In the courtyard, An Xiaoyao brewed a pot of tea and poured seventy percent of a cup for Lin Que before slowly explaining.
“As long as you keep that divine beast egg by your side and infuse it with spiritual energy daily, once it hatches, you can use the Beast Taming Sect’s techniques to raise and tame it from a young age. When it matures, it will definitely become a combat force comparable to a sect-guarding divine beast.”
“I see.”
Lin Que had never cared much for external powers like beast taming, since he was a sword cultivator who relied on personal strength. But if such a powerful ally came for free, it might come in handy against future unknown threats.
Thankfully, he hadn’t actually cracked the egg to cook it or tried to refine it.
Speaking of refinement, he was reminded of the matter in the demonic beast forest and decided to tell An Xiaoyao about it as well.
“Master, let me tell you where this egg came from. It was in a refinement formation deep in the demonic beast forest…”
As Lin Que recounted the details, An Xiaoyao’s willow-like brows finally furrowed slightly.
“Qing’er already reported this matter to me. I was originally planning to personally investigate the strange movements of the beasts in the rear mountain. But now, after hearing your version, things are starting to make sense.”
She took a sip of tea, then gently pressed her rosy lips together before continuing, “The demonic beasts in the rear mountain don’t have the foundation to produce a divine beast egg. And that refinement formation is clearly the work of a human cultivator. There must be some hidden scheme behind all of this. Que’er, show me the cave where you found the formation. I’ll go investigate it shortly.”
“Okay.” Lin Que didn’t question her and directly took out a map, marking the location for her.
After glancing at the map, An Xiaoyao nodded. She finished the tea in her cup in one gulp and stood up, ready to set off.
Before leaving, she specifically reminded Lin Que, “Que’er, remember. You must not tell anyone else about this matter. Otherwise, it could bring serious trouble.”
“I understand.”
Lin Que naturally understood the saying, “An innocent man gets into trouble because of his valuables.” He also knew very well that a divine beast egg showing up in the resource-scarce demonic beast forest must involve major hidden interests.
Since An Xiaoyao had decided to investigate alone, Lin Que had no intention of following her. Instead, he flew home on his sword.
He placed the egg beside the bed in his room. After thinking for a moment, he drew a warming formation around it, nodding in satisfaction.
Just as he finished settling the divine beast egg, he felt a sudden weight on his shoulder, and a familiar voice rang out.
“Hey, do you really think this egg is as simple as that woman made it sound?”
The little demon poked Lin Que’s cheek with her soft, pale finger. A teasing expression was on her face.
“It’s just a matter of hidden interests behind the scenes. That kind of thing isn’t really my specialty. I’ll leave it to Master to handle.”
Lin Que was being honest. Everyone had their areas of expertise. He didn’t believe that, even with two lifetimes of experience, not even fifty years in total, he could compare to someone like An Xiaoyao in terms of temperament and cunning.
Though An Xiaoyao had never mentioned her age, she was most likely a high-level cultivator who had lived for centuries. In terms of both mental strength and strategy, she was surely far superior to a young man like him.
“That’s not what I meant. I’m talking about the egg itself. Do you really think its only use is to hatch a regular beast you can tame?”
Seeing Lin Que still hadn’t caught on, she gave him a “kind” reminder.
“What else could it be? I mean, it’s not like I’m actually going to cook it, right?” Lin Que blinked.
The little demon choked on his response, coughing twice. “It’s called a divine beast for a reason! That means it’s way beyond regular spirit beasts or demonic beasts!”
“For example, does it taste better? Has higher nutritional value?”
“Idiot! Is food all your brain ever thinks about?!”
The little demon took a deep breath, composed herself, and continued explaining, “That woman does have some knowledge. She was able to recognize that this is a divine beast’s egg. But she got its purpose wrong. What makes divine beasts special is their extraordinary potential. From the moment they’re born, they’ve already surpassed a major threshold that it would take ordinary spirit beasts or demonic beasts hundreds of years to reach.”
“You mean… transformation?”
This time, Lin Que’s expression turned genuinely serious.
In the world of cultivation, the eight extraordinary meridians of the human race were uniquely exceptional. They allowed humans to absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and complete an internal circulation system. It was a feat far beyond what spirit beasts or demonic beasts could achieve.
According to the Dao of Heaven, it takes from those with excess and gives to those in need. Though beasts were born with stronger bodies than the frail human race, their cultivation speed lagged far behind. Often, it would take them ten years of arduous training just to barely reach the Qi Refining stage.
That’s why beasts in this world would go to great lengths to take human form. To develop the eight extraordinary meridians unique to humans and push their cultivation further.
Seeing Lin Que’s serious expression, the little demon finally nodded in satisfaction.
“Exactly, exactly! And divine beasts inherit the advantages of both humans and beasts. Not only are they born with the ability to take human form, but they also grow at the pace of a beast, meaning they’ll be fully grown in less than a year~”
The little demon raised an eyebrow mischievously, her tone clearly emphasizing the last few words. “You do understand what that means, right?”
“It means I won’t have to work my butt off raising it?” Lin Que asked.
Having spent so much time with the little demon, Lin Que immediately caught on to her hidden thoughts. But of course, he had no intention of playing along.
“Hmph, don’t pretend you don’t understand what I mean. I already confirmed the gender of that divine beast last night; it’s a girl. With your physique, once you raise her to adulthood, you can command her as her master to dual cultivate with you. You’d gain quite a few benefits from it. Like Nirvana, for instance.”
“Nirvana? Are you saying this thing’s a phoenix?”
To be honest, Lin Que wasn’t all that surprised by the answer. After all, when he’d found the egg, the temperature in that cave had been unusually high. Plus, it was oviparous, with fiery red patterns; he’d quickly suspected it was a phoenix.
“Mhm.”
The little demon nodded, her voice taking on a seductive tone as she continued, “So, what do you think? Once you dual cultivate with her, I’ll hand over the rest of the cultivation techniques. That way, you can finally heal all your old injuries!”
“No.”
Lin Que refused without hesitation. He was a staunch believer in true love. Since he had already decided to become Dao companions with Qin Wanyuan, there was no way he would betray her.
Not to mention, the idea of dual cultivating with a divine beast he raised himself… Setting aside the question of whether cross-species breeding even existed in this world, just the fact that he’d raised her was more than enough to make it unacceptable.
Because all it brought to mind were things like… that kind of father-daughter scenario.
“Thick-headed block of wood!”
Once again failing to tempt him, the little demon vanished in a huff.
She had barely disappeared when Qin Wanyuan’s voice rang out from the courtyard.
“Lin Lang, dinner’s ready!”
When he stepped out of the room, he found Qin Wanyuan had laid out a table full of beautifully prepared dishes. Mostly simple home-cooked dishes, radiating a warm, comforting feeling.
Lin Que took a seat beside her.
“Lin Lang, did you find out where that egg came from?” Qin Wanyuan asked curiously.
“Yeah.”
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