Chapter 164: The Hatching

The jade tablet was crystal clear, as thin as a cicada’s wing, yet incredibly resilient.

The fine golden patterns along its edges were not merely decorative but rather the intricate lines of a primeval force array, designed to gather ambient primeval forces to protect the jade tablet from damage. Just this primeval force array alone was worth over a thousand gold coins. And for it to be so thin yet capable of supporting such an array, the material used for the tablet must have cost no less than a thousand gold coins.

In the center of the jade tablet, bold, upright characters read: “The Garden of Creation, the Marrow-Cleansing Pool.”

Qian Ye turned the tablet over and over, unable to help but ask, “What is this?”

Song Zining smiled, “A one-time use of the Zhao clan’s Marrow-Cleansing Pool, obtained with military merit.”

“Marrow-Cleansing Pool?” Qian Ye was taken aback. Zhao Yuying had also mentioned that it would be best to advance in the Marrow-Cleansing Pool, but he hadn’t paid much attention to it at the time. The place where he became a war general was secondary, but it meant he had to go to the Zhao clan.

As if sensing Qian Ye’s thoughts, Song Zining patted him on the shoulder and said, “This is something we have to face now. You have a one-year agreement with Zhao Jundu. It’s about time, and he is also participating in the Blood Wars in the Evernight. He might come looking for you. Since you have to go there anyway, why not take the opportunity to advance to war general? To be honest, the Zhao clan’s Marrow-Cleansing Pool is no worse than the Song clan’s Heaven-level cultivation chamber, and it might even be more suitable for your current situation.”

“But…” Qian Ye smiled bitterly, hesitating to continue.

Song Zining chuckled, “There’s nothing to ‘but.’ If you feel guilty about using those military merits, then you can pay for our drinking expenses in the future, but only if there are girls present!”

Qian Ye’s mind was a whirlwind, and he didn’t know what to say. Suddenly, he sensed something, his expression subtly shifting. He realized the strange feeling was coming from Anduay’s mysterious space. In front of Song Zining, he didn’t hesitate and quickly glanced inside, immediately discovering the source of the disturbance.

Noticing Qian Ye’s odd look, Song Zining curiously asked, “Just a few girls? Is that really so expensive? Qian Ye, you now have a family and a career; you need to learn to enjoy life!”

Qian Ye didn’t bother arguing and instead said, “Do you remember I told you I had a count-class spider demon egg here?”

Song Zining recalled the letter. He had originally planned to arrange for someone to pick it up and send it to a cooperative research institution, but then Qian Ye lost contact, and he was besieged by the dark army, leading to a delay. The spider demon egg, once removed from the incubation chamber in the magma, had a limited survival time. It had been so long that it was likely already dead.

After a moment’s thought, Song Zining said, “If the spider demon egg is dead, it’s not worth much. Selling it for a few gold coins wouldn’t even cover the travel expenses. We might as well just fry it and eat it.”

Qian Ye couldn’t help but laugh, but even if it were just fried, it wouldn’t matter. A deactivated spider egg was just a raw material for ordinary restorative potions. “The spider demon egg isn’t dead. I accidentally discovered that it can absorb my blood energy to maintain its vitality.”

Song Zining’s expression grew serious. With a snap of his fingers, a cool autumn breeze swept through the room, scattering leaves everywhere, and he asked, “Absorb your blood energy?”

Seeing that the room was already covered by Song Zining’s domain, Qian Ye simply took the spider demon egg out of Anduay’s mysterious space.

When Song Zining saw the entirely transparent black spider demon egg appear in Qian Ye’s hand, his brow twitched. In the domain of the Three Thousand Falling Leaves, Qian Ye did not deliberately conceal anything, and Song Zining could clearly sense a slight distortion of space at the pendant around Qian Ye’s neck.

As soon as the spider demon egg appeared, a low, thudding heartbeat resounded in the room, like a war drum. If Song Zining had seen the egg when it was still in the Black Nest, he would notice that it was now smaller, and the green stripes that formed natural runes on its shell had all turned to a dark gold.

Song Zining was slightly startled, “Such a strong life force! Is Stuka really that powerful?”

Qian Ye explained, “When I first got it, its aura was weak, seemingly deficient. After discovering that it could stay active by absorbing my blood energy, I would periodically channel some into it. As a result, its vitality has become increasingly robust, and it seems to have mutated. I remember that the markings on the shell were green when I first got it.”

“Mutation?” Song Zining frowned. He wasn’t an expert in biotechnology, and neither was Qian Ye. Their understanding of the dark races mostly focused on where their vital points were and how to efficiently eliminate them.

Song Zining stared at the spider egg for a while, his expression becoming more serious. If its mutation indeed came from Qian Ye’s blood energy, it couldn’t be casually given to others for study, as it might reveal Qian Ye’s secret. However, Song Zining felt that this mutated count-class spider egg had something special, preventing him from suggesting its destruction right away.

He reached into the air, grabbed a few falling leaves, and placed them in front of him, performing a simple divination.

“How is it?” Although the Art of the Three Thousand Falling Leaves was a celestial divination technique, Qian Ye rarely saw Song Zining use it seriously. In other words, if he resorted to this method, it meant he was clueless.

Looking at the pattern formed by the leaves, Song Zining’s expression suddenly became peculiar, and he glanced at Qian Ye.

Confused by his look, Qian Ye glared back, “Stop being mysterious. Spit it out!”

Song Zining waved his hand, dispersing the leaves. He had impulsively performed the divination but received an unexpected result, “This little thing seems to have a significant connection with both of us. How strange. Why don’t we just fry it and eat it, and let any consequences dissipate over time?”

“Be serious!” Qian Ye was bewildered.

Song Zining’s expression turned grave, and he spoke with an old-fashioned air, “Fine, I’ll show you some real skills and broaden your horizons. You’re like that Wei family wild boar, always trying to solve everything with a single slap.”

Qian Ye, with ill intent, flicked a leaf with his finger, “If it can be solved with a single slap, it’s not a big deal. Do you want me to slap your domain and see what happens?”

Song Zining was momentarily at a loss. The Art of the Three Thousand Falling Leaves was in harmony with the Great Way, making it almost immune to any type of primeval force. Seeing how he could move freely in the unique domain of the Nanguong family, which nullified primeval forces, one could understand the power of skill over brute strength.

However, there was also the saying that sheer force could overcome all skills. Qian Ye’s Tai Xuan Bing Fa could crush the world and shatter the void, and under its suppression, it was very possible that a single slap could disperse the domain of the Three Thousand Falling Leaves.

Song Zining, being slightly weaker, was at a disadvantage.

Song Zining snorted and ignored Qian Ye, taking out a palm-sized square box from his robe. He swept his hand over the lid, and a faint green light appeared, forming several runes: “The Great Way of Three Thousand.”

The box floated steadily an inch above Song Zining’s palm, and with a click, the lid opened, revealing an array of countless intricate gears. Under the power of Song Zining’s primeval force, the gears began to turn, raising an octagonal array disc from inside the box.

Song Zining took a deep breath, opened his mouth, and a falling leaf flew towards the octagonal array, landing in the center. The array was engraved with thousands of fine runes and countless filigree lines connecting them.

As the leaf slowly fell, over a hundred small runes lit up on the array, forming a tiny primeval force array. Using his true sight, Qian Ye could see numerous primeval force threads connecting Song Zining, himself, the spider egg, and the array, with a portion extending into the void.

But as more than ten primeval force threads touched Qian Ye’s body, they abruptly vibrated and dissipated. Then, the Book of Blackness in Qian Ye’s consciousness emerged, dispelling the remaining threads. Qian Ye was stunned; he had not done anything to manipulate the primeval force, but his body instinctively sensed danger and automatically eliminated the threat.

On the other side, the falling leaf on the array changed, revealing the image of the spider egg, followed by a boundless deep sea with a massive vortex in the center. A shadow then emerged from the sea, engulfing everything before vanishing.

Song Zining’s face turned pale, and he glared at Qian Ye, “I knew it. Whenever you’re involved, I can’t accurately predict the future!”

Qian Ye, feeling wrongly accused, couldn’t help but ask, “If it wasn’t related to me, would you have been able to predict it accurately?”

“At least two or three times out of ten!” Song Zining declared confidently.

Qian Ye thought for a moment and then understood, “According to you, it would be better to flip a coin. At least it would be right half the time!”

“This Great Way of Three Thousand celestial divination technique can’t be compared to flipping a coin!” Song Zining retorted, though he put away the box.

Qian Ye smiled it off, realizing that it was just a jest. From the primeval force threads he saw with his true sight, he knew that Song Zining’s secret art was profound and extraordinary. If he couldn’t calculate it, it might be due to insufficient power, or because Qian Ye’s Tai Xuan Bing Fa and the Book of Blackness were inherently linked to the secrets of the universe and the Evernight, making them difficult to measure.

After putting away the box, Song Zining leaned on his hand, half resigned and half curious, looking at the spider egg. He tapped it with his fan and said, “What should we do with this little thing? Should we really fry it and eat it?”

They couldn’t be sure of the egg’s future changes, and showing it to others might expose Qian Ye’s secret. But an active count-class spider egg was a rare treasure, valuable enough to trade with the imperial military for resources or sell for a fortune in the underground auction. Destroying it seemed a waste.

*Tap tap tap*, Song Zining rapped the spider egg three times with his fan. He was troubled and acting subconsciously.

Qian Ye suddenly shouted, “Stop! You’re breaking it!”

“Why would I?” Song Zining was startled. His gentle taps wouldn’t even crack an egg, let alone shatter a count-class spider egg, which was harder than steel.

But to Song Zining’s surprise, a small crack appeared on the smooth, jet-black surface of the egg!

Startled, Song Zining instinctively picked up the spider egg and examined it closely. Suddenly, there was a sharp cracking sound, and the shallow crack deepened and lengthened, spreading across most of the shell.

Then, a series of *crackling* sounds followed as the egg split open. A small hand reached out, grabbing the air, and with a pull, a tiny, snow-white face emerged, dripping wet with golden curls hanging from her forehead.

It was a little girl!

Her long, slightly curled eyelashes fluttered rapidly, and her gray-green cat-like pupils clearly reflected Song Zining’s face. She tilted her head, looking innocent and confused, and in a soft, sweet voice, she called out, “Mommy!”