77: Zixiao

"It's about to come out!" Zhang Daobai said softly, reminding her as he observed the situation.

"Mm, I am ready." Lin Luoxue nodded, watching the Purple Thunder Eagle Egg with complete focus.

Mu Lingxi, standing nearby, felt the tense atmosphere and couldn't help but feel nervous herself.

Soon, accompanied by a tapping sound from inside the egg, a bird head covered in purple down immediately broke through the shell.

Following that, the fledgling, relying on instinct, used its beak to widen the opening and slowly crawled out of the eggshell.

Seeing this, Lin Luoxue immediately used her Sword Intent to slice her fingertip, drew a drop of blood, and dripped it into the mouth of the young Purple Thunder Eagle.

"Contract!"

With blood as the bond, the master-servant contract was formed!

Lin Luoxue did not have a book of contracts, and furthermore, Zhang Daobai had not yet fully researched the Legacy of the Spirit Taming Contract system.

Therefore, she used the master-servant contract from traditional beast taming.

After the contract was established, the young Purple Thunder Eagle opened its mouth and chirped at Lin Luoxue.

It was clearly treating Lin Luoxue as its mother bird, opening its mouth to beg for food.

Lin Luoxue, having been prepared for this, took a bag of blue insects from her storage bracelet.

These insects were called Lightning Ants, one of the favorite foods of the Purple Thunder Eagle.

Lin Luoxue patiently fed the Lightning Ants to the young Purple Thunder Eagle one by one. After feeding it half the bag, the young bird fell asleep contentedly.

Seeing this, Lin Luoxue used her Qi to clean the filth from its body and then lifted it out of the stone basin.

"Give it a name," Zhang Daobai suggested.

"Let's call it Zixiao."

Lin Luoxue seemed to have already thought of it, speaking the name instantly.

Zixiao, Purple Heaven Divine Thunder Eagle!

Upon hearing the name, Zhang Daobai immediately understood the meaning behind Lin Luoxue's choice.

"Why does this Purple Thunder Eagle already have Early Stage cultivation just after hatching? Isn't that too fast?"

Mu Lingxi suddenly sensed a trace of cultivation aura from Zixiao and asked curiously.

Hearing this, Zhang Daobai immediately activated his Eye of Appraisal and looked at Zixiao in Lin Luoxue's arms.

[Race: Purple Thunder Eagle]

[Gender: Female]

[Cultivation: Early Stage]

[Aptitude: Lightning Attribute, Limit Rank 6]

[Talents: Lightning Control, Extreme Speed]

[Bloodline: Purple Heaven Divine Thunder Eagle (Small Amount)]

[Evolution Plan: 1. Consume Blood Origin Spirit Fruit. 2. Consume purple thunder body refining pill (Pill Formula). 3...]

[Overall Rating: 6 Stars]

With the assistance of the incubation fluid, Zixiao had successfully triggered the Awakening of the Purple Heaven Divine Thunder Eagle Bloodline, but because the Bloodline concentration was too low, its Aptitude hadn't increased much.

"It's quite normal; Yao Beasts are different from humans," Zhang Daobai said, half-jokingly.

Soon, Lin Luoxue placed Zixiao in the nest that had been prepared in advance, then followed Zhang Daobai out of the room.

Back at the pavilion, Mu Lingxi looked at Lin Luoxue with a hint of envy and said, "I also want to form a Spirit Taming Contract with a Spirit Beast, but my mother says raising me is exhausting enough, so she won't let me."

"You can raise one yourself. You are a Rank 2 Spirit Plant Master now; with those few acres of Rank 3 spirit fields, it shouldn't be a problem to raise a Spirit Beast, right?" Zhang Daobai asked, feeling puzzled.

Hearing Zhang Daobai's question, Mu Lingxi's fair, pretty face flushed with embarrassment.

"Actually, I once raised a Green Wood Spirit Turtle, but I accidentally caused it to die, so my mother won't let me raise Spirit Beasts anymore," Mu Lingxi explained in a voice so soft it was barely audible.

"A Green Wood Spirit Turtle?"

Zhang Daobai looked at Mu Lingxi in surprise, filled with curiosity. How did she manage to kill a Green Wood Spirit Turtle?

Turtle-type Spirit Beasts were known for their vitality and defense, and the Green Wood Spirit Turtle was among the best in terms of vitality.

Generally speaking, a Green Wood Spirit Turtle could reach Rank 3 upon reaching adulthood, with a lifespan of up to five hundred years! It was the top choice for many novice Spirit Tamers.

Furthermore, the Green Wood Spirit Turtle was very easy to raise; as long as it was given enough food, it would basically be fine, and it had strong adaptability to its environment.

"I don't know either!"

Mu Lingxi said, feeling very aggrieved and confused. "I heard that turtle-type Spirit Beasts hibernate in winter, so I built a little nest for it in advance. But it died while hibernating."

"How did it die?" Zhang Daobai asked curiously.

"I don't know. When I fished it out of the water, it was already dead," Mu Lingxi said, shaking her head in confusion.

"Wait! You said in the water?"

Zhang Daobai suddenly realized something and quickly spoke up.

"Yes, the Azure Water Turtle lives in the water, so I specially built a little nest for it at the bottom of the pond using stones. After it went into hibernation, I put it inside," Mu Lingxi said quite proudly.

"Uh... was there water in that pond? How deep was it?" Zhang Daobai asked, feeling speechless.

"Of course there was water in the pond! It was about four or five meters deep."

Mu Lingxi was very confused as to why Zhang Daobai would ask such a simple question.

Not only her, but even Lin Luoxue couldn't help but look at Zhang Daobai with curiosity.

"Then, in the winter, did the pond freeze?" Zhang Daobai asked again.

"It froze, a thick layer of ice. I often ran out onto it to play," Mu Lingxi nodded.

"One last question: what was the cultivation of your Green Wood Spirit Turtle before it died?" Zhang Daobai asked after taking a deep breath.

"The Green Wood Spirit Turtle's cultivation speed is slow to begin with, and it was only three months old, so its cultivation had just reached the Early Stage of Qi Refining," Mu Lingxi replied after thinking about it.

Alright! Case closed!

Upon hearing this, Zhang Daobai completely understood the cause of death of that Green Wood Spirit Turtle.

The Green Wood Spirit Turtle is an amphibious turtle, more adapted to life on land.

Although Green Wood Spirit Turtles can hibernate in water, they can only do so in shallow water areas. They cannot be fully submerged in deep water areas, otherwise, they can easily suffocate.

So, for a moment, Zhang Daobai didn't know whether he should explain the true cause of death of that Green Wood Spirit Turtle to Mu Lingxi.

"Brother Daobai, do you know how it died?"

Mu Lingxi looked at Zhang Daobai's complex expression and quickly asked.

"Are you sure you want to know?" Zhang Daobai asked, feeling a bit reluctant.

"Yes!" Mu Lingxi nodded with a determined gaze.

Seeing Mu Lingxi's firm attitude, Zhang Daobai proceeded to explain the respiratory habits of turtle-type Spirit Beasts to her, and then explained the cause of death of that Azure Water Turtle.

"Brother Daobai, are you saying that Xiaoqing died because I put it in the water, which caused it to be unable to breathe, and because it couldn't break through the ice layer, it was suffocated to death?"

Upon learning the true cause of death of the Azure Water Turtle, Mu Lingxi's eyes immediately turned red, and she asked, confirming with tears in her beautiful eyes.

"Uh... you just weren't familiar with its habits; this is not your fault," Zhang Daobai said, comforting her.