"So, what do you think? I told you this snow fruit is delicious, right?" Tu Yujiao said with a smile to Liu Qingquan.

At this moment, it had been three days since Lu Zheng and the Liu Family arrived at Tushan.

During the first two days, the old madam kept Liu Qingyan resting for two days, and only released her last night and even personally accompanied her for a day, showing how much she valued the Liu Family.

But after all, the old madam was the master of Tushan, and besides daily cultivation, there were many affairs to manage in Tushan. Thus, the task of entertaining guests fell to other foxes.

Elder Liu and Madam Liu were naturally hosted by the Fox Race ancestors, while Lu Zheng and the Liu Family sisters followed around with the Tu Family's sisters.

During these few days, they toured the sights, met the foxes of Tushan, and allowed Lu Zheng to understand the general structure of the Tushan lineage.

On Tushan, there are just over two thousand Celestial Foxes with the Nine-tailed lineage, most of whom have cultivation less than five hundred years, and their bloodline is not pure.

The Celestial Foxes don't only marry internally; around Tushan, there are also groups of foxes who became demons, such as White Foxes, Snow Fragrance Foxes, Jade-faced Foxes, and Long-eared Foxes.

And the bloodlines born from the Celestial Foxes marrying these foxes are also considered part of the Celestial Fox lineage and qualify to cultivate the "Tushan Scripture."

If one is exceptionally gifted and cultivates the "Tushan Scripture" deeply, their Celestial Fox bloodline becomes purer, naturally becoming a genuine Celestial Fox.

Take Liu Qingyan, for instance; her Celestial Fox bloodline at this moment could be purer than Elder Liu's.

Let alone with foxes, even within the Snow Forest Nine-tailed Division governed by Tushan, their highest honor is to marry a Celestial Fox woman or wed a Celestial Fox man.

And having the Celestial Fox bloodline and cultivating the "Tushan Scripture" is naturally the fastest way to grow stronger, and is the first choice for most people.

Then, when the Celestial Fox bloodline is condensed, transforming into the true form of a Nine-tailed Celestial Fox having a Dao practice of thousands of years, wandering the world, isn't it wonderful?

Moreover, when one already has the Celestial Fox bloodline, making that bloodline purer is entirely acceptable.

As a result, many fox spirits and even humans, although not having the Celestial Fox bloodline, remain firmly united around Tushan, with the Nine-tailed Celestial Fox lineage of Tushan as their supreme.

Because who knows when their descendants will transform into Nine-tailed Celestial Foxes.

Grand! A bright strategy!

No wonder the Nine-tailed lineage of Tushan can unwaveringly be rooted in the Northern Domain, enduring through hardships and never waning.

...

At this moment, Tu Yuya and the Tu Family's three sisters were taking Lu Zheng, the Liu Family sisters, and a few younger siblings to the place behind Tushan where snow fruits are planted.

"These snow fruits ripen once a year. They bloom every autumn and bear fruit during the coldest time of winter. The fruits are fist-sized, pure white in color, sweet and juicy, and are a specialty near Tushan," Tu Yuqing introduced to Lu Zheng and others from the side.

Lu Zheng nodded and took a bite of the snow fruit, its texture was between an apple and an apricot, with a sweetness carrying a hint of lemon acidity.

"It's pretty tasty," Lu Zheng said.

These snow fruits, after thousands of years of cultivation by the Celestial Fox lineage, have a flavorful taste surpassing most fruits in the Great Jing, akin to modern premium fruits.

Furthermore, being located in a place where spiritual qi gathers in Tushan, the juice contains threads of spiritual qi. Although they don't equate to spirit fruits and aren't useful for people like Lu Zheng, for ordinary folks, they alleviate fatigue, cure diseases, strengthen the body, and beautify the appearance.

"Good stuff!"

Facing a sizable fruit forest of tens of acres, Lu Zheng didn't hesitate to pick all the snow fruits from the two trees beside him, putting them into his gourd, and even cast the Cold Condensation Curse to preserve them in icy freshness.

The Tu Family's three sisters didn't mind, as they couldn't finish eating all these snow fruits themselves, and would eventually distribute many to other foxes and the Snow Forest Nine-tailed Tribe.

Liu Qingyan, however, felt rather embarrassed.

"There's no need to feel embarrassed, it's not something precious," Tu Yuya pulled Liu Qingyan and said.

"Exactly, exactly," Tu Yujiao nodded repeatedly, "If you feel bad, let Lu Zheng make us some delicacies."

"By the way!" Speaking of which, Tu Yujiao's eyes brightened, "Let's go to Fragrant Leaf Valley to catch some Five-Colored Pheasants and let Lu Zheng cook chicken for us!"

"Fragrant Leaf Valley?" Tu Yuya furrowed her brows.

"It's fine; we won't catch many, just ten... no... just eight," Tu Yujiao said with a giggle, "and since we'll be catching ordinary pheasants, I imagine Old Man Ji won't react angrily."

Tu Yuya blinked, licked her lips, then nodded prudently, "Okay."

Then Tu Yuya gave Lu Zheng and the others a brief introduction about Fragrant Leaf Valley.

Fragrant Leaf Valley is far from Tushan, with a low-lying terrain in the valley, where clouds and mists linger year-round, fostering many poisonous insects and plants which have failed to become demons.

This situation arises because the poisonous insects and plants in Fragrant Leaf Valley attract a group of Five-Colored Pheasants immune to poison, eating up the insects and plants with potential to evolve, occasionally causing some pheasants to become demons themselves, which in turn suppresses further demonization and protects the Five-Colored Pheasants living in the valley.

These Five-Colored Pheasants, consuming poisonous insects and plants over years, refine toxins, making their meat extremely tender and tasty!

These pheasants-turned-demons can handle ordinary people or forces well, but when confronting the Nine-tailed Fox lineage of Tushan, noted in the Northern Domain, they naturally are eclipsed.

Lu Zheng and Liu Qingyan exchanged a glance.

While saying that demonized creatures and ordinary animals are fundamentally different species, certain taboos still exist.

For instance, Pig Demons won't eat pork, Ox Demons won't eat beef, Li Hanyu's family doesn't eat fish, and the last time Bai Ting'Er saw Liu Qingquan eating spicy rabbit heads, she was frightened to tears.

Eating Five-Colored Pheasants right in front of the Five-Colored Pheasant demons does indeed seem a bit inappropriate.

However...

"Five-Colored Pheasants are just too delicious, and when some bugs attack pheasants, or other animals hunt pheasants, they ignore them, after all, predation is the law of Heavenly Dao," Tu Yujiao remarked, "Besides, we aren't breeding them or eradicating them; this situation has persisted for hundreds of years."

Lu Zheng blinked, feeling the conversation growing more sorrowful.

However, Liu Qingquan was sparkling-eyed, clapping her hands and joyfully saying, "Good, good! I want Beggar's Chicken, Five-Spice Roasted Chicken, Fragrant Crispy Chicken, Mouthwatering Chicken, Steamed Chicken, Oil-braised Chicken, Chestnut Roasted Chicken, Cumin Grilled Chicken, plus White Cut Chicken and Sauce Chicken!"

Liu Qingyan, "..."

Lu Zheng, "..."

Everyone swallowed in unison.

Tu Yujiao whispered, "Are these all dishes made by Lu Zheng?"

Liu Qingquan nodded strongly, "They're so tasty!"

Tu Yujiao swallowed hard and looked at Tu Yuya, "How about we catch a few more?"

Tu Yuya blinked, her throat moving gently almost imperceptibly, then nodded with a facade of restraint, "Alright."