"It's hatched!" Su Luo exclaimed with surprise.
The white eggshell, enveloped in flames, cracked completely, and a small, wet creature emerged.
Soon, its red feathers were dried by the flames, and it became spirited. Like a large chick, it opened its round eyes and chirped incessantly, as if calling for something.
Holding the fire phoenix chick, about the size of a dove, the Fourth Elder acted as if he had found a treasure. After a brief scan, he exclaimed joyfully, "Su girl, this little one, it's actually a mutated fire phoenix!"
As soon as he finished speaking, it spewed a ball of flame from its mouth, nearly scorching his hand.
The Fourth Elder and Su Luo were so excited they were about to shout.
This special breeding method was indeed amazing, managing to upgrade an ordinary fire phoenix into a mutated fire phoenix.
Its combat power was about thirty to fifty percent higher than an ordinary fire phoenix. Although it still couldn't compare to a once-in-a-million Phoenix King, it was already an absolute powerhouse among its kind.
"Su girl, we succeeded!"
"Fourth Grandfather, we succeeded!"
The old and young one held hands, jumping and shouting with excitement, only calming down after a while.
The Fourth Elder called over an outer disciple and pointed to the fire phoenix chick, saying, "See this? This is a newly hatched mutated fire phoenix. Consider yourself lucky; I'm giving it to you."
The outer disciple was stunned, "Fourth Elder, this..."
"I'm in a good mood today, so I'm giving it to you. No contribution points needed, hahahaha... Hurry up and drip blood to recognize your master!" The Fourth Elder slapped the outer disciple with a laugh.
He was both surprised and delighted, never expecting such good fortune to befall him so suddenly.
"Thank you, Fourth Elder, thank you, Fourth Elder!" The outer disciple expressed his immense gratitude, quickly dripped blood to recognize his master, and then happily left with the little fire phoenix.
Yay! Fortune descended from the sky. He had to hurry and show off to the outer disciples!
Let everyone envy him.
In the breeding room, Su Luo and the Fourth Elder exchanged a look and burst into laughter again.
"Fourth Grandfather, can we raise our prices now?"
"Hahahaha... Su girl, you are truly amazing, to have obtained the method for breeding spirit beasts from Emperor Haotian's diary. You'll be credited with a great achievement this time."
Thinking of the bright future of Qingxu Heaven, the Fourth Elder's beard twitched with joy. "Even Fourth Grandfather is benefiting from you. You are truly the treasure of our Qingxu Heaven! Alas, at my age, about to enter the earth, I only now learned such a miraculous method. My past hundred years have been lived in vain. Wuwuwu..."
Tears streamed down his face in excitement, leaving Su Luo flustered as she quickly tried to comfort him.
The Fourth Elder wiped his tears and smiled again. "Fourth Grandfather is happy. Su girl, since you came to Qingxu Heaven, Fourth Grandfather feels it's better than before."
Su Luo smiled gently. "Fourth Grandfather, let's eat quickly. We can continue tomorrow. Once all these spirit beast eggs are upgraded with the new method, we can sell them at a high price to the Taichu Holy Land."
The Fourth Elder said proudly, "If they're unwilling, we won't sell them. Hmph!"
The next day, the wind was light and the clouds were thin.
Shui Qingyue went to find Li Tianjue early in the morning, asking him to accompany her to visit Yuxu City.
As they reached the mountain gate, Chu Tianshu and Lu Jixing caught up: "Senior Brother, wait for us..."
"Why are you here?"
Shui Qingyue was somewhat displeased but couldn't openly express it.
Chu Tianshu said with a serious expression, "The Saintess has traveled a long distance. A few Elders were worried that Senior Brother would not be able to host you alone, so they sent us two to accompany you. Yuxu City is also under this Prince's jurisdiction. If the Saintess wishes to visit anywhere or buy anything, we can also offer advice."
His words were enthusiastic and thoughtful, and coupled with Chu Tianshu being the Crown Prince of the Beiming Empire, Shui Qingyue found it difficult to show him any displeasure.
Lu Jixing whispered a telepathic message to Li Tianjue: "Senior Brother, the First Elder said that with us accompanying you, it would be harder for the Saintess to seduce you. Don't worry, I guarantee she won't be able to pull any tricks."
Li Tianjue felt a mix of amusement and relief.
"By the way, where is Su Luo? She usually loves lively occasions, why isn't she clamoring to go too?" Not seeing that girl accompanying them, he felt a subtle disappointment. It really didn't seem like her personality.
"Junior Sister was with the Fourth Elder all day yesterday and just went again. She must have something on."
"Mm, that's fine."
Li Tianjue withdrew his thoughts and then summoned the flying spirit boat, taking Shui Qingyue and the other two towards Yuxu City.
The prosperity of the city, the cultivators, merchants, and peddlers coming and going, as well as the uniquely decorated shops and the goods for sale, were nothing Shui Qingyue hadn't seen before.
But she browsed with great interest, because the person she liked most was by her side.
After browsing for nearly two hours, from morning to noon, Chu Tianshu and Lu Jixing stayed close to Shui Qingyue, brimming with enthusiasm and eagerness, leaving Shui Qingyue with little opportunity to speak to Li Tianjue.
Li Tianjue was polite throughout. If Shui Qingyue didn't ask, he would never speak, infuriating her to the point where she wished she could dismiss Lu Jixing and Chu Tianshu.
It was all these two nuisances' fault; otherwise, Elder Brother Li would definitely not treat her this way!
At this moment, the four were in a shop selling magical artifacts. Shui Qingyue picked up an exquisite rose hairpin and placed it on her head, asking Li Tianjue gently, "Elder Brother Li, do you think I look good wearing this?"
Lu Jixing immediately said, "Yes, Saintess looks good in anything. Let's take this one!"
Shui Qingyue glanced at him askance, "I'm asking Elder Brother Li."
Li Tianjue then replied, "It's fine."
After looking in the mirror for a while, Shui Qingyue changed to another one. "Elder Brother Li, how about this one?"
Li Tianjue: "Not bad."
But Shui Qingyue still felt a little unsatisfied. She changed to another one. "I think this one is the prettiest. Elder Brother Li, what do you think?"
Li Tianjue: "Either is fine."
Shui Qingyue was somewhat displeased and pretended to pout, "Elder Brother Li, I just wanted to hear your opinion, but you're being so perfunctory."
Li Tianjue remained silent, his gentle smile also retracting. Seeing this, Shui Qingyue became anxious, "Elder Brother Li, don't be angry. I was just saying casually, I'm not really blaming you. I'll take this one then."
The shopkeeper's face immediately lit up with a smile. "This sixth-grade magical artifact hairpin is priced at four million five hundred and eighty thousand. As a new customer, old man will give you a discount and charge you four million."
Shui Qingyue hummed in response, waiting for Li Tianjue to pay.
But none of the three men spoke.
After a moment, the shopkeeper urged again, "Miss, four million. Will you be paying in cash or..."
Shui Qingyue finally realized, her pretty face blushing. "Elder Brother Li!"
Li Tianjue said lightly, "Apologies, Saintess, I did not bring much money with me."
Shui Qingyue felt embarrassed.
She then looked at the two beside her. Chu Tianshu directly said, "Saintess, if you really like it, pay quickly. It's already past noon. I know a restaurant up ahead with exceptionally delicious food. I'll take the Saintess to try it later."
Lu Jixing chuckled, "You're talking about that Wang Ji Baozi shop, right? It's exquisite. I can eat eight of their big meat buns in one sitting!"
Shui Qingyue's face turned dark.
Not only would they not buy her a hairpin, but they also expected her to eat buns for sustenance?
Is this the hospitality of Qingxu Heaven!
"I don't want it anymore!" Angrily, she pulled off the hairpin, threw it down, and turned to leave.