Chapter 156: 156 Epilogue (2) [Revised]

◎Sang Li and Ji Hengyu decide to each carry the spiritual fetus for five months.◎

The two didn’t stay long in Chang’an before returning to the Nine Spirit Realm.

Sang Li first took Ji Hengyu back to Guixu for a visit, and then, thinking of Si Tu, made a special trip to the Divine Realm.

Si Tu now held the revered position of the Heavenly Divine Venerable. Her appearance hadn’t changed much, but she had gained more composure. However, she still clearly disliked Ji Hengyu.

The two chatted for a while when Si Tu suddenly glanced at Sang Li’s abdomen. Her smile faded, and then she frowned, her solemn expression making Sang Li’s heart pound. “What’s wrong?”

Si Tu said nothing, simply placed her palm over Sang Li’s abdomen, then quietly clicked her tongue in surprise. “There’s an extra spiritual脉.”

Sang Li’s heart tightened. “What does that mean?”

Si Tu hadn’t expected her not to understand and couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “You’re pregnant.”

Pregnant...

A baby?!

No!

How could a fox and a snake possibly have a baby?!

Her astonishment was evident, which amused Si Tu. “Don’t worry, a divine fetus is different from a mortal one. In about a year or so, when its spiritual core stabilizes, it will naturally leave your womb.” With that, Si Tu calmly sipped her tea.

Sang Li listened, utterly stunned. After all, she had never given birth, let alone... a fox cub?

“How... how does it come out?” Sang Li pressed Si Tu for more information.

Si Tu rolled her eyes heavenward and lightly kicked her. “Why ask me? I haven’t given birth either.”

Sang Li walked away in a daze with Ji Hengyu.

The two were currently residing in Peach Stream Haven, a secluded and undisturbed paradise as its name suggested.

She had been distracted since their return, causing Ji Hengyu considerable worry. “What did Si Tu tell you?”

Ji Hengyu knew he wasn’t well-liked by Si Tu, and assumed she had said something about him. But he couldn’t figure out what could make Sang Li so utterly lost in thought.

Sang Li looked him over, her lips pursed, and asked, “Ji Hengyu, how were you born?”

Ji Hengyu: “?”

Though a bit bewildered, Ji Hengyu honestly replied, “My mother gave birth to me.”

“Like mortals, after ten months of pregnancy?”

Ji Hengyu smiled and shook his head, “Of course not.”

He patiently explained to Sang Li that all beings with a divine destiny possess sentience from their very genesis. Even if they detach from the mother’s body, as long as there is spiritual energy to maintain their spiritual core, they can survive anywhere. However, the Abyss Prison was extremely cold, with no spiritual energy for him to absorb. It was precisely for this reason that the Mother Goddess constantly nurtured him and his twin sister with her spiritual power and blood day and night, until she was exhausted, fell gravely ill, and died.

Mentioning his mother, Ji Hengyu’s eyes flickered. “Why are you suddenly asking about this?”

Sang Li remained silent, a thoughtful look in her eyes. She lowered her head, gently stroking her belly with her palm.

This unintentional gesture made Ji Hengyu freeze. He strode forward, extending his spiritual energy into her dantian. In an instant, a tiny, warm wisp of spiritual energy touched his, causing him to be momentarily stunned and deeply moved.

Sang Li was still watching him.

Ji Hengyu withdrew his hand, forcing himself to calm down, and took two steps back.

He remained silent, which made Sang Li suddenly find it interesting. She raised an eyebrow. “Why aren’t you saying anything?”

Ji Hengyu shook his head, feeling inexplicably wistful, unable to explain why.

The loneliness in his eyes was evident. Sang Li stood up and embraced him. “You have been reborn. Your bloodline can no longer confine you.” She paused. “And our child.”

Ji Hengyu lifted his eyelids, his dark eyes fixed on her. Finally, he returned the embrace.

**

Deities don’t need to endure ten months of pregnancy like mortals. Once the time is right, the spiritual fetus will detach from its spiritual cocoon and be born, so they had to prepare early.

Ji Hengyu redecorated the house to make it larger and added some children’s toys to the courtyard.

The fetal spiritual脉 in her abdomen was also gradually growing. Whenever Sang Li entered a dream, she could feel that mischievous little spiritual脈 sneaking into her sea of consciousness, forcefully pulling her spiritual body to play with it, often stirring her Four Continents into a mess.

Although she didn’t have to endure the suffering of mortal pregnancy, such daily disturbances were indeed unbearable.

So Ji Hengyu suggested that his dantian continue to nurture this spiritual fetus.

This method was theoretically feasible, as the fetus only needed a host to provide spiritual energy. After much thought, Sang Li decided to share the spiritual fetus with Ji Hengyu, each carrying it for five months, to be fair.

By the fifth month, the child grew increasingly restless.

The little one had already developed sentience and could communicate with Sang Li through divine sense. Its voice was tender, and its spiritual body was boisterous, chirping and calling her “mother.” If it wasn’t asking for a little fox to play with, Sang Li would get annoyed and just take it out and hand it to Ji Hengyu.

The spiritual fetus was enveloped by a golden spiritual cocoon, inside which faintly shimmered a small, white, pearl-like bright light.

Sang Li was curious for a moment, holding it in her palm and looking at it for a long time. However, she couldn’t make anything out of it and couldn’t help but ask Ji Hengyu, “Is it a boy or a girl?”

“I don’t know,” Ji Hengyu shook his head. “The child decides its own gender. If you like a daughter, it will become a daughter; if you like a son, it will become a boy, as you wish.”

Sang Li was even more curious upon hearing this. She looked up at him. “Then do you prefer a boy or a girl?”

Ji Hengyu’s long fingers tapped the soft golden cocoon. He lowered his eyes and said, “In my opinion, parents should grant their children freedom. Let them be whatever they like.”

The little light sphere seemed to sense something and followed Ji Hengyu’s fingertip into his dantian.

With Ji Hengyu, the child was surprisingly much more well-behaved, not bouncing around in the sea of consciousness like usual. Ji Hengyu didn’t ask why, he knew it still preferred to be with its mother.

After all, Sang Li’s spiritual body was fluffy and cute, exuding an adorable charm no matter if she ran or jumped; unlike his spiritual body, which was fierce and taciturn, guarding the entrance to his sea of consciousness, always preventing the child from approaching.

Ji Hengyu was also afraid the child would get bored.

These years as a spiritual fetus played a crucial role in his future development into an adult. For example, Ji Hengyu, as a spiritual fetus, was trapped in the Abyss Prison. Even though his mother sang to him and told him stories every day, Ji Hengyu still developed a gloomy and melancholic personality after birth.

He didn’t want his child to be like that.

Ji Hengyu wasn’t very good at making himself liked, but every night, he would create dreams for the child to see, or make flowers bloom on the corners of his spiritual body. And surprisingly, this child truly took after Sang Li. After only two times of seeing the flowers, he was no longer afraid of the big snake.

However, the child still yearned for its mother. It would yearn when happy; yearn when unhappy; yearn when Ji Hengyu was fierce; yearn when he didn’t speak to it. Through all this yearning, its spiritual heart gradually flourished.

After another seven months, the spiritual cocoon showed signs of shedding.

At this point, Ji Hengyu could no longer keep the spiritual fetus in his dantian. Once a physical body formed, his divine consciousness would cruelly annihilate the spiritual fetus as an invader. Naturally, it couldn’t be sent to Sang Li either. So, Ji Hengyu created a small spiritual realm to temporarily serve as the baby’s cradle.

A month later, on the seventh day of the twelfth lunar month, the baby finally safely emerged from its cocoon after five continuous nights of guardianship by the couple.

It was a delicate, pink and white little girl. She could open her eyes upon birth, with a pair of pink and white fox ears on her head, a fluffy tail hanging down, and clear, distinct black and white eyes like glazed jade. Her appearance was very similar to Sang Li.

Adorable.

Ji Hengyu’s heart filled with joy.

Outside the window, the snow was melting. Ji Hengyu took the opportunity to name her Ruiye, with the nickname Bao’er.