Ian Song returned, and everything in Greenvine City was as usual.
During his absence, his master Elder Gideon Skyreach, Elder Hannah Huang, and Elder Bloodsun all advanced to late Human Immortal. Hannah and Bloodsun both entered the Immortalization Pool and successfully condensed immortal bodies.
But Elder Gideon was cultivating a god-grade method, which would eventually let him form a divine body far stronger than an immortal one. So, following Ian's advice, he chose not to condense an immortal body.
With everything stable, Ian had nothing to worry about. He casually settled Xina Southgate and her two maids in the City Lord's Mansion, then entered the Divine Temple.
Inside the Divine Temple, a Mid-Rank God corpse and a White Godkite egg awaited his attention.
Dealing with the Mid-Rank God corpse was simple—he just buried it in the planet he'd used before, as fertilizer for his Immortal Medicine fields.
What delighted him was—
The Immortal Medicines he'd planted before had all matured under the nourishment of the divine corpse. The seeds he'd obtained from Ancestor Martin were all sixth- or seventh-grade, with some eighth- and ninth-grade herbs as well.
The divine corpse was incredibly effective—some herbs that had only been sixth-grade broke through to become seventh-grade.
A few seventh-grade Immortal Medicines also broke through their grade.
As for the eighth- and ninth-grade herbs, their tier was already so high that it was hard to break through further. But Ian was confident that after burying the Mid-Rank God corpse, those herbs might eventually advance as well.
If he could grow a true God-grade herb, he'd be set for life.
He ordered his people to harvest the sixth- and seventh-grade herbs and plant new seeds, leaving the eighth- and ninth-grade ones in place.
After burying the Mid-Rank God corpse, Ian turned to Old Spirit for advice: "I really can't hatch this White Godkite egg?"
Old Spirit replied, "Even a God-King would need hundreds of years to hatch it. You're nowhere near that level—honestly, even a million years wouldn't be enough for you."
Ian was a bit crushed by Old Spirit's words, but he still refused to give up and wanted to try anyway.
With a wave, the beautiful White Godkite egg appeared before him.
He possessed the Pangu Bloodline, and every drop of his blood contained unimaginable power. Maybe if he fed the egg with his blood and Chaos Origin Force, something miraculous might happen!
He acted on the idea immediately.
He raised his right hand and drew it across his left finger. A line of blood appeared, and a drop of golden blood dripped from his fingertip onto the eggshell.
But to his disappointment, the eggshell didn't absorb his blood at all.
He then tried injecting Chaos Origin Force, but the egg still refused.
"Seriously? Are you looking down on me?"
Ian was getting annoyed.
Old Spirit, a little helpless, reminded him, "Don't waste your effort. Even with your Pangu Bloodline, your evolutionary level is still low. White Godkites—one of the Ten Supreme Species—feed on top-grade god crystals and supreme God-grade medicine. Your blood and power look like trash to them, so of course they won't bother to eat it!"
"Trash? Not worth eating?"
Old Spirit's words hit Ian like another round of face-slaps.
"What if I reach Ancestral Immortal? How long would it take to hatch the egg then? Once I hit Ancestral Immortal, my bloodline power should be way stronger!" Ian pressed.
"Not much difference!"
Old Spirit explained, "Do you know how far you are from a God-King? The divine hierarchy goes: Lower God, Mid-Rank God, Upper God, Lower Heavenly God, Mid Heavenly God, Upper Heavenly God, and finally God-King. Each major realm has several sub-realms. At your current speed, it'll take tens of thousands—maybe hundreds of thousands—of years to reach God-King."
Old Spirit's words were just a reference—after all, Ian still had the System. He was sure he wouldn't need nearly that long to reach that level!
Still, even with the System, it would take at least several thousand—maybe ten thousand—years.
"So...!"
Ian's gaze burned as he stared at the White Godkite egg.
"Old Spirit, how do you think an egg from the Ten Supreme Species tastes?"
Old Spirit was startled. "You want to eat it? Even God-Kings fight over these eggs!"
Just then, Ian blinked—he could've sworn the White Godkite egg trembled a little. Could it actually understand him?
A mischievous grin appeared on Ian's face as he continued, "Anyway, this thing is useless to me. It's basically a chicken rib—might even attract trouble from big shots in the God Realm. Might as well eat it and be done! Who knows, maybe I'll get another Ten Supreme Species as a pet someday!"
Old Spirit caught on to Ian's intent and played along: "Exactly! Keeping it will only bring disaster. Better to eat it—it's a Ten Supreme Species egg, after all, a massive tonic! Eat it and you might jump straight to Ancestral Immortal!"
"Right! Well said!" Ian clapped. "But since it's a Ten Supreme Species egg, I really need to think about the best way to eat it!"
As they talked, Ian noticed the White Godkite egg twitch twice more.
Looks like it really could understand him.
If it could understand, then scaring it would be easy!
Just then, the White Godkite egg suddenly turned into a streak of light and shot off into the distance.
"Heh, trying to run?"
Ian sneered, and with a single thought, the fleeing White Godkite egg was teleported right back in front of him, trapped in place. "Nice try! Since you're so useless, you might as well be my food!"
As he spoke, Ian snapped his fingers, and a ball of flame appeared, wrapping around the White Godkite egg.
"Don't eat me! Don't eat me! I can recognize you as my master!"
Suddenly, a childish voice came from inside the White Godkite egg.
"Hahaha!"
Ian laughed, "How do you recognize a master?"
The White Godkite egg said, "Just smear your blood on the runes on my shell. Once I absorb it, I'll recognize you as my master!"
Ian instinctively asked Old Spirit, "Is that how it's done?"
"Yes, that's usually how it works," Old Spirit replied.
"Alright, I'll give it a shot. You'd better not try anything funny, or I'll roast you on the spot!"
Threatening as he spoke, Ian cut his finger and carefully smeared his blood onto the divine runes on the eggshell. Instantly, a gentle glow radiated from the shell, and when it faded, the blood was gone.
Then, a rune of light shot out from the eggshell—before Ian could react, it pierced his brow and fused into his soul.
"Hahaha, you fell for it! It's a Slave Contract! Now you're my slave!"
The White Godkite egg laughed gleefully.
"Trying to enslave me? Are you sure about that?"
Ian smirked. Did the egg really think his System was just for show? As the System's host, if anyone tried to steal him, would the System just sit back and watch?