Chapter 75: The Gathering Expert

“My parents are away on business, and the old butler is out shopping. Only I remain at home. Would you care to come inside and rest, young master?” As the Fox Demon spoke, she subtly revealed her shoulder in a suggestive manner.

Hearing this, Chen Xiyi’s body trembled with excitement. “Do you really mean that, miss?”

Witnessing his reaction, the Fox Demon felt scornful inside. Another lustful scholar, she thought. The ones before at least pretended to be decent, but this one didn’t even bother to hide it.

“That’s wonderful! Do you know how long I’ve been holding back?” Chen Xiyi’s words only deepened her contempt, though she kept her face politely neutral, maintaining her professional demeanor.

The Fox Demon feigned shyness. “You’re so naughty, young master.”

After giving him a seductive glance, she turned and swayed her hips, signaling for him to follow.

“Bang~”

A gunshot rang out, and everything fell silent.

[You used the Alloy Firearm to deal 99% damage to the Enlightened Fox. You have slain the Enlightened Fox.]

[You gathered materials from the Enlightened Fox, killed by the Alloy Firearm. You obtained: Fox Meat, Fox Hide…]

With the Fox Demon’s death, the Illusion Art that had enveloped the area vanished instantly.

“Defeated in one shot? This demon seems pretty weak. Or maybe my Alloy Firearm is just too powerful?” Chen Xiyi had expected to need a hundred shots or so to take down the Fox Demon, especially since it could cast such a wide-ranging Illusion Art—surely it was no ordinary foe.

But he never imagined it would fall to just one bullet.

What was even more absurd was that the items he gathered were all common materials, with no trace of anything demonic.

“If I’d known you were this weak, I wouldn’t have wasted time chatting. I’d have just shot you right away.” Chen Xiyi felt he had lost out.

He hadn’t noticed the small white dot on the burial mound earlier; it had been obscured by the golden dot representing the Module. Only when he realized someone was targeting him did he think to temporarily hide the Module’s golden dot on his map, finally revealing the Fox Demon on the mound.

Chen Xiyi knew there was only one Fox Demon. With his map, even if his vision was clouded by the Illusion Art, he could still judge his attack based on its position.

The only thing that had concerned him was the Fox Demon’s strength. Creating such a large disturbance surely meant it was no minor demon.

So, his original plan was to deceive it, wait for it to turn around, and then ambush it with a barrage of a hundred bullets.

But events unfolded entirely contrary to his expectations—he never thought the Fox Demon would be so feeble that a single shot from his Firearm would kill it.

Chen Xiyi wasn’t sure what to make of it. In the end, he concluded that the Alloy Firearm must be a top-tier weapon, especially with metal bullets that dealt high damage.

Then again, maybe the Fox Demon was just weak.

From the front, the burial mound looked fairly normal, complete with a tombstone. But because it was made of Wooden Plank and had weathered the elements, Chen Xiyi couldn’t make out the inscription.

However, given its location and modest size, the person buried here likely wasn’t from a wealthy or noble family.

Walking to the back of the mound, a waist-high cave entrance came into view.

A strong, foul smell wafted out from within, making it almost unbearable.

Clearly, the original occupant of the grave had been disposed of by the Fox Demon—dragged away, judging by the marks outside, likely left by people and animals who had fallen victim to its Illusion Art and charms.

In this remote wilderness, the Fox Demon couldn’t feasibly feast on humans every day; it probably survived mostly on animals.

The Module he needed was likely down there, and Chen Xiyi suspected it might have come from some unfortunate soul the Fox Demon had killed.

Going down was out of the question. Aside from the filth and stench, there was no telling what traps the Fox Demon might have set. If he stumbled into one not recognized as an attack, his equipment wouldn’t protect him, and he could die instantly given his frail physique without gear.

Better to play it safe and use a channeled digging action; that was the most secure method.

[You are digging…]

Digging with channeling and without using the Alloy Pickaxe made the process slower, but Chen Xiyi didn’t mind.

As the earth and stones crumbled and were absorbed, he realized the fox had dug quite extensively. He wondered why it had chosen this burial mound. With such skill, finding a more hidden spot would have been smarter.

Was it trying to hide in plain sight? Or did it pick the mound as a landmark because this was already desolate countryside?

Chen Xiyi didn’t understand, but his confusion didn’t stop him from digging.

After excavating the mound, the stench hit him full force, so overpowering that anyone with a weaker stomach might have vomited.

Of course, he might not have been able to vomit even if he tried—he rarely ate meals anymore, consuming items directly from his Inventory.

Disgusting as it was, he had to go down for the Module. Luckily, his Scholar Costume would bear the brunt of the dirt, and beneath that, his sealed Alloy equipment would keep him perfectly clean.

Descending into the fox’s den, he stepped on various bones—mostly animal, with a few human.

Chen Xiyi rummaged through them and found several blood-stained notes, probably currency.

They were unusable now, but this world seemed to have multiple forms of money. He also uncovered a few copper and other coins that looked strangely familiar.

He pocketed the coins for future needs before continuing his search.

Soon, on a skeleton dressed in what resembled Taoist robes, he found the Module he needed.

[Module: Zhou Tian Qi Circulation]

Turning over the skeleton, he saw the Module was actually a book titled “Book of Changes.” When he stored it in his Inventory and used it, all the golden dots on his map disappeared, indicating that all Modules were duplicates and obtaining one was enough.

Chen Xiyi didn’t use it immediately. Instead, he flipped through the Book of Changes that contained the Zhou Tian Qi Circulation Module and frowned. “This looks familiar.”

“I’ll check it out later. Let’s see what other treasures are here first.” He turned his attention back to the skeleton that had yielded the Module.

Dressed in Taoist-like robes, it might still carry other valuable items.