Volume 4 Chapter 31

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Volume 4 Chapter 31: Dark Crow

As mentioned before, to hatch a demon beast egg, a portion of the owner’s Divine Sense must be implanted into the egg, making it easier to control the demon beast once it hatches.

So, once Xu Qingfan decided to hatch the "Dark Crow" first, he sat cross-legged, holding the "Dark Crow" egg in his palm, and his mind started drifting into clarity.

The "Dark Crow" is one of the most mysterious demon beasts in the entire cultivation world, so Xu Qingfan had to be cautious before hatching it.

Once everything was ready, Xu Qingfan did not hesitate further, carefully channeling a small stream of Divine Sense into the "Dark Crow" egg.

The process went smoothly. Even though the "Dark Crow" is considered a low-level Earth demon beast, it hadn’t hatched yet and had no strength or mental power, allowing Xu Qingfan to easily merge his Divine Sense with the faint Divine Sense within the "Dark Crow" egg.

At the moment of spiritual fusion, Xu Qingfan’s body slightly trembled because he suddenly felt as if he had two bodies. One body was his familiar, tangible form that had existed for over eighty years, while the other was like a void, incredibly weak, belonging to the "Dark Crow" egg, which had not yet formed.

Compared to his own body, Xu Qingfan found that he couldn’t freely control the "Dark Crow’s" body, only observing it like a bystander, perceiving its state and thoughts. However, Xu Qingfan felt that he could easily influence the "Dark Crow’s" emotions and ideas if he wished.

After a long while, the strange sensation of having two bodies slowly faded away, with Xu Qingfan’s body still being his own and the "Dark Crow’s" still belonging to it. Through the fusion of their spirits, Xu Qingfan could easily control the thoughts and emotions of the "Dark Crow."

"Is this really the first step to making a demon beast recognize its master? It’s truly fascinating."

As he pondered, Xu Qingfan thought to himself quietly.

After that strange feeling faded, Xu Qingfan began using his Divine Sense to carefully examine the egg of the "Dark Crow," as he was quite curious about this mysterious demon beast.

At this time, the body of the "Dark Crow" was not yet formed, so merely examining its egg would yield almost nothing, and Xu Qingfan never expected to gain much; he was just acting out of curiosity.

However, shortly after his Divine Sense entered the "Dark Crow" egg, Xu Qingfan’s expression changed slightly, then became extremely serious.

This was because Xu Qingfan suddenly discovered a very special energy within the egg of the "Dark Crow." The energy was so faint that anyone other than Xu Qingfan would not have been able to detect it.

Xu Qingfan could recognize this energy because he was all too familiar with it—it suggested death, despair, relief, and carried an extraordinarily powerful corrosive force.

"Is this… the aura of death?" Xu Qingfan murmured in disbelief.

The aura of death? Yes, although Xu Qingfan couldn’t believe it, the energy was indeed the aura of death he had encountered before. Despite the vast difference in quantity, its nature was exactly the same.

However, hadn’t Liu Huaxiang previously mentioned that as long as one is a living creature, possessing vitality, whether human or demon beast, one cannot obtain death energy? Even when Xu Qingfan fused some death energy with the Wither Qi in his body, the damage was so severe, let alone possessing true death energy.

But then, what exactly is this "Dark Crow"? Although the trace of death energy is extremely weak, it is undeniably death energy. Moreover, as Xu Qingfan knew, once a demon beast hatches, its true strength emerges, and the faint death energy might increase hundreds of times, making it quite significant.

Many thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant; conjectures were raised and then rejected, but no matter how Xu Qingfan guessed, he couldn’t figure out how the "Dark Crow" could possess death energy.

"Maybe I should hatch it first; something might be discovered during the process," Xu Qingfan murmured after a long while.

Saying this, Xu Qingfan began to busy himself with hatching the "Dark Crow" in the room. He took out a large number of spirit stones and array materials and arranged them into a strange formation as he knew.

The steps and materials required for hatching a demon beast are immensely complex. Even with plenty of time and the recent offerings he received, it took Xu Qingfan nearly a hundred high-grade spirit stones and almost an entire day to successfully complete the formation.

Then, Xu Qingfan placed the "Dark Crow" egg at the center of the formation, took a deep breath to calm his mind, and began to channel Spirit Qi, forming hand seals to activate the formation.

Unlike the previous formations Xu Qingfan had set up, this one for hatching demon beast eggs showed no odd movements when activated. There were no brilliant lights, no overflowing Spirit Qi, only the various symbols forming the array began to flicker softly under Xu Qingfan’s control, gradually flowing like water towards the center of the formation.

At the center of the formation, under the pulsing faint spiritual light, black mist slowly started to emanate around the "Dark Crow" egg. As time went on, the black mist grew thicker, and then the gentle sound of an eggshell cracking began to echo.

During this time, Xu Qingfan not only activated the formation but also constantly used his Divine Sense to closely observe the changes in the "Dark Crow" egg. Initially, as spiritual light continuously flowed in, the chaos within the "Dark Crow" egg began to swirl. As it swirled, the chaos gradually solidified and transformed into the shape of a crow. Meanwhile, a thread of deathly aura, which Xu Qingfan paid particular attention to, began to rapidly strengthen. Although it wasn’t as strong as what Xu Qingfan encountered during the awakening of his talent, it was still considerably potent.

Once this deathly aura finally took shape, it began to seep into the already formed body of the Dark Crow. But just as Xu Qingfan was about to carefully observe how this aura entered the Dark Crow, a portion of it leaked out, forming a black mist that completely blocked Xu Qingfan’s Divine Sense from penetrating.

Due to his apprehension about the deathly aura, Xu Qingfan, after a moment of hesitation, decided not to forcibly break through the black mist with his Divine Sense. Instead, he carefully observed the scene within the mist. Although the mist also obstructed Xu Qingfan’s vision, he kept his eyes fixed on everything before him without blinking.

Finally, the sound of the eggshell cracking ceased after a quarter of an hour. Then the black mist began to shrink until it disappeared. With nothing to block Xu Qingfan’s view, a palm-sized black crow suddenly appeared before him.

If Xu Qingfan hadn’t seen a picture of the Dark Crow before, he would have mistaken this black creature in front of him for a real crow.

It had a sharp beak like a crow, black feathers like a crow, and a body shape just like a crow, making it almost indistinguishable from an ordinary crow. It had no aura, no energy fluctuations, and the deathly aura seemed almost imperceptible, lacking any sign of an Earth-level demon beast.

"It can’t be that I spent so many spirit stones and materials just to hatch a crow, can it? I’d become the laughingstock of the entire cultivation world, and the mockery would last for a thousand years."

Although he knew that this Dark Crow before him wasn’t so simple—the deathly aura he’d sensed earlier was proof—looking at the creature that appeared no different from a common crow, Xu Qingfan couldn’t help but begin to doubt his judgment.

Upon closer inspection, Xu Qingfan finally discovered how this Dark Crow differed from an ordinary crow. First, its black feathers were incredibly smooth, without a single ruffle, even appearing to have a faint black glow flowing over its body.

Next, there was the gaze of this Dark Crow.

What should the eyes of a demon beast look like?

Brutal? Fierce? Wild?

Xu Qingfan used to think so, but when he killed that Blue-eyed Cloud-foot Beast that destroyed his homeland and family in the Southern Wasteland, he saw sadness in the demon beast’s eyes.

Yet, in the pitch-black eyes of this Dark Crow, Xu Qingfan saw another expression—indifference, an icy cold indifference. It was like the gaze said to belong to the legendary God of Death.

"It seems the Dark Crow’s title as the ‘Avatar of the God of Death’ is not entirely due to human imagination."

Xu Qingfan murmured.

Just a moment ago, when the Dark Crow emerged from its shell and cast its gaze upon Xu Qingfan, even he felt an involuntary chill, as if truly being watched by the God of Death.

The value of this Dark Crow might just be the highest among all that I possess, except for the Holy Spirit Stone. Far surpassing the "Five Spirit Bell."

Looking at the seemingly ordinary Dark Crow before him, Xu Qingfan couldn’t help but ponder deep within his heart.

"Caw caw…"

Just as Xu Qingfan was secretly pondering what mysteries lay within the Dark Crow, a harsh bird cry suddenly echoed. It seemed this Dark Crow had finally fully awakened from its shell, and upon seeing Xu Qingfan before it, its black eyes flashed with a deeper shade of black before it began calling out.

Its cry, however, was just like any ordinary crow, making Xu Qingfan smile wryly. He realized that without someone who recognized its value, the joke of having hatched a crow as a spirit beast would follow him indefinitely.

"Caw caw…"

While Xu Qingfan was smiling wryly, the Dark Crow kept cawing incessantly, flapping its black wings as if already eager to fly right after hatching.

Though the Dark Crow looked and sounded much like a regular crow, it was, after all, a demon beast and a powerful one at the Earth level. In just a moment, the Dark Crow managed to take flight and circle around Xu Qingfan, all the while continuing its loud cawing.

Even though this was his first spirit beast, Xu Qingfan had to admit that this crow-like call was indeed very unpleasant to listen to.

At the moment Xu Qingfan had the thought, the Dark Crow, having already bonded with a part of Xu Qingfan’s Divine Sense, immediately sensed his feelings and obediently closed its beak, yet continued circling him faster and faster, appearing quite eager.

Xu Qingfan felt a slight stir in his heart and closed his eyes to connect with the part of the Divine Sense that had merged with the Dark Crow Divine Sense.

As soon as Xu Qingfan closed his eyes, a complex mix of emotions immediately flooded his mind.

Affection, warmth, urgency, fear. These were exactly the feelings in Dark Crow’s heart at that moment.

Sensing these emotions, Xu Qingfan was slightly taken aback. The feeling of affection and warmth was because the Dark Crow was treating Xu Qingfan as a parent, which made Xu Qingfan feel amused and a little helpless.

But why would Dark Crow be afraid of him?

Suddenly, Xu Qingfan paused for a moment, retrieved a jade box from his room that could block Spirit Qi energy, and placed his "Holy Spirit Stone" inside. Then, he stored it away using the "Sleeve Space" technique.

Almost instantly after Xu Qingfan finished doing all this, Dark Crow flew swiftly towards him. Its speed was so terrifying that it seemed like a black lightning bolt, landing on Xu Qingfan’s shoulder before he could even react.

Once perched on Xu Qingfan’s shoulder, Dark Crow didn’t hesitate. Its long, sharp beak pecked gently at Xu Qingfan’s earlobe. Although swift, the action was remarkably gentle, making a small hole in Xu Qingfan’s earlobe. Then, Dark Crow rubbed its head against the wound, smearing Xu Qingfan’s blood on its head. Amazingly, the blood slowly seeped into Dark Crow’s body.

"Blood recognition?"

Watching Dark Crow’s actions, Xu Qingfan was taken aback. He never expected Dark Crow to willingly perform the final step of binding a demon beast, "Blood Drip Fusion." Typically, as Xu Qingfan knew, this step was initiated by the cultivator. Moreover, when the cultivator took this step, the demon beast generally resisted strongly.

So, why was this Dark Crow taking the initiative?

Could it be because of the mutated Wither Qi inside him?

As Xu Qingfan looked at the Dark Crow quietly perched on his shoulder, he felt it was full of mystery. In the cultivation world, information about Dark Crow was extremely scarce. Over the past few days, despite Xu Qingfan’s efforts to search through numerous books, he could only relearn what everyone already knew.

By this time, the entire binding procedure was complete. With no further hesitation, Xu Qingfan examined Dark Crow closely and began probing its body with his Divine Sense. Just as he expected, a considerable amount of death energy was circulating within Dark Crow, but surprisingly, it didn’t harm its body in any way.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Xu Qingfan suddenly raised his hand, and Dark Crow obediently flew from his shoulder onto his right arm. Then, Xu Qingfan lifted his left hand, placed it against Dark Crow’s body, and began to channel his internal mutated Wither Qi into Dark Crow, intending to explore further.

Although Xu Qingfan had three types of spiritual power within him: Withered Qi, Flourish Qi, and Phoenix Spirit Qi, the nature of Flourish Qi and Phoenix Spirit Qi was vastly different from death energy. Worried they might harm Dark Crow, Xu Qingfan only used Withered Qi.

But the moment Xu Qingfan channeled the Wither Qi into Dark Crow, an unexpected change occurred.

Xu Qingfan felt that as soon as the Withered Qi entered Dark Crow’s body, Dark Crow shuddered, and an overwhelming sense of excitement flowed into Xu Qingfan’s heart. At the same time, Dark Crow’s body seemed to transform into a black hole that specifically drew in Withered Qi, rapidly absorbing Xu Qingfan’s Withered Qi.

In just a brief moment, a tenth of the Withered qi inside Xu Qingfan was absorbed by the Dark Crow!

Feeling this unusual change, Xu Qingfan was shocked and quickly commanded the Dark Crow to stop absorbing. Fortunately, although the Dark Crow seemed to be very fond of the Withered qi in Xu Qingfan, it was still under Xu Qingfan’s control. Soon after receiving the order, it unwillingly stopped absorbing, though it felt quite wronged.

However, at that moment, Xu Qingfan couldn’t care to comfort the Dark Crow and began to ponder deeply on his own.

Because Xu Qingfan had just discovered that when the Dark Crow absorbed his Withered qi earlier, the force within was actually controlled by the Dark Crow itself. And after absorbing Xu Qingfan’s Withered qi, the amount of death energy inside the Dark Crow increased significantly.

"Dark Crow, Earth-level junior demon beast. Body as hard as iron, extremely fast, can become invisible. Known as the Death God Clone, found in the Western Desert. Extremely sensitive to death, the Dark Crow appears whenever someone in the Western Desert is near death. Can evolve to a higher Earth level, and there are legends of heavenly-level Dark Crows, though the reason for evolution is unknown."

Suddenly, the introduction of the Dark Crow appeared in Xu Qingfan’s mind. Thinking about the Dark Crow’s behavior earlier, he suddenly wondered, "Could it be that the reason the Dark Crow appears when someone is near death is because it absorbs the death energy from the dying? And then it evolves with the increase in death energy within?"

Although this was just a hypothesis, when Xu Qingfan thought of the Dark Crow’s behavior before and after absorbing his Withered qi, he felt this answer was likely closest to the truth.

"And the reason why the Dark Crow willingly bonded with me through blood might be because it sensed the powerful Withered qi within me, right?"

Thinking this, Xu Qingfan frowned while looking at the Dark Crow, which was also blankly staring back at him. Although Xu Qingfan could sense the Dark Crow’s various emotional changes, its eyes remained cold, as if they didn’t belong to its body.

Xu Qingfan sighed slightly, knowing that he couldn’t uncover the mystery of why Dark Crow’s body could contain Withered Qi for now, because if Withered Qi was infused into Dark Crow, it would be absorbed, but if he used the other two types of Spirit Qi, they would be rejected and could even cause significant harm to Dark Crow.

However, Xu Qingfan finally understood the mystery of Dark Crow’s evolution, so his efforts were not in vain. Moreover, if Dark Crow truly evolved by absorbing Withered Qi, then Xu Qingfan wouldn’t worry about spending a lot of spirit stone materials in the future to help Dark Crow evolve. All he had to do was regularly infuse Withered Qi into Dark Crow, which eased a significant burden for Xu Qingfan.

After observing Dark Crow in silence for a long time, Xu Qingfan suddenly chuckled wryly and said, "Little Black, from now on, I’ll just call you Little Black."

Initially, Xu Qingfan wanted to give his first, and possibly only, spirit beast a mighty or elegant name, but when he saw that Dark Crow looked no different from an ordinary crow, he realized there was nothing mighty or elegant about it. So, with a sigh, he ended up naming his spirit beast the rather common name "Little Black."

Little Black—small and black—was indeed a fitting description.

Xu Qingfan comforted himself.

Resisting the urge to test Little Black’s power, because Xu Qingfan felt that although Little Black looked unremarkable, its power must be formidable. If he let it unleash its full strength, the wooden cabin would likely not survive, and he wouldn’t be able to continue his retreat.

So Xu Qingfan simply let Little Black fly to the side and took out the "Five Spirit Bell," "Rainbow Ruler," and "Earth Mirror" artifacts, preparing to refine them.