Chapter 121: Spirit Pet Egg

The path wound ahead, and often many wild creatures would emerge, but Li Ying merely glanced at them and paid no further heed.

"Hey, little sister, do you see those green-feathered fowl over there? Though they are only first-tier, their meat is quite delicious, and every girl would love their beautiful plumage. Won't you go catch them?"

"Look at all those stone sheep! There are so many; we could at least find a few beast cores. Well, are you not going to capture them?"

Li Mu followed behind, shaking his head, but he remained silent.

The two continued forward, quickening their pace, and before they knew it, they had approached the hilltop.

"What are you doing, Big Brother?"

Seeing Li Mu suddenly stop in his tracks, Li Ying asked with some confusion.

Li Mu scratched his head. "The level of spiritual energy here is quite high, somewhat different from the inner mountains. Could there be something here?"

Upon hearing Li Mu's words, Li Ying grew excited. "Then let's hurry!" With that, she took off running.

"Wait, Ying'er, there must be a spirit beast guarding the spiritual materials on this mountain. We should observe carefully first; don't be reckless."

Before Li Mu could finish his sentence, only Li Ying’s bouncing figure could be seen.

"Hmm."

A shrill cry rang out.

Li Mu felt a jolt of alarm and, with a few flashes of movement, rushed after her.

"Look, Big Brother, that eagle over there!" Li Ying raised her head, pointing toward the cliff in front of them.

Li Mu peered forward and recognized it instantly—it was a Dusky Hook-Eagle. It was quite a coincidence to encounter one here.

The Dusky Hook-Eagle's adversary was a large, multicolored serpent. Its coiled body stood several meters high, and its head alone was half a meter long. The snake’s body was massive, as thick as a person, pitch-black in color, with dozens of colorful, vibrant, and dazzling patterns running from its head to its tail.

"A Five-Colored Serpent."

Li Mu spoke the name aloud.

The Five-Colored Serpent was a rare third-tier spirit beast. It was immensely strong, highly venomous, and notoriously difficult to deal with.

Li Mu was somewhat perplexed as to why these two spirit beasts, which were not natural enemies, were locked in such a fierce battle here.

The Dusky Hook-Eagle and the serpent were so focused on their fight that they did not notice the presence of the two humans.

The serpent made the first move. With a loud hiss, a black miasma billowed out, and within dozens of meters, the air turned icy cold. Thick, dark fog surged toward the Dusky Hook-Eagle.

The Dusky Hook-Eagle flapped its wings to dissipate the mist, then immediately extended its claws. Two beams of light shot from its dark talons, aimed straight at the serpent’s eyes.

The serpent’s body surged, dodging the strike with incredible agility. It opened its maw and lunged toward the eagle’s head.

The Dusky Hook-Eagle abruptly soared dozens of meters upward, narrowly escaping the blow, then dived down with sharp, piercing speed toward the serpent’s body.

The battle between bird and snake was intense. Li Ying was anxious on the sidelines. "Big Brother, can we go help that black bird?" Having only seen it a few times, Li Ying had taken to calling the Dusky Hook-Eagle "black bird," and Li Mu could do nothing about it.

Normally, he would wait for both spirit beasts to be injured before swooping in to reap the benefits, but Li Mu had grown fond of the bird after watching it for a while, so he nodded slightly.

"You go ahead. If you can't win, I will lend you a hand."

"Okay." Li Ying nodded and retrieved a drum-like instrument: the Sound-Gathering Drum.

The Sound-Gathering Drum was a third-tier artifact. It used sonic waves to generate powerful vibrations to strike the opponent. Unlike many other musical instruments, the Sound-Gathering Drum could precisely control its direction and was not an area-of-effect weapon.

Li Ying carefully adjusted the direction of the drum and channeled her true energy. "Boom!"

A deep, somber sound erupted, like a streak of light cutting through the sky, heading straight for the serpent.

Li Ying had clearly overestimated the artifact’s effect on the serpent. While the serpent might have been foolish, it was extremely sensitive to sonic vibrations. Facing such a concentrated blast from a third-tier artifact, the Five-Colored Serpent had almost no defense.

Thump!

The situation changed instantly.

With a massive explosion, the serpent’s head shattered.

A large amount of pitch-black venom sprayed everywhere, scattering into the air. Within a radius of dozens of meters, it was as if a toxic rain were falling.

"Not good!"

Li Mu felt a surge of panic and immediately cast his Sand-Dust Array, shielding himself and his sister tightly within it.

*Pssh, pssh.* Even from inside the array, they could hear the sound of the toxic rain corroding the protective barrier.

As the venom dissipated, Li Mu slowly retracted the array, but the sand on the outer perimeter had already turned pitch-black. Much of it was ruined and would need to be re-refined.

The air was filled with a foul, nauseating stench that made one’s stomach churn.

Within a radius of dozens of meters, the ground had sunken several meters, and even heavy stones were riddled with small, terrifying holes from the acid.

It was a terrifying poison. Li Mu felt a chill; if he had activated the array even a moment later, he and his sister would have been in grave danger.

"Black bird! Black bird!"

Li Ying cried out, pointing toward the nearby Dusky Hook-Eagle.

The Dusky Hook-Eagle was curled up, having tried to protect itself with its wings, but it hadn't been able to withstand the toxic rain. Its feathers had fallen off entirely, revealing a charred, black body—a tragic sight.

"It’s all my fault."

Li Ying knelt, sobbing uncontrollably.

Li Mu also felt a pang of sorrow. The Dusky Hook-Eagle surely wouldn't survive. Had Li Ying not used the Sound-Gathering Drum, both beasts might have been severely injured, but they likely would have survived.

"Don't be like this, little sister. You meant well. Besides, even if you hadn't intervened, it might still have died in the fight. Also, it’s my fault as well; I didn't anticipate the serpent’s reaction to the sonic wave. If I had known, I would have acted sooner," Li Mu comforted her softly.

Li Ying raised her head and shook it vigorously. "No, no, if I hadn't attacked, it would have lived."

Seeing Li Ying so heartbroken, Li Mu could only pull her into his arms and whisper words of comfort.

*Caw.*

The dying Dusky Hook-Eagle suddenly stood up and let out a soft cry toward Li Mu and Li Ying.

"Black bird, what are you saying?"

Li Ying stood up immediately, as if seeing a glimmer of hope, and ran over, looking at the eagle with tear-filled eyes.

The Dusky Hook-Eagle raised its featherless wing, pointed toward a nearby cliff, and then collapsed—dead.

"Big Brother, go take a look."

Li Mu turned his spiritual sense toward the spot the eagle had indicated. High up on the cliff, hundreds of meters away, hidden deep within a crevice among the rocks, was a bird's nest.

"There's a nest there. It looks like its home!" Li Mu whispered to his sister.

"Let's go." Li Ying summoned her flying shuttle and headed directly toward the cliff. Li Mu followed closely behind.

Thinking it over, he understood the reason. The Dusky Hook-Eagle had been fighting the Five-Colored Serpent to protect its nest. The devotion of a spirit beast was truly moving.

The two arrived at the nest. It was indeed as they suspected; inside lay two unhatched eggs.

"Big Brother, we must protect these eggs and raise them well, just like their parent did."

As Li Ying looked at the eggs, tears continued to stream down her face, her eyes filled with a tenderness that was hard to bear.

"Little sister, don't be too sad. Just take good care of these eggs, and the black bird will be happy."

Li Ying said nothing more. With trembling hands, she carefully gathered the entire nest and placed it into her storage ring.