Chapter 13: Omen of Birth

"You... how did you know?" Li Zhangsheng's pupils constricted slightly; he had never imagined that Li Haoqiong would actually know about this matter.

For a moment, all thoughts of complaining vanished, his heart filled with nervousness. Since Li Haoqiong knew, did anyone else know as well?

This left Li Zhangsheng's thoughts in chaos, his heart filled with a sense of anxiety over gains and losses.

"If you don't want people to know, don't do it! Yesterday, you specifically had your servants collect fertilizer, which aroused my curiosity. So, when you went out at night, I secretly trailed behind you. *Cough, cough*, don't look at me with those eyes; blame it on your own strength being too weak. If I were determined to hide, how could your 'little cat' have discovered me!"

Seeing Li Zhangsheng's disdainful gaze, Li Haoqiong feigned a cough and continued, "When I saw that small patch of withered bamboo, I began to suspect that a nature spirit might be gestating there. After seeing everything you did, I was completely certain! It's not hard to guess your purpose in coming to find me now! Alright, take it, and remember to pay me back later!"

After explaining, Li Haoqiong extended his right hand, a small bag appeared abruptly in his palm, and he tossed it to Li Zhangsheng.

This was not taking objects from thin air, nor was it some so-called sleight of hand; it was because Li Haoqiong possessed a storage-type treasure.

Li Zhangsheng caught the bag in a flurry and looked at Li Haoqiong strangely, saying, "Second Uncle, are you not interested in the nature spirit?"

With the powerful auxiliary abilities of a nature spirit, it was a significant temptation for most Monster Tamers.

"If someone else had discovered it, what would it matter if I snatched it! But I only have you as a nephew; how could I snatch your fortuitous encounter! Besides, it's just a nature spirit, nothing to make a fuss about."

Li Haoqiong waved his hand, looking as if he held no regard for the nature spirit.

This demeanor of Li Haoqiong's made Li Zhangsheng feel a bit more curious about him. His Second Uncle was mysterious all day long, and even he did not know his true strength. However, everyone had secrets, so he did not ask further. After thanking his Second Uncle, he walked straight out of the small courtyard.

"Don't blame Second Uncle for being stingy. If you rely too much on others, it is not conducive to your future growth, let alone taking revenge for your parents!" Watching Li Zhangsheng's departing back, Li Haoqiong thought to himself.

On the way back to the bamboo forest, Li Zhangsheng opened the small bag, and instantly, a greenish radiance flickered, dazzling his eyes.

The bag was filled with Wood Element Demon Cores, numbering in the dozens. Compared to Lower-rank Monster Cores, their volume was clearly larger, with the largest one even being the size of an infant's fist.

"This... this is an Elite-Rank Demon Core!" Looking at that largest Demon Core, Li Zhangsheng's gaze could not move away. He had seen Middle-rank and even Upper-rank Demon Cores, but even for Superior Quality cores, whether in volume or the energy contained within, they were far inferior to this one!

Generally speaking, Spirit Beasts are divided into Low-tier Spirit Beasts, Mid-tier Spirit Beasts, and High-tier Spirit Beasts.

If subdivided, Low-tier Spirit Beasts have Lower Rank, Middle Rank, and Upper Rank realm divisions, while Mid-tier Spirit Beasts are Elite, Leader, and Lord. As for High-tier Spirit Beasts, that is a level Li Zhangsheng cannot yet touch.

Only by killing an Elite-level Spirit Beast can one obtain an Elite-Rank Demon Core, which to a certain extent indicated Li Haoqiong's strength.

Corresponding to Elite-level Spirit Beasts are Fourth-rank Demon Tamers, but Demon Tamers are extremely adept at 'group fighting,' so Third-rank Royal Beast Masters also have a chance to hunt Elite-level Spirit Beasts.

Li Zhangsheng took a deep breath, struggling to calm his inner excitement. If the nature spirit absorbed this entire batch of Wood Element Demon Cores, its quality would very likely be sublimated.

On the other hand, Li Zhangsheng also felt a bit more pressure. With his current strength, this batch of Demon Cores was definitely a huge sum, and he didn't know when he would be able to pay it back.

Not long after, Li Zhangsheng entered the depths of the bamboo forest again. Without any hesitation, he buried this entire batch of Demon Cores for the nature spirit to absorb.

"Everything that can be done has been done; all that remains is to wait!"

Li Zhangsheng muttered to himself. He did not wait foolishly here; besides, a night of labor had left him exceptionally exhausted, especially since his body was emitting a sour, foul odor, with faint traces of manure—in short, it was extremely unpleasant.

Stretching forcefully, Li Zhangsheng returned to the small courtyard. After handling his personal hygiene, he did not sleep immediately but instead braced his spirit to temper his Mental Power.

Every time Aixi leveled up, it could bring more feedback to Li Zhangsheng, which accelerated his cultivation speed once again. By the time he finished his cultivation, Li Zhangsheng had tempered his 13th starlight.

As long as he tempered 36 starlights, surrounding the Soul Light Sphere in the Heavenly Rank, his rank as a Monster Tamer would have a chance to be promoted.

However, the more starlights tempered, the greater the difficulty would become.

Judging by his current progress, he would not need even a year to complete the accumulation.

Time passed like a white horse galloping past a crevice; ten days passed quickly.

During these ten days, Li Zhangsheng came to the bamboo forest punctually every day, working hard to train Aixi while watching the gestating nature spirit to avoid the possibility of losing everything.

Over this period, Aixi grew at a speed visible to the naked eye. Compared to ordinary Spirit Beasts, its progress was extremely fast, and it already possessed a certain level of combat power.

【Spirit Beast Name】: Hanging-Eye White-Forehead Tiger (Infancy Stage)

【Spirit Beast Realm】: Lower Rank 6th Tier

【Spirit Beast Race】: High-Level Servant

【Spirit Beast Quality】: Superior Quality

【Spirit Beast Bloodline】: White Tiger Bloodline (Inferior Quality)

【Spirit Beast Attribute】: Wind Element

【Spirit Beast Status】: Healthy

【Spirit Beast Weakness】: Thunder

【Learned Skills】: Bite, Tearing Claw, Tail Whip, Shadow Clone, Rise Wind

Compared to ten days ago, Aixi's body size had changed significantly. Even though it was still in the Infancy Stage, its body length had reached 1.5 meters, and its pair of eyes were bright and piercing, containing a hint of majesty.

Besides this, Aixi had also learned the Tail Whip and Rise Wind skills.

Additionally, Tearing Claw had reached perfection, satisfying the prerequisite for Crushing Claw; perhaps before long, it would be able to learn Crushing Claw.

At noon on this day, the green bamboo gestating the nature spirit finally showed changes, beginning to emit a lustrous sheen, as if it were turning into jade bamboo, giving one a feeling of being as lustrous as jade.

"Oh no, I must cover up the phenomenon!" Seeing the luster becoming increasingly brilliant and eye-catching, Li Zhangsheng's heart tightened. Judging by the current situation, the birth of the nature spirit might trigger an even greater phenomenon.

For now, he could only do his best to cover it up.

Li Zhangsheng took action, first using wet mud to completely cover the green bamboo, but such a method was still treating the symptoms rather than the root cause and remained quite conspicuous.

Under these circumstances, Li Zhangsheng hurriedly transplanted some green bamboo to completely surround it; without careful observation, outsiders would find it difficult to discover the green bamboo gestating the nature spirit.

Li Zhangsheng's preparations were not lacking, but unfortunately, the good times did not last. Near dusk, this green bamboo underwent new changes, beginning to emit wisps of energy fluctuations outward.

"Damn it!"

Li Zhangsheng grabbed his hair forcefully, feeling extremely annoyed. It was just gestating a nature spirit; was it necessary to emit such a phenomenon?

If this continued, his hard work during this period might become someone else's 'wedding dress'!

With no other choice, Li Zhangsheng hurriedly projected his Mental Power, trying his best to conceal these energy fluctuations.

At first it was fine, and Li Zhangsheng could still hold on, but as time passed, his head began to throb with pain; this was due to the massive consumption of Mental Power.

Soon, Li Zhangsheng could no longer hold on. His face turned pale as he watched helplessly as the energy fluctuations began to spread outward.

"It's over!"

Li Zhangsheng's heart was filled with bitterness. If he didn't conceal it, he feared that before long, the nearby clansmen would detect the abnormality here.

When that time truly arrived, even with his second uncle's support, given the value possessed by a nature spirit, he feared there would be nothing left for him.

"No, I still have a chance; I must notify Second Uncle as soon as possible!"

Li Zhangsheng felt a surge of anxiety; the only person who could help him now was Li Haoqiong, so he endured the splitting headache and wanted to return to the small courtyard.

What Li Zhangsheng did not know was that when the energy fluctuations began to spread, an inexplicable ripple appeared in the void not far away, and a tiny rune blinked and vanished.

At the same time, in the small courtyard, Li Haoqiong, who had been sleeping soundly against a willow tree, suddenly opened his eyes and cast his gaze toward the direction of the bamboo forest.

That rune was his own arrangement!

"It has emerged! Tsk tsk, it is fortunate I made preparations in advance, otherwise the brat would likely suffer a great loss!"

Li Haoqiong stood up from the ground, his mind stirred, and he abruptly vanished from where he stood.

Within the span of one or two breaths, Li Haoqiong crossed a distance of several hundred meters and abruptly appeared before Li Zhangsheng.

With someone suddenly appearing beside him, Li Zhangsheng was naturally startled and hurriedly stopped his steps; upon discovering it was his second uncle, he subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.

"Second Uncle, in this emergency, please help me conceal this fluctuation!"

"Rest assured!"

Li Haoqiong waved his hand; compared to before, the usual flippancy was gone, replaced by a slight increase in gravity.

Without waiting for Li Zhangsheng to say more, Li Haoqiong's mind stirred, and in an instant, a large number of strange runes emerged on the ground, eventually converging into a Purple Hexagram pattern, which began Blink with brilliant, eye-catching radiance.

Hiss—

Accompanied by a heart-palpitating hiss, a powerful Pressure began to sweep through the surroundings, and Li Zhangsheng's expression changed slightly, as if he were carrying a great mountain, making it difficult for him to catch his breath.

(End of this chapter)