Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Little Highness, Little Highness..."

A young man with a white jade pendant at his waist and two strands of red fox fur woven into his long, slightly curly hair called out urgently, gently shaking the person who was clutching the blanket and sleeping soundly on the bed.

In a luxurious sleeping chamber, a wide jade bed held a reluctant teenager who refused to get up, tossing and turning. The celestial-silk sleepwear loosened slightly with his movements, revealing snow-white skin beneath the fabric.

The teenager, still not fully grown, was already stunningly beautiful, a standout even among the fox clan, renowned for their exceptional beauty. As the only little prince of the fox clan, he had been raised with utmost care and indulgence, his expression filled with carefree innocence and charm.

Watching his young master roll over to avoid his urging and try to bury himself entirely under the covers, Bei Shan leaned slightly over the edge of the bed and called anxiously, "Little Highness! The Imperial Princess has left Qingqiu today to begin her training journey!"

Bai Zhizhi, still drowsy and unwilling to get up, suddenly threw off the blanket, his two snow-white ears perking up. When he saw who was speaking by the bed, his wide eyes relaxed, and he yawned lazily, "You're lying again, Bei Shan. You've grown bolder lately, tricking me into waking up with such nonsense. Sister said she wouldn't leave until after she turned fifteen."

Bei Shan hurriedly said, "I'm not lying this time! The Imperial Princess made a sudden decision to leave. She set off this morning with Xi Feng for the Cave Heaven Stone..."

Before he could finish, a flash of white light passed before his eyes, and when he looked again, the bed was empty.

Bei Shan turned and chased after him: "Little Highness, wait for me!"

The Cave Heaven Stone was the gateway in and out of Qingqiu.

Since the great war between the Heavenly and Demon Clans a thousand years ago, Qingqiu had sealed its own realm gate. Clan members were not allowed to leave easily, and any exit required the Fox King's permission.

Originally, the three realms were peaceful and stable, with any conflicts limited to internal clan matters. But the Heavenly Clan, responding to the call of the Heavenly Dao, produced a Heavenly Emperor. At first, he performed his duties diligently, but as time passed, the immense power to rule the three realms swayed people's hearts. The Heavenly Clan began to claim they were ordained by fate, attempting to subjugate all clans in the three realms.

Among the demon clans, there was a special race called the Spirit Clan. Born from the Tree of Life, they naturally lived in a blessed paradise. The Heavenly Clan coveted their blessed land and the Tree of Life, so they directly accused the Spirit Clan of colluding with the Demon Clan to disrupt the three realms, annihilated the Spirit Clan, and seized their land.

Because the Spirit Clan was small in number—like Qingqiu, they lived as a single lineage in their blessed land—by the time the demon clans received their plea for help and rushed over, the war had already ended.

This war greatly benefited the Heavenly Clan, bolstered their courage and boosted their morale. Soon they tried to repeat the same trick, aiming to seize Qingqiu's blessed land.

The demon clans far outnumbered the Heavenly Clan, so the Heavenly Clan dared not confront the entire demon race directly. Instead, they planned to dismantle them from within.

The Heavenly Clan thought simply that facing one clan at a time would replicate the success against the Spirit Clan, but they didn't anticipate that the Spirit Clan's downfall was due to a lack of preparation—everything happened suddenly, giving the Heavenly Clan an opportunity.

When they tried to repeat this strategy against Qingqiu, it was naturally impossible. Although Qingqiu was a single clan, as demon cultivators, they were part of the larger demon race. So when the Heavenly Clan came looking for trouble, they faced not just Qingqiu but the entire demon race.

That war lasted centuries. The entire demon race united and peeled a thick layer of skin off the Heavenly Clan. If the demon realm had no emperor, they would have overthrown the Heavenly Emperor's throne long ago and taken it themselves.

However, the war also took a toll on their clan. At the time, their Fox King gave birth to twins during the battle. The fox clan followed a matrilineal lineage—the royal daughter was born an Imperial Princess, the next Fox King heir, naturally receiving more attention amid the chaos.

The cunning Heavenly Clan took advantage of the confusion, when the fox clan's focus was diverted from the little prince, and kidnapped him. By the time they managed to rescue him, they discovered that one of his fox tails had been severed.

The royal fox clan was born with nine tails, each tail being crucial. Losing one tail greatly affected lifespan and cultivation talent.

The fox clan had finally produced offspring, a princess and a prince, but they almost died at the hands of the Heavenly Clan. Enraged, the Fox King led all of Qingqiu and nearly overturned the Heavenly Clan's lair.

But no matter how many treasures they seized from the Heavenly Clan, it couldn't compensate for the little prince's lost tail. The war had not yet fully subsided, and the Heavenly Clan was on the losing side. Fearing further harm to their clan's children, the Fox King specially obtained the Cave Heaven Stone to seal off Qingqiu's entrance and exit.

To leave Qingqiu, one had to obtain the Fox King's written order to open the Cave Heaven Stone. Bai Zhizhi couldn't even sneak out to play.

He and his sister had just turned a thousand years old—adults by age, but still considered cubs in the fox clan. The tribe kept a close watch on him; not only was he not allowed to leave Qingqiu, but even within the clan, someone always had to accompany him.

Bai Zhizhi didn't really mind this. Qingqiu was vast, with plenty of places to play—but only as long as everyone was treated the same.

Now, something different was happening. His sister, the Imperial Princess of Qingqiu, was going out for training!

He was the same age as his sister, only a few hours younger, but because he had lost a tail, even his sister always treated him like a cub to protect. They were the same age, yet she could go out for training while he couldn't.

He had already planned: when his sister was about to leave Qingqiu, he would see her off, act obedient, and take advantage of the adults' negligence to slip out with her. In terms of speed, no one in Qingqiu could match him.

Once out with his sister, he would act spoiled and beg—he didn't believe she could be heartless enough to send him back.

But plans changed faster than expected. He hadn't even prepared anything, and his sister was already leaving?!

Outside the Cave Heaven Stone, the Fox King earnestly instructed her daughter: "This is your first training journey. I'm not worried about your strength, but the outside world is full of treacherous hearts. On this trip, you will learn about human nature. No matter what happens, remember that your safety comes first."

Bai Jiushuang, the Imperial Princess of Qingqiu, had slightly curly long hair with a strand of pure white fox fur woven in. Unlike her brother, whose round eyes were innocent and charming, Bai Jiushuang had a cold and aloof expression with a piercing gaze, very much resembling their mother's imposing demeanor.

Faced with her family's instructions, Bai Jiushuang was not impatient. She listened obediently, but her eyes occasionally showed concern as she looked behind her parents: "Leaving without telling Zhizhi—he'll make a big fuss when he finds out. I'll trouble father and mother to comfort him."

The Fox King patted her daughter's shoulder: "It's fine. Don't worry. Zhizhi is easy to coax. Take care of yourself out there."

The elders of the fox clan also added their various advice, even gifting their own artifacts to Bai Jiushuang, urging her to be cautious: "The Heavenly Clan is greedy and vicious, the Demon Clan cunning and arrogant, and the human race treacherous and insidious. Don't trust any of them completely."

Bai Jiushuang nodded: "I will be careful."

As soon as she finished speaking, she caught a glimpse of a white figure rushing toward them at great speed. She grabbed Xi Feng and said, "I should go. Father, Mother, uncles, take care of Zhizhi!"

Bai Zhizhi ran at full speed, stretching out his hand, almost grabbing his sister's red dress, but his father caught him by the waist, and his mother stepped forward to block the entrance, waving her hand to reseal the Cave Heaven Stone. The elders quickly gathered around, forming a blockade to stop him.

Bai Jiushuang, who had narrowly escaped being caught by Bai Zhizhi, stood outside the Cave Heaven Stone. Before she could even take a look at the world beyond Qingqiu, she breathed a big sigh of relief and patted her chest: "That was close, I almost couldn't get away."

Xi Feng said beside her, "It might have been okay to bring the young highness along."

Though the young highness had lost a tail as a child, his abilities and talent were not lacking. He could certainly fend for himself outside, especially since the Heavenly Clan had been beaten back and would not dare touch the Qingqiu little prince again—otherwise, the next clan to be annihilated would surely be the Heavenly Clan themselves.

But Bai Jiushuang shook her head, a faint look of murder in her eyes: "No, our first training destination is the Ten Thousand Artifacts Valley."

Upon hearing this, Xi Feng remained silent. The Ten Thousand Artifacts Valley was the premier artifact-forging sect in the three realms. If tempered, a nine-tailed fox's tail could even be forged into a life-bound divine artifact. The tail that the young highness lost back then was now in the Ten Thousand Artifacts Valley.

No wonder they couldn't take the young highness along on the training journey.

Bai Jiushuang led Xi Feng away from Qingqiu territory without looking back. Whoever dared to use her brother's fox tail for artifact forging—the Ten Thousand Artifacts Valley would be the first to be offered as a sacrifice.

Inside Qingqiu, Bai Zhizhi watched his sister leave, then turned to the gathered clan members holding him back. His eyes instantly reddened: "You're biased! My sister and I are the same age—why won't you let me go out for training?!"

Even the usually stern Fox King softened her tone: "Be a good boy, Zhizhi. Your sister's training is her responsibility as the Imperial Princess of Qingqiu. If you want to go out for training, train a few more years, and I promise I'll let you go out too."

Bai Zhizhi: "I'm the same age as my sister!"

The elders added: "Young Highness, don't be upset. Look what we've specially crafted for you—the Fox Fur Thousand-Feather Fan, inlaid with a phoenix feather. A single swing can even split a mountain peak. Would you like to try it?"

"And this jade gourd—you said you wanted one last time. I've reforged it specially for you. Would you like to play with it, Young Highness?"

Bai Zhizhi pushed away the treasures handed to him: "I don't like it! I don't like it!"

Then he turned to the person who was the most soft-hearted toward him: "Father!"

But today, even his father wasn't soft-hearted. He said disapprovingly: "Look at you, saying you've grown up but still acting like a child. Running out without proper clothes or shoes. Come, let me take you back first to change out of your sleepwear."

Seeing that they were all determined not to let him leave, Bai Zhizhi glanced at the now-sealed Cave Heaven Stone and ran away barefoot, brokenhearted.

Bei Shan, who had just caught up, saw the young highness run off again. Still catching his breath, he bowed to the Fox King and the elders before hurrying after him.

The Fox King exchanged a look with her husband. Not letting Zhizhi go out for training this time—he was probably truly furious. But in their ten thousand years, they had only these two children. Their daughter, as the Imperial Princess of Qingqiu, had a path she must walk. They had already hardened their hearts to let her go; how could they bear to let their son leave too? If anything happened, how could they endure it?

Bai Zhizhi, who had run off, wasn't as brokenhearted as his parents thought. He had long known they wouldn't easily let him out. Though his plan had been disrupted, he had a backup plan.

Bai Zhizhi ran into the tree hollow where he hid his treasures, casually setting up a barrier to prevent Bei Shan from chasing after him and making noise.

Inside the hollow of the towering tree, it wasn't small, having been transformed into a large treehouse, which also served as his private stash of treasures.

Bai Zhizhi sat on a rattan chair woven from tree roots. With a wave of his hand, clusters of spiritual light, each holding a treasure, floated in from all directions, all of which he gathered into his storage ring.

If they wouldn't let him go out, he'd sneak out. It was just his mom's handwritten order—surely he could steal it!

But he wasn't that reckless either. He could go out, but he needed to bring stuff to keep himself safe; otherwise, if he accidentally got hurt outside, his parents and sister would surely be heartbroken.

He had prepared many things in advance, just so he could go out with his sister. But who would've thought she'd change the schedule and mess up his plans? But it didn't matter—now he had all the prepared items with him, ready to seize any chance to sneak out.

While packing, Bai Zhizhi heard Bei Shan calling from outside. He picked up a trumpet-shaped magical tool and shouted toward the tree hollow entrance, "You're so loud!"

A wave of spiritual power nearly sent Bei Shan flying, but at least he confirmed the young prince was in the tree hollow. He sighed and found a spot to sit down—no wonder the young prince was so angry; he also wanted to go out so badly. He envied Xi Feng for being able to travel with the Imperial Princess.

Bai Zhizhi sat cross-legged on the rattan chair, calculating. His parents knew him well—they would understand he wouldn't give up easily and would definitely hide things like the decree. He needed to make a fuss to lower their guard. Once he left Qingqiu, he couldn't go find his sister; she would just send him back.

Where should he go after leaving? He'd discuss it with Bei Shan later.

After making a fuss all morning, Bai Zhizhi, who hadn't slept enough in the first place, began to feel drowsy. He yawned and closed his eyes in exhaustion.

When he woke up and opened his eyes, looking at the unobstructed sky, feeling the sparse spiritual energy around, and hearing the noise so different from the peaceful Qingqiu, he was stunned. Wasn't he in the tree hollow? Where was this? Who had snuck him out of Qingqiu while he was asleep?

Author's note:

The story begins now!

This story has lots of elements, including the supernatural, cultivation, dimension-hopping, and nation-building. In short, I'll try to make it as exciting as possible. Hey readers, please leave a bookmark if you like it~