176: Chapter 176 Residual Consciousness

The truth revealed by the old fox was not much of a surprise to Li Xiuyuan,

because from the moment he saw this old fox appear, he had already prepared himself mentally.

Huhu, on the other hand, could not accept the old fox's explanation and directly fainted.

"Huhu, Huhu?"

"Grandpa, you saw it. This has nothing to do with me. I didn't use any tricks at all, I can swear to heaven."

Seeing Huhu collapse straight to the ground, the old fox was terrified, thinking some accident had occurred, and immediately looked at Li Xiuyuan to prove its innocence.

Li Xiuyuan said, "Yes, I saw it. It indeed has nothing to do with you."

Hearing this, the old fox let out a sigh of relief.

It looked at Li Xiuyuan again and said, "Grandpa, to tell you the truth, this matter was indeed a scam set up by us three brothers. However, we do have Lord River God's token in our hands, which indeed contains a faint trace of the Dragon Lord's residual consciousness."

"Although the Dragon Lord has long been dead, he was still an existence that governed the waters of the Yangtze River. Before you make a move on me, I hope you will consider this carefully."

Even at this point, this old fox actually still dared to pull the tiger's skin, using Lord River God's prestige in an attempt to scare off Li Xiuyuan.

But what it could never have imagined was that the very existence who had slain Lord River God was the person standing right in front of it.

"You also know that Lord River God has long been dead, yet you still want to use his prestige to scare me?" Li Xiuyuan asked.

The old fox forced itself to stay calm and said, "This is not to scare you, it's the truth..."

Before the old fox could even finish its sentence, Li Xiuyuan had already drawn his dragon lord blade and decapitated the old fox with a single strike.

Immediately after,

Li Xiuyuan looked at Huhu, who was lying unconscious on the ground. He originally wanted to go over and wake her up, but on second thought, she had received quite a shock. Combined with the fact that she had been in a state of terror for the past few days since being kidnapped, fainting now was a good opportunity for her to get some rest.

Once Huhu woke up, he would have her lead him to her tribe to see what exactly this so-called Dragon Lord's token was all about.

Thinking of this, Li Xiuyuan sat down to the side and threw the corpse on the ground outside.

Huhu slept for a whole day and night. It wasn't until the second night fell that she rubbed her sleepy eyes, climbed up from the ground, and stretched while murmuring to herself, "How is it night again? The daily task of collecting Spiritual Qi morning dew given by Elder Grandpa hasn't been completed again..."

Huhu sat up from the ground, rubbing her eyes, still muttering indistinctly about the Spiritual Qi morning dew.

She yawned, her tail swishing unconsciously behind her a couple of times, before she slowly opened her light amber eyes.

She saw the Wild Shrine she was in, the moonlight leaking through the broken roof, and Li Xiuyuan sitting not far away.

The memories that had been suppressed by her deep sleep surged back like a tide, and Huhu's pupils suddenly contracted: "Where is... where is the Grand Elder?"

Li Xiuyuan raised his chin and gestured for her to look outside the Wild Shrine: "Thrown outside."

Huhu followed his gaze. Under the moonlight, the open ground outside the Wild Shrine was empty, save for a pool of dried, dark red stains.

Clearly, the Grand Elder was dead.

Huhu lowered her head, her tail curled at her side, remaining silent for a long time.

After a long while, she spoke in a muffled voice, "I want to go back."

"I want to go find the Second Elder and Third Elder to ask them clearly. What the Grand Elder said... I don't want to believe it all. I want to hear it from their own mouths."

Li Xiuyuan stood up and patted the dust off his robes. "Indeed, it just so happens that I also need to make a trip there to see what exactly this so-called Dragon Lord's token is."

...

...

Meanwhile,

In the fox Yao tribe, the Second Elder sat alone in a cave. In front of him lay a palm-sized, dark red jade pendant. A winding pattern was carved on its surface, which at first glance resembled a coiled Dragon.

Indeed, this was the token left behind by Lord River God back then, carrying the Dragon Lord's will.

This thing was not particularly valuable. Back then, after the conflict between Lord River God and this fox clan was resolved, he had simply left behind a jade pendant he carried with him, but it was treated as something extraordinary by this fox clan.

The reason Lord River God was willing to resolve the conflict back then was because he happened to be in urgent need of assistance from various Yao clans. His military strategist had advised him that instead of wiping out this entire fox clan, it would be better to show magnanimity and take the initiative to resolve the conflict.

This way, when the other Yao clans heard that the Dragon Lord possessed such magnanimity, they would hesitate less.

This approach indeed helped Lord River God win over the hearts of many Yao, causing many Yao clans to follow him wholeheartedly, resisting the Ancient Heavenly Court and waging war in the mortal realm.

It could be said that from beginning to end, Lord River God had never taken this fox clan seriously.

The Second Elder stared at the dark red jade pendant before him, calculating in his heart that a wisp of Lord River God's residual consciousness still remained within. If he could control it, perhaps he could obtain some unknown treasures left in the mortal realm by Lord River God.

As an old fox who had lived for many years, the Second Elder knew very well that Lord River God's legacy was definitely not as simple as just a few Ancient Grotto-Heavens. He also believed that there must be undiscovered treasures left in some unknown deep mountain.

The Second Elder had once mentioned this to the Grand Elder and Third Elder, but this proposal was sternly rejected by the Grand Elder. The Grand Elder had said that it was, after all, Lord River God; with their current meager strength, a single slip-up could cost them their lives.

The Second and Third Elders had sneered at this, feeling that the Grand Elder was too cowardly. But regardless, without the Grand Elder's orders, the two of them did not dare to make any underhanded moves in private.

As if sensing the Second Elder's growing and uncontrollable greed, the jade pendant in front of him actually began to flicker with a strange, faint light.

The Second Elder rubbed his eyes, somewhat in disbelief. He looked around a few times, worried that the Grand Elder might suddenly return. But upon confirming that there were no other fox Yao around, the Second Elder still leaned closer.

He carefully extended his fox claw and tapped the jade pendant. Who would have thought that this tap would actually make the jade pendant shine even brighter.

"Knowing that this Lord is here, yet you do not kneel and bow. What is the meaning of this?" Lord River God's voice rang out from within the jade pendant.

The fear of the Dragon Lord originating from deep within his heart terrified the Second Elder, causing him to instantly fall to his knees and bury his head extremely low. "Lord Dragon Lord, this lowly one did not know that you had already awakened. Please do not blame this lowly one."

The Second Elder, who had just been imagining being able to control Lord River God, only had to feel Lord River God's majesty to no longer dare harbor such thoughts in his heart.

What lay inside this jade pendant was indeed Lord River God's residual consciousness. However, this tiny bit of residual consciousness could not achieve anything grand; it could not even control the actions of some water race creatures. In fact, if this residual consciousness were to be extracted by any means, that wisp of consciousness would instantly dissipate.