The Aloof Immortal Venerable is Pregnant with My Fox Cub - Chapter 73

Chapter 73

As the time spent diagnosing the pulse grew longer, Cang Ran watched Zuo Chunli’s tightly locked brows, and her heartstrings gradually tightened. She became restless sitting by Tan Qingxuan’s side.

Zuo Chunli withdrew the hand she used to take the pulse and said tactfully, “The child in Venerable’s belly… doesn’t quite resemble a human infant.”

She glanced at Song Zhen, then back at Tan Qingxuan, her eyes implying a suspicion.

Cang Ran: “???”

I’m such a big fox standing right here! How can she suspect it’s Tan Qingxuan and Song Zhen’s child?!

Tan Qingxuan nodded slightly and said seriously, “It’s the child of myself and A Ran.”

Cang Ran quickly added, “It’s my little fox cub. What’s wrong with the baby?”

Zuo Chunli brushed a strand of blue hair from her temple. That makes sense. She thought that a child born of two human cultivators would have already become a stillbirth. This little cub, fortunately, was a demon race infant, with tenacious vitality, allowing it to survive until now.

As long as she lived long enough, she wasn’t unfamiliar with the matter of human and demon combination resulting in a child. Decades ago, she was even kidnapped mid-journey to deliver a demon birth. She just didn’t expect the Venerable to be moved by love.

Zuo Chunli slowly asked, “Are the two of you willing to have this child?”

Cang Ran looked at Zuo Chunli in confusion. Although the child’s arrival was somewhat unexpected, why would she think they weren’t willing?

Tan Qingxuan’s eyes deepened, “Sect Leader Zuo, please speak plainly. There are no outsiders here.”

Zuo Chunli’s expression became serious, “In that case, I will be direct. When Venerable first discovered the fetus, you should have known it was a spiritual fetus born of a human-demon union. It naturally requires more of the mother’s aura than a human infant.

The human and demon bloodlines in the fetus have consistently failed to merge. Coupled with the lack of contact with the fox mother’s aura every day, the fetus gradually fell into dormancy. It hasn’t continued to grow for half a month.”

Cang Ran’s heart tightened. She remembered the first time she explored Tan Qingxuan’s body with her spiritual sense. At the time, she thought the little cub was just full and sleeping, like its mother, which was why it hadn’t responded to her. It turned out the cub had been dormant for a long time and had stopped developing.

She recalled hearing that once a fetus stops developing, it’s a stillbirth. But her cub still had a heartbeat a few days ago, so it shouldn’t become a stillbirth, right?

Cang Ran’s face turned pale. Her palms were damp with nervous sweat, and her lips trembled uncontrollably, “Is the cub alright now? Is there any way to treat it and let the cub live well?”

Tan Qingxuan’s heart was also in turmoil. She stroked her lower abdomen. This little cub had been in her womb for over three months. At first, it took root in her belly like a tiny sprout, and even when very small, it knew to draw close to the spiritual energy within her.

When Cang Ran was not by her side, this tiny cub kept her company. When she was very tired, she would use her spiritual energy to caress the cub, and the weak cub would always respond to her a little. Gradually, she redirected some of her love for Cang Ran onto the cub.

These days, she had been a bit drowsy, but her physical state had improved greatly compared to before. She had also taken the tranquilizing medicine refined by Song Zhen and consistently felt the cub was stable. Yet, she didn’t expect to have overlooked these issues. She was not a good mother.

Zuo Chunli’s gaze was solemn, “The fact that this child survived is thanks to the dose of Heaven-grade tranquilizing medicine it received earlier. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have made it through these three months. It’s preserved, and the heartbeat is still there, but the fetus is not growing.

An ordinary person carries a child for ten months. If she continues to curl up in the mother’s body like this, the bloodline fusion will remain interrupted. Eventually, when the efficacy of the Heaven-grade tranquilizing medicine runs out, the fetus will die and must be expelled from the mother’s body.”

Song Zhen, beside them, also blamed herself, “I am partly at fault for this. After giving Senior Sister the Heaven-grade tranquilizing medicine, I monitored it daily. But after the toxins in my body flared up these past few days, I couldn’t attend to it. I originally thought that once the child was a few months older, it might overcome the bloodline fusion problem on its own. I didn’t expect to be so careless.”

Cang Ran’s heart was hanging, hearing how serious the situation was, “Tell me quickly what the treatment is! Even if it means climbing mountains of knives or crossing seas of fire, I must cure my cub!”

Tan Qingxuan suppressed her panic and asked seriously, “Tell us what is needed. Anything that A Ran and I can do, we will surely find for the child.”

Zuo Chunli said calmly, “It won’t be necessary to climb mountains of knives or cross seas of fire. What needs to be done now is to wake the fetus and let her know that you are both looking forward to her arrival.

Only when the fetus wakes from dormancy can she actively attempt to merge both your bloodlines. When I diagnosed just now, I found that the fire-attributed bloodline in the fetus is too strong and overly dominant, which is why it’s resisting the immortal blood in Venerable’s body.”

Cang Ran was truly anxious. When these medical cultivators needed to be urgent, they spoke so gently, like a spring breeze and nourishing rain, circling around the point for half a day without stating the main issue. They just needed to tell her what to do.

Cang Ran’s fox ears popped out, and her fox tail twitched wildly in distress. A Soul Condensation stage demon cultivator’s pressure is stronger than a human cultivator’s. Zuo Chunli saw Cang Ran clench her fists, quietly shifted to the side, and smoothed her light blue hair twice.

Zuo Chunli stated directly, “Waking the fetus should be solvable. You two need to be more intimate daily. You must frequently caress the abdomen and talk to her often. Don’t be so reserved, after all, you already have a child.”

A human-demon union producing a spiritual fetus would require being intimate many times, at least. Although the Venerable and the fox demon are from different races, the fox demon is truly beautiful, so a momentary lapse of self-control is understandable.

But it was truly strange that these two suddenly became distant after conceiving the cub and didn’t even caress the baby. This private matter shouldn’t be speculated on, but one shouldn’t avoid treatment just because it’s awkward, right?

Zuo Chunli’s gaze flickered between Tan Qingxuan and Cang Ran. She couldn’t tell which of the two had a problem. Could it be that the Venerable only wanted to keep the cub but not the fox demon? That wasn’t impossible; she had seen such cases before.

To not cherish such a beautiful spouse, Zuo Chunli’s gaze settled on Tan Qingxuan, and she said tactfully, “Venerable, if you only wish to keep the cub, you shouldn’t be so hasty. At the very least, the fox mother was once affectionate with you. The two of you must work together wholeheartedly in the future.”

Now, not only did Tan Qingxuan not understand, but Cang Ran was also bewildered by her words. She felt like Zuo Chunli was accusing Tan Qingxuan of abandoning her wife and daughter, but as long as the cub could be saved, that was fine.

Cang Ran shielded Tan Qingxuan and said, “Sect Leader Zuo, we’ve noted all that down. I will stay by Venerable’s side from now on and frequently wake the cub according to your method. Just now, you mentioned the cub’s bloodlines not merging. What can we do now to help the cub?”

Zuo Chunli looked slightly relieved that the fox demon was willing to take responsibility, “Since the little fox cub cannot merge the bloodlines by itself, we must assist her. We will help Venerable by having her take some suitable tonics. I will write out the prescription for the little fox cub shortly.

Since the Venerable has provided a large sum for the medicine this time, our Myriad Medicine Sect will cover all the supreme-grade rare medicinal materials needed for both the little fox cub and Venerable Yuheng. If there are other herbs we don’t have, we’ll trouble the Venerable to send people to find them. I will write down the characteristics of the herbs and their likely locations for you.”

Cang Ran immediately said to Tan Qingxuan, “Qingqing, I’ll go! With my Soul Condensation stage cultivation, I can go anywhere. I will find them as quickly as possible.”

Tan Qingxuan frowned, holding Cang Ran’s hand. With the cub in such danger, how could she let Cang Ran leave her side?

Zuo Chunli interjected in surprise, “Didn’t I just say that you and the Venerable must stay together? The little fox cub needs to be awakened! Even when it wakes up, it needs to feel the anticipation of both mothers. Only then will it grow well. The two of you must stay together.”

Cang Ran couldn’t help but pound her head. She had been too anxious and had forgotten what she had just learned. But the little fox cub was her and Tan Qingxuan’s only child. She wouldn’t feel comfortable letting others collect the herbs. She needed to personally gather the materials to feel at ease.

Tan Qingxuan glanced at Song Zhen, who was still on the sickbed, and then thought of the various elders in the sect. Only her Junior Sister was the most trustworthy person with whom she could confide about the child she and Cang Ran had.

The last time the demon race attacked, there was internal and external trouble. The major immortal sects were not united, and even within the Grand Mystic Sect, she couldn’t rule out the presence of individuals with ill intentions.

If more people knew about the child conceived at this time, they might seize the opportunity of her being pregnant to stir up war again, seize the Grand Mystic Sect’s resources, or even attempt to kill her while she was weak, which would bring unrest to the three realms.

Tan Qingxuan held Cang Ran’s hand and said to Zuo Chunli, “A Ran and I will go together. Sect Leader Zuo, please give me my Junior Sister’s prescription as well. I will retrieve the medicines for both my Junior Sister and the child.”

Song Zhen was deeply touched, but also felt she was troubling her Senior Sister. She should have been more careful. If she hadn’t been poisoned while collecting herbs, her Senior Sister wouldn’t have to rush around for her.

The herbs that the Myriad Medicine Sect didn’t even have must be located in extremely difficult-to-reach places. Only someone with Tan Qingxuan’s cultivation could traverse major secret realms freely. However, with the demon turmoil having just passed, Song Zhen was still worried that someone might secretly plot against Tan Qingxuan.

Lying on the sickbed, Song Zhen pondered, “Senior Sister is the Sect Leader. How can you travel without someone to attend to you? You must bring a reliable person who can fend off danger if it arises, and also arrange for some people to run errands, so Senior Sister won’t be troubled by trivial matters.”

Zuo Chunli, hearing Song Zhen’s words, suddenly thought of her most talented disciple, Shui Shaoyi. The Myriad Medicine Sect specialized in the medical path, so they weren’t as skilled in other areas. Every time they went out for training, they had to spend spirit stones to hire sword cultivators for protection.

Venerable Qingxuan is a Great Vehicle stage Grand Perfection cultivator, and the fox demon is a powerful Soul Condensation stage demon cultivator. If her disciple followed them, she could gain invaluable experience without any risks. It was a sure win.

Zuo Chunli immediately played along, “In that case, I will have my disciple, Shui Shaoyi, accompany you. She inherited my skills. If you encounter spirit herbs on the road, she can help you identify them. If any spirit herbs need immediate refinement, she can refine them on the spot according to their properties for Venerable to consume, which would further assist the fetus.”

Zuo Chunli’s calculations were practically being shouted in Song Zhen’s face. She had never met such a shameless person!

After making a huge profit from the Grand Mystic Sect, she was now trying to secure benefits for her disciple, all while sounding dignified and proper.

Song Zhen’s blood pressure surged. Covering her mouth with her handkerchief, she coughed up toxic blood incessantly, “N-no… that won’t do…”

Zuo Chunli saw Song Zhen’s objection and, while rubbing her back, retorted, “What do you mean, ‘it won’t do’? My disciple is extremely talented. She has been with me since she was three years old and can identify tens of thousands of spirit herbs. If you think it won’t do, can you go?”

Song Zhen was so angry that she felt stomach pain, and her face began to turn black, “You… why don’t you go with my Senior Sister? You took so much money from us, you should be by my Senior Sister’s side… cough, cough…”

Zuo Chunli applied some of her sect’s healing technique to Song Zhen, “I need to stay here to control the residual poison in your body every day. If you truly don’t want to live, just say so. Don’t constantly talk about spirit stones and disregard your own life.”

Song Zhen was so angry she nearly fainted. The robber had taken the money and was now blaming the victim for caring about money.

As long as she had a breath left, she would never let Zuo Chunli come to the Grand Mystic Sect again. Zuo Chunli could have just taken the money directly, but she had to act like a great sage.

Tan Qingxuan saw that Song Zhen was about to be angered to death by Zuo Chunli and intervened to stop the dispute, “Junior Sister, Sect Leader Zuo’s intentions must be good. Bringing Shui Shaoyi along won’t hurt. She can identify herbs. Sect Leader Zuo will stay here to constantly look after you, so spending a little more on spirit stones is worth it. I still have some spirit stones in my private treasury. I will settle the sect’s account later.”

How could Song Zhen allow her Senior Sister to dip into her private treasury because of her own poisoning? Senior Sister, like their Master, wasn’t skilled at management. Although the Grand Mystic Sect had a profound foundation, it was still running a deficit every year.

The 100,000 top-grade spirit stones was money she had worked hard to earn back over the past six months through the Grand Mystic Sect’s businesses. She was deeply unwilling to have earned so much just to give it to Zuo Chunli.

Song Zhen patted her chest, calming herself down slightly, “Senior Sister, there’s no need to use your private treasury. The Grand Mystic Sect’s accounts have money. But even if Shui Shaoyi is as good as they say, it’s not a done deal. If you bring Shui Shaoyi, she has to give the money back!”

Zuo Chunli’s expression nearly warped. Even though the Myriad Medicine Sect was “Life-Taking Money-Grabbers,” they couldn’t compare to Song Zhen, this iron hen! Song Zhen was truly unwilling to part with a single feather and was trying to peck back.

Seeing Zuo Chunli was extremely reluctant, Song Zhen said slowly, “Isn’t it just identifying herbs? I will have an Elder in our sect refine a magical artifact. I’ve studied medicine for so many years; remote herb identification won’t be a problem. It’s not absolutely necessary to bring Shui Shaoyi. Senior Sister also knows a little about medicine and can refine them herself.”

Zuo Chunli disagreed, “You are so far away. Even with a magical artifact, you might miss a crucial moment. Bring my disciple. Her cultivation is decent; she can protect herself and won’t cause you any trouble.”

Song Zhen reiterated, “Elder Qu in our sect is a Grandmaster Artifact Refiner, long famous in the cultivation world. There will certainly be no delay. Your disciple will benefit greatly from following my Senior Sister. It’s a gain for her no matter what.”

How would a medical cultivator understand artifact refinement? She’s making it sound mystical. Has the Grand Mystic Sect’s artifact refinement level reached the point where they can traverse secret realms?

Zuo Chunli was half-convinced, finally relenting, “Fine. I will refund you a maximum of 20,000 top-grade spirit stones. The child in Venerable’s belly is what’s important, so let’s not quibble over this anymore.”

Refunding 20,000 top-grade spirit stones to pave the way for her disciple was Zuo Chunli’s biggest compromise and sincerity.

Song Zhen felt a little more comfortable after getting some money back. She said to Tan Qingxuan, “Senior Sister, rest here for now. I will plan the personnel you need for your journey. There’s no need for Senior Sister to worry; I will make all the arrangements in the sect.”

Zuo Chunli has revealed that Tan Qingxuan and Cang Ran’s baby is a human-demon spiritual fetus that is currently in danger (dormant and not growing) due to a bloodline conflict and the absence of the fox mother’s aura. The proposed treatment requires the mothers to be intimate and the immediate collection of rare herbs for a special prescription.

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