Chapter 152: An Artifact Spirit... Egg?

Chen Xiang ultimately managed to suppress the impulse to set up a formation.

His gaze shifted to the ancient martial arts manual on boxing.

He was far from unfamiliar with the *Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms*! This was the very essence of ancient martial arts!

In China, this name carried immense renown. Back in his childhood, Chen Xiang had harbored dreams of chivalry and martial arts; if he had to name the ultimate legendary techniques he wanted to learn, the *Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms* would undoubtedly rank near the very top!

However, upon reading the description, he realized it was merely an ordinary ancient martial arts manual, and an incomplete one at that! While it might be a wonderful treasure for a mortal, it was utterly useless to an immortal cultivator!

"What the heck, System? What is this nonsense? Is it really just a normal martial art? Didn't you modify the *Dog-Beating Staff Technique* before? Why didn't you modify this one?" Chen Xiang complained with dissatisfaction.

What use was an ancient martial arts manual to him? Did he expect to fight others using mere internal energy?

Besides, the previous lucky draw had yielded a modified version of the *Dog-Beating Staff Technique*, which belonged to the profound-tier high-grade martial arts category and possessed quite decent power.

The System simply replied with a remark about the randomness of prize rewards and fell silent thereafter, leaving Chen Xiang to roll his eyes repeatedly.

Still, obtaining the permanent identity card of an Earth-Spirit Array Master was a pretty good haul, so he did not dwell on the matter too much.

Instead, the final item captured his attention.

"Serpentine Bloodline Activation Spirit Liquid? What is the use of this?" Chen Xiang thought, pinching his chin.

"Ding. This item can activate the ancient bloodline dormant within serpentine creatures, forming a presence akin to an artifact spirit," the System prompted.

"An artifact spirit?" Chen Xiang paused.

With a flip of his right hand, he produced a small jade bottle containing a pinkish-red liquid that amounted to less than half of a pinky finger's nail.

This was precisely the Heaven-Swallowing Python bloodline he had acquired back in the desert outside the Southern Wastelands!

The Heaven-Swallowing Python was an ancient divine beast of the serpentine race, exceedingly rare. For tens of thousands of years, its trace had vanished from the cultivation world, and rumors had it that the species was extinct, while its descendants, the Wind-Coiled Scaled Serpents, were also exceptionally scarce.

Chen Xiang had been fortunate at the time; the moment he entered the desert, he stumbled upon a nest of Wind-Coiled Scaled Serpents. Because they had attempted to devour him, he simply wiped them out in one fell swoop.

Later on, he gathered over a dozen portions of the Heaven-Swallowing Python's bloodline, which eventually coalesced into this droplet—scarcely even a fifth of a full drop.

Since Chen Xiang had no immediate use for the Heaven-Swallowing Python bloodline, he decided it was the perfect opportunity to test this bloodline awakening liquid.

With a wave of his hand, a translucent, jade-green bottle appeared in his grip.

Chen Xiang gestured, causing the jade bottle containing the Heaven-Swallowing Python bloodline to lift into the air. Following that, the tiny droplet of blood also floated out of its bottle and hung suspended in mid-air.

With another flick of his hand, a small portion of the bloodline awakening liquid emerged from the jade-green bottle and merged with the droplet.

The moment the two came into contact, Chen Xiang was dumbfounded.

In that exact instant, the bloodline awakening liquid vanished entirely.

Yet, he had witnessed the process with absolute clarity: the awakening liquid had been swallowed whole by the tiny droplet of Heaven-Swallowing Python blood.

The droplet did not increase in size, but it underwent a subtle transformation, glowing with a slightly brighter luster.

"Could it be that the quantity wasn't enough?" Chen Xiang wondered.

He had initially used one-tenth of the bloodline awakening liquid—an amount dozens of times greater than the Heaven-Swallowing Python blood itself—yet it had been completely devoured without causing the slightest ripple.

Next, he extracted half of the remaining bloodline awakening liquid, which was likewise swallowed in a single flash.

This time, however, the change was somewhat more noticeable.

Within that pinkish droplet, a slow writhing motion began, accompanied by faint, hissing sounds reminiscent of a snake darting its tongue. The droplet itself swelled slightly, growing to the size of a quail's egg.

"Fine, it seems that was still not enough," Chen Xiang muttered inwardly, feeling a trace of astonishment.

Without further hesitation, he poured the rest of the bloodline awakening liquid toward the Heaven-Swallowing Python blood.

Ahem, this time, the blood did not fully absorb the awakening liquid. Instead, a layer of jade-green fluid enveloped the blood, coating it like a thin membrane and expanding it to the size of half a chicken's egg.

Observing closely, Chen Xiang could clearly discern the activity within; the blood was writhing in irregular patterns.

After waiting for the span of a quarter of an hour, he noticed that the writhing movements of the blood were growing progressively weaker, while the starlight specks inside were multiplying.

An hour later, the blood ceased its squirming, settling into an oval shape dotted with starlight.

Chen Xiang stared at the floating object before him in speechlessness.

Why did the more he looked at it, the more it resembled an egg?

As it turned out, his guess was spot on.

Another hour passed, and the jade-green membrane on the surface of the "egg" slowly dimmed, ultimately hardening into a lusterless, jade-green shell.

Chen Xiang: "..."

"You've got to be kidding me, are you actually going to hatch a Heaven-Swallowing Python for me?" Chen Xiang thought, utterly speechless.

Reaching out, he caught the green egg. It was only half the size of a regular chicken egg, bearing a striking resemblance to a snake's egg—no, it *was* a snake's egg!

"They say snake eggs are extremely nourishing... Should I pan-fry it or boil it?" Chen Xiang mumbled to himself.

Then he queried the System once more: "System, what on earth is this thing? How did it turn into an egg?"

"Ding. This is the nurturing vessel for the divine beast Heaven-Swallowing Python. Once the host incubates it, a mindless Heaven-Swallowing Python soul will be obtained, which can serve as an artifact spirit!"

"There's even such a mechanic?" Chen Xiang frowned slightly.

He had previously anticipated obtaining a direct Heaven-Swallowing Python artifact spirit. Furthermore, upon the appearance of the egg, he had briefly suspected he might end up with a living Heaven-Swallowing Python. He had not expected that hatching it would yield merely a mindless soul—divine beasts were truly troublesome to deal with.

Frowning deeply, Chen Xiang asked, "How do I incubate it?"

"The host merely needs to sleep alongside it for a hundred days!" the System replied.

"What the actual..." Chen Xiang felt an urge to unleash a torrent of curses.

Sleep with it for a hundred days? Why didn't you just tell me to tuck it into my trousers to warm it for a hundred days?!

"System, come, let's discuss something. I have a magnificent treasure here and I want to see if you're interested," Chen Xiang said, maintaining a deadpan expression.

"Not interested," the System replied coldly.

"Do you take me for some broody hen? You actually expect me to hatch it? Are you out of your mind?" Chen Xiang failed to restrain himself and burst out swearing.

"Ding. This action can increase the intimacy between the host and the artifact spirit," the System responded.

"Let me tell you, that is utterly impossible! A man's dignity cannot be trampled upon!" Chen Xiang scoffed coldly.

"The hatched Heaven-Swallowing Python artifact spirit will possess thirty percent of an adult Heaven-Swallowing Python's strength at birth, and will continue to grow thereafter! An adult Heaven-Swallowing Python possesses at least the strength of a Fusion-stage cultivator," the System added by way of explanation.

Chen Xiang wore a sneer as he said, "Hmph! Men of our stature, how could we ever resort to borrowing the might of another? No matter how powerful it is, so what? I am young, and I am a genius; it won't be long before I reach the Fusion stage myself. Do I look like I need this lousy artifact spirit? Enough said, I'm going to sleep, and you are forbidden to disturb me!"

With that, he flicked his figure, threw himself onto the bed, and gingerly placed the Heaven-Swallowing Python egg right beside his pillow.