The Aloof Immortal Venerable is Pregnant with My Fox Cub - Chapter 60

Chapter 60

Cang Ran slumped her fox ears and leaned against a dead tree, her fluffy, large fox tail hanging down and swaying aimlessly.

The cold wind blew her clothes up, and the long, upturned corners of her eyes outlined a lonely curve. Her beautiful lips were pressed into a straight line.

She squeezed the jade lotus on her bracelet, the lotus mark pressing shallow red marks onto her fingertips, making her tight heart feel temporarily better.

She didn’t understand why things suddenly became like this. Why did Tan Qingxuan still care about her before entering the secret realm, but suddenly became so distant after entering?

Three days ago, she only had a few brief words, just saying she had received the item she sent, and nothing more.

In the past, she would write “wishing you safe” every day, but now she didn’t even write that. She was starting to neglect her, not even bothering with a perfunctory word. She didn’t know what she had done wrong.

She had to consume more spiritual energy to use the communication artifact in the secret realm. Every letter was sent with great difficulty, but she wrote a lot every day and even drew pictures for Tan Qingxuan.

Usually at this time, Cang Ran would be excited to write many things to Tan Qingxuan, but facing a Tan Qingxuan who was no longer actively replying, she couldn’t muster any enthusiasm. She blandly wrote down the day’s events in a dry manner.

“Ranran, the little hedgehog and I just caught some fish, very big ones! Come quickly, I’ll give you one.” Hua Chao’s clear, nightingale-like voice came from the other side. She walked over with the fish she had caught from the river and saw Cang Ran looking pathetic, like she was suffering from heartbreak.

Hua Chao shook the two fish in her hand, trying to lighten the mood: “What’s wrong with you? Don’t be so reserved! Look! This fish is very rare~”

Cang Ran reluctantly took a look and found that the fish Hua Chao caught were quite large, different from the fish she usually caught. Their bodies were huge, their scales were light bluish-brown, and a faint purple light shimmered on the surface. However, they were riddled with small bloody holes.

Cang Ran subconsciously glanced at the little hedgehog below and found her eyes were watery. She was rubbing her little body with a soaked floral cloth. Her quills looked like messy weeds tangled by the north wind.

Cang Ran tentatively asked: “You didn’t use the little hedgehog’s quills to stab the fish, did you?”

Hua Chao snapped her fingers and smiled: “That’s right! The little hedgehog’s quills are very useful. Tie a rope to her and throw her down. Guaranteed to hit every time.”

The little hedgehog was no longer sad, but Hua Chao’s words brought back those painful moments, and she immediately burst into tears.

The little hedgehog threw herself into Cang Ran’s arms, crying and complaining: “Great King, Sister Chaochao is bullying me!”

Cang Ran rubbed the little hedgehog’s head and said to Hua Chao: “Hua Chao, don’t keep bullying her. She’s only a little over a hundred years old and hasn’t even shape-shifted yet.”

Seeing the Great King standing up for her, the little hedgehog’s eyes welled up with even more tears. The Great King was the best to her in the whole world. The Great King would never bully her like this.

Hua Chao’s eyes held a smile: “It’s because she’s a little one that it’s fun to bully her. So cute.”

Too much! The little hedgehog looked angrily at Hua Chao, raised all her quills, and charged at Hua Chao.

Hua Chao curved her fingers and cast a demon technique before the little hedgehog reached her, encaging the little hedgehog’s body.

The little hedgehog was trapped in the small cage of demon technique and quickly turned back to the Great King: “Great King, save me! I want revenge!”

Cang Ran broke Hua Chao’s demon technique for her. The little hedgehog felt greatly pardoned and continued to charge towards Hua Chao.

Hua Chao stretched out two fingers, picked her up instantly, and laughed non-stop: “Ouch, she’s really angry. I’ll let you eat the biggest fish later.”

The little hedgehog kicked her two legs: “Bad little bird! That fish was caught by me in the first place! The biggest fish is to be offered to the Great King!”

The next second, the little hedgehog’s fat butt was spanked. Her body started to sway, spinning like a round ball on Hua Chao’s fingertip.

Hua Chao spanked her while teasing: “Why are you calling me a bad little bird? That’s rude. I’m the best little bird demon. You should call me Sister Chaochao. I like that better.”

The high-speed spinning made the little hedgehog dizzy. When she finally stopped, the Hua Chao in front of her had turned from one head to three: “Three… Three-headed bird…”

Hua Chao tapped the little hedgehog’s face twice: “Dizzy so quickly? Hey, little silly hedgehog, wake up.”

Hua Chao’s arm went numb from a spell. The little fat hedgehog in her palm suddenly disappeared.

Cang Ran snatched the little hedgehog from Hua Chao’s hand and placed her steadily on the ground: “I told you not to bully her. She is the little hedgehog I’ve been raising.”

Hua Chao laughed merrily: “I was just playing with her. She’s so cute.”

Cang Ran said flatly: “What’s so fun about it? She’s not a toy. Go deal with the fish. Let’s eat early. We still have to continue looking for the rune bone fragments later.”

The little hedgehog had been with her for so long. In her eyes, she was a little darling, not someone else’s amusement.

Maybe bullying a little hedgehog seemed fun to her, but if the bullied little hedgehog was unhappy, then it wasn’t fun.

Cang Ran bent down and dried the little hedgehog’s wet fur and the small floral cloth scarf. The floral cloth scarf was re-tied on her head with a small bow.

The little hedgehog was moved to tears. Great Fox King was the best Great King in the world.

Seeing Cang Ran caring so much for the little hedgehog, Hua Chao also apologized to the little hedgehog: “I’m sorry, little hedgehog. I was just joking with you. I’ll make the fish for you later. My fish is really delicious.”

The little hedgehog snorted coldly, turned her back, and refused to look at Hua Chao.

Hua Chao held up the fish and asked: “Do you want it braised, deep-fried, or steamed?”

Cang Ran was a little surprised: “How do you know so many ways?”

Hua Chao put her hands on her hips: “I told you! Meeting me is your good fortune. I’m naturally multi-talented. I’ll show off my skills today.”

As Hua Chao spoke, she took out a pile of seasonings, pots, bowls, and other items from her storage artifact, looking quite professional.

Demons in the demon world rarely cook seriously. Many Demon Kings hire human cultivators to cook. The little bird demon looked like she had learned specifically from a human before.

Cang Ran couldn’t help but suspect: “Did you used to cook for someone else?”

Hua Chao’s hand, which was rolling up her sleeve, paused. She said casually: “Yes. But we separated later. It’s been many years. I don’t even know if she’s alive or dead.”

Cang Ran didn’t expect Hua Chao actually had an ex-girlfriend. She gossiped: “Who was that person? When did you get together with her?”

Hua Chao was about to speak, but seeing Cang Ran’s fox ears twitching several times, she knew Cang Ran was very interested. She deliberately held back the secret: “I can’t remember right now. How about you tell me who your good sister is and if you’re sad because of her? Tell me, and I’ll tell you.”

She was indeed heartbroken because Tan Qingxuan was neglecting her, but if Hua Chao knew she was with Tan Qingxuan, the most explosive gossip in the cultivation world would probably be about her and Tan Qingxuan.

Cang Ran said perfunctorily: “Hurry up and make the fish. Do you need any firewood or anything? I have some good wood in my storage artifact.”

Seeing that the fox wasn’t taking the bait, Hua Chao, who had been about to exchange gossip with Cang Ran, reluctantly stopped talking: “I just happen to need wood. You help me make a fire. I’ll set the pot on it later.”

Cang Ran quickly gathered a pile of firewood from her storage artifact and lit it using her strange fire. These were all things she had brought from Fox Fox Mountain, originally thinking she would use them if she and Tan Qingxuan camped in the wild together. She didn’t expect to use them with a bird demon.

Cang Ran felt a little sad thinking about this. Do people really change their minds so quickly? Tan Qingxuan must just be very busy, which is why she hasn’t paid attention to her.

Hua Chao cleaned the fish by the river, scored the fish meat, set the pot on the fire, scooped a piece of pure white lard from the oil jar, and put it into the hot oil pot. The lard quickly melted, and the oil slowly turned golden yellow.

Cang Ran lent a hand, coating the cleaned fish with a thick flour batter. Hua Chao held the fish tail and slid it into the boiling oil. With a sizzle, the hot oil instantly fried the fish head golden brown.

While frying the fish, Hua Chao said to Cang Ran: “Ranran, when I was preparing this big fish just now, I dug out a Heavenly Grade Vermilion Cloud Fish Stone. Do you want it?”

Cang Ran asked curiously: “What is a Fish Stone used for?”

Seeing that Cang Ran hadn’t seen it before, Hua Chao tossed the bright pink, shiny little round lump into Cang Ran’s arms: “This can be used as a material for artifact refining or for medicinal purposes. It’s quite rare, only produced in ancient secret realms like this. We just happened to stumble upon it.”

“I already polished it for you by the river. Wearing it can ward off evil and avoid misfortune. If you have little fox cubs later, you can also use it to bestow blessings on the cubs.”

Cang Ran thought that if Leopard Sister could give birth to a little white leopard, maybe she and Tan Qingxuan could also have little fox cubs in the future.

This Vermilion Cloud Fish Stone was crystal clear, extremely smooth to the touch, and warm. After holding it, it immediately dispelled the ominous energy left after killing the skeletons these past few days. It was indeed a good item.

Tan Qingxuan was injured by demonic energy last time. It would be perfect to give it to Tan Qingxuan after leaving the secret realm for her to carry.

Cang Ran put it into her storage artifact: “Okay, thank you.”

“You’re welcome. You also helped me a lot when I was comprehending the ancient bird race techniques two days ago.” Hua Chao thought of something and suddenly smiled mischievously: “Hehe, did you and your good sister already consummate your relationship?”

Cang Ran didn’t expect Hua Chao to be waiting for her here. Her cheeks flushed, and she pushed the improper Hua Chao away: “What nonsense are you talking about? Hurry up and fry your fish. If you don’t flip it, it’s going to burn.”

Hua Chao was satisfied with the gossip she got. She happily flipped the fish. The little hedgehog smelled the fish aroma and couldn’t wait any longer. She took out the golden rice bowl she had gotten at the Taixuan Sect and waited nearby.

Hua Chao served the little hedgehog a large piece of fish meat. She and Cang Ran each ate two and a half fish. They were finally full. After eating and drinking, they were instantly full of fighting spirit again.

They stayed in the secret realm together for about ten days, finally gathering all the rune bone fragments they could find. The nine bone fragments were put together. The bright red runes in the bone fragments attracted and flowed into each other, forming a labyrinth-like map.

At the same time, the faint black indicator covering the bone fragments became more and more obvious. They followed the guide all the way forward, and the true core area of the Divine Sword Tomb was finally presented before them.

The entire Divine Sword Tomb was like a huge underground palace. Even before reaching the entrance, standing a hundred zhang away, different colored lights from the palace had already broken through the soil and shot straight into the sky. Each light was the divine radiance of a divine sword, magnificent and dazzling.

Ten thousand divine swords vibrated and shimmered in between, their clanging sounds resonating. Even Ba Shi, tightly held in Cang Ran’s hand, couldn’t resist and kept trembling along.

“So the treasure in this secret realm is the divine sword! It looks so spectacular!”

Hua Chao’s voice sounded excited, but Cang Ran caught a hint of disappointment in her tone.

Before Cang Ran could ask the reason, Hua Chao pulled her hand: “Let’s go. Let’s find the entrance and go in and have a look. Divine swords are rare. It would be great to get even one!”

Cang Ran actually knew that once they entered the Divine Sword Tomb, they couldn’t just choose and take these divine swords. The divine swords would choose their masters. Cang Ran wasn’t the protagonist of this book, so those divine swords might not fancy her.

Her goal was to get the Divine Fire Profound Crystal, and along the way, see if she could trick a divine sword into coming home to be Tan Qingxuan’s personal sword.

As they were about to go in together, the little hedgehog pulled Cang Ran’s skirt and said: “Great King, the path is too dangerous. I already have a weapon. I’ll wait outside for you. That way, I won’t hold you back.”

Cang Ran thought that there might indeed be danger inside the Divine Sword Tomb. The male protagonist in the original book also went through many twists and turns. She nodded: “Okay, then find a thicket nearby to hide. When we come out, we’ll take you home with us.”

The little hedgehog got the Great King’s permission. She went to a thicket nearby, dug a sand pit, took out her hedgehog nest from her storage bracelet, dragged it into the sand pit, covered it with some dense branches, and started munching on beef jerky.

Cang Ran saw that the little hedgehog had planned ahead but still instructed her: “Don’t just focus on eating. You should also cultivate a little. Keep your weapon nearby so you can deal with danger.”

The little hedgehog quickly nodded, put away her snacks, and obediently took out her yue (axe-like weapon): “I know, Great King. But advancing in rank is so hard for me. But I’ll cultivate while waiting for the Great King. If there’s danger, I’ll hide. I’ll come out when the Great King returns.”

Given the little hedgehog’s timid and lazy nature, as long as she didn’t actively provoke strange things, and they hadn’t encountered any other living creatures in the secret realm, she shouldn’t run into danger. Cang Ran was very reassured about the little hedgehog.

Cang Ran chose a formation plate from the defensive artifact given to her by Leopard Sister, activated it, and placed it next to the little hedgehog’s nest. Only then did she enter the Divine Sword Tomb with Hua Chao. After searching for a while, they finally found the entrance to this underground palace.

The pitch-black entrance was built with ancient divine stones like black jade. Bright and clean floor tiles extended all the way to the deepest part. The divine stone at the top of the entrance had the same sun-shaped red rune they had seen on the bone fragments earlier.

Just as Cang Ran was hesitating whether to pry off the divine stone too, the faint black that previously guided them on the bone fragments suddenly drifted out like a faint black mist. The mist landed on the red rune and actually melted the rune.

The black mist carrying the red rune drifted back. The red rune converged and flowed with the previous red runes. The labyrinth pattern returned to chaos. After a moment, it reformed into a new pattern, which was more complex than before, but still unintelligible.

Cang Ran held the bone fragments, utterly confused. Hua Chao flew in first to investigate and suddenly said: “Ranran, someone has been here just now.”

Cang Ran’s gaze fell on the spot Hua Chao pointed to and immediately saw the messy footprints remaining on the floor tiles.

Her sensitive nose twitched warily. Sure enough, she smelled the scent of human cultivators. Alarm bells immediately went off in her heart.

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