Every 20 years of practice, the fox will grow an extra tail. When there are nine tails, even if the merits are complete, even the gods in the sky will be respectful of three points.

However, this ninth tail is extremely difficult to repair. When the fox cultivates the eighth tail, it will get a hint to help its owner realize a wish. After the wish is fulfilled, it will grow a new tail, but one of the old tails will fall off, and it will still be eight tails. This seems to be a strange endless loop, and it is impossible to cultivate nine tails anyway.

There is a devout fox who has been practicing for hundreds of years and has helped many people realize their wishes, but he still has eight tails. He complains to the Buddha, how can he practice the Tao in this way?

The Buddha just laughed and didn't answer, so he had to keep practicing.

One day, when it returned to its hiding village in a storm, it met a teenager who was besieged by wolves. With its good fortune, it certainly drove away the wolves and saved the teenager. Later, it was discovered that the teenager was the descendant of its first owner.

According to the rules, it needs to help the teenager realize a wish, then shed a tail and grow a new tail to continue its endless cycle.

The teenager is ecstatic, of course. The legend of the nine-tailed fox has been circulating in the local area for many years, and how lucky he is to be the owner of the eight-tailed fox, and there is a wish that can be realized no matter how extravagant!

Eight-tailed fox asked the boy what his wish was, but he couldn't answer it for a while, so in the next few days, the boy got along with Eight-tailed carefully and found that his eyes were a little sad besides seeing through the indifference of the world. When he learned the secret of the infinite loop, he felt pity for this miraculous fox.

Finally, one day, the eight-tailed fox asked the teenager what he wanted.

The boy thought for a moment and asked, "Can all wishes come true?"

The boy then said slowly, "Well, my wish is that you can have nine tails."

The fox froze, his eyes full of doubts, followed by an indescribable grateful look. It leaned down and licked the boy's hand, which was very warm.

As a result, the eight-tailed fox grew a gorgeous ninth tail and became a real nine-tailed fox, and the teenager's life was very happy.

The story ends here. It turns out that the secret of enlightenment is like this. Only when you meet someone who is willing to make it perfect can it have nine tails.

In the past, people were selfish for themselves, thinking that it was appropriate to realize any wish for them, and never considered the feelings of foxes, but every tail had to be cultivated for hundreds of years.