Chapter 17, Mystical Beast Egg, Seventh Layer of Qi Refining

Translator: Raznick

 

“Fellow Daoist Zhou, it was all thanks to your sharp eyes and skilled hands that you promptly identified the cause and found the antidote, preventing our Mu Clan from suffering great losses. This favor we shall never forget.

 

“Therefore, Clan Leader specially presented this item as a token of appreciation, kindly requesting that the Fellow Daoist accept it.”

 

At Zhou Chun’s residence, after Mu Yunshan’s visit, he expressed his gratitude once more for Zhou Chun’s skillful detoxication. He then placed the gifts that Clan Leader Mu had instructed him to bring as a token of appreciation on the table, urging Zhou Chun to accept them.

 

“Um…”

 

Zhou Chun looked at the jade box on the table, then turned to look at Mu Yunshan with a puzzled expression.

 

“The container holds a beast egg, which was acquired by my clan’s shop several years ago. It’s supposedly the egg of some demon snake.

 

“But in recent years, my clan has tried many methods and consulted with numerous people without success in identifying the origin of this object or hatching it.

 

“This time, the Clan Leader heard about Fellow Daoist Zhou’s miraculous detoxification skills and thought, considering that you are a master of beast taming, you might have a way to hatch it. So, he instructed me to bring this item as a gift to you, hoping that Fellow Daoist Zhou will be able to help us resolve this mystery.”

 

Mu Yunshan smiled faintly, explaining to Zhou Chun the origin of the gift, and then gestured for Zhou Chun to open the jade box to take a look.

 

After hearing his words, Zhou Chun’s curiosity was piqued as well. He immediately opened the jade box and took out what was claimed to be a snake egg.

 

The snake egg was oval-shaped, about half a foot long and nearly three inches wide, with a pure white color, and weighing close to one kilogram.

 

Just considering its size and weight, it had to be a demon beast’s egg.

 

Zhou Chun ran his hand over the surface of the snake egg, noticing how hard and rough it was—nothing like the smooth, soft eggs one would expect from a normal snake egg.

 

In front of Mu Yunshan, he examined the snake egg using several methods. The results confirmed that it was alive but provided no further clues about which type of demon snake it belonged to—or even if it was definitively a snake egg.

 

This situation was extremely rare.

 

In general, only newly laid eggs were like this. Since their embryos hadn’t developed yet, it was uncertain what kind of creature they’d become. Furthermore, these eggs couldn’t be used for any sort of contract at this stage.

 

But this egg, despite having been stored in the Mu Clan for several years, should logically have already developed an embryo by now. After all, the Mu Clan never used any secret art to seal away the vitality of this egg.

 

But here’s the kicker—it’s not some lifeless, dead egg!

 

“I can’t tell. Please forgive me for my shallow insight. This strange matter is also the only one I’ve encountered. Maybe after I return to the clan, asking the elders and clan leaders for advice could lead to finding the problem.”

 

Zhou Chun shook his head with a rueful smile, placing the snake egg back into the jade box.

 

His reaction, while somewhat disappointing to Mu Yunshan, was not entirely unexpected.

 

After all, the Mu Clan back invited several Violet Palace Stage cultivators for appraisal, yet none could determine the origin of this egg.

 

To tell the truth, when they received this egg, the Mu Clan thought they had hit the jackpot, believing it might very well be the egg of an average demon or even a greater demon.

 

But as multiple attempts to have it appraised by various experts yielded no results, and since the egg showed no signs of change over time, the leadership of the Mu Clan gradually forgot about it.

 

It was only because he was thinking about what gift to give Zhou Chun as payment that the Clan Leader of the Mu Clan even remembered this item.

 

Therefore, Mu Yunshan quickly composed himself and, with a smile, cupping his hands to Zhou Chun: “Then I hereby congratulate Fellow Daoist Zhou on your future endeavors to hatch this creature and acquire an excellent pet. I must now return to report back to Clan Leader and shall take my leave.”

 

“I will walk you out, Fellow Daoist Mu.”

 

Zhou Chun stood up and escorted Mu Yunshan outside. After closing the courtyard door and returning to his room, he resumed his contemplation and study of the serpent egg.

 

Even after he studied and researched the snake egg for three days straight, he found no clues at all. In the end, he abandoned his plan to figure it out himself and placed it into his storage bag.

 

Because Zhou Chun demonstrated highly professional skills in detoxifying the Black Scaled Steed, his status among the Mu Clan cultivators had notably risen.

 

Not only during lectures, but also when several Mu Clan cultivators showed him great respect, and other Mu Clan members, upon seeing him, would also greet him with warm smiles and exchange courtesies. Some even sought to purchase the Zhou Clan’s secret formula for snake-repellent ointment or beast-repelling powder from him.

 

Zhou Chun was more than willing to do this.

 

The methods for making snake-repellent ointment and beast-repelling powder were not secrets within the Zhou Clan; even ordinary clan members could come into contact with them.

 

Only the medicine for emergencies given to the Black Scaled Steed which he fed on that day to postpone their end, was the true secret pill made by the Zhou Clan. Even ordinary core clan members had no chance to come into contact with the recipe.

 

The bottle in his hand was given to him by Zhou Daoyi, the Clan Leader, before they arrived at Mu Clan, as a precaution against any unforeseen circumstances.

 

While Zhou Chun also kept in mind the matter of the Mu Clan cultivators seeking to purchase snake-repellent ointment and beast-repellent powder, when conveying the situation to Clan Leader Zhou Daoyi, he emphasized it, suggesting that the Zhou Clan could consider selling large quantities of these items in the market in the future to earn spirit coins.

 

Zhou Daoyi adopted this suggestion and wrote in his letter to commend Zhou Chun, expressing great satisfaction with his performance at the Mu Clan. He stated that upon his return to the clan after completing his term, there would be substantial rewards for him.

 

As time passed day by day, nearly a year and two months had elapsed since Zhou Chun arrived at the Green Cloud Mountains’ Mu Clan.

 

On this morning, as he sat meditating under the rising sun, his body once again gave off a soft popping sound, indicating that another acupoint had been opened.

 

As the fifty-fourth acupoint was opened, Zhou Chun’s cultivation smoothly broke through to the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining, and his spiritual power further increased.

 

“I’ve reached the seventh layer. Following this pace, even if I train steadily without hitting any bottlenecks, I should have a good chance to reach the twelfth layer by my fiftieth year.”

 

In the courtyard, Zhou Chun opened his eyes after completing his meditation, noticing a significant increase in his spiritual energy, and couldn’t help but faintly smile.

 

Having lived in this world for more than two years, he had completely adapted to and taken great pleasure in his current cultivation lifestyle.

 

Every day, he meditated, sensing every single bit of growth in his cultivation. He also trained a few mystical arts, experimenting with their limits through various methods.

 

He’d occasionally tease the clumsy Rock Turtle or chat with other cultivators, discussing the unique uses of various mystical arts and arguing about which Golden Core Stage cultivator was stronger.

 

Such a fulfilling and leisurely life was something he dared only to imagine in his dreams in the past.

 

No more 9 to 5 workdays, nor did he have to worry about mortgages, car loans, or dowries—all his worries went bye-bye. This was the life.

 

“What a pity that these good days won’t last forever!”

 

How he wishes that this leisurely life could continue.

 

But he knew in his heart that it was impossible.

 

How could there be any peaceful and quiet days? It was just that someone else was bearing the burden on his behalf.

 

After three years would pass, upon returning to the Zhou Clan, there were numerous trivial tasks and duties awaiting him. However, regardless of which ones he undertook, none could compare to the weighty responsibility of guarding the Purification Pavilion, a duty from which no one could escape.

 

Thinking about now, spending every day drinking tea, playing chess, chatting to pass the time—those days would be a distant dream.

 

“Hmm, it’s not absolutely impossible. As long as I successfully reach Foundation Establishment and become an elder, I can avoid all trivial matters!”

 

Thinking about this, Zhou Chun couldn’t help but laugh silently.

 

Because he suddenly thought of an interesting thing.

 

In this world, many cultivators in the Foundation Establishment Stage broke through at around fifty or sixty years old. This seemed to align with his past life’s retirement age in an unintended way.

 

However, once a cultivator reached Foundation Establishment, it was not merely about enjoying peace and comfort—it also granted them an additional century or more of lifespan. Such benefits surpassed the retirement perks in every way.

 

“You don’t work hard when young, and you’ll grieve in vain at old age. It seems I also need to give it a try, even if it’s for a life of wonderful retirement. Let’s go for it!”

 

Zhou Chun muttered to himself and then went into the house to make breakfast.

 

It took effort to make every meal count, and that was no small feat either!