The Aloof Immortal Venerable is Pregnant with My Fox Cub - Chapter 22

Chapter 22

The waterfall splashed, the pool water rippled with emerald waves, and the sound of the running water was soothing. Cang Ran was scrubbing the clothes, and the little hedgehog demon was still squatting nearby, having not left.

The little hedgehog demon said, “My King, why don’t I help you wash it? It looks bad if other demons see you.”

Cang Ran glanced at its short, clumsy paws. What if it messed up the clothes?

She never had high expectations for the little clumsy demon: “You just watch from the side and help me wring out the water later. What’s there to be afraid of other demons seeing when washing clothes?”

The little hedgehog demon scratched its head: “But other Kings all let the small demons wash their clothes. If the other Demon Kings knew, My King, you would lose face.”

Cang Ran was calm: “I don’t care about that. Will my face gain value if I let other small demons wash my clothes?”

She wasn’t handless or footless. Besides, these were Qingqing’s personal clothes. How could she entrust them to someone else?

The little hedgehog demon nodded: “Alright, My King.”

Cang Ran washed the clothes. The water surface was shimmering. The plain white garments swayed in the water, looking like beautiful, moving water weeds.

The pool water had been warmed by the sun. The fox paws were leisurely immersed in the water, feeling a gentle warmth and coolness, a kind of ineffable comfort.

There were some clean, irregular stone slabs around. The little fox squatted on a stone slab, standing slightly above the water level. Her large tails swayed leisurely, and the little hedgehog boredly threw pebbles beside her.

Gulp, gulp, one pebble after another sank, and the emerald water slowly rippled outwards. Ripples from the fish gulping air bubbles also spread out, and the muffled sound of fish biting something came from beneath the sparse green water plants.

With a whoosh, the plain white clothes, rinsed with water, were lifted up by the fox paws, dripping with water streams of varying sizes, like rain falling on the lake surface.

The little hedgehog demon immediately stopped throwing pebbles and reached out to help Cang Ran wring the clothes.

Cang Ran, holding the clothes with no paws free, hit it with her large tail: “Wash your hands first!”

The little hedgehog didn’t learn its lesson. After throwing pebbles, its paws were dirty, and it still wanted to come and help her wring the clothes.

Its fat butt was suddenly hit, and the little hedgehog nearly rolled into the pool, which would have meant an unwelcome cold bath.

It quickly washed its little paws several times in the pool water, then rubbed and rubbed them on its soft belly. It spread out its paws for Cang Ran to see: “My King, I’m done washing!”

Cang Ran glanced at the little hedgehog’s soft belly. It had a layer of very delicate, soft down, like high-quality velvet cloth. After wiping, tiny, glistening water droplets rolled over it.

Its little paws were also pink, unlike other animals that had a lot of fur, so fur wouldn’t stick to the clothes when wringing them out.

Acceptable, the fox certified. These were a pair of qualified clean little paws.

Cang Ran nodded: “Come over. I’ll twist inwards, and you twist outwards.”

The spring garments were thin. Cang Ran and the little hedgehog worked together, wringing out all the clothes in no time.

Cang Ran shook the clothes twice with her paws, used a bit of magic to dry the washed garments, folded them neatly, and put them into her storage bag.

Seeing the King put away the clothes, the little hedgehog suddenly remembered why it had come to find the King and quickly said: “My King, I’ve been asking the little demons to keep an eye on that human cultivator named Ye Ze, but these days I haven’t heard back from them about any news. Should I continue to have the little demons guard Luofeng City and the exits?”

Cang Ran couldn’t help but frown. That wasn’t right. According to the time and plot points, the original male lead, who had been bullied severely, should have already started his cheating-like journey, accidentally unlocking the white-bearded old man in the jade thumb ring and gaining access to some high-level cultivation techniques.

Relying on these advanced techniques, the male lead first gained prominence by defeating the senior disciple within his sect. He was highly praised by countless outer sect disciples and even received a reward from the sect leader, who granted him special permission to become a personal disciple under a certain Inner Sect Venerable.

That senior disciple, while offering superficial compliments, was secretly jealous of the male lead. He deliberately made things difficult by assigning the male lead an extremely high-risk mission and privately prepared ways to secretly harm him.

Early-stage villain schemes usually succeeded because the male lead, thanks to his protagonist’s aura, would not only escape danger but also level up again, returning to harshly humiliate the villain and, at the same time, win the heart of a beauty.

This current time point should be mid-way through the assassination mission. That senior disciple had planned for the male lead to accidentally fall off a cliff and intentionally set out bait below the cliff that would drive fierce beasts mad, ensuring the male lead would die without a burial place.

At this point, the junior sister who had just developed a slight affection for him would be heartbroken, and the male lead, after luckily escaping with his life, would accidentally hide in a cave, encounter a sweet, naive red fox in heat, and begin a journey of dual cultivation and free benefits.

Unfortunately, that sweet, naive red fox demon was Cang Ran herself.

Did she really manage to successfully run away like that? Cang Ran felt doubts rising in her heart. Her luck had never been very good. Picking up money on the ground since childhood, she could only find fifty cents after half a month of searching.

Everything was going too smoothly. So smoothly that she began to suspect that she was the granddaughter of the Old Heavens and that’s why everything she wished for came true.

Cang Ran couldn’t help but think she was overthinking. Wouldn’t it be better if she didn’t encounter the original plot? She could just live happily with Qingqing. Should she really hope for bad luck to befall her?

Forget it. As long as the hoe is wielded well, there’s no wife that can’t be dug up.

Cang Ran stretched and instructed the little hedgehog demon: “If any Demon Kings come to visit recently, tell them I’m going into secluded cultivation and won’t be receiving guests. Don’t tell them I was injured.”

The little hedgehog had already noticed the Fox King’s injuries and quickly nodded: “Yes, My King.”

The ruthless face of the demon cultivator suddenly flashed in Cang Ran’s mind. Her expression became serious: “Also, tell all the little demons on Fox Fox Mountain to be vigilant. They should stay indoors if possible. Everything waits until after I break through the Core Condensation stage.”

“During this time, go and take care of Qingqing for me every day. If she needs to find me for anything, just take her directly to the place where I usually cultivate.”

Most cultivators had already achieved bigu (abstention from grain), and Qingqing rarely ate before, which was probably why. The little hedgehog delivered wild fruits and mountain spring water to the cave dwelling every day. Qingqing might use some if she wanted to.

Although the little hedgehog was confused, seeing the King’s rare look of seriousness, it knew the King might have encountered something very dangerous.

Its entire body’s quills tightened, and it nodded very seriously: “I will follow all the King’s orders. I’ll pass on the message right away.”

Cang Ran meticulously instructed: “Mhm, be careful these days. If you see unfamiliar species, don’t go near them. Avoid them from a distance.”

The little hedgehog demon looked vigilant: “Yes, My King. I will definitely be careful!”

A person’s intuition is usually accurate, and the same goes for demons. Once bitten by a snake, one fears a rope for ten years.

The demon cultivator wouldn’t give up easily. Cang Ran’s caution at this moment unknowingly saved the little hedgehog demon’s life later on.

After the little hedgehog demon left, Cang Ran went to the giant rock where spiritual energy converged on the mountain to cultivate. Her cultivation had always been steady and solid.

Perhaps because her essence was human, she had a little more capacity for contemplation regarding the understanding of heaven and earth than these native demons.

Subconsciously, she had a feeling that the Heavenly Dao in this world was unfair to demon cultivators. Perhaps it was because demon cultivators naturally had stronger physiques and more robust spiritual roots than human cultivators, so the punishment from the lightning tribulations was correspondingly heavier.

Every time a demon leveled up and faced a lightning tribulation, the Heavenly Dao seemed to desperately want to strike all demon cultivators dead with lightning. However, there was a natural order to the world, and humans, demons, and devils were stable within a triangular framework.

In situations where the lightning truly couldn’t kill them, it would only make some demon cultivators stronger.

To avoid the lightning tribulation, or rather, to deceive it, Cang Ran had always suppressed her cultivation to be grounded and practical, unlike other demon cultivators who consumed many pills to increase their cultivation level.

All medicine has some toxicity. While it might bring temporary gains, over time, it would accumulate impurities in the body, affecting the demon cultivator’s naturally superior foundation and requiring the use of heavenly treasures to cleanse their meridians and wash their marrow.

That’s why Cang Ran dared to tell Tan Qingxuan that she could guarantee she was invincible within the Transformation stage, capable of dominating all demon cultivators who raised their cultivation with pills within that stage.

For Cang Ran, going into seclusion wasn’t about desperately absorbing spiritual energy for cultivation. If that were the case, all cultivators would just sit daily in the best spiritual vein locations and compete to see who could absorb the most spiritual energy, wouldn’t they?

Her own cultivation foundation was solid enough; what she lacked was an epiphany to break through the barrier. But epiphany wasn’t like drinking water or eating food; it didn’t come when you wanted it to.

Some people get stuck at a realm barrier for decades, or even their whole lives, without achieving enlightenment, and they have to go out and experience the world to pass their tribulation.

Perhaps one day, while listening to the guqin, enjoying the rain, or slaying demons, they would suddenly break free from the constraints of heaven and earth and enter the next realm.

Cang Ran couldn’t go out now, so she had to find her own methods. First, she needed to replenish the spiritual energy she had consumed, and then dispel the demonic energy in her body. This demonic energy occasionally surged, causing intense pain in her dantian.

She also needed to study the strange fire. Last time, she narrowly managed to touch the threshold of increasing the fire’s power, but she heard Tan Qingxuan say that the strange fire needed to be tempered. Although she felt a bit lost, she could slowly try.

Maybe she would suddenly have an epiphany during these processes. Even if she didn’t, she would still make progress through hard work.

Before going into seclusion, Cang Ran decided to go and inform Tan Qingxuan, lest Tan Qingxuan worry if she couldn’t find her.

When Cang Ran returned to the cave dwelling on the mountain, Tan Qingxuan was also cultivating. Because she had revealed her identity as a cultivator, Tan Qingxuan didn’t avoid her. While she cultivated, spiritual energy flowed around her like water.

She sat cross-legged, looking like a deity. Her method of cultivation was also different from Cang Ran’s, appearing very sacred and solemn, as if ritual music was being sung.

Cang Ran, being someone who couldn’t stand loneliness, couldn’t help but quiet down and obediently squat beside Tan Qingxuan.

Are all cultivators in the cultivation world like Qingqing? I feel like Qingqing and I are cultivating different types of immortality.

Tan Qingxuan cultivated with a part of her divine consciousness split off, fully aware of the little fox’s movements. She didn’t make Cang Ran wait too long, bringing back the cultivation technique she was running for one cycle.

She lowered her gaze slightly and saw the little fox squatting beside her, blinking its bright eyes, its small head tilted towards her.

Tan Qingxuan’s cool gaze couldn’t help but fall on the fuzzy fox paws.

One use of the Dust Cleansing spell could remove the dust from clothes. Cang Ran had scrubbed soapberries for half a day. Didn’t her little paw pads, injured yesterday, hurt?

So clumsy, yet somehow logically consistent. The little fox’s cleverness was always short-lived.

Tan Qingxuan’s eyes softened, and she asked softly, “What is it?”

Cang Ran recovered from the sight of her beauty, her heart fluttering: “Qingqing, I want to cultivate next to you, closer to you.”

The little fox’s amber eyes were clear to the bottom, but her three large tails swayed back and forth, clearly pleased with the idea.

Logically, cultivation was usually done alone by cultivators in their own cave dwellings. Tan Qingxuan rarely cultivated with others. In the past, she would certainly have refused, but then she thought of the demonic energy inside the little fox’s body.

Tan Qingxuan was also worried that Cang Ran might be infected by the demonic energy during cultivation, as she was yesterday, so she granted her permission: “You may.”

Cang Ran curled the corners of her mouth, having gotten her wish. She joyfully swayed her fluffy tails and brought a grass-woven meditation mat, placing it next to Tan Qingxuan.

The little fox sat cross-legged in the center of the mat. She was about to begin cultivating, but as soon as she spit out her inner core, she remembered that every time she absorbed spiritual energy, it was like a small storm, which would likely disturb Tan Qingxuan’s quiet cultivation.

Cang Ran’s fox ears drooped. She retracted her inner core and sighed: “Never mind. I won’t cultivate next to you. I’m going into seclusion these days. The little hedgehog will come to take care of you every day.”

Tan Qingxuan frowned slightly. She was about to ask a question but decided against it, simply nodding: “Alright.”

The little fox said her piece and left, coming and going like a gust of wind, making it hard to understand her intentions.

She originally thought this little fox was not tending to proper business, obsessed with petty tricks after finishing her daily cultivation. Now, she was suddenly serious about going into seclusion and wouldn’t be around for a while, which oddly made her feel a little unaccustomed.

Even when cultivators went into seclusion, they always set a time limit. This little fox didn’t even state a precise date for her seclusion.

She also thought about the demonic energy in the little fox’s body and her injuries. It was normal for her to go into seclusion for a period of time.

Tan Qingxuan lowered her gaze and looked at the empty mat beside her, where two strands of fiery red fox fur were stuck.

She left, and she even left fox fur here…

Tan Qingxuan shook her head slightly, collected the fiery red fox fur, and put the mat back in its original place.

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