Chapter 608: Reviving the Dead! Arts That Defy Heaven! A Bizarre Death! The Fox Immortal’s Deception! Don’t Look at Me Like That!

In a rundown alley of Gaoling County...

This was the county’s slum; conditions were terrible, with pungent, mixed stench everywhere.

The little girl was named Tian Xiaoling. She depended on her mother, Madam Liu, for survival, living in a ramshackle shack deep within the alley.

Her mother had been ill for a long time.

When Tian Xiaoling ran back home, she discovered that her mother was sitting upright on a stool, perfectly fine.

“Mother! You’re better now!” Tian Xiaoling cried out in delight as she rushed forward and hugged Madam Liu.

Tian Xiaoling’s mother was a woman with a sorrow-worn face. The skin on her hands was extremely rough, with dirt caked beneath her fingernails. Living in such shanty housing meant doing countless dirty and exhausting jobs. Even so, it was only just enough to scrape by.

However, Madam Liu had always done her utmost to sustain the two of them, never once voicing a complaint. She had also consistently taught Tian Xiaoling not to steal or rob, and to live cleanly and uprightly as a person.

“Where did you run off to?” Madam Liu asked gently.

“I went to the Fox Immortal Lady’s temple. I wanted to ask Lady Hu to cure Mother’s illness. I really saw the Fox Immortal Lady! She told me to go home, and that Mother’s illness had already been cured!” Tian Xiaoling spoke excitedly, her words tumbling over one another.

She herself had never imagined that the kind, compassionate woman was truly the Fox Immortal Lady, and that she truly possessed such great power to save the dying and heal the wounded!

Hearing this, Madam Liu was also moved. “I feel like all my illness is completely gone, as if nothing was ever wrong. I never thought it would be the Fox Immortal Lady manifesting her power!”

Madam Liu stood up and walked a few steps around the dilapidated hut. Indeed, there wasn’t the slightest trace of illness left.

Tian Xiaoling was overwhelmed with emotion, tears spilling down her cheeks.

She had originally thought that her only remaining family, her mother, would simply die of illness in this shanty. The pain of nearly losing her closest loved one filled her with despair, a sense of helplessness she had never experienced before.

Now that her mother had suddenly recovered, Tian Xiaoling’s emotions surged uncontrollably.

After the mother and daughter talked for a while, Tian Xiaoling excitedly ran back to the Fox Immortal Lady’s temple, kowtowing repeatedly.

“Thank you, Fox Immortal Lady! Thank you, Fox Immortal Lady! My mother’s illness is truly cured! Thank you, Fox Immortal Lady, for saving my mother!” Tian Xiaoling shouted excitedly.

Her voice caused quite a stir within the Fox Immortal Lady’s temple. People began asking Tian Xiaoling what had happened.

She told them everything in full, all the while continuously kowtowing before the Fox Immortal Lady’s statue. The crowd was filled with amazement, was the Fox Immortal Lady really this efficacious?!

They knelt to the ground, offering worship with even greater sincerity. If even a beggar-like young girl could receive the Fox Immortal Lady’s blessing, then surely they could as well!

With such thoughts, the Fox Immortal Lady’s temple became packed with people, sincere in their devotion, the incense power growing ever more intense.

In the end, Tian Xiaoling did not see that kind, dignified Fox Immortal Lady again. Her heart still worried about her mother, so she hurried back home.

Her mother had taught her that one must know gratitude and repay kindness, returning even the smallest favor a hundredfold. She had also taught her not to take advantage of others, because their family could not afford to repay such debts...

After expressing her gratitude to the Fox Immortal Lady, Tian Xiaoling returned home. Her mother’s illness truly was cured, and she was waiting there at home.

This was not a dream at all.

Tian Xiaoling grabbed Madam Liu’s hand, then couldn’t help but freeze. “So cold!”

A wave of heartache washed over her, and she hurriedly rubbed her mother’s hands to warm them. This must be due to weakness of qi and blood after a severe illness.

Feeling distressed, she massaged Madam Liu’s hands and hurried back and forth to prepare hot water for her. Though their life was poor, the affection between mother and daughter was warm and tender.

Yet gradually, Tian Xiaoling felt her head grow muddled, as if something in her mind were missing. She shook her head hard, trying to clear it.

The Fox Immortal Lady said I had to exchange my most precious thing for Mother’s recovery... I wonder what that thing was?

The thought flashed through Tian Xiaoling’s mind.

But to her, the most precious thing was her mother; nothing else could compare. As long as her mother could recover from illness, she was willing to pay any price.

Tears welled in Tian Xiaoling’s eyes as she looked at her mother, who had been on the brink of death not long ago and now seemed filled with inexhaustible strength. Even in ordinary times, her mother had never seemed so energetic.

Suddenly, something bizarre happened. As Madam Liu was pulling Tian Xiaoling toward the door, she somehow stumbled, losing her footing, and fell straight toward the leg of the table.

Bang!

With just that misstep, her forehead struck the corner of the table with a loud crack. A bloody hole opened instantly, blood pouring out nonstop!

Tian Xiaoling froze, then rushed forward and caught Madam Liu in her arms. Her hands were smeared with blood, yet she realized that her mother had already stopped breathing. Her sallow features had begun to shrink and distort!

In an instant, she fell from heaven straight into hell. Tian Xiaoling stood utterly stunned, and she couldn’t believe it.

Filled with overwhelming grief, she didn’t even wail aloud; she just stood there, frozen. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

Her mother had been bedridden for many days, finally cured by Lady Hu, only to die inexplicably from a simple fall at home?! Tian Xiaoling’s entire body went icy cold, as if she had fallen into an ice abyss.

Moments later, a piercing cry erupted from her throat.

“Mother!” She couldn’t accept what had happened. She collapsed onto Madam Liu’s body and sobbed uncontrollably.

When she came back to her senses, she found that her own hands had become wrinkled, covered with age spots. Tian Xiaoling froze, unable to believe what had just happened.

𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

If there had been anyone present earlier, they would have seen it: In just a few breaths, Tian Xiaoling had experienced the transformation from a young girl to middle age and then to old age. At this moment, she had become a frail, elderly woman of eighty or ninety.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Every heartbeat felt like a drum pounding. Even her sobbing breaths were short and strained, as if she were a broken bellows. There was no illness in her body, but she was dying of old age. Her organs were failing, and if the last vestiges of life within her were exhausted, she would die.

Her mind was hazy, yet before her eyes appeared a dignified, kind-looking woman.

“F-Fox Immortal Lady!” the now-elderly Tian Xiaoling called out weakly.

In reality, no sound came from her mouth; it was barely perceptible. She couldn’t understand what had happened.

Why, just after the Fox Immortal Lady had cured her mother, did her mother suddenly die? How could this be so strange?!

“Don’t look at me with that expression. Didn’t I tell you? You must exchange your most precious thing. And your mother, wasn’t she your most precious thing? So? I didn’t lie to you. I truly cured her illness. I even let you have a few more moments to see your mother. Are you grateful now?” the Fox Immortal Lady spoke gently.