Li Xuan's body descended through a trail of falling light, streaking across the gray sky like a meteor slicing through the clouds. For a moment, he felt weightless, the wind rushing past his ears — then the pressure hit. It crushed down on his lungs, forcing the air from his chest and making his ribs tremble.
The teleportation spell was strange. It wasn't the refined kind used by great sages who could rip space apart and bend it into a wormhole.
He hit the ground hard. His boots sank slightly into the soil, his knees bending under the shock. For a moment, he staggered, clutching his chest and gasping in short, painful breaths.
When he looked around, the forest of Mingdu stretched in a quiet circle, scattered with trees about a meter apart, their thin trunks crooked and old. Light filtered through gaps in the canopy, spilling across the moss and roots in pale golden streaks.
The place was calm.
He was far from home now at least several kilometers, maybe more from Mingdu State Soul Academy. This was farther than he had ever been alone, and the thought settled in his chest with an odd heaviness.
All around stank with a smell that made his nostrils twitch in disgust.
He outstretched his hand, and a sword at least a meter long materialized.
It felt like he had just landed in a compost pit; the smell intensified with every step he took. Li Xuan reached up and pinched his nose tight to keep out the stench.
Just as he took another step, his foot sank into something with a crack.
He looked down and realized his leg had sunk into a gummy, sticky green liquid instead of solid ground. Beneath it was a shell. He might have noticed it earlier if it hadn't resembled its surroundings so well.
Li Xuan pulled out his leg with ease and crouched down. Holding his breath, he released his nose and reached toward the shell.
He rubbed his finger against it and brought it to his nostrils. The stench hit him so hard he almost vomited.
"This is an eggshell… of a magical beast."
His breath caught in his throat.
His eyes narrowed as he scanned the area. Green smoke rose continuously from the forest floor.
"You must be kidding me," he cursed as realization struck him.
He jerked upright as if stung.
"This is an egg nest…" he muttered, barely believing his own words.
He raised his sword and ran his fingertips along its surface, igniting it with a rusty brown pink flame. Then he swung it, letting spiritual energy wash over his surroundings.
The veil of green smoke shattered instantly, revealing a small valley filled with eggs stuck together in the same green liquid. Li Xuan guessed the liquid was the source of the stench but now, he had far greater things to worry about.
He frowned. If he stayed here a minute longer, he didn't expect to leave alive.
He took another step, and his foot sank deep into another shell, cracking it open. He grimaced. There was no way he would get out of here without breaking at least a hundred eggs out of the thousands around him.
According to records, certain magical beasts mostly serpent types laid large clusters of eggs, but it was rare to find such a nest anywhere near Mingdu.
To avoid crushing any more, he began hopping lightly from one sticky patch to another. Luckily, the green substance was firm enough that his boots didn't sink too deep, though he had to lift his foot quickly every time to avoid getting stuck.
"This is just my goddamn luck… who expected so many things to go haywire in one day," he muttered under his breath.
Everything was going wrong , first the vice chancellor then Xiao Fengqi, and now this. Things couldn't possibly get worse… yet they always did. He kept his mouth shut to avoid cursing his own luck any further.
He leapt again and landed on a slick, sticky patch that sent him tumbling forward. He hit the surface face-first, his head smashing into an eggshell that cracked open beneath him. The shell was filled with more foul-smelling liquid, an embryo still forming at its center.
"Fuck," he hissed through clenched teeth, wiping the slime from his lips but it had already seeped into his mouth. It tasted like rotten eggs.
He spat repeatedly, rubbing his tongue against his sleeve in disgust.
Li Xuan pressed his hands into the liquid, trying to push himself up, but slipped again and landed face-flat with a wet smack.
Too tired to curse anymore, he simply reached for his sword, which had fallen nearby. Stretching his arm, he gripped the hilt firmly and used it to push himself up. The blade sank into the ground — or what he thought was ground — until it struck something that rang out like metal.
The instant it did, a surge of lightning-like energy shot through his hand, up his spine, and into his eyes.
Li Xuan froze. His right side went completely numb. His hand lost strength, releasing the sword. He nearly fell again but caught himself on a broken shell.
There was no pain but just a tingling sensation that crawled through his body, almost like someone was tickling him from the inside.
He couldn't stay here. The longer he lingered, the higher his chances of dying became.
He tried to stand, but the shell supporting his hand cracked open, sending him face-first into the egg's sticky contents. Between the stench and the strange lightning still coursing through him, his vision swam and then darkness claimed him.
Li Xuan lay there in the gooey mess, half of his body submerged in the green slime that held the eggs together.
Minutes passed. Then hours. He didn't move.
If this was punishment, then whoever designed it had certainly overdone it.
"Sir," a voice called out.
A man holding a staff marched toward another figure dressed in black. The second man stood with his hands clasped neatly behind his back, the metallic claws on his gloves glinting in the golden-orange evening light.
"Sir," the man repeated, stopping beside him. They stood atop a tall building, gazing toward the forest canopy in the distance.
The man in black wore a mask with no eyeholes , just a smooth surface humming faintly with spiritual energy.
"What?" His voice was soft but thunderous.
"It's been six hours," the man with the staff said carefully. Each word seemed measured, as though afraid to offend.
"Maybe we should—"
"Maybe we should what?" the masked man cut him off, turning his head slightly. Even without eyes, his stare carried weight.
"Just a suggestion," the subordinate murmured, stepping back.
"Don't worry. I'll handle the matter myself." The masked man turned back toward the forest. When he sighed, black smoke leaked from the mask, curling like dark mist.
Back in the forest, Li Xuan still lay motionless, his face half-submerged in the liquid. There was no way he was breathing yet his fingers twitched.
A narrow shaft of sunlight pierced through the canopy, casting a dim glow on his soaked figure. His legs had sunk deeper into the slime, leaving his upper body leaning against a cracked shell.
His fingers twitched again. Slowly, his head shifted. He tried to move but couldn't feel his lower body. Through the film of green fluid, he could make out something coiled in the center of the broken shell. If he were an ordinary human, the bacteria in this liquid alone would have melted his eyes.
He clenched his hands on the shell's edge and lifted himself up , just as another crack split through it.
His consciousness returned slowly. A faint clicking sound echoed around him, vibrating through the ground. He tried to move again but barely managed an inch; his legs were still trapped.
There were more problems than he could count, and the sunlight was fading fast. Darkness crept through the Mingdu forest.
"How long have I been out?" he muttered under his breath, his head turning toward his trapped legs.
"Damn it," he cursed softly, even though he had promised not to tempt fate again.
He struggled to pull his legs free, managing only a slight shift. The clicking grew louder, startling him. Li Xuan turned his gaze toward the sound. The ground trembled faintly, as though something massive was stirring below but there was no earthquake.
His spirit sword glimmered faintly nearby. Being a spirit weapon, it had heightened senses of energy and will far beyond his control. His cultivation was still too weak. Even as a Five-Turn Spirit Lord, he was barely scratching the surface of true power.
He exhaled and gathered what strength he could. Spiritual energy exploded from his body, coiling around his legs, easing his struggle as he pulled free from the green muck. His chest heaved from exhaustion and from the unbearable stench.
With spiritual energy flowing through him, movement became easier — but the heat of it made the slime hiss and melt, pulling him down again.
Li Xuan reached toward his sword, his hand hovering above its hilt. He hesitated. He'd be damned if he repeated the same mistake.
He narrowed his eyes, focusing on the spot where the blade was stuck. Spiritual light flickered in his pupils. The energy radiating from below was wild and it made his blood boil.
"Magical beast embryonic stem essence," he gasped, his legs sinking deeper into the glowing green liquid.
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