Chapter 77: Chapter 72: The Mysterious Dragon-Suppressing Stone
After trading ten Hundred-Change Silkworms, Zhang Lingxue and Ye Bai hurriedly left the breeding farm.
On the way back to the city, Ye Bai used the excuse of wanting to admire the beautiful scenery of the ancient bridge, allowing the Gray Poison Moth to land on the bridge for a moment.
Zhang Lingxue sat on the back of the Light Goddess Butterfly, overlooking from the sky.
She knew Ye Bai must have discovered something. However, everyone has their own secrets, and it’s best to see through them without revealing them.
As a teacher, one definitely wishes for their students to excel over themselves, so that the Flame Country Alliance can grow increasingly stronger.
This is a thousand-year-old stone bridge, very long and wide.
Stretching hundreds of meters, the bridge could accommodate four vehicles passing simultaneously, entirely made of bluestone.
You could feel the traces of time on the bridge body.
It seemed that no one had passed through this bridge in a long time.
The area beneath the bridge was overgrown with wild grass, only a small stream trickling underneath.
The bridge was covered with moss.
The Gray Poison Moth flapped its wings and landed, stirring up gusts of wind.
The wind caused ripples in the stream below the bridge.
The ancient monument on the bridge recorded the name of this bridge: Dragon Suppressing Bridge.
This is not the Jiaying River, but under the ancient bridge, there was a dense, lingering gray mist.
Ye Bai went online to check the geographical location.
A hundred years ago, this was still a river of roughly the same scale as the Jiaying River.
This bridge was situated in the middle and lower reaches of the Changhe River.
However, a great earthquake occurred fifty years ago, causing the upper reaches of the Changhe River to change course. Residents living near the Dragon Suppressing Bridge chose to live by water and moved away from here.
Thus, the Dragon Suppressing Bridge was completely abandoned.
Due to lack of maintenance, the bridge was covered in thick moss.
A hint of verdant brought vitality.
Ye Bai jumped off the back of Little Purple, landing on the bridge surface, the green moss a bit slippery.
He followed the steps down to the underside of the bridge, searching for the source of the gray mist.
The mud below the bridge exuded a fishy stench, and Ye Bai walked deeply and shallowly.
Upon reaching the center of the bridge, he confirmed that the gray mist emanated from the stream.
The stream babbled, with water barely reaching Ye Bai’s instep.
He treaded the water to find the source of the gray mist, discovering it was an irregular stone of black-gray.
Though only palm-sized, it was heavy as a thousand pounds.
On the stone were two large golden characters written in seal script: Dragon Suppressing.
Under the sunlight, it emitted a faint golden glow. At the moment of contact with the Dragon-Suppressing Stone, a high-pitched dragon’s roar echoed in Ye Bai’s mind.
This reminded Ye Bai of intelligence reports stating that a slight tap on the body of the Dragon-slaying Sword could emit a deafening dragon’s roar.
What is the connection between this Dragon-Suppressing Stone and the Dragon-slaying Sword?
Ye Bai felt it necessary to investigate the relationship between the Dragon-Suppressing Stone, the Dragon-slaying Sword, and the wandering Flood Dragon.
Perhaps it could prove to be of great use in the future.
He focused his thoughts, touched the Dragon-Suppressing Stone with both hands, and stored it in the Pet Beast Space.
After the disappearance of the Dragon-Suppressing Stone, the ground trembled slightly, and a gust of wind blew, causing the surrounding meter-tall wild grass to fall to the ground.
A shadow opened its eyes.
Only upon returning to the laboratory did Ye Bai learn what had happened in the tournament.
Principal Liu Hang had come personally. After learning the true reason from Suna, he was both amused and helpless.
It was a tragedy caused by an accidental fart.
The resolution was for Ye Bai to bear the cost of repairing the arena.
After all, Ye Bai was the Pet Beast Master of the Hundred-Change Silkworm, and the trouble caused by the Hundred-Change Silkworm naturally had to be resolved by Ye Bai.
Upon hearing this, Ye Bai grinned.
Principal Liu, you wouldn’t want your balding secret to become common knowledge, would you?
"Teacher, regarding the evolution experiment of the Blood Gu Butterfly, I think that mysterious Gu Poison you’ve offered plays a crucial role."
"Do you still have a stock of the mysterious Gu Poison?"
Zhang Lingxue smiled mysteriously, and ripples appeared in the air as the Blood Gu Butterfly surged forth.
"Don’t rush, don’t rush, the Blood Gu Butterfly stores mysterious Gu Poison in its body."
"Those Gu Poisons obey the Blood Gu Butterfly’s command."
With that, the Blood Gu Butterfly extended its proboscis, releasing droplet-sized liquid onto ten vials.
"This is high-concentration Gu Poison."
One drop can match a previous entire bottle.
"Since the results of the tournament have been announced, there shouldn’t be any pressing matters for the time being."
"Let’s start the experiment first."
"This time, we must research the complete evolutionary path of the Blood Poison Moth and Blood Gu Butterfly."
Ye Bai had researched the Blood Gu Butterfly and Blood Poison Moth, but some specific details still needed more pondering, and complete reproducible experiments were crucial.
At this moment, Zhang Lingxue’s phone rang, and she answered the call and started a discussion.
After hanging up, Zhang Lingxue smiled: "Ye Bai, your Sunflower Cleaning Company has got some business."
"Several nearby cities invaded by the Beast Tide are currently troubled with how to deal with the heaps of Exotic Beast corpses."
"Otherwise, they’ll start to rot and stink."
"Rest assured, Chairman Wang will personally send people to ensure the Sunflowers reach the Beast Tide cities safely."
"The Price King will help negotiate on your behalf, ensuring you don’t suffer any loss."
The blood and flesh of exotic beasts are generally toxic and require special processing before they can be consumed by humans.
Processing exotic beast carcasses has become an urgent issue for several Pet Beast Unions at the moment.
"No problem, I’ll have the Sunflower King handle it."
Ye Bai hesitated for a moment but decided to speak to Zhang Lingxue: "There’s one more thing. After consuming high-tier exotic beast meat, the Hundred-Change Silkworm might not be able to endure the power and may enter a self-destructive state."
"I usually rely on the Sunflower King to resolve the Hundred-Change Silkworm’s self-destructive state."
"Teacher, do any of your pet beasts know how to resolve the Hundred-Change Silkworm’s self-destructive state?"
Zhang Lingxue chuckled and pointed gracefully behind her: "I rely on it."
Ye Bai looked over and saw the Light Goddess Butterfly floating in the air.
"My Light Goddess Butterfly can eliminate various abnormal states, including self-destruct."
"Moreover, based on the past two days of integrating with the Blood Gu Butterfly, it also possesses a special blood-sucking skill that can draw out excess energy from the Hundred-Change Silkworm."
At this moment, Ye Bai’s Ten Thousand Changes Silkworm appeared at the entrance of the laboratory, bouncing along.
It carried a penalty ticket in its mouth.
The Ten Thousand Changes Silkworm had a silly cute expression as it watched the laboratory’s surveillance.
Then the lab door creaked open, and a robotic guard came out, guiding the Ten Thousand Changes Silkworm inside.
Ye Bai gasped upon seeing the hefty penalty ticket.
He glared fiercely at the Ten Thousand Changes Silkworm, which shrank back, neck tucked in.
"Allow me to defend myself—or rather, to explain."
Zhang Lingxue burst into laughter: "Haha, Ye Bai, I didn’t expect your Thousand-Change Silkworm would let out a fart and blow up the whole arena."
"It even made the spectators think the Thousand-Change Silkworm has strong attack power."
"Don’t worry, this counts as a school scandal, so Principal Liu has ordered repeatedly not to spread the word."
"Otherwise, it would be embarrassing for the school, and your reputation is quite safe."
"You don’t need to worry about the penalty ticket; Principal Liu wouldn’t really do anything to you, he’s just putting on a show for outsiders."
Ye Bai gave a mysterious smile: "Teacher, you made a mistake in addressing earlier—my pet beast is no longer a Thousand-Change Silkworm; it’s now a Ten Thousand Changes Silkworm."
Zhang Lingxue blinked repeatedly upon hearing this.
She looked left and right but couldn’t see any difference between Ye Bai’s Ten Thousand Changes Silkworm and the Thousand-Change Silkworm.
In her eyes, they all seemed similar to the Hundred-Change Silkworm.
"Moreover, my Ten Thousand Changes Silkworm has mastered a special form."
"Ten Thousand Changes Silkworm, create a clone."
The Ten Thousand Changes Silkworm glowed brightly; after a nap, it had recovered most of its energy.
Specks of white light gathered from the Ten Thousand Changes Silkworm, condensing in the air.
A dark red Blood Poison Moth appeared.
"Ah?"
Zhang Lingxue rubbed her eyes—she must be hallucinating, as she seemed to see a Blood Poison Moth appear.
Ye Bai’s eyes shone with sharpness.
Indeed, just as he thought, after the Ten Thousand Changes Silkworm’s clone mimicked the Blood Poison Moth, unless it specifically mimics to record another form, the clone’s form would not be canceled.
"This is the secret of my Ten Thousand Changes Silkworm. I ask the teacher to keep it confidential for me."
Ye Bai absolutely trusted Zhang Lingxue’s character.
Besides, he wouldn’t be able to hide wanting to mimic the Light Goddess Butterfly and Blood Gu Butterfly from Zhang Lingxue.
Between master and disciple, even if there are secrets, some matters should still be openly discussed.
"My Ten Thousand Changes Silkworm’s clone possesses a very special mimicry skill; it can mimic record all forms that the Hundred-Change Silkworm, Thousand-Change Silkworm, and Ten Thousand Changes Silkworm have evolved into."
"This clone is mimicking the appearance of the Blood Poison Moth after its battle with it."
At this point, the Blood Poison Moth clone flew in front of the Light Goddess Butterfly, circling it a few times, and its eyes flashed with a red light, as if recording something.
Soon, the Blood Poison Moth clone’s form began to change, and before long, a Light Goddess Butterfly appeared.
The two Light Goddess Butterflies were almost identical, though slightly distinguishable.
The clone-formed Light Goddess Butterfly had wings that were a tad dimmer in color.
Zhang Lingxue’s mouth fell open in astonishment.
"Ye Bai, your Ten Thousand Changes Silkworm is just too bizarre."
"Can I borrow it for research for a few days?"
"Have you tested whether the abilities after a clone’s mimicry differ from the mimicked pet beast?"
Zhang Lingxue immediately realized that even if her experiment didn’t succeed this time, without evolving into a Blood Gu Butterfly, she could have the Ten Thousand Changes Silkworm’s clone transform into a Blood Gu Butterfly to absorb the Blood Gu from her grandfather.
"The abilities are roughly similar, though the effect might be somewhat weaker because my Ten Thousand Changes Silkworm is a Tier Two pet beast; even after mimicking, the clone’s power cannot exceed Tier Two."
"Currently, my Ten Thousand Changes Silkworm can only produce two clones, but creating the second clone consumes all its energy."
Zhang Lingxue chuckled: "What if you have the Ten Thousand Changes Silkworm retrieve one clone and then release a second one? Wouldn’t that save its energy?"
Ye Bai thought Zhang Lingxue’s advice made sense.
The Ten Thousand Changes Silkworm followed suit, the Light Goddess Butterfly clone dispersed into milky-white light points that merged into its body.
Then the Ten Thousand Changes Silkworm created a second clone, which, this time, was not malnourished, and although the Ten Thousand Changes Silkworm panted a bit, it still had some energy left.
"The teacher is truly smart."
Ye Bai gave his teacher a small compliment. Zhang Lingxue beckoned, and the Blood Gu Butterfly slowly landed beside the clone.
The blood-red compound eyes curiously watched the plump, white Ten Thousand Changes Silkworm—really wanting to take a bite.
The Ten Thousand Changes Silkworm eyed the Blood Gu Butterfly up and down, torrents of blood-red energy surged from it.
Its body began to swell and grow, shrouded in blood mist, and soon, after the mist dissipated, another Blood Gu Butterfly appeared.