Chapter 9 — The Nine-Tailed Fox Who Loved Sweet Potatoes

With a final, crisp crack, the entire stone dais split cleanly down the center from within. A blinding golden radiance erupted outward, forcing everyone to instinctively close their eyes. When the light finally dissipated and they opened their eyes, the entire assembly froze into statues.

There, in the middle of the fractured dais, lay a completely empty space. Inside, there were no legendary magical artifacts, no profound secret cultivation manuals, or the hallowed remains of their revered ancestors as they had all imagined. There was only one thing... A massive, roasted sweet potato, glowing entirely golden, with thick, glistening syrup oozing slowly down its caramelized skin. That sweet potato was easily as large as a winter melon, and the rich, intoxicating aroma filling the entire chamber radiated directly from it.

The entire hall fell into a deathly silence. Everyone stood dumbfounded, their minds completely blank. The sacred artifact their clan had guarded for ten millennia, the ancestral spiritual platform considered the very foundation of Green Hill, held a seal containing... merely a roasted sweet potato?

I stared straight at that grand treasure, my eyes shining with absolute brilliance. The Nine-Turn Heavenly Fragrance Honey Rat! It was an exact, flawless match to the illustration in the ancient manual! Excited beyond measure, I rubbed my hands together and cautiously, with the utmost care, lifted it out of the broken dais. It was delightfully warm and felt wonderfully heavy in my arms. Breaking off a tiny piece, I popped it into my mouth. It was tender, fragrant, and sweet, melting away instantly on my tongue as a surge of warm energy bloomed throughout my entire body in a split second. Every single pore on my skin relaxed, releasing a long, contented sigh of pure bliss.

It was delicious! Beyond divine! This was without a doubt the most exquisite delicacy I had ever tasted in my entire life!

Clutching my giant sweet potato close to my chest, I squinted my eyes in sheer happiness, completely ignoring the Patriarch and the elders behind me, whose worldviews were shattering, desperately trying to reassemble, and then shattering all over again.

Ten

I sat there cradling my precious sweet potato, eating away with absolute joy, while the Patriarch and the others remained completely petrified. The ten-millennial holy land of Green Hill had actually been worshipping a roasted sweet potato all this time. If word of this ever leaked out, the entire fox clan across the Demon Realm would become the ultimate laughingstock.

“This… this is impossible… this absolutely cannot be the truth…” The Third Elder collapsed weakly onto the floor, muttering in a daze, completely stripped of his wits.

The Patriarch wore an expression of utter panic as he stepped forward, staring in disbelief into the shattered remains of the dais. It was entirely empty, save for a few crumbs of golden sweet potato skin.

“Honored Ancestor… what on earth… were you even thinking…”

I cared very little about what they were thinking. Hugging my sweet potato tight, I found a clean corner to sit down and devoted myself entirely to conquering my feast. As I ate, I suddenly felt that something wasn't quite right. This sweet potato seemed... far too large. I had been eating for quite a while, yet it felt as though it hadn't diminished in size by even a fraction. Moreover, I fancied I could hear a sound. A very faint sound, as if it were originating from deep within the core of the sweet potato itself.

“Hey… stop… don't nibble that spot… it tickles…”

Startled, I paused my chewing. Pressing my ear directly against the sweet potato, I listened intently.

“... Who is it... who is out there... gnawing on me for ten thousand years, you've finally gone and woken me up...”

That voice rang out once more. It belonged to a young man, carrying a rather lazy and languid tone. The sweet potato in my arms gave a sudden, sharp shudder. Then, right before the horrified gazes of everyone present, the surface of the gigantic golden sweet potato began to shift and ripple. A head emerged slowly from the exact spot I had just been nibbling on. It belonged to a strikingly handsome young man with refined features. He let out a massive yawn, rubbing his eyes as though he had not yet fully awakened from his slumber. His body remained seamlessly connected to the sweet potato—or rather, he *was* the sweet potato itself. A sweet potato spirit?

“Yawn… what a wonderful sleep.” He stretched his arms lazily, then lowered his gaze and finally noticed me holding him tightly in my embrace.

Four eyes locked onto one another.

“Yo,” he flashed a grin, exposing white teeth at me, “Little fox, was it you who woke me up? You’ve got a fine eye, knowing precisely to take a bite from the sweetest spot.”

Me: “…” The entire hall: “…” Everyone had truly lost their minds. Inside the sacred ancestral platform, not only was there a roasted sweet potato, but inside the sweet potato... there was a man? The Patriarch nearly suffocated on the spot, saved only by a nearby elder who rushed forward to steady him.

“You… what on earth are you!” The Third Elder pointed a trembling finger at the sweet potato spirit, his voice shaking violently.

“What am I?” The sweet potato spirit raised an eyebrow, “You’re the thing, your entire family is a bunch of things. This young master here is the number one divine spirit born from the primordial chaos at the dawn of heaven and earth, the Nine-Turn Heavenly Fragrance!”

He paused for a moment, then added cheerfully, “Of course, you lot may also simply address me as Lord Rat.”

Lord Rat... The corners of my mouth twitched uncontrollably.

“Did you crawl into this stone dais yourself?” I asked him.

“Naturally,” Lord Rat replied with an expression that suggested it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Back in the day, what was that little fox's name again... Ah, the Green Hill Ancestor, or something similar—he begged me to serve as their clan-protecting treasure. I told him that being a clan-protecting treasure sounded dreadfully tiring, and that I would much rather take a long nap instead. So, he built this stone house for me and promised that whenever I finally woke up, it would coincide with the moment of the greatest feast.”

He looked down at me, his eyes lighting up.

“It seems that day is today. Little fox, you have a promising future ahead of you. Come closer, take another bite and help me polish off the remaining crust.”

He leaned his face forward, assuming an expression that practically said *feel free to partake*. Quietly, I lowered the half-eaten sweet potato in my hands. Suddenly... I had completely lost my appetite. As for the Patriarch and the others, having heard Lord Rat’s explanation, their minds had completely frozen. After all this chaotic fuss for half a day, the ancestor hadn't sealed away any peerless supreme delicacy at all. It was simply this sweet potato spirit who had sought out a quiet place to sleep and tricked their ancestor into constructing a house for him! For over ten thousand years, our entire Green Hill Fox Clan had been kneeling and bowing in reverence toward a sleeping sweet potato, even honoring it as our most sacred holy land?

“Ptui——”

The Patriarch finally couldn't hold it in any longer, coughing up a mouthful of dark, stagnant blood. The humiliation was simply too great. This was unquestionably the darkest, most disgraceful day in the entire history of the Green Hill Fox Clan.

Eleven

Just as the entire clan was experiencing a total worldview collapse over a sleeping sweet potato, an untimely, shrill voice pierced the silence.

“Patriarch! Elders! You mustn't be deceived by this wretch!”

It was Hu Mei Ji. She burst out from the crowd, pointing a trembling finger straight at me while her face twisted with a sickly mix of fanaticism and deep-seated malice.

“Even if… even if what’s inside is nothing more than a sweet potato! It is still a sacred artifact left behind by our ancestors! Hu You You dared to open the seal without permission, destroying the very foundation of Green Hill—this is a capital offense!”

She likely believed this was her final lifeline. As long as she could successfully pin the crime of “destroying the sacred artifact” upon me, she might still manage to turn the tables. Unfortunately, she had calculated entirely wrong. The Patriarch was currently exhausted in both body and spirit and had zero inclination to pay her any mind. Waving a weak hand, he muttered listlessly, “Enough, Mei Ji, say no more...” They had already lost every shred of face they possessed to the outside world, yet she still had the energy for internal strife? Didn't she feel the slightest bit ashamed?

“No! I must speak!” Hu Mei Ji refused to let the matter drop, her voice rising sharply. “This Hu You You concealed her cultivation, deceived the entire clan, mocked her elders, and showed utter disrespect for hierarchy! How could someone of such vile character ever deserve the Nine-Tails? Her Nine-Tails were undoubtedly obtained through some nefarious, crooked arts! I formally propose that her cultivation be entirely crippled immediately, and a thorough investigation be launched to uncover whatever malicious plot she is hiding!”