Baleful Purgatory Arts to suppress his own true spirit bloodlines, leaving only the Lightning Bird bloodline, and sure enough, much of his discomfort instantly faded away.

"The Heavenly Fox Holy Patriarch? Is that Liu Qi?" Han Li asked.

"How do you know of Patriarch Liu Qi, Brother Rock? Right now, not even many Heavenly Fox beings are aware of his existence," Liu Le'er said with a surprised expression.

"I happened to hear about him by chance," Han Li replied in an ambiguous manner, choosing not to reveal the truth to Liu Le'er.

"Patriarch Liu Qi isn't the Heavenly Fox Holy Patriarch. The holy patriarch was one of the eight True Spirit Kings, but he somehow went missing. Patriarch Liu Qi was once the brightest prodigy of our Heavenly Fox Tribe, and he had high hopes of inheriting the Heavenly Fox Holy Patriarch's bloodline to become the new Heavenly Fox True Spirit King, but unfortunately, he also went missing, and that's why our Heavenly Fox Tribe has fallen into relative irrelevancy," Liu Le'er sighed.

Han Li's expression remained unchanged upon hearing this, but internally, his mind was racing.

He had heard a lot about the Heavenly Fox Tribe from Patriarch Liu Qi and Fox 3, and he had always thought that he had a decent understanding of the situation in the Heavenly Fox Tribe, but only after speaking with Liu Le'er did he come to realize that his knowledge of the Heavenly Fox Tribe's situation was far from comprehensive.

Han Li's expressionless response led Liu Le'er to believe that he had no interest in the affairs of the Heavenly Fox Tribe, so she hurriedly changed the subject.

"Let's go meet the chief together, Brother Rock. You've met him before in the past. He's very powerful, and he's also very kind to his juniors. Perhaps if you flatter him a little, he'll bestow upon you a gift or two."

The image of the white-robed man who had saved him all those years ago in the primordial land surfaced in Han Li's mind upon hearing this.

Their previous encounter hadn't been a very amicable one, but in any case, he had saved Han Li's life, so it was only right that Han Li paid him a visit.