The Aloof Immortal Venerable is Pregnant with My Fox Cub - Chapter 90

Chapter 90

Cang Ran followed Huazhao out of the cave abode. The little yellow dog followed her the entire way. Cang Ran told it to go back, but it wouldn’t, constantly barking at Huazhao.

Huazhao asked curiously, “I haven’t seen you with this little dog before. Where did it come from?”

Cang Ran picked up the little yellow dog and gently rubbed its head, “The Demon God gave it to me in the Demon God Hall.”

Huazhao was surprised, “So there really is a Demon God! I thought the Demon God ascended to the Upper Realm and wouldn’t return. Ran Ran, what does the Demon God look like?”

Cang Ran played along, “There was a wisp of the Demon God’s divine consciousness in the Demon God Hall. She was very beautiful. I’ve never seen such a beautiful demon.”

Huazhao’s eyes held a glimmer of hope, “Since the Demon God is so beautiful and gave you the Demon Emperor Seal, she must be an exceptionally good immortal. Ran Ran, can you let me use the Demon Emperor Seal? I want to remove the seal on my clan members.”

Cang Ran saw that she was still pretending and sighed inwardly, “I’ve looked at the Demon Emperor Seal. It doesn’t have the ability to remove seals, nor can it repair the Celestial Ladder you mentioned.”

Huazhao looked utterly lost, disbelievingly asking, “How can that be? The Great Clan Leader clearly told me that the Demon Emperor Seal has this ability. She couldn’t be lying to me. Ran Ran, please let me see the Demon Emperor Seal?”

Cang Ran didn’t want to hear her continue making excuses. She put down the little yellow dog and decided to be direct, “Huazhao, I treated you as my friend, and I don’t want to continue this pretense with you. You don’t need to lie to me. You can tell me exactly what you want.”

Huazhao insisted, “I haven’t lied to you.”

Cang Ran stared at her, “Are you the one secretly controlling the Great Demon King of the Penglai Mountain Range, or are you the actual Great Demon King? Are you the master behind the Phoenix Perch Pavilion? Did you orchestrate the last demon-demon alliance?”

Huazhao hadn’t intended to confront Cang Ran so quickly, but seeing the increasingly cold gaze in Cang Ran’s eyes and the relentless questioning, she dropped her innocent expression.

Huazhao smiled slightly, “Cang Ran, if I stopped deceiving you, would you be willing to give up your high-and-mighty Venerable Qingxuan?

I told you from the start that the strong don’t need allies. The fact that you got the Demon Emperor Seal and are unwilling to give it to me was already within my expectation. However, you are also a demon. Why are you always suspicious of demons? The filth and deceit among humans are far more disgusting than ours.”

Huazhao didn’t deny the first three points Cang Ran mentioned, which meant she tacitly admitted to all of them.

Cang Ran only asked about the last point, “You created the Demon Empowerment Dew, and you still harmed the demon race. What good does it do you if all demons eventually turn into fiends?”

“Harming?” Huazhao sneered, picking up her Crane Bone Flute and aiming it at Cang Ran, “I already said I was forced to back then. I was young, and the lives of my entire clan were in the hands of others.

But the Demon Empowerment Dew is not wrong! It is the result of my thousand years of painstaking effort. It saved me during my loneliest and most difficult time. It will prove my Dao and create a powerful army of demon soldiers!”

Cang Ran saw that Huazhao was still deluded, “Your Demon Empowerment Dew has already been cracked by Song Zhen. Your path is destined to fail. Do demon soldiers who have been fiend-ified still count as demons?”

Huazhao said with disdain, “Zhen Zhen can only defeat me temporarily. I have already improved the Demon Empowerment Dew. Demons will not turn into fiends. If you cooperate with me, I can help you secure the position of Demon Emperor. Together, we can trample the hypocritical human race underfoot!”

Cang Ran heard Huazhao mention an improvement, but the group of demons she and Tan Qingxuan encountered last time was on the verge of turning into fiends. Someone must have secretly modified Huazhao’s Demon Empowerment Dew.

Cang Ran questioned, “You say I’m always suspicious of demons, but why are you always thinking of oppressing the human race? Isn’t the demon race living well now? Why do you still need to seize the cultivation world?”

Huazhao sneered, “There are only so many resources in the world. Why should humans occupy the best spiritual veins? Ten thousand years ago, they all belonged to our demon race. Is there anything wrong with taking them back? You’ve stayed with Venerable Qingxuan for so long. Haven’t you just been her spiritual pet? Has she ever mentioned completing the Dao Companion ceremony with you?”

Cang Ran’s lips were pressed into a thin line, “She said she would be my Dao Companion, and she has never treated me as a spiritual pet. The demon race is very stable now. I don’t think there’s any need for further conflict!”

Huazhao saw that Cang Ran had been completely bewitched by Tan Qingxuan and interrupted her coldly, “You believe whatever Tan Qingxuan tells you. I’ve never seen a fox as stubborn as you. You’ve been with human cultivators for too long. You should stay in the demon world!”

Intense demonic energy gathered in her hand. She placed her fingertip on the Crane Bone Flute, and the black flute sound created a resonant, wind-breaking roar.

Cang Ran swished as she drew her long sword and struck towards the flute sound. A flash of sword energy, carrying a blue-purple crimson flame, slashed out. The flute sound was instantly shattered and transformed into countless black crows, which lunged directly at Cang Ran.

The little yellow dog on the ground, loyal to its master, transformed into the giant beast and pounced at Huazhao, but it was entangled by dozens of black crows condensed from another flute sound. Bird claws grabbed the dog’s back, drawing long, narrow bloody gashes in its skin and flesh with sharp talons, and then moved to peck at its eyes.

The crows swirled with bone-chilling yin energy, enveloping Cang Ran. She felt surrounded by a dense black mass of energy, quickly seeping into her skin. She struck and slashed dozens of times but failed to shatter it.

Huazhao had never used this move in front of her. She really did keep a hidden card.

Cang Ran couldn’t break the crow formation immediately. The spiritual energy in her body felt like it was being continuously drained. The absorption rate of these crows wasn’t very fast. After unleashing one last defiant strike, she lay down on the ground, feigning defeat by Huazhao.

Huazhao didn’t intend to kill Cang Ran. Seeing Cang Ran lose the ability to resist, she withdrew the crows. She bent down, just about to take the Demon Emperor Seal from Cang Ran’s amulet, when a cloud of white dust suddenly appeared before her eyes.

Before Huazhao could react, the dust was inhaled into her body. Then, a golden light flashed, and her body was violently struck by an immortal technique, knocking her several zhang away. She coughed up blood.

Tan Qingxuan’s divine consciousness had been following Cang Ran. Seeing Cang Ran’s plan succeed, she immediately appeared, struck Huazhao away, and quickly helped Cang Ran up from the ground.

Huazhao still tried to get up from the ground, but for some reason, her body felt as if she had been given a muscle-relaxant powder. She couldn’t draw out a single wisp of demonic energy. Having been struck in a vital spot, she continuously coughed up fresh blood.

Huazhao’s consciousness began to fade. Through her blurred vision, she saw a vicious dog aggressively lunging at her. The instinct of a bird made her panic and quickly retreat backward.

Cang Ran didn’t let the dog beat the defeated bird. Seeing the dog inflict a few scratches on Huazhao, an eye for an eye, she called the dog back, “Don’t bite her anymore.”

She needed to deliver a perfect little bird take-out to Song Zhen, one that wasn’t too severely damaged. They could take their time tormenting her later, so she wouldn’t continue to interfere with her and Tan Qingxuan.

Hearing approaching footsteps, Huazhao’s head was spinning. A miserable smile appeared on her face, “Ran Ran, how long have you been with Venerable Qingxuan? You’re getting more and more vicious now, even using poison! You’re exactly like a human!”

Cang Ran took the Immortal-Binding Rope from Tan Qingxuan and tied up Huazhao’s bird body. She said mercilessly, “The powder was given by Song Zhen. You can thank her properly later. Don’t worry, for the sake of our acquaintance, I’ll ask her to leave you a complete corpse.”

Huazhao’s heart instantly turned to ashes. She had painstakingly gathered life-saving antidote medicine for Song Zhen, only to realize that Song Zhen had been planning to harm her all along.

Knowing her bird life was in danger, but unable to muster any strength and tightly bound, she finally succumbed to the effects of the medicine and fainted.

Huazhao reverted to her true form after fainting: a round little plump tit lying on the ground. Its white feathers were stained with blood and covered in a lot of yellow mud.

Cang Ran was afraid Huazhao would easily escape, so she bound her in an elaborate knot, wrapping the bird’s claws and wings multiple times. The Immortal-Binding Rope was entirely crimson. As Huazhao shrank, the rope became a very thin silk thread, which, when used to tie the bird, made it look like a small gift.

Cang Ran picked up the little plump tit, casually tied a bow on it, and said to Tan Qingxuan, “We look like we traveled thousands of miles to catch a bird and deliver it as a gift to Song Zhen. Does this Immortal-Binding Rope come in any other color?”

Tan Qingxuan chuckled softly, shaking her head, “There are no other colors. Let’s consider it a thank-you gift for Junior Sister helping us. It seems we haven’t given Junior Sister a gift in a long time.”

Cang Ran lifted the unconscious Huazhao twice, estimating her weight—it was roughly half the size of the little hedgehog.

Cang Ran couldn’t help but sigh, “Her beast form looks quite plump. Since it’s a gift, I’ll wash her in a small stream later to clean her up before taking her back to Song Zhen.”

Tan Qingxuan looked at the demonic energy clinging to Cang Ran’s clothes, her eyes narrowing slightly, “You clearly could have taken down Huazhao immediately just now. Why did you talk so much to her and engage in a one-on-one fight? If Huazhao had harbored murderous intent towards you just now, you would be seriously injured at the very least.”

Cang Ran knew Tan Qingxuan was angry and quickly hugged her, “I just wanted to know if Huazhao was the final mastermind. I’ve always found the attack we encountered last time suspicious. Those demon soldiers showed signs of being fiend-ified, but when I asked her today, she said her Demon Empowerment Dew wouldn’t turn demons into fiends and hinted that the blame lies with human cultivators. So I suspect Huazhao is only one of the plotters.”

Tan Qingxuan said sternly, “You could have interrogated her just as well after tying her up. Why put yourself in danger? Last time during the demon invasion, there were insiders within the Five Great Sects. They must have been plotting for a long time.”

Cang Ran couldn’t understand, “But everyone is in the cultivation world together. If a demon invasion occurs, how can any egg remain whole when the nest is overturned?”

Tan Qingxuan looked at the thunderclouds brewing in the distance, “Because it’s not just demons who want to swallow the Grand Profound Sect.”

Cang Ran immediately understood Tan Qingxuan’s unspoken meaning: let the demons take the lead in the assault. When the wall falls, everyone pushes it down. The blood won’t stain their hands, and they can still stand on the side of righteousness.

Then, they can openly step forward to preside over the overall situation, logically annexing a great sect, thus ensuring a clean and elegant gain.

Their planning must have started very early. Huazhao was over a thousand years old. If they started manipulating Huazhao to approach Song Zhen when she was young, the plot was indeed long-standing.

Cang Ran couldn’t help but worry, “Are they targeting the Grand Profound Sect? Have you found out which sect is the mastermind?”

Tan Qingxuan shook her head slightly, “I haven’t found out yet. Let’s return to the sect first. Since we’ve captured Huazhao, following her line should quickly expose more people behind the scenes.”

Tan Qingxuan and Cang Ran went to inspect the teleportation array. They found that Huazhao hadn’t lied this time; the array was indeed broken. If they had to rely on a flying ship to return to the Grand Profound Sect, it would delay them greatly.

Moreover, because of the Ancient Demon Emperor’s relic incident, many Great Demons and cultivators might be guarding the vicinity, increasing the risk of running into others.

Tan Qingxuan and Cang Ran repaired the teleportation array together. Since the array was ancient, the array patterns carved on the disc were heavily worn, and materials needed to be replaced. It took them several days to fix the teleportation array.

Cang Ran first went to find a small stream, thoroughly rinsing the dirty little plump tit a few times in the water. After cleaning it, she picked it up. She then recalled the little yellow dog into the Demon God Hall and finally entered the teleportation array with Tan Qingxuan.

The long-disused teleportation array was incredibly bumpy. Cang Ran protected Tan Qingxuan until they transferred to the Grand Profound Sect’s exclusive teleportation array in the major city. That array was rich in spiritual energy and extremely stable, which was a great relief.

When they returned to the Grand Profound Sect, Huazhao happened to wake up halfway from her unconscious state. Seeing the unfamiliar surroundings, she felt dizzy. Held by the Immortal-Binding Rope in Cang Ran’s hand, she looked like a white glutinous rice ball tied up in ropes.

Swaying back and forth, with the world upside down, the little bird felt even dizzier than before, and a nameless panic rose in its heart.

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