Chapter 729: Phoenix's Nest, Super-Large Stone Egg (First Update, seeking votes)

Unlike the previous two designated locations, this time, the Spirit-Eating Mouse spent several minutes digging out a passageway.

Squeak squeak~

The Spirit-Eating Mouse made a few gestures, signaling Li Zhangsheng to enter the passageway.

The reason was simple: the Spirit-Eating Mouse indicated it could not move the third treasure.

Li Zhangsheng did not doubt it; he walked straight into the passageway and, in a few moments, arrived at the end.

This place was located within the belly of the mountain, and a large object was buried at the end.

This was a massive bird's nest, with a diameter of several dozen meters, bright red all over, and emitting a red glow.

Upon touching the nest, Li Zhangsheng felt the temperature rise significantly; this nest possessed the effect of automatically attracting Fire Element energy, causing the density of Fire Element energy within the nest to far exceed that of the outside.

"This is a nest made of Li Fire Parasol Tree!"

Li Zhangsheng carefully observed the material of the nest, and when he discovered that the entire nest was made of Li Fire Parasol Tree, he could not help but be filled with surprise.

The key issue was that, given the massive area of this nest, it would likely take several Li Fire Parasol Trees to construct it.

The Li Fire Parasol Tree is a Heaven and Earth Rare Treasure grade spirit plant; it is not just ordinarily rare, and there are likely not many left in the entire Langya Kingdom, perhaps not even one remaining now.

Once, Ning Bizhen and the Langya Liu Clan each had a Li Fire Parasol Tree; Ning Bizhen's Li Fire Parasol Tree was completely absorbed by a Three-Legged Fire Crow, while the Langya Liu Clan's Li Fire Parasol Tree was obtained from Flame King Di Zhiyi and eventually became the key to opening the underground secret chamber of the Fire Flame Secret Realm.

"This is definitely a phoenix's nest!"

Li Zhangsheng was excited beyond measure; a Starlight Barrier appeared on his body, and he walked straight into the giant nest, thinking that perhaps the phoenix had left behind some treasure before leaving.

Unfortunately, Li Zhangsheng searched for a long while but did not find any treasures left behind by the phoenix in the nest; however, he was not disappointed, as the nest itself was a treasure whose value was impossible to measure.

Although it was unclear what effects a phoenix's nest had, the branches of the Li Fire Parasol Tree that composed the nest alone possessed high value.

Besides that, this nest had been sealed here for at least a hundred years, yet it showed no signs of decay and instead looked as good as new; the Li Fire Parasol Tree is not a Top-Grade Spiritual Root and does not possess the characteristic of being incorruptible.

Additionally, the concentration of Fire Element energy in the nest was extremely strong, and Li Zhangsheng even sensed a trace of an inexplicable power; this was a very special type of Fire Element energy, which not only could not be compared to ordinary Fire Element energy but was also more Pure and vast than Fire Element Profound Mystery Energy, and it carried a significant difference.

Li Zhangsheng checked it once, and after confirming there was no danger, he began to make arrangements in the Dangkang Xianglian Kongjian.

Even the largest Space Ring in his hand could not accommodate the entire nest, unless the nest were divided into several sections.

However, this nest possessed special effects, so Li Zhangsheng naturally would not be so unwise.

"Rise!"

Li Zhangsheng went under the nest and used both hands to lift it with force, only then managing to move the entire nest into the Dangkang Xianglian Kongjian.

The entire nest weighed at least several dozen tons, and the key was that its area was too large, so the difficulty of moving it was naturally increased significantly.

At the edge of the Dangkang Xianglian Kongjian, three pieces of wood, each seven or eight meters in diameter, were inserted deep into the ground; the parts above ground alone were several dozen meters high, arranged in a triangular pattern.

These three pieces of wood were not ordinary wood but three Spirit Trees plundered from the Spirit King Liu Yongtu Secret Realm, though their grade was very low, only reaching the low-grade spirit plant stage.

In order to place the phoenix's nest, Li Zhangsheng cut down all three of these low-grade spirit plants, leaving only the main trunks.

The reason for doing so was mainly because the temperature around the nest was very high, which could easily affect the growth of other spirit plants.

With the help of his Demon Pets, they finally managed to move the nest up and fix it in the air, dozens of meters high.

However, this was not a long-term solution; even at a distance of dozens of meters, the ground temperature of the Dangkang Xianglian Kongjian still rose somewhat, and if this continued, it would inevitably have adverse effects on the growth of the spirit plants.

Li Zhangsheng decided that after returning, he would take the nest out.

After leaving the Dangkang Xianglian Kongjian, Li Zhangsheng glanced around, but the Spirit-Eating Mouse did not know where it had gone.

Li Zhangsheng activated his Mental Power and soon discovered a small hole leading underground a hundred meters away; it was clear that the Spirit-Eating Mouse had burrowed underground again, and he wondered if it had made any discoveries this time.

This small hole was over a hundred meters long.

Li Zhangsheng was quite convinced of the Spirit-Eating Mouse's ability to find treasures; although he often looked down on most of them, it would occasionally find treasures that were eye-catching.

Strangely, even when he projected his Mental Power along the passageway opened by the Spirit-Eating Mouse, Li Zhangsheng still did not detect any signs of energy fluctuations.

Although there were some treasures that did not emit energy fluctuations, they were, after all, in the minority.

However, this was the former residence of a phoenix, so perhaps the Spirit-Eating Mouse might have made a discovery.

Soon, the Spirit-Eating Mouse crawled out of the small hole; it squeaked at Li Zhangsheng and then immediately burrowed back into the hole.

Soil was constantly being turned out from the small hole; it was clear that the Spirit-Eating Mouse was expanding the diameter of the passageway, as it seemed to have found a large object.

Li Zhangsheng could not help, so he could only wait carefully outside; although he felt that the treasure the Spirit-Eating Mouse found this time was likely not much, what if it was?

After about five minutes, the Spirit-Eating Mouse had expanded the passageway to a diameter of about three meters, and just as Li Zhangsheng was preparing to go down, the Spirit-Eating Mouse carried a huge oval object out from the passageway.

The oval object was over four meters high; it seemed to be a giant stone egg, earthy gray in color, and the texture when touched was no different from stone.

"This should be a Spirit Beast egg!"

Li Zhangsheng had quite a bit of research on Spirit Beast eggs, so he could naturally tell that this was a Spirit Beast egg, but its size was simply too large; it was the first time Li Zhangsheng had seen such a large Spirit Beast egg.

The only pity was that the Spirit Beast egg had completely fossilized, and there was not a single trace of life left; the life inside had clearly perished.

"Could this be a Phoenix Egg?"

Recalling that a phoenix had lived here for a long time, combined with the size of the Spirit Beast egg, this possibility really existed.

Of course, the probability was not high.

After all, if it were a Phoenix Egg, it should have appeared in the nest; why would it appear below?

Taking a step back, if it were a Phoenix Egg, why was it not taken away by the phoenix? In short, there were too many signs indicating that this was not a Phoenix Egg.

But even if there was only a tiny possibility, Li Zhangsheng would not let it go; after all, if it really were a Phoenix Egg, even if it were a Phoenix Egg that had lost its signs of life, he would still be rich.

Even if it were not a Phoenix Egg, given its exaggerated size, it would definitely not have been left behind by a nobody.

Judging from the size of this fossilized Spirit Beast egg, the creature that laid it likely had a body length exceeding fifty meters.

"Heiye, trace the origin!"

Li Zhangsheng summoned Heiye, and two black rays shot out from Heiye's eyes, instantly landing on the fossilized Spirit Beast egg.

In the span of two or three breaths, black light enveloped the entire Spirit Beast egg.

In an instant, a blurry shadow of light appeared above the fossilized Spirit Beast egg, but nothing appeared.

"No residual aura!"

Li Zhangsheng shook his head, not feeling particularly surprised, as this petrified Spirit Beast egg likely had a history of over a hundred years.

Under these circumstances, Li Zhangsheng had only one method left, which was to crack the stone egg and refine its Spirit Essence.

Even if the egg white and yolk were completely petrified, Li Zhangsheng could still extract Spirit Essence, though the quantity he could refine would naturally be greatly reduced compared to a normal Spirit Beast egg.

Since it lacked life, Li Zhangsheng directly stored the stone egg into his Space Ring, but he did not leave immediately, instead continuing to search for any missed items.

After a few hours had passed, even after having his Demon Pets destroy the entire extinct volcano and dig three feet deep, Li Zhangsheng had no further major gains and could only let the matter rest, leaving the mess for the Red Dragon King.

Looking at the extinct volcano that had been razed to the ground, the Red Dragon King was also on the verge of tears, watching Li Zhangsheng leave.

After leaving the Rongduan Mountain Range, Li Zhangsheng rode Aixi through the Gale Layer and, with the cooperation of Ning Bizhen, returned to the Yuanling Academy without anyone noticing.

After returning to the Number One Courtyard, Li Zhangsheng could not help but ask: "How is the situation?"

"Due to their strength being severely damaged, with only one Sixth-Rank Expert left to hold the fort, the Langya Liu Clan has had many of their industries carved up by other factions in just five days; their situation can be described as precarious."

The Langya Liu Clan is miserable beyond measure; just a few months ago, they had two Pseudo-Kings holding the fort and were ranked among the top ten factions in the Langya Kingdom, naturally capable of suppressing petty troublemakers.

Now, not only are the Pseudo-Kings gone, but there is only one Sixth-Rank Expert left, so they have naturally become a piece of cake in the eyes of many factions.

Due to Li Zhangsheng's instructions, the Yuanling Academy and the Li Family jointly joined the ranks of those carving up the spoils; although they only began their actions on the third day to avoid attracting attention, they still filled their pockets to the brim.

Ning Bizhen rolled her eyes at Li Zhangsheng and continued: "Because you transformed into a Five-Colored Peacock earlier, the current Emperor believes it to be an underage Five-Colored Peacock and has now dispatched many Monster Tamers to enter the Silent Forest to search for your tracks. Furthermore, even though they haven't found any evidence, you have a motive for the crime and are certainly a target of their suspicion; for the sake of safety, it is best not to go out for this period of time."

"Hmm, after some time passes, we will leave the Langya Kingdom to compete for spots in the Heavenly Dao Secret Realm."

Li Zhangsheng did not object; he had been too high-profile these past few days, but there was no other way, as he could hardly let such massive benefits slip through his fingers.

He decided to go into seclusion for this period to diligently digest the benefits he had obtained recently.

After discussing with Ning Bizhen for a while, Li Zhangsheng went to the backyard and took the large bird's nest out of the Dangkang Xianglian Kongjian.

He also took out the stone egg and tentatively placed it in the bird's nest, but no signs occurred.

It was only when the Crowned Blazing Bird landed in the bird's nest that a sudden change occurred.

(End of this chapter)