Chapter Eleven: Breaking Free from the Shell

Dong, dong, dong...
A few successive thuds—her hair tie struck a lamp, dropped to the floor, then bounced onto another lamp.
The two blue pendant lamps swayed in the air, creaking as they swung.
Seeing nothing amiss, Dao Sansheng resumed his meditation, sitting cross-legged, his hands forming seals as he recited his incantations.
The two lamps flickered in the night, and on the table, among the serpent eggs, the smallest unknown egg rolled slightly. As the blue flame from the swaying lamp fell, it landed perfectly atop the egg, vanishing instantly.
At that moment, an inexplicable connection formed between the two lamps and the tiny egg on the table. The blue flames were irresistibly drawn to the small, mysterious egg.
The lamps swayed more violently, creaking loudly. On the bed, Dao Sansheng, now fast asleep, let his hand fall limply. The finger he’d bitten earlier now rested on the bed, blood staining the jade pendant beside him.
But the blood dried slowly, showing no sign of being absorbed. The jade pendant remained dull and lifeless.
Another droplet of blue fire fell from the swaying lamps, drifting down onto the nameless little egg. The flow soon quickened, and the tiny egg on the table began to emit a faint blue glow.
That light was tinged with blue, and in its center a wisp of flame shone. A slender beam of light grew steadily brighter, soon bathing the entire room in a pale blue radiance.
The brilliance intensified, growing so dazzling it pierced through the house, as if launching itself into the night sky to commune with the stars overhead.
The diamond-shaped patterns in the house began to shine, intertwining and rotating, forming what seemed to be a formation. The light from the small egg gradually faded and withdrew.
At the rear mountain behind Violet Immortal Palace, an elderly Daoist stared at the stars, motionless. After a long while, he sighed.
The omen just now appeared near Violet Immortal Mountain—another divine object is about to be born. But the radiance vanished in a blink; I wonder which old monster noticed. Now the aura of the celestial artifact is completely hidden from me, and I've lost my chance to divine it. What a pity.
A young attendant resting nearby was suddenly startled awake by the sound of a voice at his ear.
“Go swiftly and deliver my order—an urgent assembly in the main hall of Violet Immortal Palace. No delays or negligence are allowed!”
The attendant hurried towards the front mountain, and soon the mountaintop was abuzz with activity.

On the table, the little egg could endure no more, trembling as if about to explode. Suddenly, the blue light found an outlet and surged toward the jade pendant on the bed.
At first it was a thread, then a stream, and finally the entire current poured in.
The jade pendant flashed with blue brilliance, and for an instant, a flame leapt up—only to be replaced immediately by a wave of cold that froze into ice.
In that instant, the bloodstain vanished, absorbed into the pendant. The jade dissolved into flecks of blue light, merging into Dao Sansheng’s body, disappearing as if it had never existed.
The tiny egg on the table slowly split open, the crack widening further.
First appeared a little white beak, pecking open a hole, then a phosphorescent white head emerged, soon followed by the whole body—black, stubby feet, a delicate, glowing body, like a tiny duckling, utterly adorable.
The little creature, having emerged, looked around, then devoured all the eggshells on the table before turning and pouncing on the python eggs nearby.
Pecking open the shell, it found a nascent dragon-serpent wriggling inside, its eyes closed. Just as the hatchling was about to open its eyes, the little creature struck and swallowed it whole.
One egg, two eggs, three eggs...
Without hesitation, the little one consumed every last one, its belly swelling round and full, looking plump and content.
After the jade pendant entered Dao Sansheng, the blue orb of light plunged into his sea of consciousness. Within, a blue scroll appeared, bearing the image of a man. He flicked out a ball of fire, freezing the entire painted realm in ice, shattering it, and returning it to its original state.
Then a line of text appeared:
“The Way begets One; One begets Two; Two begets Three; Three begets all things; all things return to Three; Three returns to Two; Two returns to One; One returns to all things; all myriad ways are thus interconnected...”
A cascade of such sentences manifested and vanished within Dao Sansheng’s mind, repeating in endless cycles.
At some point, Dao Sansheng’s hands resumed their mudras, legs crossed, eyes tightly shut, breath coming in fits and starts.
Within his body, a stream of fire invaded his meridians, tracing the path of his cultivation method through a complete circuit.
Wherever the fire passed, the meridians burned and were immediately frozen, then, as spiritual energy flowed in with each breath, the meridians were healed in an instant, like parched earth revived by a spring rain.
One circulation, then another. White frost coated his body, with a thin mist above it, and atop his head, flames leapt three meters high—a most peculiar sight.
Before long, his mudras reversed, blue flames danced across his skin, and a thick layer of frost formed on his head, steaming faintly. Yet, after the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, all phenomena ceased.

When it ended, the flames and frost faded, but from his pores seeped a great deal of grime, forming a thick, stinking crust.
The little creature that had drawn near immediately flew to the table, keeping its distance. The filth that had dripped onto the bed below congealed into a lump.
As dawn broke, the little one began to call out, flapping its wings on the table.
Dao Sansheng, who had slept through the night, hadn't yet opened his eyes when—creak—the door swung open. In stumbled the plump youth, bleary-eyed, who walked over to the bed.
He looked at Dao Sansheng’s body, at the black, foul-smelling substance. Curious, he touched it—it was soft.
“What a treasure, hidden by this guy! Sneaking a midnight snack and falling asleep—caught red-handed by me, the stingy fellow.”
He dabbed some with his finger and tasted it: salty, sticky, a bit greasy—not exactly delicious, but not awful either. So he took another bite.
He reached for more, smacking his lips and savoring it.
Dao Sansheng, only half-awake, heard someone eating nearby. He opened his heavy eyes to see a big, round face sucking on sticky fingers.
The stench hit him. Realizing what coated his body, recalling last night’s dream, he paid no heed to his clothes and dashed out.
The fat youth gaped as Dao Sansheng bolted.
“Trying to hog all the good stuff and running away? Not on my watch! Running off without even your clothes, I’ll see where you go—stingy little miser!” he shouted as he gave chase, not forgetting to lick his fingers one last time.
Dao Sansheng ran out, following the path they had come, until he saw a large boulder. Without hesitation, he leapt in—beneath the rock was a deep pool. He dove in, turned over, and stood up at last.
“Dao Sansheng, just to keep me from eating, you’d jump into the pool? Truly a miser—no sense of friendship at all!”
The chubby youth stood by the water’s edge, fuming, and berated Dao Sansheng as he splashed in the water below.