Chapter 176: The First Step is Always the Hardest

Question: What is the first thing you do when you buy a new house?
Answer: Renovate it, of course!

Feng Ke'er released her divine sense to envelop Green Hill Peak, then frowned slightly. There was no barrier here, no protective array, no spirit-gathering array... even the scenery was completely pristine.

Furthermore, being a newcomer here, should she go around paying formal visits to the other peaks?

Ah, everything is difficult at the beginning.

After a brief moment of contemplation, she asked Hu Li, "Fox, do you have any way to find out which treasure mountain belongs to Continent Lord Zhang the Great Immortal?"

Hu Li clenched his fists. "I shall do my utmost to find out before the curfew."

"OK!" Feng Ke'er very much appreciated his promptness and gave a grand wave of her hand. "Be quick and return soon."

The fox turned, leaped up into the air, and flew down toward the base of the mountain.

Watching his receding figure, Feng Ke'er felt immensely pleased with herself. She had truly exceptional taste; this beast pet came with his own provisions, approached tasks with dedication, and was sharp and capable—in short, he was thoroughly reliable.

Retracting her gaze, it was time for her to begin work as well: setting up arrays for defense, overall planning... Hmm, the territory was somewhat large; how could just two hands manage everything? Tomorrow, she would have to instruct the fox to scout around and hire a few servants or the like.

Yet, in less than three minutes, Hu Li flew back, covered in sweat. "Master, I... I cannot get out."

"What is going on?" Feng Ke'er asked, puzzled. She hadn't even had time to set up a barrier yet, so why couldn't they leave?

Wiping away his sweat, Hu Li replied, "I originally thought that flying to the foot of the mountain would reveal a path leading to the outside world. Instead, the foot of the mountain is just a sea of clouds. I circled around once, but saw no path, nor did I find any guiding light spheres. When I flew above the sea of clouds, I hit a barrier within five steps. I tried pressing my identity jade token against the barrier, but it was completely useless."

Feng Ke'er slapped her forehead and laughed. "It was my oversight. While our Green Hill Peak does not have a barrier, this entire region is collectively enclosed by one. I should have set up a teleportation array first." The place where they lived was actually akin to a secret realm. As the master of this place, she could naturally enter and exit freely, but Hu Li could not.

According to records in the *Supreme Heavenly Canon*, teleportation arrays must be established within secret realms. In this way, others holding the realm master's permission talisman could pass through the teleportation array to enter and leave the realm.

The so-called teleportation array, simply put, was a method to connect two different spatial layers. This method combined spatial arts, teleportation arts, and various protective arrays and restrictions; it was extraordinary and exceedingly complex.

The *Supreme Heavenly Canon* contained detailed records of it.

For the longest time, Feng Ke'er had no intention of becoming the master of a secret realm, and thus she had only skimmed through it roughly, without studying it seriously. Now, trying to master it at the eleventh hour, she felt extremely anxious. What should she do if such a complex technique took her ten days or half a month to fully comprehend? If she delayed visiting for too long, it was hard to guarantee that Continent Lord Zhang wouldn't take offense.

A thought suddenly struck her, and she pulled out her own identity token. "Try pressing this against the barrier." As the master of this place, she hoped the barrier was of the type where "seeing the jade token is like seeing the master."

Hu Li agreed verbally, but stood rooted to the spot, fixing his gaze on her.

Feng Ke'er understood his implication and retracted the jade token halfway. "Never mind. If it doesn't work, you'll just have to run back and waste the effort. I might as well go with you."

Hu Li smiled.

Feng Ke'er glared at him and scoffed, "What are you grinning at? If you have something to say in the future, just spit it out." With that, she flew straight toward the foot of the mountain.

Hu Li twitched the corner of his mouth and shook his head. Yet, in that brief moment of distraction, Feng Ke'er's receding figure had already shrunk to the size of a silkworm pea.

Given his speed, how could he possibly catch up? Thus, stamping his foot in frustration, he waved his arms frantically and chased after her. "Master, you are going much too fast. Wait for me!" Heh, the master had said it herself: if you have something to say, just say it!

Damn fox! Feng Ke'er ignored him.

When Hu Li arrived at the base of the mountain, he saw his master standing gracefully with her hands clasped behind her back, floating atop a auspicious cloud, her ribbons drifting in the wind. At that exact moment, he fancied he could hear the sound of flowers blooming.

"What are you still standing there for? Hurry up." Feng Ke'er pressed her jade token back against the barrier and called out over her shoulder—she had just tested it, and her jade token could indeed open the barrier. However, when pressing the token against the barrier, one had to simultaneously infuse it with spiritual energy. Splendid. This trip of hers was a wise move.

Recovering his wits, Hu Li felt as though both of his ears had been set on fire, burning fiercely. "C-Coming." Not daring to look directly at his master, he lowered his head and rushed forward in a flurry.

By then, a golden opening about two meters high had formed in the barrier.

Hu Li was swept up by a gust of wind and darted right through.

"Did you really need to be in such a rush? There isn't enough time today anyway, so it wouldn't have been too late to inquire tomorrow, would it?" Feng Ke'er said, completely speechless as she retrieved her jade token.

Since there was a way to send Hu Li out, the matter of the teleportation array was not urgently pressing. Feng Ke'er returned to the mountain peak to continue her work.

Setting up barriers, arranging arrays, and casting restrictions were tasks Feng Ke'er had long since mastered to perfection. Although the scale of these tasks was much larger than anything she had attempted before, they still could not stump her; it merely required consuming a bit more spiritual energy.

Therefore, when Hu Li's call reached her sea of consciousness, she had not only finished her current tasks but had also slipped into her mustard-seed space to take a bath. Sweat and dust could actually be completely dealt with by simply casting a dust-removal spell on oneself, but she simply couldn't resist soaking in a hot spring after hard work. It was precisely for this reason that she had delayed returning the mustard-seed space to Hu Li.

Hu Li had been blocked outside by the barrier and could not enter.

Feng Ke'er flew to the base of the mountain and helped him open the barrier.

Unexpectedly, Hu Li had completely cast aside his usual composed demeanor. Before he even stepped across the threshold, he blurted out anxiously, "Master, I have found out..."

"Come inside and talk." Feng Ke'er quickly interrupted him, feeling extremely puzzled. When had this fellow changed his personality? He was acting all flustered, as if he were rushing to his own reincarnation.

Hu Li instantly blushed from ear to ear, lowered his head, and replied, "Yes."

After the barrier closed, Feng Ke'er walked up the mountain while saying, "I have finished setting everything up here. Tell me, what have you managed to find out?" Having spent so much time together, she knew his temper well. On this trip, he certainly wouldn't have limited his inquiries solely to Grand Immortal Zhang's treasure mountain.

As expected, Hu Li's report was highly satisfactory. Aside from Grand Immortal Zhang's treasure mountain, he had also gathered clear information on the masters of the other fourteen peaks.

It was well within her expectations. Without turning her head, Feng Ke'er casually asked, "How did you pull it off?"

Hu Li understood his master's style: when given a task, she only ever looked at the results without asking about the process.

Hence, upon hearing this, he looked up at his master's back with some surprise and replied as they walked, "I made a special visit to Chief Steward Yi. I figured that throughout the Central Spirit Continent, no one would know these matters better than him." After saying this, he felt a bit apprehensive, because he knew very well that his master had always disliked drawing attention to herself.

Unexpectedly, Feng Ke'er turned her head and smiled at him. "Correct, that is the most efficient method. Times are different now; in our actions, we no longer need to harbor excessive reservations."

For a moment, Hu Li felt his heart soar, and he continued his report. "I remembered that there is a small shop in the marketplace specializing in the sale of jade slips containing various historical anecdotes and oddities. Seeing that the day was still young, I went over to browse that shop before returning."

Having a clever subordinate saved both worry and effort. Feng Ke'er had been thinking along the same lines, and feeling greatly delighted, she stopped, turned around, and asked, "What did you manage to scout out?" Noticing a flat, large boulder nearby, she sat down on it cross-legged with spirited enthusiasm, holding out her hand. "Hand them over, let me have a look as well."

Hu Li then retrieved the acquired jade slips from his storage bag, handing them to her one by one while explaining, "This is the alliance charter... This is the biography of Grand Immortal Hu Xin. Ah, he is the founding patriarch of the Hu family in the Eastern Spirit Continent... This is the secret history of the Hua family, recounting how they rose from a third-rate clan in the spirit realm to become a giant race in the divine realm..."

There were six jade slips in total.

Feng Ke'er took them one by one and covered them with her divine sense. The contents within were instantly carved and copied into her mind. The Phoenix Jade Token had transformed into an identity token; its shape, color, and functions had all changed, yet she herself had retained that formidable copying function of the Phoenix Jade Token.

Upon discovering this, she couldn't help letting her imagination run wild. Tsk tsk, with this skill... if she were in the modern world, she would definitely become the world's number one piracy king.

However, as soon as that thought arose, she quickly spat at herself mentally: Look at this petty ambition of yours!

After going through them, Feng Ke'er returned all six jade slips to Hu Li.

"Do none of these suit the master's wishes?" Hu Li was completely baffled; she had clearly looked so delighted, why was she returning them without even looking further?

"Not at all, not at all. They are precisely what I need." Feng Ke'er proudly tapped her own head. "They are all recorded right here now."

Hu Li let out a gasp of surprise, his hand trembling so violently that all six jade slips tumbled to the ground.

Seeing this, Feng Ke'er covered her mouth and giggled melodiously.

Hu Li quickly muttered an apology, bent down, and scrambled clumsily to pick up the scattered jade slips.

Thus, Feng Ke'er caught sight of his two ears amidst his silver hair, which were flushed so red they seemed capable of dripping water.

This fox was becoming increasingly interesting. Shaking her head, she sat on the large boulder, watching the spectacle with folded arms, and asked, "Fox, this place is vast. I am thinking of clearing out some spiritual fields to cultivate spiritual herbs and medicines. What do you think?"

Hu Li's movements paused slightly. However, he quickly and unhurriedly gathered the six jade slips back into his storage bag, stood up, and replied, "This method is exceptionally good. Firstly, it provides our Green Hill Peak with its own yield; secondly, we can cultivate rare spiritual herbs and medicines; and thirdly, once our elixir industry expands in the future, having our own spiritual fields ensures that we will not be at the mercy of others regarding our medicinal ingredients."

Feng Ke'er shrugged. "Look around and choose wherever is suitable to open up spiritual fields. Tomorrow, go outside and recruit some manpower to get the spiritual fields operational first. Over the next few days, I will be visiting Continent Lord Zhang and the various peak masters, and I must also wholeheartedly set up the teleportation array... Er, anyway, I am completely clueless about agricultural matters, so I won't be able to help you with the spiritual fields. You don't need to report back to me; just make your own decisions." With that, she crossed her fingers in her heart: Heaven protect me, let this one actually know what he's doing.

Very well, she admitted to being somewhat cunning: even if the fox didn't know the trade, he had to learn it. Because she intended to forge an all-around, versatile steward proficient in every imaginable craft! Roar!

Hu Li's state of mind at that moment was no different from having been injected with a high-potency stimulant. A man will die for one who truly knows his worth. As a demonic beast, being trusted to such an extent by his master made him swell with pride!

++++++Dividing Line++++++

Peak Lord thanks Lao Ye 9966 for the pink ticket.

It is said that if your fan value exceeds one thousand, Qidian will gift you an evaluation ticket for this pit; I wonder if it's true or not? Anyway, Peak Lord hasn't been able to find this ticket. Dear ones, does anyone know? If you find it, please cast it, don't let it go to waste. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come and vote for recommendations or monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation!)

Supreme Heavenly Canon 176_Supreme Heavenly Canon Full Text Free Reading_Chapter 176: Everything is Difficult at the Beginning is now fully updated!