Chapter 698: Choice Opportunity

Fear, unease, confusion, hesitation… and a hint of excitement deep inside.

Led by Hu Li, thirty-two foxes ran tirelessly, generally heading southwest. Although the Da Zhen secret agents had only searched for them in and around the Wei family’s estate for less than half the night, the foxes hadn’t stopped fleeing since the banquet was violently disrupted.

Day had long since broken, and the foxes found themselves in increasingly desolate territory, Lu Ping City long out of sight behind them.

“Great-grandpa, huff… huff… Great-grandpa, I’m tired, so tired…”

A small fox, whose back bore a fresh knife wound, could no longer endure. It ran to Hu Li’s side, whimpering, while most of the other foxes were also panting, their fur stained red with blood from their injuries.

Hu Li himself was running with a limp, pain his constant companion. Yet, he knew the formidable power of human martial artists; they were far beyond what weak monsters like themselves could contend with. Being caught would lead to unthinkable consequences.

“Keep running, keep running! If they catch us, we’re dead! Keep running, everyone keep running!”

Hu Li and some of the older foxes knew that despite the perilous situation last night, not a single fox had sustained a fatal injury. This was partly due to the chaos and their swift reactions, but primarily, it was clear that Mr. Ji must have intervened.

However, the foxes also understood clearly that after last night, Mr. Ji would no longer assist them, and they couldn’t even mention his name. Everything now depended on themselves.

Of course, at this moment, the excitement in Hu Li’s heart began to gradually outweigh his fear and unease. His attention was increasingly drawn to the book he carried in his mouth.

As the saying goes, ‘To do good work, one must first sharpen one’s tools.’ The book Mr. Ji had left for them could not be a simple object; it was undoubtedly something that could truly help them establish themselves on the path of cultivation.

‘This book must be carefully preserved and diligently studied!’

The fox pack ran for two full days and two nights. It was only when many of the foxes were truly exhausted to the point of collapse that they finally found a suitable place to rest.

They found it by a small stream in an old forest at the foot of a mountain. All thirty-two foxes stopped there, then scrambled to the water’s edge and drank heartily.

Gurgling sounds filled the air as the foxes drank, after which they either lay panting by the stream or gently licked each other’s wounds.

“Those people won’t chase us anymore, right?”

“Probably not.” “Yeah, we’ve been running for two days…”

“Can we still go back?” “Go back where? The Wei family’s estate is probably out of the question…”

“What about Little Willow Mountain?” “I don’t know…”

Hu Li, who was also cultivating, had *A Dream Journey Through Clouds* placed beside him. He moved his injured foreleg; with the aid of the faint spiritual energy in his body, which had been recovering over the past two days, he could now move it normally without much trouble, though it still felt a bit sore.

“Are everyone’s injuries alright?”

“Aside from the pain, nothing else is wrong.” “Me too, just hurts.”

“I have a bald patch, it not only hurts, but it’s also ugly…”

“It will grow back.”

Hearing Hu Li’s question, all the foxes quickly confirmed they were fine.

Seeing the general dejection, Hu Li chuckled and transformed back into his human form. However, since his cultivation wasn’t yet fully refined and he had no clothes, he could only conjure a simple hemp robe through illusion magic, which wasn’t as elaborate as before.

“Don’t lose heart, everyone. Although we faced danger, we obtained this immortal book in the Wei family’s abandoned mansion. This alone is enough to make others green with envy.”

“Yes, the divine book is here!” “Quick, let’s see, let’s see!”

“I heard the Wei family’s was a wordless heavenly book. We’re monsters, can we see it?”

“Before, the book glowed and words floated out!”

“Come closer, everyone, come closer!”

Hu Li motioned for all the foxes to come closer. Naturally, everyone was filled with immense curiosity and anticipation for the divine book. Thus, despite their utter exhaustion, they immediately scrambled over, forming a piled-up circle around Hu Li.

Hu Li sat in the center and, with a pilgrim-like reverence, carefully opened *A Dream Journey Through Clouds*. The moment he did, the pages appeared blank, but this was merely a fleeting illusion. In the very next instant, the pages were filled with text, as if it had been there all along.

Unlike the dazzling brilliance it had displayed at the banquet, the text in *A Dream Journey Through Clouds* this time was strikingly unadorned. It resembled the simple ink script found in ordinary common books. Besides Zhong Pingxiu’s original text for *A Dream Journey Through Clouds*, tiny characters, like fly-heads, were inscribed in the spaces between the lines.

“These big characters seem to describe landscapes, I can’t quite understand them…”

“Quiet, look at the small print, the tiny characters inside are the key!”

The foxes were absorbed in reading. The tiny characters flickered in and out of view, containing annotations and explanations for *A Dream Journey Through Clouds*. Yet, they also seemed to depict a series of landscapes, along with numerous insights into spiritual energy and the five elements, essentially hinting at some fundamental principles of heaven and earth.

“A picture, this picture is so real, I see a full moon at the peak…”

A little fox murmured, feeling its gaze being drawn into the picture. It shook its head, only to find the sky had already grown dark. Looking around, it saw no other foxes; it was all alone.

“Whoosh… whoosh…”

A cool breeze swept past, making the fox’s fluffy fur ripple like waves. It looked around in astonishment, then down at its feet, realizing it was on a mountain peak.

“What’s happening? Where are you all? Great-grandpa, Second Aunt, where are you?”

Echoes reverberated through the valley.

“Where are you… where… where…”

The little fox looked up. A bright moon hung above, surrounded by dim stars. On closer inspection, the moon appeared incredibly close to the mountain peak, so near it created the illusion that one could reach out a paw and touch it.

At this very moment, Hu Li awoke with a start. He, too, found that all the foxes around him had vanished, and he was sitting on a vast, white, soft cushion, holding *A Dream Journey Through Clouds*.

“Where is this place?”

Hu Li gazed into the distance, where the ground seemed to be obscured, making the view somewhat blurry. But then, he suddenly realized something. Shifting his gaze slightly downwards, he discovered he was actually sitting on a vast white cloud.

The sensations around him were incredibly real: the heavenly breeze on his face, the gentle drift of the clouds. The height, too, was terrifying; a fall would surely shatter him to pieces, making Hu Li’s heart pound uncontrollably.

“Is this heaven? Am I alone… in an illusion?”

“Yes, and no.”

Ji Yuan’s voice came from beside him, startling Hu Li. He looked behind him, but saw no sign of Ji Yuan, nor did he see him anywhere else when he scanned his surroundings.

“Mr. Ji, Mr. Ji, where are you? Mr. Ji…!”

Hu Li stood up, not daring to move carelessly for fear of falling from the cloud. He simply faced in all directions, calling out.

“Look at the book.”

Ji Yuan’s voice came again. Hu Li instinctively looked down at the book he was holding and saw text appearing on the page: precisely the words ‘Look at the book.’

‘Not a sound! It’s text?’

Upon careful reflection, it seemed he hadn’t actually heard it with his ears; it was as if he had directly perceived Mr. Ji’s voice.

“Mr. Ji, what should I do? What should we do…?”

Even though he had understood Mr. Ji’s intentions to some extent before, when faced with the actual situation, a sense of confusion naturally lingered, despite the joy of seeing the divine book.

“Of course, I hope you can help me, but there are some things I won’t force. This is also a chance for a choice…”

The text paused briefly here, then new words appeared.

“Regarding the matter we discussed before, you all readily agreed. However, whether that truly reflects your intentions is still unknown. It’s not that I think you were lying, but rather that I know you didn’t fully grasp the true meaning of the matter, nor did you understand the nature of the so-called danger. The encounter with the Da Zhen secret agents served as a wake-up call for you…”

“The scenes you each see in the book may be the same or different. They each represent your state of mind and possible circumstances at a certain moment; they are a vision. Simply put, what your heart desires, you first see the scene. With the connection between two places, the path will reveal itself…”

“Regardless of your choice, this karmic encounter, consider it my gift to you. If any of you decide to leave now, whether to return to your original mountain or find another place to cultivate, I will not fault you. If you also plan to leave, then hand *A Dream Journey Through Clouds* to a child who wishes to continue.”

Hu Li understood Mr. Ji’s meaning; he had previously mentioned needing their help, which involved a certain degree of danger. He subconsciously asked,

“What if… what if everyone wants to leave?”

Hu Li asked this with trepidation, but also out of his trust in Ji Yuan, so he wasn’t overly afraid. He believed Mr. Ji wouldn’t mind him honestly voicing his concerns, rather than resorting to deceit.

The page remained blank for a few breaths, then a passage of text finally appeared.

“Then place *A Dream Journey Through Clouds* on the ground, and you are free to go.”

“But, but this divine book… leaving it like this, wouldn’t it be, wouldn’t it be unsafe? If it’s exposed to wind and rain, it would be such a waste…”

“*A Dream Journey Through Clouds* will return to me on its own. Alright, my words end here. Sit on the cloud and reflect carefully, lest time passes without any gain.”

“Mr. Ji, Mr. Ji?”

Hu Li called out softly a few times, but the book in his hands remained unresponsive. Gradually, his attention was drawn to the scenery.