Chapter 73

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Main Character:

Shen Yao

Luochen Zhenjun

One of the Grand Void Gate's sect-guarding Elders, and moreover the Grand Void Gate's renowned combat ceiling — one man, one sword, deterring all of Dongzhou.

In this era where Nascent Soul True Monarchs are already the mainstream, Spirit Transformation Patriarchs seclude themselves and never emerge, and Mahayana and Unity of the Way are mere legends, Fu Hengyan having a master whose fame is explosively huge means it can be said his starting line is already ahead of everyone else's.

In daily interactions with Shen Yao, Fu Hengyan rarely mentions his own master.

But on the occasional mention, Shen Yao can also feel how much Fu Hengyan values his sect and the deep affection he holds for it.

However, "Do we need to ask Master to come over?"

This serious — in Shen Yao's estimation, this pregnancy of hers was nothing more than some torment in the early stages; later on she would be no different from other women.

When the time came she would deliver smoothly, she would care for the children, Fu Hengyan would handle city affairs, and once the children turned ten — meeting the baseline for testing spiritual root aptitude — she could become a hands-off shopkeeper and continue with a second pregnancy.

As it turns out, from Fu Hengyan's meaning just now, the spirit fetus she carries possesses divine peculiarities; for safety's sake, a Nascent Soul True Monarch at the cultivation world's combat ceiling must be invited to escort and protect her.

Shen Yao: …… Suddenly a bit worried.

Fu Hengyan patted Shen Yao's shoulder; seeing her bury her head in his embrace, he explained softly, "A spirit fetus differs from a mortal fetus.

For normal cultivators, gestating offspring does not disturb the spiritual power within their bodies.

Only when the infant is first born and touches the ground will the spiritual root within its body automatically activate, automatically absorbing spiritual energy.

Due to differences in aptitude, some children absorb and nurture spiritual energy faster, some slower.

I myself was six years old when my spiritual root attribute and purity were tested, only then did Master make an exception to accept me as a disciple, bring me back to the Grand Void Gate, and have me cultivate sword techniques."

Shen Yao listened, then raised her head to look at Fu Hengyan, "Six years old?"

Why was it that she tested her spiritual root at ten, tempered her foundation for two years in the Shen Family, and only then began practicing a heart method, stepping into Qi Refining?

Fu Hengyan smiled, "People differ; some major cultivation sects in Dongzhou and ancient clans all take in a batch of disciples at age six.

At that time, the children whose spiritual roots and aptitudes can be detected are the absolute cream of the crop.

Still, there are very few such people; when I entered the Grand Void Gate, there were only three in my cohort."

And among those three, two have already formed Golden Cores; if not for Fu Hengyan's core shattering and being unable to advance, he would likely already possess the strength to assault Nascent Soul by now.

But these are all old past events; Fu Hengyan saw no need to tell Shen Yao too much.

He merely gave a simple explanation of the inside story behind testing spiritual root aptitude at six.

Shen Yao: …… No wonder; turns out no matter which world one is in, there are always hidden hierarchical divisions.

Right now, she could also be considered to have crossed a new stratum together with the child in her belly?

Before Shen Yao could crack a joke or two, Fu Hengyan voiced his own worry, "A spirit fetus is born extraordinary; it is highly likely to be born already possessing a spiritual root.

Yao'er, we will most likely return to the Grand Void Gate after you give birth.

Yunwu City's defense methods are still too loose; given your current situation, a single movement is worse than staying still."

Originally Fu Hengyan planned to stay in Yunwu City for a few more years to gather all the Yunwu Gold Crystals.

He did not expect Shen Yao's pregnancy this time to directly shatter his original plan.

Nothing is more important than his wife and children; Fu Hengyan decided on the spot, using special means to contact his master Luochen Zhenjun, who was still in closed-door cultivation at the Grand Void Gate.

One thinks that upon receiving the news, Master will immediately rush to Yunwu City to rendezvous with him.

When the time comes, with Master — an absolute combat power — holding the fort, Shen Yao's safety will certainly be without worry.

Shen Yao nodded obediently, one hand resting on her abdomen, expression calm and gentle, "I'll listen to Hengyan."

The child's biological father does have some strength to his name; having received Fu Hengyan's meticulous instructions, Shen Yao at once gained a few more degrees of confidence regarding taking the Innate Creation Pill.

The spirit fetus she currently carries is already enough to draw attention; if on top of that she takes the Innate Creation Pill, hiss — Shen Yao simply dare not imagine that kind of scene.

Better to first confirm when the Grand Void Gate's Luochen Zhenjun will arrive, then plan properly.

Fu Hengyan's leisure time is not plentiful; after all he is the Yunwu City Lord, and still needs to handle some affairs within Yunwu City — especially since Yunwu City is not small; although it is a cultivation city, immortals and mortals living mixed together means frictions often occur in the city.

Some can be resolved by City Lord's Mansion personnel stepping in; some involve Foundation Establishment cultivators and require Fu Hengyan to personally hold the fort and handle them.

No choice; having taken Yunwu City from the Iron Sword Sect's hands, Fu Hengyan simply cannot watch the city suffer calamity.

After instructing Shen Yao to contact him with a Transmission Talisman anytime she feels unwell, Fu Hengyan stood up and left Xuanru Garden.

Watching him walk far away, Shen Yao turned her head and called up the System in her mind, asking whether there had been any unusual movements inside the City Lord's Mansion during this period of her pregnancy.

The System felt Shen Yao was overthinking: 'With Fu Hengyan this Golden Core True Person holding the fort, all unusual movements in the City Lord's Mansion have been suppressed.

Host, what are you afraid of? Didn't Fu Hengyan say his master Luochen Zhenjun is coming? By then your safety guarantee will go up another floor.'

Not to mention all of Yunwu City — even in all of Beizhou, few would dare brazenly run to Yunwu City to snatch Shen Yao away.

Shen Yao shook her head, holding a neutral attitude toward the System's blind confidence: 'They say the more dangerous a place, the safer it is; conversely, the safer a place, the more dangerous it is.

You also know that with Luochen Zhenjun coming, my safety will be greatly increased.

But by the same token, Luochen Zhenjun's reputation is too great; if he comes, any stir in Yunwu City will become known to everyone.'

Until now, only those few people know about Shen Yao's pregnancy.

Even Shen Yao's natal family, the Shen Clan, doesn't know.

One cannot say this is Fu Hengyan deliberately concealing it, but Fu Hengyan also hasn't deliberately publicized it high-profile.

As for the reason, it is also worry that someone might notice Shen Yao's abnormality.

At that time he alone would have to cope, fearing he couldn't protect her.

Just like now, Fu Hengyan has added many protective measures around Xuanru Garden; Shen Yao rarely leaves Xuanru Garden, and even has several defensive talismans and protective talismans pasted on her body, plus three strands of Golden Core Sword Qi left by Fu Hengyan as a back-up — truly armed to the teeth from head to toe.

The System tensed: 'Host means someone in the City Lord's Mansion might act against Host?'

Shen Yao shook her head. 【Not necessarily, but being careful is never wrong.

I told you to pay attention, so pay more attention. The two children in my belly are, after all, the hope of our future life.】

Only when the children are born safely can they breathe a sigh of relief for the time being.

No matter how much is said, without seeing the children, there will inevitably be a sense of guilt no matter how much is said.

The system made an 'en' sound. 【Rest assured, the matters of the City Lord's Mansion are on me.】

Other things might not work, but monitoring the entire City Lord's Mansion it can still do.

By then, relying on its fiery golden eyes, I don't believe it won't be able to find that person with ulterior motives.

Seeing that the system had been successfully fooled by herself, Shen Yao smiled with satisfaction.

Not bad, not bad, everything is going according to plan.

……

Shen Yao's pregnancy-nurturing life at the City Lord's Mansion was spent in various eating and drinking.

Bai Wei and Bai Mei went from being careful at the beginning to having normal complexions later, but only a few months had passed.

「Madam, this is the Vermilion Fruit found for you by the City Lord, abundant in spiritual energy, most suitable for consumption after meals. 」

「Madam, this is the newly brewed Face-Blooming Dew, all made from top-grade spirit flowers and spirit fruits, it aids digestion, relieves greasiness, and resolves residual spiritual energy in the body. 」

「……」

Bai Wei and Bai Mei pointed at the various porcelain bowls and canisters placed on the table, introducing them to Shen Yao one by one.

Shen Yao had been pregnant for six months, her belly was obviously much larger than that of a woman carrying a single child.

Two months earlier, in the endless tug-of-war with the system, Shen Yao won a complete victory.

Not only did she eat this Innate Creation Pill, but she also reserved the next few pills.

And after eating the Innate Creation Pill, Shen Yao once again experienced the accident of fainting because her own spiritual power was not enough for the two children to absorb, and she had no choice but to faint.

By this point, Shen Yao's pregnancy-nurturing treatment increased again, and all kinds of precious tonics were sent to the City Lord's Mansion from all directions.

Also because of this, the Shen Family and other forces in Yunwu City all knew that Shen Yao was pregnant.

Shen Yao herself was not harassed because of her pregnancy, but without Fu Hengyan as an arrow shield, the Shen Family welcomed a large group of people testing them.

It even almost affected the already settled marriage of Shen Qing.

Fortunately, the ending was not bad in the end, Shen Qing married the young master of the Four Directions Treasure Pavilion as she wished, the two married at the beginning of the year, and Shen Yao had Bai Wei deliver a gift.

「Pour me some Face-Blooming Dew. 」

Shen Yao touched her belly like a round ball, and could feel the spiritual energy fluctuations inside.

It was really too obvious; occasionally when Fu Hengyan interacted with the two children, it almost burst the belly skin open.

Bai Wei poured a cup, the color pure and bright like a ruby.

Shen Yao slowly drank the Face-Blooming Dew, then stood up and let Bai Wei and Bai Mei support her to take a stroll in the courtyard.

The weather in February still had some coldness in the air.

Shen Yao wore slightly thicker clothes, her hair was combed into a high hair bun, with only a few strands of broken hair hanging at her temples.

「The spiritual energy in the air has become a bit stronger; it seems the Spirit Gathering Array set up two days ago is very effective. 」

Layer upon layer, layer upon layer.

Fu Hengyan, in order to let Shen Yao live more comfortably, had set up who knows how many Spirit Gathering Arrays in Xuanru Garden.

Almost every few days, Shen Yao would feel the impact of strong spiritual energy.

She now relied entirely on food supplements and had already reached the mid-stage of Qi Refining Tenth Layer.

Without cultivation, it was all just strength.

Shen Yao even vaguely felt that after giving birth to this child, she would most likely be able to touch the threshold of Foundation Establishment.

To be honest, occasionally thinking about it, Shen Yao found it both laughable and pitiful; who would have thought she would actually improve her cultivation realm by giving birth to children, simply more exaggerated than in novels.

Bai Wei and Bai Mei nodded; both of their cultivation realms were already at Qi Refining Sixth Layer.

Just like Shen Yao's improvement method, it was entirely relying on piling up the spiritual energy in Xuanru Garden.

They usually didn't cultivate either, just personally took care of Shen Yao.

Then, their cultivation realms grew swish swish swish upwards, and they even saved the money for buying pills to consolidate, truly because there was too much spiritual energy, they were completely not afraid of them absorbing it.

「Madam, after Xuanru Courtyard's spiritual energy is sufficient, some spirit fruits and spiritual plants in the courtyard are about to mature; the servants will put them away later for your daily use. 」

Bai Wei said, her eyes constantly glancing at the sundial not far from the doorway.

Shen Yao had a strict schedule for going out; when the time came, she needed to return to rest.

The closer the delivery date was, the more tense the atmosphere in Xuanru Garden became.

Recently, the City Lord no longer left the mansion, and even returned every night to accompany Madam in resting.

As maids taking care of Shen Yao's daily life, one could imagine how great their pressure was.

「En, after putting them away, send some to the kitchen, and you yourselves also keep some separately. 」

Shen Yao was now very wealthy; regarding these spirit plants and spirit fruits grown in Xuanru Garden, they were better than nothing.

Shifting her gaze, Shen Yao had Bai Mei bring a stool, and she sat down to rest.

Bai Wei suggested, 「Madam, how about we go to that pavilion over there? 」

Under the pavilion was a pool of Lingquan, in which several beautiful golden carps were raised.

A type of fish with relatively high looks in the Cultivation World, it had no other use, purely for viewing.

Shen Yao nodded and walked slowly to the pavilion; she pointed at the Lingquan and said, 「This month, we can find someone to plant some spirit lotuses in it; when the spirit lotus roots mature, we can dig some to make lotus root powder. 」

Soft and glutinous, paired with some spirit flowers and spirit fruits, it would be a decent Spirit Soup.

Saying this, Shen Yao licked the corner of her mouth; her belly, which had just finished eating, suddenly felt a bit hungry again.

The two children in her belly seemed to feel their mother's mood, changing from quiet to lively, and while stirring the spiritual energy around them, they began to gather toward Shen Yao's abdomen.

Shen Yao: ……

Truly defeated by these two little ancestors, Shen Yao sighed, letting Bai Wei and Bai Mei support her back to the room.

The little ancestors wanting to absorb spiritual energy was fine, but Shen Yao thought that compared to foolishly staying outside freezing, it was better to go back to the room and lie down.

Bai Wei and Bai Mei nodded in unison, agreeing; the two each braced one of Shen Yao's arms, supporting her as they walked into the house.

Shen Yao had just arrived at the doorway on this side, and before she could enter, she sensed a familiar fluctuation coming from behind her.

"Cheng Qi"

Shen Yao's eyes brightened; she abandoned Bai Wei and Bai Mei, and with her big belly protruding, ran like a gust of wind.

Even the two little things in her abdomen that had just been restless settled down obediently.

Fu Hengyan only felt a fragrant wind rush toward him; he subconsciously stretched out his hands to gather Shen Yao into his embrace, his hand not forgetting to tilt slightly forward to support Shen Yao's belly.

Couldn't help but say with a smile, "Be careful."

Shen Yao raised her head, her eyes like stars, her eyebrows curved, "Cheng Qi came over very early today."

Fu Hengyan's mood involuntarily softened; he thought to himself that his early return had a reason, because his master Luochen Zhenjun had arrived.

Turning his head, looking toward the spirited little old man staring at the two of them with bright eyes, Fu Hengyan said helplessly, "Master, this is Shen Yao, and also my Dao Companion."

Shen Yao followed Fu Hengyan's gaze and saw a white-clothed figure like snow, with crane-white hair and a youthful face, an elder currently examining the two of them with a smile.

Shen Yao: ……

Belated embarrassment made Shen Yao somewhat at a loss; she loosened her hold around Fu Hengyan's neck, and somewhat awkwardly saluted and greeted this legendary Nascent Soul True Monarch.

"Hahaha, no need to be so restrained, little girl; This Venerable One's name is Luochen; since you are Little Three's Dao Companion, you are the same as Little Three, just call me Master."

Shen Yao smiled and nodded, "Master"

Luochen stroked his beard, his gaze lowering, settling on Shen Yao's protruding abdomen, "So this is the situation Little Three spoke of; indeed it is unusual.

Little girl, you must also extend your wrist, let This Seat first feel it."

Hearing this, Shen Yao raised her head and exchanged a glance with Fu Hengyan, then nimbly rolled up her sleeve, presenting her fair white wrist before Luochen Zhenjun.

Fingers lightly rested, but touched only for an instant before leaving; Luochen Zhenjun's eyes brightened slightly, "It is a Spirit Fetus," his gaze upon Shen Yao was as if looking at a peerless great treasure.

Shen Yao: ……