Chapter Five: The Egg with Long Legs

The Blueflame Tortoise gazed with satisfaction at the row of eggs before it, each one thoroughly coated in its own saliva. After a few joyful cries, it buried all the eggs in the sand and soil, then, humming a little tune, turned and slipped back into the sea.

Lin Bufan stood there, dumbfounded. He stared at the now-smooth sand, tears swirling in his eyes. “Hey! Hey! Say something, man!” Shen Wan looked at the blue-robed youth standing there like a wooden statue, puzzled by his silence.

When Lin Bufan heard Shen Wan's voice again, he turned his head and glared at him, fury blazing in his eyes. “Why did you stop me?” Lin Bufan's expression was twisted with anger, his eyes nearly spitting fire.

Startled, Shen Wan instinctively took a step back. “What are you talking about? I was just asking for directions—I didn’t stop you from anything!”

“That was a Blueflame Tortoise egg!” Lin Bufan pointed furiously at the spot where the creature had just laid its eggs. “If you want to obtain one, you only have three breaths after she lays the last egg! And you... and you...” Lin Bufan's finger trembled as he jabbed it at Shen Wan. “Why did you just happen to interrupt me at that exact moment? How can you say you weren’t in my way?!”

Shen Wan was utterly bewildered. Blueflame Tortoise? What egg? What three breaths? This guy must be out of his mind.

Staring at the agitated youth before him, Shen Wan still had no idea what he’d done wrong—but maybe… just maybe… had he really done something wrong?

Lin Bufan gasped for air, then with a dramatic sweep of his sleeve exclaimed, “Forget it! I knew you all wanted to see me make a fool of myself. So what if it hurts? Pain is nothing! It’s just pain, that’s all! Just…” His words faltered, and he suddenly squatted down with his face in his hands, sobbing quietly. “But I’m afraid of pain… wuu… wuu…”

The sun was setting, the sea breeze was growing cool, and Shen Wan felt a chill in his bones. He bent down, hesitated, then softly reached out to pat Lin Bufan’s shoulder. “I don’t know what you’re going through. I probably can’t help you. But… could you stop crying?”

For a long while, Lin Bufan’s choking sobs gradually faded. He wiped his face with his sleeve, stood up, shot one last glare at Shen Wan, and then walked away.

Watching Lin Bufan’s disappearing figure, Shen Wan swore he could see the words “Bad Guy” floating above his own head, complete with an arrow pointing down. “Damn it, I’m supposed to be the protagonist—how did I end up as a side character?”

He stood there, stunned for a long time. Remembering what Lin Bufan had said, Shen Wan glanced toward the patch of sand the other youth had indicated. He walked over, circling the spot and inspecting it closely. The sand was uneven, not at all like the smoothness left by the tide.

He dug twice with his foot, and a large, round object emerged from the sand.

An egg—a very large egg.

Shen Wan had to exert considerable effort to dig the egg out of the pit. Its surface was covered in a sticky, pale blue fluid, with a layer of sand clinging to it. Aside from the color, everything about it seemed unpleasant.

He carried the egg to the shore and washed it carefully. Its smooth shell gleamed with a crystal-blue sheen under the sunlight. If Lin Bufan hadn’t just explained what this was, Shen Wan would have thought he’d uncovered some gigantic… pearl egg…

He had no idea what value this thing might have in this world. But if it could be dug up so easily, it probably wasn’t anything special.

“If this were on Earth, it’d probably fetch a decent price…” Shen Wan’s expression turned wistful, and he sighed. Turning to look in the direction Lin Bufan had disappeared, he muttered, “Really, crying over an egg? Is that necessary?”

Shen Wan didn’t know that the Blueflame Tortoise’s saliva was a protective membrane, imbued with spiritual power, and thus utterly useless to someone without spiritual cultivation like himself. With a dismissive curl of his lip, he slung his pack behind him, picked up the egg, and set off after Lin Bufan.

As dusk deepened, the lonely mountain path grew even more desolate with the sound of the wind rustling through the wild grass along the road. Lin Bufan walked as if he had become one with his surroundings—melancholy, truly melancholy.

He had been in the sect for eight years, reaching the fourth stage of the Spirit Condensation Realm in record time—just half a year. At that time, he was hailed as a prodigy unseen in a thousand years and was accepted as a personal disciple by the Grand Elder, the youngest in the sect’s history. He was the brightest star in the entire sect. From the outer gates to the inner sanctum, from named disciples to inner circle, everyone doted on him. Even the Sect Leader would greet him with a benevolent smile.

His heart had swelled with pride, basking in the adoration and envy of those around him. But none of that mattered, so long as he was the best. The feeling of being above everyone else was intoxicating.

And at the end of that year, his cultivation surged once more, swiftly reaching the peak of the fourth stage of Spirit Condensation—just one step from the fifth. To reach the fifth stage in only half a year! Even Ye Fenghua, the most monstrous prodigy of his generation on the Valley Continent, had taken nearly a year and a half just to reach the fourth stage.

Lin Bufan had become the foremost genius of the Valley Continent. To show off the sect’s strength, the elders invited all the major sects and their prodigies to witness his breakthrough.

With all eyes on him, Lin Bufan was elated, even wondering if he was some deity’s lost scion, left to cultivate in this mortal world. Sitting cross-legged, eyes closed, he began his breakthrough.

The first to fourth stages of Spirit Condensation were merely about accumulating spiritual power and clearing the meridians. But the fifth was the true completion—the fusion of bone and meridian, the foundation of all cultivation.

No one expected that when Lin Bufan began the breakthrough, the pain from the sudden transformation of his meridians and bones would be more than he could bear. Onstage, his face twisted in agony, his body convulsed, and an involuntary scream of pain echoed throughout the sect. In that moment, his spiritual power dissipated, his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed. Worse, his lower half was soaked through.

The entire sect was stunned. Everyone was dumbstruck.

From then on, that moment became an indelible stain on Lin Bufan’s life. After his failed breakthrough, the elders tried everything to help him reach the next stage—medicines, treasures, every resource at their disposal—but nothing worked. After years of attempts, the elders finally discovered the root of the problem: Lin Bufan was afraid of pain.

And that was the end of his legend.

Fallen from grace, though still the Grand Elder’s disciple, no one paid him any attention. Seven years passed, and Lin Bufan remained at the fourth stage of Spirit Condensation. Even several juniors who joined after him had surpassed him, breaking into the fifth stage.

He had become a joke—the laughingstock of the entire sect.

Reflecting on his past, Lin Bufan gazed at the gates of Qianxuan Sect looming ahead, his steps unbearably heavy. He paused, wiped his eyes, and looked up at the stars beginning to twinkle in the sky.

They say when heaven closes a door, it opens a window. But why, when the window is half open, does fate slam it shut again?

At these moments, Lin Bufan always felt a wave of resentment towards the heavens. Soon enough, though, he would extinguish that bitterness, knowing the fault lay with himself. Problems can be solved, but the heart must remain unbroken.

Just as he calmed himself, he heard footsteps behind him.

Thinking it was a fellow disciple returning from training, he turned to greet them—only to nearly fall over in shock.

An egg—a particularly large egg—was approaching him, walking slowly on two legs.

Lin Bufan’s eyes narrowed. In an instant, a long sword appeared in his hand. “Who are you, monster? What is your purpose at Qianxuan Sect?!”

He knew of no spirit beast that looked like this.

He readied himself, spiritual energy surging, his sword humming with power.

But the egg with legs didn’t stop. Instead, a head slowly emerged from its side.

Panting, Shen Wan could barely see the road ahead, his vision blocked by the enormous egg he was carrying. Following the stone path, he finally heard Lin Bufan’s voice. Tilting his head to speak, Shen Wan was met with a sword flashing toward his neck!

“Damn it!”