A Guide to Incubating Eggs in the Stars

by Usui Takumii

not mine, asia novel. Beware edited mtl and bl. Also at ao3. Ongoing.

12. 98 to 108

Chapter 98

Bai Xiaoyu looked at the two planets. Although he had passed, there wasn't a single nursery under his banner.

He was a bit puzzled. "Is this possible?"

Lou Hao: "It is possible. I estimate that the new nurseries will be placed under our Pharmacy Department soon."

Bai Xiaoyu: "Looks like it'll take some time. The new potions here need to be put on the Star Network for other edge-star nurseries..."

Before he could finish speaking, his optical brain notified him that both planets now had a direct-affiliate nursery each.

Immediately afterward, the governors of both planets contacted Bai Xiaoyu, stating they would arrange for people to build the nurseries in their planet's Pharmacy Department and asked Bai Xiaoyu if he had any requirements, hoping to have them completed as soon as possible so that the many nurseries on their planets could get their eggs taken care of...

This left Bai Xiaoyu stunned. Their Pharmacy Department only had one newly built nursery, probably without even a single egg. Wasn't this exaggeration a bit too much?

Lou Hao's expression showed no surprise, as Bai Xiaoyu was usually too busy, leaving the pharmacy store's affairs to him. What Bai Xiaoyu didn't know was that, currently, on these few planets they had entered, besides their direct-affiliate nurseries, many non-direct-affiliate nurseries also came to purchase potions.

These two planets were likely the same; as long as one nursery was directly affiliated with their Pharmacy Department, all nurseries on the entire planet benefited.

Lou Hao explained the situation. "So you think every day when our Pharmacy Department restocks and sells out immediately, it's because of what? However, due to the potion quantity issue, only some nurseries can grab them. For these two planets, I plan to list the amount corresponding to the nurseries Huang's occupies. What do you think?"

Replacing Huang's potion market on several planets continuously brought Lou Hao immense satisfaction. After waiting so long, he could finally make Huang's suffer. And this was just the beginning.

Bai Xiaoyu nodded. "You handle this aspect; no need to ask me."

Lou Hao looked at his boss who always avoided such matters, his lips twitching slightly. But thinking about how he was busy from morning till late night, he understood the headache.

The Pharmacy Departments on these two new planets were fully built in just three days. When Lou Hao delivered the potions, he was startled by the many cultivators waiting at the pharmacy gates and the cheering residents of the planet.

Many of these residents were fans of Bai Xiaoyu's live stream, some even considering immigrating to Bai Xiaoyu's planet to lay their eggs for him to nurture. Others knew about the high-quality potions from Fireseed and came to show their welcome.

Lou Hao was almost overwhelmed by the enthusiastic cultivators and residents. All the listed potions sold out in moments.

He wasn't surprised, but checking the backend, he found that ninety percent of the nurseries buying the potions were directly affiliated with Huang's Pharmacy.

Lou Hao smiled, a smile filled with unrestrained arrogance.

On the other side, Huang's Pharmacy Department, which hadn't opened for business all day, faced a gloomy evening. Not just today, but for the past three consecutive days, their potion sales had plummeted, dropping to less than one-tenth of their usual numbers. Today, it was even worse, falling to zero.

This had never happened before.

Upon investigation, they discovered that all their direct-affiliate nurseries had run to Fireseed, the new supplier, to buy potions!

In the following days, their Pharmacy Department saw no customers, deserted for an entire week.

They urgently reported this up the chain, and were instructed to sell the potions at a discount to salvage the situation. Thus, the prices of the potions kept dropping, but they still couldn't compete with the A-grade and above potions provided by Fireseed. Even at double the price, the value proposition was far better than their discounted potions!

Moreover, due to their past practices—underpaying for herbs and selling problematic potions to nurseries, leading to poor-quality hatchlings or even deaths—the public's initial welcome had turned into resistance. Parents whose hatchlings had died harbored deep resentment towards Huang's Pharmacy Department.

With Fireseed's arrival, few supported Huang's, while many wanted them gone.

In this potion war, Huang's Pharmacy Department suffered another blow. While Fireseed's entry wasn't forceful, the collective defection of their direct-affiliate nurseries was their biggest hit. The change in residents' attitudes towards them was also unprecedented. Many who had previously been submissive and exploited now openly told them to leave the planet!

Bai Qi, upon seeing the report, nearly laughed in anger.

After all, these were just a few edge-planets, not affecting his major interests. Still, being repeatedly eroded by Bai Xiaoyu in Huang's territory made him increasingly annoyed.

He instructed his subordinates to hold their ground, allowing Bai Xiaoyu to bask in temporary glory. Once he fully controlled the insect prince, he would settle the score then.

However, Huang's Pharmacy Department's zero sales on these two planets became a laughingstock among other factions.

Huang's Pharmacy Department persisted, as their business wasn't solely dependent on nurseries but also the troops stationed on the planet.

The soldiers stationed there received news faster. Fireseed provided enhanced versions of healing potions, growth fluids, blood replenishment potions, and mental strength recovery potions, which they collected daily.

These were soldiers from the Sixteenth Legion, stationed on a non-frontline planet. Most were recovering from injuries before returning to the frontlines, replacing other wounded soldiers.

Many of these soldiers had already used Bai Xiaoyu's potions and had strong intelligence capabilities, arriving even before the planet's cultivators.

The lead soldier couldn't help but smile as he stored the potions in his medicine space button.

A fellow soldier nudged him. "Got them?"

He nodded. "Of course, these are the highest-rated potions in the legion. These pill-shaped potions are all 2S, something Huang's can't buy even at sky-high prices."

The soldiers, pale-faced, looked at the space button with joy.

With these potions, they could recover quickly and return to battle. They had seen neighboring planets rotate soldiers weekly.

Enhanced healing potions and growth fluids repaired their internal injuries while improving their physical constitution and mental strength.

Enhanced growth fluids quickly replenished their physical and mental strength, while blood replenishment potions restored lost blood after healing.

These potions were ideal for wartime, but there weren't enough. If every frontline soldier had them, casualties would decrease significantly.

Currently, most frontline soldiers used royal potions, with some from Huang's or other suppliers, mostly B-grade, far inferior to Fireseed's minimum A and maximum 2S quality.

The soldiers sorted the potions upon returning. There were more growth fluids, but only a hundred portions of each pill-shaped potion daily, all personally refined by Bai Xiaoyu, of high grade.

The soldiers kept the growth fluids and sent the rest to the legion. Though insufficient, it could reduce at least a hundred frontline casualties.

Bai Xiaoyu knew the soldiers' needs but couldn't provide more since these potions required manual refinement.

As he watched the data of the potions taken by the soldiers, the system suddenly appeared. "Congratulations, Host! Your points have reached ten million. The second batch of potion refining machines has been unlocked. Would you like to view them?"

Bai Xiaoyu was instantly delighted. He hurriedly tapped on the icon of the store added to his personal homepage in the system on his optical brain and found that the store had indeed been updated with four new alchemy devices for manual preparation of potions. These were the enhanced versions of the Repair Solution and Cultivation Liquid, as well as the Blood Replenishment Potion and the Mental Energy Recovery Potion.

The first refresh would display all the new device icons at once, and after that, it would automatically refresh once a day. The homepage featured three devices.

Looking at these alchemy devices, Bai Xiaoyu realized each one required five million points and two hundred billion credits.

His points had just surpassed the ten million mark, with less than thirty thousand left over. Combining the credits he had just transferred back, he could only afford to buy two of them.

Bai Xiaoyu hesitated, unsure about the legion's demand for these four potions. He tossed four pill-shaped potions in his hand, pondering while leaning against Dagei. Beside him, Xiaobaihu climbed onto his shoulder, walked along his arm, and sat down, pawing at the pills.

Though only the size of a palm, this fluffy silver-white ball used to be manageable, but now, within thirty seconds, Bai Xiaoyu felt his hand starting to ache from holding it.

The metal egg, seeing a tiger cub sitting on Bai Xiaoyu's hand and another egg behind him, hopped over and sent a message: "Xiaoyu, what are you looking at those pills for?"

Bai Xiaoyu: "These four potions can now be mass-produced. I'm not sure about the legion's priority for them, so I plan to ask."

At this moment, the big black egg moved slightly. Bai Xiaoyu turned to look at it and gently patted its surface, "Dagei?"

The black egg hopped over and lightly touched Bai Xiaoyu's arm.

This gentle touch didn't hurt Bai Xiaoyu, but even with its excellent balance, Xiaobaihu, who was prepared, still rolled off his arm and landed on the ground.

Xiaobaihu stood up, looked at the black egg beside Bai Xiaoyu, extended its sharp claws, and bared its teeth.

The black egg wasn't afraid of the little one and even rubbed against Bai Xiaoyu's wrist. Infuriated, Xiaobaihu jumped up and scratched and bit the black egg fiercely.

The metal egg hopped around, watching the fight, urging it on.

Bai Xiaoyu sighed, here we go again.

This scene played out daily, sometimes between Dagei and Xiaobaihu, sometimes between Dagei and Bai Kan, sometimes between Xiaobaihu and Bai Kan, or even all three together.

One always watched the fight, but often ended up joining in. Anyway, every day was lively.

The four pills, knocked to the ground by Dagei, lay scattered in a straight line about a meter apart.

Under Xiaobaihu's attack, Dagei hopped between the first and third pills, moving back and forth.

Having spent too much time with Dagei, Bai Xiaoyu understood its actions, "Are you suggesting we choose the enhanced Repair Solution and Blood Replenishment Potion?"

The black egg happily hopped over, followed by Xiaobaihu attacking its back. The large egg, taller than an adult, rubbed against Bai Xiaoyu's face.

Bai Xiaoyu patted the black egg, "Alright, let's do it your way."

Bai Xiaoyu's indulgence of Dagei's behavior annoyed the other egg and tiger, leading to another big fight.

Watching them fight, Bai Xiaoyu redeemed the enhanced Repair Solution and Blood Replenishment Potion.

Each device still produced two thousand bottles every eight hours, though the quality was lower than his own, fluctuating between S- and S based on the quality of the herbs.

Afterward, Bai Xiaoyu contacted Yu Xi and Su Ran, informing them about the mass production of these two potions.

Liu Lingxi must have been free this time; almost immediately after receiving Bai Xiaoyu's message, a call request came through. Soon, a man in military uniform appeared, his youthful features now fully matured. His stern expression softened upon seeing Bai Xiaoyu, revealing a familiar smile like the young Yu Xi, "Brother Bai, these are exactly the potions the frontline soldiers need. This is great."

Bai Xiaoyu smiled, "Xiao Xi, you've grown a lot. Judging by your reaction, it seems we chose the right potions."

The two eggs and the tiger were not strangers to the sudden projection. They stopped fighting and gathered around the projection in a triangular formation.

Liu Lingxi was also familiar with the trio. Initially smiling at Bai Xiaoyu, he turned to face the two eggs and the tiger, his smile fading and his lips forming a straight line.

After he left, Brother Bai was left with Dagei, another egg, and a tiger. Seeing this made him want to punch someone. He suddenly felt annoyed with the person on Imperial Star, why did they give Brother Bai so many brothers?

The metal egg felt its admiration for General Liu Lingxi shatter. The big tiger inside the metal egg ground its teeth and its claws itched. Calling Brother Bai all the time, how old are you? You're several rounds older than Xiaoyu, yet you still call him that?

Xiaobaihu also bared its teeth at Liu Lingxi, Brother Bai belonged to him alone, why was this wolf calling him that?

Liu Lingxi's gaze finally settled on Dagei, "Brother Bai, when you said you chose correctly, does that mean these two potions were chosen by this black thing?"

Bai Xiaoyu found the situation somewhat amusing. Every time the trio fought, Xiao Xi's appearance turned it into a quartet. He nodded, "Yes, Dagei chose them."

Liu Lingxi scoffed, and their conversation didn't last long before he hastily ended the call as usual.

After the call ended, the trio resumed their unfinished fight.

Bai Xiaoyu calmly watched them fight, then thought about the eggs at the breeding facility, especially the one that had been dormant for twenty years with only yolk. With only yolk, perhaps he had an idea.

Soon, Su Ran also expressed that the mass production of these two potions was timely. Upon learning that Dagei had chosen them, he nodded knowingly, stating that battlefield injuries and recovery were more critical than sustaining combat power.

Their conversation didn't last long either. Soon, Bai Xiaoyu mentioned the herb he had thought of, which was the size of a watermelon.

Indeed, it looked like a melon but was classified as a herb.

This herb was called the Nurturing Herb, round and bright red, with a circular pink petal-like mouth at the top and directly rooted at the bottom, without any leaves or vines.

Inside the melon was something transparent like egg white, but without the yolk. It matched perfectly with the dormant egg that lacked egg white.

As long as an animal's fertilized egg entered it, it could develop and grow inside.

Bai Xiaoyu stroked his chin, thinking that it would result in a plant-like egg that looked strange, but given the number of peculiar eggs he already had, it wasn't a problem.

Chapter 099

This time, the demand for the herb was not large, so Su Ran sent the sketches and descriptions of the herb's growth environment drawn by Bai Xiaoyu to the relevant warriors. The next day, the delivery arrived.

Since the herb needed to maintain its vitality, the packaging this time contained a potted plant over a meter tall, with red and pink intertwined. The pot was as high as his shoulders, but the red gourd inside wasn't very tall. However, the pot itself occupied two-thirds of the height.

The bright red gourd, adorned with patterns and topped with a pink flower resembling a mouth, appeared before them. The gourd was rooted in the soil, indicating that the person who collected it had dug up the soil below to avoid damaging the herb's root system based on Bai Xiaoyu's instructions.

Bai Xiaoyu opened the delivery in the cultivation room. At this moment, besides the two eggs and the tiger curiously staring at the potted plant, the interns and assistants also gathered around.

One intern couldn't resist the curiosity and secretly touched the gourd, even poking the pink flower on top with his finger. Unexpectedly, the flower closed like a mouth and bit the intern's hand.

The intern was startled and quickly pulled his hand back, "Wow, this flower moves!"

Upon hearing this, the young and curious interns rushed over, all reaching out to gently poke the flower. The flower seemed to dislike their touch, dodging left and right, and tightly closing its petals, refusing to open again.

Seeing the group's fascination with the flower's behavior, Bai Xiaoyu had to intervene, "Alright, this is the herb. It tried once and found you weren't what it wanted. Now, if you want it to open, you'd have to be reborn as an egg. Otherwise, nothing will work."

The interns reluctantly stepped back, bombarding Bai Xiaoyu with questions as he cleaned the herb. They looked incredulously at the red gourd, now clean and with roots trailing beneath it.

Bai Xiaoyu placed the gourd into the cultivation compartment and covered the roots with a translucent medicinal mud made from the herb.

Everyone was dumbfounded by this series of actions.

Is he turning the cultivation compartment into a flower pot?

And isn't fertilization required for cultivation?

One intern suddenly looked at the one bitten by the flower with a strange expression and said incredulously, "Did this flower get pregnant with your child?"

His voice carried, and everyone heard clearly. Their expressions were shocked, their gazes shifting between the intern and the red gourd.

The intern felt a cold sweat break out on his back. He stared at the gourd, finding it increasingly eerie. If the gourd were carrying his child, it became strangely appealing.

Could this gourd be a rare plant-human hybrid in the galaxy?

He rubbed his hands, looking a bit shy, and muttered, "It's not impossible."

After all, they already had a child; they could sort things out later.

Bai Xiaoyu: "..."

Everyone: "..."

Bai Xiaoyu, both amused and exasperated, said, "What are you thinking? The flower just scraped some cells off your hand, not fertilized you. Besides, it's been avoiding you ever since it bit you."

The other interns burst out laughing, punching the embarrassed intern on the shoulder, "Snap out of it! Are you so desperate that you find a gourd attractive?"

After a while, the herb in the cultivation compartment seemed to adapt to its new environment, and the flower slowly reopened.

Bai Xiaoyu stood nearby, waiting until the flower fully bloomed. Then, he walked to the transparent container simulating a womb-like environment and picked up the palm-sized egg that had been dormant for twenty years.

The egg had already fully revived and had been cultivated in the same compartment as the herb for a few days without much growth. Today, it was moved back to the transparent container, which maintained its optimal state.

Carrying the egg to the herb's compartment, Bai Xiaoyu extended his mental power, forming a pair of transparent hands to hold the egg. He withdrew his hands, leaving the egg floating in mid-air.

The interns stopped their antics and gathered around, watching silently.

Bai Xiaoyu extended another strand of mental power, entering the eggshell and forming a membrane around the yolk. After preparing, he used another strand to split the eggshell in half, exposing the yolk.

The interns and assistants stared wide-eyed, stunned, as the yolk was extracted without hatching!

Ignoring their shock, Bai Xiaoyu carefully manipulated the yolk with his mental power, moving it above the herb. The pink flower below sensed something and slightly moved, opening wider as the yolk approached.

Bai Xiaoyu positioned the yolk within the flower's mouth, which immediately closed, wrapping the yolk entirely. The flower then trembled slightly, as if choking, before finally swallowing it with a gulp.

The stunned crowd snapped to attention, rushing over to surround the herb, staring at the pink flower. Did it... swallow it?!

The flower atop the red gourd quickly changed color, withered, and fell off. The opening where the flower had been gradually closed. Now, the herb looked like a whole red gourd, patterned and uncut.

Bai Xiaoyu's mental power still enveloped the yolk, guiding it into the herb's interior, where it landed in the center. As the yolk merged with the clear liquid inside, the previously cool gourd began to warm, adapting to the yolk's environment.

Bai Xiaoyu watched as the herb rapidly transformed within minutes, becoming indistinguishable from a normal egg in less than half an hour.

Finally breathing a sigh of relief, he withdrew his mental power.

He then cleaned the two halves of the eggshell, which had turned gray due to long-term dormancy. The black seal on the eggshell, now visible after the yolk's removal, completely disappeared.

Bai Xiaoyu collected the eggshell, intending to give it to the parents later. This was a step typically done after a normal hatching, but he did it early. This would be the smallest eggshell, smaller than the unhatched ones, though those would grow larger upon hatching.

He wondered if half the shell would be enough for the hatchling to gnaw on.

If not, it didn't matter, as the hatchling could gnaw on the gourd skin instead, which should taste better.

Considering the gourd's effects, it was indeed nourishing. He could help prepare a few medicines for the hatchling to try.

Looking back at the cultivation compartment, the originally red gourd, now fused with the yolk, had become a gourd-egg. The eggshell retained its red patterns, now with familiar black seal markings, looking both eerie and harmonious.

Having finished everything, Bai Xiaoyu turned to see everyone staring at him intently. He pointed to the transparent display screen above the cultivation compartment, "The egg is healthy and developing normally. Future lessons will include this type of egg as a case study. You can check the other data yourselves."

After handling this egg, the remaining dormant, weak, double-yolked, gray, and small-yolked eggs, as well as the jellyfish-like egg, could all develop normally.

Now that they had revived, they had absorbed enough nutrients in the cultivation compartments. The double-yolked egg was growing, and the others were slowly showing signs of improvement, with their shells becoming more vibrant.

Bai Xiaoyu checked all the eggs, except for the problematic ones, and finally looked at the egg with one round end and one square end, surprised.

Because the contents of this egg were bizarre. There were no abnormalities when he initially investigated it. Or perhaps, apart from its peculiar shape, all the data about the egg had been healthy, so he hadn't probed too deeply. After all, mental energy carried inherent aggressiveness, and during the initial cultivation phase of the egg, it was best to minimize intrusion.

Now, he was merely conducting a routine surface-level scan, but he didn't expect to find half an egg yolk combined with half a seed inside!

What... is going on?

He remembered that he definitely hadn't used the Selfless Symbiosis Grass on this egg. How did it end up with a seed? Moreover, the seed exposed a square base, which was mostly dark brown and about the size of a fist. Unlike the seeds from the Selfless Symbiosis Grass that embedded halfway into the yolk, this one was directly replaced by half of the yolk.

Bai Xiaoyu was also shocked by what he saw; it was like a plant and a human had combined to produce an egg.

Does this world have no reproductive barriers?

However, he quickly adjusted, as he had encountered similar situations before. Back then, he had seen humans and demons giving birth to half-demons, somewhat similar to half-orcs. The occurrence of plants becoming sentient and combining with humans to produce half-demons was extremely rare.

Could there be sentient plants in the interstellar world?

Bai Xiaoyu thought for a moment and called out to the system: "System, you should update the scroll."

Every time he encountered strange eggs, the system's scroll would update with relevant information.

System: "It has already been updated. Please check it, host."

Since the scroll occasionally contained new content, it wasn't suitable for interns and wasn't convenient to browse in front of many people. Therefore, he gave the system several thousand points and generated an online electronic version on his personal page.

He quickly opened the scroll and discovered that there were indeed plant people in the interstellar world. However, their numbers were minuscule compared to beast people, and the chances of them producing offspring with non-plant people were extremely low. Even if they could produce offspring, those leaning towards either side could hatch normally, but eggs like this one, which were intermediate, were very difficult to hatch.

This was because plant people don't lay eggs but seeds. The methods of cultivating eggs and seeds differ significantly. After all, most seeds are planted in the ground.

Bai Xiaoyu carefully examined the interior of the egg and found that half the yolk was developing normally and absorbing nutrients at an incredibly fast rate. However, the remaining half-seed showed no signs of activity. In fact, due to the rapid development of the yolk, the seed remained unchanged, and continuing this way would likely cause a tear at the junction.

Bai Xiaoyu withdrew his mental energy, patted the egg, and adjusted the nutrient supply to maintain the yolk's metabolism without allowing further growth. Before finding a solution, he couldn't let the yolk continue developing.

He continued to read through the information, searching for a method.

At this moment, the system, possibly after scanning these dormant eggs, suddenly spoke in Bai Xiaoyu's mind: "Host, hatching these rare species of eggs will double your bonus points. Please make efforts to hatch the eggs and earn more points."

Bai Xiaoyu keenly picked up on the system's choice of words. "These?"

System: "Not just this half-plant egg, but several dormant eggs are rare species. Due to their scarcity, interstellar breeders lack experience in handling them, leading to their dormancy. This half-plant egg would have been sent to dormancy if not for you."

Bai Xiaoyu immediately focused on the eggs with gray yolks and whites, the one with a grape-sized yolk, and the one with a yolk that resembled a jellyfish.

Based on the information provided by the system, these three peculiar eggs belonged to rare species.

After reviewing the system's information, Bai Xiaoyu found that the scroll lacked details on this aspect.

He went online to search for related information and discovered that rare species were few in number but diverse. There were thousands of subcategories alone. Previously, they were in a stage of free love, and many married the most numerous group, the beast people.

The offspring produced were predominantly inclined towards one side and could hatch normally. Over generations, they were indistinguishable from ordinary beast people except for carrying those genes.

However, since the contamination by dark matter from the insectoids, their numbers decreased even further, and their birth rates over hundreds or thousands of years were extremely low. To preserve their race, most chose internal mating partners and incubated their own eggs, preventing them from being outsourced. Finding the species of these eggs among those sent to breeding facilities was extremely challenging.

Bai Xiaoyu reviewed the parents' information, including the half-plant egg, and found no characteristics of rare species. The parents might have had rare species bloodlines in their ancestry, but over generations, these became very diluted. The anomalies in these eggs were likely due to reversion.

This was similar to Xiao Budian, who bypassed both parents' current genes and reverted directly to a white tiger.

Bai Xiaoyu contacted the parents, asking them to investigate their ancestral bloodlines.

Although the parents were a bit confused, they cooperated enthusiastically.

Bai Xiaoyu thought that once the parents sent the information, he could precisely identify the ancestral bloodlines of these eggs. However, he didn't consider that the countless generations of ancestors on both sides had mixed with rare species, accumulating a significant amount of mixed genes.

Looking at the information, each parent had mixed dozens of rare species' genes, some even over a hundred. As for which generation the eggs reverted to...

The system gloated, "Host, you can slowly guess."

Bai Xiaoyu: "Don't come out unless I call you."

System: "Host, you're so heartless."

After chasing away the system, Bai Xiaoyu looked at the information sent by the parents, feeling helpless. Guessing? Just thinking about it made his head hurt.

Hatching them directly would reveal the answer in two months when the embryos form.

Now, staring at this egg with a round top and a square bottom, if the seed needed to root in soil, wouldn't it be better to introduce some 'soil' inside the egg for it to root?

Unlike the medicinal mud used on the outer layer of previous eggs, only the mythical soil, Xi Rang, could work inside the egg.

But Xi Rang, the legendary soil used to mend the heavens, was impossible to find.

However, there was Xiao Xi Rang.

According to legend, after mending the heavens, the remaining bit scattered into five pieces, which turned into five seeds under the alternation of sun and moon, growing into five types of medicinal herbs with metal, wood, water, fire, and earth attributes.

These herbs would eventually bloom, producing flowers as light as clouds.

Combining the five attribute flowers and refining them would create a small piece of colorless, weightless Xi Rang.

Xiao Xi Rang doesn't scatter like ordinary soil and is suitable for planting anywhere.

This substance is exceedingly rare, and no one has ever collected all five attribute flowers. Bai Xiaoyu had only read about the various Xi Rang herbs and their flowers in books but had never seen a fully formed Xiao Xi Rang.

Even with only a fraction of the original Xi Rang's capabilities, it could grow any plant in the world.

A half-seed from a plant person is still a plant, so Xiao Xi Rang would certainly suffice.

Chapter 100

Bai Xiaoyu sent out the information about the Small Xirang, and now three parties were searching for it in the vast expanse of the starry universe, hoping to gather all five elemental attributes of the Xirang grass.

Over the next three days, six medicinal herbs were delivered.

Of these, the wood attribute Xirang grass was the most abundant, with three plants. The remaining two were earth attribute, and one was fire attribute.

Since he hadn't yet gathered all five elemental attributes of the Xirang grass, Bai Xiaoyu couldn't use them yet. He took each plant out one by one, intending to store them in white jade boxes inscribed with seal runes.

Xiaobudian was nearby, watching curiously as Bai Xiaoyu held a plant with red cloud-like flowers. The fluffy little head leaned in, sniffed it, and then took a bite.

Soon, it spat it out, and the flower-like part twisted and returned to its original shape.

Xiaobudian's face was full of confusion; biting into it felt like biting into inorganic soil—no taste, no weight, truly bizarre.

Bai Xiaoyu poked the little white tiger's head. "Stop biting it; it's not cotton candy. Even though it looks like a flower, this Xirang grass is actually a piece of soil. You're eating soil, you know?"

Xiaobudian moved away from the flower, realizing it was a plant that grew soil.

Over the next two days, Bai Xiaoyu continued to receive more Xirang grass. Upon opening them, he found that he had finally gathered all five elements.

He took out the Xirang grass with the five elemental attributes—gold, wood, water, fire, and earth—and plucked the five weightless, cloud-like flowers (golden, green, blue, red, and yellow) to place them in the alchemy furnace.

Soon, the five small flowers arranged themselves in order, forming a five-colored flower. As they were burned, the five-colored flower gradually shrank and fused together, eventually becoming a thumb-sized, colorless, transparent piece of soil.

Using his mental power, Bai Xiaoyu lifted it and placed it in his palm. If not for his mental power still enveloping the Small Xirang, his empty palm would have appeared completely bare.

His palm couldn't feel the presence of the Small Xirang, and when he prodded it with his other hand, it felt like poking air.

This was the Small Xirang. Apart from plant seeds, other creatures couldn't touch its solid state.

Using his mental power, Bai Xiaoyu guided the Small Xirang into the egg-shaped object without making any holes. The Small Xirang, like his mental power, ignored the eggshell and passed through it directly.

Quickly, he moved the Small Xirang under half of the seed. As soon as the seed touched the Xirang, it sprouted milky white roots, anchoring itself into the transparent Small Xirang.

Bai Xiaoyu observed that even though the roots had penetrated, nothing could be seen on the outside of the transparent Small Xirang.

In just a few breaths, the half-seed connected to the yolk became fuller and visibly improved in color.

The data displayed on the external screen rapidly increased.

Bai Xiaoyu removed the previous restrictions on the nutrient solution, and the absorption rate immediately rose to the highest among all the eggs.

It seemed to have worked.

Satisfied with the egg's condition, Bai Xiaoyu turned his attention to the other rare species' eggs.

Looking at the data displayed on the transparent screens of the incubation compartments, these eggs absorbed the nutrient solution reasonably well, but their absorption rates were lower than those of normal eggs. Some gray eggs had absorption rates that were less than half of the others.

Bai Xiaoyu carefully observed and concluded that while these eggs could be nurtured with nutrient solutions, they required different nutrients. Without comprehensive nutrition, their development was slow.

Using his mental power to probe inside the egg, he found that everything inside was gray, whether it was the albumen or the yolk. Inside, it was a gray haze, unlike other non-rare species' eggs, which had distinct temperatures during incubation. This egg maintained a consistent temperature inside and out, unaffected by changes in the environment. However, the shapes of the yolk and albumen were normal, which was strange.

Moreover, the egg emitted a familiar yet unfamiliar aura, which he couldn't quite place.

Despite this, Bai Xiaoyu detected the egg's attributes and combined it with the unabsorbed components of the nutrient solution. He quickly discovered that all yang-attribute components remained, while all yin-attribute components were absorbed.

After multiple tests, he concluded that the egg preferred yin and disliked yang.

Bai Xiaoyu adjusted accordingly, creating a specialized nutrient solution for the egg. He replaced the yang-attribute herbs with yin-attribute ones and added other herbs to create a purely yin-attribute solution.

This time, the egg absorbed the solution very quickly, and within a few days, its size increased noticeably.

Upon further examination, he found that the yolk had begun to develop. Surprisingly, the newly formed blood vessels around the yolk and the blood flowing through them were not bright red but gray-black. Even the heart taking shape in the center was this color.

Bai Xiaoyu recorded this observation and included it in the case studies for his students.

For the other two rare species' eggs, the analysis of the remaining nutrient solution showed that they could absorb it, albeit with lower absorption rates. No significant issues were identified, so he continued to nurture them.

Next, Bai Xiaoyu focused on the egg that had been dormant for twenty-three years. Before probing it with his mental power, he gave it an injection. Yes, it was the Life Essence Agent. Now, every few days, he needed to obtain medicine beads from the tentacles for the dormant youngling inside the egg.

After nearly two weeks of continuous Life Essence Agent supplementation, the youngling's vitality slowly recovered.

Three days ago, Bai Xiaoyu felt it was time to administer other medications. He mixed a gentle restorative agent with the Life Essence Agent to nourish the youngling's body.

Over the past three days, the youngling's body gradually regained some color, and today, its fingers slightly moved. Although it was only a brief movement, it proved that the youngling was recovering.

It took him most of the day to check all the younglings' conditions. After recording the status of the eggs, he looked at the storage compartment provided by the system, where only one dose of Life Essence Agent remained.

It seemed he would need to visit the deep-blue tentacle again for another 'chat.'

Walking back to the incubation compartment for the tentacle egg, he saw the egg and a smaller opaque sphere rolling in the nutrient solution.

Bai Xiaoyu reached out, and the egg rolled over to press against his palm, rubbing against it.

Soon, a ball rolled over and bumped into his arm.

Bai Xiaoyu was familiar with this behavior and picked up the ball. It struggled in his hand, but he shook it gently, causing the tentacle inside to lose its grip and slow down.

Taking the opportunity, he placed the egg in a nursery box and put the ball beside it. The egg and the ball pressed together, and they stopped fussing.

Even though the tentacle egg hadn't shown any interest in its neighbor, Bai Xiaoyu wasn't taking any chances and always took both the tentacle egg and the ball with him when leaving.

Back in the alchemy room, Bai Xiaoyu released the tentacle from the ball. Using his mental power, he watched it feast on live prey he had purchased from the interstellar farm and placed in the forest behind the house.

Now, after a hearty meal, the deep-blue tentacle, swollen to the thickness of a calf's leg, turned red and rushed back quickly.

Meanwhile, the entire deep-blue mass, as large as an adult water buffalo, was digesting its meal. All its tentacles were red and slowly digesting.

He once again felt his main tentacle become full, but soon the sensation of energy and vitality being drained away returned.

The deep blue mass became agitated. What on earth was going on that it had to drain his main tentacle more than three times a day!

Even he didn't eat this frequently every day!

More importantly, he didn't sense any resistance from his tentacle.

Every time the deep blue mass tried to control the distant tentacle, its mental power encountered the presence of the royal aura in its mind, causing it to instinctively hold back.

It desperately wanted to see what was happening over there, but instinct prevented it. Thus, the deep blue mass grew even more agitated, thrashing its tentacles and dragging food from a hundred meters away to devour it.

Seeing the fierce appearance of the tentacle, Bai Qi was increasingly satisfied. This was still with ordinary animals; feeding on insect crystals could lead to even higher levels of evolution.

Speaking of insect crystals, Bai Qi turned to Old Qi. "Can we still get insect crystals?"

Old Qi: "The previous request to His Majesty was unsuccessful. However, it's the annual day when royal pharmacists and cultivators can apply to the Royal Pharmacy for materials. I've heard that this time, His Majesty will offer a ten-pound insect crystal as one of the items for exchange. We can offer something in return."

Insect crystals were neither hot nor cold commodities. Apart from research and feeding the prince, they had no other known uses. For certain factions, they were quite useless.

So their competition should be minimal.

After all, many factions had their own people within the Royal Pharmacy and the Royal Nursery. Initially, this event was meant to reward pharmacists and cultivators, but it later evolved into a contest among various factions.

Of course, the royal family also benefited, as different factions would naturally bid higher for the same item.

They could trade goods or even use credit points.

A ten-pound insect crystal was enough for the prince to evolve a major level, so Bai Qi was determined to secure it.

On the other side, after Bai Xiaoyu fed the egg with the deep blue tentacle, he took out some herbs for the tentacle.

The tentacle waited for a while but found that Bai Xiaoyu hadn't taken out any insect crystals, and immediately became unwilling.

It absorbed plant essences to feed the tentacle egg, but when Bai Xiaoyu tried to collect them using his mental power, the tentacle resisted. The fine hairs around the tentacle repeatedly stole back the essence from the medicinal pearls Bai Xiaoyu collected.

After a grueling battle, Bai Xiaoyu was left with only one-fifth of the usual amount of medicinal pearls, leaving him speechless.

It seemed that without any insect crystals left, the tentacle couldn't be bribed anymore.

The dormant egg's youngling couldn't go without life essence potions, and now the tentacle wasn't cooperating. Unless he could find insect crystals.

But insect crystals were extremely rare, and currently, only the royal family had them.

Just as Bai Xiaoyu was troubled by the few medicinal pearls in his hand, his optical brain received a notification.

He opened it and found it was an exchange notice from the Royal Pharmacy.

After reading it, Bai Xiaoyu realized it was similar to an auction where the royal family offered valuable items for all factions to compete for.

Those eligible to participate included not only pharmacists from the Royal Pharmacy and cultivators from the Royal Nursery but also external factions favored by the royal family and individuals capable of competing, who would receive invitations.

Bai Xiaoyu, upon seeing the qualification notice, was initially confused but then perked up when he saw the exchange items listed.

Among them was an insect crystal!

Ten pounds!

Bai Xiaoyu looked at the deep blue tentacle coiled around the egg, which ignored him, and suddenly smiled.

At that moment, his optical brain flashed.

He answered the call from an unknown person and saw an elderly man with gray hair and a slightly pale face.

Searching through his memories, including those of his predecessor, Bai Xiaoyu found no match for the elder's face. "Hello, may I ask who you are?"

The elder looked at Bai Xiaoyu with a gentle tone. "I am an elder of the Royal Pharmacy. You can call me Elder Han. Have you received the exchange notice from the royal family? I'm here to confirm if you will participate. If you do, will it be online or offline? Online participation is less convenient since you can only bid on items. Offline participation allows direct interaction with other participants, and even if you fail, you can negotiate privately to secure your desired items."

Facing Elder Han's enthusiasm, Bai Xiaoyu replied, "I will participate, but I cannot leave the nursery, so I'll have to do it online."

Elder Han sounded disappointed but continued to encourage Bai Xiaoyu several times before saying, "I hope we can continue our conversation in the future."

After hanging up, the metal egg hopped in front of Bai Xiaoyu and sent a message: "Elder Han is responsible for monitoring the condition of your egg. Every egg in the Royal Nursery has a pharmacist and a cultivator assigned to it. Both Elder Han and another elder named Chen were the most prominent figures back then, even making Old Qi, the current president of the Pharmaceutical Association, step aside. They both fell into a coma due to mental instability during the later stages of cultivation. Now that he's awake and notifying you, it seems he really hopes you'll attend in person."

Bai Xiaoyu: "Perhaps. There are still three days left. I need to prepare items to exchange for the ten-pound insect crystal."

Bai Kan: "Insect crystals aren't in high demand. There shouldn't be much competition."

Bai Xiaoyu: "I hope so."

In reality, when the bidding began, they discovered that multiple factions were vying for the insect crystals.

Chapter 101

The royal exchange event lasted for an entire day. Bai Xiaoyu was very busy and only logged onto the Imperial Star Network in the evening, just in time for the major factions to start bidding on the items they desired.

Bai Kan had been waiting for Bai Xiaoyu and kept urging him throughout the day.

However, after Bai Kan explained the details of the exchange event to Bai Xiaoyu, he became less anxious. The items would be revealed at the last moment, with the highest bidder winning, similar to an auction process.

After finishing up his work at the breeding facility, amidst the grievances of Big Black Egg and Little One, he joined Bai Kan in the virtual conference hall of the Imperial Star Network.

In the virtual conference hall, one could see the entire scene, much like Bai Xiaoyu's live stream. If attendees agreed, their images would also be displayed; otherwise, they wouldn't appear in the hall.

It was unclear how many people had agreed, but the virtual conference hall was clearly crowded.

When Bai Xiaoyu and Bai Kan arrived, many people in the hall turned to look at them.

Bai Xiaoyu was still in his small tiger form, while Bai Kan was in his adult tiger form, towering over him. This size difference made them quite noticeable.

Initially, everyone noticed Bai Kan first, given his imposing presence. Most tigers were royal offspring and fierce competitors, making him the center of attention.

Seeing it was Bai Kan, some hostility dissipated slightly. They habitually glanced at his hind legs before noticing a small tiger, about the size of an adult cat, standing beside his powerful front paws. They saw his ID—Interstellar Super Invincible Emperor.

"Oh, isn't this our old acquaintance, that useless Bai Xiaoyu?"

Previously, Bai Xiaoyu often participated in various events in this form, so everyone recognized him easily.

Everyone gathered around, and Bai Xiaoyu was soon cornered at the entrance by a group of royal offspring in their beast forms. Among them were two large tigers, three leopards, one lion, two wolves, and a snake. These were mostly siblings close to Bai Xiaoyu's age, some even younger and not yet fully grown.

Bai Xiaoyu's current form was tiny compared to their massive beasts. Looking up at these creatures baring their fangs and claws, it felt like a mouse surrounded by cats, creating a rather intimidating sight.

One of the striped tigers approached, staring at the small tiger cub, and stretched out a paw to prod him.

Bai Xiaoyu dodged, finding the paw larger than his head.

Even though it was a virtual image on the network, the sense of intimidation from the size difference was real.

Bai Kan hadn't done such things to him before, but now he felt a different kind of pressure.

At this moment, the tiger tried to reach out again but was slapped away by Bai Kan's large paw. "Bai Hao, do you want a fight?"

The large tiger named Bai Hao looked between the two tigers. "I never knew you'd hang out with him, Bai Kan."

Bai Kan replied, "What's it to you?"

Apart from those at the entrance, many other beings inside the hall, both in human and beast forms, were subtly paying attention to the confrontation.

Bai Kan, backed by the Lu family, was a strong candidate despite his leg condition. His associations and alliances were subject to much speculation.

If it were the old Bai Xiaoyu, it might have been different, but the current Bai Xiaoyu, despite his burgeoning career, dominated two crucial industries: potions and breeding. His previous potion had caused significant trouble for many on Imperial Star, leaving their faces scarred and preventing them from going out in public.

Now, Bai Xiaoyu was no longer the easy target he once was.

Bai Hao stared at the small tiger and suddenly extended a paw, waving it in front of Bai Xiaoyu. "Long time no see, let's shake paws."

This paw was slapped away by Bai Kan. "Shake what paw? You scared him just now. Get lost."

Bai Xiaoyu didn't feel scared, just awkward due to the size difference. A handshake could easily lead to a paw slipping into another's paw pads, which would be embarrassing.

Other siblings also approached, extending their paws.

Bai Xiaoyu dodged all of them until a yellow-and-black banded snake blocked his path. Instead of using its paw, the snake opened its mouth wide, trying to swallow the small tiger.

Bai Xiaoyu dodged, and Bai Kan immediately charged forward, engaging the snake in combat.

This snake was Bai Qi.

Everyone watched the spectacle, enjoying the real fight among royal offspring. They hoped for mutual destruction, allowing them to benefit as bystanders.

Bai Xiaoyu didn't intervene and even watched with interest. Despite still being an iron egg, Bai Kan had gained genuine fighting experience through battles with warriors. Coupled with the advantage tigers had over snakes, the fight didn't last long. The large tiger pinned the snake down by its neck, rendering it immobile.

Everyone was stunned.

If it were Bai Hao or Bai Qi fighting, their victory would be expected, but Bai Kan, with his leg condition, surprised them.

Thinking about Bai Kan's leg, their brows relaxed.

While the fight was happening, an elderly man approached Bai Xiaoyu. It was Elder Han.

Elder Han observed the small tiger discreetly. Initially, the adult tiger form could only be maintained if the mental strength supported it; otherwise, it reverted to the cub form.

Generally, D-level mental strength was sufficient, E-level couldn't maintain it all day, and F-level couldn't even generate the adult form. Clearly, Bai Xiaoyu's mental strength was F-level.

Elder Han thought for a moment and said, "Master Bai, your current form is inconvenient. I'll send you the latest model, featuring a mighty adult tiger form."

Almost immediately, Bai Xiaoyu received the gift, a model resembling his father's beast form. If it were the original owner, they would have eagerly switched to it.

But Bai Xiaoyu declined, "Thank you, but I quite like my current form."

Elder Han inwardly sighed, as this model was designed to collect the user's mental strength fluctuations and thresholds.

His own mental strength was rapidly recovering but hadn't reached its peak. Without knowing Bai Xiaoyu's recovery status, he dared not act rashly. After all, during the mental battle when Bai Xiaoyu was still an egg, both 3S-level elders suffered greatly.

Looking at Bai Xiaoyu's form, seemingly harmless, it reminded him of the smallest egg in the breeding facility, which appeared small but was the most active.

On the first day the egg arrived, they detected its mental strength fluctuations, which were remarkably lively.

They had been at the Royal Nursery for many years and were also startled by this situation.

The egg quickly caught their attention. They carefully collected it and studied its mental power, accidentally discovering that its mental power threshold was as high as 3S. Who would believe that an egg just starting to be cultivated could have such mental power?

As the egg developed, it even became extremely averse to their daily mental power scans of its interior. It would clearly convey its rejection. When they ignored this and forcibly used mental power to explore, their mental power was completely expelled.

Yes, two people who had been at the 3S mental power level for years were forcibly driven away by an egg that had just started being cultivated and hadn't even fully formed yet.

Instead of feeling discouraged, they were even more excited.

This was because, during this expulsion, they experienced mental power suppression for the first time and realized for the first time that there was indeed imperial-level mental power.

In the star system, both mental power and physical constitution levels below 3S could be measured. Beyond 3S, there was no clear distinction. 3S seemed to be the lower limit, with the upper limit being infinitely large.

Their mental power thresholds had hovered at this boundary for too long, unable to break through.

Some people's talents had already reached their peak, and they were among them.

The only way was to absorb higher-level mental power and forcefully break through this boundary.

They had failed before, but now Bai Xiaoyu was still their only hope, and they didn't intend to give up.

Bai Xiaoyu felt the other person's gaze constantly on his head and frowned slightly.

His mental power was very sensitive, and he disliked the feeling of being observed with mental power. He found it offensive. There was also a hint of malice, though he couldn't make a definitive judgment through the Star Network. However, this made Bai Xiaoyu more cautious.

Old Han noticed Bai Xiaoyu's displeasure and quickly reined in his behavior. But deep down, he was excited, as this was very similar to how the mental power within the egg had behaved back then.

Imperial-level mental power was extremely sensitive. He hadn't expected that even through the Star Network, the other party would notice.

But it also showed that the other party had recovered quite a bit.

Unrecovered mental power wasn't much use to him, but he couldn't face a fully recovered Bai Xiaoyu, who was no longer a helpless egg.

Old Han chatted with Bai Xiaoyu for a few moments and then stepped back when he sensed the other's vigilance.

Bai Xiaoyu stared at the other person's retreating figure. At this moment, Bai Kan returned from a fight and followed Bai Xiaoyu's line of sight. "Xiaoyu, why are you looking at him?"

Bai Xiaoyu: "I don't feel good about this person."

Bai Kan: "Really? I'll check him out for you."

They had been delayed earlier by those troublemakers, but now the two tigers walked towards the displayed items.

There were many good things, including top-grade 2S potions, the latest 2S biological mechs developed by the royal family, and materials for 3S biological mechs...

Many people were bidding, and there were plenty of bids visible.

Bai Kan asked, "Xiaoyu, is there anything you like? I can bid for you."

Bai Xiaoyu shook his head. "Not yet."

The displays outside the items showed prices in the billions.

He had recently exchanged for two refining devices, and the continuous investment in the Herb Base meant his balance couldn't cover even the cheapest item's starting price.

They moved quickly, and since many had arrived early and already placed their bids, several people observed Bai Xiaoyu and Bai Kan.

Then they saw a transparent, half-tentacle-shaped crystal, which was a bug crystal. In front of it stood a familiar figure, Bai Qi.

Bai Qi, in his beast form, had just finished bidding and turned to see Bai Xiaoyu. He opened his bloody maw in displeasure. "Bai Xiaoyu, what are you doing following me?"

The little tiger completely ignored Bai Qi, turned his head to look at the bug crystal, and walked straight over to place a bid.

This action infuriated Bai Qi. "Are you deliberately trying to mess with me?"

He didn't think Bai Xiaoyu needed the bug crystal; this was clearly intentional provocation.

Many others present thought the same and watched the drama unfold.

Bai Qing watched this scene, his expression thoughtful.

At this moment, a butler reported, "There are currently fifty-five bids on the bug crystal. Fifty of them are simple attempts without significant bids. The remaining bids show that two parties seem interested, but not to the necessary extent. The last three bidders include Young Master Bai Qi, one invited from outside, and Young Master Bai Xiaoyu. It seems that Young Master Bai Xiaoyu, as usual, is retaliating against Young Master Bai Qi after the previous embarrassment. Both parties appear to want the bug crystal very much."

Previously, the royal family had detected the birth of a bug prince, and bug crystals were crucial to princes. This bug crystal was bait to see how many people it would attract.

The butler cautiously asked Bai Qing, "Your Majesty, who should get the final three bids?"

Meanwhile, on another planet's slums, some oddly dressed people were searching everywhere. They even grabbed someone and asked, "Has anything strange happened here recently?"

The person, terrified by the menacing man, replied, "Everything has been normal here recently; nothing strange has occurred."

The leader asked again, "Have you heard of any creatures that suck people dry and devour everyone?"

Seeing the person shake their head, they threw him aside. Noticing the fearful glances from others, they reported the situation.

Recently, they had been ordered to investigate a mercenary couple who would give birth to a monster that would drain its parents and everyone else.

But everything here was peaceful, and they had searched the area thoroughly. No one had ever seen the mercenary couple or the monster.

However, they soon received new orders to stay and wait for the monster to appear.

They didn't understand how they could be sure the monster would appear, but they had no choice but to follow orders.

Chapter 102

Bai Xiaoyu looked at the giant snake blocking his path and involuntarily flicked his tail, reluctantly speaking, "You're overthinking it. I'm not that bored."

The voice that came out was the young and tender voice of a cub, which everyone recognized.

Bai Qi, however, didn't believe him and continued to block his way, "Don't just say it; show me your bid. That would be more convincing."

Thinking of the hungry tentacle eggs and the dormant youngling, Bai Xiaoyu directly refused, "No way."

Bai Qi sneered, "I see you're deliberately challenging me. Fine, let's see who has the upper hand."

In fact, the bid contained the stakes for the items being contested. This was an electronic bid, not fixed. If one discovered strong competitors for the same item, they could continuously increase their bid during the process.

Apart from the organizers, no one else could see the stakes inside. They could only guess each other's bids based on intuition, competing against each other until the last moment when the organizers revealed the results, determining the winner.

It couldn't be denied that Bai Xiaoyu had a master alchemist backing him, and he had many top-tier potions, putting pressure on Bai Qi.

Now that Bai Xiaoyu's faction had officially become a potion supplier, their positions had shifted. Their businesses were now in direct competition and opposition.

Bai Qi suddenly felt this wasn't just about a single insect crystal. After losing the potion supply rights on several planets, he believed Bai Xiaoyu was declaring war on him.

He added more stakes, offering not only potions but also a medium-sized herb base belonging to the Huang family in exchange for the insect crystal.

This medium-sized herb base was far more valuable than Bai Xiaoyu's yet-to-be-completed herb base.

Even bringing out the herb base showed how much effort he was putting in.

The yellow-and-white striped giant snake looked down at Bai Xiaoyu, "You can't compete with me. Give up."

Seeing Bai Qi's changes, Bai Xiaoyu recalled that he initially thought a batch of over a thousand 2S potions would be enough to exchange for the insect crystal. Seeing Bai Qi's confident demeanor, he reconsidered and adjusted his bid again. This time, he included improved formulas for growth solution and repair solution. Originally requiring over a hundred types of herbs, the improved formulas needed only nineteen for the growth solution and twenty-one for the repair solution.

The improvements not only reduced the number of required herbs but also significantly decreased impurities and enhanced the efficacy of the potions.

However, the royal family needed considerable time to study mechanized production of these two potions. He was currently observing the situation. If the entire galaxy couldn't figure it out, he had the modified equipment to produce them, surpassing current technology. Revealing it would require careful consideration.

As these two were in fierce competition, a third bid quietly increased its stakes.

Bai Qing and the steward looked at the displayed stakes, all three parties showing significant investments!

Initially, they thought Bai Xiaoyu, who had only recently started, would be at a disadvantage. However, they didn't expect him to put the formulas on the line as stakes.

Bai Qi offered a large quantity of potions and an herb base, while the third party offered a mineral planet producing mid-to-high-grade materials for mechs.

If the stakes were of similar value, the organizers' needs would determine the outcome.

The steward beside Bai Qing glanced at Bai Xiaoyu's bid, understanding the situation.

After all, the royal family didn't lack potions or herb bases or mineral planets. However, the improved formulas were unique in the galaxy.

Moreover, Bai Xiaoyu's bid was driven by youthful pride. The Huang family and the invited forces behind Bai Qi had a higher chance of connecting with the insect prince compared to Bai Xiaoyu.

After adjusting his bid, Bai Kan asked, "Do you really need no help? What Bai Qi can offer, I can too."

Bai Xiaoyu shook his head, "I think it's enough. If the royal family isn't interested, there's nothing we can do."

They would have to find another way to bribe that troublesome tentacle.

After changing his bid, Bai Xiaoyu and Bai Kan ignored the snake blocking their path and changed direction to look at other items.

The insect crystal was his main goal, but the various top-tier herbs and raw materials provided by the royal family were also targets. Of course, Tao Limeng had mentioned rare materials as well.

Thus, everyone saw the cub, led by the adult tiger, bidding on the displayed herbs and raw materials. With only two hours left, the venue was vast, stretching beyond sight. Many bidders arrived early to carefully choose their bids. So, Bai Xiaoyu was like a busy little bee, darting around the venue without stopping.

As the two tigers wandered, Bai Chufan in a corner of the venue turned his gaze to the cub.

This minor character, almost forgotten, now seemed to be turning into a variable.

With the dark matter removed from the eggs, the hatched beasts had perfect proportions, and various difficult cases had been resolved...

His eyes narrowed as he watched Bai Xiaoyu's back, lost in thought.

Bai Xiaoyu barely managed to bid on the items he wanted before the deadline. Next came the announcement of the bid results.

The insect crystal was towards the end, so they found a seat.

At this moment, a man sitting opposite them suddenly looked over, revealing a charming face. He picked up his cup and waved it at Bai Xiaoyu.

Recognizing the man, Bai Xiaoyu felt a sense of familiarity. Just as he was about to search his memory for information, Bai Kan surprisingly became respectful, transforming back to human form and raising his cup in return, saying, "Brother Twenty-Five, you're here too."

Bai Xiaoyu then remembered this man: Bai Chufan, ranked twenty-fifth among his siblings. Like Bai Xiaoyu, he was one of the few pure humans among the royal offspring.

Pure humans generally had lower qualifications than beastmen or half-beastmen. Bai Chufan's physical constitution and mental strength were both S-level, better than Bai Xiaoyu's double F but still middle to lower among his siblings.

His maternal clan, the Zhu family, was a second-rate power on Imperial Star, matching his average qualifications.

Overall, he had average talent and background. He appeared uncompetitive and had excellent rapport, getting along well with his siblings despite their rivalries.

Even the original Bai Xiaoyu, known for causing trouble, had been helped by Bai Chufan a few times, leaving a good impression.

Bai Chufan, ranked ahead, had already been studying at the Imperial Military Academy when Bai Xiaoyu was born. Now, through hard work, he had become a popular district governor on Imperial Star, one of the most admired single governors.

Looking at Bai Kan, Bai Chufan said, "Ninety-Two, you did well just now. Your combat skills have improved a lot."

After chatting for a bit, Bai Chufan turned to the cub, "How have you been, Hundred? When you went to D36 Planet, I sent you messages, but you never replied."

The cub's ears twitched. The original Bai Xiaoyu had seen those messages, but he hadn't bothered to review them. Meeting Bai Chufan's caring gaze, he responded, "It was a special time. Sorry."

Bai Chufan smiled, "No worries, I understand. By the way, what did you bid on? Are any of them announced yet?"

Bai Xiaoyu glanced at the newly announced number. "That's a relatively early position. There's no time to bid yet. The items I'm bidding on are concentrated in the middle and back. We'll have to wait a bit longer."

Bai Chufan: "Since that's the case, let's play a little game among the three of us."

Bai Kan: "What kind of game?"

Bai Chufan took out a black box and opened it, revealing various character cards inside.

He laid the cards one by one on the table. Bai Kan looked at these cards, recognizing them as a familiar card game in the star system.

He picked up one of the cards. "Are these characters with new appearances? They look a bit strange, as if different roles were pieced together. Xiaoyu, you used to love playing this game with your cronies. Can you check if they're right?"

Bai Xiaoyu: "..." Could he say he had completely forgotten how to play?

He glanced at them a few times and found that they did indeed differ from his memory. So he replied, "They do seem a bit off."

Bai Chufan observed Bai Xiaoyu's expression, collected the cards, and said, "I grabbed the wrong set. These cards were messed up by my uncle's kid. Here's the correct set."

In the previous set, several obvious markers of the original world were hidden, but now, seeing no abnormalities in Bai Xiaoyu's reaction.

At this moment, the venue manager began announcing the bidders' numbers. Bai Xiaoyu's optical brain flashed, indicating he had won the first bid.

Bai Chufan and Bai Kan's optical brains also started flashing intermittently.

So the game couldn't continue. Bai Chufan looked a bit disappointed, but Bai Xiaoyu breathed a sigh of relief.

Bai Xiaoyu soon realized that he had won many bids, mostly for medicinal herbs and minerals. It was almost as if nine out of ten of his bids were successful.

Even the staff tallying the results thought it was no wonder that the prodigal son of Imperial Star, who once spent lavishly, was now exchanging these herbs for 2S-grade potions. The value of the potions far exceeded that of the herbs themselves.

Who else would win if not him?

Thus, Bai Xiaoyu's number was frequently mentioned by the organizers, and his optical brain kept flashing.

Because each time the results were announced, the final bid prices were also revealed.

As a result, the large announcement board was filled with notifications about top-grade potion exchanges.

It should be noted that the royal family also provided high-level exchanges, often trading herbs for potions. Now, the reverse was happening. Many people who received potions looked at their potion grades and then at the 2S-grade potions exchanged by the royal family, suddenly finding their own potions less appealing.

Many eyes in the hall fell on Bai Xiaoyu, who was currently focused on the announcement of the insect crystals.

Meanwhile, Bai Qi was also watching closely, and no one noticed that Bai Chufan, sitting calmly across from Bai Xiaoyu, cast several glances.

Soon, the results were announced, and Bai Qi's face changed dramatically, while Bai Chufan only slightly moved his eyes.

The entire crowd was in an uproar; someone had directly offered a formula in exchange!

Bai Qi turned to Bai Xiaoyu, gritting his teeth as he approached. "Offering a formula in exchange, Bai Xiaoyu, you really don't mind!"

Bai Chufan also spoke up, "You didn't consider it, did you? It's just an insect crystal."

Bai Qi: "To win against me, you went to such lengths. But giving the formula to the royal family means we'll know soon enough. Are you regretting it now?"

Bai Xiaoyu slightly shook his head at Bai Chufan and then turned to Bai Qi, whose expression was both angry and smug. "I didn't give it to the royal family, but to all the newborn eggs in the star system. It has nothing to do with you. Not only will you know, but the bidding requirements state that the royal family will announce it on their official website for the entire star system to see. Everyone will know."

Chapter 103

Bai Xiaoyu's words infuriated Bai Qi, even making him think the other had gone mad.

However, the situation was now settled. The giant snake hissed at Bai Xiaoyu but, seeing the two people beside him, realized it couldn't swallow them and turned to leave.

After driving Bai Qi away, Bai Xiaoyu completed the handover with the staff. He needed to send all the chips he had placed in the stakes to the Royal Pharmacy. Only after they verified would they provide him with the exchanged items. Normally, verification and collection were done on-site, but given the long distance, Bai Kan offered to help receive the items.

When it came to the insect crystal, an elderly man who seemed quite kind received him.

This old man was the steward of his adoptive father, surnamed Fan. Smiling warmly at Bai Xiaoyu, he even wanted to reach out and touch Bai Xiaoyu's virtual image, maintaining his expression even after being dodged. "Young Master Yu, you look very good lately. Would you like to meet His Majesty?"

The little tiger shook his head; he wasn't the original owner with a deep affection for the other, so he preferred not to see him.

Steward Fan didn't insist. "I will be responsible for your exchange items this time. Since your stakes are quite special, we will deliver the items to your planet for an on-site exchange. The Royal Guard will escort the supplies in two days. Please prepare for the handover then."

Hearing this, Bai Qi, who hadn't gone far, logged off immediately.

With the Royal Guard personally escorting the supplies, he couldn't secretly interfere.

When did Father start valuing that waste so much?

Another faction, seeing this, also backed off, as their backer guessed that Bai Qing's move was specifically to guard against them.

Bai Xiaoyu naturally had no objections, as this meant he wouldn't need to trouble the Lu family, who supported Bai Kan.

After Steward Fan left, Bai Chufan also rose to bid farewell: "Ninety-second brother and hundredth brother, I have something else to attend to. Remember to keep in touch."

Before leaving, he gave them a warm smile, leaving a good impression. As he walked away, many greeted him.

Bai Kan: "Twenty-fifth brother is always easy to get along with."

Bai Xiaoyu looked at his departing figure. "Indeed."

But there seemed to be a veil around this person, making him hard to read.

Bai Xiaoyu didn't think he would have much interaction with him, so he didn't bother probing further.

At this moment, many people gathered around. They were Bai Xiaoyu's brothers and sisters, some in human form, some in beast form, offering various unexchanged herbs and raw materials, hoping to trade with Bai Xiaoyu.

Bai Xiaoyu didn't refuse, gaining more herbs and raw materials before logging off.

Two days later in the afternoon, the Royal Guard delivered the items.

Bai Xiaoyu watched as a dozen fighter mechs circled overhead. Lou Hao commented, "All 2S-level fighter mechs. What kind of treasure are they escorting?"

Bai Xiaoyu found it a bit exaggerated. "I don't know."

The exchange went smoothly, and the Royal Guard didn't linger, leaving quickly.

Steward Fan reported this to Bai Qing, cautiously asking, "Your Majesty, if other factions really go after Bai Xiaoyu, it might be hard for him to keep the insect crystal. Should we give him a warning?"

Bai Qing showed no emotion. "No need. If they can't defend what they seize, they should bear the consequences themselves. Keep an eye on the situation and see if we can find out which faction is trying to steal the insect crystal."

In fact, the two factions watching Bai Xiaoyu chose not to act during this sensitive period.

The reason was simple. Bai Xiaoyu had won the insect crystal out of spite, and even if the master alchemist behind him studied it, the consumption would be minimal.

Bai Qi, who hadn't fully controlled the insect prince, couldn't use it yet, so it was better to leave it with Bai Xiaoyu for now.

The other faction already had insect crystals stored and wasn't desperate. Keeping it with Bai Xiaoyu was better than having it in the palace, and they could reclaim it when needed.

Neither faction realized that Bai Xiaoyu had a hungry insect prince egg and a deep blue tentacle eyeing the insect crystal.

Bai Qing also didn't know that each of the three factions vying for the insect crystal had urgent needs. Even Bai Xiaoyu, whom he thought least likely to involve the insect prince, had been raising one for a while.

Bai Xiaoyu organized the herbs and watched Tao Limeng rush over with people to move the raw materials, unwilling to stay a second longer before speeding back. It amused him a bit.

Tao Limeng behaved this way because Bai Xiaoyu had recently given him two more refining devices to study.

To Tao Limeng, it was like having four beautiful wives, each wanting attention. The already mastered nutrient solution refining device was now neglected, receiving occasional glances at best.

After Tao Limeng left, Bai Xiaoyu put the insect crystal into the system slot and prepared several batches of potions. Thinking it was time to feed the tentacle egg, he returned to his room.

The deep blue tentacle was still confined in a spherical container, playing with the tentacle egg.

Since they were in the alchemy room rather than the incubation chamber, the container was transparent. The tentacle didn't react much to Bai Xiaoyu's arrival, but the tentacle egg welcomed him, rubbing against his hand.

Bai Xiaoyu stroked the egg and released the tentacle from the container.

The tentacle became excited, wrapping around the egg twice before reluctantly letting go to hunt.

After feeding the egg, the tentacle, covered in blood, tried to absorb plant essence. Bai Xiaoyu then presented the herbs for the life essence potion.

The tentacle refused and leaped out the window.

Watching the tentacle disappear, Bai Xiaoyu slowly took out the insect crystal. Turning around, he found a thick tentacle on his shoulder, its tip heading straight for the insect crystal.

The tentacle was extremely excited, even forming an S-shape. Just as it was about to dive into the insect crystal, Bai Xiaoyu used his mental power to pull it away. The tentacle tried again, only to be pulled back once more.

Unable to eat, the tentacle grew impatient and, mimicking how it usually rubbed the tentacle egg, awkwardly rubbed Bai Xiaoyu's cheek with its tip.

Thinking of how indifferent it had been before, Bai Xiaoyu found it amusing. He used his mental power to toss it into a pile of herbs. Surprisingly, within three minutes, all the herbs were converted, and the tentacle carried several ping-pong-sized balls of medicine, wriggling toward Bai Xiaoyu.

Remembering that the medicine balls were usually fingernail-sized, Bai Xiaoyu realized the tentacle must have been hoarding a lot. Each ball could produce ten times the amount of life essence potion.

Seeing its good behavior, he collected the medicine balls and let the tentacle approach the insect crystal. After all, the egg could sense the large amount of insect crystal and was jumping anxiously in its box.

Perhaps due to the lack of insect crystal these days, the tentacle quickly wrapped around it, leaving slight marks on its smooth surface. This time, Bai Xiaoyu didn't limit the tentacle, as there was plenty of insect crystal.

Soon the tentacles were fully engorged, and the entire mass grew larger before jumping into the nursery box to nourish Dandan.

Once Dandan absorbed everything, its body visibly expanded at an astonishing rate.

Bai Xiaoyu probed into the egg with his mental energy and found that the tentacles inside had thickened and increased in number. They welcomed his presence warmly. After checking, he confirmed there was no sign of over-absorption from the insect crystals, leading to forced growth. Instead, it seemed as if the necessary energy had finally been replenished, making them healthier and more lively.

This egg now reached his knee height. After its recent growth spurt, it surpassed the size of the other eggs in this batch. This trend was almost matching the initial development speed of the multi-yolk egg from before.

Watching the lazy, well-fed tentacle and egg, Bai Xiaoyu took out the medicinal ball and began refining the Life Essence Elixir.

This time, the quality of the Life Essence Elixir was even better, crystal clear and emerald green, containing twice the amount of essence and vitality compared to before.

After injecting it into the dormant egg, the toes of the creature inside moved this time.

With the youngling being nurtured like this every day, Bai Xiaoyu needed to prepare more high-quality Life Essence Elixirs while he still could, as the daily dosage required would increase soon.

The vitality within the egg was gradually recovering, improving day by day.

Time passed swiftly as Bai Xiaoyu busied himself each day, and before he knew it, a month had gone by.

Bai Xiaoyu noticed that ten pounds of insect crystals had already been consumed, leaving just over six pounds.

Meanwhile, the deep blue tentacles had grown as thick as an adult's thigh. The egg, encircled by these tentacles, stood at a height of 1.2 meters.

The yolk inside the egg had completely transformed. It was still two weeks away from full development, but the shape of the embryo was already faintly visible.

It was a curled-up fetus, with limbs and facial features not yet fully differentiated, only roughly formed. Clusters of deep blue tentacles surrounded the fetus, writhing menacingly. These tentacles enveloped the entire body of the fetus, wrapping around its limbs, neck, and even head, constantly swaying and thrashing. Most people would find this unsettling and might worry about the fetus surrounded by these alien forms.

When Bai Xiaoyu probed into the egg with his mental energy, he immediately noticed countless tentacle tips pointing towards his mental energy thread.

Seeing this, his expression softened. This mischievous little one had remembered the time he checked every day and seemed to be waiting for him. Its intelligence appeared to match that of Little Dot.

In the next moment, the tentacles reached out to "grab" Bai Xiaoyu's mental energy thread. The little one wanted to play, and Bai Xiaoyu played along.

Soon, all the internal tentacles joined in the chase, creating a chaotic tangle of large and small tentacles, some even knotting together. However, they quickly untangled themselves.

The youngling, wrapped in tentacles, gradually had fewer tentacles covering it, revealing its face. The youngling even danced along with the tentacles' movements.

As Bai Xiaoyu's mental energy circled around the youngling, the tentacles helped it turn, though slightly slower. Eventually, the youngling's face always ended up facing where Bai Xiaoyu's mental energy was.

Watching the little one follow him around without getting dizzy and growing increasingly excited, Bai Xiaoyu gently poked its forehead with his mental energy.

The little one tried to grab Bai Xiaoyu's mental energy with its undifferentiated fingers. After a few failed attempts, it suddenly sprouted a slightly lighter-colored tentacle on its forehead, reaching towards Bai Xiaoyu's mental energy thread.

While playing with the little one, Bai Xiaoyu had already begun examining its body. His mental energy thread traced from the little one's head to its tiny feet, revealing the deep blue tentacles that had sprouted unexpectedly.

The first time Bai Xiaoyu saw this, he was startled.

He had initially thought the tentacles and the yolk would develop separately, but later realized that the tentacles had fully merged with the little one. Any part of the little one's body could now sprout a small tentacle at any time.

Bai Xiaoyu teased the little guy, who was having so much fun that he ignored the large tentacle encircling his egg. The disgruntled tentacle began to gently sway the egg in protest and even flicked Bai Xiaoyu's hand with its tip, clearly telling him to scram.

Bai Xiaoyu paid no attention to it; this happened every day.

At this moment, the little guy's tentacles spread out, revealing his entire form, which looked no different from an ordinary youngling. However, he had a cluster of tentacles growing on his back. They now parted and swayed to the sides, resembling a pair of blue wings at first glance.

Chapter 104

At this moment, scratching sounds came from outside the door. Bai Xiaoyu knew that he had been inside for too long, and the two eggs and one tiger waiting outside were getting impatient.

However, as soon as the scratching sound began, the movements of the hatchling inside the egg and the tentacles wrapped around it paused. The hatchling inside the egg turned its head toward the door, seemingly able to see through the shell without even opening its eyes. The tentacles behind it stirred, their color deepening slightly as the hatchling stared.

The scratching sound outside the door stopped, followed by a young tiger's whine.

Bai Xiaoyu noticed that the color of the hatchling's tentacles quickly darkened, and their tips instantly redirected towards the source of the sound. The tentacles outside also lifted their ends like snakes, with their fur standing on end.

In response to the tiger's cry, the tentacles perceived it as a challenge. A section of a tentacle reached out and struck the alchemy cauldron nearby, producing a dull thud.

The sound outside paused momentarily, and in the next second, the hatchling's voice sounded again, this time with dissatisfaction and a fighting spirit. The doorknob was then opened by a slightly larger white tiger cub, who strutted in, followed by two eggs.

Almost immediately upon opening the door, both sides faced off against each other.

Bai Xiaoyu watched helplessly as even the hatchling inside the egg entered combat mode, rubbing his forehead.

Indeed, every time he fed them, he did not allow the other two eggs and the tiger to enter because they always behaved like natural enemies. Previously, only the tentacles would covet the others and often ambush them, but never succeeded.

Initially, just the tentacles causing trouble wasn't a big issue. After all, the tentacles had an incredible resilience, recovering quickly even after being flattened countless times. However, when the tentacles started bringing the eggs into battle, he became alert.

The tentacle egg developed faster than the others, moving shortly after birth. With numerous tentacles controlled by the hatchling inside, the egg alone was already a handful. It behaved very obediently around Bai Xiaoyu, Qi Yanhuan, and Qin Lie, but became extremely combative when facing the black egg.

Just as he withdrew his mental energy, the deep blue tentacle-wrapped egg was brought out of the nursery box by the large tentacle.

When the white tiger cub approached, the large tentacle carried the egg forward and engaged in a fight with the tiger cub.

Little One hadn't grown much over the past month and was still the smallest among the hatchlings. Despite its small size, the white tiger cub's fighting ability had increased significantly. A month ago, Bai Xiaoyu wouldn't have dared let Little One fight the tentacles, but now he could stand aside with his arms crossed and watch them battle.

The tentacles would be cautious about protecting the egg, slightly reducing their combat effectiveness. Half a tentacle wrapped around the egg, fighting alongside it.

Bai Xiaoyu observed that the coordination between the tentacles and the egg was remarkable, advancing and retreating, attacking and defending at the right moments. Once the egg hatched, the combined power would be more than just one plus one.

He had seen many partners who fought together for years during the apocalypse, but none matched the harmony between the tentacles and the egg. They seemed like a single entity despite being independent.

Perhaps this was due to the tentacles' instinctual behavior and lack of self-awareness? In fact, as the tentacles evolved, they developed neural nodes controlling their actions. These neural nodes lacked independent consciousness but possessed a certain level of intelligence.

This meant that the owner of the tentacles didn't need to control them constantly; they could be sent out independently to hunt or fight.

No wonder the insect princes were so powerful; a single adult prince could match an entire army. Now, the deep blue tentacles, after his research, had not yet reached the adult stage of a prince, indicating they were still in their juvenile form.

Bai Xiaoyu recalled the information provided by Bai Kan about insect princes. Typically, a single emperor would have one or two princes. Since they were all in their juvenile form, the likelihood of two emperors awakening simultaneously was low, suggesting they might belong to the same emperor?

However, there were no records of princes being so affectionate towards each other. Could these two be mutants?

Meanwhile, Bai Qi, pale-faced, watched the deep blue mass, which resembled a flying saucer, engulfing half the pasture with countless tentacles. Within moments, hundreds of animals were absorbed, leaving only impurities behind.

A black dot within the round body of the tentacles slowly moved and suddenly turned to stare at Bai Qi.

Bai Qi was not in good condition, having exhausted his mental energy and nearly losing control of the prince. Even though he fed the insect prince with ordinary animals daily, the prince was already showing signs of growing beyond his control.

This was not what he wanted.

Looking at the prince, his eyes gradually turned wild. After a while, he abruptly turned and left.

He headed to the underground laboratory, where Old Qi greeted him without surprise. Bai Qi's inability to control the prince had been evident, and according to his character, agreeing to the brain implant modified by the emperor was inevitable.

Meanwhile, in another location, a massive deep blue mass, similar in size to a three-story villa, had tentacles tinged with a faint red from unabsorbed flesh essence, exuding a bloody scent. Scattered around were remnants of flesh, indicating the brutality of its feeding.

Suddenly, a man wearing a silver mask approached, revealing only his thin lips.

He patted the round belly of the mass, which seemed excited by his arrival, its tentacles trembling.

The man patted it again and said, "You're not behaving like a prince. Change into human form."

The mass clearly hesitated, so the man took out a fist-sized insect crystal, "No change, no food."

The black dot within the mass stared at the insect crystal, and soon the deep blue mass began to shrink, transforming into a naked twelve-year-old boy. The boy walked over without any sense of shame, his mouth still stained with blood, drooling as he looked at the insect crystal.

He spoke like a child learning to talk, stammering, "Emperor... give... me..."

The man stroked the boy's head and handed him a set of clothes, "Put these on, as I taught you."

Seeing the boy's reluctance, the man threatened, "No clothes, no insect crystal."

The boy quickly put on the clothes, looking harmless except for the blood on his lips.

The man handed him the insect crystal, "This time, don't tear your clothes off when not eating."

The boy's eyes fixed on the insect crystal, nodding eagerly before biting into it. The crystal, usually requiring sharp instruments to cut, crunched like an apple in his hands.

The man watched the boy for a while, "Another prince born around the same time hasn't been found yet, but we have clues. You two will need to get along well."

The boy stuffed the insect crystal into his mouth hastily, speaking between bites, "Fight... for food!"

The man wiped the blood from the boy's mouth, his eyes turning dangerous, "We can feed you the entire galaxy. Don't worry about not having enough. But for now, that old man is still around. Believe me, he sensed my awakening. We'll have to hide a bit longer."

On the other side, Bai Xiaoyu watched the white tiger cub battling the tentacles and egg. If they continued, the fight would turn serious, potentially damaging the alchemy room. He quickly called a halt.

Upon hearing his voice, both sides separated. Although the tiger cub kept snarling at the tentacles and egg, and the tentacles remained poised to attack, they respected Bai Xiaoyu's command.

Bai Xiaoyu patted the tiger cub's head and touched the top of the egg not wrapped by the tentacles, "Both of you are good kids."

Little One listened to him without question, and the hatchling inside the egg always behaved similarly, which made him feel relieved.

After all, this hatchling was an insect prince, and disobedience would be troublesome.

He needed to raise it properly, ensuring it didn't go astray.

Bai Xiaoyu resettled the tentacle eggs and the balls, and at this moment, the large black egg and the metal egg rubbed against him, so he also stroked these two eggs. He then turned back to his work, preparing to make a batch of Bone Marrow Washing Elixir as soon as possible.

The next day, Bai Xiaoyu carried the tentacle eggs down, followed by a robot holding a spherical container about the same size as the tentacle eggs.

For this opaque sphere, it could move and bump. Occasionally, when the tentacle eggs were placed in the live streaming interface, the audience only thought that this ball with the eggs was a special toy, or even some believed it was an incubation aid used by Bai Xiaoyu. Since the ball and the eggs were almost always together, they thought the movement of the eggs was caused by this toy ball.

Bai Xiaoyu did not plan to explain this. After all, the less information leaked about the tentacle eggs, the better.

Watching the egg and the ball skillfully stick together, Bai Xiaoyu turned around to examine each egg. After checking the eggs from the region and the army, Bai Xiaoyu's next target was the egg whose yolk and whites were entirely gray and filled with death energy.

This egg had grown significantly after a month of development, thanks to the large amount of attribute-matching nutrient solution provided by Bai Xiaoyu. Although it developed relatively slowly compared to the main group, its current size was acceptable. At least compared to the tiny one it once was, this growth rate was quite good.

His mental power probed into the egg, and the young creature inside was also in the forming stage. It was not yet fully differentiated, but its general shape could be seen, resembling an ordinary human infant.

But Bai Xiaoyu knew there was much more to it than that.

The young creature inside was unlike the tentacle young, which could move and turn; this one needed about half a month before it could move.

The young creature curled up in a ball, its skin not the typical reddish hue of other human infants but very thin and translucent, revealing the blood vessels underneath. This young creature was grayish overall, and through the translucent skin, one could see the gray blood flowing within. Additionally, while it had a heartbeat, it lacked a constant warm body temperature.

The young creature also had a grayish aura of death, mixed with a new vitality, making it look quite contradictory.

At first, Bai Xiaoyu did not recognize it, but as the young creature gradually formed, he began to suspect something. Now, his guess was confirmed.

He had spent over a decade in the apocalypse and even specialized in researching a potion, so he was extremely familiar with it. How could he not recognize that the young creature in this egg was actually a zombie infant?

Initially, he was extremely shocked, but later he discovered that in the universe, there were countless planets, and some had experienced an apocalypse similar to his original world. On one such planet, humans and zombies eventually coexisted peacefully.

These zombies had regained their consciousness, and some even recovered their past memories. The zombie virus was controlled and no longer contagious. Over time, the hatred and disgust faded, and the humans on that planet gradually accepted them.

After thousands of years of evolution, zombies gradually regained reproductive abilities, but the birth rate of their young was almost the lowest in the entire universe. After being contaminated by the dark matter of the insectoids, there had been no newborns for a hundred years.

If anyone dared to bully their youngest, a hundred-year-old "child," the entire race would fight to the death for them.

Chapter 105

The egg is currently in good condition, but he had previously reviewed the parents' information, and both were pure humans. However, in the genetic data they submitted, the mother of the egg indeed possessed zombie genes.

The zombie genes ranked among the last few in the mother's numerous rare racial genes, having been passed down for countless generations. Now, a zombie offspring has actually been born. If it weren't for the fact that Star People can instantly recognize their own eggs, there would have been quite a commotion.

Bai Xiaoyu discovered from previous records that the number of zombies was continuously decreasing, making them one of the rarest races with the least population. Bai Xiaoyu wasn't surprised by this; they inherently carried too much death energy, making it difficult for new life to be born.

However, zombies naturally tend to be somewhat brutal and prefer battlefields, so many armies have zombie warriors. They look like pure humans, but both their physical constitution and mental strength surpass those of pure humans, making them comparable to beasts in terms of abilities.

Battlefields are always cruel, compounded by dark matter pollution, leading to a low birth rate, causing the zombie population to dwindle further. Fifty years ago, they established a rule that no newborn offspring could join the military. If necessary, two zombie offspring must be born before one can go to the battlefield.

This rule has remained dormant because there were no eligible offspring.

Bai Xiaoyu continued to examine the next egg, which had an extremely small yolk and had been in hibernation for ten years.

After probing with his mental power, he saw that the yolk inside had already developed.

Initially, the yolk of this egg was only the size of a grape, leading him to think it might be due to poor development during incubation or within the mother. Later, he realized that the yolk of their race was naturally this small.

Their eggs themselves are smaller, but the human genes provide enough space without affecting the egg's development.

Probing with his mental power, he saw a curled-up, fist-sized offspring that hadn't fully differentiated yet, still in a semi-formed state. The offspring looked small, but its skin and blood were no different from those of the half-beast offspring. The only difference was that it had a tail three times longer than its upper body. The tail didn't grow from the spine but connected below the abdomen and legs.

Bai Xiaoyu carefully examined the offspring wrapped in its tail, noting that despite its small size, it was healthy, with tiny transparent scales starting to grow on the tail.

It is said that the scales on a mermaid's tail only start to show color after the offspring becomes fully formed and mobile within the egg. Before that, the scales remain transparent.

Indeed, this egg with an extremely small yolk is a mermaid egg. Mermaid eggs are usually not large, and Bai Xiaoyu checked the records, finding that they are slightly larger than when Xiao Dian was unhatched. Newly hatched mermaid offspring are also very small, fitting in the palm of a hand. Mermaids grow rapidly after hatching and require an ocean environment.

Since Bai Xiaoyu learned that the offspring in the egg was a mermaid, he changed the herbal concoction in the incubation fluid, replacing many herbs with those collected from the deep sea. The energy and marine scent in these herbs are suitable for the offspring's growth.

Bai Xiaoyu had more of these herbs collected, all gathered by the mermaids in the two armies from the deep sea.

Wondering why so many were needed, Bai Xiaoyu finished examining this egg and turned to the next one.

This egg, with a large yolk, was sent by one of the fathers, Xiao Yue, and had been in hibernation for twenty-one years.

Bai Xiaoyu cautiously probed into the egg with his mental power. The yolk, which initially resembled a jellyfish, had not changed much in shape. However, a layer of shimmering gossamer now covered the surface of the yolk, tightly enveloping the offspring inside, acting as an additional protective shell.

Bai Xiaoyu did not probe through the gossamer with his mental power, as he had previously discovered that it blocked mental power. While this level of gossamer couldn't completely block his mental power, he could roughly gauge the condition of the offspring without needing to force entry.

Mental power is aggressive and could damage the incomplete gossamer, which is a natural companion to the young offspring throughout its life. It must not be destroyed because of him.

Bai Xiaoyu recognized the race of the offspring in this egg even earlier than the mermaid, as he had encountered a mermaid before the apocalypse, while mermaids appear in the West.

He couldn't see the full appearance of the young mermaid offspring protected by the gossamer, but Bai Xiaoyu wasn't in a hurry. He had seen the appearance of mermaids and decided to wait for the young offspring to develop slowly.

As Bai Xiaoyu continued to examine the next egg, three elderly men with white hair and youthful appearances were drinking together, sharing their grievances.

"Our clan hasn't had a newborn in a hundred years."

"Our clan is similar; we haven't seen a mermaid offspring that fits in my palm for eighty years. How nostalgic."

After saying this, they looked at each other and sighed. Finally, they turned to the silent man beside them, suddenly realizing that his clan might be better off, as the mermaid clan hasn't had a newborn for over three hundred years.

The elder in black spoke, "Our youngest is a hundred years old and still single. We keep urging him to find a partner and have offspring, but he shows no interest. He only likes battles and tells us to stop nagging and have our own if we want offspring. Look at what he says! When the offspring grows up, they don't let us hold them, and I can't even hug a little zombie because he won't find a partner!"

As he became agitated, the elder's nails gradually changed color.

The elder in blue also sighed, "Our youngest is in the medical department of the frontline army and is eighty years old with no partner. Why don't we introduce them? Maybe we can hold our grandchildren in a few years."

The elder in red, who had been silent, was intrigued and coughed lightly to get their attention, but the two were engrossed in conversation.

The elder in red couldn't help but speak up, "Include my clan's offspring too."

The other two elders looked at him suspiciously and said in unison, "Your clan's three-hundred-year-old offspring still doesn't have a partner?"

Before the elder in red could answer, the elder in black said, "Our offspring is only a hundred years old; a three-hundred-year-old partner is too old."

The elder in blue nodded, "Exactly, a generation gap of three years. How many gaps is that between my offspring?"

Seeing them dismiss his clan's youngest, the elder in red narrowed his eyes, clearly angry, "Did you forget that our mermaid clan reaches adulthood at three hundred years? He's only been an adult for decades."

The other two elders agreed, thinking it was better to have more options.

Thus, they continued chatting, naming their potential grandchildren even though nothing was certain.

Thinking about the offspring, they began to eye each other warily.

"The offspring will naturally belong to our zombie clan."

"What nonsense. Our mermaid clan provides a better environment."

"Still, our mermaid clan is best suited to raise the offspring."

In the end, the discussion broke down, and the three elders stood with their hair moving without wind. Suddenly, a robot walked by, and the moment it disappeared from view, the three moved.

The elder in black instantly grew ten-centimeter-long black nails, "Let's fight!"

The elder in blue revealed a three-meter-long fish tail, slapping the faces of the other two, "If we knock you out, the offspring will be ours."

The elder in red produced transparent crimson gossamer and attacked.

The scene became chaotic.

This fight even made it to the trending topics, with the reason being the uneven distribution of non-existent offspring.

As for the aftermath, many forces in the galaxy expressed that they had plenty of eligible candidates and suggested introducing them to the younger generation.

These three rare races were all ancient ones, with immense wealth and power accumulated over countless years, extending their influence throughout the entire starry expanse. Even the royal family, which had been established for tens of thousands of years, coveted their wealth.

After Bai Xiaoyu finished checking on Dandan and was using the refining device in the Pharmacy Building to make potions, Tao Limeng was also there. At this moment, he was unusually not studying the refining device but instead staring intently at his optical brain.

After Bai Xiaoyu finished refining a batch of potions, he looked at Tao Limeng and asked Lou Hao beside him, "What's wrong with him? Did he see some high-tech gadget that caught his interest?"

Lou Hao: "The mermaid tribe's silk gauze. He's been craving it for a long time. Not just the silk gauze, but also the crystal cores from the zombie tribe and pearls from the merfolk tribe—all are excellent materials."

Bai Xiaoyu responded with an "oh," "Those things, they definitely won't give them away easily. Don't even think about it."

Mermaids have pearls, and so do mermaids. But now, in the starry universe, people only seem to know about the pearls of the merfolk and the silk gauze woven by mermaids in the deep sea. If Tao Limeng covets the silk gauze in the hands of that red-robed elder, it would shatter if the mermaid dies unless the mermaid cuts off a piece themselves; otherwise, even killing the mermaid wouldn't get it. As for the crystal cores of the zombie tribe, would you dare ask before they scoop out your brains?

Tao Limeng lifted his head, "Didn't the star network say that the young members of their three tribes are looking for spouses? What do you think of me?"

Bai Xiaoyu and Lou Hao: "..."

This guy must be crazy, planning to sell his looks for raw materials?

Lou Hao looked up and down at the man with messy hair and dark circles under his eyes, shaking his head, "With your appearance, I can barely stand looking at you, let alone the merfolk and mermaids who judge by looks. The zombie tribe probably wouldn't even consider someone who stays in the lab for days without bathing, smelling like rotting flesh—how could they have any appetite?"

Tao Limeng slumped, seeming very troubled.

Bai Xiaoyu thought Tao Limeng still looked quite decent, not as bad as Lou Hao described.

Suddenly, Tao Limeng looked at him, sizing up Bai Xiaoyu, his eyes growing brighter, "Boss, if I can't do it, you can. You should try; if you can charm all three of them, wouldn't they be at your mercy?"

As soon as he said this, the two eggs and one tiger immediately attacked. The big black egg slammed Tao Limeng into the wall, and as he slid down, the metal egg knocked him down again, rolling over him repeatedly. The little white tiger jumped onto his neck and scratched his head, shaking its paws in disgust while doing so.

Lou Hao looked at the scratched face of Tao Limeng, somewhat gloating, "How dare you say such things in front of these three? Are you obsessed with materials?"

Inside the metal egg, the big tiger continued to roll over Tao Limeng while sending messages to Bai Xiaoyu, "Xiaoyu, the three of them are at least eighty years old, too old for a partner."

Bai Xiaoyu couldn't help laughing and crying, "I don't plan to date them. Let him go."

The big black egg, which had been rubbing against him, perked up. Bai Xiaoyu stroked the big black egg's shell, leaning comfortably against it, watching as the metal egg and Xiaoyu gave Tao Limeng a few more hard hits before reluctantly walking away.

Tao Limeng got up with a scratched face, feeling as if every bone in his body was about to break. Although he still felt tempted looking at Bai Xiaoyu, he was intimidated by the three creatures ready to attack him.

Forget it, he'd dress up nicely and maybe wear a dress if necessary. If that didn't work, he had an unmarried older brother, or even Lou Hao...

Bai Xiaoyu had no idea Tao Limeng hadn't given up. He looked at the star map of the Fireseed. In the past month, several more stars had lit up. Now eleven stars were illuminated. There were also a few new herb acquisition chains.

For now, herbs were sufficient, and Tao Limeng was about to develop a new refining device. The previous refining devices had increased to seven or eight, enough to light up more planets.

There were also the system points. After a month of accumulation, with hundreds of thousands of points entering daily from hatched eggs using their potions, the total had reached over twenty million, and the system had refreshed two new instruments.

Currently, the speed of lighting up stars wasn't enough, but once the supply of herbs and refining devices scaled up, it was believed that several stars could be lit up each day, perhaps even more.

Chapter 106

Bai Xiaoyu looked at the newly arrived alchemy machines for the Small Healing Elixir and the Great Healing Elixir.

These two elixirs were produced according to the needs of the legion and had only been listed in the Pharmacy Department on the newly ignited planet last month.

The Small Healing Elixir, when consumed during severe injuries, can quickly restore one's condition and keep them alert. The Great Healing Elixir can sustain the life of someone near death, giving them enough time to be rescued.

Both elixirs have been very popular among the soldiers since their listing.

The two legions transported the herbs needed for these elixirs, with twice the amount required.

However, he couldn't produce them alone before, and it was unexpected that they would become available once his points broke through the twenty million mark.

It must be said that this time, the system did a good job; otherwise, providing even fifty bottles daily to each of the sixteen planets' Pharmacy Departments would have been challenging. After all, there were also enhanced growth fluids and mental strength recovery elixirs that needed manual production.

Now, it's time to make another choice. The Small Healing Elixir requires eight million points and five hundred billion credits, while the Great Healing Elixir requires ten million points and six hundred billion credits. The enhanced growth fluid and mental strength recovery elixir require five million points and two hundred billion credits each.

With over twenty million points, Bai Xiaoyu has enough to exchange for three alchemy machines, but his credits are insufficient. For now, he can only choose one from each batch.

The system appeared again, gloating: "The system had long warned the host to earn more credits, or they would face such an awkward situation."

Bai Xiaoyu: "I will eventually exchange them; it's impossible to achieve everything at once."

The income from the Pharmacy Departments is gradually stabilizing, and the online pharmacy store sells elixirs selectively to the cultivation centers on various fringe planets every day. The incoming credits are substantial, but so are the outflows.

The credit costs for acquiring herbs from multiple supply chains, setting up new acquisition stations, and installing equipment on various planets are just part of the expenses. The largest portion still goes to the Herb Base.

Given the remaining credits, it's already quite impressive.

Based on the previously understood needs of the legions, Bai Xiaoyu decided to exchange for the Great Healing Elixir and the mental strength recovery elixir alchemy machines. After all, the enhanced growth fluid focuses on quickly restoring the soldiers' physical strength, which they can recover naturally with rest. Mental strength recovery, however, is not as quick in the tense battlefield environment.

The exchange interface now only showed three types of alchemy machines: the Small Healing Elixir, the Great Healing Elixir, and the enhanced growth fluid machines.

After exchanging for the Great Healing Elixir machine, Bai Xiaoyu could only choose to refresh with five thousand points. The exchange interface not only lists new alchemy machines but also includes all previously available ones, making any combination possible. Now, Bai Xiaoyu saw three identical alchemy machines for the previously exchanged Peiyuan Elixir, and had no choice but to continue refreshing.

Finally, on the third try, the mental strength recovery elixir machine appeared, and he exchanged for it.

Bai Xiaoyu took out the two newly exchanged alchemy machines from the system's storage space and placed them on the ground. The sound of the machines landing startled those secretly scheming ways to approach the rare species, who immediately turned their attention to the new machines, studying them intently, touching and rubbing them, completely engrossed.

Lou Hao, feeling a strange tingling sensation, sighed in relief, "Do you still want the Xiao Sha?"

Tao Limeng refocused his eyes and nodded without hesitation, "Of course, but that won't be resolved anytime soon. Right now, researching the new machines is more important. Fortunately, the previous two alchemy machines are almost finished, so we can include this one in our research process."

The nearly completed alchemy machines are for repair and Peiyuan elixirs, which is good news for the expanding Fireseed.

Thus, Tao Limeng continued researching the alchemy machines, while Bai Xiaoyu resumed producing elixirs.

The next day, Bai Xiaoyu opened his live stream and began the daily routine check on the eggs.

Viewers flooded into the live stream and gathered around the incubation compartments they favored. Among the eggs, the most popular was the red one with the distinctive patterns of the herb and a faint black seal. This egg was now quite large, barely fitting within Bai Xiaoyu's hands.

This egg is the largest among the current batch, aside from the tentacle egg.

When viewers first discovered the red egg in the incubation compartment, they were amazed until Bai Xiaoyu explained that it was an egg, the smallest dormant egg transferred inside. Their jaws dropped.

Initially, they didn't believe it, even suspecting it might be a rare plant-human. Even now, many still hold that belief.

Seeing Bai Xiaoyu adding solid growth medium to the egg, their focus shifted to the roots exposed by the semi-transparent medium.

"The egg is growing so fast; look, the roots have thickened."

"In less than half a month, these eggs will start moving. Do you think the red egg will move?"

"Probably not; the red egg is rooted in the medium and can't move like the others."

Bai Xiaoyu thought about it; the herb itself cannot move, but the hatchling inside certainly can. It's impossible for it to remain stationary like a plant.

This egg is fine, so he moved on to check the next one.

This egg was previously dormant and weak, but after using specially formulated elixirs, it has now joined the main group in absorbing regular elixirs.

Although its size ranks lower, it still has time to catch up.

After checking all the eggs, Bai Xiaoyu's final gaze fell on the transparent instrument mimicking the mother's womb. He walked over to investigate.

For this egg that has yet to fully recover, the viewers are also concerned. If not for the visible signs of increased activity through the transparent display, they might have thought it would turn into a dud egg.

Bai Xiaoyu's mental power entered the egg, finding the hatchling's size unchanged since the first visit. However, the once pale hatchling now had a hint of color.

His mental power carefully entered the hatchling's wrist, sensing the faint but steady heartbeat. Though weak, it beat steadily.

Continuing deeper, he found the hatchling's tiny heart beating and all organs functioning, indicating a gradual recovery.

Everything was improving. With daily doses of life essence and specially formulated repair elixirs, the hatchling had shown signs of movement in recent days.

The hatchling inside the egg was recovering well, and Bai Xiaoyu believed it would soon join the other eggs in the incubation compartments.

However, he soon noticed something amiss. On the first day, the hatchling moved its limbs; on the second day, it repeated the same actions; on the third day, it was still the same.

This hatchling, which should have been active after two months of incubation, remained in a repetitive state. Its movements resembled instinctual reactions rather than voluntary actions.

This indicated that the hatchling's new mental body was not controlling its body.

Bai Xiaoyu's mental power scanned the hatchling's body, finding no significant issues. Finally, his attention focused on the hatchling's head, which he usually avoids probing.

His mental power gently tapped the hatchling's head. In the past, this familiar gesture would prompt the hatchling to clumsily extend its tiny mental touch.

Now he had been knocking for quite a while, but still received no response.

After several attempts, Bai Xiaoyu carefully controlled his mental threads, intending to probe inside to see what was going on.

Soon the cub's brain appeared before him, and its development seemed normal. The problem was that he discovered an incomplete, clearly divided mental body.

Both the large and small mental bodies were extremely weak, clinging together but unable to merge.

Bai Xiaoyu's mental power circled around the two split mental bodies. One of the smaller ones produced purer fluctuations, much like most cubs' initial mental bodies. The other, significantly larger mental body, had more complex and variable fluctuations, resembling those of an adult's mental body.

Bai Xiaoyu's first reaction was possession, but soon he realized that the two mental bodies seemed to have split from a single entity.

Once they were one, now one resembled a newborn, while the other seemed as if it had gone through a cycle of reincarnation.

Bai Xiaoyu was momentarily confused and somewhat bewildered.

However, this did not stop him from thinking about solutions to the cub's mental body condition.

Both split mental bodies were very weak, and neither could control the body. The only solution was to fuse them together.

There were many mental fusion potions available, and Bai Xiaoyu chose a mental restoration potion for this situation.

This potion could eliminate the sharp edges formed by a mental body split for too long, returning it to its original form. This would allow the split mental bodies to slowly merge.

Due to the extreme weakness of both mental bodies, Bai Xiaoyu used the tenderest parts of the herbs to concoct a very mild potion, which he administered cautiously to the cub every day. He also supplemented with mental strengthening potions to gradually restore the two weakened mental bodies.

The mental strengthening potion required powerful mental energy as a catalyst, which Bai Xiaoyu naturally provided himself.

To his surprise, the cub's mental power showed no signs of discomfort, so the mental strengthening potion was incredibly beneficial, visibly reviving the two mental bodies day by day.

Through this experience, Bai Xiaoyu also sensed that the cub's mental body had very similar fluctuations to his own.

Actually, his mental power fluctuations were also similar to those of the little one. If this egg belonged to that cheap father, it was normal for the mental power fluctuations to be similar. After all, his and Bai Kan's mental power fluctuations were the same.

Now the cub's mental power fluctuations were just like another little one.

Thinking about this, Bai Xiaoyu fell silent. Those cheap parents had actually given birth to another, and this one hatched alongside the original owner.

So this meant another full-blooded brother?

As for why he felt it was a younger brother rather than an older one, Bai Xiaoyu simply knew at first glance that this one was a younger brother.

Surprised as he was, he couldn't concern himself with the situation of those cheap parents. Now he needed to focus on repairing the two mental bodies. After half a month, the two mental bodies finally merged.

The cub, who had previously only flailed its limbs, finally became more agile.

Bai Xiaoyu's mental power knocked on the cub's forehead again. After a few taps, the mental body inside finally seemed to awaken from a long sleep. Two small mental power antennae slowly emerged from the cub's head.

Due to using Bai Xiaoyu's mental power energy as a catalyst, the cub generated two mental body antennae after the fusion. One was thick, and the other was thin.

Bai Xiaoyu gently poked the thicker mental power antenna, and it wobbled. Soon, a surprisingly precise consciousness, completely unlike that of a cub, transmitted: "Who's poking me? It's you who knocked my head and woke up this stellar super invincible emperor, right? I'm going to punish you!"

Bai Xiaoyu looked at the cub, who hadn't opened its eyes yet but was already putting its tiny hands on its hips: "...?"

Chapter 107

Interstellar Super Invincible Great Emperor, always using this cringeworthy ID on the Star Network, was naturally very familiar to Bai Xiaoyu.

Now, with his hands on his hips and head tilted back as if glaring at the thin tendrils of mental power, combined with what he had said earlier, he was a perfect example of a middle school delinquent.

Perhaps not getting a response from Bai Xiaoyu, the thicker tentacle kept thrashing, "Why aren't you answering your Great Emperor? Speak up!"

As he conveyed his thoughts, his two short legs kicked wildly, making the previously motionless hatchling suddenly become lively.

Bai Xiaoyu observed this ignorant little guy, recalling the original host's various behaviors. The mannerisms, actions, and even the tone were exactly like the original host.

If it really was the original host, then the anomaly in the hatchling's mind could be explained.

However, there is compatibility between a spirit body and a physical body. Although these two spirit bodies were weak, especially since one had developed sharp edges over time, preventing their fusion, they instinctively controlled the body upon merging.

It was evident that the compatibility was extremely high, almost as if the spirit body originally belonged to this tiny body.

So, the question arises: If this is the original host's spirit body, and the original host returned to their own body, whose body is Bai Xiaoyu occupying now?

Bai Xiaoyu couldn't figure it out; he did take over mid-way. When he took over this body, the compatibility was also extremely high. If not for the original host's constitution, which made every step exhausting, he would have thought it was his own body. Moreover, the appearance was identical to his.

Bai Xiaoyu frowned, unable to come up with an answer amidst the swirling thoughts in his mind.

At this moment, the hatchling in the egg grew impatient. Its two tentacles wiggled and slowly approached Bai Xiaoyu's mental power tendril, clumsily wrapping around it.

Unconsciously rubbing against it, the small tentacle paused. For some reason, this person gave him a very familiar and comforting feeling, just like the presence that accompanied him during his endless drifting in darkness.

But why isn't he responding now?

The two small tentacles wrapped around the mental power tendril, "Quickly respond, quickly respond, quickly..."

Bai Xiaoyu felt the other's thoughts and hastily withdrew his mental power tendril. The hatchling paused, then continued to wrap around it, "Why are you running? If you run again, your Great Emperor will punish you!"

Bai Xiaoyu's mental power tendril gently pulled away from the two small tentacles, conveying a thought, "You're too noisy."

The hatchling immediately started kicking and rolling, "You actually pulled away from me?"

Bai Xiaoyu watched the hatchling roll around, feeling a headache, "Little one, stop calling yourself 'laozi,' it's impolite."

The hatchling continued rolling, clearly ignoring him.

Bai Xiaoyu's mental power tendril touched the hatchling's thrashing tentacle again, asking, "Do you know who you are?"

The hatchling paused, its tentacles stopping as if thinking, "I'm the Interstellar Super Invincible Great Emperor."

Bai Xiaoyu: "...Not that, tell me your name."

Hatchling: "I am the Interstellar Super Invincible Great Emperor. How can you be so stupid?"

After asking several times, the hatchling insisted on his identity as the Great Emperor, refusing to change his stance.

Bai Xiaoyu rubbed his forehead; this little guy was much more difficult to handle than Xiao Budian, completely stubborn.

At this moment, the hatchling's tentacles atop its head moved, seemingly observing the surroundings, "Where is this? Why is it so dark? Are you trying to steal my throne by locking me up?"

Then the hatchling crawled over, reaching out with its small hands to feel around. Touching the eggshell, it pounded it with its tiny fists, "Let me out! I want to see the empire I've conquered!"

Bai Xiaoyu: "..."

Is there any hope for this one?

Bai Xiaoyu watched it pound. In its current state, breaking through the eggshell with those soft little fists was impossible. Besides, the hatchling's stamina was limited, especially after a twenty-three-year hibernation.

Sure enough, the hatchling gave up after less than a minute, curling up again, its tentacles drooping.

Bai Xiaoyu probed with his mental power tendril, sensing the hatchling's thoughts, "I'm so tired. I'm going to sleep. When I wake up, I better see you here, or else I'll punish you."

The hatchling's two tentacles slowly retreated, and soon it fell asleep.

Bai Xiaoyu: "..."

He let it go because the little guy was still weak, and the newly merged spirit body wasn't stable. Otherwise, he would have taught it a lesson right there.

Now, the hatchling seemed to have incomplete memories, suggesting it was the original host.

But he wasn't sure, so he called out mentally, "System, what's going on?"

The system admitted directly, "He is the original host. Before you took over, the system sent his consciousness back to his body. It cost five hundred thousand points."

Bai Xiaoyu: "So half of the one million points owed was used on the original host?"

System: "That's unavoidable. This was a decision made by your subconscious."

Bai Xiaoyu asked again, "What do you mean by sending the original host's consciousness back to his body? And what about the decision made by my subconscious?"

This time, the system went silent, no longer responding.

Seeing no answers forthcoming, Bai Xiaoyu didn't press further.

Meanwhile, he was still live-streaming. The audience watched as the data on the transparent container's egg quickly normalized within minutes, even surpassing the status of other rolling eggs, leaving them stunned.

Bai Xiaoyu opened the transparent container and gently carried out the last egg that had been in hibernation for twenty-three years. The egg still had faint traces of the Danmo Seal pattern, and the originally grayish shell had regained its luster over the past two months. Though slightly duller than the other eggs, its condition had fully recovered.

As Bai Xiaoyu placed the egg into the incubation compartment, Elder Han was watching.

Observing the egg in the incubation compartment, he then looked at the transparent display above, confirming the data showed success.

After a while, he turned to the person beside him and said, "No wonder it's a royal-level mental power. Reviving an egg with only a fragment of a spirit body is nothing short of a miracle."

Another elderly man squinted his eyes and replied, "Indeed. Back then, the spirit within this egg was extracted with the combined mental strength of both of us. If it weren't for the fact that the spirit from this egg was forcibly transferred to the other egg, the royal-level spirit would have been concerned about the safety of its younger brother, and we wouldn't have had any way to deal with it."

The two eggs were born simultaneously in Feng Shuang'er's womb, and she repeatedly fell victim to various schemes. Despite the strong effects of some drugs, which could cause miscarriage in the star system, the eggs remained resiliently inside her. After one of these incidents, one of the newly formed eggs was secretly removed and transferred to a simulated maternal incubator. As a result, Feng Shuang'er herself was unaware that she had carried two eggs.

Later, the two eggs were secretly incubated together, but after enduring numerous drug-induced attacks, the egg that was removed and separately incubated grew larger than the one left in the womb, which continued to suffer from various abortifacients.

Despite this, both eggs developed normally and were in good condition. Otherwise, the spirit from the first egg wouldn't have been able to endure being transferred to the second egg and live for over twenty years.

The elder who spoke last was Chen Lao, who had just woken up. He and Han Lao stared at the egg, their thoughts unknown.

Meanwhile, Bai Qing always found tasks for Feng Shuang'er during Bai Xiaoyu's live streams, distracting her so she wouldn't watch them.

Parents in the star system can instantly recognize their own eggs. When that happens, he didn't know how to explain it. Even when he couldn't prevent it, he arranged for experts in star network technology to manipulate the display of the egg, such as replacing its image with another egg's.

At this moment, Bai Qing looked at the egg with a complex expression, wondering how to explain that the egg could hatch again.

After what happened last time, their relationship had reached an icy point. If this was discovered, it wouldn't be as simple as blasting him with an energy cannon; they might even pilot mechs into the palace.

So now, he tried to hide it as long as possible.

Bai Xiaoyu put down the egg and turned to look at the others. The eggs that had been incubating for two months were all moving around in their compartments.

Except for the melon-shaped egg, which was red and only swayed because it had a root embedded in the nutrient soil.

The eggs were developing healthily. The eggs from the two legions started moving and immediately resumed their usual standoff, much to the amusement of the viewers in the live stream.

Given this situation, it was time to choose a day to notify the parents for the enlightenment ceremony.

Bai Xiaoyu sent out the messages. Unlike the previous time, when some blood eggs couldn't find their parents, the notifications were quickly sent out. Except for the warriors from the two legions who didn't respond promptly, the other parents responded almost immediately with excitement.

After notifying all the parents, only one egg remained. Bai Xiaoyu sighed, seeing the empty parent column, similar to the state of the little one back then.

Although the hatchling inside was quite immature, it couldn't be unwanted, right?

Having gone through this once before, the application for guardianship was submitted quickly this time. The process was swift, but when it got stuck again, Bai Xiaoyu raised an eyebrow. What was going on this time?

At the same time, the three elders received the message. Their mixed-blood descendants, whose lineage had been traced through generations, needed enlightenment.

The three races kept records of their intermarriages and traced their lineage generation by generation. Since their hatchlings required special environments and methods to grow, humans often struggled to raise them properly. If the newborns leaned too heavily towards their race, they would be taken away, along with their parents if they wished.

However, mixed-blood hatchlings rarely leaned towards their race, and the chances of producing a fully-formed offspring of their race were extremely rare, perhaps once every few hundred years.

The three old men were fighting when they received the message. They had been doing this for a long time, but whenever the topic of hatchlings came up, they started fighting again.

During their fight, they didn't forget to inform the youngest hatchlings in their respective races to meet up, only to be rejected mercilessly.

The elder in black received the message first and began boasting, "A mixed-blood hatchling from my clan needs enlightenment. We might soon welcome a zombie hatchling!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the light brain of the elder in blue flashed. Envious and jealous, he checked his light brain and grinned widely, "What's there to be proud of? Our clan also has a mixed-blood hatchling needing enlightenment."

Unable to boast further, they both turned to the elder in red, watching his light brain flash.

They said in unison, "Could it be that your clan also has a mixed-blood hatchling needing enlightenment?"

The elder in red proudly waved his light brain, "Exactly."

All three were surprised. Upon closer inspection, they realized that the hatchlings needing enlightenment came from the same incubation facility!

Was this a conspiracy against them?

Having lived for so long, they had encountered such situations many times.

Their desire to fight vanished, but upon seeing the same address, they exchanged glances and suddenly smiled knowingly.

Soon, in various frontline military camps, the three elders received ultimatums from their respective clan leaders. They must go to the incubation facility in Zone 9 of Planet D36 in seven days to help the mixed-blood parents with the enlightenment ceremony, or face the consequences!

Chapter 108

At this stage, the eggs had just started to move, making them the most curious and lively about the outside world.

Every time Bai Xiaoyu checked on them, the eggs would try to entangle him, wanting his mental threads to play with them for longer.

The only thing the eggs resisted was when he added new potions. The potions used during the hatchlings' development were all personally refined by Bai Xiaoyu, and varied based on each egg's condition.

As the hatchlings inside the eggs fully formed, their senses of taste, sight, and touch gradually improved. What they once absorbed happily now caused them to become agitated within thirty seconds after Bai Xiaoyu added the potion. They rolled around, even trying to roll out of their incubation compartments, attempting to escape. However, at this stage, the eggs were not very agile and could only float up and down in the potion, unable to escape, eventually sinking to the bottom in despair.

Bai Xiaoyu's mental power detected that the hatchlings inside the eggs also flipped over, their tiny arms and legs trembling.

The live stream audience found it hilarious.

"Whenever the eggs start moving, it seems like whenever the host adds potions, the eggs react as if they were poisoned. It's both pitiful and funny. Could there be something wrong with the potions?"

"You don't know this, but the potions used in the live stream are at least 2S grade, crafted by a master alchemist. I was lucky enough to win one in a lottery before; its effects were incredible, but the taste was so bad it felt like you were dying."

Many lucky viewers confirmed this, and soon everyone in the live stream knew about it, shouting out comments.

"Host, I heard the potions crafted by that master alchemist are notoriously hard to swallow. Many people say that if it weren't for the excellent effects, the master alchemist would get beaten up three times a day."

"It's true. The effects are real, but the taste is terrible. That flavor lingers forever, waking you up from nightmares."

"Haha, really that bad?"

Bai Xiaoyu paused, looking at the laughing audience: "… Are you being polite?"

Feeling the need to prove himself, he took out a row of various potions for them to try.

The audience rushed forward, and ten seconds later, all of them were lying on the ground with twisted faces, white ghosts floating out of their mouths.

In an instant, all the living people in the live stream vanished, replaced by ghosts flipping over and trembling on the ceiling.

This was another large-scale ghost event following the previous rotten egg incident. With more viewers than ever, now counted in the billions, the news quickly went viral.

Soon, everyone in the galaxy knew about the mysterious master alchemist whose potions were incredibly hard to swallow. The live stream scene was likened to a biochemical weapon attack.

The mysterious master alchemist became famous overnight, becoming the top dark cook on unrelated food websites.

Bai Xiaoyu put away the potions, glanced at the audience, and said coldly, "A single potion knocked you out. You're worse than the eggs."

After checking on the eggs, Bai Xiaoyu finally approached the rebellious egg. Even though the hatchling inside was asleep, necessary potions couldn't be skipped.

Less than a minute after adding the potion, the egg began to shake.

Since the shaking was abnormal compared to the other eggs rolling around, he used his mental power to investigate. He quickly discovered that the hatchling inside was too tired to move, only able to kick the shell weakly with its feet and pat it feebly with its tiny hands, its small body twitching.

Upon sensing Bai Xiaoyu, the two little tentacles trembled and flailed wildly.

Bai Xiaoyu's mental thread reached out, receiving the hatchling's thoughts.

"You covet my empire and want to poison me!"

"If you must kill, do it swiftly. Don't use such a foul-tasting poison!"

"This is the first time I've tasted such a terrifying flavor. Save me... save me..."

Bai Xiaoyu: "These are potions, not poisons."

Mental communication is hard to deceive unless deliberately hidden.

Thus, Bai Xiaoyu and the hatchling both found it hard to believe each other's words.

In Bai Xiaoyu's words of "bitter medicine you must get used to," the hatchling started bubbling and flipped over.

Bai Xiaoyu sighed, then saw the hatchling's body begin to change.

Its head, body, and limbs transformed simultaneously, and a tail began to grow from its spine. Having cared for the hatchling for so long, Bai Xiaoyu recognized this as a clear sign of transformation.

Star beasts transform into their beast form under life-threatening conditions, which is stronger and easier to survive in harsh environments.

Using his mental power to probe the hatchling's body, he found that the beast bloodline was directly stimulated, awakening and transforming instantly.

Watching the pure human hatchling turn into a bald tiger, Bai Xiaoyu's lips twitched.

Was it really necessary?

Still, it was a good thing. This hatchling wasn't one he had been incubating from the start, and even after adjusting for some time, missing the optimal incubation period meant he couldn't guarantee restoring its original birth form in the next month.

Now, with the bloodline activated, things were much simpler.

Although he didn't want to admit it, he finally acknowledged that the potions he crafted might be just a bit hard to swallow.

Just a bit.

Despite this, every day, viewers requested to taste the legendary dark potions. Thus, the live stream was surrounded by ghosts daily, creating a comical and amusing scene.

Later, Metal Egg came to Bai Xiaoyu, rolling and laughing uncontrollably because of the big tiger inside.

Bai Xiaoyu read the message sent by Metal Egg, explaining that the bio-weapon potion incident had attracted many so-called experts. After analyzing everything, they concluded that the master alchemist, like many geniuses, was lonely, pained, empty, and possibly had a dark personality, channeling these emotions into his potions.

They also believed the master alchemist was quite old, a near-death old man, but his tumultuous life made him a god.

They called him the Medicine God, and the galactic people were moved to tears, praying on various websites for the Medicine God to live longer, hoping he wouldn't pass away tomorrow.

Bai Xiaoyu: "..."

No wonder they were experts. But with his current mental power, he could live for a long time, and he was still recovering. When he would die, he didn't know, but he could certainly outlive all these experts.

On the other side, Bai Qing, who was also aware of the situation, was slacking off during a meeting. Seeing this, he spat out the tea he was drinking.

All eyes in the meeting immediately turned to him, but Bai Qing acted as if nothing had happened and told them to continue.

Days passed as everyone prayed that the Medicine God wouldn't kick the bucket, and before they knew it, the day of enlightenment had arrived.

The eggs were developing exceptionally well, each one very lively.

Early in the morning, Bai Xiaoyu had two robots carry an egg with tentacles, which was even larger than the yellow eggs from before. Not only that, but the robots behind also carried similarly sized opaque spheres.

At this moment, Bai Xiaoyu was holding another egg in his arms. This egg contained the youngling that had been stimulated and activated its bloodline. The egg was constantly moving in Bai Xiaoyu's arms, sometimes lying horizontally, sometimes standing vertically.

As the egg kept moving, Bai Xiaoyu's brows gradually furrowed.

This was because, for easier communication, he had inserted a thin thread of mental energy into the egg, just like he did with Little Bit before.

Now, he continuously received complaints from the youngling inside: "Hold me more steadily, hold me here, a little higher, you're tilting... I want to turn over, I want to sleep on my belly, I..."

Bai Xiaoyu: "Shut up, or I'll let you roll on the ground."

Inside the egg, the little tiger's whiskers twitched, and the two small antennae on its head angrily flicked. Its tiny claws scratched at the eggshell fiercely.

How dare this guy speak to the Great Emperor like this! Once he gets out, he will definitely find the countless troops under his command and severely punish him! And those strong troops will surely defeat those two annoying giant eggs and that pesky little white tiger!

Right now...

Bai Xiaoyu's mental energy thread moved slightly, and the aggressive little tiger instantly cowered. It wagged its tail at him and even gently rubbed its antennae against the thread.

Let's let him off for now.

Meanwhile, the members of The Henchmen Group, who had been waiting eagerly for the live stream to start, suddenly sneezed hard.

Who was thinking about them? And why hasn't this dog of a broadcaster started the live stream yet?

Soon, the live stream began, and they quickly forgot about everything else, rushing to their chosen eggs, waiting for the parents to arrive.

Bai Xiaoyu was guarding the incubation facility when Lu Qing brought the first group of parents over.

There were nine people in total. The first six came in pairs, clearly couples. Among them were two familiar faces, Xiao Yue and Ye Feng.

Bai Xiaoyu had read the profiles of the other parents and naturally knew their identities. He didn't expect that the parents of three rare species' younglings would all gather together.

Behind them stood three individuals in different positions, completely isolated from each other, all with striking appearances. Especially the two on the left, whose looks were even more exceptional.

The man on the right was tall and handsome, with fair skin and wearing a military uniform. The number of stripes on his shoulders indicated to Bai Xiaoyu, who had learned from retired soldiers, that he was a lieutenant general.

When Bai Xiaoyu looked at him, the man nodded slightly, lowering the brim of his cap a bit.

Bai Xiaoyu nodded back in greeting and almost immediately noticed that the color of the man's nails was darker than usual.

The man in the middle also wore a military uniform, with delicate features and a gentle demeanor, looking like an extremely kind person.

Bai Xiaoyu saw that his rank was brigadier general.

The last one was a tall woman, matching the height of the man in the middle. She had cold, fair skin and a refined appearance, but her aura matched her skin tone, exuding a commanding presence in her military uniform.

She, like the first man, was a lieutenant general.

Bai Xiaoyu and the interns present, as well as the viewers in the live stream, were stunned.

Three generals arriving one after another—what was going on?

Meanwhile, the three elders watching the live stream were frustrated with their own offspring, feeling like they were made of iron but lacked steel.

They had repeatedly urged their offspring to be proactive. The offspring had agreed, but now they stood there silently, separated by vast distances.

Even when their gazes occasionally met, they either turned away or engaged in a silent battle of eye contact.

They were supposed to watch the eggs' enlightenment and seize the opportunity to socialize, not fight!

The elders watched, growing increasingly angry, criticizing both their own offspring and the others for not being proactive. Thus, the outcome was predictable.

The parents soon introduced themselves without revealing specific details, but everyone knew they were from the same clans as the parents.

However, Bai Xiaoyu could tell their identities from their auras. Apart from his recent interactions with the younglings in the eggs, he was already familiar with two of the races, especially the zombies, whom he recognized almost immediately after dealing with them for over a decade.

The three individuals were also familiar with Bai Xiaoyu. During their initial greetings, they sensed that he had identified them, leading them to give him several curious glances.

The three elders watching the live stream suddenly paused their bickering. Could these three guys have set their sights on this breeder simultaneously?

Unaware of the elders' thoughts, Bai Xiaoyu decided to begin the enlightenment since the parents had arrived.

He initially planned to check the eggs in order, but now he prioritized the eggs of the three clans.

He explained the situation to the parents, asking them to wait, then walked to the zombie egg. As soon as his mental energy probed inside, the youngling inside immediately tried to grab the thread with its short hands, which had black nails.

Bai Xiaoyu didn't play with the youngling for long. After checking and soothing it, he withdrew. Turning to the parents of the zombie egg, he said, "The youngling is in excellent condition; you can come over now."

The parents thanked Bai Xiaoyu and approached excitedly, followed by the man behind them. As he got closer, his brows gradually furrowed. When he stood near the egg's incubation chamber, the egg tilted slightly towards him while communicating with the parents.

The man instinctively reached out, and as he touched the egg, his nails darkened slightly, but he quickly suppressed it. He raised his head sharply, his eyes filled with disbelief. Was this?

Those unfamiliar with this clan didn't notice this detail. Only Bai Xiaoyu and the other two men in military uniforms observed it.

The gentle man's eyes flickered, and even the woman beside him narrowed her eyes.

Could the zombie clan have a youngling with at least half-awakened bloodline?

The elder in black on the other side was also stunned, his smile gradually widening until he burst out laughing, "Our clan is finally having a youngling! Even if it's not fully awakened, after waiting for a hundred years, I'm satisfied!"

The other two elders, though feeling a twinge of jealousy, knew it was something they had long awaited and did not dampen his spirits.

Bai Xiaoyu then approached an egg. As soon as his mental energy probed inside, he immediately saw a tiny mermaid swiftly swimming over, circling around his mental energy and even blowing small bubbles from its mouth. Its originally colorless and transparent tail now had scales that had turned sky blue, indicating extremely pure mermaid blood.

Bai Xiaoyu chuckled softly at the adorable little mermaid.

He quickly called his parents over, and the middle-aged man followed closely behind. However, when he approached the egg, his face also displayed the same expression as the previous man's. Similarly, the moment he touched the egg, his hair changed color and then returned to normal.

This time, it was the elder in blue who was delighted.

Finally, the elder in red and the standing woman gazed intently at the egg Bai Xiaoyu was investigating.

Bai Xiaoyu looked at the hatchling wrapped in a faintly glowing purple veil, which had now become transparent, allowing him to see the little hatchling clearly. It was another tailed creature with a beautiful purple tail. Unlike the mermaid hatchling, this one had fins on both cheeks, which were translucent light purple and gently flapped as it swam, making it incredibly charming.

Bai Xiaoyu watched the little pearl mermaid circling his mental energy and gently poked its tail. The little pearl mermaid seemed delighted, shyly extending its tail out of the veil to rub against the familiar and warm mental energy threads.

He called the parents again, watching the instant change in the woman's cheeks. This time, the three elders did not fight but instead changed their attitude, hugging each other excitedly.

Soon, watching the three troublemakers carefully holding the eggs, they all felt a pang of jealousy.

If these troublemakers had been more obedient earlier, wouldn't they be the ones holding the eggs right now?