NOVEL NEXT Chapter 129: 'Incubating' the Egg
She hadn't paid much attention to this thing at first, but later, seeing Yu Yan place all the treasures he obtained into the Green Jade Box, her curiosity was piqued.
She later learned that it was a storage box that could hold Spiritual Material and even living things; the Spiritual Material inside wouldn't just stay fresh, but could also continue to grow.
Sally remembered that there were quite a few Spiritual Materials inside her own System Space as well, but they were all scattered about like fruits and vegetables, which obviously wasn't ideal.
Yu Yan noticed she liked the Green Jade Box and actively gave it to her.
Moreover, although the treasures inside were pretty good, to be honest, he had no use for them. Sally, on the other hand, needed all sorts of tonics every time she got pregnant and was the one who really needed them.
Sally didn't just accept it for nothing, she gave him a "Compendium of Talismans" in return.
Once, when Sally was researching amulets, he glanced over casually and drew an Earth Escape Talisman, and the key point was it worked really well.
Sally was dumbstruck; there was just no competing with talent.
No matter how hard you work, without talent it was futile. Those with talent seemed to have good fortune thrust upon them by the heavens.
Opening the Green Jade Box, Sally saw that it already contained quite a few treasures.
Below those treasures, there lay an egg.
Sally took the egg out; it had beautiful purple patterns. She tapped it with her finger—it was solid, a very lively egg.
"Xiaomei, what kind of egg is this?" Sally asked.
Xiaomei replied, "It has a Defense Barrier on its shell; we can only tell what it is once the shell is broken."
"A Defense Barrier? Is this egg really that formidable? I was wondering if it could be stewed and eaten."
"...The host could try the bottle of Earth Spirit Liquid, which helps promote growth."
"Okay." Sally picked up the bottle, which Yu Yan treasured greatly, of Earth Spirit Liquid.
She poured the liquid onto the eggshell drop by drop…
The creature inside the egg didn't absorb the Earth Spirit Liquid at first, perhaps it was in a deep slumber, but after tasting the sweet taste of the liquid, it eagerly absorbed it as soon as the Earth Spirit Liquid touched the shell.
In the end, the egg consumed the entire bottle of Earth Spirit Liquid, and Sally's curiosity about the egg peaked, "What exactly are you?"
"The host could try the Evolution Spirit Liquid from the System Store, but it's a bit expensive, 200,000 points per drop."
"Evolution Spirit Liquid?" Sally thought it over and decided to splurge, spending 200,000 points.
A drop of glittering golden Spirit Liquid appeared in the System Space.
Two hundred thousand points!
Sally winced; the main issue was that she didn't know whether this little thing was worth spending so many points on.
She examined the egg with the purple patterns again, and finally, she let the glittering golden liquid fall onto the egg, "Waste it if it's a waste, let's just see what you are."
Curse this curiosity!
The glittering golden liquid took a while to be absorbed after it was dripped onto the egg.
Gradually, the purple patterns on the shell began to change... The original purple patterns slowly turned gold.
"No way, I spent so many points just to change its tattoo?" Sally was speechless.
"It's evolving," Xiaomei said to Sally, "The host could try buying another drop."
Sally looked at the egg and after a while bit her lip, "Now I understand a gambler's mentality; this is the unwillingness to give up!"
With clenched teeth and resolve, "Give me five drops! I refuse to believe I can't make it hatch."
Five drops of the shimmering Evolution Spirit Liquid were absorbed by the egg, making the golden patterns on it even more numerous and resplendent, emitting an almost blinding light.
["Costing me 1.2 million points, Xiaomei, you're really gouging me."] Sally placed the newly tattooed egg back into the Green Jade Box.
["Host... um, the host will know soon."] Xiaomei replied.
Sally stored away the Green Jade Box and transformed into a small white mouse, climbing up the tree.
However, after quite a long climb, she had still not reached the top of the tree.
Feeling persistent, she thought, "If I can't 'hatch' the egg, can't I at least climb to the top of a tree?"
She Teleported directly to the treetop.
There, atop the tree, stood a man with purple hair and eyes, adorned in a golden robe with mysterious patterns that were dizzying to glance at and captivating to gaze upon.
"Yanyan~" Zi Qi extended his slender, pale hand.
Sally tentatively placed her tiny paw in his hand, which unlike before, no longer felt cool but was now very warm, making her wish to lie in the palm of his hand, "… Am I dreaming?"
Zi Qi smiled, and instantly the world seemed to lose its color, "No, I suddenly entered a period of hibernation and took a nap. I've worried you."
Sally looked up at him, and under the sunlight, he seemed like a deity, which made her feel somewhat unreal.
She really wasn't dreaming, was she? Or had she fallen under some sort of illusion?
[Xiaomei?]
[Present.]
[Is that really Zi Qi? I clearly saw him die with my own eyes, and the video you gave couldn't possibly be fake.]
[He's awakened his inheritance bloodline and is stronger than before.]
[…So, what is his beast form?] Sally really wanted to know, but she still had to consider the competition for Fertility Strength and the female position, otherwise she would have had a child to expose his true identity.
[That…] Xiaomei hesitated again.
[Tell me.]
[It's not that I don't want to tell the host, but previously there was a host who, upon learning of her Beast Husband's true form, refused to have children. To prevent this from happening again, the System has a rule that until the Beast Husband reveals his own beast form, under no circumstances may the host be told what the Beast Husband's true form is.]
[…] Sally fell silent. [In fact, you could have chosen local females who have not been exposed to other civilizations and are more accepting of your existence.]
[Host, the System is but a manifested seed, and it is the soul of the host, traveling through space and time, that truly hatches it. Why do you think Xiaomei has those military weapons? As a System, I cannot create them.]
[Are you saying that you originate from me?]
[Yes, Host. Females who fail in the Holy War have their memories erased, which is essentially the clearing of a System. Then a new System seed is implanted, and the hatching begins anew.]
[Wait, let me sort this out...] Sally felt something was off and suddenly had a chilling thought, "Then why do you know about the previous 19 hosts?"
[Xiaomei is different from other Systems.]
"Yanyan?" Zi Qi cradled Sally. "Are you talking to Xiaomei?"
"…Yeah." Sally looked at him and then climbed up his arm, eventually sitting on top of his head, "The view is certainly different from atop a giant's head."
"Uh… Heh." Zi Qi chuckled lowly, his laugh incredibly melodious and rich.
Surrounding them as far as the eye could see was the Beast Forest, with a few faint mountaintops also enclosed within.
"There's not much to see, though." Sally flipped over, laying on her back with all four paws in the air, "I've missed you so much."
Zi Qi's pupils trembled slightly, but he quickly composed himself, returning to calm, "Mhm, I said I'd help you obtain the position of the Holy Mother, and I won't go back on my word."