Transcending Dreams - D2 - Chapter 57

William stared at the egg to see if it would do anything else. It didn’t.

He carefully wrapped his Qi around the egg and tried to remove it from the spatial stone again. This time, there was no resistance. He placed it on the small table at the center of the room before staring at it.

William could see a slight change in the tint of the egg’s shell. The faintest blue that he doubted a mortal would ever be able to discover with their eyesight. It was also a little bigger. Not much, maybe a few centimeters, but still, it was bigger.

And all the egg needed for these truly massive changes was a tiny increase of thirty-seven levels. Fantastic.

He needed to find out what would hatch out of this thing, and why it consumed beast corpses. Perhaps even more important than that, how many more corpses would it need.

It had to be noted that the Pyralisk and Jingmu Shadow were not run-of-the-mill spirit beasts. They originated from the Shard, so they were expected to have unique qualities, though what, he had no clue. The chance of preservation after he killed them had been too low for it not to.

William’s eyes flickered to the closed bedroom door. With Wang Xiaoling knowing far too much about things she had no business knowing, the option of asking her about the egg wasn’t as dumb as it seemed.

Of course, Lan Yang was another, but it was either her or Elder Yu he felt comfortable asking. He didn’t trust anyone else, especially if this egg turned out to be something special… which he assumed was from what just happened.

“Sister Xiaoling,” William called loudly. “I need your help.”

He could hear frustrated grumbling combined with the rustling of sheets before the door opened, revealing Wang Xiaoling glaring at him furiously.

“I’ve been trying to sleep for the past hour, and just when I was about to, you called me,” her glare somehow grew stronger. “This better be worth it, brat.”

“It’s been an hour?” William frowned, ignoring her complaints. It felt like it had been a few minutes at maximum.

Wang Xiaoling narrowed her eyes. “What did you need help with?”

“That,” he pointed at the egg. “It ate some of the spirit beast corpses I had in my spatial stone.”

“It what?!” Wang Xiaoling’s eyes widened as she took a step closer. “What do you mean by ate? How were the corpses consumed?”

“Er, I assume they were absorbed,” William said unsurely. “They turned into dust before it disappeared into the egg.”

“… Amazing,” she shook her head. “Most beast eggs are hatched by feeding them Qi. Very few require anything else. This is the first time I’ve heard of one needing anything like spirit beast corpses.”

“Oh,” William was disappointed. “So, you don’t know what kind of egg this is?”

“This sect isn’t filled with idiots,” Wang Xiaoling said begrudgingly. “If the auction inspectors couldn’t figure out what this egg is, how would I know?”

“Oh,” William repeated.

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“If it makes you feel any better, the chance of it being a high-tier spirit beast should be decent,” she placated. “Even if it ends up being a mid-tier spirit beast, it will likely have an ability that would make it worthwhile to raise.”

That part of owning an egg had somehow passed his mind. He would have to raise a baby spirit beast when it hatches. To say he wasn’t looking forward to that was an understatement.

William had owned a pet before on Earth. A dog. A small, yappy, annoying dog.

The memories were admittedly vague since it had been in his childhood, but the one clear thing was that he loved that dog. Enough where he promised himself when he was a teen to never to have a pet again due to the depression he felt when it passed away.

That feeling came back with a vengeance.

“What’s wrong?”

“N-Nothing,” William shook his head, unsure why he had been affected so strongly.

Yes, he dreaded getting attached to a pet due to its short life, but a dog was not comparable to a spirit beast. Not even close. The latter could live as long as he would if its cultivation was high enough. Perhaps the responsibility that would be thrust on him troubled him.

He imagined having to care for what was essentially a baby for months was what worried him… or was that an accurate comparison? Now that he thought of it, he didn’t know how long spirit beasts were as helpless as babies, if they were at all.

“Sister Xiaoling, do newly hatched spirit beasts just, uh, know how to take care of itself?”

“Some don’t,” Wang Xiaoling smirked, knowing what he was worried about. “But you don’t have to worry about that. Mid-tier and high-tier beasts have ancestral knowledge from birth. The stronger they grow, the more knowledge they have access to. All you have to do is feed it whatever it needs to do that.”

“Oh,” William let out a relieved smile. She was much more open about how much she knew about the cultivation world. “That’s great!”

“Yes, I assumed it would be,” Wang Xiaoling shook her head. “Have you tried to feed Qi to the egg?”

“Ah, no, I didn’t,” William thought about how his Qi had been attracted to the egg inside the spatial stone. “Let me give it a try.”

He placed a hand on the egg before directing his Qi toward it.

[-200 Spiritual Energy]

William’s eyes widened in shock at the powerful draw on his Qi. He didn’t waste time in pulling away. Still, it wasn’t fast enough.

[-200 Spiritual Energy]

“It nearly took away half of my reserves,” he announced warily. “And in less than a second.”

“Did it?” Wang Xiaoling questioned curiously. “That could be good news for you. I don’t see any physical change, which some mid-tier beast eggs show for a few seconds after absorbing Qi.”

“I’m guessing that’s why it sold for such a high price.”

“You’re greatly underestimating the lengths cultivators go to acquire high-tier beasts,” she said dryly. “They’re impossible to have as pets if you don’t personally hatch them.”

“… One day, you’ll tell me how you know all this, Sister Xiaoling.”

“Maybe,” Wang Xiaoling shrugged. “But that day won’t be today or any day soon.”

“Lan Yang is waiting outside.”

They flinched at the unexpected voice, turning in unison to stare at the door.

“Fancy,” Wang Xiaoling commented. “Looks like the sect treats their disciples well if this dwelling is the worst they have to offer.”

William shrugged, idly wondering about daily life for disciples of lesser sects. He was becoming far too used to the wealth of the Jade Healing Sect.

“Well, that’s the sign for me to head back to sleep. I have no desire to see Yang,” Wang Xiaoling made her way back to the bedroom before pausing. “And this should be obvious, but you know to keep whatever we discuss between us, right?”

“Obviously,” William nodded. “Still, like I said, Elder Yu probably had a hand in giving me this dwelling. You should assume she already knows everything we spoke of.”

“I hope she does.” The bedroom door closed behind her.

He scratched his chin in confusion, going back to their conversation to see if there was anything that Wang Xiaoling would have wanted Elder Yu to know.

Nothing stood out besides the vague allusions to her ruthless parents and powerful clan. Perhaps that was it, though he couldn’t see the point of having a powerful cultivator know their clan had exiled them, no matter how powerful it could be.

“Lan Yang is waiting outside.”

William shook his head and pulled the spirit beast egg into his spatial stone, observing it to ensure it didn’t try anything stupid with his Spirit Severing level treasures.

It didn’t.

He opened the door to see Lan Yang waiting with a pleased expression. Looked like the man was successful in whatever he set out to do.

“Junior Wei,” Lan Yang greeted with a smile. “Ready to go to the Jade Cauldron Peak?”