The sky suddenly split open, and rosy light poured down like a waterfall. Ninety-nine fire phoenixes circled Mount Qingqiu, crying out. It was an omen marking the birth of the nine-tailed white fox, Bai Ao. The old fox king, Bai Qitian, cradled the newborn, whose body was wrapped in spiritual light. When his fingertips brushed the starlight flowing through the cub’s fur, a sudden pain stabbed his palm. A celestial marking had appeared from nowhere. The clan elders trembled as they prophesied, “This child was born with immortal bones, but his heart is unsettled. If he cannot overcome his inner tribulation, he may bring a thousand-year calamity upon the fox clan.” From childhood, Bai Ao was like a lively little flame. He sneaked bites of the Queen Mother’s peaches of immortality, and the juice splattered across the ground, turning into golden lotuses. He hid the East Sea Dragon Prince’s scales in his father’s jeweled crown, leaving the dragon clan’s envoys unable to return for three days. He even burrowed into the feathers of the Great Lord Lao’s crane, then plucked a feather to use as an arrow while the old lord was refining pills, shooting down a star lantern in the Jade Pool. Each time Bai Qitian had to clean up the mess, he was exasperated by the cub’s mischief, yet adored the starlike cunning in his eyes. He would always sigh, “If only his spiritual energy could solidify into resolve, it would be the fox clan’s greatest blessing.”
At the Jade Pool banquet one day, Bai Ao caught the wonderful fragrance wafting from the direction of the pill furnace... The Great Lord Lao waved his horsetail whisk and put out the flames beneath the furnace. Bai Ao, barely clinging to life, was sentenced to nine cycles of reincarnation. From then on, he lived as a mortal through the feuds of the martial world and the flames of war. Sometimes he risked his life to save the lonely and helpless; sometimes he fought demons to protect the people. His quick wits helped him find a way out of desperate situations, but his unruly nature often landed him in trouble. At last, in his ninth life, the old fox who coveted the position of fox king ambushed him beneath the tribulation lightning.
His merit from nine lifetimes shattered, but Bai Ao returned to the cycle of reincarnation through sheer indomitable will. He used his wits to break through the trap and harnessed the tribulation lightning to repair his inner core, eventually ascending to the throne of fox king. The netherworld’s flames burned away the past. The mischievous little fox demon had become the king of all demons, ruling Qingqiu with a galaxy hidden in his eyes.
