Chapter 155: Two Little Ones

"But how? Why? I mean... how can I have a baby? I’m a man."

Moon’s face fell.

He was upset.

[You already know the answer, Moon. You had a Yin physique to begin with. You have a scent gland, and you also had a womb all along. Don’t be upset. Just accept it.]

"Why should I accept it?" Moon’s voice trembled.

"You know my cultivation has only just started rising. If they grow inside me, it might fall back again. I could even lose everything I worked so hard to regain. Maybe even more than before."

He couldn’t bring himself to say that he wanted to remove them.

The thought alone made his heart ache. He didn’t want to hurt the little ones, but he couldn’t ignore the fear gnawing at him, either.

He had struggled for so long just to become stronger. After everything he had endured, how could he accept losing his cultivation all over again?

The Moon Goddess sighed and reached out, gently placing her hand over his.

[You won’t lose everything. Trust me this time. Stay beside your mates, and things will work out.]

Moon shook her hand off.

"Isn’t this all the trouble that came from them?"

[...]

The Goddess fell silent.

That was indeed true. But without them, Moon would never have been able to draw ambient qi in this world at all.

She knew this, yet chose not to say it to the aggrieved, heartbroken man in front of her.

"Okay. Fine. Just forget it." Moon rubbed his face. "I want to practice now."

He didn’t wait for her response. ℯℯ𝑙.

He grabbed the herbs and started distilling the impurities right away.

However, his mind was still in turmoil. His spiritual power wavered, and within a few breaths, his first batch burned to ash.

[You need to relax your mind—]

"How can I relax?" Moon cut her off. "There are two... two, okay? How are they going to be born? Won’t I die?"

[...]

So that was what really bothered him.

The Goddess looked at him for a moment before speaking slowly.

[No. What you saw were their forming cores. They will gradually develop roots, meridians, and bodies. Eventually, they will become little pups, not big human babies. Rest assured, you won’t die or suffer much pain, provided they are taken care of properly.]

Moon didn’t feel any better after hearing that.

Giving birth to two wolf pups?

He was human!

But then he remembered that his partners had also been born as pups. So... in a strange way, it made sense.

His throat moved as he swallowed.

"How long will they take to be born?"

[It depends on how you care for them. If they receive enough spiritual supplements, they can be born in a year. Otherwise, they may remain dormant for five years.]

Moon’s face fell further.

A year?

Or five?

He didn’t want to ask any more questions.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

Silence settled between them.

The Goddess watched him for a while, her gaze softening. Then she stood and brought Moon into her own domain.

A warm, cotton-like feeling enveloped him. He knew his surroundings had changed, but he didn’t open his eyes.

For once, he didn’t try to resist or question her.

He was simply too tired.

Gradually, his ragged breathing slowed, and the restless spiritual energy from the previous night began to settle.

Moon focused his divine sense on the two little round spheres once more.

They were still there, radiating spiritual qi. Neither seemed to have been affected by his earlier agitation.

He stayed with them for a little longer before finally opening his eyes.

"Hmm. Send me out."

The Goddess waved her hand, and Moon returned to his sanctuary.

He sat alone before the cauldron, staring at the half-prepared ingredients.

For a moment, he didn’t move.

Then he closed his eyes and took another deep breath.

When he opened them again, his expression turned cold and focused.

"Fine," he muttered under his breath. "Little rascals... You’d better behave."

Moon sat down before the furnace and began sorting the herbs.

Stardust Cinder Lily petals for the main poison-purging effect. Wind Feather Leaf to stabilize the qi flow. Morning Dew Leaf to soothe the pain.

He had already refined most of the low-grade and mid-grade poison-removing pills in the past.

His stock was decent, but the men still trapped inside the breath-locking ice were different from the others.

They were on the verge of death and needed to be pulled back from the brink.

He couldn’t put them into the Stardust Cinder Lily pond as he had done with Ugo.

That place was too precious, and he certainly wasn’t going to let his enemies enjoy the same treatment.

What he needed were stronger pills.

After thinking for a moment, he took out his Earth-grade bronze alchemical cauldron.

He cleaned it thoroughly before guiding his small amber spark beneath it.

The flame rose steadily.

Moon fed his qi into the fire, keeping the temperature even.

Once the ingredients were purified, he sent them into the cauldron.

He carefully controlled the heat, extracting the essence of each herb one by one. The petals crumbled into fine stardust powder, while the dew melted and blended with the other ingredients.

After a long stretch of concentration, six round pills finally formed at the bottom of the cauldron.

Mid-grade.

Moon collected them and frowned. He still couldn’t refine high-grade pills.

Why?

He considered the problem for a while before deciding to add a scavenger’s core to the next batch.

This time, he slightly increased the ratio of Morning Dew Leaf.

The liquid inside the cauldron swirled slowly under his control.

When the pills finally solidified, seven emerged—two low-grade and five mid-grade, the latter carrying a faint golden sheen.

Still not high-grade, but better than before.

Moon wiped the sweat from his forehead. His lower abdomen felt strangely warm, as though the two tiny cores were quietly absorbing some of the residual qi.

Now that he knew they were there, he could sense even the slightest change connected to them.

He ignored the strange sensation and prepared the third batch.

This time, he purified the beast core more carefully, refining all the materials three or four times before grinding them more slowly and allowing the mixture to refine for longer.

"Try to extract a little soul dew."

A gentle voice suddenly sounded beside him.

Moon paused in surprise, but he wasn’t frightened.

He recognized the voice.

Master RuYi must have returned sometime earlier.

Moon had never heard of soul dew before.

He searched for it with his divine sense and tried to draw it out, but found nothing. All he could gather was ordinary spiritual qi.

He turned toward the figure sitting not far away.

"How do I find soul dew?"

RuYi brought his palms together, then slowly spread them apart. A tiny drop of dew, resembling a bead of water, floated above his palm.

He looked back at Moon.

"You’ve practiced the soul technique, haven’t you? Your soul energy should have already exceeded the limit of spirit grade. However, it has been accumulating because you haven’t been using it. Try searching with your divine sense. Look within your heart and soul. Concentrate on your sea of consciousness. That is where you’ll find your soul and the soul sea."

RuYi guided him patiently.