"Qing Huai, you should go! Your tribesmen need you. I'll be fine, don't you remember my super strong defense?" Bai Qiu Shui (Xiao Wen Qiang) urged, seeing how anxious his two subordinates were.
Feng Qing Huai looked back and forth with a conflicted expression. Finally, he said, "Bai Bai, you must protect yourself. Once I've dealt with the matters of the demon realm, I will definitely come back for you!" He cast one last deep look at her, then followed Feng Yi and Feng Er, flying swiftly forward and soon disappearing from her sight...
[Wen Qiang, why don't you go to the demon realm with him and have a look?] System 86365, which had been silent for a long time, suddenly asked.
"Because I haven't mastered the last level of 'Gui Yuan'. The demon territory is complicated, so it's better to enhance my own strength first! Besides, it won't be easy for him to go back now, so I don't want to drag him down by following," Bai Qiu Shui (Xiao Wen Qiang) replied, then curiously asked the system, "86365, I haven't heard your voice in a while! Where have you been?"
[I was snatching tasks! I just grabbed a task in the Republican era, but it was intercepted by System 78965!] The system's voice was clearly annoyed.
"Can your tasks be intercepted like that? Doesn't the main system of the Time and Space Administration manage this?" Xiao Wen Qiang, hearing this for the first time, was very curious.
[As long as a soul contract isn't officially established, the task can be taken away by other systems and task-takers. Since our tasks must be completed one after another, even if a system snatches it first, it's useless if the task-taker doesn't bind to it. However, the main system usually doesn't interfere in such situations unless it escalates.]
"So, have there been any cases of the main system intervening due to task-snatching over such a long period?"
[Of course there have been! The last time was two hundred years ago. Systems 4825 and 217 and their task-takers fought over the same task, refusing to yield. As a result, they both ended up in the same mission world. This caused a supporting character to have a shared soul and constantly fight, severely disrupting the novel world. Eventually, the main system intervened, extracted both task-takers' souls, fined them five million points each, and initialized their systems to resolve the issue.]
"Is the main system that strict? And a fine of five million points! They must be really rich!" Xiao Wen Qiang's attention was involuntarily diverted.
[They are old systems and veteran task-takers, so they naturally have substantial reserves. Unlike us newcomers, so I didn't dare to argue further with 78965, for fear of attracting the main system's attention.]
"I'm sorry, 86365. It seems I've been holding you back. This task has indeed taken a long time."
[It's okay, Wen Qiang. Focus on your task! Leave the task-taking to me. That task is gone, we can take on others. I'll go to the Time and Space Administration and wait for the next one! But how do you plan to proceed with this task now?] The system had also overheard their conversation about already being in the territory of the Chaotic Land.
"I'll find a place to hide first! Didn't you say people from the three great demon kings were chasing after us?" Bai Qiu Shui (Xiao Wen Qiang) wasn't telling the system the whole truth; she actually had other plans.
[Alright, then be careful. I'm off to find the next task!] System 86365 said this and then went completely silent.
Bai Qiu Shui (Xiao Wen Qiang) had actually continued to absorb spiritual energy for the divine beast egg while walking forward with Feng Qing Huai. Later, when she exposed Feng Qing Huai, she heard the divine beast egg's voice again. It was unclear whether it was because the egg could only communicate with her telepathically, but System 86365 had not received any messages.
Bai Qiu Shui (Xiao Wen Qiang) stroked the large trees as she walked, following their guidance without hesitation. These trees were still ordinary plants and had not cultivated inner cores, nor were they formidable demons or ghosts. Therefore, their minds were exceptionally pure, and they were all truthful little dears.
After wandering for about the time it takes an incense stick to burn, Bai Qiu Shui (Xiao Wen Qiang) finally found a very hidden cave. Pushing aside the dense willow leaves, she flashed inside.
Bai Qiu Shui (Xiao Wen Qiang) sat cross-legged in the cave and secretly released some spiritual energy to envelop her head, blocking the system's detection. Although the system had said it was going to find a new task, to avoid the main system discovering the divine beast egg, she added an extra layer of security.
Then, she took out the divine beast egg, which had been making whimpering noises in her mind all along. At this point, faint cracks were already visible around the eggshell.
"Wuwuwu~ Mommy~ It's so crowded and uncomfortable in here... Dandan wants to come out..." As soon as the divine beast egg was out of its pouch, it rolled around the cave, crying incessantly.
"Dandan, are you coming out? I probably can't help you break it open, can I?" Bai Qiu Shui (Xiao Wen Qiang) remembered that egg-laying creatures like chicks and birds had to break out of their shells on their own to survive long-term.
"Dandan has no strength~ Dandan wants energy..." The divine beast egg rolled back to her hand, its entire shell trembling as it touched her palm.
Hearing this, Bai Qiu Shui (Xiao Wen Qiang) continued to absorb spiritual energy and transfer it to the divine beast egg. However, the spiritual energy here was too scarce. After absorbing for a long time, there was still no sign of the divine beast egg being able to fully break out.
"Dandan, how about I take you back to the Vast Land first? The spiritual energy there is more abundant." Bai Qiu Shui (Xiao Wen Qiang) considered going back, seeing that this wasn't working.
"No, no! Mommy, don't move Dandan, Dandan is about to come out!" The divine beast egg cried out in protest and continued to roll around the cave. However, this time it seemed to be afraid of disturbing her, and no longer wailed loudly.
With no other choice, Bai Qiu Shui (Xiao Wen Qiang) could only continue to be a spiritual energy transporter, constantly absorbing, separating, and transferring. After nearly two more hours like this, the divine beast egg finally stopped receiving spiritual energy.
As soon as she sensed the change in the divine beast egg, Bai Qiu Shui (Xiao Wen Qiang) dared to relax. Being a continuous spiritual energy transporter was truly exhausting. She felt that the mental energy consumed was countless times more than her own cultivation, as her cultivation yielded returns, whereas this was purely giving.
After stopping the intake of spiritual energy, the divine beast egg lay motionless in a corner of the cave, and even its telepathic voice disappeared.
Just as Bai Qiu Shui (Xiao Wen Qiang) began to suspect something was wrong and intended to go over and check,
Suddenly, the cracks on the divine beast egg emitted a dazzling golden light, instantly illuminating the entire cave as bright as day!