The moment Chen Nianzhi caught sight of the creature, the name surfaced in his mind.
"A Purple-Feathered Goose…"
A first-rank avian demon beast, the Purple-Feathered Goose was as rare as it was mild-tempered—a strange contrast to the feral monsters that usually prowled the cultivation world.Because of its gentle nature and poor combat strength, it was often hunted by fiercer beasts, making sightings extremely uncommon.
Yet here, on Linghu Isle, it made sense.The lake's spirit vein made it a sanctuary of calm energy. All the savage beasts had long been slain by Chen family cultivators. For a timid, water-loving demon bird seeking refuge, there could be no better place.
"So, I've finally found you," Chen Nianzhi murmured, forcing himself to hold still.
The bird resembled an oversized wild duck, nervous and twitchy.Purple-Feathered Geese were notorious for their vigilance—startle them once, and they would flee miles away, never to return.This one was mid-grade first rank; if it escaped into the sky, he might never get another chance.
He waited, motionless, beneath the surface of the water.
The goose circled the school of Azure Spirit Fish warily, keeping just beyond the range of the Fish King's watchful gaze.When the guardian beast finally noticed and charged, the goose darted away in a feigned panic—drawing the Fish King farther and farther from its brood.
Then, with predatory precision, the goose wheeled in midair, dove straight toward the two smallest fish, and—
"Now!"
The instant it touched the water, Chen Nianzhi burst forth in a surge of foam, his Greenleaf Sword flashing from its sheath like a streak of emerald light.
The goose reacted fast, summoning a translucent shield of spiritual energy and beating its wings furiously to flee.But against a cultivator's flying sword, it stood no chance.
Chen Nianzhi willed the sword forward—within thirty zhang, it was as an extension of his own arm.The blade's green radiance caught the fleeing bird midair, pierced its shield with a ringing clang, and drove clean through its breast.
The Purple-Feathered Goose fell lifeless into the lake.
"Good," Chen Nianzhi breathed, satisfaction lighting his face.
The creature's meat was not only tender and rich in spiritual essence—it could also enhance cultivation when consumed.A single goose like this was worth at least thirty spirit stones, equivalent to six mature Azure Spirit Fish.
Considering the difference in their grades—the goose being mid-grade first rank while the fish were low-grade—the disparity in value was only natural.
Not only had he avenged the lost fish, he had turned a profit. His earlier frustration eased into a quiet grin.
Still, one regret lingered.
"If only I'd bought a binding artifact…"
He sighed. He had no restraint techniques or trapping talismans—if he had, he might have captured the bird alive.Gentle by nature, such beasts could sometimes be tamed into spirit companions. A breeding pair could lay spirit eggs worth small fortunes.
"Right… eggs."
A spark lit in his eyes. He quickly stored the goose's body and glided toward the reeds where it had emerged.
Half an hour of searching later, he struck luck again—another Purple-Feathered Goose, hidden deep within the reeds.
This one did not flee.With a shrill cry, it launched a weak spell at him, protective fury flaring.But against Chen Nianzhi, it barely lasted a few exchanges before falling beneath his sword.
When he combed through the nest, his breath caught.
"A clutch of eggs!"
Nestled among the reeds were twelve shimmering eggs, faintly pulsing with spiritual light. Each was warm to the touch and thrumming with embryonic life.
"They're all alive… already half-formed, too."
His pulse quickened.A single spirit egg rich in spiritual essence could sell for one spirit stone—more valuable than spirit rice, and much rarer.Twelve of them meant a dozen tiny fortunes—and perhaps, if he could hatch them, an entire flock of spirit birds under his command.
It matched his guess perfectly.This pair of Purple-Feathered Geese had likely arrived a year ago, during the chaos when the clan's senior experts had been called away to protect the Foundation Pill.With only weak cultivators left to watch the lake, no one had noticed the newcomers.
Finding the lake peaceful and rich in aura, the geese had settled, built a nest, and raised their brood in safety.They had been cautious—almost paranoid—for an entire year. But safety had bred complacency.Two days of reckless hunting for easy prey, and they'd met their end beneath his sword.
Now only the eggs remained—twelve tiny lives, half a month from hatching.
Back on the island, Chen Nianzhi prepared a hatching nest.He might not have been a beast tamer, but as a man born in the modern age of his previous life, he remembered the basics of incubation—the right warmth, the right humidity, the patience.
After shaping a protective shelter with his mana and lining it with soft, aura-infused reeds, he gently placed the eggs inside.Every day, he checked the nest, rotated the eggs, and infused a touch of warmth through his spiritual energy.
"Who would've thought I'd end up playing mother goose," he muttered with a rueful smile, watching over the clutch like a nervous parent.
Days turned to weeks.At last, after one full month, faint cracks began to appear on the shells.
Chen Nianzhi sat cross-legged before the nest, excitement and anxiety warring in his chest.
"Come on… just a little more."
Crack. Crack.
At last, a tiny beak broke through the shell, followed by a fuzzy gray head.A newborn chick stumbled free, wobbling on its feet—and the moment it saw him, it let out a high-pitched chirp and ran straight toward him.
He blinked, then laughed softly.
"Ah… so I'm the mother now?"
In many avian species, the first thing a hatchling saw became its imprint—its parent.It seemed the same held true for spirit birds.
He sighed, both amused and relieved.Taming demon beasts usually required specialized techniques, something the Chen Clan lacked. Even their Azure Spirit Fish were semi-wild, corralled only by formations and the natural limits of the lake.
But this was different.Purple-Feathered Geese were naturally docile, and these chicks had already imprinted on him.No taming spells, no beast-binding seals—just care and time.Once they matured, they would be true spirit beasts, loyal and intelligent.
Realizing this, Chen Nianzhi's heart leapt with excitement.He settled by the nest, eyes warm, and waited as one after another the shells began to crack—until the reeds were alive with the soft chorus of chirps and downy wings, twelve tiny lives greeting the dawn of their first day.