A fox cry rang out, sounding especially eerie in the dead of night.
The already panicked villagers were even more frightened, scattering in all directions, the scene turning into complete chaos.
The disheveled peasant woman was kicked to the ground by Lu Bai, rolling two circles. When she crawled up, fox-like facial fur had already grown on her face.
Master Tao came back to his senses, cupping his hands toward Lu Bai with lingering fear.
“Thank you, Young Master Lu, for the rescue.”
Lu Bai returned a mild smiling face, then inquired.
“You should be able to deal with it, right?”
To be honest, he had no experience dealing with such bizarre immortals and still had to rely on professionals.
Moreover, the current situation was actually far from optimistic.
And this fox spirit in front of him did not look like an easy one to deal with no matter how one saw it.
Realizing this, Master Tao no longer hesitated and gritted his teeth: “There’s one more method. Could I trouble Young Master Lu to protect the altar for me?”
Lu Bai nodded: “Then hurry up.”
He had no method to deal with immortals, but delaying time should not be a problem.
Upon receiving the reply, Master Tao’s actions showed no hesitation whatsoever.
He sat cross-legged, took out a white thorn nearly twenty centimeters long from his bundle, and bit it with his teeth.
He placed a porcelain bowl in front of him, cut his fingertip with a dagger, flicked a few drops of blood into the bowl, then added a piece of smoked dried meat, and finally lit three incense sticks in front of the bowl.
With the preparatory work done, Master Tao’s complexion turned solemn: “Ancestors sit in the center, with words to speak to all. Each hall offers immortal lists, cultivation on the immortal path is no easy matter, do not let evil thoughts ruin your cultivation…”
Lu Bai glanced at him but did not pay too much attention, keeping most of his focus on the fox spirit in front of him.
Fortunately, the other side also seemed unable to gauge Lu Bai’s depths and did not launch an attack rashly.
He was naturally happy with this, preferably confronting directly until Master Tao finished his ritual.
However, the peasant woman probably knew what Master Tao was doing and suddenly reached out to tear off her upper garment.
She smiled coquettishly: “Why go to such trouble, Young Master? This isn’t our first time crossing paths.”
“That’s how it is.” Lu Bai brushed it off casually.
The peasant woman suddenly changed her expression to sobbing, occasionally taking two steps toward Lu Bai’s position.
“We have no grudge, Young Master. Why not let me go?”
Lu Bai twisted his neck and took a proactive step toward the peasant woman.
There was nothing particularly remarkable about it, yet it forced this fox spirit to halt.
“Young Master only knows how to bully me.”
The peasant woman cried pear blossoms with rain but still dared not try to make a move.
It was simply that she could not figure out what was up with Lu Bai at all.
He clearly looked like an ordinary human, yet she could not entrance him no matter what, and with that fearless due to backing attitude, something was off no matter how one thought about it.
And after delaying for this amount of time, it was already enough for Master Tao to enter trance with the incense topping.
“…Star shines on the fortune star high above, one day the true fruit will overflow the hall.”
Master Tao bit tightly on the long thorn in his mouth: “Fourteenth Master, come out. I have something to discuss with you.”
The next second, his head suddenly drooped down, stopping abruptly just before smashing into the incense.
“Chirp chirp~”
Master Tao twitched as he raised his head, making a very strange sound, grumbling: “Calling me so late, tomorrow I’m gonna have words with you, kid.”
Lu Bai silently stepped aside, yielding the stage to these immortals.
“Master Tao” remained seated cross-legged without standing up, his head looking left and right: “No wonder you called me, it’s two from the Hu Clan, chirp chirp~
Like this, you two great immortals barged in, probably not understanding our rules here. Today I have to explain clearly to you two great immortals.
This is Master Bai Fourteen’s territory. If you two great immortals retreat now, we’ll be at peace. We can have the spirit messenger offer incense to you two, and politely see you off.”
The villagers had mostly hidden in their own houses, doors tightly locked.
The surroundings quieted down, with only the wind making the wooden fence creak slightly.
The three apprentices’ incense had burned out, holding their breath without daring to exhale.
The gray-skinned fox leaped to the peasant woman’s side, baring its teeth at Master Tao.
Seeing that these two fox spirits had no intention of retreating, “Master Tao” remained seated in place, his tone slightly changing.
“If you two insist on becoming enemies…”
The temperature inexplicably dropped, exposed skin growing colder and colder, chilling to the bone.
The two fox spirits exchanged a glance, seemingly having made some determination.
Both let out shrill roars simultaneously, kicking up a storm of flying sand and stones.
Under the cover of massive grit, accompanied by eerie giggles, the gray-skinned fox pounced first toward Master Tao.
The peasant woman followed closely, her fingernails lengthening, with faint illusory claw shadows overlapping her hands.
However, Master Tao did not even stand up. He plucked two hairs from his head, spread them on his palm, and blew a breath.
Under Lu Bai’s somewhat surprised gaze, the two hairs shot out, growing longer as they met the wind.
With no deviation, they precisely struck the two fox spirits.
The gray-skinned fox immediately collapsed to the ground, twitched twice, and then went still.
The peasant woman also fell, but a white shadow shot out from her head, rapidly fleeing outside the village.
One strand of hair immediately detached from the peasant woman’s body, chasing the white shadow like a bone-clinging maggot and piercing it through.
“I advised you kindly, but you wouldn’t listen.”
Master Tao shook his head.
Strictly speaking, incense topping an immortal was just a rough generalization; the gaps among them were still quite large.
Setting up an altar, installing a niche, drawing a portrait.
Generally, having a spirit messenger set up an altar for oneself made one an altar immortal. If cultivation was insufficient, forcibly installing a niche would not hold.
And this Master Bai Fourteen, though his territory was remote, just the title alone showed his high seniority.
In his hall, the full set of altar immortal items was complete. One step further, and it would be time to build a temple and immortal hall.
With cultivation profound to this extent, dealing with two stray wild immortals was a piece of cake.
Master Tao picked up the smoked dried meat from the porcelain bowl, sniffed it, and showed a look of disgust.
He casually tossed away the smoked dried meat and made to leave, but upon noticing Lu Bai watching from the side, he inexplicably halted his actions.
He sized up Lu Bai with a slightly scrutinizing gaze, his eyes growing brighter the more he looked.
“What’s your name, kid?”
Lu Bai still gave his name. Though he found it a bit baffling, Master Tao knew it anyway, so there was no need to conceal it.
Unexpectedly, upon hearing his name, “Master Tao” beamed with joy.
“Lu Bai, good name. You and I are fated…”
It wanted to chat more, but its face twitched, saying helplessly: “If I don’t leave soon, this kid’s body probably can’t hold out. Like this, tomorrow come to my training ground with this kid, and we’ll have a good talk.”