There is a beast in the bright morning.

Chapter 263 Subduing the White Fox

After scaring Tuoba Zhi away, Hao Chen carried the white fox back to his residence, stroking it constantly with both hands.

The white fox seemed bewildered, looking anxiously at Hao Chen who was holding him: "You, you are really the Eastern Emperor?!"

Ren Baihu racked her brains but never imagined that simply picking a medicinal herb would first attract a quasi-emperor to chase her across half the universe.

If it weren't for the strange rune inside his body, he probably would have been captured by that quasi-emperor long ago.

Now, encountering a powerful figure who resembles the Eastern Emperor has filled the White Fox with both fear and delight.

"Judging from the reaction of that quasi-emperor just now, the person in front of me is very likely the Eastern Emperor. If I can get his protection, I won't have to live in fear every day."

Thinking of this, the white fox looked at Hao Chen with even more intense eyes, and kept wagging its tail and rubbing against Hao Chen's arm.

Hao Chen thoroughly enjoyed the white fox's coquettishness and laughed loudly, "If the Donghuang you're talking about is the one from five thousand years ago, then you must be talking about me."

Hao Chen felt that he had been focusing on improving his Taoist skills for so many years and hadn't had time to touch anything furry. He had almost forgotten the joy of petting furry creatures.

Now that I have a little white fox in my hands, how could I let it go so easily, even if this fox doesn't feel as good as Tianlu and Sibuxiang?

But as Hao Chen touched it, he felt something was off; the white fox's belly seemed a little flat.

The next moment, Hao Chen seemed to realize something, and the hand that was stroking the white fox suddenly froze.

When Hao Chen's hand touched her stomach, Bai Hu blushed instantly and looked at Hao Chen with a shy expression.

The white fox then covered its eyes and made whimpering sounds.

If Hao Chen could understand the white fox's whimpering, he would hear the white fox saying, "Ugh, my stomach was touched, how embarrassing! I wonder if he'll take responsibility for me!"

As if to verify something, Hao Chen flipped the white fox over so that its belly was facing up, and then ruffled the fox fur on its belly.

When Hao Chen saw that the white fox's belly indeed had no distinguishing features, he quickly put the white fox on the ground. He felt extremely embarrassed and kept digging his toes into the ground, as if he could dig a three-bedroom apartment out of it.

"What the hell?! How could this be a female fox?! What have I been doing?!"

After learning the white fox's gender, Hao Chen was at a loss for what to do.

"Ahem!" To ease the awkwardness, Hao Chen coughed a few times, then said casually, "By the way, my name is Hao Chen. And who are you? What brings you to my house?"

"Hmm, I don't know." The white fox looked at Haochen with a blank expression.

Hao Chen carefully observed the white fox's expression and realized that the other party really didn't seem to know his name... What a joke!

"Nonsense!" Hao Chen thought to himself, speechless. They're already at the Immortal level, they've already become spirits, how could they be nameless like ordinary wild foxes?

Hao Chen forced a smile, trying his best to appear harmless: "Okay, I'm not going to eat you. Tell me your name, or where you're from? I'll take you home."

But when the white fox heard Hao Chen mention home, its eyes dimmed noticeably, which puzzled Hao Chen. Could it be that this fox really had no home and no name?

Quietly, Hao Chen manipulated a wisp of divine thought to probe into the white fox's spiritual platform.

After a short while, Hao Chen frowned and withdrew his divine sense. The white fox in front of him was not lying; Hao Chen indeed did not find any useful clues in the white fox's memories.

Even the white fox's primordial spirit before him was still immature, as if it had just been born.

But if she was just born, then the white fox's cultivation level is far too high. It's impossible for her to be born with the cultivation level of a Celestial One. Her origins are rather astonishing.

"Fine, since you have nowhere to go right now, you can stay if you'd like."

After thinking about it, Hao Chen felt that the white fox's origins were highly suspicious, so he decided to let her stay first, thinking that perhaps she was hiding some secrets.

Although Hao Chen's words stirred up painful memories, Bai Hu had always wanted to find an opportunity to stay by Hao Chen's side. After all, what place in the universe could be safer than being by the side of an ancient emperor?

Hao Chen's words coincided with Bai Hu's wishes, so Bai Hu agreed without much thought.

"Alright, since you've agreed to stay, I can't keep calling you White Fox."

Meeting the white fox's curious gaze, Hao Chen slowly said, "How about I give you a name? From now on, your surname will be Su, and your given name will be Ru Yan, Su Ru Yan."

Perhaps out of a wicked sense of humor, since the name "Emperor Ruyan" resounded throughout the heavens, Hao Chen named the white fox "Su Ruyan" without a second thought.

The white fox blinked its bright, watery eyes and murmured, "Su Ruyan..."

The more the white fox spoke, the brighter her eyes became. Finally, the white fox jumped up on the spot and exclaimed, "Great! I have a name now! I have a name now! From now on, I will be called Su Ruyan!"

Hao Chen saw a single, glistening tear roll down Ru Yan's cheek and instinctively picked her up, carefully wiping away the tear.

"Although I don't know what happened to you in the past, since you've come with me, I will protect you."

"Yes, you're so nice, not at all like what people say."

"Outside?" Hao Chen became interested after hearing Ru Yan's words, wanting to know what people outside were saying about him.

Ruyan glanced at Haochen somewhat guiltily and said, "Well, it's better if you don't know."

"..." Hao Chen suddenly had a bad feeling, but still asked, "It's okay. I haven't appeared in the universe since I attained enlightenment. It can't be that they're cursing me, right?"

Ruyan shook her head. Seeing Haochen staring at her, she gritted her teeth and said, "Everyone outside says you are the weakest ancient emperor in history. You suffered a serious Dao injury right after you attained Dao, and there are even rumors that you are already in your twilight years..."

As Ruyan wanted to continue speaking, she felt a chill run through her body. When she looked up, she saw that Haochen's face was so gloomy it looked like it could drip water.

Hao Chen was speechless: "This is really something. If I hadn't shown up, people would have been saying I had passed away. And they even said I was the weakest. Isn't that implying that I'm no good?"

With this in mind, Hao Chen no longer hesitated. A golden road rose up beneath his feet, extending outwards towards the outer reaches of the Eastern Heaven Realm.

When the ancient emperor traveled, a golden road stretched across the universe, its energy as vast as the sea.

The aura of the ultimate path, accompanied by the golden road, engulfed the endless starry river and permeated the entire human universe. Wherever it passed, the heavens trembled and all living beings bowed their heads.

Soon, the news of the ancient emperor's departure spread throughout the universe, and countless living beings sensed Hao Chen's terrifying aura.

"Extreme aura? Is it from a forbidden zone?"

"No, it's that Eastern Emperor from the Eastern Heaven Realm!"

"What's going on? There were rumors that the Eastern Emperor had prematurely entered old age due to Dao injuries, but his qi and blood are clearly still in his prime!"

All living beings in the universe were startled by the commotion caused by Hao Chen's departure, and stared in horror at the golden road that stretched across the universe.

At the same time, Hao Chen's undisguised aura of extreme power also alarmed some sleeping beings in forbidden zones.

"What's going on? There's been no movement for five thousand years, how come they've suddenly reappeared?"

"Could it be that once he's recovered from his injuries, he's already planning to conquer the path to immortality again?!"

Some in the forbidden zone looked on with disdain, while others had murderous intent flashing in their eyes, as if they felt that Hao Chen had disturbed their slumber.

However, Hao Chen didn't care about any of this. His purpose in coming here was to tell all living beings in the universe one thing: that he was not dead yet, nor had he entered old age, and that people should not spread rumors.

"I am the Eastern Emperor. Ten years from now, I will preach in the Eastern Heaven Realm. Those who are destined may go to the Eastern Heaven Realm."

Hao Chen's voice resounded throughout the universe, and countless people were greatly shocked, awakening the hidden potential within their divine sources.

After all, if one could listen to a supreme being of humanity preach, there might be a chance to break through one's cultivation level and gain an extra thousand years of lifespan.

After surveying the universe, Hao Chen took Ru Yan back to the Eastern Heaven Realm.

Since we've said we're going to preach to all beings in the universe, we need to prepare a venue. We can't just have them sitting on the ground.

Hao Chen believed that if they were really made to sit on the ground, no one would say anything, but if word got out that they were the poorest ancient emperor, Hao Chen would lose all face.

Meanwhile, time moves to the Deer Man Shop millions of years later (modern era).

Hao Chen's second primordial spirit avatar was sitting on a mountaintop, looking down at the Deer Man Shop below.

Then Hao Chen took out a crystal ball from his pocket and looked at the somewhat illusory white fox in the crystal ball. He saw that the white fox was lying on the ground with its eyes closed, as if it were asleep.

Hao Chen murmured, "According to the timeline, the original body should have met you by now."

"Hehe, if the original body knew what you would do in the future, I wonder if he would regret keeping you around, Ruyan!"

As if mocking himself, or perhaps sighing, Hao Chen stared at the crystal ball for a long time before shaking his head and saying, "Forget it, I'll send you to reincarnation later. I hope you won't do anything foolish in your next life."

At this moment, Hao Chen seemed to sense something, and quickly put away the crystal ball, looking at Tian Lu who was running towards him from behind: "What's wrong, Tian Lu? Why are you in such a hurry?"

"Haochen, the Siberian Qilin made dumplings and asked me to call you home to eat them."

"Okay, I'm coming." Hao Chen got up, stretched, and went back with Tian Lu.