The elder Purple Xuan Grass sister watched her for a long time, a faint smile slowly appearing on her illusory face.
She said no more. Her leaves swayed gently as her entire plant body shifted back several feet toward the edge of the stone chamber, completely clearing the space at the center of the formation.
Lin Zhiyue sat down next to the center of the formation and cupped the egg in both hands. The pale gold patterns on the surface of the eggshell glowed faintly beneath her palms.
She closed her eyes and slowly channeled the spiritual energy from her dantian through her palms and into the egg. The moment her dual ice and wind spiritual energy touched the eggshell, it was gently absorbed. The temperature of the egg rose slightly, and the gold patterns lit up once more.
Condensing a thin blade of wind spiritual energy at her fingertip, she lightly sliced her finger.
A droplet of bright red blood fell onto the translucent white eggshell. Before it could even pool, it was instantly absorbed, leaving not a single trace behind.
The system screen popped up in her mind with a line of text: 【Contract establishing... Spiritual energy transmission stable... Life force connection complete. Contract established. Congratulations to the host for obtaining a spirit beast contract—Species: Unknown, Hatching Time: To be determined.】
Lin Zhiyue felt a thin yet clear thread connect her spiritual energy to the egg, as if something had linked them together.
She opened her eyes and looked down. The pale gold patterns on the eggshell had stabilized, no longer flickering erratically. A faint glow circulated slowly through the veins, and the egg's temperature had returned to a comfortable warmth.
She let go, wrapped the egg securely, and stored it in her space. Then, she stood up and patted the dust off her knees.
The elder Purple Xuan Grass sister's illusory figure walked over to her side. Looking down at the egg that had regained its vitality, she spoke with a tone of peaceful relief, “You saved it. And you saved me.”
Lin Zhiyue waved her hand. “It was nothing.”
The elder Purple Xuan Grass sister let out a soft laugh. One of her broad leaves bent slightly toward Lin Zhiyue, like an elder gently stroking a junior's head. “You are kind-hearted. You will be rewarded for this.”
Lin Zhiyue cast a glance at the egg resting quietly in her space, its pale gold patterns slowly pulsing with light.
She shook her head, having completely resigned herself to all the unexpected occurrences she had encountered in this secret realm.
Although she now had an unknown egg to raise, it was still a life. Besides, since the system had practically forced her into the contract, it wouldn't have given her something bad.
When Lin Zhiyue emerged from the stone fissure with the elder Purple Xuan Grass sister, the little Purple Xuan Grass outside had already stretched more than half of her body out of the jade box, her leaf tips swaying anxiously toward the stone wall.
Upon seeing her sister's plant body slowly move out of the fissure, the little one's leaves suddenly unfurled. She cried out, “Sister!” with a sob, shaking so hard that the dew on her leaves flew off.
The elder Purple Xuan Grass sister's illusory figure bent down, her broad leaves gently wrapping around the little Purple Xuan Grass, enveloping her in a warm, gentle aura.
The little one sniffled and babbled under her sister's leaves. The elder sister simply listened in silence, occasionally touching the little one's top bud with her leaf tip as if patting her head.
Lin Zhiyue did not disturb them. She stepped back and sat down on a nearby rock, finally finding the time to check the system panel.
A row of glittering golden notifications of completed quests was stacked on the screen:
【Emergency Quest “Form a Contract with the Spirit Beast Egg” Completed. Rewards: Premium Draw Ticket x3, Secret Realm Exclusive Reward x1 (Distributed to the system space).】
【Limited-Time Quest “Break the Luoshuang Secret Realm: Spiritual Formation Seal” Completed. Rewards: Premium Draw Ticket x8, Sweet and Clever Cook Unlocked Part Random Drop x2 (Distributed to the system space).】
【Hidden Side Quest “Rescue the Purple Xuan Grass Sisters” Completed. Rewards: Premium Draw Ticket x2, Permanent Increase in Vegetation-type Favorability (Passive effect).】
Lin Zhiyue tapped her finger gently on her knee as she looked at the list of rewards. Thirteen Premium Draw Tickets. Added to the three she had left from before, she now had sixteen in total.
The Sweet and Clever Cook set was still missing four parts: the apron, headwear, pink spatula, and back accessory...
Entering the secret realm this time had dropped three random parts in total. If she was lucky, she might be able to complete the entire set. There was also that Secret Realm Exclusive Reward; she wondered what it was.
She first tapped on the icon for the Secret Realm Exclusive Reward.
A cluster of glowing green light leapt from the screen, landing in her palm and turning into a thumb-sized seed. It was entirely emerald green with gold spots, and its shell was smooth and hard, looking like jade polished by time.
The system popped up a line of text: 【Luoshuang Secret Realm Core Spiritual Seed. Once planted, it can grow into a courtyard-protecting spiritual plant, automatically gathering surrounding spiritual energy and increasing the concentration of spiritual energy in the courtyard. The growth cycle depends on the spiritual energy supply, taking about three to six months to mature.】
Lin Zhiyue turned the seed over in her hands a few times before carefully storing it in her space. A courtyard-protecting spiritual plant that could automatically gather spiritual energy in her yard was far more practical than single-use spiritual materials.
Then, she rubbed her hands together and opened the random drops for the Sweet and Clever Cook.
Two clusters of pinkish-white light landed in front of her one after the other. The first was a pale pink apron, its ribbon bow tied neatly at the back, with lace trim bordering the two small pockets on the front, looking exactly like the preview image.
The second was a white, short-brimmed chef's hat, its brim embroidered with a ring of floral patterns. It felt soft and fluffy in her hand, like a cloud.
The third was a pink chef's spatula with a rounded blade and a small flower carved into the handle.
She stored away the pink apron and chef's hat. Adding these to the socks, shoes, dress, necklace, and earrings she had previously drawn, she now possessed eight out of the nine standard parts, with only the frosted wing back accessory remaining.
Lin Zhiyue leaned against the rock, closed the system panel, and let out a long breath.
From the distance came Chu Zhixun's booming voice: “Junior Sister! Where did you run off to? It's time to head back!”
Hearing this, Lin Zhiyue stood up and brushed the grass clippings off her skirt.
She turned to look at the Purple Xuan Grass sisters. The elder sister's plant body had recovered some of its vigor, her leaves stretching out to hold the little one as she comforted her in soft, gentle whispers.
The little one's leaves had stopped shaking, and she snuggled quietly against her sister's stalk, as if she had finally found where she belonged.
Lin Zhiyue smiled at them, then turned and walked toward the direction of Chu Zhixun's voice.
This trip to the secret realm had been well worth it.
Rate on N.U.
