81: Chapter 81 Blazing Sun Devours the Sea, Azure Emperor Suppresses the Mountain Spirit Venerable

Yun Ming lowered his head and saw that on the pale golden egg, a thin crack was spreading down from the top.

Crack. Crack. Crack.

The cracks became more numerous and dense, covering the entire eggshell like a spiderweb. Five-colored light shone through the cracks, growing brighter and more intense, gradually filling the entire room with shimmering radiance.

Yun Ming held his breath.

Bang.

A small hole broke open at the top of the eggshell, and a fuzzy little head poked out from within.

That head was only the size of a thumb, round and plump, topped with a few sparse tufts of downy hair. It blinked its eyes, its black bean-like pupils turning, and immediately spotted Yun Ming crouching in front of it.

"Jiu—"

A thin, tender cry came from that little mouth.

Then it began to crawl out.

Little head, little body, little wings, little claws. It struggled to climb out, but refused to stop, squeezing out of the eggshell bit by bit until it fell with a thud onto the Spirit Soil, lying there splayed out, exposing its round, plump belly.

Yun Ming stared in a daze.

This... is this a Crimson-Feathered Luan?

Although he was mentally prepared, he hadn't expected it to be so different.

He remembered that the ten thousand demons manual recorded that while a juvenile Crimson-Feathered Luan was not exactly majestic, its wings were already formed, its gaze sharp, and its entire body was covered in crimson downy feathers, faintly showing the bearing of a bird of prey. Once adult, it was awe-inspiring; with its wings spread, it could blot out the sky and sun, its crimson feathers like flames, appearing as a streak of flowing fire across the sky when it soared through the air.

But this one in front of him...

It was the size of a palm.

Round and fuzzy, it looked exactly like a fur ball with two thin little legs stuck into it. Its feathers, however, were five-colored—green, red, yellow, white, and black—all mixed together in a messy jumble, looking at first glance like a sparrow that someone had splashed with dye.

It struggled to turn over, shook its feathers, and raised its little head to look at Yun Ming.

"Jiu Jiu!"

It chirped twice, flapped its little wings, and stumbled toward Yun Ming. Running to his feet, it rubbed its little head against his boots, causing those few tufts of downy hair to stick up.

Yun Ming crouched down and reached out a finger to gently tap its little head.

It immediately lifted its head, opened its tender yellow little mouth, and chirped at him even more happily: "Jiu Jiu Jiu Jiu!"

Yun Ming raised an eyebrow: "Hungry?"

"Jiu!"

He thought for a moment, then picked up a Top-Grade Spirit Stone from the ground that had been drained of its Spiritual Qi—though the Spiritual Qi was gone, it was still a Spirit Stone nonetheless—and casually held it out in front of it.

The little fellow lowered its head to sniff it, then its eyes suddenly lit up; it pounced directly onto the Spirit Stone and began to gnaw on it.

Crunch, crunch, crunch.

It gnawed extremely fast, like it was eating candy beans, and finished off the Spirit Stone in a few bites. Then it lifted its head, gazing eagerly at Yun Ming, and opened its little mouth again: "Jiu—"

Yun Ming couldn't help but laugh, and handed over another one.

After it finished the second piece, Yun Ming thought for a moment, took a blank Jade Slip from his naxu ring, pressed it to his brow, and recorded the secret technique for a master-servant contract into it.

"Little fellow," he looked at the round, fuzzy ball, "let's sign a contract, and from now on you will follow me."

"Jiu?" The little fellow tilted its head at him, clearly not understanding what he was saying.

Yun Ming didn't explain, simply biting his fingertip to force out a drop of essence blood, which hovered in his palm. At the same time, he silently recited the secret incantation, his Divine Sense like silk, wrapping around that drop of essence blood and slowly pushing it toward the little fellow.

The little fellow looked curiously at the bead of blood floating toward it and did not dodge.

The moment the blood bead touched its forehead, it turned into a ray of red light and merged into it. At the same time, Yun Ming felt an ethereal connection form in his Sea of Consciousness, with the other end connected to the little fellow in front of him.

The contract was complete.

Yun Ming opened his eyes, feeling that connection, and a strange sensation welled up in his heart. It was as if he had gained a family member, a partner who would always be loyal and would never betray him.

"Jiu!" The little fellow seemed to sense something too, flapping its wings as it jumped onto him. Yun Ming reached out to catch it, cradling it in his palm.

The little fellow rolled around in his palm, found a comfortable position to nestle in, and squinted its black bean-like eyes, looking very content.

Yun Ming looked down at it and suddenly thought of a question.

This thing... what exactly is it?

A Crimson-Feathered Luan? Definitely not. A Crimson-Feathered Luan doesn't look like this.

Those five-colored feathers, that round, plump appearance, that habit of gnawing on Spirit Stones like candy beans—he had never seen such a Yao Beast in any classic.

"I should give you a name..." Yun Ming murmured.

He thought for a moment, and suddenly a mischievous smile curled the corners of his lips.

"From today on, you shall be called—"

He paused, and said with a straight face: "Blazing Sun Ocean-Swallowing Azure Emperor Suppressing Mountain Spirit Venerable."

The little fellow: "Jiu?"

"Shortened," Yun Ming reached out a finger to tap its little head, "Jiu Jiu."

"Jiu Jiu!" The little fellow seemed very satisfied with this name and chirped happily twice.

Yun Ming smiled and placed it inside his robe—it was the warmest and safest place. Then he stood up, gathered the remaining Top-Grade Spirit Stones and Spirit Soil into his naxu ring, and took down and packed away the two sets of Formations.

Taking one last look at the small house where he had lived for half a year, he turned and pushed the door open to leave.

Outside the courtyard gate, the sunlight was just right.

In the distance, the mountain gate of the Cangxuan Immortal Sect stood towering and majestic, wreathed in immortal mist.

In his arms, a fuzzy little thing was burrowing around comfortably, occasionally letting out a thin "Jiu."

Yun Ming was in no rush to report to the Cangxuan Immortal Sect.

Yao Chenzi had told him to go to the Alchemy Hall in three days, so he honestly stayed in the market for two days. It wasn't that he was lazy, but it was rare to encounter such a grand occasion—the Cangxuan Immortal Sect was recruiting Disciples once every ten years, and Geniuses from all walks of life were gathering; if he missed this time, he didn't know when the next one would be.

These past two days, he had mingled in the crowd and watched the selection process to his heart's content.

The first to cause a sensation was a young boy from the Tianfeng Kingdom.

The boy looked to be only fifteen or sixteen, with delicate features and plain clothing, carrying a heavy sword on his back that was taller than he was. As soon as he stood before the Spirit Stone stele and pressed his palm onto it, the stele erupted with dazzling golden light—that light shot into the sky, piercing the clouds, and lasted for a full dozen breaths before gradually subsiding.

"Heavenly Spiritual Root! It is a Heavenly Spiritual Root!"

An exclamation erupted from the crowd.

The Disciple in charge of testing had his expression change, and he hurriedly bowed in salute. Yuan Zhenzi on the high platform slightly opened his eyes, glanced indifferently at the boy, and nodded: "You may enter the Inner Sect; a Golden Core True Person may choose him as a Disciple."

The boy nodded expressionlessly and was respectfully invited inside by a deacon.

Yun Ming clicked his tongue in amazement from within the crowd.

Heavenly Spiritual Root, he had only read about it in classics. It is said that this Aptitude has no Bottlenecks when one Cultivates; as long as the resources are sufficient, cultivating all the way to the Golden Core is smooth sailing. In any Sect, such a person would be treated like a treasure.

Not long after the boy from the Tianfeng Kingdom went in, another woman caused a sensation.

The woman looked to be in her early twenties, dressed in red, with a cold and stunning face. She descended from the sky riding a Flying Sword; as she landed, the sword light flashed, and the Flying Sword sheathed itself. She walked up to the Spirit Stone stele, said nothing, and directly pressed her hand onto it.

The stele lit up with a crimson light, a light so intense and fiery that it scorched the surrounding air until it warped.

"Fire Spiritual Root, Top-Grade!"

Another exclamation.

The woman remained cold-faced, as if she had expected all of this. This time, Yuan Zhenzi glanced at her an extra time and said: "You may enter the Inner Sect; I shall personally take you as my Disciple."

The woman in red bowed slightly and left with the deacon.