Neither Ji Fengyao nor Jun Luoying noticed that just as they forced Mei Jiang to self-destruct, Mei Jiang released a purple wave.

The pale purple halo quickly penetrated deep underground and disappeared into the distant mountains to the north.

Countless miles away, deep in the forests and mountain streams, the water murmurs.

In the clear pool under the starlight and moonlight, a black cocoon of light stands still, with streaks of black light flowing rhythmically.

A handsome young man sat cross-legged on the clear lake beside the cocoon of light. His eyes were gently closed, his features were delicate and beautiful, and his face was indifferent as frost.

Suddenly, a pale purple ripple emerged from the deep mud at the bottom of the lake, slowly rising and hovering beside the boy.

The boy slowly opened his eyes, looked calmly at the halo, raised his right index finger, and gently touched the halo:

The battle outside Tongcheng flashed vividly through the boy's mind like a replay.

The young man's delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly, and he murmured with doubt: "I haven't found any trace of the person who provoked us. It's clear that the other party's cultivation is very high. Could it be that some old monster from another family has also been attracted by the Pill Sect and come here to ask for pills?"

After speaking, the boy turned his head to look at the cocoon of light beside him, his gaze softening considerably.

He reached out and gently stroked the luminous cocoon, and could even feel the slight trembling of the person inside.

"Your Majesty, perhaps Lan'er is too stupid; she just can't seem to condense into human form," came Song Huilan's low, sorrowful voice from within the cocoon of light.

The handsome young man smiled gently, his voice warmer than before, even with a hint of doting: "It's alright if you can't take human form for a while, as long as you don't mind being a little fox for a bit."

Inside the cocoon of light, Song Huilan slightly opened her eyes and looked back at the three fox tails swaying gently behind her.

The fox originally had eight tails, all as white as feathers. But after her soul possessed it, the snow-white tails slowly turned into black and white stripes, and the eight tails were reduced to six.

As her soul and body merged closely, her six fox tails were reduced to three.

For a fox, its tail symbolizes strength.

The reduction in the number of fox tails symbolizes a decline in strength.

She was able to obtain Xue Bingling's fox body with the Venerable One's help, but she could not directly strip away or inherit Xue Bingling's cultivation.

She is also unable to transform into human form instinctively once she reaches a certain level, unlike the true fox clan.

But she would rather be a fox than a human.

The cocoon of light burst open, and a black three-tailed fox appeared before the handsome young man.

Although Song Hye-ran felt very inferior, the fox's face did not show any specific expression, instead appearing even more soft and cute.

The young man smiled and reached out to scoop the little fox into his arms: "You probably deliberately didn't cultivate into human form, because that's why I have to keep holding you in my arms like this all this time."

It wasn't a deliberate love confession, just the boy's own guess, but it made Song Huilan blush instantly.

However, the fox couldn't blush; she could only stand stiffly and look at the boy guiltily.

Looking at his face from this angle in his arms, his features appeared even more delicate and his lines exquisite—the kind of handsome that could drown her in his charm.

The boy gently patted her head, sliding his fingers down her back along the hair on her head, then lifting her up and sliding back down.

Like petting a cat, stroking it gently, one stroke at a time.

Song Hye-lan's body stiffened even more immediately:

She forgot that for a pet, such full-body contact is perfectly normal for the owner.