Chapter 75

Chapter 75

Bai Xiaoyu looked at the tentacle wriggling between his fingers. Goodness, just one night without seeing it, and it had grown significantly thicker, almost as thick as his pinky. Its color had also visibly deepened, becoming even more purely blue.

The texture wasn't slimy like an octopus's tentacle; instead, it was dry and extremely elastic.

He couldn't help but pinch it, and the deep blue tentacle snapped back abruptly. The thicker front end even turned fiercely toward Bai Xiaoyu, while the thinner tail end tightly curled around the transparent insect crystal, as if ready to attack at any moment.

Bai Xiaoyu knew this thing wasn't harmless. He still had his mental energy surrounding his fingers, ready to subdue the small tentacle should it suddenly lash out.

Unexpectedly, a small black dot appeared at the tip of the tentacle, looking eerily like an eye, seemingly staring at Bai Xiaoyu.

Bai Xiaoyu stared back at that black dot, feeling extremely shocked.

Before this, he thought it was just a small part separated from the main body. Now, it seemed much more complex—it clearly had developed consciousness.

What kind of creature is this?

At this moment, Bai Xiaoyu didn't know that in a research facility on another planet, a deep blue mass in a container had all its tentacles spread out, revealing a round blue sphere in the center. A black dot, the size of an eye, stared fixedly at something, as if engaging in a distant gaze.

Beside him, Bai Qi observed the quiet prince, puzzled yet intrigued by the transformation. This eye, ever since the blue yolk and the tentacle fused, could only be seen occasionally peeking through the cluster of tentacles. Seeing it fully exposed for the first time was quite surprising.

Bai Qi looked at the mass surrounded by tentacles, finally somewhat satisfied. The fusion had been very successful.

It seemed not finding the original small tentacle wasn't a big issue. Moreover, this new tentacle came from the royal collection, reportedly left behind by a powerful prince hundreds of years ago.

According to records, this prince was the most evolved in history. Even though the main body was defeated, the primary tentacle retained strong vitality. It hadn't completely turned into an insect crystal and managed to maintain its activity over centuries despite various experiments by royal alchemists, although its activity gradually decreased each year.

That's why he decided to use it, and the results were clearly excellent.

Even the frustration of not finding the original tentacle and losing an insect crystal to Old Qi was alleviated.

Well, those insect crystals were meant for research and eventually feeding the prince. After the tentacle digested them, the energy would naturally return when it reunited with the main body.

None of them knew that because of that insect crystal, the small tentacle absorbed part of it and evolved. The energy from the insect crystal activated its potential, allowing the main body to control the external tentacle for a short time.

Thus, the small tentacle overcame its instincts and delivered the insect crystal to Qi Yanhuan's stomach. The black dot that stared at Bai Xiaoyu was actually the gaze of the main body.

As Bai Xiaoyu and the tentacle continued their stare-down, Qi Yanhuan couldn't help but ask, "Boss, did it escape?"

Bai Xiaoyu shook his head. "It was making a fuss trying to find the crystal on its tail, so I let it out. Who knew it wouldn't come back? After eating some crystals, it swelled up like rising dough."

Then Bai Xiaoyu briefly mentioned his speculations about the tentacle and Old Qi, instructing them to avoid Old Qi and not to appear before him to prevent unnecessary suspicion.

Qi Yanhuan and Qin Lie agreed, both curiously watching the small tentacle and the crystal.

Bai Xiaoyu's gaze also fell on the transparent crystal. What exactly is this thing?

Perhaps sensing everyone's attention, the tentacle dragged the crystal back, fearing it might be taken away. Realizing there was nowhere to hide, the tentacle became agitated again.

Don't try to take my insect crystal; it's for the little tail!

Keep staring, and I'll suck you dry!

And the little tail is inside that human; I need to go in and make it absorb the energy, then take it away.

Anyone who tries to stop me, I'll suck them dry.

Bai Xiaoyu immediately noticed fine, hair-like tentacles appearing on the smooth surface of the tentacle. If not for his mental energy protecting his hand, it would have already drained him.

He narrowed his eyes and slammed the offending thing against the wall repeatedly.

The tentacle didn't expect Bai Xiaoyu's quick reaction. Due to the layer of mental energy covering his hand, it couldn't break through and was tossed around like a toy.

While it didn't hurt—Bai Xiaoyu's weak physique couldn't even cause pain, especially after evolving with the insect crystal—the remote control of the tentacle became unstable. Being tossed around made it dizzy, and the small black dot at the front kept shaking.

In the egg-shaped container, the large black dot in the blue head of the main body circled around frantically.

Bai Qi was startled by this strange scene and relayed it to Old Qi.

On Bai Xiaoyu's side, he stopped only when the fine hairs on the blue tentacle retracted.

He pinched the tentacle. "Good boy, don't randomly attack people anymore."

Soon, he noticed the black dot at the front of the blue tentacle fading, about to disappear entirely.

The potential energy from the absorbed insect crystal was nearly depleted. In Bai Xiaoyu's palm, the tentacle suddenly threw the crystal toward Qi Yanhuan.

The crystal arced beautifully and landed steadily on Qi Yanhuan's belly.

Then the tentacle went limp.

The black dot at the front of the tentacle disappeared, and the black dot on the other side of the blue mass stopped circling. The previously spread-out tentacles re-encircled the main body. However, being suddenly thrown back caused it to go berserk again, destroying several containers before settling down under Bai Qi's frustrated glare.

Bai Xiaoyu looked at the small tentacle, now seemingly back to its previous state, with a puzzled expression.

However, the small tentacle continued to try to move toward Qi Yanhuan.

Qi Yanhuan held her belly; the egg inside had been moving since the crystal touched her stomach. The reaction was as intense as when the small tentacle first arrived.

Now, Bai Xiaoyu brought the small tentacle to visit Qi Yanhuan every day, and with the tentacle and the one inside the egg constantly together, they no longer reacted as strongly.

Bai Xiaoyu quickly checked the situation inside Qi Yanhuan's belly and found that the tentacle's tip had also sprouted fine hairs, pulsating.

These fine hairs only appeared when Bai Xiaoyu fed it. Clearly, it wasn't feeding time yet, so it must be due to the crystal.

Bai Xiaoyu picked up the crystal that had rolled off Qi Yanhuan's belly. It wasn't as cold as expected, perfectly clear and free of impurities, and he could feel a faint energy fluctuation.

This must be an energy crystal, which seems to be very important to the tentacle.

The tentacle in his hand began to struggle, so he once again gave the crystal to the tentacle.

The small tentacle coiled around the crystal again and tried to dart towards Qi Yanhuan.

Bai Xiaoyu pinched the tentacle: "The youngling inside the egg also seems very eager for this crystal. This must be a special form of energy that their species can absorb. It clearly wants to send it into the egg."

After coming into contact with the insect crystal, the small tentacle absorbed more energy, and the blue blob that had been worriedly hovering nearby emerged once again.

Seeing this, Bai Xiaoyu shook the tentacle in his hand. "I understand. I'll study it further to see if I can get the energy into the little one inside."

The black dot on the trembling tentacle seemed to stare at Bai Xiaoyu for a while before finally settling down completely.

Bai Xiaoyu placed the small tentacle back into its original ball and watched as it continued to interact affectionately with another tentacle. Then, he took the insect crystal back to study it.

After finishing his work, he encountered Old Qi, who looked both pale and grim-faced, on his way to the Royal Nursery in the morning.

It seemed that after returning last night, Old Qi discovered the theft of the crystal and was likely quite upset, not getting much sleep.

Seeing Bai Xiaoyu, who appeared to be in a good mood, the frustration welled up in Old Qi again. If he hadn't gone to find him last night, he would have been able to catch the tentacle when it came looking for him. Now, he had neither caught the tentacle nor retained the hard-earned insect crystal, losing both.

However, even though the insect crystal was gone, there were still some left with the royal family. He needed to show some results to apply for more from them.

Now, they were clearly interested in the alchemy master behind Bai Xiaoyu. If he could establish contact and perhaps turn the master over, he believed the person in charge would easily agree to his requests.

With this thought, Old Qi adjusted his expression and greeted Bai Xiaoyu: "Young Master Bai, good morning. Did you convey the matter to the master last night?"

Bai Xiaoyu nodded. "I did, and he refused."

Old Qi's expression changed slightly. "Does the master truly disregard those unenlightened eggs so much?"

Bai Xiaoyu: "Unlike Old Qi, who uses children as leverage during critical moments."

Old Qi's expression froze; he did not expect Bai Xiaoyu to counter him like this.

Soon, Old Qi regained his composure. "But it's just a meeting, a simple favor. Yet, I need to expend a lot of mental energy to enlighten these eggs. I don't consider this leverage. As soon as he arrives, we can talk, and I promise to immediately enlighten the eggs."

Old Qi was certain Bai Xiaoyu wouldn't dare to confront him, knowing no one else was better suited to enlighten the remaining eggs.

Bai Xiaoyu glanced at Old Qi's confident demeanor and turned away. "Old Qi, please return. We no longer need your help."

Old Qi, seeing Bai Xiaoyu's unwavering stance, looked doubtful and uncertain. "Young Master Bai, are you going to abandon those eggs?"

Bai Xiaoyu didn't look back. "Last night, the master enlightened all the eggs."

Old Qi couldn't sit still anymore. Watching Bai Xiaoyu's retreating back, his face darkened completely.

He didn't believe it and opened Bai Xiaoyu's live stream.

Soon, Bai Xiaoyu started streaming, and the audience, who had been worried about the eggs without parents, gathered around.

As soon as he went live, he was surrounded by viewers.

"Good morning, streamer. Did any parents arrive after the stream ended yesterday?"

"What will happen to the unenlightened eggs?"

"If they aren't enlightened, the eggs' potential will be affected, and some might not even hatch."

Listening to their concerns, Bai Xiaoyu found the audience far better than Old Qi, who worked at the Royal Nursery.

Bai Xiaoyu: "Don't worry. All the eggs were enlightened successfully last night."

The audience erupted in cheers, but Old Qi looked utterly disbelieving.

All the eggs enlightened? Even he couldn't do it, yet the alchemy master managed to?

He then observed the eggs and noticed that the ones he saw as unenlightened last night were now full of vitality, more lively and spirited than ever.

These eggs were clearly more dominant when fighting with other blood eggs.

After enlightenment, the eggs' intelligence significantly increased. Eggs enlightened by non-direct relatives usually had lower intelligence compared to others, but these eggs were the opposite, matching the intelligence of newly hatched younglings.

The master actually achieved this!

Bai Xiaoyu was pleased with the lively and spirited eggs. Last night, he had asked everyone to leave before enlightening the eggs, and the results today were excellent.

However, these enlightened eggs, except for the relatively mature little one, now considered him their parent.

During a routine check, the eggs whose mental energies had been synchronized kept rubbing their small octopus-like tentacles against him, conveying feelings of attachment and affection.

This had happened before, but now it was particularly strong.

Bai Xiaoyu knew this was the instinct of the younglings inside the eggs after enlightenment. Lacking parents, the eggs didn't understand, and whenever these emotions surfaced, Bai Xiaoyu gently patted their little heads.

After taking care of the eggs, Bai Xiaoyu continued studying the crystal.

He found the crystal very hard and couldn't easily extract anything from it, making it difficult to study further.

While he was using the tools provided by Tao Limeng to cut the crystal, the deep blue tentacle suddenly broke through the ball and coiled around the crystal. Fine blue fur covered its body, and where the fur touched the crystal, it slowly began to collapse.

Bai Xiaoyu watched in amazement and soon noticed that after absorbing the crystal, the tip of the tentacle formed a black dot like an eye, rotating in all directions before finally stopping in Bai Xiaoyu's direction, seemingly staring at him.

The man and the tentacle stared at each other, both wary of the other.

Eventually, the blue tentacle broke the silence. Its blue fur rippled, and soon, tiny, translucent liquid droplets appeared, carried by the small tentacles formed by the fur.

The black dot stared at Bai Xiaoyu, waiting for a while. The deep blue tentacle grew impatient and actively darted to Bai Xiaoyu's side, wrapping its tail around his wrist and pulling repeatedly.

Bai Xiaoyu quickly understood the intentions of the tentacle. He took the syringe and sucked in the small droplets one by one, a total of three.

As soon as he did this, the tentacle pointed in Qi Yanhuan's direction and began to urge him.

Bai Xiaoyu lowered his eyes and met the gaze of the black dot. Every time this black dot appeared, the tentacle became extremely intelligent—could it be the main consciousness?

Seeing the tentacle becoming agitated again, he said, "Wait."

Then he injected a little into the original sphere. The smaller blue threads inside quickly absorbed it and expanded.

He observed for a while longer, and after confirming there were no issues, he stuffed the tentacle outside back into the spherical container and went to Qi Yanhuan.

This time, he directly added the energy-infused liquid to the nutrient solution and injected it together.

The tentacles inside the egg were particularly excited today. They gathered together, their tips covered with fine hairs fully absorbing the medicine.

The absorption speed was faster than usual; within a few breaths, the medicine was completely absorbed.

After absorbing the medicine, the tentacles actually trembled collectively, as if they had just burped.

Soon, like the previous blue thread, the tentacles visibly thickened and their color deepened slightly.

Bai Xiaoyu watched in amazement. This crystal stone was indeed a great tonic for these tentacles.

And this wasn't over. Every day, a black dot would appear at the tips of the tentacles, repeating the same process.

On the first day, it was three drops; on the second day, four drops; until the seventh day, nine drops.

The egg inside Qi Yanhuan's belly became increasingly solid each day. The tentacles gradually thickened and darkened. By the third day, fine hairs similar to those on the deep blue tentacles had appeared all over them.

Days passed, and Feng Shuang'er and Old Qi didn't leave either. They watched Bai Xiaoyu every day, but he always refused them. Their purpose unfulfilled, especially Old Qi, who faced repeated rejections, looked at Bai Xiaoyu as if he wanted to devour him.

Bai Xiaoyu ignored him and focused on the eggs.

In these seven days, not only did the tentacle egg grow rapidly, but the other eggs in the incubation facility did as well. In three more days, they would enter the hatching period, and everyone was preparing for it.

However, on the night after injecting nine drops of energy fluid, Qi Yanhuan suddenly experienced stomach pain.

Bai Xiaoyu immediately went over and realized that Qi Yanhuan was going into labor.

Due to the special nature of this egg, it couldn't be delivered naturally. Bai Xiaoyu discussed with Qi Yanhuan and decided to perform a cesarean section.

During the surgery, the container ball grew from the size of an egg to the size of a goose egg. The deep blue tentacle inside, now as thick as a thumb, emerged. The previously coiled blue small tentacle was also brought out and hung at the front end of the thicker tentacle, as if wrapped around its neck.

At the tip, another black dot appeared, staring at the operating table, trembling with excitement.

The deep blue tentacle itself behaved directly, circling the operating table frantically, continuously spinning around.

Bai Xiaoyu glanced at it. It could spin all it wanted, as long as it didn't cause trouble. At this moment, he had no time to deal with it.

Interstellar medical technology was excellent, and the cesarean section took less than five minutes.

Bai Xiaoyu quickly carried out a basketball-sized egg covered in blood. The deep blue tentacle, which had been circling like a mad ball, suddenly braked and stopped, uncontrollably crashing into the wall before sliding down.

Soon, the tentacle slowly stood up, and the black dot at its tip trembled even more violently.

On the other side, the abnormality of the deep blue mass caught Bai Qi's attention. All the tentacles, which had been surging, suddenly straightened, and the eye on the central head trembled even more intensely.

No one knew the shock in the Prince's heart. How could his most adorable little tail turn into an egg?