Early the next morning.
Wang Ba opened his eyes from cultivation.
His gaze was immediately drawn involuntarily to the sight before him.
"Has it... laid its eggs?"
Wang Ba looked at the Ghost-Patterned Stone Dragon Lizard before him.
Although it was still somewhat bloated, its abdomen had already shrunk a little.
Beneath it, in the earthen nest Wang Ba had specially prepared, lay a clutch of oval, wet, white beast eggs.
Delighted, Wang Ba stepped forward.
The Ghost-Patterned Stone Dragon Lizard immediately raised its head and propped itself up on its forelegs by instinct, flicking its forked blue tongue at Wang Ba in a threatening display...
But after seeing that it was Wang Ba, it hesitated, then slowly settled back down.
Wang Ba paid it no mind. He crouched beside the earthen nest and counted, feeling a little disappointed: there were only nine beast eggs.
Far fewer than the rumors claimed.
"Was its diet inadequate?"
Wang Ba was somewhat puzzled.
But egg-laying was never predictable, and laying fewer eggs occasionally was perfectly normal.
Wang Ba did not investigate further. Sensing the faint stirrings of life within the eggs, he felt slightly reassured.
Not bad. At least all nine eggs could hatch.
"Ghost-Patterned Stone Dragon Lizards prefer warmth and humidity, and their eggs also need constant temperature and humidity to hatch... much like Azurewater Spirit Turtles."
Wang Ba immediately set up a simple array over the earthen nest to maintain constant temperature and humidity.
Ghost-Patterned Stone Dragon Lizard eggs generally needed at least two months to hatch, but that was much less time than Azurewater Spirit Turtles and other second-tier high-grade creatures.
Azurewater Spirit Turtles, for instance, now generally needed more than half a year to hatch.
"Come to think of it, a few of that batch of Azurewater Spirit Turtles