Chapter 7 - Strange Poison

On the day of departure Bai Lan was very reluctant and sad to part with her little toddler, this was the first time she was entrusting her daughter in someone else's care and she was afraid.

However she was a cultivator and knew at heart that one day in the future her daughter will have to stand on her own and walk her path alone.

Long Xiang was very reluctant, she wanted to go with her other, although her speech was problematic due to her being a child, her soul and brain were very resourceful and she was sure if she was by her mother's side, she will protect her mother.

"Xiang Xiang, mother will come back soon, okay? don't cause trouble or run here and there, if you want to go out ask Nanny Wang to take you okay?" Bai Lan explained her daughter clearly.

"En mother, Xiang Xiang Good, mother don't leave Xiang Xiang." this was by far the most An Xiang spoke in a sentence.

"Child mother will bring you lots of herbs for your little cauldron then you can make lots of elixirs, Don't you love making pills the most?" coaxed Bai Lan.

"Not more than mother, Love mother most." spoke Long Xiang in her broken childish voice with tears in her heart.

Yes, she loved nothing more than her mother.

This statement melted Bai Lan's heart, well it seems she didn't love her daughter in wain, her littler three year old child was more sensible then the grown up children here.

Seeing her like this she regret ed accepting the mission and was almost of the mind to decline going at last minute but thinking that to sustain she has to work se hardened her resolve and went to the meeting room.

"Mother come back safe, Xiang Xiang miss you." said Long Xiang while clutching her mother's skirt and inhaling the sweet plum fragrance coming off her body.

"Mother will come back safe to Xiang Xiang, mother promises, okay."

"Pinky Promise." with that Long Xiang took out her little pinky finger and crossed it with mother's pinky finger.

"This child." Bai Lan sighed and made the pinky promise, she didn't know where she learned to cross pinky fingers but she went ahead with her daughter's wishes,'Anything to keep her daughter happy.'

After bidding farewell Bai Lan turned around and didn't look back for fear that if she looked back at her daughter, her heart will soften again.

--

Dark Misty Forest

A man was currently leaning on a tree trunk, with a wine gourd in his hand. Since three years he searched heaven and earth, scouted upper realm and lower realm but couldn't find her.

Then a year back came the news that she has been eaten by a spirit beast, the child his child also didn't survive.

He left everything came and back to kill that spiritual beast only to find that Shen Jiayi and his team already killed the beast.

while he was immersed in his sorrow, his sound stone lit up and the voice of Shen Miao came," Brother Long, where are you? the annual meet of elders is going to happen to in Immortal City, please come back soon." he heard the words but he knew he couldn't go now.

"Holy Priestess, i am not in good health and also i am poisoned so i won't be able to attend the conference asking the forgiveness of Holy Priestess." with that he sent the voice message.

After listening to the message by Long Tian Shen Miao sneered,' Long Tian why are you so cold towards me? huh now that wrench has also died but you have always called me so formerly by the title of Holy Priestess, wait one of these days you will lovely call her Miao Miao."

Ones again she sent the message,"Brother Tian don't worry i have already started researching on the poison you are afflicted with and i have also called the elder of medicine valley for assistance, Miao Miao will definitely find a cure of your poison don't loose hope brother Tian trust Miao Miao."

"No need." came the curt reply from the other hand and then the sound talisman lost its connection.

'No need? just two words, but his coldness has always attracted her, Long Tian the more cold you act towards me the more i will get attracted to you, just you wait one of these days you will surely be mine.' Shen Miao thought with a sinister smile on her face.

--

It has been 5 days since Bai Lan went with the mercenaries, the mission this time was to find the hide of a level three obsidian crocodile, just as the name this spirit beast was obsidian in color and its hide was as strong as obsidian a perfect defense item, hence it was an optimum item for armament refiners.

Bai Lan was worried for her daughter and for fear of some unforeseeable outcome, she gave her the spiritual coin card she had, the card can be used at any store in the cultivation world and banks, where one can withdraw spiritual coins and stones to purchase goods.

She also had some gold leaves and coins in the card which can come in handy in common shops, before going she went to a bank and made Long Xiang the authorized user of the card after dripping a drop of blood from her daughter's hand onto the card.

Long Xiang to her astonishment found that her mother was quite rich, they had so many gold coins and some shiny stones, which were called spiritual stones, they had levels low mid, high and superior, her mother has low and mid level spiritual stones.

She was curious then why do her mother need to work? the answer was simple this much wealth was not enough to buy cultivation resources and she wanted to provide the best for her daughter.

Being a mercenary was a risky job but it payed well.

Long Xiang was okay with the red wolf mercenary courtyard but she really loved the peace of the underground valley she even missed the deity a little bit.

After coming inside her room she went into her inner realm to check on the medicine ingredients she planet from the underground valley and found that they were thriving and growing at an unprecedented speed.

She went inside the spiritual pond to take a bath and then drank some water, these days she was starting to feel a hot energy circulating inside her body.

Hence she activated her healer's eyes to check on herself.

She found that a strange golden halo was developing in her dantian, it was warm and cozy and she felt inexplicably close to it, she knew it wont harm her.

Then it suddenly clicked her,"Maybe i am developing a spiritual root inside my body."

She was in awe, she never thought she would also be able to cultivate one day, in fact she was content with her healer's ability and telekinesis ability and thought that it was enough for her to survive in this world of cultivation.

However this golden orb came as a pleasant surprise to her.

After ensuring that there was nothing wrong with her body, she went on to check the strange egg.

Now the egg no longer needed the healing energy of the healing tree, it had long stopped absorbing it.

The tree seemed to be enjoying the dark aura it sucked from the egg and An Xiang felt that it has become a little fatter in the process.

The most change happened to the egg itself, which was now golden and electric purple and somehow gave her a very strong dominant feeling.

She activated her healer's eyes again to check the fetus inside the egg and found that the heart beat of the being inside have become more prominent then before, in fact she can see it moving inside the egg.

She hoped it can hatch soon and then yes go back to the vortex it came from, maybe she will have to take it back to the underground valley so that it can find its way back home again.

As she was admiring the egg, some one knocked at her door, before she knew it a terrible news shook her to the core!