“Illuminating Mystic Serpent…”
Recalling the records about this spirit beast from ancient texts, Qi Ping couldn’t help but feel a stir of excitement.
This was a very unique attribute-less spirit beast.
When an Illuminating Mystic Serpent was first born, its physical body and spiritual soul were barely on par with some ordinary third-tier spirit beasts – in some cases, even slightly weaker.
Its bloodline also didn’t pass down any powerful spells, so its combat capabilities were quite mediocre at best.
The only things worth mentioning were its remarkably tough and flexible body, its decently strong soul, and its sharp combat reflexes and agility.
But compared to other spirit beasts of the same tier, it was far too weak – almost like a pretty but useless vase.
If a young Illuminating Mystic Serpent went up against them, it would only end up getting beaten around. And if luck wasn’t on its side, it might even die on the spot.
In their early years, they could truly be described as fragile.
However, there was a reason this serpent was ranked as a fourth-tier mid-level bloodline. In fact, Qi Ping even felt that rating might be a bit low – it had the potential to rank even higher.
And the key to the Illuminating Mystic Serpent’s rise from obscurity lay in its bloodline’s signature talent: the Illuminating Mirror!
This gift granted the serpent the ability to observe and comprehend all methods under heaven!
With this talent, the Illuminating Mystic Serpent could rapidly learn the abilities and spells of other spirit beasts or cultivators through daily observation and combat experience.
Using this ability, nearly every Illuminating Mystic Serpent that successfully reached adulthood became a well-rounded hexagon warrior!
They would master virtually all common spells and could easily spot weaknesses in their opponents’ techniques, using the simplest methods to overcome them.
At that point, the advantage of being attribute-less would truly shine – it allowed them to wield spells of most elements. Though the power might be slightly diminished, they could still replicate roughly seventy to eighty percent, or even more, of the original’s combat effectiveness!
But this ability did have its limits. For techniques that were exceptionally unique or profoundly mysterious, even the Illuminating Mirror would struggle to parse anything useful.
This also led to a common problem among the serpents – they knew a little of everything but mastered nothing. They could handle a wide variety of abilities, but none stood out as truly exceptional.
As a result, many Illuminating Mystic Serpents could only dominate lower-tier battles. When faced with truly powerful spirit beasts like the Illusory Dream Moth or the Soul Devouring Beast, their chances of survival were quite slim.
But that didn’t mean the Illuminating Mystic Serpent was weak. Some of them, leveraging this very ability, had carved out a path that left their peers of the same bloodline far behind!
They would synthesize the essence of countless creatures’ abilities, draw from the best of all sources, and ultimately forge a path of invincible physical form and flawless spirit – not just a hexagon warrior, but one with transcendent combat power!
Some of these serpents, through constant breakthroughs beyond their bloodline limits, had even become renowned powerhouses among the demon race. Though such individuals were rare.
Simply put, this was a spirit beast with a low floor but an equally high ceiling.
How far they could grow depended entirely on their own enlightenment and effort.
And that very characteristic was exactly what made Qi Ping so delighted.
Because the path of transcending limits that the Illuminating Mystic Serpent walked was exactly the path he wanted to take!
That is – using everything at his disposal to forge a path that was entirely his own, unshackled by the constraints of bloodline!
By now, Qi Ping had gradually moved past his early stages. His Druid profession had been steadily developed, and he’d gained many powerful abilities and talents along the way.
But he’d always held one belief deep in his heart: draw from the best of all sources, combine the strengths of both cultivators and Druids, and forge a path that could truly ascend to the heavens and break through the mysteries of immortality!
Because in Qi Ping’s view, if you couldn’t walk a path that was uniquely yours, you were nothing more than a puppet on strings.
Only by glimpsing the very essence and comprehending all methods could one truly understand what it meant to achieve everlasting immortality!
“Illuminating Mystic Serpent – it’s decided!”
After a flood of thoughts about the serpent’s legends, Qi Ping made his final decision.
In his eyes, the Illuminating Mystic Serpent’s value to him far exceeded that of the Soul Devouring Beast and the Illusory Dream Moth!
These serpents were also extremely rare in the cultivation world – if he let this chance slip, he’d truly regret it.
So after making up his mind, Qi Ping immediately initiated the purchase request through the Mysterious Black Market.
Soon, with a few operations, his original 318,785 black market points dropped by twenty-eight thousand, then by another two hundred and eighty thousand, leaving just over ten thousand points.
With the remaining points, he picked out a few more spirit seeds and trees that seemed highly useful or particularly rare, further enriching the variety and quantity of spirit herbs and trees on his territory.
By the time he finalized all his orders, only a little over five thousand black market points remained – kept aside as a backup.
His original stash of over eighty-six thousand mid-grade spirit stones was also about to dwindle to around fifty-five thousand.
“Black market points sure don’t last long… but it’s all worth it!”
After waiting with eager anticipation for over a week, Qi Ping finally saw that familiar box puppet arrive.
Once it reached him, the puppet presented a snake egg covered in cyan scales, radiating a soft, misty blue glow.
Qi Ping wasn’t surprised by this – he’d already known from the product listing that the Illuminating Mystic Serpent he’d bought would be a nearly-hatched egg.
Carefully taking the scaled egg into his hands, he could clearly feel the young, yet remarkably strong heartbeat pulsing from within!
Faintly, he thought he could even hear a hopeful hiss yearning to break free and be born – a sound so tender, yet so full of promise.
As Qi Ping slowly brought his presence closer to the egg, an unmistakable wave of affection emanated from within.
Feeling that warmth, a smile curled at the corners of his mouth.
The contract was definitely going to work now – and the little one inside had a spirit that Qi Ping genuinely liked.
“I hope you’ll be a little one full of surprises!”
If this Illuminating Mystic Serpent had decent aptitude and enlightenment, with the potential to forge its own path, it would grow far better here than out in the wild.
After all, his territory had no shortage of spirit beasts for it to spar with and observe, nor any lack of powerful spell knowledge for it to learn.
As Qi Ping continued to collect more, the spells available on his territory would only keep growing. If this serpent could make full use of all of them, it could definitely reach an unimaginable level of power.
After confirming there were no issues, Qi Ping quickly completed the transaction with the box puppet and brought the Illuminating Mystic Serpent’s egg back to his territory.
The egg would still need some time before hatching, which gave Qi Ping just the right window to push his Druid level up to eight.
