Chapter 58: The Little Fox Darling

Sang Ying hastily slapped an Illusion Form Talisman onto herself, transforming with a soft “poof” into a little fox.

Recalling the memories from last night, she felt utterly embarrassed, wishing she could crawl into a crack in the ground. She pawed at the air, burying her head completely in her fox tail.

How infuriating! She had only meant to drink some wine to bolster her courage—why had things ended up like this?

The tip of her fox tail was gently tugged by cool fingers, and a clear, melodious voice tinged with faint laughter drifted down from above her head. “Is my junior sister trying to bury her head in the sand?”

Hearing his voice, Sang Ying felt her ears grow even hotter, remembering how he had whispered “darling” over and over by her ear. That shameless dragon! He had coaxed her into another night of unbridled cultivation, leaving her sore and aching all over.

Though she loved hearing him call her that, how could she ever admit it out loud? It was just too embarrassing!

Sang Ying buried her head even deeper in her fox tail, refusing to come out. She played dead, not making a sound even when he called her.

A moment later, she suddenly felt weightless as she was lifted from the bed and instantly found herself nestled in an embrace filled with the scent of White Sandalwood.

The young man held her up with both hands. Sang Ying hurriedly raised her eyes, meeting a pair of deep, dark pupils that shimmered with scattered light like stars, exceptionally beautiful.

His tone was unhurried. “Does my junior sister plan to deny everything after what happened last night?”

Sang Ying’s fox ears twitched. Stubbornly refusing to admit anything, she retorted, “What are you talking about? I was drunk and don’t remember anything from last night.”

If she hadn’t transformed into a fox and played dead the moment she saw him, her words might have carried some credibility. But given her current state, it was obvious she was feigning ignorance.

Xie Lingyu replied calmly, “That’s true. Junior sister can’t hold her liquor, so it’s normal to forget what happened.”

Hearing this, Sang Ying’s fox ears relaxed and drooped slightly. Just as she breathed a sigh of relief, she suddenly heard the young man’s slow, deliberate voice continue.

“Since junior sister has forgotten, we can simply reenact last night’s events. It might help you remember…”

As he spoke, he leaned closer to her little fox face, about to kiss her. Sang Ying was so startled that both her fox ears shot upright. She raised a paw to press against his face, blurting out in panic, “No need! I remember now!”

The young man’s dark eyes gazed at her leisurely. “Is junior sister sure she remembers everything?”

Sang Ying nodded her head like a little chick pecking at rice. Seeing him lean back, she finally relaxed a little, only to feel a mix of embarrassment and annoyance. “How could you even take advantage of a fox, you shameless dragon!”

Xie Lingyu took her little paw into his palm, giving it a gentle squeeze, and glanced at her. “What’s so strange about that? Have you forgotten that I’m a demon?”

“And just because you’ve turned into a fox, does that mean you’re no longer my junior sister?”

Just as Sang Ying was about to argue with him, she suddenly noticed his eyes. Unlike their lifeless appearance yesterday, they now gleamed brightly. And if she hadn’t mistaken it earlier, hadn’t his pupils shifted to look at her?

Sang Ying raised her little paw and pressed it against his face, blinking. “Xie Lingyu, can you see now?”

His response was a soft hum of affirmation.

Sang Ying brightened. “How did you recover? Did the Immortal Alliance develop an antidote? When did you regain your sight? It wasn’t yesterday, was it? Xie Lingyu, you—”

The young man chuckled softly, taking her little fox paw and pressing it against the corner of his eye. His knuckles rubbed gently but firmly as his beautiful dark eyes fixed on her. “It was like this…”

“Last night when you were thirsty, I held you up to drink water and noticed I could see light. After cultivating for another half hour, my vision became blurry but I could make out outlines. By the time I finished cultivating, I could already see clearly.”

Sang Ying twitched her fox ears, their tips flushing red. “Why does it sound like you recovered through Dual Cultivation with me…”

As she spoke, she suddenly realized something and patted his face with her little paw, letting out a heavy huff. “Do I look like a fool to you? Don’t think I didn’t notice—you’re just trying to trick me into cultivating with that excuse.”

Xie Lingyu kissed her little fox paw. “I’m not deceiving you this time. Over these past few days, I’ve discovered that what’s affecting my body is something similar to elemental spiritual power. I’ve tried many times to expel this substance, but I’ve never succeeded.”

“Last night during cultivation, this substance was absorbed by your body through our Dual Cultivation.”

Sang Ying blinked her eyes, even more puzzled. “But I don’t feel anything wrong, and my eyes are fine too.”

She wrinkled her little face. “Though I do feel sore in my stomach, and it even cramps sometimes. Could this be one of the symptoms?”

“No, that’s because I was a bit rough when kissing you last night.”

Sang Ying’s ears instantly turned bright red, her pupils trembling.

Xie Lingyu also felt somewhat helpless. He set her down and held her on his lap, placing his palm over her soft belly and gently massaging to ease the discomfort. “I originally intended to be gentler, but you were drunk and insisted on finishing everything, so I lost control for a moment.”

Sang Ying: “…”

Sang Ying silently covered her head with her fox tail.

“But I cleaned you up last night and applied medicine, so you shouldn’t be injured. Is it just your stomach that’s uncomfortable? Does anywhere else hurt?”

After a long pause, a faint, muffled voice came from beneath the fox tail: “My arms and legs are sore too.”

Xie Lingyu held her, carefully massaging her little paws with his fingertips as he continued the earlier topic. “I’ve examined you. After absorbing that substance, the Fire Spirit Root in your body has undergone some changes.”

Sang Ying was bewildered. What changes? Why didn’t she feel anything?

Sang Ying closed her eyes and delved deep into her Spiritual Sense to carefully inspect. She saw some gray mist swirling around her Fire Spirit Root, shimmering with faint light.

Normally, when foreign objects invade the body, one should be on guard and try every means to expel them. But now, the two coexisted in perfect harmony, even showing signs of merging.

Sang Ying opened her eyes, tore off the Talisman to transform back into human form, and without caring that she was still sitting in his lap, she quickly turned around, her moist eyes nervously fixed on him.

“Xie Lingyu, it’s already invading my spiritual root. Am I going to die?”

“Finally willing to transform back?”

Xie Lingyu chuckled, adjusting the person in his arms to a different position so she could lean against his chest. He placed his palm over her belly and continued massaging slowly as he spoke. “Do you know how many types of elemental spiritual power there are, junior sister?”

Why was he suddenly testing her on common knowledge? Sang Ying didn’t understand but answered honestly. “Metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. Cultivators’ spiritual roots are also categorized this way, with variations like the ice spiritual root.”

Sang Ying thought for a moment. “Oh, right, there’s also the thunder element. But that’s just a legend—no one has ever seen the thunder element in spiritual energy, nor has anyone encountered a cultivator with a thunder spiritual root.”

As she spoke, Sang Ying seemed to realize something, her eyes widening slightly. “Are you saying this substance is the thunder element?”

Xie Lingyu rested his chin against her hair, holding her firmly in his embrace as he spoke unhurriedly, “These past few days, I went to the ancient ruins of the dragon clan and found some old texts. One of the fragmented stone tablets recorded that when the spiritual energy of heaven and earth first emerged, it contained these six types of elemental spiritual power.”

“But the thunder element is far too domineering. It follows other elemental spiritual power into the body, burning every inch of flesh, blood, and meridians at all times. It starts with the most fragile eyes and slowly progresses until even every blood vessel in the body is scorched black. Countless people have died from it.”

Sang Ying was taken aback, frowning as she realized—blindness… the symptoms matched.

Now it made sense. Since it was originally part of the spiritual energy, they couldn’t detect any abnormalities or find a way to “detoxify” it.

“And then?”

“Later, the Heavenly Dao separated this element from the spiritual energy and sealed it within the clouds and mist, only releasing it at the appropriate time.”

Sang Ying understood, “This is… the Heavenly Tribulation?”

Xie Lingyu nodded, “Exactly.”

Now it was clear why everyone who absorbed even a little thunder element went blind. The power and terror of the Heavenly Tribulation were well-known, and countless cultivators had perished under it.

Absorbing the thunder element was like breaking down heavenly thunder and placing it inside the body, burning it constantly. How could the fragile organs within withstand it?

Sang Ying lifted her head and bumped his chin, “Then what about me? I didn’t go blind, and I don’t feel any discomfort.”

“Because you have a thunder spiritual root, Junior Sister.”

Sang Ying’s eyes widened in disbelief, blinking repeatedly, “But I’ve tested myself several times with the Spirit Stone, and it always showed no spiritual root.”

Everyone had told her she had no talent for cultivation, not even the poorest five-element spiritual root.

Xie Lingyu cupped her face in his hands, “The Spirit Stone can only detect the existing five elemental powers; it cannot identify a thunder spiritual root. The reason you’ve been unable to cultivate all these years is because there is no thunder element in the spiritual energy.”

No matter how great one’s talent, without the elemental spiritual power, how could one cultivate?

Sang Ying looked down at her hands. So she actually had a thunder spiritual root. Suddenly, a thought occurred to her, and she blinked, “If I can absorb the thunder element from you, then I can absorb it from others too, right? That way, I could…”

A sudden pain in her neck interrupted her—the young man had bitten her. His usually calm and indifferent voice was clearly tinged with annoyance as he coldly rejected the idea, “No.”

Sang Ying was puzzled, “Why not…”

He pinched her small face with his knuckles, narrowing his eyes slightly as his voice turned dark and menacing, “Don’t even think about Dual Cultivation with anyone else.”

Sang Ying was taken aback, “…It requires Dual Cultivation to absorb it?”

“The absorbed thunder element has already penetrated deep into the organs and meridians. Naturally, only an equally deep method can extract it, and it also requires time.”

Sang Ying’s ears flushed red as she buried her face against a pillow, murmuring softly, “I understand. I’ll think of another way.”

She had thought that if she could absorb it, she could help her two senior brothers. But if it required Dual Cultivation, then of course it was out of the question.

Seeing her abandon the idea, Xie Lingyu fell silent, though he did not fully relax inside.

“Junior sister is kind-hearted and soft, and for now, the two senior brothers are fine. But if one day they truly find themselves in mortal danger…” Xie Lingyu held her tightly, whispering, “You don’t need to worry so much about senior brothers. We’ve already made some progress with the dragon clan, and there will be a solution.”

Sang Ying nodded. Once they figured out exactly what this “poison” was, things would become much easier to handle.

Now that the medicine to suppress the qi meridians had been distributed, the situation wouldn’t worsen further, and Sang Ying felt a bit more at ease.

She lifted her sore arms and began ordering him around again. “Xie Lingyu, I want to take a bath.”

“Alright.”

The young man picked her up and carried her to the hot spring room. Walking along the jade-paved edge of the pool, he scattered a layer of petals from outside. Steam rose in the air.

“You come in with me.”

Xie Lingyu was surprised by her words. Why wasn’t she shy today? He chuckled softly and was about to carry her into the water when the girl in his arms slowly pulled out a talisman. The next second, she turned back into a little fox.

Xie Lingyu laughed. “So that’s what junior sister had in mind.”

The little fox’s clear eyes gleamed with mischief as she snorted lightly. “What do you mean? I’m just guarding against a certain lustful dragon causing trouble.”

She still remembered clearly what happened last time in the hot spring. Back then, he had held back from kissing her because she hadn’t yet reached Foundation Establishment. Now, with no such restraint, if they bathed together, he would definitely coax her into doing something naughty.

She had finally seen through him—he was a black-hearted dragon, full of wicked ideas, sly and cunning.

“Junior sister’s plan is indeed clever, but there’s one thing I forgot to tell you.”

The young man held her against the edge of the hot spring, speaking in a light tone.

“What is it?”

The warm water enveloped her body, and Sang Ying relaxed comfortably in the bath. Hearing his words, she curiously lifted her head, only to find her perspective slowly shifting from looking up to meeting his gaze directly.

Sang Ying: !!!

The water’s surface reflected the graceful figure of a young girl. Amidst the swirling mist, the young man’s fingers rested on the curve of her waist. Behind her, a fluffy, bright red fox tail swayed gently, and the fox ears on her head twitched in confusion.

His slender fingers hooked the fox tail, pulling it to the front. His fingertips lightly traced it as he chuckled softly, speaking unhurriedly.

“What should we do? It seems junior sister’s remaining Spiritual Power isn’t enough to sustain the spiritual talisman anymore.”