Volume One, Chapter 12: The Purple Radiant Egg
He cautiously approached the stone egg, carefully examining the intricate patterns etched upon its surface. These markings seemed to harbor some mysterious power, causing a sudden flutter of unease in Yun Qianbai’s heart.
“What kind of creature’s egg is this? Could it be some formidable exotic beast?” Yun Qianbai speculated inwardly. He had a vague sense that this egg was no ordinary one—perhaps it concealed a world-shaking secret.
Unable to resist, he reached out and touched the stone egg. Its surface was icy cold, and an unusual energy coursed through his palm into his body, making him shudder all over.
“Ding! Unknown energy detected. Absorb?” The system’s prompt suddenly rang out, startling Yun Qianbai.
“Unknown energy? Could there really be a treasure inside this egg?” he thought with a burst of joy, immediately choosing “Yes” without hesitation.
In an instant, a powerful suction erupted from within him. The purple glow on the stone egg seemed to respond to a summons, crazily surging toward him, vying to infiltrate every pore of his body.
“Ding! Poison value +1000!”
“Ding! Poison value +1200!”
“Ding! Poison value +1500!”
...
The system’s alerts rang out frantically again, leaving Yun Qianbai dumbfounded.
“Damn, the energy in this egg is this strong?” he rejoiced wildly, feeling as if he had stumbled upon a priceless treasure!
He quickly settled into a cross-legged position and devoted himself to practicing the Poison Soul Heart Technique, greedily absorbing the energy from the stone egg.
As the poison value steadily climbed, his body began to undergo astonishing transformations once more.
His cultivation level started soaring wildly.
“Ninth level of Blood Condensation Realm!”
“Tenth level of Blood Condensation Realm!”
...
Yun Qianbai felt as if he had boarded a rocket—his strength skyrocketing rapidly. He could clearly sense his power, agility, constitution, and spiritual force soaring at an incredible pace. This sensation was even more exhilarating than when he had absorbed poisonous gas before!
“Haha, this egg is truly my lucky star!” Yun Qianbai clenched his fists excitedly, savoring the surging power within him, and laughed heartily toward the sky.
Just as Yun Qianbai’s strength was rapidly increasing and his toxin resistance was about to reach 15%, with a breakthrough to the Innate Realm imminent, an unexpected change occurred!
The stone egg beneath him began to shake violently, as if a victim of a robbery desperately struggling and silently protesting.
“Crack!”
A crisp sound rang out as the stone egg cracked open a fissure, which quickly widened, spreading like a spiderweb.
A plume of black smoke billowed from the crack, instantly enveloping the stone egg in a dense shroud.
Yun Qianbai’s heart tightened sharply. He instantly went on high alert, muscles tensed like a coiled leopard ready to pounce.
He fixed his gaze on the black smoke, unwilling to relax for even a moment.
“What the hell? Is some monster about to hatch from this egg?” he muttered nervously, feeling a chill creep over him.
After a while, the black smoke gradually dispersed, revealing the scene inside.
Yun Qianbai stared intently and was immediately stunned.
Nestled within the broken eggshell lay a small, pitch-black snake, quietly coiled.
Its entire body was jet black, scales shimmering with an eerie glow, giving it a mystical aura.
Most peculiar of all were the two tiny flesh protrusions atop its head, resembling undeveloped horns.
“A snake...?” Yun Qianbai was somewhat bewildered. He had expected something ferocious to hatch, but instead found a seemingly harmless little black snake.
After observing for a moment, Yun Qianbai noticed that the snake showed no hostility. It simply stared at him quietly, its eyes tinged with curiosity and... melancholy?
“This little fellow looks quite unique. I wonder how much poison value I’d gain if I killed it...” Yun Qianbai murmured, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
After all, this was a treasure that had propelled his power like a rocket. Though it had transformed into a snake, it might still hold some useful value.
Just as he finished speaking, the little black snake suddenly moved.
It slowly straightened its body. What had been only as thick as an arm now inflated as if filled with air, quickly becoming thicker than Yun Qianbai’s waist.
A pair of icy vertical pupils locked onto Yun Qianbai, eyes blazing with anger and... disdain?
“You humans are so unreasonable!” the little black snake spoke in clear human speech, its tone crisp but carrying undeniable authority. “You absorbed the energy I evolved from, and now you want to kill me? Are all humans this shameless and despicable?”
Yun Qianbai was startled by this sudden turn of events. He widened his eyes, staring at the talking snake in front of him, momentarily at a loss for words.
“Damn, this snake... has become sentient?” He swallowed nervously as a storm brewed within his mind.
When the little black snake launched a surprise attack, Yun Qianbai’s figure flashed nimbly, easily evading the strike.
Missing its target only seemed to enrage the snake further. Its body twisted and lunged at him again.
At first, Yun Qianbai hesitated slightly, knowing he had benefited from absorbing the snake’s evolutionary energy. But seeing the snake’s relentless aggression ignited a fire deep within him.
“Hey! You little thing, are you never going to quit?” Yun Qianbai planted his feet firmly, eyes sharp. “Do you really think I’m afraid of you?”
The little black snake paused its assault, emitting a hissing sound that seemed to say, “Come on, fight back! I’m not scared of you!” Yet its body froze in place, clearly cowed by Yun Qianbai’s imposing aura.
“Hmph, you’ve got some sense,” Yun Qianbai smirked inwardly. This little creature was quite amusing.
He intended to interrogate the snake about its attack when an indignant voice rang in his ear.
“You’re so rude! I am the illustrious Poison Dragon, and you dare to call me a mere snake? That’s utterly outrageous!” The snake’s voice brimmed with anger and grievance, as if deeply insulted.
“Poison... Dragon?” Yun Qianbai nearly choked on his own saliva. He widened his eyes and scrutinized the little black snake before him, a thousand wild horses galloping through his mind. “You’re a ‘Poison Dragon’? You look more like a ‘little loach’ to me!”
“You! You! How dare you insult me like that!” The snake trembled with fury, its tiny flesh horns quivering. “I’ll show you just how powerful I am!”
“Yeah, right. With your puny frame, you’re not even worth me flossing my teeth!” Yun Qianbai sneered, though inwardly he raised his guard.
Despite its fragile appearance, this talking exotic beast might possess formidable abilities.
“If you hadn’t absorbed my evolutionary energy, I would have swallowed you long ago!” the little black snake fumed. “You despicable human, return my energy!”
“Heh! You’re turning the tables on me now?” Yun Qianbai laughed, “You brought that energy right to me; I didn’t force you!”
“You! You! You’re twisting the facts!” The snake sputtered incoherently, eyes like vertical slits boring into Yun Qianbai as if to devour him whole.
“Enough with all the ‘you’s already.” Yun Qianbai waved his hand impatiently. “Since you’re somewhat intelligent, I won’t argue with you. Just leave and stop bothering me.”
“Dream on!” The little black snake snorted coldly. “You absorbed my energy, so you owe me!”
“Owe you? How? By pledging yourself to me?” Yun Qianbai teased.
“Bah! Dream on!” The snake’s cheeks flushed faintly red. “I want you to... I want you to...” It stammered for a long moment but couldn’t bring itself to say the words.
“What do you want? Spit it out!” Yun Qianbai urged.
“I want you... to be my poop scooper!” The little black snake finally blurted out its demand.
“What?!” Yun Qianbai doubted his own ears. “Poop scooper? You’re a snake, and you need someone to scoop your poop?”
“Nonsense! I’m a Poison Dragon, of course I need someone to scoop my poop!” The little black snake declared with conviction. “From today on, you’re my poop scooper, responsible for my daily care and feeding. Got it?”
...
Yun Qianbai was utterly speechless. He never imagined he would be attached by a snake, let alone be appointed its poop scooper! What on earth was going on?