Chapter 219: The Hatching of the Mystic Beast Egg

Chapter 219: The Hatching of the Mystic Beast Egg

"No one knows for sure, but that’s what the Demonic Martial Artists all say," Duanmu Linger replied.

Ning Xiaochuan asked, "Then who is the Dark Heavenly King?"

Duanmu Linger said, "Since he’s called the Dark Heavenly King, his identity is naturally shrouded in secrecy. He could be hiding among the common folk, deep in the mountains, or even within the imperial court. In any case, aside from the Demon Emperor and the Saintess, no one knows his true identity or where he is now."

Under the Demon Emperor, the Demon Sect has the "Bright and Dark Stars"—the three Heavenly Kings: the Bright Heavenly King, the Dark Heavenly King, and the Thirty-Six Star Heavenly Kings.

The status of these three Heavenly Kings surpasses even that of the Six Great Dao Masters. Each possesses the strength to become the Demon Emperor, making them the three most powerful figures beneath the Demon Emperor.

Ning Xiaochuan asked, "Will the Dark Heavenly King return for this Demon Sect Conference?"

"I don’t know," Duanmu Linger answered.

"Then what do you know?"

"Nothing at all."

"Fine, you may leave." Ning Xiaochuan fell deep into thought, the clues in his mind multiplying. He needed to sort them out carefully.

"Wait!"

Ning Xiaochuan added, "Ask your father if he can return the Transcendent Pine to me. It’s the Mystic Medicine I found."

"You’re dreaming."

Duanmu Linger shut the door and left without another word.

"Truly, the Demonic Martial Artists are nothing but bandits."

Ning Xiaochuan resumed pondering the past case from eleven years ago, trying to connect the individuals and events. But the more he thought, the more tangled it became.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up as he thought of someone.

Since the Demon Sect Saintess is the daughter of the Dark Heavenly King, she must know about him.

Ning Xiaochuan stepped out of his room and approached the pavilion where the Saintess resided. After a moment of contemplation, he called out, "Your Highness, the Saintess, Ning Xiaochuan requests an audience."

The pavilion was eerily silent, with no response. Only his voice echoed through the wind and snow.

Ning Xiaochuan repeated, "Your Highness, the Saintess, Ning Xiaochuan requests an audience."

After a long pause, the pavilion’s door opened on its own.

Clearly, the Demon Sect Saintess had agreed to see him.

As Ning Xiaochuan entered, a chilling aura enveloped him, as if he had stepped into an ice cavern. Profound Qi flowed through the air, converging toward the upper floor.

He ascended the stairs to the second floor, where strands of beaded curtains parted to reveal the Demon Sect Saintess seated cross-legged on the Ice Bed.

Her face was concealed behind a golden mask, and draconic Profound Qi swirled around her. Above her head hovered a white jade seal, its power aiding her recovery from injuries.

"Ning Xiaochuan, why have you sought me out?" The Saintess’s lips did not move, yet her soft voice resonated, as if her soul were speaking directly to him.

Ning Xiaochuan said, "Regarding the Ruthless Ghost Envoy... actually... I and she..."

"There’s no need to explain. I know the Ruthless Ghost Envoy died by Ji Hanxing’s Dragon Elephant Halberd Spear," the Saintess replied, her voice ethereal, like whispers carried by the wind.

Ning Xiaochuan was slightly taken aback. "You knew?"

"Is a wound from the Dragon Elephant Halberd Spear so hard to identify?" the Saintess countered.

Ning Xiaochuan understood now—it seemed highly likely that the Demon Sect Saintess was indeed someone from the Imperial City. Otherwise, how would she know Ji Hanxing's name?

Wait, that didn’t make sense.

Though Ji Hanxing’s cultivation was formidable, she had spent most of her time in the Dragon Elephant Divine Martial Battalion. Even within the Imperial City, few knew her name. How did the Demon Sect Saintess know that the Ruthless Ghost Envoy had been killed by Ji Hanxing?

At the time, there had been twelve Dragon Elephant Divine Martial warriors in White Dragon City. Why couldn’t it have been someone else?

Unless… the Demon Sect Saintess had been nearby when Ji Hanxing killed the Ruthless Ghost Envoy in the desolate mountain Taoist temple?

"If you have nothing else, you may leave," the Demon Sect Saintess said coldly.

Ning Xiaochuan did not depart. "One more thing. Does Your Highness know of an incident that occurred in the Jian Pavilion Marquis House eleven years ago?"

"I do not," the Demon Sect Saintess replied.

With that single sentence, she shut down any further questions Ning Xiaochuan might have had.

"My apologies for disturbing you. I shall take my leave." Ning Xiaochuan gave a slight bow and descended the stairs.

The Demon Sect Saintess withdrew her Profound Qi back into her body, staring at the swaying bead curtain in silence for a long moment before letting out a faint, melancholic sigh.

After meeting the Demon Sect Saintess, Ning Xiaochuan’s thoughts grew even more tangled.

"Though she isn’t as cruel and bloodthirsty as I imagined, she’s still too aloof to approach. There’s no way to extract anything useful from her."

A faint trace of Pill Qi emanated from his Heart Ventricle, immediately suppressing his chaotic thoughts. He summoned the Heart Nurturing True Cauldron, letting it hover before him.

The pill refinement was complete—success.

Bang!

He opened the Heart Nurturing True Cauldron, and seven cyan Mystic Pills flew out, landing in his palm.

This was the first batch of Transcendent Pills he had ever refined.

"Seven Transcendent Pills should be enough to push my cultivation to the fifth level of the Transcendent Realm." His injuries hadn’t fully healed yet, so he refrained from consuming them immediately, planning to wait until he recovered before attempting to break through to the third level.

"If I could obtain more Transcendent Pine Bark, I could refine enough Mystic Pills to reach the ninth level of the Transcendent Realm."

Ning Xiaochuan recalled that the Transcendent Pine had been taken by a middle-aged man—the same man Duanmu Linger had called "Father." That meant he was none other than the Blood Devouring Demon Sect Leader.

By blood relation, he was Ning Xiaochuan’s uncle.

But in this dog-eat-dog world, even brothers could turn on each other. What trust could he place in an uncle he had never even met?

Ning Xiaochuan had no faith in these convoluted blood ties. If he had to name family, he considered only the Old Marquis and Ning Xin'er as true kin—because they were the ones who genuinely cared for him.

"Once my injuries heal and I uncover the truth of that incident, I’ll leave Nine Death Cliff immediately," he resolved silently.

He retrieved a Golden-Threaded Purple Wood Box and carefully placed the seven Transcendent Pills inside. Storing them with Mystic Wood would prevent the Pill Qi from dissipating.

Just as he was about to place the box into his Heaven and Earth Bag, he suddenly realized—there was someone inside the bag.

The discovery startled him so much he nearly leaped off the Ice Bed.

How could there be a person in the Heaven and Earth Bag?

Had he… accidentally stuffed someone inside?

Ning Xiaochuan clumsily pulled the person out and placed her on the Ice Bed, examining her carefully.

It was a little girl, about two or three years old, with snow-white skin, delicate features, and a faint fragrance emanating from her body. Her long, jet-black hair cascaded down her head.

Her eyes were tightly shut, and a flickering point of light glowed between her brows, like a bright star.

"Where did this little girl come from? How did she get into my Heaven and Earth Bag?"

Ning Xiaochuan hurriedly checked the Mystic Beast Egg stored inside the Heaven and Earth Bag, only to find that it had disappeared—even the eggshell was gone.

Could she have hatched from the Mystic Beast Egg?

But where did the eggshell go?

The little girl had indeed emerged from the Mystic Beast Egg, and the eggshell had transformed into energy, absorbed into her body.

This was also why she had directly grown into a two or three-year-old child.

The Mystic Beast Egg had once absorbed Ning Xiaochuan’s blood, and now, he could sense a trace of his own blood within the little girl. His heart confirmed it once more—she had hatched from the egg.

A humanoid Mystic Beast.

Since the Fire Demon Mountain Range, the Mystic Beast Egg had been incubating, taking over a year to fully hatch. Ordinary Mystic Beasts didn’t require such a long incubation period.

This Small Mystic Beast was likely extraordinary.

"What kind of creature is she? What grade of Mystic Beast? Seventh-grade? Eighth-grade? Ninth-grade?"

Ning Xiaochuan inhaled the enchanting fragrance emanating from her skin—it resembled the scent of Mystic Medicine, yet also carried the sweetness of flowers.

As he breathed in the aroma, the Heaven and Earth Profound Qi within his body surged wildly, producing roars like those of dragons and tigers. Dragon and tiger-shaped Profound Qi rapidly circulated through his meridians.

Crackle— His meridians expanded violently, and a cluster of Flames emerged from his blood, burning within his body and coursing through his meridians in a complete cycle.

Ning Xiaochuan quickly sat down cross-legged, cultivating the seventh level of Heaven and Earth Profound Qi.

Boom— A small vortex appeared within his Martial Arts Heart Palace, drawing in Profound Qi from all directions and channeling it into his pores.

The vortex grew larger and larger, eventually transforming into a massive whirlpool that absorbed Profound Qi at an astonishing rate, as if devouring it from the air.

Forty-two times the absorption speed, forty-three times, forty-four times… sixty-four times.

Only when his absorption speed stabilized at sixty-four times did the massive vortex in his Martial Arts Heart Palace fully solidify.

He had successfully cultivated the seventh level of Heaven and Earth Profound Qi.

Ning Xiaochuan withdrew his technique, feeling that most of his injuries had healed. He exhaled deeply and turned his gaze back to the little girl, thinking to himself, "Just a single breath from her helped me achieve the seventh level of Heaven and Earth Profound Qi. This is incredible… Could she be a humanoid Mystic Medicine?"

He wondered if refining her in the Heart Nurturing True Cauldron might produce a batch of Advanced Pills.

Of course, Ning Xiaochuan would never do something so monstrous.

What Ning Xiaochuan didn’t know was that this Small Mystic Beast and the Small Red Dragon were born together in the Fire Demon Mountain Range, formed by Heaven and Earth Profound Qi through natural means. The one destined to become the "War God Dragon Envoy" should have been her.

It could be said that the fates of this Small Mystic Beast and the Small Red Dragon were intertwined, destined to become battle partners and conquer the world.

However, Ning Xiaochuan had accidentally taken the Mystic Beast Egg away.

This was also why the Small Red Dragon had been following Ning Xiaochuan—the Small Mystic Beast was its companion, and it would never relent until it reclaimed its little friend.

The Small Mystic Beast had just hatched and was still asleep, its eyes tightly shut, lying peacefully like a little fairy.

Ning Xiaochuan immediately went to find Duanmu Linger to borrow clothes for the little girl.

Duanmu Linger stared at Ning Xiaochuan for a long time, scrutinizing him from head to toe before saying, "You… want to borrow clothes for a little girl? How little?"

"About this small—no, this long—no, no, this tall… Forget it, forget it. I’ll just take you to see her." Ning Xiaochuan kept gesturing with his hands but felt he couldn’t explain it clearly.

With a little girl suddenly appearing, Ning Xiaochuan didn’t know what to do, and his first thought was to get her some clothes.

Duanmu Linger stared at the little girl lying on the Ice Bed, her mouth agape and eyes wide as she looked back at Ning Xiaochuan, scrutinizing him once more before saying, "Ning Xiaochuan, I always thought you were a beast. But I never imagined you’d be a beast among beasts—such a little girl, and you… didn’t even spare her?"