I was no nearer to understanding what he was trying to say. But unlike his usual proclivity of speaking in riddles, he began to explain everything patiently. "You may know that some people will leave their physical bodies when they achieve immortality. By shedding off their physical chrysalis, they do not have to endure a hit by a stroke of lightning, the Crucible of Heaven. But beasts are different. They can assume human form once they achieve higher powers. But to climb even further, they would need to suffer the Crucible of Heaven, with or without their physical bodies." Father paused to light himself another cigarette. "There are five different Elements to the Crucible of Heaven: the Elements of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. We'll not delve into that for today. But simply put, the Crucible of Heaven is one's final test; a test of righteousness. If one has committed sacrilege or sin during one's lifetime, the person would be judged and the Crucible of Heaven

The gnarly old man who was an ancient weasel demon heard me. It scoffed. "Humph. Why should I answer you? Your cat has caused enough damage to countless of my kin. Come at me if that's you want. Here I am!" I chuckled. "I always try to be just and forthright in everything I do. I will not blindly listen to his story only because he's of my kin. Rest easy." But my endeavor to make truce hit a brick wall; the old weasel raised a suspicious eyebrow and sneered. "We've come all the way from Yizhou City, doing nothing but good and helpful to everyone we've encountered. It was the boy's mother who came to me for help. She told me that her boy was sick. As a master of healing myself, I decided to help. But when I came, I saw this fox wrecking the boy's life. Here I am, trying to help. Am I to be blamed?" "You? Good and helpful? Seriously? What about the farmer and his chickens?" I shook my head, exasperated. "Leave the boy and his family out of you

Zheng Shuang had barely settled in but he immediately dove right into business. "The online ID you asked for my help has been found, Brother!" I nodded. I poured him a glass of beer as I asked, "Relax. Take your time." He took the glass of beer from me and took a sip. "The owner of the online ID is a smart one. He has not done any verification with his true name, and every login IP we've traced came from Internet cafes. Safe to say, it's merely a burner account, so there's not much value I can give you, I'm afraid." Chongxi slapped the table. "Heavens! All the trouble for nothing!" But I chuckled through the smoke of my cigarette and hushed him down. "Relax. Let Zheng Shuang finish." Zheng Shuang gave me a quick nod and smiled. "Well, it's not completely nothing, though. We were not able to find the identity of the ID's user, but we know where is he from! The IP addresses every time he logs into the ID shows that he is from Yizhou City!" "I

I was so astonished by Lao Tao's appearance that I had almost thrown all manners and decorum out of mind. But he was hardly perturbed, giggling jovially as he answered, "I've been here all along." As it turned out, Lao Tao had long sensed our presence since we had entered into his domain, the Yellow Soil Ridge. He had not appeared to us, watching our banter with interest and silence while we were climbing. It was only when we reached the top he appeared. But he remained quiet to not disturb us, while observing us behind our backs. It was hardly unexpected though; he was, after all, the Mountain Deity here, although the prospects of being quietly watch did send a chill down my spine. Lao Tao led us to an inconspicuous part mid-hill, before he turned to us suddenly and gestured with a flourishing wave of his arm. "Please, all of you." Behind him, a door appeared out of thin air on the rock-hard face of the solid rock with a loud "Click". "Wow,

Oh my, I gasped quietly. I would never have expected the weasels from Yizhou City to notice me entering Zunhua City. They must be thinking that I was here to launch a preemptive attack against them, which made them anxious enough to call for their benefactor. I might have told Lao Tao about my decision to answer the weasels' challenge, but I certainly had misinterpreted the status quo. Not only it was more delicate than I presumed, but my mere presence had caused a chain reaction that escalated the situation; I became the person who had struck a match to the tinderbox of the conflict. So, the fight has become inevitable, eh? I grimaced, shaking my head helplessly. Still, there was no escaping from this; the wellbeing of Father and the plans for his ascension hinged on this upcoming battle. Then, I told the fox demon. "I will fight beside you, no matter who their benefactor is. But there is something you have to know: the day to ascend into the Heavens is