Chapter 135: SHARPEN YOUR CLAWS WHILE YOU CAN

"Before your flesh can contain the flame of the Phoenix, your vessel must be forged like divine iron! Bone Tempering, Meridian Forging, Flesh Refining—you must treat your body as an immortal furnace! If you build an indestructible foundation, then when the day comes for the seal to unbind, your bloodline will no longer threaten to devour you. Instead, it will bow its head and submit to your will!"

Li Yan’s eyes darkened with cold, unyielding resolve. He looked down at his slender, pale hands. In the eyes of the outside world—in the eyes of Li Wei, Cui Ahjun, and those arrogant elders—he was now a useless cripple who could no longer advance his realm, an outer sect disgrace who had hit a dead end.

They thought he was waiting to be discarded. They had no idea that beneath the surface, he was simply laying down the foundation of a divine titan.

"I understand," Li Yan murmured, a sharp, dangerous smirk curving his lips. "Since heaven has given me this path, I will walk it to the very end. Let them believe I am powerless. The harder they look down on me now, the more satisfying it will be when I crush their bones into powder."

"Good! That is the ruthless spirit of a true master!" Xiaoxiao grinned, pleased by his fierce attitude. Then, she gestured with her chin toward the warmer corner of the space. "Now, don’t you have another troublesome little beast waiting for your attention?"

Li Yan’s gaze shifted toward the northern boundary of the Spirit Spring. There, nestled amidst a small mountain of fiery-red spirit stones and warm, volcanic jade that Li Yan had scavenged from the cave, lay the enormous demonic lizard egg.

The egg stood nearly half the height of a grown man. Its dark, iridescent shell gleamed with faint patterns of ancient scales, resembling a giant, polished dragon egg. Surrounding it was the dense, celestial mist of the timeless space, which gently swirled around the shell like a protective cocoon.

Li Yan walked over and knelt before the nest. He placed his palm against the rough, scale-like surface.

Thump... thump... thump...

A rhythmic, steady heartbeat vibrated against his skin, warm and full of life. It was remarkably stronger than when he had first found it in the freezing mountain cave.

"It seems to like the spiritual energy here," Li Yan smiled softly, his fingers tracing the contour of the shell.

"Of course it likes it!" Xiaoxiao floated above the egg, tapping its top with her sleeve. "In the mortal realm, an egg laid by a Rank Nine demonic beast would require five full years of natural incubation, braving freezing blizzards and relying only on the mother’s breath to slowly hatch. But inside this timeless space? The spiritual Qi is hundreds of times purer than the mortal world, and the Spirit Spring’s mist provides constant nourishment. According to my estimation, it won’t take more than a few months to break through its shell!"

"A few months?" Li Yan raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Will it still recognize me after it hatches? Its parents were killed by the disciples of our sect."

"Demonic beasts born from high-grade eggs possess ancient instincts," Xiaoxiao explained, landing beside him. "Right now, its consciousness is like a blank sheet of virgin parchment. It knows nothing of the outside world, nothing of its parents’ demise. The only aura it feels right now is the warmth of this space... and yours."

Xiaoxiao pointed at Li Yan’s fingertips.

"If you want this beast to become your lifelong, unwavering protector, you must perform the ’Soul-Origin Blood Binding’ before it hatches. Every three days, feed it a single drop of your essence blood mixed with Spirit Spring dew. When it finally shatters its shell, the first scent, the first soul fluctuation, and the first taste it encounters will be yours. To it, you will not just be its master—you will be its creator, its kin, its sky!"

Li Yan’s heart stirred. A Rank Nine demonic lizard! When fully matured, its scales were harder than dark iron, its venom could dissolve high-grade spiritual artifacts, and its physical might could shake mountains! Having such a terrifying beast bound to his soul would give him a lethal hidden trump card that no one in the Nine Valley Sect could ever foresee!

Without the slightest hesitation, Li Yan drew a small jade needle from his inventory pouch. He pricked the index finger of his left hand, squeezing out a single bead of bright, crimson essence blood.

Drip.

The drop of blood landed upon the crown of the giant egg. The moment it touched the shell, a brilliant flash of scarlet light erupted!

Hiss—!

The shell greedily drank the blood like parched soil absorbing summer rain. The crimson essence rapidly spread across the scale patterns, forming intricate, glowing veins of light that pulsed in perfect sync with the heartbeat within.

Thump-thump! Thump-thump!

A faint, tender sense of warmth and attachment suddenly bloomed in the depths of Li Yan’s soul, fragile yet unmistakable—like a newborn chick gently nuzzling against the palm of its parent.

Li Yan’s eyes softened as he patted the warm shell. "Grow well, little one. When you hatch, there will be plenty of enemies for you to devour."

The egg trembled lightly in response, as if understanding his words, before settling back into its warm nest of spirit stones.

Standing up, Li Yan looked across the boundless expanse of the timeless space.

Tomorrow morning, the grueling trials of physical body tempering under Fu Hanzheng would officially begin.

Outside these walls, Li Wei and Cui Ahjun were already sharpening their venomous daggers in the dark, waiting to strike at the "crippled" outer disciple.

Li Yan adjusted his plain robes, the peach wood hairpin in his hair gleaming faintly under the starry sky of the realm.

A cold, bone-chilling smile spread across his breathtaking face.

"Sharpen your claws while you can, little snakes," Li Yan whispered into the quiet air of the space, his voice dripping with murderous anticipation. "When I step out of this courtyard... we shall see who ends up being the prey."