42: Mother's outrageous actions

"Greetings, Your Highness, Grand Consort of Zhenbei!"

Cui Zhu bowed slightly and shook her head, saying, "Your Highness Grand Consort is too polite. Cui Zhu merely did what she should. I dare not accept your thanks. Now that you have arrived, Cui Zhu will return to serve the Empress Dowager!"

Shangguan Yuexi shook her head slightly. "Yuexi should be thanking you. I must trouble you further concerning Imperial Mother."

Cui Zhu said no more. After a slight bow, she turned and left.

Seeing her leave, Shangguan Yuexi finally looked at Nangong Ruoxue and smiled, "Ruo Xue, thank you for your trouble!"

Hearing this, Nangong Ruoxue quickly shook her head. "Second Imperial Aunt, you jest. Ruo Xue is close to Yuer and enjoys playing with him. Please don't be so polite!"

Nangong Yu looked at the two of them innocently, not intending to say much.

Shangguan Yuexi smiled, then shook her head and said, "Ruo Xue, I don't object to you being close to Yuer, but don't neglect your Cultivation. Otherwise, I worry you won't be able to explain yourself to your Imperial Father."

Upon hearing this, Nangong Ruoxue's expression froze slightly, then she smiled and said, "Thank you for the reminder, Second Imperial Aunt. Ruo Xue understands."

"Mm!"

Shangguan Yuexi nodded. "I need to take Yuer back to rest. Do you want to play with us for a little longer, or will you go back to Cultivate now?"

Nangong Ruoxue smiled slightly. "Second Imperial Aunt, since Yuer needs to rest, I won't disturb you. I'll come back to play with him the day after tomorrow!"

"Alright!"

Shangguan Yuexi nodded.

Seeing her nod, Nangong Ruoxue handed Nangong Yu to her, turned, and quickly departed.

Her steps were light, and she seemed to be in a good mood.

Shangguan Yuexi watched the departing Nangong Ruoxue, her expression thoughtful.

She couldn't quite understand why Nangong Ruoxue was so close to Yuer.

But Nangong Ruoxue showed no abnormality, and Shangguan Yuexi couldn't discern anything or guess her intentions, so she could only shake her head and let it go.

She picked up Nangong Yu, kissed him, and smiled, "Yuer, were you happy playing with Sister Xue?"

"Happy!"

Nangong Yu smiled and nodded. "But Yuer also misses Mother and wants Mother to play with Yuer!"

"Hmm, is that so? Then Mother will spend more time with Yuer later, alright?"

"Alright!"

The two figures gradually walked away, disappearing into the garden shortly after.

Just then, a whisper sounded in the garden, "Time is running out. Can I succeed?"

But as the voice faded, it quickly vanished without a trace, and the garden fell silent... Shangguan Yuexi carried Nangong Yu back to her residence, hesitated, and then carried him into the Cultivation Chamber.

She spread a small blanket on the floor, placed Nangong Yu on it, and covered him with a small quilt.

Seeing her actions, Nangong Yu couldn't help but look confused, appearing rather adorable.

Shangguan Yuexi said softly, "Yuer, stay here and sleep obediently. Mother will Cultivate just outside, okay?"

She had just eaten some food and felt she was subtly approaching a Breakthrough Bottleneck. She worried that if she Broke Through, she might not be able to control her Spiritual Energy and could hurt Nangong Yu.

However, if she left Nangong Yu outside while she Cultivated in the Cultivation Chamber, she would feel uneasy, which is why she resorted to this suboptimal plan.

At this moment, she regretted not asking Empress Dowager Ji Ziyu to help look after him.

Of course, she was also afraid of bothering Ji Ziyu!

As for Liu Mingyue, she had been in the Cultivation Chamber these past few days, and Shangguan Yuexi did not want to disturb her.

Nangong Yu blinked his large eyes, sighing internally that his mother's actions were truly absurd!

But he didn't dwell on it, nodding slightly and saying, "Okay, but Mother is not allowed to lie to Yuer, and she definitely cannot leave Yuer."

"Alright, Mother promises you!"

Shangguan Yuexi smiled and nodded. Then, as if remembering something, she took out nine bottles of Beast Milk. "Yuer, Mother might Cultivate for one night, or maybe one or two days. Wait for Mother for a little while. If you get hungry, drink this Beast Milk."

"If the Beast Milk runs out, just knock on this Stone Door, and the Stone Door will open, understood?"

"Understood!" Nangong Yu nodded.

Shangguan Yuexi continued, "Besides that, don't open the door if you hear any sound, unless you hear Mother's voice, understood?"

"Understood."

Nangong Yu nodded obediently.

Shangguan Yuexi gave two more reminders, then closed the Cultivation Chamber door and returned to her residence.

She took a deep breath and took out two Formation Plates to activate in the room.

The two Formation Plates were for the Sound Isolation Formation and the Spirit Awakening Formation. The former could block external noise interference, and the latter could startle her awake and help her stop Cultivating promptly if an outsider touched the Formation.

"In the past, breaking through minor Realms didn't take too long; one night was enough. I hope this Breakthrough won't take too long!"

Shangguan Yuexi murmured, then sat cross-legged on the bed, took out a Medicinal Pill and swallowed it, and began to Cultivate while holding two Spirit Stones.

What she didn't know was that just as she began to Cultivate, a black shadow appeared in the Cultivation Chamber.

Nangong Yu opened his eyes, looked at the Ying Mei that had appeared before him, and slowly asked, "Is my mother Cultivating outside?"

"Yes, Master!"

The Ying Mei nodded in response.

Nangong Yu nodded slightly. "Go out and Protect her, ensuring she can Break Through smoothly, and don't let anyone disturb her."

"This subordinate obeys!"

The Ying Mei nodded, then its form dissipated and it left the Cultivation Chamber.

Nangong Yu climbed up, pushed the small quilt aside, and sat down in the center of the Cultivation Chamber.

Next, he took out the Medicine Cauldron formed by the void feather, along with a portion of Spirit Medicine for the rejuvenation pill.

"As expected of a product from the Time-Space Merchant Guild. This Spirit Medicine barely needs any processing; it almost perfectly meets the requirements for Alchemy!"

Nangong Yu sighed in admiration, casually processed the Spirit Medicine, and set it aside.

Immediately, he formed Hand Seals with both hands, and a streak of bright yellow Pill Fire appeared in his palm.

Nangong Yu controlled the Pill Fire and began to warm up the Medicine Cauldron underneath it.

If it were a used Medicine Cauldron, the first or last step should be cleaning the Medicine Cauldron, but Nangong Yu's was clearly not used!

Therefore, he skipped this step and went straight to warming up the Medicine Cauldron.

"Huh!"

After only a moment, Nangong Yu suddenly let out a surprised sound, sensing that something was wrong.

According to the Records of Common Knowledge for Cultivators, the higher the grade of the Medicine Cauldron, the higher the Pill Fire temperature required for warming and Alchemy.

Simply put, if a low-grade Alchemist uses a high-grade Medicine Cauldron for Alchemy, it might be much more strenuous, and they could even fail due to insufficient Pill Fire temperature.

He originally planned to try using the void feather, and if it didn't work, he would have to exchange for a third-grade Medicine Cauldron and start refining first.

But after only a moment, the step of warming the Medicine Cauldron was already complete, which made him feel quite uncertain and surprised.

"Could it be due to the unique properties of the void feather?"

Nangong Yu muttered to himself, but didn't think too much about it, and immediately continued with the Alchemy.

He followed the steps for refining the rejuvenation pill, sequentially adding the corresponding Spirit Medicine. The Alchemy process went smoothly.

An hour and a half later, Nangong Yu's expression slightly focused. He rapidly formed Hand Seals with both hands, striking out one Seal after another.

Strange Runes flew rapidly, instantly sinking into the Medicine Cauldron. This was precisely Pill Condensation!

A moment later, as the Medicine Cauldron vibrated slightly, Nangong Yu quickly lowered the Pill Fire temperature, beginning the slow cooling process.