Chapter 11: The Silent Peak Awakens
The morning sun had just begun to rise over the Misty Cloud Sect, casting golden rays across the endless mountain peaks. Silent Peak, once forgotten and feared for its cold stillness, now hummed faintly with spiritual energy, as though something ancient was awakening.
Under a gnarled peach tree on the peak's summit, Lin Mo sat lazily on a bamboo chair, sipping tea and pretending to meditate. His robes fluttered slightly despite the absence of wind. He looked at peace, but in truth, he was just enjoying the warm tea and silence.
A rustle interrupted the quiet. Luo Yixue appeared, carrying a glowing golden egg carefully in both hands. Her eyes were wide with curiosity.
"Senior Brother," she said, holding it out, "this egg… it's warm, and it's glowing. What is it?"
Lin Mo glanced at it, unfazed. "Oh, that? Probably a divine beast egg or something. The system threw it at me after I finished some random mission. I forgot about it."
Her jaw dropped. "You… forgot about it?"
He sipped his tea. "It happens."
Ding! [Divine Beast Egg – Incubation Activated]
Luo Yixue looked at the egg with wonder, then hugged it close to her chest. "Can I keep it?"
Lin Mo nodded. "Go ahead. It likes your warmth anyway."
She smiled like she'd just adopted a baby.
"I'll name it later. After I see if it grows scales or feathers."
"Make sure it doesn't grow a beard," Lin Mo muttered.
---
A few hours later, Luo Yixue sat under the tree with the egg beside her as she practiced her cultivation. A chilly aura slowly formed around her, blue mist rising like frost from her palms.
Lin Mo watched from a distance, his expression calm. "Her frost spiritual veins are awakening faster than expected."
He picked up a stick and pointed lazily. "Left hand's mudra is wrong again. Thumb below the ring finger."
Luo Yixue pouted. "I was close!"
"Close gets you exploded in real battles."
She adjusted her posture and tried again. This time, the frost around her body deepened in color, a sign of resonance.
Lin Mo raised an eyebrow. "Good. Now circulate the energy from your dantian to your meridians."
Luo Yixue followed his instructions, brows furrowed in concentration. Her body trembled slightly as spiritual energy coursed through her. Despite the discomfort, she endured.
Ding! [Luo Yixue has completed her First Spiritual Circulation!] [Reward unlocked: Heaven-Grade Qi Condensation Pill ×1]
Lin Mo muttered to himself, "She's got guts. Not bad."
After a while, she collapsed onto the grass, panting. "I… I did it. I completed the full cycle."
He nodded, tossing her a pill bottle. "Swallow one. Heaven-grade Qi Condensation Pill. Don't chew it."
Her eyes widened. "This is worth… tens of thousands of spirit stones!"
"Your life is worth more. Probably. Don't waste my pill."
She smiled weakly. "Yes, Master."
Lin Mo leaned back against the tree and stared at the sky. "Silent Peak's no longer silent."
---
The golden egg beside Luo Yixue suddenly pulsed with light. She gasped and hugged it protectively.
"It moved!" she exclaimed.
Lin Mo stood, walked over, and touched it gently. The egg felt warm—alive. A faint mental whisper echoed in his mind.
"Hungry…"
He blinked. "It spoke."
Luo Yixue's eyes widened. "What?"
"It's asking for spiritual energy. Try pouring a bit of Qi into it."
She placed her hand on the egg and focused. A soft glow surrounded it. It trembled slightly, then went still.
Ding! [Divine Beast Egg – Energy Absorbed Successfully] [Bonding Progress: 27%]
"It's… content?" she asked.
"Looks like it," Lin Mo said. "You're now a beast mother."
She grinned. "Then I'll protect it."
---
That night, the stars sparkled above Silent Peak. Luo Yixue sat quietly, meditating with the egg on her lap. Lin Mo lay nearby, staring at the sky.
"So peaceful," he murmured.
A faint voice echoed in his head again.
"You're doing well, Lin Mo. Better than the last one."
He groaned. "Not you again."
"You're fun to watch. I didn't expect you to raise a disciple, a divine egg, and your own reputation all at once."
"I'm not your puppet."
"Of course not. You're free — and that's what entertains me the most."
The voice faded, leaving behind a subtle warmth.
Lin Mo glanced at Luo Yixue. "You're growing fast… but that means danger will find us faster too."
The egg gave a faint crack.
He narrowed his eyes. "Something's coming."
The night wind whispered through the peach blossoms, and for the first time in years, Silent Peak pulsed with life.
Chapter 12: Trouble Comes Knocking
The early morning breeze carried the scent of peach blossoms across Silent Peak. Birds chirped, the sky blushed with light, and a gentle warmth filled the courtyard. Luo Yixue sat with the golden egg in her lap, humming softly as she fed it gentle streams of spiritual energy.
She had wrapped the egg in a small blanket and even drawn two little eyes on it with charcoal.
Lin Mo stared at it from across the courtyard, holding a steamed bun halfway to his mouth.
"…Did you draw a face on the divine egg?"
She smiled innocently. "So it doesn't feel lonely."
Lin Mo bit into the bun. "You're raising a beast or babysitting a cabbage?"
Just as she opened her mouth to respond, a sharp gust of wind swept over the peak. A red talisman bird landed on the stone railing with a piercing cry, dropping a scroll bound with the Misty Cloud Sect's elder seal.
Lin Mo casually caught it and broke the seal.
His brows twitched. "Ugh. A sect meeting?"
"Is something wrong?" Luo Yixue asked.
"Elder Council summoned all inner sect seniors to the Sky Mirror Hall." He stuffed the scroll into his robe. "Looks like some big shot is visiting. Or someone's stirred the pot."
Ding!
[New Mission: Attend the Sect Assembly without causing chaos. Reward: Unknown]
"…No promises," he muttered.
---
Half an hour later, Lin Mo strolled into the grand Sky Mirror Hall, arriving last, of course.
Rows of elders sat in silence. A few inner disciples stood to the side, backs straight like spears. Lin Mo yawned loudly, earning glares from a few stern old fogeys.
"Lin Mo," Elder Hu snapped, "you dare come late?"
"Time is a concept, Elder Hu," Lin Mo said with a lazy smile. "I merely arrived fashionably."
Elder Hu's beard twitched.
"Silence!" the Grand Elder barked from the central platform. "Let us begin."
The atmosphere turned heavy.
A tall man stepped forward, dressed in dark blue robes with a black emblem of a phoenix blazing across the chest. His expression was calm, but his eyes gleamed coldly.
"This is Jin Yu of the Thunderfire Pavilion," the Grand Elder announced. "He is here as a guest."
Jin Yu bowed slightly. "I greet the elders of Misty Cloud Sect. I have come seeking a missing heirloom of our Pavilion. According to our diviners, it is… here."
The room shifted. Everyone looked around. Murmurs began to rise.
Lin Mo scratched his head. "That's awkward."
Jin Yu's eyes narrowed. "I sense it faintly—power sealed in an ancient beast egg."
Lin Mo's expression froze. Then he smiled. "Eggs? I've had plenty for breakfast. Would you like one?"
The hall went quiet.
"…You mock me?" Jin Yu's aura surged.
Ding!
[Warning: Host has offended a Core Realm cultivator. Advice: Pretend to be clueless or apologize with dignity.]
Lin Mo ignored the message. "I mock everyone equally. Don't take it personally."
An elder coughed violently behind him.
Jin Yu's gaze darkened. "You joke, but this is serious. I request permission to search Silent Peak."
The Grand Elder hesitated.
Lin Mo's smile faded.
"My home is not a public latrine," he said coldly. "No one enters unless I say so."
The entire hall shifted again. Lin Mo's usual lazy air was gone—his eyes sharp, voice icy.
Jin Yu stared at him. "You think you can stop me?"
"I don't think," Lin Mo said. "I know."
For a moment, the pressure between the two men collided. The roof creaked.
Then the Grand Elder quickly raised a hand. "Enough! Jin Yu, this is not Thunderfire Pavilion. We will investigate the matter ourselves."
Jin Yu's expression was unreadable. "Very well. But I will be watching."
He turned and left the hall, his presence lingering like thunderclouds.
---
Back at Silent Peak, Lin Mo arrived to find Luo Yixue asleep under the tree. The egg rested in her lap, still glowing faintly.
He sat beside her and gently flicked her forehead.
"Wake up. Bad people might come sniffing around."
She stirred. "Eh… bad people?"
"Trouble's coming. Maybe soon." He looked at the egg, now giving off faint sparks of golden light. "You're more than just a random egg, aren't you?"
The egg pulsed once.
Ding!
[Divine Beast Egg — Hatching Progress: 33%]
He sighed. "I knew it. I always get the weird pets."
The wind whispered through the trees. Silent Peak, once dead and cold, now stood alive—and watched.