The Aloof Immortal Venerable is Pregnant with My Fox Cub - Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Cang Ran picked up the jade thumb ring, feeling only a chill. This type of jade thumb ring was usually a storage space.

She saw that Ye Ze always kept this item with him, so the remaining half of the thousand-year spiritual fungus might be inside.

She scanned the jade thumb ring with her divine consciousness, but unexpectedly was ambushed. Her vision darkened, and the surrounding light and shadows constantly shifted.

Her body fell from a great height. Cang Ran’s fox ears flattened like an airplane’s wings. Just as she felt the danger, she was caught in a warm embrace filled with the scent of sandalwood.

The two landed smoothly and safely on the ground. Tan Qingxuan gently put her down and asked softly, “Are you alright?”

Cang Ran shook her head and immediately asked, “I’m fine, where are we? What about Ye Ze, is he dead?”

Tan Qingxuan’s expression was calm: “I just crippled his immortal root, and his entire body of flesh and blood has turned into a blood mist. You no longer need to fear him. This place should be a secret realm. We’ve been trapped inside.”

Cang Ran felt the huge rock pressing on her heart loosen upon hearing that Ye Ze was finally dead: “A secret realm? How did we suddenly get here?”

Tan Qingxuan analyzed: “Presumably, you touched the jade thumb ring and mistakenly triggered a trap. Some wealthy cultivators set up a defensive secret realm to protect important items.”

“This is a minor secret realm, set up to guard a treasure. It should be a confounding and killing formation. As long as we figure out the location of the formation core, we can teleport out.”

Cang Ran was no longer so nervous when she heard they could return, but the formation Tan Qingxuan mentioned sounded very complex to her.

“Qingqing, can you calculate it? If you need any materials, I’ll help you find them.”

If it were any other cultivator, they would be trapped here for over a month. For Tan Qingxuan, it might take less than half a day to calculate the core mechanism of the formation.

Tan Qingxuan lowered her eyes slightly: “Mental calculation will suffice.”

Wow, Qingqing really knows everything.

Cang Ran’s three large fox tails were almost spinning like a propeller. Her eyes were sparkling: “Qingqing, you are so amazing! You must be a very powerful cultivator, right?”

Tan Qingxuan quietly looked at her clear eyes. After a moment, she slightly parted her lips: “Yes.”

It was rare to see Qingqing not being modest for once, but Cang Ran’s cheeks flushed under her gaze, and she couldn’t help but look away.

After Qingqing’s expression became less cold, every time she looked at her like this, it made her a little nervous, especially today when Qingqing protected her and summoned the golden sword—it made her want to kiss her.

At first, I was certainly attracted to Qingqing’s beauty, and I’m still obsessed now. Will Qingqing think I’m very strange if I suddenly kiss her?

She turned her head to look around, secretly touched her warming cheek with the back of her cold hand, and cleared her throat: “Since you need to calculate mentally, I’ll find a secluded spot for you first and protect you.”

Tan Qingxuan saw her little action, and a smile flickered in her eyes: “Let’s go. I can calculate while walking. There’s no need to specially seek a secluded place. You just need to eliminate the demons that attack and interfere with me.”

This minor secret realm could only support cultivators up to the Nascent Soul stage. Tan Qingxuan had suppressed her realm to the Nascent Soul stage to go search for Cang Ran. Cang Ran was at the ninth stage of the Shape-Shifting stage, which was more than enough to deal with these creatures. She also wanted Cang Ran to gain some experience.

Cang Ran thought Qingqing was right. Although it was a minor secret realm, it wasn’t a safe place. Of course, the sooner they left, the better.

She summoned her spiritual sword and stood in front of Tan Qingxuan, defending her against any possible surrounding attacks.

There were traps everywhere along the way. Poisonous insects and fierce beasts constantly interfered, and mutated demon plants continually blocked their path.

Fortunately, dealing with these minor demons was easy for her. She quickly and successfully escorted Tan Qingxuan to the core of the formation.

The formation core was set up near the spiritual vein in the secret realm. Tan Qingxuan changed a few positions in the formation’s setup, instantly reversing the confounding and killing formation into a Spirit Nourishing Formation. The surrounding spiritual energy became peaceful.

She asked Cang Ran: “Do you want to subdue or destroy this secret realm?”

Surprise flashed in Cang Ran’s eyes: “I can do that?”

Tan Qingxuan nodded slightly: “If you subdue it, this secret realm will be yours. If you destroy it, I can help you extract the spiritual vein within the secret realm.”

Cang Ran’s eyes immediately lit up when she heard she could extract the spiritual vein. A spiritual vein could produce many spiritual stones every year and could also be used for daily cultivation. If she put this spiritual vein on Fox Fox Mountain, along with the original one, she would have two spiritual veins. Life is getting better and better.

This secret realm originally belonged to Ye Ze. Thinking about taking over his things, even if it became hers afterward, she felt uncomfortable imagining it might have been branded by someone else or if Ye Ze had left something else behind to harm her.

After a brief consideration, Cang Ran said, “I want the spiritual vein. If we place it under Fox Fox Mountain, our home will be rich. The spiritual energy will be so abundant it will overflow every day.”

Tan Qingxuan’s heart sank slightly. This little demon had said just the other day that she wanted her to take her along and not to abandon her. But her plan clearly showed she intended to stay in the demon world long-term.

If she returned to the sect, unless a major war broke out, she might not come back to the demon world for thousands of years. Cang Ran was only showing interest for a while and was going to go back. This was not what she wanted to see.

Tan Qingxuan clenched her fingertips: “Alright, Cang Ran, I will help you extract the spiritual vein. However, I plan to return to the sect soon. Do you want to come back with me?”

Cang Ran was calculating where to place the new spiritual vein when Tan Qingxuan suddenly asked this. She was puzzled: “What sect?”

Tan Qingxuan’s expression was serious as she explained: “I am a cultivator from the Taixuan Sect in the cultivation world. I was injured while gaining experience outside and came to the demon world. Now that my injury has mostly healed, the sect has an urgent matter summoning me, and I need to return.”

She actually deceived me for so long! I thought Qingqing was a mortal before, that’s why I kept her by my side, took meticulous care of her, and foolishly hoped to move her with my sincerity and secure a wife.

When I found out Qingqing was a cultivator, I figured she was a rogue cultivator, and that was fine since we already had an emotional foundation.

Now, a Taixuan Sect jumps out. It sounds vaguely familiar. Forget it. It sounds like a lot of trouble. Moreover, I was deceived. I now feel like I’m the one who was exploited.

Cang Ran turned her face away, not wanting to deal with Tan Qingxuan, and she was very angry: “Is deceiving people fun? Do you think that by explaining the reasons like this, you can coax me into being happy?”

The way she imagined following Tan Qingxuan was wandering the world, traveling and upholding justice, like a vacation.

If she followed Tan Qingxuan back to the sect, she would definitely feel uncomfortable there. She might even have to be a spirit pet. How could that be as comfortable as in the demon world? She was a Mountain King here.

Tan Qingxuan’s heart tightened. She said earnestly, “I never lied to you. Are you unwilling to go with me now?”

Hiding information about my identity, how is that not lying?

Cang Ran snorted coldly: “You say a word, and I’m supposed to follow you. Why? There’s no such logic in this world, unless—”

Tan Qingxuan pressed, “Unless what?”

Cang Ran stared at her cold and stunningly beautiful face, her gaze tracing down the high bridge of her nose to her well-shaped lips: “Unless you kiss me once. If you kiss me until I’m satisfied, I will agree to you.”

Seeing that Tan Qingxuan did not respond for a long time, Cang Ran knew that she only wanted the fox to follow her without having to pay any price.

It was true that she liked her, but she wasn’t compelled to follow her.

She had invested too much in Tan Qingxuan, pouring out her true feelings. All these little things occupied her heart.

Cang Ran sighed. See, this is the consequence of being lustful.

She hadn’t even had a small taste of a kiss yet. The most miserable fox spirit is none other than this.

Tan Qingxuan looked at Cang Ran. Cang Ran had secretly kissed her many times, thinking she didn’t know. She was a bad and lustful little fox, and now she was making things difficult for her like this.

Tan Qingxuan’s ear was slightly warm. She raised her hand and gently stroked Cang Ran’s cheek, slowly moving closer.

Cang Ran’s heart rate accelerated from her gentle gesture, and her face turned crimson. Is she really going to kiss me? I thought Qingqing would refuse.

Cang Ran’s mind was a mess. When Tan Qingxuan actually kissed her on the forehead, her entire fox body stiffened. She couldn’t help but widen her eyes.

So soft, a little cool. Tan Qingxuan’s breath is so close. A faint scent of sandalwood envelops her.

But, the kiss I meant was on the mouth, not the forehead!

Cang Ran clenched her fists. I should have just kissed Qingqing myself. This woman is too ascetic.

A faint blush rose on Tan Qingxuan’s neck. She turned her face away: “Is that enough?”

Cang Ran thought, How is that enough? This is not what I asked for.

Her face felt hot. She huffed twice and muttered, “It’s acceptable.”

Tan Qingxuan looked back at her, a flicker of confusion in her cold, jade-like eyes.

This little fox’s face is red all the way down to her neck. Her skin has turned a light pink, and her fox ears are softly drooping. How is this only ‘acceptable’?

Cang Ran met her gaze. What’s the problem? I just think it was very ordinary. Low-star rating.

A hint of a smile hung on Tan Qingxuan’s lips. She offered another condition: “I will take you back, but you cannot transform into human form in front of anyone else.”

Cang Ran’s eyes were full of confusion: “Why?”

Tan Qingxuan’s expression was calm: “You are a demon cultivator. If you transform into human form, it may be difficult to explain your identity to others. If you remain a fox, you can be treated as a spirit pet, which avoids some trouble.”

That explanation sounds quite reasonable at first glance. I don’t see any problem for now.

Cang Ran waved her hand: “Alright, I can agree to that. But since I’m making such a concession, you have to serve me well.”

Tan Qingxuan nodded slightly: “What do you want?”

Cang Ran raised the corner of her lips, lifted a finger, and pointed at her rosy lips: “You must kiss me here once every day. If you agree, I’ll promise not to turn into human form in front of others.”

Tan Qingxuan saw the cunning in her eyes. Her three large tails swayed at this moment. It looked like she had planned this out carefully.

Her eyes rippled. She gently parted her red lips: “Alright, once every seven days.” As long as the little fox doesn’t turn into human form in front of others, there shouldn’t be as many people crowding around her.

Cang Ran was overjoyed to hear that Tan Qingxuan actually agreed, but at the same time, she felt she was hallucinating.

She originally thought Tan Qingxuan would coldly refuse, and she had even prepared a fallback: daily cuddles wouldn’t be out of the question.

But Tan Qingxuan was willing to sacrifice her beauty to bring her back as a spirit pet. Do these cultivators really not know what kissing on the mouth means?

They’ve cultivated themselves to be so abstinent that they don’t even care about kissing on the mouth. They say they’ll kiss, and they do it. But last time I tried to kiss Tan Qingxuan, she dodged me.

Cang Ran couldn’t quite understand, but it seemed she wasn’t at a disadvantage. She just wanted to taste the beauty, and Tan Qingxuan agreed, so there was nothing wrong with that.

She smiled brightly: “In that case, you extract this spiritual vein, and we’ll leave. I’m going to Luofeng City to buy some local specialties to take back for your senior sister, junior sister, and master, etc.”

Demon world specialties? Aren’t they demons? What other specialties could there be?

Tan Qingxuan remembered that this little demon was skilled at knitting and embroidery. She was afraid she would be using her fox paws to do embroidery work again and reminded her: “There’s no need to prepare those things. Cultivators are busy with cultivation and don’t value external objects.”

Cang Ran scratched her head: “I’m going to stay at your place for a while. It might be inappropriate not to bring gifts if I’ll be imposing on people, right?”

So, this little fox really only plans to stay for a short visit. But given her status, even if Cang Ran was just a spirit pet, there was no need to curry favor with others.

Tan Qingxuan’s eyes cooled slightly. She pursed her lips: “There are only you and I in the Fuyao Palace. My Master has already ascended to the Upper Realm. I currently only have one fellow junior sister, Daoist Yu Heng. The other junior sisters are in their own palaces and rarely visit when there is no business.”

Cang Ran rested her chin on her hand: “Alright, then I won’t bring anything. But I have some items to pack in my cave dwelling that I might need on the journey. The cultivation world is far from here, right? If we use the teleportation array in Luofeng City, we can only teleport to a border city in the cultivation world.”

The Taixuan Sect has tens of thousands of years of heritage and has always only recruited people with outstanding talent. The sect’s establishments are spread throughout the cultivation world. Once they step onto any piece of land in the cultivation world, there will be a direct teleportation array to the sect in the city.

Tan Qingxuan didn’t stop Cang Ran from packing: “You can bring more things from the fox cave. There is space in the sleeping quarters to store them.”

Cang Ran hummed: “Okay, then I’ll bring a lot.”

Seeing Cang Ran agree quickly, Tan Qingxuan formed a spell and struck the spiritual vein of the secret realm. The entire spiritual vein was moved into her spatial sleeve.

With the spiritual vein gone, this secret realm would begin to collapse. Tan Qingxuan brought Cang Ran out of the secret realm just before the collapse, returning to Fox Fox Mountain.

The flow of time in that minor secret realm was much faster than outside. They had only been inside for less than half a day, but three days had already passed in the demon world when they emerged.

The fierce fight between Cang Ran and Ye Ze that day was witnessed by the little demons of Fox Fox Mountain. When they thought the fireballs were about to descend and burn down their cave dwellings, the fireballs were blocked and sent back. They all thought the Great King Fox Fox had displayed great divine power.

But when they realized the fireballs were gone and both the Great King and the human cultivator were missing, all the little demons became anxious.

The little hedgehog demon, along with a few pangolin demons, had dug over a dozen large holes in the area where the Great King disappeared, working day and night!

Dong Ming brought a demon to invite Cang Ran to the celebration banquet. When she heard that Cang Ran had offended a human cultivator and was being chased, she was also worried and anxiously waited where Cang Ran had vanished.

Cang Ran and Tan Qingxuan emerged from the secret realm together. All the demons breathed a sigh of relief and cheered happily.

Cang Ran was also quite happy, but when she looked down, the smile on her face gradually froze.

Good heavens. The area around them was full of big pits, with only the ground beneath her feet intact. Anyone who didn’t know better would think she was trying to start a fish farm on Fox Fox Mountain.

The little hedgehog demon wiped its tears and rushed to hug her leg: “Great King, you’re finally back! I missed you so much!”

Cang Ran nudged it with her foot and deliberately said, “What are you doing? Are you planning to bring the little demons to bury your Great King right here?”

The little hedgehog demon sobbed: “Great King, I thought you were gone, so I took the little demons everywhere to look for you! I didn’t mean to bury the Great King, wuwuwu.”

A smile touched Cang Ran’s phoenix eyes: “Pathetic! Your Great King has great fortune and a long life. Since the holes have been dug, have the demons connect them. They’ll be perfect for raising fish and planting lotus roots in the summer. You arrange that.”

The little hedgehog demon was given several handfuls of spiritual stones by the Great King, so many that it couldn’t hold them all. It cried tears of joy: “Thank you for the Great King’s reward! I will definitely find the best gardener to handle this for the Great King!”

The little hedgehog demon puffed out its chest, feeling incredibly proud under the jealous and envious gazes of the other demons.

It shared some of the spiritual stones with the little pangolins and the little demons who helped fill the holes. Everyone got spiritual stones, and bright smiles appeared on their faces.

Cang Ran saw that the little hedgehog demon was quite generous, so she privately supplemented it with a green spiritual stone note. The little hedgehog was so happy that it almost yelled it out to the world. Cang Ran quickly blinked at it several times, hinting for it to be discreet.

Dong Ming saw that Cang Ran was completely unharmed and breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing Tan Qingxuan accompanying Cang Ran again, she said wistfully: “Aunt Ran, I’m glad you’re safe. My mother is hosting a celebration banquet tonight to share some goods with everyone. Remember to come.”

Cang Ran nodded: “Okay, I know. I’ll be there. Have the Icy Wolf’s forces been completely cleared out? Is Sister Leopard injured?”

Dong Ming hesitated: “No, she just suffered a few sneak attacks in the back during the fight with the Icy Wolf, but she’s mostly recovered now. I’ve delivered the message, so I’ll be going now.”

She walked a few steps, thought about it, and then came back to tell Cang Ran: “I won’t tell anyone about you being chased by the human cultivator. I’ve also briefed the little demons on your mountain, and I won’t mention it to my mother either.”

Cang Ran had always thought Dong Ming was just a child who didn’t understand anything. She hadn’t expected her to be quite perceptive. She felt grateful inside: “Okay, thank you, Dong Ming.”

Dong Ming likely knew about the thousand-year spiritual fungus. Town Mountain Leopard must also be looking for that half of the spiritual fungus. If Dong Ming told her mother, her mother might become suspicious of Cang Ran, but Dong Ming chose to keep silent.

After saying these words to Cang Ran, Dong Ming left Fox Fox Mountain without looking back.

Tan Qingxuan watched the little leopard demon try to win favor with Cang Ran again. Perhaps if they spend enough time together, the little leopard demon and Cang Ran might really end up together. She didn’t want to see that scene play out, which is why she was taking Cang Ran back to the sect.

Cang Ran warned the little demons under her to keep their mouths shut. Then she and Tan Qingxuan returned to the cave dwelling. She took out the half of the thousand-year spiritual fungus she had acquired from the One-Armed Ape from the brocade box.

She also searched the jade thumb ring Ye Ze left behind and, sure enough, found the other half of the thousand-year spiritual fungus. She handed it to Tan Qingxuan: “I went through a lot of trouble to get these. Let’s split them in half and eat them quickly.”

Tan Qingxuan looked at the half of the thousand-year spiritual fungus. It looked about nine thousand years old, transparent like crystal, emitting a dazzling glow. It must have been extremely difficult for this little fox to gather the complete spiritual fungus at once.

If the spiritual fungus was split and eaten, it wouldn’t yield a thousand years of cultivation. It could only cleanse the marrow and extend life. She was already one step away from ascension, so the thousand-year spiritual fungus was not of much use to her. It would be much more beneficial for the little fox to eat it.

Tan Qingxuan said to Cang Ran: “I still have several thousand years of life left. I don’t need it. Give both halves of the spiritual fungus to me. I will refine them into an elixir for you. It will be more effective than eating it raw.”

Cang Ran didn’t understand why everyone wanted such a good thing, yet Qingqing didn’t need it.

She gave both halves of the spiritual fungus to Tan Qingxuan. She then saw Tan Qingxuan circulate spiritual energy in her hands. The spiritual fungus was quickly refined into a clear and translucent pill.

Suddenly, the entire cave dwelling was filled with the fragrance of the spiritual fungus elixir. Just smelling it made one feel ecstatic.

Cang Ran inhaled the fragrance. Her cheeks were flushed. The feeling was like being drunk. No wonder everyone wants heavenly materials and earthly treasures. It makes you feel euphoric even before you’ve eaten it.

Tan Qingxuan knew that Cang Ran’s cultivation was shallow and she couldn’t resist the temptation, so she pinched the spiritual fungus pill and fed it into Cang Ran’s mouth.

Support The Aloof Immortal Venerable is Pregnant with My Fox Cub