149: Blood-red giant egg

After sending Xu Yan back to the Third Academy, Kui Fang did not say much, only leaving him with the words, “You can come find me if you need anything. Also, the invitation I extended to you before is still valid,” before departing.

After seeing Kui Fang off, Xu Yan returned to his dormitory.

Instead of rushing to examine the blood-colored giant egg he obtained from the Eerie Secret Realm, Xu Yan took out his phone and initiated a communication request with Mo Yi.

As soon as the request was sent, Mo Yi's voice quickly came through the phone.

"Xu Yan? Didn't I have Kui Fang take you on a trip to the Eerie Secret Realm? How long has it been? Did something unexpected happen that you're looking for me?"

Facing Mo Yi's inquiry, Xu Yan did not conceal anything. He recounted everything that happened after meeting Kui Fang, including the olive branch Kui Fang extended, the changes in the Eerie Secret Realm, and the final acquisition of the blood-colored giant egg.

Mo Yi, who was far away in Country X, listened to Xu Yan's description. He wasn't surprised by Kui Fang extending an olive branch to Xu Yan; after all, ever since he took Xu Yan as his disciple, he had encountered such situations, both overtly and covertly, many times and had grown accustomed to them.

What surprised him was that the Eerie Secret Realm was destroyed so easily, and judging by Xu Yan's description, it seemed to have caused its own demise.

Originally, Mo Yi had only intended to let Kui Fang collect some interest as compensation for his disciple, and then, once he had time, he would deal with the realm himself and ultimately give the entire Eerie Secret Realm to Xu Yan as a gift.

He also wanted Xu Yan to gain some experience from Kui Fang. Since Xu Yan awakened his Innate Talent, due to his talent and achievements, most of the people he encountered had treated him with goodwill.

To prevent Xu Yan from being overly shielded by goodwill, mistaking that everyone held good intentions towards him, and thus trusting them too much, leading to betrayal or disaster, Mo Yi felt that Xu Yan ought to witness the gray and even dark sides of the world.

And Kui Fang—a 'Lawful Evil' existence who uses bloody methods, disregards life, commits countless murders, yet still adheres to the law—was an excellent guide for Xu Yan.

Due to the path he cultivated, Kui Fang would never deliberately suppress his nature for a junior like Xu Yan, whom he had never met before.

However, his relationship with Mo Yi, coupled with owing him a favor, meant that Kui Fang would not truly strike a killing blow against Xu Yan. Even if Xu Yan genuinely ran into trouble because of Kui Fang, Kui Fang, despite any disdain he might feel, would restrain himself slightly and lend a hand, ensuring Xu Yan wouldn't suffer problems like a Dao Heart collapse.

After careful consideration, Mo Yi chose Kui Fang, a person who was by no means good, to take Xu Yan to the Eerie Secret Realm.

No matter what, it would allow Xu Yan to witness Kui Fang taking action, giving him some understanding of the methods used in the Demonic and Heretical Paths, so he wouldn't be caught off guard when encountering opponents from those sides.

And did Kui Fang take action during this operation? Yes, he did.

If you say he took action, Xu Yan didn't see any mainstream Demonic Path techniques like the Soul-Seizing Bell, the Corpse Refining Pagoda, or the Puppet Legion.

But if you say he didn't, he genuinely showed Xu Yan the Blood Sacrifice Array and the Myriad Souls Banner, although the Blood Sacrifice Array was created by the realm's inhabitants acting recklessly, and the Myriad Souls Banner was only used to collect the souls of the deceased creatures, failing to display much of the prestige and deterrence of a Demonic Path signature technique.

However, what relieved Mo Yi was that although the process did not unfold as he had envisioned, the final result still aligned with his goal: the blood-colored giant egg, which condensed the essence of the entire Eerie Secret Realm, ultimately fell into Xu Yan's hands.

That was sufficient.

Thinking this, Mo Yi addressed Xu Yan's suspicion regarding the overly smooth operation and the extremely coincidental completion and alteration of the Blood Sacrifice Array. He stated that he would find someone to investigate and told Xu Yan not to worry too much.

As for the acquired blood-colored giant egg, Kui Fang himself is the expert, surpassing even Mo Yi in this area. Since Kui Fang had already processed it and confirmed there were no issues, Xu Yan did not need to worry about hidden dangers and should simply use it according to his advice.

After saying this, Mo Yi chatted with Xu Yan for a while longer, answering some accumulated questions, and then the two ended the communication.

After hanging up, Xu Yan retrieved the blood-colored giant egg from his storage device.

Looking at the blood-colored giant egg, which was twice his height, Xu Yan recalled Kui Fang's words.

Kui Fang offered two suggestions for the blood-colored giant egg: either continue investing resources to truly hatch it, or break it down and integrate it into the Shadowlight Realm.

Xu Yan chose the second option without any hesitation.

The initial purpose of this trip was to enhance the Shadowlight Realm, so why change the objective that had already been clearly defined?

Thinking this, Xu Yan directly summoned Zhu Yan.

As soon as Zhu Yan's figure appeared, the blood-colored giant egg attracted most of its attention. Intense craving flashed in its eyes, and the Soul Contract transmitted the desire to swallow it whole.

However, no matter how strong the desire to consume the blood-colored giant egg was, without Xu Yan's permission, Zhu Yan simply watched it quietly, making no move. The Soul Contract only transmitted the desire once before stopping and not repeating.

A smile flashed in Xu Yan's eyes as he watched Zhu Yan, who was clearly filled with craving yet forcibly restraining its desires. He then spoke softly, “It was meant for you anyway. Do what you want; no need to hold back.”

Upon hearing Xu Yan's words, a strong sense of joy was transmitted through Zhu Yan's contract. It spat out a large amount of silk from its abdomen, wrapping the blood-colored giant egg little by little, and dragged it into the Shadowlight Realm.

Then, its two sharp front spider legs directly pierced the blood-colored giant egg, while the remaining legs embraced the entire egg.

After conveying its intention to Xu Yan via the contract—to consume the blood-colored giant egg within the Shadowlight Realm—and receiving Xu Yan's reply telling it to focus on absorption without worrying about the outside world, Zhu Yan and the Shadowlight Realm together began devouring the essence through the pierced holes of the blood-colored giant egg.