Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique

"First, let’s talk about the book that went into the Seal. Heh heh, just thinking about it makes me feel smug. Those old geezers from the Ding Palace refused to sell me a single Medicine Cauldron, so I stole their palace’s treasures instead! Now, not only has the Ding Palace lost its Palace Guardian Cauldron, but even its Palace Guardian Book has vanished. Hahaha."

"Lucky kid, what lies before you now is not just the Ding Palace’s Most Valuable Treasure, the Ten Thousand Flowers Medical Scripture, but also an Ancient Giant Beast Egg with infinite potential. I have to admit, I truly envy you. But these things were never fated to be mine. I am a Martial Artist who cannot form a contract with a Medicine Cauldron, so this Medicinal Scripture is utterly worthless to me. If you’re lucky enough to be a Cauldron Master, then congratulations. You are destined to become a legend. As for what exactly this Medicinal Scripture does, you’ll find out once you drip your blood on it to claim ownership."

"Ding Palace?" Mu Chen shook his head. ’What kind of power is that? I don’t think I’ve ever heard of it.’ He continued reading.

"Furthermore, after spending years with the Mysterious Egg, I’ve gradually figured out some of its habits. The Primordial Power fluctuations of this egg follow a cycle. It fluctuates once every hundred years, and each time, a new line appears on the eggshell. The last time I observed it, there were already ninety lines on this egg. Following the principle of nine as the supreme number, if my guess is correct, then this egg will fully hatch when the ninety-ninth line appears. Nine hundred years... this Mysterious Egg will be born in another nine hundred years. But I won’t be able to wait that long. Alas!"

The note ended there. There was another page after it, but it had been torn. It looked like something had been written on it, but for some unknown reason, it was ripped away. The remaining pages were filled with insights on cultivation, but Mu Chen didn’t continue reading for now. Following the instructions in the note, Mu Chen quickly left the small cave. The lake’s surface was still calm, and the Mysterious Egg continued to peacefully absorb the Primordial Qi gushing from its surroundings. Mu Chen moved closer and, with a light leap, landed beside the Mysterious Egg. With a mere thought, a block of Profound Ice materialized beneath his feet.

Mu Chen was now only half a meter away from the Mysterious Egg. This distance should be safe. As he drew closer, the sound of a heartbeat from within the egg grew increasingly clear.

THUMP THUMP... THUMP THUMP...

Every beat was so full of life. Gazing at the egg, Mu Chen now realized it was stunningly translucent, without a single flaw. Its shell was covered in colorful lines that flickered and shimmered in time with the distinct heartbeat.

"One... two... ten..."

He counted for nearly a full hour, and fine beads of sweat broke out on his temples. The lines on the egg were incredibly complex, appearing and disappearing intermittently. If not for Mu Chen’s extraordinary memory, he might have never been able to get an accurate count of all the lines on the shell.

’Ninety-eight... Ninety-eight lines. Are there only ninety-eight?’

Mu Chen’s brow furrowed slightly. ’According to the note, doesn’t this mean it will still take another hundred years to hatch?’ He rubbed his nose with a wry smile. ’It seems I’m not the fated one after all.’

Shaking his head, Mu Chen turned and prepared to leap down, but at that exact moment, a strange phenomenon erupted. The Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi in the surrounding area began to fluctuate violently, so intensely that the very space around them started to warp, making the world look as if it were being viewed through a flame. Following that, a dazzling burst of light shot out from behind Mu Chen, brilliantly illuminating the entire Independent Space. Mu Chen spun around in a hurry. Being so close, he was instantly and temporarily blinded by the white light. Yet, in that split second of blindness, he saw a distinct, colorful line materialize on a blank area of the egg.

It was... the ninety-ninth line...

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!...

One after another, continuous shockwaves of Primordial Power radiated outward from the egg. Mu Chen was only half a meter away, and the very first shockwave slammed viciously into his chest.

CRACK...

With a sharp crack, several of Mu Chen’s ribs instantly snapped. He was sent flying backward like a kite with a broken string, embedding him viciously into the rock wall. The moment of impact forced a mouthful of blood to erupt from his lips, splattering all over the eggshell. But then, something bizarre occurred. The eggshell rapidly absorbed the blood. Afterward, the waves of Primordial Power seemed to gain consciousness, deliberately avoiding Mu Chen and surging in every other direction.

If not for this sudden development, Mu Chen would have undoubtedly been crushed to a pulp by the countless shockwaves that followed. The shockwaves continued relentlessly, but Mu Chen had already fallen unconscious.

「In the Outer Realm, within the Ten Thousand Ancient Cave.」

Mufeng had already followed Mu Chen’s instructions and retrieved the red scroll. The violent aura that pulsed from it filled him with excitement. Two large words were written on the scroll, and their fierce, imposing strokes alone were enough to suggest the power of the Combat Skill within.

"Blast Fist."

Mufeng couldn’t spare a moment to examine the scroll’s contents. Mu Chen had told him there was one more item he absolutely had to retrieve. Adjusting his orientation, Mufeng began to slowly sidle to the left along the path Mu Chen had described. The surrounding Illusion Realm shifted in an instant. One moment, ferocious Magical Beasts appeared; the next, beautiful women; and then, countless Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures. Yet, Mufeng remained like an automaton, his face expressionless and completely unmoved.

Behind him, the Martial Artists from the other families had managed to obtain some White Tier items, but none had acquired a single Yellow Tier item yet. Li Zongtang and Chen Wenfu were still locked in battle, and both had sustained significant injuries. Several deep gashes had appeared on Li Zongtang’s left arm, staining his long sleeve red with blood.

"Wretched creature! To think you’re so strong... You’re merely an illusion, how dare you block my path!" With that, Li Zongtang swung his longsword, slashing at Chen Wenfu.

Startled, Chen Wenfu swiftly raised his long saber to parry the slash. "Hah! A phantasm like you wants to kill me?" he cursed. "What a joke! Taste my blade!"

Both men were Martial Spirit Strong Persons, and their strengths were roughly equal. Within the Illusion Realm, a strange red light glowed in both of their eyes.

The others were fortunate compared to the two of them. Although some were stuck in place, no other fights had broken out. Time passed in a flash. The farther Mufeng progressed, the more terrifying the illusions became. Even though he knew they weren’t real, they inevitably had some effect on him, slowing him down.

Before he knew it, two days had passed. Inside the Independent Space, Mu Chen still had not awakened. His broken ribs had long since been healed by the Medicinal Power of the Emperor’s Heart Returning Lotus. Perhaps due to the pressure from the surrounding Primordial Power, Mu Chen seemed to have entered a state of suspended animation. The Primordial Power waves radiating from the Mysterious Egg never ceased. Each wave was followed by an even stronger one. Aside from the section of rock wall Mu Chen was embedded in, all the surrounding mountains and stones had been razed to flat ground.

CRACK...

Along with a soft sound, an extremely fine crack appeared on the shell of the Mysterious Egg. The crack was so small it was almost imperceptible, but it was a monumental step forward. For the next day, every wave of Primordial Power was accompanied by a series of cracking sounds, and so another day passed.

The next morning, after a full night of impacts, the eggshell was covered in countless fissures, resembling cracked, parched earth. Embedded in the rock wall, Mu Chen’s brow furrowed, but he still did not regain consciousness.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!...

The shockwaves continued to rage. After days of relentless impacts, countless black Spatial Rifts had already appeared throughout the Independent Space. Their profound darkness looked as if it could devour a person’s very consciousness.

CRACK!

This shattering sound was far crisper than the others, so much so that even Mu Chen’s eyes snapped open as he awoke.

With a PLOP, a piece of white eggshell peeled away and dropped into the calm lake, sending up a small splash. Immediately after, pieces of the shell began to fall away one by one. A strange sight appeared before Mu Chen from within the shell. It was a ball of light, only about the size of a bowl. It floated gently out of the broken shell and began to circle the stone platform, peering this way and that, as if it were looking for something.

Suddenly, the ball of light spotted Mu Chen embedded in the rock wall. After letting out two soft cries, it rushed toward him without hesitation. Startled to see the light hurtling at him, Mu Chen subconsciously tried to raise his hands to block it. Unfortunately, his arms were stuck in the rock wall, unable to move. He could only watch helplessly as the ball of light grew larger and larger before his eyes...

Just as the ball of light came within half a meter of him, Mu Chen finally saw the true form within it...

CHIRP... CHIRP...

The ball of light landed on Mu Chen’s chest, nuzzling its face affectionately against him and letting out happy chirps. Mu Chen couldn’t help but curiously examine the Fur Ball Little Beast.

It was a completely snow-white, fluffy... uh... Fur Ball Little Beast. White fur covered its entire body. It had a pair of very large eyes, brimming with joy and surprise, but its pupils were a dark gold color. Its tiny mouth was curved into a happy smile. Its most striking feature was the horn on its forehead—a translucent, spiraled horn that shone as brilliantly as a diamond. Its four limbs were very short, but one could faintly discern that they were arms and legs.

While Mu Chen was studying the Fur Ball Little Beast, it continued to gaze back at him with an irresistibly adorable look, its expression filled with deep affection.

’Magical Beasts are an incredibly powerful species, but the price for that power is their limited intellect. They have virtually no intelligence before reaching the Spirit Beast realm, cannot show human-like expressions until they reach the Royal Beast realm, and are unable to speak until they become a Venerable Beast. But this little fellow in front of me... it just hatched, yet it can already make human-like expressions, and it seems to be highly intelligent.’

CHIRP... CHIRP...

The Fur Ball Little Beast darted about happily in front of Mu Chen. As it played, the glow surrounding its body completely faded. The moment the light vanished, the Fur Ball Little Beast’s body suddenly plummeted. Startled, Mu Chen wrenched his hand free from the rock wall and caught the little creature, which only made it giggle with delight.

Mu Chen was at a loss for words. But as he placed his hand on the Fur Ball Little Beast, a strange sensation of a flesh-and-blood connection passed into his mind. Stunned, he tentatively asked, "Are you... saying hello to me?"