After Self-Destructing My Nascent Soul, I Possessed A Little Fox

• Prologue: Rebirth

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"Are you sure you want to save him?"

"Yip..." The little fox clumsily gestured with its paws, but its bright eyes were filled with determination.

At the center of a bright yellow spiritual light, a Nascent Soul covered in cracks was suspended. The faint outline of a handsome man could be seen.

The little fox closed its eyes. I must save him, even if it costs me my life.

The little fox remembered the first time it met its master. It was a stormy night with thunder and rain. A frail boy, clutching a stolen steamed bun, hobbled into an abandoned temple.

The fierce wind whipped through his clothes, cutting into his skin like a knife, just as cruel and unforgiving as the world itself.

"Kill it! Kill it! If we kill it, we won't have to go hungry anymore!" Two beggars, eyes gleaming with excitement, cornered a small, gray "puppy" that was trembling with fear.

"Stop!" The boy stepped forward, hesitating as he glanced at the bun in his hands and then at the dying "puppy". He whispered, "I'll trade you this bun for it."

Seeing the snow-white bun in Su Mu's hand, the beggars swallowed hungrily. After a moment's hesitation, they nodded, "You better not go back on your word!"

After all, compared to the white buns, the "puppy" seemed too small to fill their bellies. Besides, raw meat was always fishy and salty...

One of the beggars quickly grabbed the small bundle from the corner and shoved it into Su Mu's arms. They grabbed the bun and retreated, running away as fast as they could.

Looking at the weak little creature in his arms, Su Mu felt a pang of heartache, "Little guy, are you okay?"

The little fox looked up and let out a weak yip.

Su Mu gently scratched the brow of the little bundle in his arms, meeting a pair of pink fox eyes.

In those clear eyes, he saw the warmth he had been longing for.

In this cruel world, from that moment on, two lonely souls, a boy and a fox, relied on each other...

Above the shattered Nascent Soul, a bell adorned with mountain and river patterns floated, its red ribbon fluttering without wind. A voice, filled with relief, came from the bell, "As you wish, my descendant."

The little fox looked reluctantly at the Nascent Soul suspended in the air. Goodbye, master...

A powerful suction force emanated from the bell, pulling the little fox's soul into it.

A phantom emerged from the bell, stretching lazily before looking meaningfully at the shattered Nascent Soul. A drop of golden blood floated out from the bell, causing cracks to spread through the surrounding void.

The blood of the demon ancestor!

The phantom fondly caressed the bell, then pointed at the drop of blood, which immediately entered the "corpse" of the little fox. A surge of spiritual light almost tore the secret realm apart.

As the blood fused, the phantom manipulated the cracked Nascent Soul to merge with the fox's body. In an instant, the Nascent Soul shattered, its dissipating soul energy enveloped by the demon ancestor's blood, absorbed into the Mud Pill Palace, breaking and reforming...

The phantom looked complexly at the soul light curled up in the bell. There was a hint of nostalgia in its expression, thinking of old acquaintances...

The phantom gazed into the sky, extending a hand as if to touch something, but in the end, all words turned into a sigh.

"Very well, just a lingering remnant soul. Let me help you, dear descendant…"

The phantom's body transformed into a stream of soul light, merging into the bell. The little fox's soul gradually absorbed this light, becoming more solid. A beam of light connected the fox's soul to the bell, establishing a mysterious bond...

...

Su Mu dreamed. In the dream, he became a little fox, sometimes in lush forests surrounded by flowers with pale flames, sometimes in a blood-red battlefield with great demons tearing the sky...

The dream was fragmented, half-real, half-illusion. Su Mu couldn't control his body, only following the white fox through various scenes, from cultivating in moonlight to becoming a demon ancestor.

At the end, a blood moon hung high in the sky, and a giant black claw tore through "his" body. A bell with a red ribbon fell to the edge of the sea...

Where... am I...

The dream shattered, Su Mu's consciousness enveloped by a dazzling white light, growing brighter...

When he regained consciousness, Su Mu still felt a bit dazed.

After a while, he tried to lift his arm. It was easy, but felt a bit strange until he opened his pink eyes...

"Yip..." He opened his mouth, emitting a soft, delicate fox cry. He lifted his hand, seeing that his once slender fingers had become round, chubby paws, opening and closing in front of his eyes.

Su Mu tried to stand up but seemed to step on something furry and fell awkwardly to the ground. He looked down and saw a fluffy fox tail beneath him.

Suddenly a surge of information hit him.

The surge of too much information made Su Mu's mind freeze. I'm not dead? I turned into Xiao Bai? Then where is my Xiao Bai?

Unable to make sense of it, he forced himself to calm down and looked around. It seemed to be the same secret realm, but he saw no one else. Oh, great, I'm not even a person now...

But he forced himself to stay calm until his eyes landed on a bell not far away. Is it? The bell from the dream's end.

Su Mu struggled to stand on all fours, staggering to the bell, and reached out to touch it with his paw.

"Clang..." A strange feeling surged through him. From the bell, he felt a sense of familiarity. A thread of spiritual power flowed from his paw into the bell, bringing a comforting sensation.

As the bell chimed, Su Mu felt a familiar presence within it. Is that... Xiao Bai?

The bell floated up with Su Mu's movements, gently rubbing against his furry face as if saying, "Master, Xiao Bai is still here…"

...

Yao Guang Holy Land

An elder with white whiskers solemnly gazed at the shattered soul lamp in his hand, his eyes filled with sadness.

With a bang, the hall door was shattered by a seemingly delicate hand. The elder trembled, forcing a smile, "A... Ah Xue, oh dear…"

The girl who stormed in grabbed the old man's beard, "I told you not to let Little Junior Brother go to that stupid secret realm. Now give me back my Little Su Su!"

"Give him back! Give him back!" A petite girl at the door cheered, clutching the door frame with one hand and making a fist with the other.

The old man was about to explain when he felt a tremor. Then a fierce wind of spiritual energy swept through.

His communication jade suddenly vibrated furiously. The angry voice of the peak master of Tian Tu Mountain roared, "Pei Yuan! Your well-taught disciple Li Dao just split three elders from Dao Xuan Mountain who came to apologize into eight pieces with one sword! How am I supposed to explain this to Dao Xuan Mountain?"

Before Pei Yuan could react to how one sword could split three people into eight pieces, Jiang Cixue spoke with sharp eyes, "Good, I'll join Senior Brother and turn Dao Xuan Mountain upside down."

The girl in pink shouted, "Wait for me, Senior Sister!"

The elder raised the jade plaque again, then expressionlessly put it down. Oh no, the second disciple went to Dao Xuan Mountain himself.

The elder finally remembered to chase after his disciples, "Wait, the soul lamp is broken but the flame is still burning, Little Su Su isn't completely dead yet!"

...

To be continued.