Inside the cave, each level deeper added two more branching paths.
Guided by the compass, Du Xinghe happily entered a free scavenging mode.
What’s this? Mind-Calming Grass—I’ll pull it out!
What’s this? Ice-Vein Stone—I’ll pick it up!
What’s this? Shadow Spark Flower—I’ll pluck it!
Every plant and object in the secret realm grew bathed in high concentrations of spiritual energy, thriving exceptionally well, and were always in demand among cultivators. Mind-Calming Grass had a calming effect on cultivators, making it easier to enter a meditative state during cultivation. The latter two were popular materials for alchemy and crafting magic artifacts, useful for earning money.
She had thought these items were unwanted, lying around the cave for the taking.
Along the way, no Spirit Beast jumped out to attack her, but she remained vigilant as she ventured deeper underground.
The System monitored her progress with trepidation. Given the depth at which the host was searching for the emperor’s traces, the emperor would have to be buried at least a hundred feet underground. It seemed entirely plausible that she was the pharaoh’s favored consort.
Finally, she reached the location of the great fortune indicated by the compass!
At the end of the cave lay an enormous egg, taller than a person.
The plain gray eggshell was covered in intricate patterns, clearly indicating its extraordinary nature. Yet, Du Xinghe couldn’t help feeling disappointed: “It’s so big—I can’t take it with me!”
But this was the great fortune revealed by [Glimpse the Emperor’s Shadow], and she was unwilling to leave empty-handed.
Then an idea struck Du Xinghe—
Why not break it open, collect some shell to see if it could be refined into weapon material, and taste the egg white and yolk before leaving?
“The egg is this big; the Spirit Beast that laid it must be enormous. If I act recklessly, there might be danger.”
Du Xinghe pondered, itching to strike.
“Let me observe the surroundings first.”
She cautiously searched the area and, sure enough, found an inscription carved into the cave wall. The carver’s tone was agitated:
“The Qilin egg is a scam! There are no Qilin in this world—only fools believe otherwise! Ten thousand years—who can wait that long? To those who come after, do not waste your time on this useless egg!”
Each character was deeply etched, revealing the carver’s fury. On the Plain Continent, there was an obscure cultivation path known as beast taming, where forming a contract with a Spirit Beast mutually enhanced cultivation speed. Newborn young beasts were naturally easier to tame than adult ones.
Du Xinghe guessed the carver had come seeking the Qilin egg, hoping to hatch it and form a spiritual contract.
Instead, they found a useless egg and left in disappointment.
Ten thousand years!
Those who could wait didn’t need it; those who needed it couldn’t wait.
Du Xinghe, however, opened the System Mall and thoughtfully examined the Childbirth Gift Pack inside.
The System grew alert: 【Host, what are you thinking? This is for you to continue your lineage and secure your status!】
Du Xinghe stroked the Qilin egg’s shell: “So, can it be used on Spirit Beasts?”
The System repeated: 【Unless there is a valid reason, the Childbirth Gift Pack is only recommended for use on the host’s own children.】
Simultaneously, her Imperial Offspring Management Panel appeared.
It was completely empty, enticing the host to fill it as soon as possible.
“A reason? Simple. I’ll use it on a palace maid for surrogacy to secure favor, or on a rival consort to cause multiple births and difficult labor leading to death. If she succeeds in giving birth, I’ll register the child under my name in the Jade Slip,” Du Xinghe replied without hesitation.
The System was stunned by her viciousness.
In the end, Du Xinghe obtained her childbirth gift pack as desired, which included the Multiple Birth Pill and the Labor Aid Soup.
She had other uses for the Multiple Birth Pill.
Du Xinghe poured the Labor Aid Soup onto the massive Qilin egg, then sat cross-legged beside it. First, she swallowed a Warm Passion Pill, then chewed the Heart-Clarifying Grass she had gathered earlier. A refreshing fragrance spread between her lips and teeth, helping her cleanse distracting thoughts as she cultivated within the secret realm enveloped by dense spiritual energy.
On Du Xinghe’s path of cultivation, it was as if there was a door.
The Foundation Establishment Pill was the key, and beyond the door lay the true path of cultivation.
Even though she had already reached the peak of Qi Refining, why was she still missing that final push? Did everyone require the Foundation Establishment Pill to break through? Before the Foundation Establishment Pill existed, how did cultivators achieve Foundation Establishment?
The Foundation Establishment Pill could assist cultivators in breakthroughs, possessing the effect of cleansing marrow and transforming meridians. Its core ingredients acted like turning the pill-taker into a vortex, drawing surrounding spiritual energy to their body. Using this great medicine to charge through barriers, it expanded the meridians and opened up the Qi Sea… This was why the Foundation Establishment Pill was crucial for Qi Refining cultivators. Without it, the Qi Sea was difficult to expand. During Foundation Establishment, cultivators would not only experience tearing pain but would also face hindered cultivation speed afterward.
But Du Xinghe had no other choice!
The chief steward of the Nine Yang Sect was right about one thing—by voluntarily leaving the sect, she had humiliated the Nine Yang Sect, and the three major sects would not accept her.
Even if minor sects were willing to take her in, it would be difficult for them to generously provide a Foundation Establishment Pill.
To achieve Foundation Establishment, Du Xinghe could only rely on herself and this unreliable System, crashing against the barrier again and again until she succeeded. Only after achieving Foundation Establishment would she have a foundation to stand on.
If one attempt didn’t break through, she would train again!
Without the aid of the Foundation Establishment Pill, forcibly channeling spiritual energy to open her meridians brought pain so intense that Du Xinghe nearly fainted in an instant!
She endured the agony, allowing the spiritual energy in the secret realm to repeatedly scour her meridians.
She wanted to control her own destiny, to make those lofty cultivators prostrate themselves before her.
No pain could compare to the humiliation of being struck down by a single burst of sword energy from Yuanming Zunzhe, severely injuring her internal organs.
At this moment, a single thought overwhelmed ten thousand distractions.
And Du Xinghe’s single thought resonated with the Qilin.
The Labor Aid Soup slowly seeped into the Qilin egg, awakening the life dormant within. A dull, heartbeat-like thumping echoed from inside, shaking the cavern. Surging spiritual energy from within the eggshell enveloped Du Xinghe, who was meditating nearby.
“What’s happening?”
Du Xinghe shuddered all over, opened her eyes, then closed them again.
Because she realized this sudden influx of spiritual energy was an excellent aid for Foundation Establishment and could not be wasted.
As spiritual energy poured into her crown, the flow patterns of her internal organs and capillaries became extremely clear. Reaching the state of internal vision was precisely the precursor to successful Foundation Establishment!
Du Xinghe felt as if she were sitting under a waterfall, being scoured by vast amounts of spiritual energy as if it cost nothing. It cleansed her marrow and transformed her meridians, washing away worldly impurities, finally gathering and settling into her Qi Sea and dantian.
This unfamiliar spiritual energy did not belong to the cavern secret realm.
It was arrogant and overbearing…
Yet, it held an attachment to Du Xinghe, willing to be used by her and nourish her meridians.
However, the increase in spiritual energy only reduced the difficulty of Foundation Establishment.
Without the aid of elixir pills, the pain of expanding the Qi Sea and meridians remained. The highly concentrated spiritual energy turned into streams of heat rapidly merging into her meridians and dantian. Every part of her body, from the inside out, even her consciousness, was being scorched and torn!
Mundane impurities were directly expelled from her body like filth.
Du Xinghe tormented herself by expanding her meridians as much as possible, greedily drawing in more spiritual energy pouring down from above, transforming it into energy within her sea of consciousness. The originally thin, distant-mountain-blue mist frantically gathered, gradually turning into a deep blue as dense as water.
Finally, with the crisp sound of the eggshell cracking, Du Xinghe opened her eyes.
The golden light in her pupils had vanished, the divine brilliance now restrained within.
Foundation Establishment achieved!
The pain receded like a tide, replaced by an inexhaustible strength and a brimming Qi Sea throughout her body.
Du Xinghe also gained some insight.
Having Three Spiritual Roots was considered mediocre in the Nine Yang Sect, but compared to the average across Pingyun Continent, it wasn’t bad at all.
The original owner had also been very diligent.
The reason for the delayed breakthrough, aside from lacking opportunities, was her excessive kindness—she was always held back by others’ pleas for help and lacked the competitive spirit to challenge the heavens and rival the sun and moon. Du Xinghe, however, knew deeply that she wasn’t a Child of Destiny favored by the heavens. Opportunities had to be seized, enlightenment had to be fought for. As long as it didn’t harm the natural order or morality, everything must yield to her path of cultivation!
Fellow disciples should help each other righteously, but if they only clung to her to suck her blood and then complained that her blood wasn’t fresh or sweet enough, she’d rather feed it to mosquitoes—for no other reason than her own amusement.
Du Xinghe remembered the birthing soup she had casually poured over the Qilin egg.
She stood up and looked at the egg beside her.
The eggshell was half-open, and two dragon heads with goat-like horns emerged from within. Their waists and abdomens were connected, possessing bodies like those of musk deer. Du Xinghe’s eyes widened—it was too beautiful! Its scales were extraordinarily lustrous, shimmering with an eerie and magnificent glow even in the dim molten cave, like sunlight piercing through water to cast dappled spots. Even the most skilled craftsman couldn’t replicate its hues. Its breath was scorching, occasionally spitting out small bursts of flame, igniting the mist in the cavern.
Its horns were majestic, its bristling scales and mane seeming capable of summoning wind and thunder, with fierce fangs fully exposed!
Spirit Beasts placed even greater emphasis on bloodline than cultivators.
A Qilin, which should have taken ten thousand years to be born, was inherently invincible below the Golden Core stage solely by virtue of its talent.
The two ferocious dragon heads raised high, yet Du Xinghe instinctively felt they held no malice toward her.
Just then, the System popped up a notification:
[The fetus assisted by the host has been successfully delivered.]
[Acquired two children (non-biological), points +2000!]
[Please check the offspring panel. The host can freely choose whether to activate the learning bonus Buff for these children.]
[As the host has registered this birth under their own offspring, a twin effect will be gifted. Wishing the host abundant children and fortune on the path of imperial harem intrigue, conquering all in their way!]
The two dragon heads let out short cries, vying to nuzzle against their “mother.”
“…”
Du Xinghe remained expressionless as the Qilin gave her face a round of scraping.
She opened the System, where the previously empty offspring panel now showed two rows of question marks.
[Name]: Pending
[Age]: 0 years
[Imperial Consort Mother]: Du Xinghe
[Height]: One zhang two chi (approx. 4 meters)
Apart from the identical data, the male Qilin, having pushed open the eggshell first, was defined by the System as the elder brother.
…
So, it turned out these were her fine, big son and fine daughter—born four meters tall with two heads!
Seeking follows and collections~ Quebao will work hard on writing, thank you for everyone’s support, especially the alliance leader from Vast Mansion (though this was because he lost a bet to Quebao! Truly the number one philanthropist on Qidian).