Chapter 122: Incubating Eggs

A chill swept in from behind. Turning around, the pond appeared especially bright in the darkness, casting a glimmer of light. There was only one chance to try. Though he didn’t know what lay ahead, he had no choice—failure meant certain death. The fire dragon would never forgive him for stealing its eggs. Maybe, by taking a risk, he could still have a chance of survival.
He moved quietly to the edge of the pond, held his breath, and slowly submerged himself, descending gently without making a sound, afraid of alerting the fire dragon. An icy cold instantly spread throughout his body, nearly making Rod scream. He gritted his teeth, clamped his hands around his waist, and endured the agony. Unable to use his combat energy, he had no way to ward off the cold, and the pain was heart-wrenching.
“Ahh…” A roar echoed, followed by footsteps above him. Clearly, the fire dragon had arrived at the pond’s edge.
The dull footsteps continued, circling around him, causing the pond to tremble slightly. He dared not make any sound—any carelessness could lead to disastrous consequences. Even in the icy water, he could sense the fire dragon’s fury.
Ahh… Finding no trace of humans or other creatures, the fire dragon grew enraged. Despicable humans! It must be them who stole its egg while it was fighting them. Otherwise, why would they flee suddenly?
At this thought, the fire dragon immediately turned, its eyes blazing with cold fury. It let out a loud roar that echoed throughout the area, causing rocks from the cave ceiling to rain down with a thunderous crash.
Soon after, hurried footsteps sounded, gradually fading away, along with the roar.
“Gone?” Realizing this, Rod, who was still underwater, secretly breathed a sigh of relief. The sudden ease after being on high alert nearly overwhelmed him. The chill returned, and he couldn’t help but choke on water. Sweat poured over his body as bubbles formed on his skin.
He hurried upstream to the shore, trembling violently, his face pale. “Huhu… I’m safe!” he muttered in a shaky voice.

Getting up, not daring to stay longer for fear the fire dragon might return, he hurriedly headed outside. Upon reaching the fire dragon’s lair again, he found that only a few remnants of the previous items remained, along with a few scattered gold coins. “Sure enough, a miser—still thinking about these things at a time like this?” Thinking of the dragons’ innate habit of hoarding wealth, he sighed inwardly. There was no chance to make a profit now. He carefully made his way toward the exit of the cave and soon reached the entrance. The strong sunlight made him let out a sigh of relief, and a faint smile appeared on his face. His numb body felt a bit more comfortable under the warm light.

“I can’t go back now!” Rod knew that if this disappearance became known, others might not understand, but those two men would definitely know. No one else could have done such a thing; only he was most likely involved. As the saying goes, “An innocent man bears the blame for possessing treasure.” He was well aware of just how powerful dragon eggs were. Without saying a word, those ambitious people would surely kill him.

He headed in the opposite direction, toward Collins Forest. After some searching, he found a hidden cave—small enough to fit only one person. Satisfied, he nodded. He gathered some rocks and blocked the entrance from inside. To save his life, the first thing to do was to deal with the dragon egg. After all, he needed a fantasy beast right now. Maybe this dragon egg could be useful.

“Xuanyuan, are you there?” Thinking of this, he immediately began to summon Xuanyuan. It understood many things better than he did. Rod knew seeking its help was the right choice.

“Hmm, you’re quite lucky to have survived that. Han Tang, heh, you hid inside! Heh, it’s a good thing for that reason; otherwise, even an ordinary pond wouldn’t have helped you hide. You would’ve been skinned alive by that lizard today!” As soon as his words faded, Xuanyuan’s teasing voice came through. Whenever Rod talked to Xuanyuan from time to time, he could sense its transformation—from an initially childish tone to that of a grown-up, and now even showing a hint of an adult’s voice. It had indeed grown a lot.

Rod knew that Xuanyuan had been watching his actions from the beginning. Thinking of this, he smiled wryly inwardly. “What is Han Tang?”

“A Han Tang can only form in the most extremely Yin places in the world. The water temperature is extremely cold. It’s a miracle you didn’t freeze into a human pillar despite not having combat energy. It’s not very useful. It seems to have some effect on physical training, but you won’t need it—at least not until the fire dragon leaves.”

“Never mind, let’s not talk too much. You mentioned fantasy beasts last time. Take a look at this dragon egg. I’m now a Silver Warrior as well, which qualifies me to obtain a fantasy beast. See what you can do!” Although it was pitch black inside after the entrance was sealed, the dragon egg could still be seen clearly once it was taken out.

“Hmm, though it’s a lizard’s thing, it’s not bad. The bloodline is excellent—it’s a powerful creature. Although it’s just a reptile compared to our divine dragons, you’ll have to make do. I doubt there are any stronger magical beasts in this world anyway. Besides… hehe, it makes a good medium!” A disdainful voice came through; clearly, Xuanyuan still disdained the fire dragon egg.

“First, we need to hatch it, and it will likely take some time. Let me explain. Once you start, slowly inject your combat energy into the egg. Remember, it must be slow and gentle—any sudden force could cause it to crack, and then all our efforts will be wasted. Once you’ve injected a certain amount, follow my instructions and intensify the flow at the critical moment. I’ll guide you through the rest. Let’s begin!” At his dantian, the spirit of the Xuanyuan Sword trembled slightly, as if awaiting something. The tattoo there also emitted a faint glow, though Rod didn’t notice it!

“Ten thousand years… can you finally be useful now?” Rod muttered to himself, keeping a close eye on the outside situation.

Rod had already started acting. He took a deep breath, placed the egg in front of him, and began injecting his combat energy into it according to Xuanyuan’s instructions—slowly, steadily, like a thread flowing continuously. Every time his energy entered the egg, it vanished instantly, absorbed completely. The egg seemed like an endless pit, absorbing endlessly without limit, just like a black hole that could never be filled.

Time passed unbeknownst to him. He felt tired, and his combat energy was nearly depleted, even though it kept being replenished—by at least half as much as it was consumed. Still, only four layers of energy remained. It was easy to imagine.

“Hmm, almost there!” Xuanyuan, inside Rod’s body, murmured softly as he sensed the lizard egg trembling slightly outside. Then, the tattoo at Rod’s dantian suddenly emitted a faint red glow, growing brighter until it became blinding. It slowly broke free from Rod’s body, taking on the vague shape of a divine dragon—magnificent and fierce, with bared fangs and claws. Yes, it looked exactly like one!

Amidst Rod’s stunned expression, the red halo quickly sank into the dragon egg before him and then vanished. “Qi! Absolute Domain!” Immediately, the spirit of the Xuanyuan Sword inside him roared. A layer of blue light emanated from his body once again, instantly enveloping the entire cave. It had a translucent, hazy beauty, like a blue bubble covering the whole cave. “Go!” With another sharp shout, a cold aura spread throughout his body rapidly. It was similar to the previous sensations, only stronger this time. “Master, this is all I can do. The rest depends on you. Success or failure lies with you. I can only give guidance from here!” The voice sounded weak and tired. Having used his abilities continuously and exhausting his vital energy, Xuanyuan was truly exhausted! With a determined look, Rod knew he had to rely on himself. He focused his mind, knowing Xuanyuan must have sacrificed a lot. He couldn’t let him down. He quickly concentrated on continuing his task. After the cold aura spread throughout his body, he felt his combat energy recover significantly, reaching 70% of its original level. He continued to infuse more energy. As his combat energy decreased and reached just two layers, and still no new instructions from Xuanyuan came, nor did the dragon egg show any change, Rod grew anxious. Suddenly, as Rod was worried, the dragon egg began to tremble slowly, faster and more noticeably, until it spun rapidly in place, creating a slight breeze. “Good, now is the time! Hurry, increase the effort! Pour in as much as you can—it’s about to hatch!” Seeing this, Xuanyuan roared loudly, filled with anticipation and excitement. Without hesitation, Rod poured in all his remaining combat energy. A fierce red glow surrounded the dragon egg. Its rotation was so fast it was hard to see. The egg slowly floated upward in the air. “Hatch!” With a loud roar, he poured in the last bit of his combat energy. Even more powerful energy surged in, causing the egg to make cracking sounds. “Crack…” After a moment, a clear sound came. A crack appeared on the egg’s surface and spread rapidly, eventually covering the entire egg like a spider web. Showing a hint of joy, Rod continued to infuse internal energy. Finally, he heard the long-awaited sound: “Crack…”

The eggshell began to peel off, falling to the ground piece by piece. Xuan Yuan did not stop; he kept his eyes wide open and continued to channel his combat energy as instructed, not daring to miss even the slightest opportunity. He did not blink, fearing he might miss any step. Because he knew it was almost time—the little fire dragon was about to emerge.