Bloodjade Lilies.

A special type of demonic flower which grows in marshlands above the corpses of strong beasts. It is pretty rare to cultivate one on arable soil due to the intense amount of negative qi required to foster and germinate such an ominous plant. Many human cultivators from both righteous and demonic sects forbid this plant despite its numerous benefits for a simple reason. The amount of corpses required is large, a massacre is required to even the slightest chance of cultivating one. Yet, this frail plant could die at any point in time and requires constant offerings of corpses. It also could not have any other competitors which will root out its existence due to its frailty.

The Bloodjade lily tree of the Western Marshlands of Despair is the sole benefactor of negative qi in the entire swamp area. It feasted upon the corpses of the entire region without any competitors getting in its way. It had long grown from a sapling centuries ago. It is now already a 10-meter tall tree with black leaves, white bark, and red blooming lilies. The Bloodjade Lilies could be used to make Youth Pills, Life Prolongation Pills, and a few other pills with relation to vitality. It could also be used to cultivate demonic qi due to the nature of the plant. They are in high demand on both sides for such reasons as eternal life and youth are the desires of many of these cultivators.

Staring upon this ominous tree from the distance, Liu Xun felt a slight sense of disgust. Below its roots were numerous bones and corpses as the marshland itself delivers the corpses to this tree. To approach this tree would mean to step above those corpses, an unpleasant feeling indeed. The goal for Senior Gan's trip was also this very ingredient itself, though in lower quality as impure Bloodjade fragments could be found in the peripheries, unlike the entire flower which is immeasurably more valuable yet dangerous.

"Do we really need to pick those flowers?"

Liu Xun asked hesitantly as he looked towards the fox on his head.

Kiyu...

"Up to you, huh. That tree looks really creepy, it feels like it will snap right at me once I come close."

Kiyu. Kiyu.

"What!? It is a Bone Tempering stage plant beast? Then how can I even approach it?"

Liu Xun said in an exasperated tone towards the relaxed fox.

Kiyu~kiyu!

"It had yet to pay taxes, so I can request from it? Fine, but I will run if things turn south."

Kiyu? KIYUU!

"Haha, what do you mean you will teach it a lesson if it dares to mess with me. Alright, alright. Here I go!"

Liu Xun continued to banter with the small fox resting on his head as he slowly walked toward the towering tree. The hanging branches on the tree had many draping purple vines which hung loosely upon the tree itself. As he slowly approached the tree, Liu Xun noticed the purple vines closest to him crept in his direction.

Initially, he was on his guard since it could mean that the tree was hostile. This was a Bone Tempering senior, one that was far stronger than anything he had ever seen, except for Millie and Shaggaroth. However, those vines were approaching in a very overt manner while moving slowly. There were also no messages from the system meaning there was still no hostile intent...yet. The vine slowly crept around as they picked a couple of bloodred flowers and slowly reached to the front of him.

"Wait...what? It is just giving its precious flowers just like that?"

Liu Xun said in surprise with a tinge of disappointment. He thought there would be a discussion, argument, or perhaps even a fight. Unfortunately, the reality is not as drastic as he expected. The Bone Tempering Bloodjade Lily Blossom Tree seemed to behave like a plant even though it was sentient. It remained unmoving and silent. The purple vines also approached the tiny fox before dropping bright orange jelly-like fruit. According to the system, it was a Blood Amberite Fruit which was invaluable as it could only be produced once every half-century (fifty years). It was the condensation of Blood and Vitality qi of a fully matured Bloodjade Lily Blossom Tree. It was said to be an object of vying amongst sects. Apparently, most sects did not know that this tree had the capability of producing such fruits already. Furthermore, with Millie here protecting the region, there was no way they would there kick up a big fuss over here.

The tiny fox nodded in pride as it took upon the fruit before tossing it down below, right into Liu Xun's storage pouch. Liu Xun was rather surprised yet touched at the same time that this little fox was willing to give something this precious to him. Perhaps this object means nothing to her, but it was an invaluable opportunity for himself. He clasped his hands immediately as he gave the tree a bow while thanking Millie.

All in all, this was a rather uneventful trip since he was delivered 8 Bloodjade Lilies and that one Blood Amberite without any resistance. As he left the scene, he noticed that the tree itself was waving its purple vine as if it was bidding farewell. This further reminded him that higher-level demonic beasts are just not complete savages. Some of them behave human-like and are actually much better in terms of morals with their lower tendencies to betray and perform cunning actions as well as schemes. Overall, the roundtrip barely took four hours as he quickly reached back to the rally point which he had decided with the lizardmen tribe.

At this point, it was rather late into the night. It may have been weird that Liu Xun had been walking throughout the night as he had left this place at sunset. He had only spent a day and a half traveling from the Sabertooth den to the marshlands and had already completed all of his tasks over here as well. The next goal was to go to the Yin Frost Basin once again. Liu Xun had initially considered whether to do his chain pull while visiting the Bloodjade Lily Blossom Tree. However, the quality of the site would affect his draw rewards. The tree is pretty decent above the sabertooth den, yet it would pale in comparison to the basin which had the fallen Shaggaroth.

Right now all he could do was wait for the lizardmen to get ready to migrate while he takes a break above this mangrove tree. Liu Xun slowly close his eyes as he quickly went into a meditative pose while channeling qi into his meridians using the Dipper Meridian Circulation Stance. He could feel the qi circle smoothly in loops as he continued to purify his qi. Taking out the gourd, he slowly poured a bit of thick beast blood into his hands as he extracted the savage qi from within. The progress of his Crimson Dragon Beheading Ax has been rather slow since he had approached the later stages. He would probably need higher quality savage qi to advance any further. Much could be said to the other skills in which he had higher proficiency, even the Archaic Sun Aura has also been progressing rather slowly recently.

How troubling, it seems that cultivation isn't as easy as it seems, even with a system.

[Obviously host, if not immortals, gods, and demons would just be flying everywhere at this point.]

The system cheekily rebutted him as Liu Xun suddenly remembered something. He looked down towards his lap. The small fox had moved from his head onto his lap once again, it seemed to enjoy this spot very much for some reason.

System, quest.

[Opening quest menu...]

Quest:

The Estranged Fox (Cannot be declined)

Details:

The Mysterious Silver Celestial Heavenly Fox Millie has been waiting for her friend for centuries. Despite knowing that her friend is likely to never return, she still chooses to live alone in the secluded abode within the valley waiting for her dear friend.

Mission:

1.Bring Millie to the outside world.

2. Give her a reason to no longer stay inside the Small Blue Valley Spring.

3. Get close to her and get an Affection Rating of >100, 000. (Currently: 71, 300)

4. Give The Heavenly Temptress more 'mofu mofu' scenes.

Failure Condition:

1.Millie dies or is hostile to you.

2. You piss The Heavenly Temptress off.

Quest Reward (61%) :

(Improves with better completion rate)

1.??? (Herbs/ Pills/ Weapons)

2. ??? x tickets (lottery chance item from The Heavenly Temptress's offerings)

3. ??? (Companion beast egg/ Spirit root/ Treasure)*

4. Eloquence Charm System Update (Lv 1/2/3)*

5. Maybe Fox Waifu?*

(Anything with a * means you need significant completion to obtain it)

Failure Penalty:

Negative relation with The Heavenly Temptress.

71,300 affection rating and 61% completion, huh. It would only be another two more days before we have to bid farewell. It seems like this quest is pretty much impossible at this point. Liu Xun had to spend 4 days traveling to the edge of the range and then another three more to return back to the White Blossom City. It is a pity that he is unable to clear this quest with satisfaction, but he felt that it was already the best he could manage with his strict schedule.

Looking at the fox on his lap, he felt kind of sorry as he felt that he had never really been able to help that fox. Despite their everyday interactions, there had been a gap that he had never been able to breach. She was definitely much closer than before. But in the end, it was still just a reenaction of that once again. The girl who left behind that fox, will it just be him repeating the girl's actions once again? He really could not tell.

The Heavenly Temptress believes that you can do it!

Oh really, but Millie still could never forget the existence of the girl could she? Was she still regretting the day she chose to let the girl leave without chasing? Even those times where she wore Luoqi's clothes and that cosmetic pearl powder.

...

Liu Xun truly felt helpless on how to free the fox from its prison of regrets. He was just a passerby, an observer towards her tragic fate. The amount of intervention he could and had done so far feels significant, but it looks like a drop in the bucket compared to what is required. The current three weeks with Millie compared to the twenty over years that Su Luoqi had spent with her. He looked up into the moon hanging above in the sky. It was a crescent resembling a smile, yet Liu Xun could feel nothing but loneliness from it. How does it feel to look upon a moon for two centuries while waiting for someone to return? He could not imagine that feeling.

...

Oh well, there is nothing I can do about it. System, bring up the status screen.

[...affirmative, host.]

Cultivator:

Liu Xun

Roots:

Mortal

Cultivation Level:

Qi Gathering Stage 9 [1404/1679]↑201 (Breakthrough available)

System Credit:

115 ↑3

Inventory:

Cons: 1x Fireball Talisman [SSR], 1x Celestial Aurorial Yin Root, 1x Yin Frost Orchid, 1x Mantou Starter Pack, 5x Mantous, 1x White Qi Replenishment Pill

Misc: [System Subscription Channel], [System Rulebook], [Deceiver Detective System Update], 1x Foundation Mounted Archery Mastery Book, 1x Fragmented Ax, 1x Mantou Connoisseur Records, 1x Basic Alchemy Set

Active:

Purple Heaven Gathering Pill (Duration: 44 days)

Weapons:

1x Twin Reprievers (Dual short blades), 1x White Viradiance (Spear)

Skills:

Passive:

Minor GuanXin Knowledge

Archaic Sun Aura Wisp [34.8%] (+50% to cultivation speed, minor resistance to yang elements)

Shadow Concealment Aura (87%) - ON ( Currently Qi Gathering Stage 4)

Auto Appraisal Lv 1 - ON

Intuitive Combat Lv1 - ON

Draconic Language Proficiency - Master

???

Fox Fire Skip (Temporary buff Mvmt Spd +30% - Milllie Silverborn)

Support:

Area Scan Lv1

Appraisal Lv1

Dipper Meridian Circulation Stance (Minor accomplishment)

Movement:

Shadow Grasping Illusory Steps (93%)

Formless Step Art (Minor accomplishment)

Weapon:

Crimson Dragon Beheading Axe (Incomplete) [60.1%]

Basic Yang Divine Scorching Eyes

Formless Sword Art (Incomplete)

Talents:

Movement Cultivator Adept (+15% to efficiency of Movement arts and effects)

Intuitive Cheater - ON (Grants minor reflexes boost alongside Intuitive Combat)

His qi pool has been increasing steadily, rising by over 200 in just three days. Yet, Liu Xun could not feel an inkling of how he could actually develop a true foundation in the least. He lacked the expertise and knowledge that others could obtain through various sources, he could only talk to beasts at the moment and the breakthrough process varies between species. Therefore, it was as good as having no help at all. It is funny how the system rates his progress of incomplete skills by percentage, while complete inheritances like the Dipper Meridian Circulation Stance and Formless Step Art are just rated as 'minor accomplishment' now that he had gotten better at performing these moves. The Formless Sword Art given by the senior was intended to be incomplete with a fragment hidden within the demonic country. It was probably motivation to get Liu Xun to reach out to his descendants.

Anyway, Liu Xun acknowledges that he is still making progress on his other skills despite how little. He had just begun cultivating and this progress is already astronomical compared to other normal cultivators out there. There would not be many that could say they actually stood up against a pseudo-nascent soul as a qi gathering cultivator. It would be too perverted (as in unimaginably/disgustingly powerful). He gave his status one last look before he decided to close his eyes. It had been quite a while since he got to rest for a bit, tomorrow will likely be another busy day once again.