I'm Just a Beast Tamer

Chapter 59: Chapter 57: Spirit Beast Egg

More images flashed through Jiang Zuo’s mind.

They were the past experiences of the Mutated Black Stone Fish.

It turned out that before being tamed by Jiang Zuo, the Mutated Black Stone Fish had been accidentally swept into that underwater cave by the current.

It had felt a sense of great comfort there.

After being tamed by Jiang Zuo, it still remembered the place. At night, when there was no training, it would wander back there.

This continued for over half a year. Just a moment ago, while playing near the Pet Beast Egg, its body seemed to undergo some kind of change, and then it was summoned back by Jiang Zuo.

"Lead the way!"

Jiang Zuo jumped into the Li River and had the Mutated Black Stone Fish lead the way.

Two or three minutes later, the Mutated Black Stone Fish stopped less than a kilometer downstream and then dove toward the riverbed.

The riverbed in this section was very deep, with a large amount of aquatic grass swaying in the water.

The Mutated Black Stone Fish passed through a patch of the drifting grass, and its body suddenly vanished from the riverbed.

Jiang Zuo didn’t hesitate and passed straight through the grass as well.

Beneath the aquatic grass was a cave seven or eight meters deep.

As soon as he entered the cave, Jiang Zuo felt a strange outward pressure within it.

Even ordinary pebbles rolling over the cave’s entrance would be pushed away by this pressure, preventing them from falling inside.

This was also why the cave could exist.

Because it was at the bottom of the river, the water inside the cave was exceptionally clear and calm. Jiang Zuo could clearly see a massive, pale-green Pet Beast Egg resting quietly on the river stones at the bottom of the cave.

Confirming that nothing unusual was guarding it, Jiang Zuo did his best to calm his emotions, cautiously approached, and finally cradled the pale-green Pet Beast Egg in his hands.

This Pet Beast Egg was a full twenty centimeters long and nearly ten centimeters wide.

Up close, it looked exceptionally huge.

『New Mission: Hatch a Spirit Beast Egg!』

The moment Jiang Zuo picked up the Pet Beast Egg, the Beast Taming System immediately updated with an incubation mission.

And for the first time ever, it provided a text-based prompt.

’It really is a Spirit Beast Egg!’

Jiang Zuo’s spirits soared.

He had already guessed it was something like this, and the mission prompt that popped up proved he was right.

Carrying the massive Spirit Beast Egg, Jiang Zuo returned to his wooden cabin to observe it carefully.

’I can’t tell what kind of Spirit Beast this egg belongs to, and the system isn’t giving any hints.’

’That’s normal. I’ve never even seen a Spirit Beast before!’

’Still, most Pet Beast Eggs are hatched using a Pet Beast’s body heat. I remember from my past life that the pet vloggers’ incubators were usually set between 30 and 40 degrees Celsius.’

’Even though I don’t know what kind of Spirit Beast Egg this is, without any special methods, following this logic gives me the best chance of successfully hatching it.’

’I’ll have Great Black incubate it. Even if it fails to hatch, it could still increase Great Black’s chance of mutation.’

Gazing at the pale-green Spirit Beast Egg, Jiang Zuo quickly made a decision.

If it hatched successfully, the benefits were obvious.

He would complete the incubation mission, obtain his first Spirit Beast, and Great Black would gain Spirit Beast Blood for a second bloodline enhancement.

But if it couldn’t hatch, having Great Black lie with the Spirit Beast Egg every day, combined with the effect of its "Mutation" talent, would eventually cause it to mutate anyway.

Either way, this was a tremendous opportunity for Great Black!

Jiang Zuo immediately went outside, chopped some wood, and built a doghouse.

After lining the doghouse with straw for insulation, Jiang Zuo placed the Spirit Beast Egg inside and called Great Black over.

"From now on, whenever you have time, come in here and incubate this egg. Your mutation depends on it!"

Jiang Zuo said solemnly to Great Black.

"WOOF WOOF!"

Great Black couldn’t fully understand Jiang Zuo’s words, but it could sense his intentions.

Besides, just as the Mutated Black Stone Fish felt comfortable near the Spirit Beast Egg, so did Great Black.

Under Jiang Zuo’s watch, Great Black lay down in the doghouse.

The Spirit Beast Egg was quite large. It was a good thing Great Black’s body was much bigger than an average black dog’s, otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to cover it completely.

’I remember Subai said that within the Heaven and Earth Sealing Spirit Array, if a Cultivator doesn’t replenish their Spiritual Power with Spirit Stones, their cultivation level will eventually drop, and they’ll revert to being a mortal.’

’This Spirit Beast Egg is also emitting Spiritual Qi, and the array is constantly draining the Spiritual Qi from it. Can it really hatch?’

Recalling Subai’s words, Jiang Zuo felt a little uneasy.

However, Jiang Zuo didn’t dwell on it for too long.

’Whether it hatches or not will depend on Great Black’s luck.’

In any case, it was impossible for him to go all the way to the Cultivation Realm just to hatch this egg.

If the Spirit Beast Egg was a rare treasure, being discovered would be a death sentence.

If it was just an ordinary Spirit Beast Egg, then it wasn’t worth the risk.

So, it was best to just let things run their course.

Jiang Zuo was, however, a bit curious about the origin of this Spirit Beast Egg.

If the Spirit Beast Egg hadn’t traveled down the Li River, floating all the way from upstream along the riverbed and past the cave entrance before falling in...

Then it must have fallen from the sky, smashed into the Li River, and gouged out a seven-to-eight-meter-deep hole in the riverbed.

But judging by the environment of the underwater cave, it seemed to have been formed ages ago and had existed for a very long time.

After such a long time, the Spirit Beast Egg’s Spiritual Power should have been completely drained by the Heaven and Earth Sealing Spirit Array long ago.

It wouldn’t still be emitting Spiritual Power now, causing nearby Mortal Beasts to mutate.

Theoretically, the first scenario was the most likely.

As for whether the second scenario was possible...

Jiang Zuo actually had a way to verify it, but it would take some time.

「...」

After that, Great Black had the daily task of incubating the egg, though he was only enthusiastic about it for the first few days.

In less than a week, he went back to his usual routine of playing, only going to incubate the egg when he had free time.

Jiang Zuo didn’t push him.

Contact with the Spirit Beast Egg should be a good thing, but Great Black was ultimately just a Mortal Beast. Too much contact might be more than his body could handle.

It was like how taking too many supplements can actually harm the human body.

Jiang Zuo felt that Great Black was acting on instinct, an instinct that was resisting prolonged contact with the Spirit Beast Egg.

On the afternoon he obtained the Spirit Beast Egg, Jiang Zuo first used Pet Beast Diagnosis on the school of Black Stone Fish he was raising.

"This fish is affected by an unknown external force, placing its body and mind under immense pressure."

The diagnosis was simple. It seemed the effect of a LV1 Pet Beast Diagnosis was quite ordinary.

The cost of using the Pet Beast Diagnosis skill was almost negligible, so starting that afternoon, Jiang Zuo began to power-level the skill.

In just over a week, he had raised his Pet Beast Diagnosis skill to LV3.

——Pet Beast Diagnosis LV3 (0/5000): You can diagnose the status of a Pet Beast, discover its problems, and roughly predict the progression of those problems.

Jiang Zuo used Diagnosis on a Black Stone Fish again.

"This fish is affected by an unknown external force, placing its body and mind under immense pressure. This will shorten its lifespan. Over time, this pressure will naturally decrease, but it will take a very long time."

The diagnosis result had become much more detailed.

A heavy burden would indeed shorten its lifespan.

But if its lifespan were long enough, the burden could be eliminated naturally.

However, with a fish’s lifespan, it would never live to see that day.

Getting Pet Beast Diagnosis to LV4 wouldn’t be too difficult. Jiang Zuo estimated it would be his first LV4 skill.

「...」

A new batch of two young Black Stone Fish began their cultivation. Compared to these two small fish, the Mutated Black Stone Fish was in a league of its own.

As time passed, the Mutated Black Stone Fish grew larger and larger.

It wasn’t just a little bigger; it soon became twice the size of a normal Black Stone Fish.

And the Mutated Black Stone Fish’s body was still continuing to grow.

「More than half a year later.」

Just as the new batch of Black Stone Fish was about to finish its cultivation, the Mutated Black Stone Fish’s cultivation progress reached 100%.

——Mutated Black Stone Fish: A medium-sized fish that has mutated for some reason. Lifespan: 110 years. Temperament: Gentle. Due to mutation, its Strength, Stamina, agility, and Lifespan have been greatly increased. Possesses three Talent Slots. Equipped Talents: "Learning," "Combat," "Longevity." Current Cultivation Progress: 100%.

’A 110-year lifespan! Nearly five times the size of a normal Black Stone Fish! And its stats are three to four times higher!’

This was Jiang Zuo’s first time encountering a mutated Pet Beast, and he was astounded by its power.

Compared to a regular Black Stone Fish, the changes in the Mutated Black Stone Fish were simply enormous.

Its body grew larger every day. If it could continue to grow in the future, it could become a true sea monster of the deep.

Its lifespan was also nearly five times that of a normal Black Stone Fish. Only the increase in its three stats was slightly less impressive.

But even so, the Mutated Black Stone Fish was already terrifying.

Within the Li River, no other fish was its match.

It was only a matter of time before it became the overlord of the Li River.

As the Mutated Black Stone Fish swam through the water, even schools of what looked like ferocious Black Stone Fish would consciously swim around it, as if paying homage to their emperor.

Jiang Zuo thought for a moment, then slapped a Porcupine Roar Beast Pattern onto the Mutated Black Stone Fish.

The Mutated Black Stone Fish just thrashed for a moment before returning to normal.

Already possessing a staggering size, the Mutated Black Stone Fish’s aura became even more oppressive.

Jiang Zuo then performed a diagnosis on it.

"This fish’s body is very healthy. Due to some external force, it feels a strange mental pressure, but this pressure has little effect on it."

The Mutated Black Stone Fish’s power spoke for itself; the burden of the Beast Pattern had almost no effect on it.

Jiang Zuo was a little disappointed that he didn’t have any more Night Cat’s Eye Beast Patterns, otherwise he would have definitely put one on the Mutated Black Stone Fish.

He wanted to know what effect stacking two Beast Patterns would have on it.

「Several more months passed.」

"WOOF WOOF!"

One day, while Jiang Zuo was fishing by the river, Great Black suddenly began barking wildly as he stared at the Spirit Beast Egg in the wooden doghouse.

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