NOVEL WEB Ch. 42
Chapter 42: The Name of Golden Egg
"Gulu."
As the golden light dispersed, Chen Beiwu could see that the dimwitted gaze of the Golden Scale now carried a trace more intelligence and submission.
The greatest strength of the Golden Scale was not its divine sense, but its peerless defense that same-tier Spirit Beasts could hardly overcome.
With such a Companion Beast possessing impenetrable defense protecting his path, his future survivability was surely maxed out.
"Your scales shine like gold, so from now on, I’ll call you Golden Egg."
Sensing the reverent emotion transmitted from the Companion Seal, Chen Beiwu couldn’t help but pat the chubby belly of the Golden Scale, officially naming it.
Golden Egg and Golden Core differed by only one syllable, yet it embodied Chen Beiwu’s expectations for his future cultivation path.
"Gulu."
Golden Egg blinked its fishy eyes in confusion, its mouth opening and closing repeatedly.
It didn’t know what had just happened. It only knew that it was now hungry.
Chen Beiwu shifted his gaze toward the dumbfounded Abyssal Water Spirit Turtle nearby.
...
Watching Chen Beiwu’s figure vanish from sight, the Abyssal Water Spirit Turtle smacked its lips.
The Scarletblood Fish sashimi was delicious, but for some reason, it felt like something was off.
On Four Seas Lake, clouds and mist churned like an immortal paradise.
Han Liangcai opened his eyes, his gaze fixed dead on the Yin-Yang Reincarnation Realm, ignoring the shattered Spirit Stones on the table.
"Strange. Why is there not even one Northern-Heaven Five‑Qi Fate Pattern bearer? Could it be that the method of searching is flawed, or perhaps that peerless hidden dragon isn’t of Water Fate, or is it simply that the timing has not yet arrived?" he muttered under his breath.
The next second, as if sensing something, Han Liangcai turned his gaze toward the figure rushing out from the lake, then swiftly looked toward the Abyssal Water Spirit Turtle at the bottom.
"Whoosh!"
With a thought, the Golden Core True Person moved his intent, and the exotic Spirit Turtle instantly appeared on the stone table.
"Why did you give away the Golden Scale bestowed by Master?" he asked with a frown.
The Abyssal Water Spirit Turtle lifted its head with an indifferent look.
"You mean to say that person’s Fate Pattern is exceptional, but since your spiritual resonance couldn’t activate, you decided to offer him a variant Golden Scale to establish a good connection."
Hearing this absurd reasoning, Han Liangcai's mouth twitched slightly.
This little thing really dared to take advantage of their master’s affection and play him for a fool.
Establishing a good connection? It clearly just wanted that person’s Grass Within the Stone.
Grass Within the Stone wasn’t high grade, just a Second-Tier Spiritual Herb, with the side effect of partially petrifying the cultivator’s dantian, and it was banned from circulation by Dongxuan Immortal Sect.
Because long ago, a genius alchemist in Dongxuan Immortal Sect discovered that the side effect of Grass Within the Stone could trigger an otherworldly euphoric sensation in the Abyssal Water Spirit Turtle.
The more Grass Within the Stone it consumed, the stronger the euphoria. Some exceptionally gifted Spirit Turtles could even enter a state of enlightenment from it, causing the price of Grass Within the Stone to skyrocket and making it hard currency within Dongxuan Immortal Sect.
At its peak, a single Second-Tier Grass Within the Stone could be traded by the Abyssal Water Spirit Turtle for a superior Third-Tier Treasure Pill.
However, Spirit Turtles capable of entering a state of enlightenment were few. Most suffered from addiction due to excessive consumption, ultimately leading to petrification and great loss of potential.
Thus, the higher-ups of the sect issued a decree to end that farce once and for all.
"Grass Within the Stone isn’t hard to obtain, but how could a commoner from Fallen Dragon Mansion know of a sect’s secret?" Han Liangcai closed his eyes and activated the Yin-Yang Reincarnation Realm to trace the cause and effect.
After a long while, he opened his eyes, astonished. "It was actually just a coincidence."
To possess such fortune—perhaps that person’s future would be extraordinary.
This little guy’s attempt to establish goodwill might have hit the mark by accident.
By the shores of Four Seas Lake.
Seeing the joy on Chen Beiwu’s face, Xu Ziqing curiously stepped forward.
"You look especially happy. Did you finalize your Companion Beast?"
"Of course." Chen Beiwu smiled. "You’ll never guess what kind of Companion Beast I contracted."
Xu Ziqing blinked in surprise. "Wasn’t it the Abyssal Water Spirit Turtle?"
With a thought, Chen Beiwu took out the plump Golden Egg from his Spirit Beast Pouch.
"Ah! This... this is a Golden Scale?"
Seeing its dazed fish eyes, Xu Ziqing’s mouth opened slightly.
"That's right," Chen Beiwu's lips curled upward.
Even the Beast King’s Blood couldn’t move the Abyssal Water Spirit Turtle. He had thought he’d miss out on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Who would’ve thought fate would bless him again—the miniature water realm borne by the Abyssal Water Spirit Turtle housed a Second-Tier Spirit Beast with fate reaching golden-grade.
Hearing Chen Beiwu’s answer, Xu Ziqing’s mind blanked.
Golden Scale wasn’t the kind of water-element Spirit Beast an ordinary cultivator could nurture.
Unless Chen Beiwu was willing to cultivate it into a metal-element Spirit Beast like Redgold Scale or Blackgold Scale—but that was an impossible choice.
If she remembered correctly, Chen Beiwu’s Metal-Attribute Spiritual Root purity was only 15. Cultivating Redgold Scale would be equivalent to cutting off his own path.
"Golden Egg is a bit hungry. I’ll need to find something to feed it, so I probably can’t accompany you to Sulfur Reef Island," Chen Beiwu said apologetically.
"It’s okay. Companion Beast is more important," Xu Ziqing forced out a smile.
Rationally, she knew that contracting a Golden Scale likely meant Chen Beiwu would never reach Golden Core.
But emotionally, something told her that this Golden Scale was anything but ordinary—otherwise, Chen Beiwu wouldn’t have contracted it at all.
In any case, she needed time to process this.
Sensing Xu Ziqing’s mood, Chen Beiwu stored away Golden Egg, bade farewell, and turned to head for the Spirit Beast Pavilion main hall.
Golden Egg was not a beast from the Spirit Beast Pavilion, but one he had exchanged with the Abyssal Water Spirit Turtle using Grass Within the Stone. So, Chen Beiwu could bypass the rules and forcefully contract it, but he still needed to register.
As for the source of the Grass Within the Stone, he had already found a solution before coming to the pavilion. Even if the Immortal Alliance likely wouldn’t care about the origin of a single Second-Tier Spiritual Herb.
...
Half an hour later, in the Spirit Beast Pavilion main hall.
Under the curious gaze of the staff, Chen Beiwu finished registering his Companion Beast and spent fifty low-grade Spirit Stones to purchase the Spirit Beast Pouch in his hand.
Normally, the Spirit Beast Pouch provided by the pavilion counted as a freebie with the purchase of a Companion Beast, and wouldn’t cost any Spirit Stones. But since Chen Beiwu took the unconventional route and didn’t purchase a Companion Beast, he had to pay out of pocket.
After finishing everything, Chen Beiwu spent one low-grade Spirit Stone to rent a superior First-Tier cultivation room in the Spirit Beast Pavilion.
"One low-grade Spirit Stone only buys two hours of cultivation. The expenses in Fallen Dragon Mansion are much higher than in school."
Chen Beiwu sighed, sat cross-legged on the mat, and took Golden Egg out from the Spirit Beast Pouch to begin the mandatory Three Meridians Tempering after contracting a Companion Beast.
He activated his divine sense, and through the link of the Companion Seal, entered Golden Egg’s Sea of Consciousness. There, using the Companion Contract, he triggered the appearance of the three meridians—Origin, Attribute, and Law—represented respectively by its essence, nature, and energy.
Among them, the Origin Meridian represented the innate five-element essence of the Companion Beast, also called Origin Essence. It formed the fundamental bloodline of the Companion Beast and could in turn nourish and enhance the Spiritual Root purity of the Companion Cultivator.
The higher the grade of the Companion Beast’s innate Origin Meridian, the greater the cultivator’s Spiritual Root purity could improve.
According to legend, Companion Beasts with Legendary-Grade Origin Meridians could induce a terrifying transformation in a Companion Cultivator’s spiritual aptitude.