The Aloof Immortal Venerable is Pregnant with My Fox Cub - Chapter 58

Chapter 58

The warm sunlight scattered upon her. Cang Ran opened her communication artifact and couldn’t help but curve her lips into a smile.

Tan Qingxuan should still be at the Taixuan Sect, right? They hadn’t seen each other for many days. She really wanted to kiss Tan Qingxuan, bury herself in Tan Qingxuan’s arms, and smell the sandalwood fragrance on Tan Qingxuan.

It was a shame that this communication artifact could only display words formed by divine sense and spiritual energy, and couldn’t be touched like paper and brush. Otherwise, she could touch the ink Tan Qingxuan had written.

“A’Ran, next time you are hungry, you can take Nourishment Pills first. Don’t starve yourself. When you return, I will have the Spiritual Cuisine Hall prepare more delicious food for you.

Recently, the Demon Race and the Demon Race have jointly invaded the Tianjian Sect and Wanyao Gate in the cultivation world, taking the lives of many innocent people. It is a time of trouble. I have already gone to the Tianjian Sect to provide aid.

Seeing your letter mentioning a bird demon, there are many bird demons among the invading demons. I’m afraid this demon is not simple. Remember to act carefully and not get too involved with her. The Demon Race drank a demonic elixir before this attack to increase their cultivation, their combat power multiplying.

The wine she gave you may be mixed with this elixir, and consuming it might be harmful to your body. If you can get hold of that wine, please entrust someone to send it to the Tianjian Sect. If you cannot, it is also fine. There is no need to search for treasures for me once you enter the secret realm. Put your own well-being first. I wish you safety.”

Cang Ran’s eyebrows furrowed after reading the letter. Tan Qingxuan had gone to another sect, so the situation must be very urgent. These demons and the Demon Race colluded, constantly causing trouble.

The Taixuan Sect itself had a basketful of internal issues every day, and now she had to help other sects. This would surely tire out her Qingqing. These sects always seemed to think Tan Qingxuan was invincible. Whenever something happened, they only knew to ask for aid. Couldn’t they solve it themselves first? Only she herself would feel heartache for her own wife.

The wine Hua Chao gave her, she had kept it because she felt something was wrong with it at the time, but it only smelled like ordinary fruit wine. She couldn’t find any issues with it. She didn’t know if Song Zhen could figure it out, but since Tan Qingxuan always trusted her Junior Sister so much, she could only choose to believe her.

Since it was an important item, Cang Ran was not at ease entrusting it to someone else for delivery. However, the Tianjian Sect was far away from where she was now. The Demon Race and human cultivators were fighting, and the disciples of the Tianjian Sect would surely be extremely wary of her demonic identity.

It was highly likely she couldn’t enter the Tianjian Sect’s protective array, and going to see Tan Qingxuan would be full of danger. Where could she find a reliable person who wouldn’t care about her demonic identity?

Cang Ran thought hard. Everyone she knew was from the Demon Race. The only two people she had met once were the gossip protagonists from yesterday. She didn’t know if they were trustworthy.

If Tan Qingxuan asked her for it, it must be urgently needed. Otherwise, given Tan Qingxuan’s nature, she would never seek help from others if she could solve it herself. She must find a way to send it to Tan Qingxuan.

Cang Ran cast a Dust Cleansing spell on herself, put on her outer robe, and hurriedly left to find Shui Shaoyi, whom she had met yesterday in the pleasure boat.

The little hedgehog, sleeping soundly inside the bed, heard the door creak open, knew the Great King was going out, and quickly followed the Great King without even opening her eyes.

They had slept too soundly and woke up close to noon. Seeing the busy street with people coming and going and the cries of vendors, Cang Ran grew more anxious. She quickened her pace and rushed to the Drunken Autumns pleasure boat she had visited yesterday.

In the daytime, these pleasure boats on the water were all closed and deserted. She stepped onto the deck and knocked on the door for a long time. Only one girl with messy hair and sleepy eyes opened the door with a glare.

“Is that female cultivator who reserved all the private rooms and was very rich yesterday still here?”

“No, she left last night.”

Cang Ran had no choice but to leave. Communication artifacts weren’t instantaneous. If she had received the reply last night, she definitely would have been able to connect with Shui Shaoyi.

These cultivators could fly on swords and travel through the air. If Shui Shaoyi had truly left Jiayun City, there was nothing she could do. She could only try to catch some other rogue cultivators in the city, but the risk would increase significantly.

Cang Ran controlled her spiritual sword, preparing to circle the sky to search, but was stopped by the little hedgehog who had been chasing her, pulling on her skirt hem.

“Great King, where are you going?”

“I’m going to find the female cultivator who carried a zither and forcibly kissed someone yesterday. You wait for me here. If Hua Chao wakes up, help me stall her.”

The little hedgehog quickly nodded and stayed put to watch people for the Great King.

Cang Ran flew around the entire Jiayun City several times and finally found Shui Shaoyi in a garden. Fortunately, her eyesight was excellent, and her sense of smell was keen, otherwise, she would have been difficult to find.

She flew down directly, put her sword back into its sheath, and walked up to Shui Shaoyi: “Shui Shaoyi, are you a disciple of the Wanyao Gate?”

Shui Shaoyi’s gaze sized up Cang Ran. She saw Cang Ran’s fluffy fox ears and the five continually swaying, bushy fox tails and immediately took off the ancient zither from her back.

They had met yesterday, and she hadn’t known this person was a fox demon. At the time, she only thought, how could there be such a seductive and stunning woman among human cultivators? If she was a demon cultivator, everything could be explained.

Earlier in her life, when she first started practicing medicine, her skills were poor, and she failed to save a young fox. Over time, she forgot the color of the fox’s fur. Now that the memory surfaced, she feared that the young fox had come back to life and was looking for revenge today.

Seeing the fox demon’s anxious expression, Shui Shaoyi pondered: “It’s me. That year, it was my poor medical skill. I feel ashamed—”

At this moment, Cang Ran also spoke: “My name is Cang Ran. I have a connection with Immortal Venerable Qingxuan. I have a letter that I need you to help deliver. It is also related to your Wanyao Gate. It is very important, and I hope you can help me deliver the letter.”

Shui Shaoyi realized she had mistaken the fox. That fox’s name was Little White. Fortunately, she hadn’t finished her sentence, or it would have been too embarrassing. She smoothed the hair by her ear and composed herself: “How is it related to my Wanyao Gate? And you say you know Immortal Venerable Qingxuan. Without any proof, how can I believe you?”

Cang Ran didn’t know why Shui Shaoyi had looked ashamed just now. Knowing she didn’t believe her, she told her everything she knew: “Your Wanyao Gate and the Tianjian Sect are both surrounded by demons and the Demon Race now. The situation is critical. Your sect must have sent messages to you. Why don’t you check if your sect has summoned disciples back? You’ll know the truth immediately.”

Shui Shaoyi was half-skeptical. She had been traveling outside for some time and hadn’t checked her sect’s messages for a while. As soon as she opened her communication artifact, she found that her sect’s elders and senior sisters had all sent her several urgent messages. Her expression immediately became serious.

“The Demon Race’s cultivation has greatly increased after drinking the demonic elixir. They are now jointly attacking us with demon cultivators, launching a major offensive on the cities near my Wanyao Gate, leading to widespread suffering. But you are also a demon cultivator. Why would you tell me this and ask me to relay a letter to Immortal Venerable Qingxuan?”

Seeing that she believed her by 50%, Cang Ran showed her the necklace and bracelet she was wearing: “These were given to me by Immortal Venerable Qingxuan. The twelve-petal lotus on them is her forehead mark. I once saved her life when she was injured. I’m doing a good deed to the end. You haven’t been able to find the source of the demonic elixir. I happen to have some here. You can take it to Immortal Venerable Qingxuan at the Tianjian Sect.”

Shui Shaoyi looked at the necklace and the spiritual artifact bracelet on Cang Ran. Indeed, only Immortal Venerable Qingxuan in the Immortal Sects would use such patterns. Furthermore, what Cang Ran said was well-founded. She immediately cupped her hands: “Thank you. I didn’t expect such a righteous demon in the Demon Race.”

Cang Ran wasn’t being particularly righteous; it was only because Tan Qingxuan was working hard for this. Otherwise, she wouldn’t bother. Seeing that Shui Shaoyi seemed to be a reasonable person, she took out the bottle of wine she had kept privately from her necklace.

She thought for a moment, poured out a small half-bottle, and divided it into two bottles for Shui Shaoyi: “This extra bottle in my hand, you can give to Immortal Venerable Qingxuan’s Junior Sister, Song Zhen, True Person Yuheng. The rest, you can take to the Wanyao Gate. Then you can study it together to see if you can find anything new.”

Although Tan Qingxuan always spoke highly of her Junior Sister, Song Zhen was always targeting her. Cang Ran also had to wonder if Song Zhen was an undercover agent. She had a lot of wine, so dividing it into two portions shouldn’t be a big deal. If Song Zhen couldn’t solve the problem, the Wanyao Gate was a backup option.

Shui Shaoyi accepted both bottles of wine and put them into her storage artifact. She cupped her hands to Cang Ran again: “Thank you! I will not fail the Senior’s request!”

Cang Ran nodded: “Go quickly and deliver it. Oh, by the way, this wine is called Chengyao Dew in the Demon Race. Maybe that will be helpful to you.”

Shui Shaoyi nodded solemnly again, indicating that she had noted everything down. Cang Ran saw Shui Shaoyi summon her flying artifact and quickly leave Jiayun City, knowing that she took it seriously and would surely handle the matter well.

She emerged from the garden, preparing to write a reply to Tan Qingxuan, when she unexpectedly bumped into Hua Chao head-on.

The two demons’ eyes met, and a flash of scrutiny passed through both their eyes.

Hua Chao took a bite of a steamed bun, looking confused: “Ranran, why are you here? I was just telling the little hedgehog that you hadn’t eaten since early morning and wondered where you were wandering off to. I didn’t expect to run into you right here.”

Cang Ran’s expression didn’t change. She shook her fox tail: “You told me yesterday that you wanted to steal the Ice Toad of the Yunze Mountain Range’s Great Demon King and needed the spiritual medicine Wangqianchuan from Shui Shaoyi. So, I came to ask her if she would sell it to us.”

Hua Chao’s eyes showed emotion: “Ranran, how can you be so nice? There’s actually a demon nicer than us little bird demons. So, was she willing to sell it to you?”

Cang Ran shook her head, wanting to shake Hua Chao awake: “What are you thinking? She righteously told me that it’s a secret treasure of their sect and is not for sale outside.”

Hua Chao looked a little disappointed: “Okay, that’s fine. Anyway, I’ll try buying some other medicine then. It should also work, just not as effectively.”

Hua Chao handed the paper bag containing the large steamed buns to Cang Ran: “Thank you for your hard work. I was a little hungry when I woke up. I heard that Zhang Dama’s steamed buns in the city are especially delicious, so I bought some. Here, I brought a portion for you too. Hurry up and eat.”

The freshly steamed large buns were piping hot, placed in oiled paper, still damp with moisture.

The little hedgehog followed at Hua Chao’s feet and gestured with her paws to Cang Ran: “Sister Chaochao said the buns here are the best in the city. She wanted to give you a surprise.”

Cang Ran took the large meat bun she offered. The wheat aroma of the flour wafted over. She took a bite, and it was full of savory, juicy meat flavor: “These buns are indeed quite tasty. The meat filling in the bun is plentiful. Thank you.”

Hua Chao smiled faintly: “You’re welcome. I asked the little rabbit demon who accompanied me last night, and she said the buns here are the best.”

Cang Ran’s movement of eating the meat bun paused: “The little rabbit demon you met is quite special. She changed her diet even after taking the shape-shifting elixir.”

Hua Chao lightly coughed: “Zhang Dama’s bun shop also sells vegetarian buns.”

Cang Ran’s fox ears twitched backward. Zhang Dama’s bun cart happened to pass by.

“Zhang Dama’s buns, big and fragrant meat buns, delicious and cheap~”

A little rabbit demon going to the meat bun stall with money and asking the proprietress if she sells vegetarian buns, isn’t that a little ridiculous?

An awkward silence spread between the two demons. Cang Ran and Hua Chao silently chewed their buns, implicitly moving past the topic.

Cang Ran finished her bun in three quick bites, wiped her hands clean, and Hua Chao smiled, pulling her along: “Let’s go, let’s go. Let’s go back and see if the secret realm has opened.”

Cang Ran and Hua Chao went together to the volcano crater they had visited last time. The faint blue entrance to the secret realm had begun to violently oscillate. It would fully open in less than half a day.

Before entering the secret realm, she was still a little worried about Tan Qingxuan and also worried that Shui Shaoyi might encounter danger while delivering the item. She briefly excused herself from Hua Chao and wrote another letter to Tan Qingxuan.

[I have entrusted the Chengyao Dew that Hua Chao gave me to Shui Shaoyi of the Wanyao Gate to send to you. Qingqing, you can arrange for people to meet her on the way to prevent any accidents.

The secret realm is about to open. Hua Chao is with me, and we will enter together. If I can extract more information from Hua Chao in the secret realm, I will write back to you immediately.]

Tan Qingxuan received the Chengyao Dew sent by Shui Shaoyi three days later. Because the war affected many cities, many demon cultivators ambushed her on the way. Shui Shaoyi had a difficult time delivering the item. After sending the item to the Tianjian Sect, she immediately returned to the Wanyao Gate.

Song Zhen took the Chengyao Dew, tested it with a specialized artifact, and saw a layer of demonic energy emerge on it. She was a little excited: “Senior Sister, this must be the demonic elixir the Demon Race is drinking. So, the name is actually Chengyao Dew.”

Tan Qingxuan nodded slightly: “That is good. We owe a lot to Cang Ran this time. Hurry up and take it to find a solution.”

Song Zhen was about to leave with the Chengyao Dew when she inadvertently saw a flash of fatigue in Tan Qingxuan’s eyes. She presented the elixir she had refined in the past few days to Tan Qingxuan.

“Senior Sister, you’ve not only been leading the resistance against the demon and devil invasion recently, but you also have to worry about the affairs of our sect. This truly consumes your mind. I refined a furnace of Heavenly Grade Vitality Nurturing Elixir for you these past two days. Would you like to take some? It should be beneficial for your body.”

The clear white pill glowed with a jade-like purple light under the lamp. The Heavenly Grade Vitality Nurturing Elixir was extremely difficult to refine. The medicinal herbs were rare, and the alchemist also needed to expend mental effort.

Tan Qingxuan took it, rolled one pill into her mouth, and swallowed it. The Vitality Nurturing Elixir melted instantly upon entry. It was originally an extremely gentle and nourishing substance, but immediately after swallowing it, she felt very uncomfortable and instantly spat it out.

Seeing this, Song Zhen quickly rushed over, supporting Tan Qingxuan’s body, looking worried: “Senior Sister, why are you suddenly like this? Is it the old injury from forcefully increasing your cultivation with that secret technique that hasn’t fully healed? Should I examine you again?”

Tan Qingxuan’s long hair was scattered over her chest. Her expression was cool and clear, and her face was slightly pale. She didn’t immediately let Song Zhen examine her. Instead, she circulated the spiritual energy within her body herself.

She was also somewhat knowledgeable in medical arts and understood her own body well. There had been no problems before, only recently had she started to feel fatigued.

Tan Qingxuan searched through her body in one cycle and quickly found where the difference lay. Her hand couldn’t help but slowly rest on her abdomen.

Support