Ye Tian cultivated for a while, and by the time night fell, the feeling had disappeared. It seemed the Earth Immortal had left.
That night, Ye Tian again prepared water for Shui Yuexian to open more spirit and divine apertures. With his help, she progressed at an astonishing speed.
Shui Yuexian cultivated in the inner room, while the grey fox and Hu San'er, this fox and this fox, stared at each other. It turned out they had just fought over a bite to eat.
The fox was more agile, and Hu San'er, having suffered a loss, was currently sulking. The grey fox was also very clever; it knew not to go too far, so it knew when to stop.
Seeing Hu San'er's state, Ye Tian called it over and smiled, "Hu San'er, do you want to condense a demon core?"
Hu San'er's eyes went wide, and then it nodded frantically. Once it had a demon core, it would no longer be an ordinary fox, but a fox demon!
Ye Tian said, "The reason you are smart enough to understand human speech is because you ate strange fruits in the past, though you didn't know it. Moreover, you've been eating spiritual medicine at Jiuhua Mountain Villa during this time. You already possess the potential to become a fox demon."
As he spoke, he had Hu San'er crouch down and placed his right hand on its head. His Nascent Soul vibrated, and a trace of profound power entered its body. Then, this power swirled around the top of Hu San'er's head, and finally, with a "crack," one of Hu San'er's divine apertures was opened.
Humans have many divine apertures, but foxes only have three. Opening just one of them would grant them intelligence comparable to humans.
Ye Tian removed his hand and said, "Go and experience it well. Whether you can condense an inner core in the future depends on your fortune."
Hu San'er, as if drunk, staggered onto the balcony and began to absorb the moonlight.
After opening the divine aperture for Hu San'er, Ye Tian felt somewhat tired. He returned to his room and fell into a deep sleep, seemingly forgetting that an Earth Immortal had appeared in the vicinity.
In the early morning, the sleeping Ye Tian suddenly opened his eyes. Su Lingxi stood beside him.
"Sister Xi, is that person nearby?"
Su Lingxi replied, "Although he has concealed his aura, I have still located him. He is on the rooftop of the building opposite, right there."
Ye Tian asked, "Sister Xi, what do you think his intentions are?"
Su Lingxi said, "It's hard to say. But he has been observing you, so he likely has ill intentions."
Ye Tian sneered, "Let's go and meet him."
On the opposite building, a middle-aged man in a blue uniform sat on the ground. Beside him were several empty beer bottles, and on the ground, a plastic bag held fried peanuts and pig's head meat.
The middle-aged man put a slice of fatty meat into his mouth, and at that moment, Ye Tian appeared opposite him.
Seeing him arrive, the middle-aged man was not surprised and said, "Have a drink with me."
Ye Tian sat down, picked up a bottle of beer, unscrewed the cap, and took a swig before saying, "The environment here is quite good."
The middle-aged man replied, "Yes, there's no one else living within a hundred meters of this building, so it's very quiet. And I've bought the entire building, so no one will disturb me."
Ye Tian asked, "You live here?"
The middle-aged man said, "I've lived here for many years."
Ye Tian stated, "It seems I've disturbed you. But you were being overly cautious. If you hadn't been spying on me, I wouldn't have known you were here."
The middle-aged man remarked, "I'm used to being careful."
Ye Tian asked, "Now that your identity is exposed, what are your plans?"
The middle-aged man sighed, "What else can I do? I'll just find another place to lie low."
Ye Tian was silent for a few seconds. "Although we don't know each other, you can trust my word. I won't reveal your information to anyone, so you can continue living here."
The middle-aged man put down his wine bottle and said, "If people could trust each other so easily, this world wouldn't have conflict."
Ye Tian asked him, "How long have you been an Earth Immortal?"
The middle-aged man replied, "About twenty years, I suppose."
Ye Tian said, "I've only just broken through."
The middle-aged man nodded, "You must be under thirty. To have such high cultivation at such a young age, I admire you."
Ye Tian replied, "You flatter me. Your aura is very pure; you must be a Pure Yang Earth Immortal, correct?"
The middle-aged man confirmed, "Yes, Pure Yang for eight years."
Ye Tian raised his bottle and clinked it with his, saying, "I'll be leaving here soon, so you can drink with peace of mind. By the way, my surname is Ye, Ye Tian." With that, he turned and left.
After Ye Tian left, the middle-aged man muttered, "An Earth Immortal this young, it's uncanny!"
Upon returning to the hotel, Su Lingxi reappeared and said, "I thought you would make a move."
Ye Tian replied, "We were near his territory, so it's understandable that he would be wary. Fortunately, we're leaving soon."
Su Lingxi suggested, "You go first. I'll stay here and keep an eye on him to prevent him from following."
Ye Tian agreed, "That's fine. We'll contact each other in an hour."
A short while later, Mao Jin's car arrived downstairs. Ye Tian, Chen Hui, and Shui Yuexian got into the car and headed towards Luolong Ridge.
After driving for two to three hours, the car reached the vicinity of Luolong Ridge. Since there was no direct road up the mountain, the rest of the journey had to be on foot.
Hu San'er ran ahead to scout the path, with Ye Tian and the others following behind. They all had cultivation, so they moved quickly, reaching the place they needed to find in over ten minutes.
Chen Hui pointed to a large rock and said, "I placed this rock here. There's a cave behind it, and my things are stored inside."