chapter 1
This fox was being hunted.
It was completely unreasonable. All I had done was steal a few lousy fruits. Did those stinking Daoists really have to chase me across heaven and earth?
I was a century-old great fox demon, for goodness’ sake. There was no way they would catch me.
Xiao Fu shrieked inside my head.
“Host, I’m detecting a faint spatial fluctuation ahead. You can hide there. Run!”
Xiao Fu gave me a headache.
It called itself a Fertility System. Apparently, its mission was to help me capture superior genes and produce perfect offspring.
Hello? I was male. The thing was clearly sick in the head.
Whatever. I had more urgent problems.
I raced toward the spot Xiao Fu indicated and plunged headfirst into an utterly ordinary-looking cliff face.
My vision blurred. Bone-deep cold swallowed me in an instant.
Shivering, I realized I had fallen into a vast frigid pool. Ten-thousand-year ice ringed the water, and an immense, oppressive presence saturated the air.
Every instinct screamed that something was wrong.
Then Xiao Fu burst into cheers.
“Ultra-powerful SSS+ genetic source detected! Compatibility: 99.999 percent!”
“Fertility protocol activating by force. Pairing in progress…”
Wait. What did that mean?
I panicked. It sounded so serious that, for one horrible moment, I wondered if it truly could make me pregnant.
Just then, the powerful presence swept closer.
The air turned hot and cold by turns. My head rang as an indescribable heat detonated inside me.
My awareness blurred. My body slipped beyond my control.
I had no idea how much time passed before my chaotic thoughts finally cleared.
I was sprawled naked across a massive slab of jade, a certain place aching faintly.
Beside me lay an equally naked man.
My gaze drifted downward against my will. Good heavens—what was that?
My heart lurched. I whipped my head away, then slowly turned back to study his face.
The face inches from mine was cold, devastatingly handsome, and sharply sculpted. A fierce sword-shaped mark rested between his brows.
Everyone in the cultivation world knew that face.
Ling Jue, Sword Venerable of the Path of Detachment and the youngest elder of Tianyan Sect.
At only two hundred, he had already forged a sword heart and joined the ranks of the Sword Venerables.
My heart nearly leaped out of my throat.
I was finished. Completely finished.
I had actually done that with the legendary killing god who had severed desire and emotion.
He cultivated the Path of Detachment! Rumor said he would cut down any person or demon who tainted his Dao heart, destroying both body and soul with a single stroke.
He was going to kill me. Definitely.
I scrambled upright on all fours. My legs buckled, pitching me straight toward him.
“Ow…”
I bit my tongue and frantically braced myself.
That was close. I had almost landed on his frozen face.
Xiao Fu chose that moment to trill with delight.
“La-la-la! Congratulations, Host! You have successfully captured SSS+ premium genes. Fertility score: one hundred percent!”
“Hee-hee. Double yolks, too.”
Please. I was about to die. This was no time to frighten me with nonsense.
Xiao Fu kept chattering.
“Don’t run, Host! This is an extraordinary opportunity.”
“Shut up! If we don’t leave before he wakes, we’re both dead.”
“Bones ground to dust, souls scattered into nothing. Understand?”
I summoned every skill I had learned in my hundred years of life and fled the frigid pool as fast as I could.
Goodbye forever!