Chapter 19
“Oh, look at that little ball! She’s so round and adorable.”
“She seems to have hatched only recently. Her tail feathers haven’t even finished growing!”
“I want to raise her…”
“Forget it. One look is enough to tell that she has a noble bloodline. Why would she let a blackbird like you raise her?”
“What’s wrong with being a blackbird? Green-feathered brat, are you asking for a beating?”
Listening to the flock of bird demons chirping noisily in the trees, Hua Ling became so overwhelmed that she plunged headfirst into her caretaker’s robes.
She did not want anyone else to raise her. Her caretaker was all she needed!
A Tianling Sect disciple led Cheng Suxi into a room.
“Senior, please rest here for a while. I will have some spiritual tea and fruit brought over.”
Cheng Suxi nodded.
“Thank you.”
Perhaps because they had noticed Hua Ling, the spiritual fruits brought by the Tianling Sect disciples included some suitable for young birds.
Seeing that the red fruits contained little spiritual energy, Cheng Suxi did not stop Hua Ling and allowed her to eat to her heart’s content.
After eating and drinking until her belly became perfectly round, a certain little ball returned to her caretaker’s side and lay down to rest.
Cheng Suxi gently covered Hua Ling with her palm and used spiritual energy to help her digest the food.
After they had rested for a short while, hearty laughter came from outside.
“I was wondering who had saved Qingyi. So it was Elder Lingxi.”
Cheng Suxi stood and greeted him.
“Sect Master Tang.”
The newcomer was Tang Shang, Sect Master of the Tianling Sect.
Tang Shang was already over five hundred years old and had reached the Body Integration realm. Although he was a human cultivator, the number of demon cultivators in the Tianling Sect had doubled during the century he had been in power.
Many cultivation sects disapproved of this approach. Consequently, the Tianling Sect had mostly kept to itself in recent years and rarely participated in the various conflicts across the Yuezhou Continent.
During the great war, when the Qianyuan Sect had been attacked from both the front and rear, the Tianling Sect had sent cultivators to reinforce them. Therefore, the relationship between the two sects was fairly good.
Tang Shang himself appeared kind and benevolent. The moment he entered, he sighed emotionally.
“That child Qingyi was scolded by me some time ago and actually ran away from the sect without permission. Had he not encountered Elder Lingxi, I fear he would have lost his life.”
Such a willful disciple was almost unheard of in the strictly disciplined Qianyuan Sect. However, judging by Sect Master Tang’s tone, he seemed more distressed than angry and showed little intention of blaming Qingyi.
Cheng Suxi was in no position to judge another sect’s customs, so she merely said, “I happened to be passing through the Tianling Mountains when I saw him being surrounded and attacked by two cultivators, so I rescued him.”
Sect Master Tang immediately became furious.
“They dared injure one of my disciples within the Tianling Sect’s territory? What audacity! Elder Lingxi, do you know where those two came from?”
Cheng Suxi shook her head.
“They addressed each other as senior brother and junior sister, but I had never seen them before. They may have belonged to a small sect or been the disciples of an unaffiliated cultivator.”
There were countless sects throughout the Yuezhou Continent, and their cultivation techniques varied enormously. Cheng Suxi could name dozens of sects whose members used large golden hammers as magical artifacts.
Tang Shang understood this as well.
He sighed.
“So be it. We shall treat it as a lesson for Qingyi… By the way, has Elder Lingxi come here for an important matter?”
“I originally came to visit Lingyu, but I heard she has already been in seclusion for several months.”
Tang Shang knew that Cheng Suxi and his disciple were close friends, so he did not suspect anything.
He smiled.
“Lingyu has been stuck in the Out-of-Body realm for several decades. Now that she has finally touched the threshold of a breakthrough, she immediately entered seclusion.”
Cheng Suxi was happy for her friend. She took a jade bottle from her storage pouch.
“I have a Condensing Radiance Pill here. Sect Master Tang, please give it to Lingyu on my behalf.”
A Condensing Radiance Pill could increase the likelihood of a successful breakthrough and was considered a relatively rare medicinal pill.
Cheng Suxi had originally prepared this particular pill for herself. Unfortunately—or perhaps fortunately—her own breakthrough had proceeded so smoothly that she had never needed it.
Tang Shang said delightedly, “I originally intended to ask Elder Danyu of the Danxia Sect to refine a Condensing Radiance Pill, but even Elder Danyu was only fifty percent confident of succeeding. I was planning to gather several more sets of spiritual herbs, but now all that trouble has been spared! Many thanks, Elder Lingxi.”
Cheng Suxi smiled.
She and Jiang Lingyu had been friends for many years. It was merely a pill she had no use for, so naturally she would not be stingy.
Sect Master Tang, however, felt uncomfortable accepting such a valuable gift without repayment.
He generously offered, “I know Elder Lingxi does not lack cultivation resources, but the Tianling Sect possesses several unique spiritual plants and magical artifacts. Should anything catch your eye, please feel free to take it.”
Cheng Suxi glanced at the little ball beside her shoulder, who had become so sleepy that she was already beginning to nod off.
After thinking for a moment, she asked, “Do you have any high-grade Transformation Grass?”
She had heard that assuming human form was a major obstacle for young demons. Consuming Transformation Grass beforehand could lessen the pain.
Sect Master Tang also noticed the hatchling beside Cheng Suxi’s shoulder and immediately understood.
“Transformation Grass is difficult to keep alive. At present, the Tianling Sect has only successfully cultivated intermediate-grade Transformation Grass. Once we manage to grow a high-grade specimen, I will immediately have someone deliver it to the Qianyuan Sect.”
Cheng Suxi replied, “Intermediate grade will be sufficient. I can transplant it and cultivate it myself.”
“That works as well.”
Sect Master Tang considered it before saying, “I will have the steward of the Spiritual Plant Garden teach you how to cultivate Transformation Grass.”
“Many thanks, Sect Master Tang.”
……
Rather than calling the Tianling Sect’s Spiritual Plant Garden a garden, it would be more accurate to describe it as a small mountain range.
Because different spiritual plants required different environments, they were cultivated across widely scattered locations.
The steward of the Spiritual Plant Garden summoned a horned-horse carriage before turning to explain, “Transformation Grass prefers warm and sunny environments, so it is planted at the top of a hillside that receives sunlight for longer periods. It is some distance away, so we should travel there by carriage.”
“All right.”
Cheng Suxi nodded.
The horned horse was extremely docile. It lowered itself onto its front knees and waited for everyone to board the carriage.
Hua Ling had never ridden in this kind of vehicle before and found it fascinating. She eagerly prepared to fly onto the horned horse’s head, only for her caretaker to seize her with one hand.
“You possess bloodline pressure. Do not frighten it.”
Hua Ling chirped innocently.
Bloodline pressure?
Why couldn’t she feel it?
Cheng Suxi explained, “You are still young, so adult demon cultivators are naturally unaffected by your pressure. However, the horned horse is only an ordinary spiritual beast. It cannot endure it.”
Had the horned horse not been so well trained, it probably would have bolted the moment Hua Ling approached.
The steward carefully examined Hua Ling.
“Elder Lingxi, judging from her bloodline, your spiritual beast somewhat resembles a descendant of the Phoenix race.”
“Her mother was an Ice Luan.”
The steward frowned.
“An Ice Luan?”
Seeing his strange expression, Cheng Suxi could not help asking, “Is something wrong?”
“Elder Lingxi, one of our Tianling Sect’s guardian disciples belongs to the Bluebird race—the one you rescued earlier. Logically speaking, Ice Luans and Bluebirds are both divine beasts and can be considered closely related by blood. Their auras should therefore be fairly similar.”
He hesitated before continuing, “But this spiritual beast of yours… Forgive my bluntness, but her bloodline rank appears to be higher than that of a Bluebird.”
Cheng Suxi frowned.
“That is impossible. Her mother was unquestionably an Ice Luan.”
“What about her father?”
“That…”
Cheng Suxi lowered her head and looked at Hua Ling.
Hua Ling raised her head and looked back at her caretaker.
Don’t ask me. I don’t know anything.
“When the Ice Luan first arrived at the Qianyuan Sect, she was injured. After the previous Sect Master healed her, he allowed her to remain. From then onward, the Ice Luan rarely left the sect, so I have no idea who Tuanzi’s father was.”
Although Cheng Suxi had shared a good relationship with the Ice Luan, the latter had never revealed anything about Tuanzi’s origins.
The steward thought for a moment.
“The gestation period of an Ice Luan can last more than a hundred years… She may already have been carrying the egg before she was injured.”
“Perhaps.”
Hua Ling blinked her glossy eyes.
She had never expected her current body to have such a mysterious history.
Cheng Suxi’s fair, slender fingers gently stroked down the hatchling’s back.
“Regardless of her bloodline, I will do everything possible to raise her safely to adulthood.”
Author’s Note
Hua Ling: I only want my caretaker to raise me!
Cheng Suxi: Eat a little less, and I may consider it.
Comments 0
You must be logged in to comment.
No comments yet. Be the first!