Chapter 3 

Since the death of the Ten Thousand Year Fox King, Thunderclap Mountain had become a coveted prize in the eyes of various factions, each eager to claim a share.

Everyone knew that the only formidable force on Thunderclap Mountain was the Ten Thousand Year Fox King. Apart from him, the other demons perfectly fit the stereotypical image of fox spirits—so weak that ten of them could be taken down with a single punch.

Emerald Cloud Mountain was just over a thousand miles away from Thunderclap Mountain, so it was only natural for the Bull Demon King to think of striking while the iron was hot.

If he could find a way to bring Thunderclap Mountain under his control first, then any other faction trying to interfere later would be rightfully driven out by him, the mighty Bull Demon King.

But the problem was—no one had ever heard of this little prince being able to summon lightning before!

The Bull Demon King stood frozen in place, his once-vibrant armor and plumes now charred black, wisps of white smoke rising from them. If one sniffed carefully, they might even catch the tantalizing aroma of roasted beef.

Demons had an innate fear of heavenly lightning. The bull-headed minions scattered in panic at the sudden thunderbolts from the sky, only rushing back in a fluster when their king collapsed to the ground. “Your Majesty! Your Majesty, are you alright?!”

Fu Li grinned triumphantly, hopping onto a rock and planting his hands on his hips. “Well, old bull? Still feeling cocky?”

The Bull Demon King shook his head, staring in disbelief at the fox-eared youth who seemed no different from before. He couldn’t believe that lightning had been summoned by him. “Little brother, that just now was—”

“Pah! Who’s your little brother? Stop trying to act familiar!” Fu Li’s tail bristled with anger at the address, his beautiful fox eyes blazing. “Seems like that lightning strike wasn’t painful enough. If you keep spouting nonsense, this Fox Lord won’t mind giving you a few more.”

The thunderclouds above crackled ominously, as if ready to strike the old bull again the moment the little fox gave the word.

Fu Li was overjoyed. This was the golden finger of his dreams!

Tell me, what demon didn’t fear heavenly lightning?

Now that he commanded the thunderclouds, anyone who dared cause trouble would get a taste of lightning. In no time, Thunderclap Mountain would live up to its name in every sense.

Bull Demon King: “…”

Heavenly lightning really did hurt. For now, the Bull Demon King couldn’t figure out what was going on and feared another sudden strike from the thunderclouds above. No matter how unwilling he was, he had no choice but to retreat for now. “Little brother and the princess should rest well. This old bull will pay another visit another day.”

“Stubborn bull never learns!” Fu Li’s veins bulged at his temples as he gnashed his teeth and pointed at the fleeing bull. “Come on! Strike him down for this Fox Lord!”

The thunderclouds happily sent out a little tail of lightning. After another round of crackling, the air once again filled with the mouthwatering scent of roasted beef.

The Jade Faced Princess watched the departing Bull Demon King with a deep frown, her worry evident. “Little brother, the Bull Demon King won’t let this go. He’s incredibly powerful. Maybe we should just let him marry into the Cloud-Touching Cave.”

“No way! This Fox Lord vetoes that marriage!” Fu Li jumped down from the rock and nudged his perpetually anxious sister back inside. “Even if Father isn’t here anymore, I can still protect you. Did you see how badly that old bull got zapped just now? Sis, stop worrying over nothing.”

Be bold and unapologetic—they were now foxes with a golden thigh!

The little fox was currently strutting around, too pleased to walk properly. He bounced along while chattering, “Oh, and sis, no more calling me ‘little brother’ from now on. Use my name. This Fox Lord can’t stand hearing those two words anymore.”

The Jade Faced Princess sighed, her unease growing as she recalled the divine lightning from earlier. “Little brother, Fu Li, what exactly was that lightning just now? Since when have you practiced the Lightning Guiding Art?”

“I don’t know the Lightning Guiding Art! That lightning wasn’t me,” Fu Li cheerfully explained. He wasn’t trying to claim credit—mainly because he wasn’t capable of such a feat. “Sister, three great demon seniors have come to our home. They’re from the Northern Kuru Continent, and they’re incredibly powerful. The heavenly thunder just now was them roaring against injustice along the way. How could I possibly summon lightning?”

The three great demon seniors floating in midair: …

How should they explain that the lightning wasn’t their doing?

Earlier, the Jade Faced Princess had been lecturing her poor, naive little brother about the treachery of demon hearts. She didn’t believe passing great demons would be so kind-hearted and suspected they were just another Bull Demon King in disguise.

Fu Li urged his sister to sit down. “No, no, the three seniors definitely aren’t like that old bull. They don’t even have physical bodies—what use would they have for gold, silver, jewels, or fine silks? Right, seniors?”

“You really don’t treat us as outsiders,” Zu Long clicked his tongue, pulling Yuan Feng and Shi Qilin over. “But the little fox cub isn’t wrong. We really have no interest in gold, silver, jewels, or fine silks.”

“You wish you could be interested, but you lack the capability,” Yuan Feng hopped onto the table, not sparing his companion any face.

Anyone could claim disinterest in treasures—except him. The dragon clan’s love for all things glittering was known throughout the Three Realms. Just look at the dragon palaces of the Four Seas—each one was blindingly adorned with gold and jade.

The Jade Faced Princess eyed the three seniors warily—they didn’t look like great demons at all—and felt her foolish brother had been deceived. “Three… seniors? Was that lightning really summoned by you?”

The three great demon seniors fell into collective silence.

Seeing their lack of response, the princess grew even more convinced they were frauds.

The Bull Demon King proved that profound cultivation didn’t equate to good character. She thought her brother’s inability to properly shapeshift was already enough to worry about, but now these three disembodied spirits claimed to be great demons from the Northern Kuru Continent? They could only fool naive youngsters like her brother.

Fu Li was also dumbfounded. “If the lightning wasn’t summoned by the three seniors, then where did it come from?”

Could it have been passing thunderclouds performing a random act of kindness?

“Maybe it really was passing thunderclouds. Otherwise, why would it be called Thunderclap Mountain?” Zu Long nodded thoughtfully, finding his own speculation quite reasonable.

Fu Li twitched his ears and turned to his sister. “Sister, why is Thunderclap Mountain called Thunderclap Mountain?”

“What?” The princess was stunned. How would she know why the mountain was named that? The name had existed since ancient times—everyone called it Thunderclap Mountain, so naturally, that was its name.

Fu Li sprawled on the table, thinking for a long while before speaking uncertainly. “I think Father once mentioned that the Puhua Heavenly Lord once stayed at Thunderclap Mountain—the Thunder Ancestor from the Nine Heavens Responding Origin Palace, the Nine Heavens Responding Origin Thunderclap Universal Transformation Heavenly Lord. Could it be that he just came back for a visit?”

Zu Long, Yuan Feng, and Shi Qilin weren’t very familiar with the current pantheon of gods and buddhas. During their reign in the Prehistoric Era, most of those figures hadn’t even been born yet. Who this Puhua Heavenly Lord was, they truly didn’t know.

“Puhua Heavenly Lord, also known as Wen Zhong the Grand Preceptor from the Investiture of the Gods War, was a disciple of the Golden Spirit Mother from the Interception Sect. I heard that the Heavenly Lord wields the Yin-Yang Whip, rides the Ink Qilin, and has a third eye on his forehead that can distinguish loyalty from treachery, discerning the black and white in people’s hearts. He’s truly formidable.” Fu Li grew animated as he spoke of this. When he was mischievous and disobedient as a child, his father would frighten him with tales of gods and buddhas.

—”If you don’t cultivate properly, your father will fetch an old monk to take you away as a mount!”

—”If you don’t sleep obediently, your father will summon the Thunder Ancestor to strike you with lightning!”

The Nine Heavens Responding Origin Palace is also known as the Thunder Department, and the Thunder Ancestor is none other than Puhua Heavenly Lord, the highest deity of the Thunder Department.

The Thunder Department can slay demons, command thunder, summon clouds and rain, and govern life, death, and decay. For the demon race, the Thunder Ancestor is the ultimate boogeyman who can silence a crying child at night.

Back then, just hearing that name would make Fu Li behave—after all, he couldn’t be sure whether monks could actually come for him, but if Thunderclap Mountain really was the Thunder Ancestor’s ancestral home, who was he to stop the deity from visiting?

Of course, once he grew up, he stopped believing such nonsense.

If Thunderclap Mountain truly were the Heavenly Lord’s sacred ground, how could his father, a mere fox spirit, dare to claim it as his territory? Clearly, it was all just a scare tactic.

The little fox spoke with absolute confidence, convinced his reasoning was flawless. “In conclusion, Thunderclap Mountain is called Thunderclap Mountain simply because that’s its original name—it has nothing to do with Puhua Heavenly Lord.”

The Three Tyrants of the Prehistoric Era: “…”

Jade-Faced Princess: “…”

The Thunder Gods of the Nine Heavens Responding Origin Palace in the clouds: “…”

Listening to your words is like listening to words—what an enlightening experience.

After Fu Li rambled on at length, dismissing the correct answer, he continued to fret. “So where did those thunderbolts actually come from?”

“Since they didn’t strike you, don’t overthink it if you can’t figure it out,” Yuan Feng hopped onto the little fox’s head, dismissing the thunder as no big deal. “Whoever’s behind it is hiding. Unless they reveal themselves, it won’t be easy for you to uncover them with your current strength.”

Fu Li gritted his teeth, forcing an ingratiating smile at Jade-Faced Princess to placate her before dragging his three unreliable “golden thighs” outside to align their stories. “Elders! I address you as elders out of respect! Could you at least try to be reliable?!”

His sister had been living in constant fear these days, jumping at shadows, suspecting everyone of being the Bull Demon King, and dreaming of being abducted along with their home by evil forces. Now that there was finally a chance to reassure her, couldn’t they at least help him bluff his way through?

But no—now the supposedly mighty demons from the Northern Kuru Continent had been exposed as frauds, revealing their true incompetence. How was he supposed to use them as “golden thighs” to comfort his poor, frightened sister?

Golden thighs? More like gold-plated!

Shi Qilin nuzzled the agitated fox cub, pressing his damp nose against the little one’s forehead. “Don’t worry, we’re very reliable~”

Yuan Feng shuddered, whispering to Zu Long, “Has he always been this… this… terrifying around the kid?”

Zu Long’s face twisted as if he wanted to contort himself into a mangy snake. “How should I know?”

Fu Li: “…”

Never mind. He shouldn’t have expected too much. Better rely on himself.

The irritable little fox didn’t want to waste time on unreliable gilded thighs. Maybe he could summon whatever god, human, or demon was hiding behind those thunderclouds himself. “Heavenly spirits, earthly spirits, Taishang Laojun appear quickly!”

“Fox cub, what kind of incantation is that?” Yuan Feng tilted her head and asked, “Didn’t you just say that Thunder Ancestor was a disciple of the Interception Sect? What’s the use of summoning Taishang Laojun? Want enemies to meet and see red?”

Although the three teachings were originally one family, after the Investiture of the Gods War, the unlucky Shangqing was confined by Hongjun in the Purple Cloud Palace. Disciples of the Interception Sect either died or scattered—some taken by the West, others by the Heavenly Court—while the rest hid under assumed names.

Chanting “Taishang Laojun appear quickly” to summon a god from the Interception Sect… wasn’t this just asking for another Investiture calamity?

Fu Li shrugged. “No choice. That’s the only chant I know. This fox isn’t a Taoist priest, so of course I never learned proper thunder-summoning.”

“Your knowledge is oddly specific,” Yuan Feng muttered. She instructed Zu Long and Shi Qilin to watch the cub properly below, then with a flash of flames, shot straight up into the sky.

This silly fox cub wouldn’t accomplish anything useful anyway. She’d go up and see whether it was man or ghost behind those thunderclouds.

Fu Li looked up in awe. “Wow.”

Golden thighs were truly golden thighs—even the gilding was real gold. Even her flying was sharper than ordinary demons. At this speed, she was faster than a skyrocket.

Zu Long landed on the silly fox cub’s shoulder and affectionately patted his fluffy ears with his tail tip. “Cub, you should say such things quietly. If that one hears, none of us will survive.”

Fu Li clutched his chest, gasping. “Is she that terrifying?”

Zu Long nodded gravely. “He can vouch for that.”

Shi Qilin blinked, his voice as soft as ever. “Yep. When she gets angry, she even attacks her own people.”

Fu Li withdrew his gaze and tilted his head at the Little Green Snake on his shoulder, belatedly realizing he’d forgotten to ask a crucial question. “By the way, how should I address you elders?”

Zu Long: “…”

Shi Qilin: “…”

Their true identities couldn’t be revealed. Time to pick mighty and domineering aliases.

Zu Long straightened up proudly and declared, “I am the Ancestor of All Dragons. You may address me as Dragon Ancestor.”

Fu Li: “???”

What kind of chuunibyou snake is this?

Author’s Note:

Zu Long (proudly): Ha! So clever! As expected of me!

Fox Cub (deadpan): I stopped playing this game when I was three and a half.