Inside his cave abode on Lesser Yang Peak, Chen Shuangbai cleared out a room, brought in some bedding, and piled it into a nest before placing the snake egg inside.
A Rotting Venom Viper was a Late Qi Refining Stage Demon Beast once it reached adulthood. With some fortuitous opportunities, it could even reach the Great Perfection of Qi Refining, and it might perhaps have a chance of becoming a great Foundation Establishment Demon Beast.
But while Chen Shuangbai knew all that, one problem stumped him.
He had no idea how to hatch a Rotting Venom Viper egg.
Chen Shuangbai decided to find someone or look for a book in the sect.
But... I'm still only an outer disciple with no foundation whatsoever, and I have no relatives, friends, or elders to rely on in the sect. If I rashly let word of this snake egg spread...
After turning it over in his mind, Chen Shuangbai decided not to ask anyone. Instead, he would go to the Scripture Pavilion Hall himself and look for relevant records.
The Scripture Pavilion Hall belonged to the Dao Transmission Hall, one of the sect's three great halls, and was a place where the sect passed down teachings.
The three Law Techniques and the Artifact Control Technique that Chen Shuangbai had previously chosen for free had all come from there.
Although he had yet to leave the sect's grounds, Chen Shuangbai had not spent the past year in vain.
Among the Jing Kingdom's five great sects, the Jade Spring Sect and the Empty Sword Sect had the fewest disciples, but the most elites.
Thus, although the Jade Spring Sect had numerous rules, its treatment of disciples was the best among the five great sects.
Aside from being able to choose two Law Techniques for free after successfully sensing Qi, outer disciples also received a fixed allotment of Merit Points every year. If they used them sparingly and took on some tasks in their spare time, they could get through the whole year.
They would simply have to live rather poorly.
This was evident from the fact that, in all the time since Chen Shuangbai had joined, he had never seen an outer disciple bullied by an inner disciple.
Of course, no one was perfect.
There were still some minor frictions.
Chen Shuangbai was now in the middle phase of the Third Layer of Qi Refinement and was close to entering the late phase. His progress was considered quite fast among the outer disciples.
Thus, Chen Shuangbai could spend his Merit Points or Spirit Stones to enter and borrow or study Law Techniques.
He entered the cave.
Rather than rushing to search on his own, Chen Shuangbai went to the center and bowed gracefully toward the air. With the utmost politeness, he said, "This junior is Chen Shuangbai, an outer disciple. I have a question I wish to ask Lord Book Spirit, whose knowledge is vast and profound."
Jingle!
A crisp sound rang out, like a clear spring striking stone, and the little glowing Book Spirit appeared once more. Seeing Chen Shuangbai, the spirit could not help giving a soft chuckle.
"You disciple, you really do have a sweet tongue."
Chen Shuangbai hurriedly said, "This junior is only speaking the truth."
"Haha."
From their previous two encounters, Chen Shuangbai had noticed that the Book Spirit seemed to have been confined to this cave abode for far too long and greatly enjoyed hearing others flatter him.
He especially liked being addressed as "Lord" in flattery.
Sweet words cost neither Merit Points nor Spirit Stones, so Chen Shuangbai made his tongue a little sweeter.
The Book Spirit lay in midair, looking at Chen Shuangbai with a smile. "What sort of Law Technique are you looking for this time? This lord will offer you some advice."
Chen Shuangbai said, "By a chance encounter, this junior obtained a Demon Beast's snake egg. I came today to ask Lord Book Spirit how it should be hatched."
A Demon Beast's snake egg?!
The Book Spirit froze, then resumed his unruffled manner. "You little fellow, you certainly have good luck."
"For a demon snake like the Rotting Venom Viper, I recall there should be a relevant record in An Introduction to Raising a Hundred Beasts..."
Muttering to himself, the little spirit raised a hand and drew a Jade Slip from the vast array of bookshelves. He leafed through it, confirmed it was the right one, and tossed it into Chen Shuangbai's hands.
"Pages thirty-six through forty-two all contain records on the Rotting Venom Viper. You may read them here for two hours..."
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
Chen Shuangbai was somewhat dumbfounded.
The Book Spirit had named the snake egg he had obtained as a Rotting Venom Viper's in a single breath?!
He had not said anything yet!
The Book Spirit seemed to know what Chen Shuangbai was thinking. He laughed twice and pointed at him. "Though I have no human body, my Divine Sense is stronger than that of an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator. You meant to keep it hidden, little fellow, but you didn't know that Rotting Venom Vipers have a distinctive smell of their own, and their eggs have it too."
"A Foundation Establishment cultivator can tell at a glance."
Chen Shuangbai felt a chill in his heart, but it quickly warmed again.
For the Book Spirit added:
"Rest assured, our Jade Spring Sect has strict rules, and its discipline of its members is the strictest in the Jing Kingdom. There is no possibility of anyone using trickery or force to seize another's possessions within the sect."
"This lord also disdains to tell anyone else about it."
"You can put your heart back in your belly."
Hearing this, Chen Shuangbai hurriedly thanked him, then flattered the Book Spirit with another string of "lords" until the spirit was walking on air.
Then.
Chen Shuangbai began reading the records on the Rotting Venom Viper in An Introduction to Raising a Hundred Beasts. He learned that the snake favored shade, dampness, and darkness. Successfully hatching its egg required a cold, damp environment, as well as nourishment from the mother snake's Demon Power.
The former was essential. If the latter was unavailable, however, something containing pure water-element or cold Spiritual Qi could be used to nourish the egg instead.
The former was easy enough to find.
With so many mountains nearby, how hard could it be to find a cold, damp place?
The latter, however, was a little more difficult.
Chen Shuangbai knew of a few things that contained pure water-element or cold Spiritual Qi, but they generally cost a considerable number of Merit Points to exchange for. For him, whose Merit Point income was already meager, that left him rather hard-pressed.
He continued reading as he pondered, but after a while, he began to find something strange.
He discovered that the shell of the snake egg he had obtained seemed somewhat different from the one described in the record.
An Introduction to Raising a Hundred Beasts said that a Rotting Venom Viper egg had a rather soft shell, whereas the shell of the egg he had received was very hard. It also felt like frost to the touch, rather than merely cold.
Since the Book Spirit had already seen through it, Chen Shuangbai decided there was no need to trouble a second master with the same matter.
Chen Shuangbai described what was unusual about the snake egg. The Book Spirit gave a soft sound of surprise and said, "From your description, it doesn't sound like a Rotting Venom Viper egg."
He flicked a finger, and An Introduction to Raising a Hundred Beasts flew from Chen Shuangbai's hands to him. Its pages turned of their own accord without wind, flipping toward the back until they stopped on a page.
"Based on your description, that Demon Beast egg sounds like a Snow-Plumed Eagle's."
"But one of the two lives only on snowy mountains, while the other lives in cold underground caverns. How could their eggs possibly be confused?"
"Unless..."
The Book Spirit seemed to have guessed something. He looked steadily at Chen Shuangbai, then decisively cut him off before he could speak.
"This lord has no time to spare for learning about such trifling details."