No one expected the Soul-Devouring Tiger to agree so readily.
What they found even more unexpected was that Mu Shiyue then turned around and went to look for the Iron-Eating Beast.
"You help incubate the egg for half an hour every day, and I'll give you five bamboo stalks and one steamed bun."
Previously, when the Iron-Eating Beast saw Little Sesame eating a steamed bun, it completely disregarded any sense of mother-child affection, directly snatched the bun over, crunching and munching on it with great relish, Little Sesame was so angry it jumped around on the spot.
After finishing, it even immediately went to Mu Shiyue to ask for more steamed buns.
Now, with Mu Shiyue using steamed buns as the bargaining chip, the Iron-Eating Beast immediately agreed.
It was a bit more honest than Hu Niu and didn't haggle.
After that, Mu Shiyue went to find the Spotted Spirit Cow and used spirit tea in exchange for half an hour of egg incubation.
Then, she used two spirit chickens to trade for the Black Abyss Falcon's help.
Everyone: "..."
Was it really necessary to find so many spirit beasts to help?!
Ke Chongbo, in particular, was completely dumbfounded.
Even though he had grown up in Changtian Sect and seen plenty of the world, this was the first time he had ever seen such an operation!
Everyone knew that to incubate a spirit beast egg, one could ask spirit beasts for help, but which spirit beast would be willing?
Spirit beasts use spiritual power to nurture spirit beast eggs, which is equivalent to humans using blood to nurture offspring.
Which cultivator would use their own blood to nurture someone else's offspring?
Although, like blood, spiritual power can regenerate, spirit beasts are not the type to sacrifice themselves for others. They care far more about survival of the fittest.
This was the first time Ke Chongbo had seen such an operation!
He looked at Mu Shiyue with reverent eyes, full of admiration.
As expected of Sect Master Mu, she's too amazing!
She had actually managed to persuade these few spirit beasts!
Sure enough, just as his mother had said, only a Soul Transformation ancestor would have such ability!
Not only Ke Chongbo, Chu Jingzhuo and the others were also thoroughly convinced.
Master was indeed formidable!
Chu Jingzhuo was so excited that his eyes turned red.
If not for Master's efforts, who knew when this egg would finally hatch!
With so many spirit beasts helping, it should hatch very soon!
He just did not expect it to hatch that fast!
On the morning of the third day, not even a quarter of an hour after Chu Jingzhuo handed the egg to Hu Niu, he heard its cry.
The sound was loud and carried a sense of urgency.
However, no one could understand what it meant.
Mu Shiyue was the one who reacted first, "It's about to hatch out of the shell!"
"It's coming out?!"
This time, not only Chu Jingzhuo, but everyone else was shocked as well. They immediately dropped what they were doing and gathered around.
Mu Shiyue pushed the dazed Chu Jingzhuo, "Hurry over! You're the owner of the egg!"
"Oh oh, yes!"
Snapping back to his senses, Chu Jingzhuo immediately rushed inside.
He looked exactly like a husband waiting outside while his wife was giving birth.
The others didn't dare go in, afraid that the spirit beast would see them first and develop an imprinting attachment.
Although spirit beasts' imprinting instinct is relatively weak, it still exists.
Everyone waited anxiously outside, eager to find out the identity of the spirit beast.
"I wonder what kind of spirit beast it is!"
"Could it be a little wolf cub?"
"I like little foxes."
"I want a bird."
Everyone voiced their opinions as if ordering dishes.
"Ying~"
"Roar~"
Little Tiger Baby and Little Sesame, seeing everyone gathered here, also came over.
Everyone's eyes lit up as they began pulling out various toys to tease them.
Although they didn't have contracted beasts, they could still interact closely with the young ones!
The young ones didn't know what was happening inside. Happily playing with the toys everyone brought out, they rolled around a few times, then climbed back up and continued playing.
Little Tiger Baby had grown quite a bit by now, but was still fluffy, especially good to pet, with an exceptionally comfortable feel.
Everyone would hold them while cultivating every day, their moods lifted, and their cultivation speed also increased.
"Ying~"
Little Sesame accidentally fell over again, letting out a tender cry.
Ke Chongbo reacted swiftly, immediately stepping forward to pick it up, "Oh my, oh my, it doesn't hurt~"
The others rolled their eyes. Little Sesame fell several times a day, how could it possibly hurt?
He's just finding an excuse to hold the cub.
Ke Chongbo didn't care about the others' complaints. Little Sesame was so cute, if he could hold it a bit more, then he would!
Their Changtian Sect didn't even have such adorable young ones!
While they were playing around outside, inside the room Chu Jingzhuo was nervously staring at the large white egg in front of him.
Hu Niu beside him was yawning, sprawled on the bed, already asleep.
Yes, everyone had even gotten it a bed.
Previously, it used to lie on the floor, but ever since it entered Mu Shiyue's room and lay on her bed, Hu Niu had opened the door to a whole new world.
After that, it urged Xin Jinrui and the others to get it a bed of its own.
This bed took up half of the room!
Chu Jingzhuo had no attention to spare for Hu Niu. His entire focus was on the egg.
Under his tense gaze, the egg finally showed movement.
Crack.
After a faint sound, a small crack appeared on the shell.
Chu Jingzhuo held his breath.
Soon, the spirit beast inside moved more vigorously, and the cracks on the shell increased.
Finally, just as Chu Jingzhuo felt like he couldn't breathe anymore, a small piece of shell fell off, revealing a tiny hole, and a small tail extended out.
Chu Jingzhuo's eyes widened. This tail… seemed to have no fur?
As the shell gradually broke apart and the spirit beast inside revealed its full appearance, Chu Jingzhuo sucked in a sharp breath.
Inside, there wasn't the long-furred spirit beast he had imagined, like a lion, tiger, fox, or wolf, but a snake with smooth scales!
Chu Jingzhuo was grateful that he wasn't afraid of reptiles; otherwise, he would've been scared to death!
This little snake was especially beautiful. It was light green, with a somewhat translucent, crystalline feel, like fine jadeite with good clarity.
There were far too many types of snakes. For the moment, he couldn't identify its species.
After the little snake came out, it crunched through the eggshell until it was completely eaten, and the green on its body seemed to become even more crystalline.
Then, its small head turned toward where the Soul-Devouring Tiger was, tilting in confusion.
This big fellow seemed to have a familiar scent?
"Baby, come here! Daddy is here!" Chu Jingzhuo hurriedly spoke up to attract the little snake's attention.
His voice unconsciously softened, especially gentle.
He also released his spiritual power, especially mild.
Hearing his voice and sensing his spiritual power, recalling the familiar feeling it had sensed while inside the egg, the little snake immediately slithered toward him.
The icy sensation in his hands made goosebumps rise all over Chu Jingzhuo, but it quickly turned into joy.
This is his spirit beast!
He can form a contract with it!
Chu Jingzhuo excitedly carried the little snake out to share the good news with everyone.
"It's hatched!"
"Let me see what it is—gah! Snake!"
Everyone was startled. They hadn't expected a snake inside!
But it's really beautiful!
"It's so pretty!"
"Can I touch it?"
"Roar~"
"Ying~"
The two young ones came closer, and the snake was frightened, shooting out of Chu Jingzhuo's palm and flying straight onto Mu Shiyue.
Mu Shiyue: "..."