Soaking in the wooden tub, Lu Li’s mind was fraught with complex emotions.
On one side, there was the task at hand: infiltrating the Ten Thousand Demons Conference.
On the other, there was the matter of his own identity.
The longer he remained in this female form, the more his speech and behavior were gradually influenced.
After all, he couldn’t just swagger down the street with a manly gait.
Besides, having previously sold Flower and Grass Dew, he had to groom himself a bit.
But as he did so more often, applying powder and painting his eyebrows gradually became a skill, and he even found himself admiring his reflection in the mirror.
‘Ah… more than two hundred days.’ Gazing at the bathhouse shrouded in steam, Lu Li temporarily closed his eyes.
“Little Sister Lu, Granny Xiu wants to see you about something.” Liu Qingxi’s voice came from the next room.
“How are you doing?”
“Almost done.”
Lu Li responded out loud. As he stood up, his True Yuan circulated over his skin, shaking off the water droplets.
Then, with a quick wipe, he habitually slipped into a water-blue long skirt, turned in front of the mirror, tied a simple bun, and gave a bitter smile.
‘Stop thinking about it. The mission is what matters.’
After letting out a long breath, Lu Li returned to the room and saw Liu Qingxi sitting cross-legged on the bed, holding an ancient book in one hand and a bunch of small wooden sticks in the other, seemingly studying divination.
“You’re out. Granny Xiu is waiting for you outside.” Liu Qingxi lightly fiddled with the sticks, then made a pained face. “Ah, yarrow stalk divination is such a hassle…”
“Thanks.” Lu Li bid farewell to Liu Qingxi and went to the spacious main hall.
“Daoist Lu.” Granny Xiu glanced at Lu Li, then her gaze settled on his fair neck. “If this old woman isn’t mistaken, you’ve already practiced the Nine Forms of the Heavenly Fox to the second form, Enchanting Sound, correct?”
“Yes, but in our sect, it seems only the first few techniques are available.” Lu Li sat cross-legged facing Granny Xiu. “Is there something wrong with my training, or…?”
“No, it’s that your cultivation is too perfect. Even a member of the Celestial Fox Clan, spending their entire life, can only reach near-perfection in one technique.” Granny Xiu pressed her withered hand to her chest.
“This old woman is one hundred and eighty years old, and I’ve only cultivated the Charm Technique to the level of three tails.”
“This time going to the Yao race, with you here, Daoist Lu, the bloodline hurdle should be no problem. But what I worry about is that you’ve only cultivated two of the Celestial Fox’s charming arts. If you encounter some sacred beast scions, it might not be enough.” Granny Xiu said.
“Although this old woman’s own cultivation isn’t high, as the wet nurse of two generations of Celestial Fox Saintesses, I still possess a great deal of knowledge.”
“So if you have any doubts, Daoist Lu, feel free to ask.” Granny Xiu waved her hand, and three books floated in the air. “The techniques suitable for you now are Fragrance Holds, Bone Entwining, and Soul Capture. This old woman most recommends Fragrance Holds.”
“Well…” Lu Li had actually considered it, but once this technique was cultivated, his body would emit all sorts of strange fragrances that would never fade.
Although the effect could confuse others, as a man… in his heart, it was still somewhat hard to accept.
Moreover, Lu Li was now a bit worried. While Charm Technique and Enchanting Sound didn’t affect his male body, as he continued cultivating these techniques, there would inevitably be some changes.
“I can understand your concern, Daoist Lu.” Granny Xiu said.
“It’s fine for a woman to have a natural fragrance, but if it can’t be removed, you’re worried about exposure during covert missions, aren’t you?”
“That’s exactly it.” Lu Li nodded.
“Rest assured, Daoist Lu. The first form of the Nine Forms of the Heavenly Fox, Charm Technique, does indeed have a hint of allure.” Granny Xiu smiled kindly.
“But the subsequent techniques are charming without being seductive, beautiful without being vulgar. For example, Enchanting Sound, with a bit of practice, can produce all kinds of sounds, right?”
“That is true…” Lu Li had thought about this before.
Besides confusing others, Enchanting Sound could even produce voices of men, women, old and young, and even simulate the sounds of rocks crumbling and thunder rumbling.
“So Fragrance Holds, besides making our bodies emit a unique fragrance, can confuse enemies through their sense of smell.” Granny Xiu conjured a Water Mirror.
“For example, if an enemy walks through a mountain of blades and a sea of fire, they should smell burning metal and thick smoke. But we can transform that into the scent of a forest, and then combined with Charm Technique, we can make the false seem real.”
“That is quite good.” As Granny Xiu explained, many uses for Fragrance Holds appeared in Lu Li’s mind.
Combined with Charm Technique and Enchanting Sound, he could use different methods to defeat different opponents in the future.
“These are the secret arts of Fragrance Holds accumulated by the Celestial Fox Clan.” Seeing this, Granny Xiu handed the book to Lu Li. “Then I wish you smooth cultivation, Daoist Lu.”
“Thank you.” Lu Li took the book and began reading it with his Divine Sense.
During this time, Granny Xiu returned to her own room, and the originally spacious hall became much quieter.
As he flipped through page by page, Lu Li’s brow furrowed.
It wasn’t that there was a problem with the book.
“This book’s records… are too detailed, but also too verbose.” Lu Li looked at the myriad bizarre ways to confuse others.
“Fragrance Holds requires carving Spirit Patterns into bones and flesh, but why do they only carve a few lines? Although my Spiritual Root is different from that of ordinary women, it can’t be that big a difference.”
With this doubt, Lu Li closed his eyes and used his Divine Sense to inspect his own bones and flesh.
“Now that I’m at Foundation Establishment Stage, it’s also a good time to refine the Spirit Patterns of Charm Technique and Enchanting Sound further.” Lu Li looked at his Dantian, where the Nine-Tailed Fox formed by ninety-nine Spirit Patterns was already lifelike. He wondered what it would look like when increased to nine hundred and ninety-nine.
‘It’s already like this. It can’t get any worse.’
With a determined mind, Lu Li began tracing over the original Spirit Patterns.
According to the technique’s instructions, tracing at the Foundation Establishment Stage was even harder than sketching at the Qi Refining Stage, because each stroke had to be perfectly smooth and harmonious to ensure the patterns aligned.
Any deviation would result in failure.
But this situation had never occurred with Lu Li.
His Divine Sense pulled and stretched, traced and sketched, flicked and pressed, hooked and connected.
Those Spirit Patterns moved as if they were an extension of Lu Li’s own arm and fingers.
After one cycle, Lu Li even felt a sense of exhilaration and release, as if this was how it was always meant to be.
At one hundred and ninety-nine, two hundred and ninety-nine… with each tracing, Lu Li felt his affinity with the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi rise to a new level.
Whenever he grew tired, the spiritual qi from heaven and earth would gently seep into his body, soothing the soreness in every muscle and bone.
The more he cultivated, the more his whole body felt comfortable and his bones relaxed, making Lu Li unable to stop.
With a flick of his fingers, the nine hundred and ninety-nine Spirit Patterns in his Dantian were completed. Lu Li’s Divine Sense then moved upward to his lungs, and the patterns glided like snakes and dragons, tracing freely.
‘This is so exhilarating!’
He shouted unconsciously in his heart, immersed in that almost selfless comfort, but he ignored that the voice within his Spirit Soul had gradually turned into a soft, gentle feminine tone as the nine hundred and ninety-nine Enchanting Sound Spirit Patterns were completed.
That great freedom in cultivation still remained, so Lu Li struck while the iron was hot.
He split his Divine Sense in two and began carving from the flesh inside his chest, from the outside in, etching into the bones.
Smooth as a waterfall, the moment the patterns reached his fingertips, they fell to his thighs and then cascaded endlessly, directly completing all nine hundred and ninety-nine Spirit Patterns of Fragrance Holds.
Two thousand nine hundred and ninety-seven Spirit Patterns lit up in an instant, and Lu Li opened his eyes at the same time.
The pink pupils in his eyes radiated a strange brilliance.
As the final pattern fell into place, Lu Li’s Divine Sense felt momentarily drained.
But the next moment, the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi gently surged in, soothing that fatigue bit by bit.
“Fragrance Holds, perfected.” As soon as he spoke, a faint floral fragrance began to permeate the hall.
But this fragrance made Lu Li freeze.
Because in that instant, a blurry memory surfaced in his mind.
It was the scent he had smelled while in someone’s arms.
This scent made Lu Li’s eyes moisten.
‘…Is it… Mother?’