Chapter 26: Hatching

Ever since that day when Aunt Ju’s words had stung her, Hansu had not left the house. She sent her parents a message talisman, claiming she was entering seclusion, and shut herself away in the cultivation chamber, refusing to come out. She sat in meditation for days on end—she could no longer count how many—and yet felt no progress in her cultivation. At last, Hansu ceased this nearly self-punishing routine, but she still had no desire to venture outside. She hadn’t fully come to terms with her situation; she kept thinking that if she simply stayed in, she would not have to face the myriad unknown challenges awaiting her. She truly didn’t understand how someone as indolent as herself could have been chosen to bear such a burden. Was this not a case of disaster descending unbidden while one sat quietly at home? Why was it her who had to do this? There were so many people in the world, surely many with grand ambitions—why not choose them instead?

Unable to unravel this knot, Hansu decided not to dwell on it any longer. She unearthed her collection of treasures and began to play with them one by one. Over the years, thanks solely to the gifts from her elders, she had amassed considerable wealth. Many items meant to be used only after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage had been kept aside by her parents for safekeeping, but even so, she already had an entire storage pouch filled with magical tools suitable for the Qi Refining stage. Yet, despite their abundance, Hansu rarely used these tools. Her aversion to trouble was to blame; she simply didn’t have the patience to familiarize herself with each one and refine them all individually. Thus, after acquiring a new tool, she would merely examine its properties, and only those particularly excellent or pleasing to her would she actually refine. The rest—those with overlapping properties or that were simply average—were tossed into the pouch to gather dust.

After playing for a while, her interest waned once more. Listlessly sifting through her collection, Hansu’s hand suddenly landed on a jade token. This was the very token the Nascent Soul ancestor had claimed contained the aura of an immortal palace. After obtaining it, she had shown it to her parents, but none of them could discern any hidden mysteries. Even after trying to bind it with her blood, there had been no reaction. She’d even made a special trip to the library to find a secret manual on refining magical items, but the token remained utterly inert. Hansu had long since given up on it.

Just then, a ripple stirred within her spiritual sea—she sensed her Mystical Fire Spirit Beast’s egg. Ever since that day when she had successfully infused it with spiritual energy, she had repeated the process every day. According to the little creature’s estimate, it was about to hatch. Hansu quickly set aside the jade token and took out the egg.

A faint voice sounded in her mind, “Master, I’m going to hatch today. Please infuse me with spiritual energy as before, but I’ll need more this time. Set up a Spirit Gathering Array first.”

“I thought you said it would take two years?” Hansu asked. The Mystical Fire Spirit Beast sounded a little embarrassed for once, replying, “I thought so, but haven’t you noticed? With your daily help, your spiritual energy has grown purer and there’s less wastage.”

That did seem to be true. Hansu decided not to dwell on it. The sooner it hatched, the happier she would be.

Excitement finally surged within her—this little fellow was finally about to break out of its shell. She had waited for so many months. Her heart raced and her hands moved with practiced efficiency. Not only did she set up a Spirit Gathering Array, but also an Isolation Array and several others—after all, she had plenty of array disks.

Once the array disks were set, she placed spirit stones to activate them. The cultivation chamber was instantly sealed off in layers, and the spiritual energy within grew ever denser. Hansu sat cross-legged, following the routine she had performed daily for hundreds of days: using telekinesis to float the egg in the air, then wrapping it in icy spiritual energy, compressing her fire energy into a thin thread to pierce the icy barrier and channel it inside.

Though the Spirit Gathering Array helped, spiritual energy still drained rapidly. Thankfully, she had already placed a top-grade Purifying Pellet within arm’s reach. Without hesitation, she split a wisp of her consciousness to guide the pellet into her mouth. This telekinetic technique was Hansu’s own invention—she had once run to her parents, delighted to show off her discovery. Only later did she learn that such a spell already existed, though it was difficult for low-level cultivators whose spiritual sense was not strong enough. Among true Nascent Soul masters and above, a single thought could even injure their foes.

So she curbed her smugness and obediently studied the tome “Telekinesis with Spiritual Sense.” Looking back on her cultivation journey, at least this skill was finally proving its worth.