Chapter 218: Honor the Bet

Chapter 218: Chapter 218: Honor the Bet

Even the small eggs other people chose were at least bigger than an adult’s fist.

But the one Jiang Xu picked was barely larger than a quail’s egg. Even some of the Spiritual Insect Eggs were bigger than the one in his hand.

No wonder the other Cultivators who saw it started laughing.

Jiang Xu wasn’t angry when he heard them.

He had almost laughed out loud himself when he first saw it.

If Jiang Xu hadn’t detected the faint, small fluctuation of Wood Attribute energy inside the egg, he would have mistaken it for a pebble that had accidentally gotten mixed in with the stall’s wares.

It was just that all the other visibly Wood Attribute eggs were very expensive. This one alone had a particularly low price because of its poor appearance.

Jiang Xu figured he would need Spirit Stones for many things later, so he didn’t plan on spending too much. His budget was within two to three hundred Spirit Stones.

Besides, he also wanted to buy other Magic in the Black Market, which would also require a large amount of Spirit Stones.

Ahead of Jiang Xu, quite a few Cultivators were waiting eagerly, their eyes fixed on the eggs hatching on the altar.

"A Tier One Middle Grade Poisonous Pelican!"

Just after Jiang Xu made his choice, the second egg finished hatching.

This Poisonous Pelican chick was covered in a sparse layer of dark green down. Its beak was long and sharp, larger than a normal one, and had a strange metallic luster, like a tempered poison dagger.

When the stall owner announced the words "Tier One Middle Grade," the man who had gambled on the egg immediately turned pale as ash, his face a mask of disbelief.

You see, a Tier One Middle Grade Spirit Beast was at best equivalent to a Qi Cultivation Middle Stage Cultivator. The Poisonous Pelican’s new owner was already at the Qi Cultivation Late Stage, so it was completely useless to him.

But he had spent a full eight hundred Spirit Stones, which was almost his entire net worth.

To trade one’s entire fortune for such a useless thing—anyone in his shoes would have a breakdown.

"How could it be this thing!"

The Poisonous Pelican’s owner, his eyes bloodshot, placed the palm-sized chick in his hand. He looked like he wanted to crush it to death on the spot.

But the thought of the eight hundred Spirit Stones was too painful. In the end, he didn’t go through with it and dejectedly left with the Poisonous Pelican.

The remaining Cultivators’ hearts sank at the sight. Their fantasies of getting rich overnight diminished considerably, but none of them put their Spirit Beast Eggs back. Each believed the egg they had carefully selected was definitely a High Grade one.

But after that, every egg belonging to the Cultivators in front of Jiang Xu turned out just like the second one. Their Bloodline Level never surpassed Tier Two. The highest grade among them was a Tier One Top Grade Earth-Split Bear.

But that egg had cost two thousand Spirit Stones, a price the Earth-Split Bear cub was nowhere near worth.

In other words, except for the very first one Jiang Xu had seen, all the remaining Cultivators had lost money.

Now, all the Cultivators sensed something was wrong. They turned to stare suspiciously at the stall owner.

Seeing this, the stall owner didn’t back down. He said coldly:

"Everyone, this egg gambling has always been a game of coexisting risk and reward. Every egg could potentially hatch a High Grade Spirit Beast, but it could also just be a common Tier One Spirit Beast. You aren’t naive enough to think everyone will reap a reward several times their investment, are you?"

"You should have understood this when you bought the Spirit Beast Eggs. Now, the eggs in your hands belong to you. Whatever the outcome, it was your own choice."

"If you bet, you must accept the loss. If you don’t have the stomach for egg gambling, you should stay out of it. This is my first time here, and to test the waters, I deliberately sold this batch of Spirit Beast Eggs at a low price. I won’t be doing so next time, so you’d better think carefully!"

Hearing the stall owner’s words, the Cultivators were still unwilling to accept it, but they knew he was right. Egg gambling was a gamble, and you were responsible for your own wins and losses. They could only blame their own bad luck or their lack of a keen eye.

Besides, the Black Market did have its own order. No one dared to cause trouble here. They could only watch helplessly as the stall owner continued his business, forcing themselves to swallow their anger.

"Next!" the stall owner called out coldly.

"Coming!"

The next person was Jiang Xu.

When Jiang Xu handed his egg to the stall owner, even the owner was stunned.

He’d completely forgotten how such a horribly-looking egg had ended up in his shipment.

If he had known, he would have tossed it out long ago.

The egg was so ugly he was afraid it would ruin the customers’ mood for shopping.

But now that a customer was willing to buy it, all the better. Any Spirit Stone he could make was a gain.

"How many Spirit Stones for this egg?" Jiang Xu asked.

The stall owner thought for a moment. ’This egg might even be dead. Even if something hatches, it’ll probably be bottom-of-the-barrel at best. If I set the price too high, it’ll make me look like a scammer and affect how the other Cultivators see me.’

So, the stall owner casually named a price:

"Give me twenty Spirit Stones."

"Twenty Spirit Stones?" Jiang Xu asked, astonished.

’The other eggs cost several hundred. Why is mine so cheap?’

"Ah, right. Seeing as its appearance is indeed not great, let’s make it fifteen Spirit Stones. Don’t think it’s too expensive; the Catalytic Array on my altar also needs Spirit Stones to activate."

Jiang Xu opened his mouth to speak but stopped himself. After handing over fifteen Spirit Stones, he watched the stall owner place the egg on the altar.

The stall owner carefully placed the unremarkable Spirit Beast Egg that Jiang Xu had bought into a recess in the center of the altar. The altar looked simple, but it was full of hidden intricacies.

The altar was covered in complex and mysterious Rune Array Maps. The moment they came into contact with the Spirit Beast Egg, these Runes seemed to activate, beginning to flicker with a faint but steady light.

Each Rune in the Array was like a miniature Spiritual Power vortex, constantly absorbing the surrounding Spiritual Qi and funneling it into the egg through some strange method.

As the Array started up, streams of pure, dense Spiritual Qi surged from all directions, flowing into the Spirit Beast Egg like streams into an ocean.

The stall owner wasn’t idle. He silently chanted a Spell, his hands forming a series of complex Seals to guide and enhance the Array’s catalytic effect on the egg.

From time to time, his fingertips would tap a key Rune. Each touch made the Array operate more intensely, as if lighting a fuse to accelerate the hatching.

Beads of sweat appeared on the stall owner’s forehead; clearly, activating such an Array was not easy. He focused intently, maintaining the Array’s operation while precisely controlling the intensity of the Spiritual Power being injected into the egg, lest he overdo it and harm the life gestating within.

Under the dual effect of the Array and the Magic, the originally dull and lusterless Spirit Beast Egg began to emit a faint green glow. The mottled marks on its shell seemed to come alive with Spiritual Movement, showing signs that a life was about to break through.