The Aloof Immortal Venerable is Pregnant with My Fox Cub - Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Time flows quickly in the mountains, and once one goes into secluded cultivation, time rushes by like water.

Tan Qingxuan cultivated inside the cave dwelling, while Cang Ran cultivated on the small mountain peak above the dwelling. She sat cross-legged during the day and practiced under the moon at night.

Perhaps because she had been injured earlier and consumed a lot of spiritual energy, her body sensed her poor condition, and the heat of her estrus had not bothered her for a long time.

For Cang Ran, this was a minor relief. During her seclusion, she replenished her spiritual energy and refined and dispelled a little less than half of the fist-sized demonic energy that she had sealed and suppressed in her body.

She successively advanced two minor stages, experienced the lightning tribulation, and reached the ninth stage of the Transformation period. Cang Ran’s cultivation base in the Transformation period was now like a basin of water, full and about to overflow.

Her true cultivation strength was comparable to a first-stage Core Condensation cultivator. Unfortunately, she was still lacking a critical turning point to break the Core Condensation barrier. Cang Ran lingered at this barrier for several days but ultimately failed to advance.

Cang Ran knew that she needed a karmic opportunity or experience to break through. Since her opportunity wasn’t here, it was useless to continue wasting time, so she turned her attention to studying the strange fire.

That day, Cang Ran had only split one clump of strange fire. Because she had split the fire seed in two earlier, causing her divine consciousness to be injured, she did not act recklessly afterward. After multiple attempts, she found that she could split the strange fire into a maximum of three more clumps.

Any more would cause her head to ache. It was also a bit strenuous for her to control four clumps of strange fire simultaneously. Perhaps the tempering Tan Qingxuan mentioned was also a way to strengthen the strange fire.

Cang Ran took the sword out of her storage bag again. Under the strange fire, the sword still shone with a cold light. It truly deserved to be called the stubborn ‘Eighty.’

The spiritual sword was suspended in front of her, with the four clumps of strange fire surrounding it. Just as Tan Qingxuan said, the sword did not deform, no matter how the strange fire encroached upon it.

One should know that Cang Ran could easily create a sea of fire by applying her demonic power to the strange fire.

Facing such scorching flames and super high temperatures, Eighty remained utterly still, not even trembling, like a salted fish lying flat, refusing to flip over.

The sharp brilliance enveloping the sword body flowed down layer by layer, truly impervious to all flames, as if radiating an invisible mockery.

Cang Ran was so angry that she clenched her beast paws, wishing she could take a hammer and repair Eighty, smashing it into Forty!

Cang Ran gritted her teeth and squeezed her paws, unable to understand how this broken sword, which could withstand even the strange fire, could have been damaged in the first place.

Could it be that it met a more powerful artifact, got into a fight, and was beaten into this state?

Hmph, it’s nothing impressive. If others could beat it up, why couldn’t she?

Cang Ran had a flash of inspiration. She applied spiritual energy to all four clumps of strange fire, constantly tempering them, and sculpted them into four-lobed little foxes.

All together! Gnaw this spiritual sword bald!

As for why they were sculpted into four-lobed little foxes, it was simply because Cang Ran couldn’t sculpt them into proper shapes yet. Being able to sculpt them into four-lobed shapes was already pretty good.

These clumps of strange fire didn’t look like foxes at all; they were more like large, square objects, only slightly pulled into corners, lacking even beast teeth.

Cang Ran drew out all the divine consciousness in her sea of consciousness, controlling the four spiritual fire clumps, which had transformed into small squares, like released silk threads.

Sure enough, when the strange fire had a form, its power was stronger than before. The spiritual sword began to tremble slightly, and Cang Ran felt as though she was communicating with the sword spirit through the strange fire.

This communication was not very friendly. Cang Ran quickly realized that this ‘Eighty’ was very proud. It wasn’t afraid of the strange fire at all and even boasted that she should temper it as much as she liked.

Cang Ran continued to contend with Eighty. A few days later, the small square clumps of strange fire began to take on the rudimentary shape of beasts, growing small beast teeth.

In a while longer, the spiritual sword would surely learn its lesson.

Cang Ran had figured out some of the ways, but arduous cultivation was truly exhausting, and she missed Tan Qingxuan. So, she ended her seclusion.

Her body had recuperated well during this time. The fox fur that was previously damaged had regained its luster and was no longer shedding easily like before.

Cang Ran was about to transform into human form and go find Tan Qingxuan, but she saw the little hedgehog demon first.

The little hedgehog demon looked frantic. Cang Ran’s heart tightened, thinking something had happened to Tan Qingxuan, and she quickly asked, “What’s wrong?”

The little hedgehog demon’s face was pale: “My King, the little white mouse I know went to Luofeng City to buy meat pies a few days ago, and hasn’t returned today.”

Cang Ran frowned deeply, asking, “Did you find out who did it?”

The little hedgehog demon shook its head, its eyes red, and said, “I don’t know. I told Little White to leave later, but it wouldn’t listen to me. It insisted on buying meat pies.”

When a small animal disappears for too long, it is usually gone. The little hedgehog demon’s red eyes were for this reason.

Cang Ran sighed inwardly and stroked the little hedgehog demon’s head: “Which mountain did that little white mouse belong to?”

The little hedgehog demon’s tears flowed more profusely after being touched by the King: “It was from Yellow Ridge Mountain. Although the Yellow Weasel King is very bad, Little White is different. It’s a good demon. It has never done anything bad!”

Cang Ran comforted him: “The Yellow Weasel King should deal with it. It will help Little White get revenge.”

The little hedgehog demon’s tears stopped somewhat: “Really, My King? But the Yellow Weasel King looks very bad.”

The Yellow Weasel King usually had poor conduct, but the last time she overturned its small green ox demon, the Yellow Weasel King left immediately.

No matter how bad a demon was, they wouldn’t ignore their subordinates. One must know that every small demon has the scent mark of their own King. Even beating a dog depends on its owner.

The Yellow Weasel King was a demon of the Transformation stage. There was no way it would let others disrespect it in front of its face.

Cang Ran’s first thought was whether Han Jinzhi had gone back and complained to the Icy Wolf, and now they were killing a chicken to scare the monkeys. But after careful consideration, she felt it was impossible. Demon cultivators were usually straightforward. There weren’t many demons with eight hundred tricks up their sleeves like the Yellow Weasel King.

Moreover, during this crucial period, killing a small demon and letting the news spread would be too embarrassing. The little white mouse’s status was far less than the few trusted green ox demons who followed the Yellow Weasel King. There was absolutely no need for this.

Then there was only one possibility: the Core Condensation demon cultivator from before had captured a few small demons, trying to scout out her location.

That was indeed clever. She was the only Transformation-stage red fox demon in the Canglan Mountains. But the fact that the demon cultivator hadn’t attacked for so long could only mean that the Thousand-Year Death Vine had badly injured the demon cultivator, and they were recuperating.

The little white mouse being harmed a few days ago happened to corroborate this. The demon cultivator’s strength was greatly reduced, and they only dared to vent their anger on small, unestablished demons.

They hoped to wait until their injuries were healed before coming to harm her and Qingqing. No chance. They were also in seclusion to raise their cultivation. The outcome of their next meeting was still unknown.

Cang Ran rubbed the little hedgehog’s head again: “Evil will definitely meet its retribution. Did anyone come looking for me during my seclusion?”

The little hedgehog demon thought for a moment and said, “The Yellow Weasel King looked for you. I told her you were in seclusion and not receiving guests, so she left. Also, Miss Dong Ming brought a gift with a small demon and came to the door. I told her you were in seclusion, and she said she would wait until you came out.”

Cang Ran nodded: “You handled that very well. You’ve worked hard these days. Here’s a reward of spiritual stones.”

She casually grabbed a handful of low-grade spiritual stones from her storage bag and gave them to the little hedgehog demon.

The little hedgehog demon was suddenly rewarded with a handful of spiritual stones by the King. Its two pink little paws were full, and counting them, there were more than its own claws and toes.

The King even praised it! It wasn’t hard work! Not at all!

Its small black bean eyes immediately lit up: “Thank you, My King. You are so good to me. I will be your little hedgehog forever!”

It was so simple to comfort a sad little demon. These low-grade spiritual stones were the change she and Tan Qingxuan got back when they paid with spiritual stone notes while eating wontons.

Cang Ran hadn’t counted the handful she grabbed; it was probably only about ten small round spiritual stones.

But the little hedgehog demon was already very happy with a full grip of spiritual stones. These stones could buy many storybooks and also food.

These were a reward from the King, something other little demons didn’t have. It wouldn’t spend them. It would put them in a jar next to its pillow and count them every night before going to sleep!

The little hedgehog demon happily planned, carefully putting the spiritual stones into the innermost part of its close-fitting leather pouch. Fearing they would be lost, it even plucked a soft quill from its body to tightly fasten the opening of the pouch.

It was busy putting away the spiritual stones and didn’t notice that the King had already left. It stretched out its little paws and scratched its head.

It was so happy just now that it forgot to tell the King that Miss Dong Ming came every day. But the King seemed to prefer that beautiful human now, so she probably wouldn’t care.

If Miss Dong Ming came tomorrow, should it say the King was still in seclusion or had come out?

Cang Ran came down from the mountain peak and went to find Tan Qingxuan at the cave dwelling. During her seclusion, the two weren’t completely absent from each other’s sight every day, but they were busy cultivating, and spoke less than usual.

Should she bring something for Qingqing? Qingqing had also been cultivating these days. The peach blossoms in the vase must be withered by now. She should replace them with new ones.

The little hedgehog was usually clumsy. It didn’t know how to pick the best fruits. It ate the ones with wormholes with more relish and loved the sour ones even more, piling all sorts of fruits into the basket.

Through her observation, she was sure Qingqing liked sweet things. The ones she had chosen for Tan Qingxuan before were sweet, and Qingqing seemed to like them.

Sure enough, only she could be this meticulous and take such good care of Qingqing.

Cang Ran strolled leisurely into the mountains to pick flowers. The flowers of spring were blooming all over the hillside, more than she could ever pick.

She used to like peach blossoms, thinking they were the most beautiful. After meeting Tan Qingxuan, she felt that begonia flowers suited Tan Qingxuan better, beautiful and otherworldly with a noble spirit.

The season when she first met Tan Qingxuan, the white begonia flowers in the mountain hadn’t fully bloomed and weren’t at their best. Now was the perfect time to pick them as a gift for the beauty.

Cang Ran picked many of them, a huge armful, and paired them with other flowers for contrast. Holding the flowers close for a long time made her sleeves fragrant.

The loquats on the loquat trees were also ripe. Looking across the trees, they were golden yellow in patches, bending the branches, showing a particularly pleasing harvest.

Cang Ran had an idea. She used a demon spell, striking the loquat branch with the most and largest fruits. A pile of loquats tumbled down from the fruit tree with a clatter.

Cang Ran kept the large, well-formed fruits, washed them clean in the stream, and put them into a pretty little basket.

Thinking that she would soon see Tan Qingxuan, her mood brightened, and her steps became quicker.

Tan Qingxuan was a very disciplined and restrained person on a daily basis. With years of quiet cultivation, her Dao heart was firm. If she was sitting in meditation, she wouldn’t go anywhere else.

Sometimes, when Cang Ran missed Tan Qingxuan, she would glance at the cave entrance. Seeing Tan Qingxuan meditating there always gave her a sense of peace.

This feeling was probably like drawing an SSR card in a game—golden, glittering, and glowing. Moreover, Tan Qingxuan was a real-life, cool beauty with whom she could interact.

Hiding the great beauty at home and glancing at her from a distance every day somehow made her inexplicably happy.

Thinking of this, Cang Ran’s heart was filled, and the corners of her mouth curved up even more. After being apart for so long, she decided to give Tan Qingxuan a warm hug.

This time, she didn’t transform into the little fox. Seeing Tan Qingxuan bring her cultivation technique to a close, she ran right over and threw herself into Tan Qingxuan’s arms.

“I’m out of seclusion. I missed you so much.”

Cang Ran didn’t even have time to put down the basket of fruit and flowers she was carrying. She had just returned from outside, bringing a fresh, rich scent of fruit and flowers.

Her voice was sweet and soft, making it hard to feel any blame. Moreover, her fuzzy little fox ears rubbed against Tan Qingxuan’s shoulder several times.

However, Tan Qingxuan, having cultivated for many years, was still unaccustomed to such overly intimate gestures. Her back was stiff, and her cool brows furrowed slightly.

Thinking that Cang Ran was a very clingy fox, and if she suddenly pushed her away, the little fox might be sad again, she let her hug her for a while.

They had spoken very little these days. Having grown accustomed to Cang Ran’s usual warmth and enthusiasm, the sudden coldness and her absence made her miss her even more.

It turned out the little fox still cared about her. She was just busy with arduous cultivation, and as soon as she emerged, she brought gifts of flowers and fruit.

Tan Qingxuan was concerned about the demonic energy in Cang Ran’s body. She subtly used her divine consciousness to probe and found that the little fox had already dispelled a portion of it herself.

The little fox’s cultivation had also increased by two minor stages. It seemed she had indeed been cultivating seriously during this time and was quite motivated.

Cang Ran knew that ancient people were reserved, especially Qingqing, who was a Daoist cultivator. She just had to be more proactive.

It had been a while since their last snuggle. Qingqing’s embrace was still so fragrant and soft. Every time Cang Ran hugged her, she was reluctant to let go, and this time was no different.

But she couldn’t cling for too long; Qingqing would think she was too sticky. Although she thought this, she absolutely did not want to leave.

Their full, soft curves pressed together. The cool white skin brushed by the fuzzy fox ears flushed a light pink.

Tan Qingxuan inexplicably recalled the scene of Cang Ran burying her head in her shoulder to absorb the demonic energy.

The wounds on her body had healed, but the tingling itch of being kissed and touched seemed to linger in her heart.

Tan Qingxuan’s eyelids trembled slightly. She silently clenched her fingertips hidden in her sleeve and called out with restraint: “Cang Ran.”

Her voice sounded as cold as ever, carrying a hint of helplessness.

Cang Ran had no choice but to say “Mhm” and reluctantly left the warm embrace.

“I told you last time about the loquat trees on the mountain. They’ve all borne fruit now. Just one broken branch can yield this much. They’re also very sweet and fully ripe.”

As she placed the pretty little fruit basket on the table, she presented the freshly picked flowers she had prepared to Tan Qingxuan.

“Many different flowers have bloomed recently, but every time I see a begonia flower, I think of you. I wanted to pick all of them to give to you, but I couldn’t carry that much, so I only brought back these. Do you like them?”

The begonia flowers were exquisitely beautiful, concealing Cang Ran’s faintly rosy lips. Her deep red hair cascaded like clouds onto her chest.

Cang Ran must have been in a bit of a hurry coming from outside. A faint, rosy blush stained her cheeks, and a few glistening sweat beads dotted her temples.

Tan Qingxuan moved her gaze and nodded slightly: “Mhm, put them in the vase.”

Just putting them in the vase without even admiring them made Cang Ran feel a little disappointed. She moved the flowers closer: “Don’t you want to smell them? They smell wonderful.”

The flowers were gloriously beautiful, held by a pair of long, elegant hands, creating an indescribable complementary beauty.

Tan Qingxuan lowered her eyes slightly, bringing her delicate nose closer to smell them. The flowers, having been held in Cang Ran’s arms for a long time, had also acquired a hint of Cang Ran’s peach-blossom seductive fragrance, which was very pleasant.

Watching Tan Qingxuan smell the flowers made Cang Ran’s mood a little cheerful. Tan Qingxuan looked very gentle from this angle.

The flawless white begonia petals crowded together, seemingly about to touch Tan Qingxuan’s lips. A hint of jealousy arose in Cang Ran’s heart. She also wanted to kiss Tan Qingxuan. If only she could turn into a flower.

Seeing that Tan Qingxuan was done smelling them, Cang Ran took the flowers back and put them in the vase, replacing the old ones.

She was about to peel a loquat for Tan Qingxuan to eat when she heard Tan Qingxuan call her: “Cang Ran, come here, look at this.”

Cang Ran’s fox ears swiveled around first. She glanced over and saw a translucent little figure, identical to her, appear in Tan Qingxuan’s pale, outstretched palm.

The little figure looked only two inches tall. Its tail was three-pronged, just like hers, and it had fuzzy fox ears, holding a small, silver-shining sword.

Her eyes widened. She immediately leaned forward to look. Although the little figure looked exactly like her on the outside, its expression and demeanor were more like Tan Qingxuan’s: solemn and respectful.

The moment the little figure saw her, it leaped down from Tan Qingxuan’s palm and performed a very standard sword salute towards her.

“From now on, I will teach you the way of the sword. You may call me Sword Dao Master.”

Cang Ran’s eyes widened even further. It could actually talk! Ah, is this really logical?

Tan Qingxuan nodded slightly: “You now have a spiritual sword, and your aptitude is also very good. From now on, let it teach you the sword techniques. I have already inscribed a set of sword manuals onto it. It will supervise your sword practice every day.”

The little figure also encouraged her at this moment: “Starting today, swing your sword ten thousand times daily to build a solid foundation. You can definitely learn it! I have faith in you!”

Cang Ran instantly dropped her head. Ten thousand times? She didn’t mishear, did she? That was too much! Her paws would definitely develop calluses.

She regretted coming to find Tan Qingxuan. How could she assign homework?

Seeing Cang Ran’s fox ears droop and her face look crestfallen, the little figure jumped over, pulled her fox ears upright, and pushed her back: “Let’s go, time to practice the sword! Today is the first day of practice. Hard work leads to a good start!”

Tan Qingxuan’s eyes were gentle, and a faint smile appeared on her lips: “Work hard.”

Cang Ran could only follow the little figure outside the cave dwelling to practice the sword. The little figure was very strict and demanding, allowing no mistakes. Every time Cang Ran made a mistake, she would be poked on the butt, which was both painful and irritating.

The little figure looked even angrier than her, its fox tails swishing more and more irritably. It even pointed a small finger and declared, You are the worst class I have ever taught!

Who is she even comparing me to? If everyone was born with a sword bone like Tan Qingxuan, would anyone in this world need to learn the sword?

Cang Ran silently ground her teeth, picking up the sword and practicing more diligently, trying to minimize mistakes. She practiced until it was dark.

Having finally managed to practice the first layer of sword moves, Cang Ran dragged her heavy feet back to the cave dwelling. She was too tired to even transform into human form and collapsed onto the bed, becoming a tired little fox that fell into a deep sleep.

The little figure shook its head helplessly at the sight, sighing: “A hopeless case. Too slow.”

Tan Qingxuan spoke calmly: “Don’t push her so hard these days. Slowly is fine.”

The little figure was an artifact Tan Qingxuan had spent several days refining. It was very obedient to Tan Qingxuan: “Alright, I’ll listen to the Immortal Venerable.”

It bowed to Tan Qingxuan and transformed back into a little fox fur ornament, resting on the table.

Tan Qingxuan gazed at Cang Ran for a while, covered her with a corner of the blanket, and then entered meditation beside her.

Beasts had excellent physiques. As Cang Ran slept, she gradually recovered her energy.

She was sleeping soundly, but after a short time, her body began to burn with a fierce, internal heat, becoming increasingly restless.

She woke up from her sleep, sweating profusely, feeling intense thirst and discomfort all over. Her tail rolled back and forth on the cool jade bed.

Cang Ran hurriedly glanced at Tan Qingxuan, finding her in quiet cultivation.

Why is it always like this? Every time she was in heat, Tan Qingxuan was unavailable.

What should she do? Should she sneak a snuggle again, like last time, or should she wake Tan Qingxuan up from her cultivation and ask her to rub her tail?

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