Chapter 12: The Pet Is a Hidden Variant, Too!

Upon reaching the Violet Palace Realm, Lin Yang immediately opened the tier-three shop. Just as he was about to buy something, a notification appeared.

【The tier-three shop accepts only high-grade spirit stones!】

【Current shop balance: Fewer than 100 low-grade spirit stones!】

【High-grade spirit stones: 0!】

Looking at his balance, Lin Yang realized something terrible. He was broke!

Between drawing techniques and buying spirit liquid, body-tempering liquid, and soul-nourishing dew by the hundreds of bottles, he’d spent freely. Of his two hundred-odd low-grade spirit stones, only a few dozen remained—not enough to exchange for even one high-grade stone.

“I only just reached Violet Palace. How am I bankrupt already?”

The tier-three shop’s treasures made him itch to buy. The tier-two shop had a six-hundred-and-fortyfold cultivation card, so this one had to have something even better. But all he could do was look!

While he wondered where to get high-grade spirit stones, the system spoke.

【Player has two unclaimed achievement reward messages!】

He blinked. “What achievement reward messages? Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

【The achievement reward message icon has had a red dot above it the entire time.】

He looked. There really was a red dot, but he’d been too busy cultivating to notice. “Fine, my eyesight’s the problem.”

He opened the first mail.

【Reward for the First Foundation Establishment Cultivator in the Black Mountain Region achievement!】

【Congratulations! Player has obtained a tier-two epic weapon selection chest!】

For a Foundation Establishment cultivator, a tier-two epic weapon was the stuff of dreams. Lin Yang, however, had already reached Violet Palace, so it was less useful to him.

“I’ll put it away for now. It’s bound, so I can’t sell it anyway. Otherwise I could trade it for high-grade spirit stones.”

He opened the second mail.

【Reward for the First Violet Palace Cultivator in the Black Mountain Region achievement!】

【Congratulations! Player has obtained a tier-three epic magical treasure selection chest!】

At the words tier-three epic, he perked up. “That’s more like it! Open!”

The golden chest opened slowly, revealing hundreds of tier-three epic treasures: an orb that released violet heavenly lightning and fire, an ancient bell that suppressed souls, a protective lotus that could block attacks, and many more. Lin Yang examined them one by one. At last, a palm-sized ancient mirror caught his eye.

【Heaven-Deceiving Mirror of Mountains and Rivers!】

【Tier: Three!】

【Quality: Epic!】

【Rating: 38620!】

【Effect 1: Conceal Realm. Hides the user’s true realm and freely disguises it as any lower realm!】

【Effect 2: Deceive Heaven. Cultivators at the Golden Core Realm or below cannot see through the user’s true cultivation or divine their identity and location!】

Lin Yang’s eyes lit up. “That one!”

【Selection successful!】

【Congratulations! Player has obtained a tier-three epic magical treasure: Heaven-Deceiving Mirror of Mountains and Rivers!】

A bronze mirror appeared. He infused it with a thread of true essence, and it became a streak of azure light that entered his Violet Palace.

【Heaven-Deceiving Mirror of Mountains and Rivers activated!】

【Please set the realm displayed to others!】

He thought for a moment. He had joined the Qingyuan Sword Sect two days ago. With third-grade spirit roots and the sect’s basic technique, reaching the first level of Qi Refining now was perfectly reasonable.

“Display the first level of Qi Refining!”

【Setting successful!】

His Violet Palace aura vanished, and in the blink of an eye he appeared to be only at the first level of Qi Refining. Even the Supreme Sect Master of the Qingyuan Sword Sect, who had perfected the Violet Palace Realm, wouldn’t see anything wrong standing right in front of him.

“Much better than Breath Concealment!”

That spell only suppressed his aura; someone at a much higher realm might still see through it. The Heaven-Deceiving Mirror of Mountains and Rivers blocked divination as well. If he earned more achievements under the name Wealthy Heavenly Emperor, no one could trace him through heavenly secrets!

His treasure selected, he still had the problem of high-grade spirit stones. He looked at the mountain of treasures in his inventory and sighed. He had plenty, but they were all bound items he couldn’t sell.

“Looks like I’ll have to go out and find some high-grade spirit stones. But I don’t know my way around the Black Mountain Region. Where do I start?”

He wasn’t too discouraged. He was a Violet Palace cultivator now; surely obtaining a few hundred or a thousand high-grade spirit stones in this region wouldn’t be too hard.

Then he noticed the black pet egg in his inventory. It was the Mountain-Melting Scarlet Hound spirit pet egg from the fourth newcomer pack. He’d been so busy cultivating that he’d almost forgotten it.

“Nothing else to do right now. Let’s hatch the dog and see.”

He put the egg on the floor.

【Hatch the Mountain-Melting Scarlet Hound?】

“Hatch!”

Crack! Fissures spread across the black stone egg, red light seeping through them. Then the shell shattered, and a palm-sized puppy covered in black fluff rolled out.

The puppy shook his head, looked down at himself, and clamped his hind legs together. “Boy, get me some clothes!”

Lin Yang stared. “Whoa! You can talk?”

“Obviously! I wasn’t barking at you, was I?” The little dog urged him on. “Don’t just stand there. Get me clothes! Staring between my legs the moment we meet—where are your manners?”

“You’re a dog. What do you need clothes for?”

“At least give me some underwear!” He pointed a paw underneath himself. “My balls are hanging out!”

Lin Yang’s mouth twitched. He rolled his eyes. “Why do you talk so damn crudely?”

“What’s that got to do with it? I’m a person of standing. I can’t talk to you with my backside bare!”

Lin Yang opened the shop and actually found a pair of stretchy shorts.

【Tier-One Common Shorts!】

【Effect: Highly elastic; grants 1 temporary physique point.】

【Original price: 10 low-grade spirit stones!】

【Discounted price: 0.00000001 low-grade spirit stones!】

He bought a small black pair and tossed it over. After wrestling with them using both paws, the dog finally put them on. Then he stood upright, clasped his front paws behind his back, and strolled twice around the chamber, looking like a newly retired American official.

Lin Yang could now see the puppy’s information.

【Spirit pet: Mountain-Melting Scarlet Hound!】

【Current rating: Tier one, level 1!】

【Quality: Epic!】

【Growth rating: Nine stars!】

【Overall rating: 9999!】

【Personality traits: Cunning, greedy, gluttonous, lazy, arrogant, lustful, and vindictive!】

【Special golden trait: Exceptionally loyal!】

【Effect: Once he truly accepts someone, he will never betray them!】

【Assessment: This is a hidden-variant pet. Investigating his origins may bring unexpected rewards.】

Lin Yang stared at the list. Cunning, greedy, gluttonous, lazy… This dog had nearly collected all seven deadly sins! Fortunately, he was exceptionally loyal. Otherwise, Lin Yang might have checked whether the newcomer pack allowed a no-questions-asked dog return within seven days.

He hadn’t expected a hidden variant, though. “You’re black all over. I’ll call you Xiao Hei from now on.”

The puppy objected immediately. “Xiao Hei? I’m millions of years old! At least call me Lord Hei!”

“Sure, Xiao Hei.”

“Don’t you understand dog? I said Lord Hei!”

“Got it, Xiao Hei.”

“Forget it. Call me whatever you want.”

Xiao Hei gave up arguing and wandered around the chamber. Soon he spotted the empty bottles on the floor. He had been pretending to be an expert, paws behind his back, but the moment he smelled what remained inside, his four legs moved so fast they blurred.

“Heaven-and-Earth Body-Tempering Liquid! Supreme Yin Soul-Nourishing Dew! Earth-Vein Spirit Milk, and Mystic Origin Spirit Marrow!”

He turned to Lin Yang in disbelief. “Boy, how are you so rich? You’ve gone through thousands of bottles of this stuff! Take even one outside, and a crowd of Foundation Establishment cultivators would beat each other’s brains out over it!”

Then he noticed the tub nearby. A little under half a tub of cultivation liquid remained unabsorbed. The mixture of treasures gave off an intensely rich spiritual aura. Xiao Hei ran over for a sniff, and his eyes immediately glowed green.

“You poured all these heavenly treasures into one tub? Do you know how precious they are? What a waste!”

He leaped onto the tub and drank. Gulp! Gulp! Before long he had finished half the remaining liquid.

Lin Yang reminded him, “Drink slowly. That’s my bathwater.”

Pfft! Xiao Hei sprayed a mouthful of liquid more than two meters. “Gag! Gag!” He hung over the tub, tongue out. “Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

Lin Yang spread his hands. “You didn’t ask. You came in, stuck your head in the tub, and started drinking. I thought you had some special kink.”

“Who’d have guessed you’d bathe in something this precious?”

Xiao Hei looked back at the tub, miserable. It was a waste to spit it out, but disgusting to swallow. After retching for a while, he looked up, saw Lin Yang, and felt his stomach churn again.

“Get away from me! Looking at you makes me sick!”

Lin Yang burst out laughing. The dog had a sharp tongue, but he was entertaining.

Once Xiao Hei recovered, Lin Yang asked, “Do you know the Black Mountain Region?”

“Black Mountain Region?” Xiao Hei thought for a long time, then shook his head. “What backwater is that? I used to frequent the Ancient City of Origin. I’ve never heard of any Black Mountain Region.”

“Is the Ancient City of Origin impressive?”

Xiao Hei looked at him like a country bumpkin. “You’ve never even heard of it? Well, at your level, I suppose that’s normal. I was a figure of some standing there once. Unfortunately, I was later ambushed. My body was destroyed, and my soul nearly dispersed completely.”

For once, Xiao Hei grew serious. “At the last moment, I sacrificed all my cultivation and sealed my true spirit inside an Origin Stone Egg. That’s how I survived and came to live a second life.”

Lin Yang looked at the black shell on the floor. “So that wasn’t really a spirit pet egg?”

“The outside was only a seal.” Xiao Hei puffed out his chest. “You hatched me, so we must be destined to meet. Cultivate hard and leave this backwater as soon as you can. Once we get to the Ancient City of Origin, I’ll take you to the cache I left in my previous life!”

Lin Yang’s eyes lit up. “You left treasures behind?”

“Naturally! An incredible opportunity! If we can get back, I guarantee you’ll live well!”

As soon as he finished, a system notification appeared.

【Hidden quest series triggered!】

【Quest series: Return to the Ancient City of Origin!】

【Overall objective: Help the Mountain-Melting Scarlet Hound regain his former strength, travel to the Ancient City of Origin, recover his previous life’s cache, and discover the truth behind the ambush!】

【First quest: Restore the Bloodline!】

【Objective: Raise the Mountain-Melting Scarlet Hound to tier-two perfection!】

【Reward: One fragment of the Ancient City of Origin treasure map; unlock the Pet-Exclusive Shop!】

Lin Yang’s eyes shone at the reward. A Pet-Exclusive Shop too? Interesting.

“A hidden quest series. A cache from a previous life. A Pet-Exclusive Shop.” He looked down at Xiao Hei. “You really are a hidden variant!”

The dog grew uneasy under his stare and quietly stepped back twice. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“No reason.” Lin Yang opened the tier-two shop with a smile. “I’m just wondering how to feed you up to tier-two perfection as fast as possible.”

Xiao Hei sat up straight. “One thing first: I have a refined palate. I won’t eat ordinary stuff!”