Wei Yunxi's words caught everyone's attention. All eyes turned to her, waiting for what she would say next.
Mu Ningzhu's gaze brightened, and she asked directly, "Yunxi, do you know why the eggs won't hatch?"
Wei Yunxi touched her forehead and said, "I have a theory."
"Would you be willing to share it?"
After taking a moment to organize her thoughts, Wei Yunxi spoke, "These eggs aren't fertilized."
The others blinked in confusion. Some were already asking aloud,
"Fertilized?"
"What does that mean?"
Wei Yunxi felt a little awkward explaining this at her age, so she changed tack, "Before I joined the sect, I was a young lady of the Wei family. I had maidservants to attend to me. They were mortals, and once they told me that the eggs we ate each day were laid by hens. But hens would kick out the ones that couldn't hatch and only keep the viable ones in the nest.
Those hatchable eggs came after hens had been with roosters. Only then could the eggs be incubated successfully."
She wasn't sure if her explanation made sense, but that was the general idea.
Mu Ningzhu caught on quickly and murmured thoughtfully, "You're saying this three-headed snake laid the eggs alone, without mating with a male snake, so they can't be hatched?"
"Yes, that's what I mean. Unless this second-rank snake is both male and female, the eggs may have demonic energy, but they're ultimately lifeless. Just like mortals, without the union of yin and yang, there can be no offspring."
Their short exchange helped the others piece things together. Once they understood why the eggs wouldn't hatch, they were even more distressed. How were they supposed to explain this to the snake?
Qin Tongshuang frowned, "So what now? Should we try explaining the reason to the snake?"
"No!"
"Absolutely not!"
"Don't even think about it!"
Mu Ningzhu, Wei Yunxi, and Zhang Yan all spoke at once, firmly rejecting the idea.
The others also shook their heads. Mu Ningzhu elaborated, "If we keep quiet, we can still pretend to be incubating the eggs and buy time until Senior Brother Sheng finds us. But if we tell the truth, we'll be snake food in seconds."
Qin Tongshuang pressed her lips together, realizing she'd lost her usual composure. She fell silent.
Wei Yunxi understood how she felt. After nearly a month trapped in this lightless cave, always living in fear, anyone's mind would start to unravel.
She turned to Mu Ningzhu and said, "Martial Uncle Mu, let's hold on a bit longer. Senior Brother Long Daoyu didn't get caught. He must have already informed Martial Uncle Sheng. All we can do now is wait."
Mu Ningzhu nodded and gestured to the others. The cavern quieted again as everyone resumed meditation, clutching the eggs to their chests. This time, however, they stopped infusing spiritual energy into them, choosing instead to slowly replenish what they had lost.
Since the snake had ordered them to hatch the eggs, it hadn't confiscated their storage pouches. It knew that spiritual energy couldn't be poured out indefinitely. When cultivators reached exhaustion, they needed pills and spirit stones to recover. That was what their pouches were for.
Although they had already spent a good portion of their pills and stones over the past month, Wei Yunxi was certain everyone had kept a few hidden reserves. No one would burn through their life-saving supplies so easily.
Wei Yunxi also closed her eyes and began cultivating, operating the Foundation Establishment stage technique from Thousand Shadows Riding the Wind. After one incense stick's time, she opened her eyes again. She had sensed pure spiritual energy gently flowing into her meridians from the underground environment as she circulated her technique.
Then, cautiously, she released her spiritual sense and began to explore the cavern, bit by bit. Even if they were waiting to be rescued, she refused to stay passive.
Because her root was wind-aligned, her spiritual sense spread quietly like drifting wind, carefully avoiding the awareness of the others and the three-headed snake.
Elsewhere, Long Daoyu, after launching the distress talisman, had immediately turned and fled, afraid he might be the next target.
When Sheng Yuhong's party saw the emergency signal erupt not far from them, their figures blurred as they rushed toward the disturbance.
Sheng Yuhong was the first to catch up with the running Long Daoyu and said, "You released the distress talisman?"
Seeing that it was Sheng Yuhong who had appeared beside him, Long Daoyu stopped and bowed respectfully. "Yes, Martial Uncle Sheng. I sent the signal. Just now, Little Sister Wei was dragged underground."
Sheng Yuhong frowned. "No need for formality. Tell me exactly what happened."
"Yes, sir!"
Though slightly flustered in front of a senior he deeply admired, Long Daoyu knew time was critical. He kept it brief and laid out the facts.
"You're saying that Junior Sister was taken at the Fire Dragon Grass area?"
"Yes, absolutely. I saw her with my own eyes being pulled underground by a snake's tail."
A Foundation Establishment junior cultivator beside Sheng Yuhong, Du Yuling, speculated, "Senior Brother Sheng, could it be the same snake we saw in the Retrospection Mirror?"
Sheng Yuhong rubbed his fingers thoughtfully. "Most likely. It seems this beast is quite clever. It never showed itself while we were surveying the incident site earlier."
"Of course it didn't dare, not with Senior Brother Sheng around."
Long Daoyu immediately flattered him, and for once, no one objected.
Sheng Yuhong narrowed his eyes and said coldly, "Then we'll return now. I don't care how deep it hides. We're digging that thing out."
"Yes!"
Long Daoyu answered the loudest as they all turned back to the Fire Dragon Grass field.
This time, there was no need for Sheng Yuhong to give orders. The Foundation Establishment cultivators spread their spiritual sense over the shattered ground, searching inch by inch.
Because of the commotion earlier, other cultivators and beastfolk had gathered nearby, but none dared approach due to Sheng Yuhong's late-stage Foundation Establishment aura.
"Senior Brother Sheng, I found something."
Du Yuling was the first to call out.
Sheng Yuhong flashed to her side. "What did you notice, Junior Sister Du?"
Du Yuling pointed to the ground. "The soil here is looser than elsewhere. And I smell a strong odor unique to snake-type beasts."
With a flick of his wrist, Sheng Yuhong summoned a spirit sword into his hand. He stabbed it into the ground, paused to sense something, then said decisively, "Tunnel below. This must be the path leading to the three-headed snake's lair."
"Understood, Senior Brother!"
At his command, the others activated their earth-burrowing techniques and disappeared underground.
Long Daoyu, not wanting to fall behind, slapped a Tunneling Talisman onto himself and dove in after them.
Sheng Yuhong, using his wide-ranging spiritual sense, quickly located the tunnel carved by the three-headed snake.
A group of six, plus Long Daoyu, entered the tunnel within a quarter hour. Their intrusion disturbed the lair, alerting the second-rank three-headed snake. All three heads stirred at once, eyes snapping open as its forked tongues flicked out. It slithered from its den, clearly agitated.
"Senior Brother Sheng, which way should we go?" Du Yuling asked.
"Junior Sister Du, we split up. Whoever finds something sends a signal. We'll regroup before making a move."
"Understood."
Du Yuling picked two close sisters and chose one direction. Long Daoyu, without hesitation, followed Sheng Yuhong down the opposite path.
Fifteen minutes later, Sheng Yuhong's team ran into the three-headed snake lurking in the depths of the tunnel.