Returning to his guest room, Gu Changhuan activated the Formation and tapped his Spirit Beast Pouch, releasing the little fox cub into the room.

Upon seeing Gu Changhuan, the cub let out a pitiful yelp, looking exceptionally weak.

Gu Changhuan quickly broke open the cage to free it.

To his surprise, the moment it was free, the cub shot toward the door like white lightning, only to crash into the Formation barrier!

Its face hit the barrier square on. The cub dropped to the floor and covered its nose with its front paws.

Gu Changhuan unconsciously touched his own nose. That looked genuinely painful.

Amused, he walked over and lifted the cub by the scruff of its neck.

"Quite the performance," he said with a smile. "So clever, yet how did you manage to get caught in the first place?"

The little fox blinked pleadingly at him and let out another soft yelp.

Gu Changhuan shook his head. He was expecting too much. Fox spirit beasts might be cleverer than other demon beasts, but this cub was only at the high grade of the First Tier. How could it understand everything he said?

Still, the cub possessed enough wit to show no intention of struggling out of his grasp.

Retrieving the inn's jade token, Gu Changhuan ordered wine and food. Before long, a knock sounded at the door.

"Your food and wine, sir."

Stuffing the little fox back into the Spirit Beast Pouch, Gu Changhuan lowered the Formation temporarily.

The waiter entered, arranged the dishes and wine, and bowed respectfully before retreating.

Gu Changhuan re-activated the Formation and pulled the fox cub out once more.

To his surprise, Mo Lin emerged along with it.

Yet Mo Lin's current state was somewhat bizarre. Its reactions were sluggish, as though its wits had been scrambled.

Glancing between the groggy serpent and the fox, Gu Changhuan pointed at Mo Lin. "Did you do this?"

The fox cub hopped onto the table, looked at the food, then looked at Gu Changhuan. It was hungry, but this human was stronger than it was. It dared not steal his food. Still, it was so hungry... And that ugly snake was so fierce...

Picking up Mo Lin, Gu Changhuan carefully inspected its condition. It appeared the serpent had suffered a Divine Sense attack or fallen into an illusion. Given that Mo Lin's cultivation was not far behind the cub's, it should shake off the effect shortly.

Relieved, Gu Changhuan looked back at the table and found the little fox stealing his food.

More than half of the roast chicken was already gone.

Busted!

The cub's fur instantly bristled.

Snatching the remainder of the chicken in its jaws, it scrambled into the shadows beneath the bed.

Gu Changhuan shook his head with a smile, took a bottle of Clear Splendor Brew from his spatial domain, and poured himself a cup.

The chicken had essentially been ordered for the little cub anyway. If it preferred to sneak its meals, so be it.

Mo Lin was usually so fierce, but this time it had met its match.

While Mo Lin excelled at concealment and ambush, the little fox... seemed inclined toward illusion arts.

Moreover, since Mo Lin was a variant species, the fact that the cub showed no fear of its bloodline suppression indicated that its potential was not to be underestimated.

He had got a good deal after all.

After Gu Changhuan leisurely finished two cups of wine, Mo Lin finally blinked back to full awareness.

As soon as it came to, Mo Lin was ready to hiss at someone.

Yet a whiff of rich wine aroma halted it mid-threat. Staring at Gu Changhuan, Mo Lin wrapped its tail longingly around the wine pot.

Gu Changhuan turned a blind eye.

With a swift slither, Mo Lin dove back into the Spirit Beast Pouch.

Gu Changhuan poured himself a cup of the spiritual wine supplied by the inn.

While its flavor and Spiritual Qi fell well short of the Clear Splendor Brew, it possessed a distinct character of its own.

Having finished the roast chicken, the little fox peeked out from beneath the bed. Gu Changhuan beckoned with a finger. "Come here, little fox."

The cub trotted over obediently.

It hopped lightly onto the table and sat before him, looking perfectly well behaved.

Gu Changhuan stroked its head. Now this felt much nicer than petting Mo Lin.

He took out an Immobilization Talisman and stuck it to the cub while it wasn't paying attention.

Binding a spirit beast that already had a mind of its own was a little more troublesome. Better to immobilize the cub first.

Rendered entirely immobile, the little fox let out a low, muffled growl from deep within its throat.

Pricking his fingertip, Gu Changhuan traced a peculiar, intricate restriction rune directly in the air using his own blood.

The loss of a trace of essence blood caused his complexion to pale slightly.

As the final stroke fell, the rune flared with a brilliant crimson radiance, fading into a single, blood-colored bead suspended in the air.

This was a secret technique recorded by Zhenlingzi. Feeding this Blood Bead to a spirit beast bound its absolute loyalty to the master; even if the beast's future cultivation surpassed its owner's, it would harbor no thoughts of rebellion, nor would its inherent potential be restricted.

The only cost was the expenditure of a small amount of essence blood.

Prying open the cub's jaws, Gu Changhuan dropped the bead inside.

A wash of red light rippled across the little fox's fur. Once he sensed the spiritual contract successfully settle into place, Gu Changhuan peeled the Immobilization Talisman from its body.

He felt a surge of affection from the cub through their bond and took the opportunity to stroke its tail.

"They say foxes originated in Qingqiu and Tushan. I'll take a name from each and call you Qingtu!"

The little fox let out a soft yelp, clearly pleased with the name.

As he petted the fox, Gu Changhuan remembered that he had only one Spirit Beast Pouch. With Mo Lin's bad temper, the two were liable to fight if kept together. He had better buy Qingtu a pouch of its own.

The next day, Gu Changhuan bought two Low-Grade Second-Tier Spirit Beast Pouches, one for each beast. Mo Lin's old pouch was only High-Grade First-Tier and would have needed replacing sooner or later.

Today he would try the shops. If he could find herbs for Foundation Establishment Pills at the rogue cultivators' stalls, surely the better-established stores would have something to offer.

However, reality proved otherwise.

After visiting several shops in succession, he found neither saplings nor even seeds.

Stepping out from yet another storefront, Gu Changhuan fell into deep thought. Returning empty-handed once again could not be mere coincidence. There had to be a reason.

Why couldn't he buy the herbs for Foundation Establishment Pills from these well-established shops?

A sudden realization struck him, and he slapped his forehead. How could he have been so foolish!

The clans with shops here all had some form of Golden Core backing and most likely possessed the Foundation Establishment Pill Formula. If they had the formula, why would they sell the herbs needed to make the pills? They would be cutting off their own source of income!

Had recent successes made him complacent, blinding him to such basic common sense?

If that was the case, was he restricted to gathering ingredients exclusively from wandering rogue cultivators?

Were there no other channels? Pondering this, he strolled aimlessly down the street until a modest shop tucked away in a corner caught his eye: the "Worry-Relief House."