Chapter Fifteen: A Mother's Fierce Rivalry for Food

Rising to his feet, Jiang Xuan looked down at the three feathers plucked from the ground with a pang of sorrow. Though losing the feathers didn’t alter his appearance much, the loss of wings meant a depletion of vital energy and blood. To recover, a good rest was clearly necessary.

As Jiang Xuan’s piercing gaze fixed ahead, the Teng snake trembled uncontrollably.

“Could it be... the bloodline of the Golden Crow?”

“Heh, you guessed right. Such mere poison is laughable compared to the supreme Yang blood coursing through me.”

Though he spoke with disdain, Jiang Xuan knew that if it truly were the Golden Crow, it would never appear so helpless. That so-called “Yang Jun Shou” poison couldn’t even enter his body. Ultimately, he was still too inexperienced.

With this thought, Jiang Xuan activated his innate divine power, light as a swallow. In the blink of an eye, he stood before the Teng snake.

“What do you want? Let me go!” The six-rank Teng snake struggled fiercely, its claws tightly gripped by Jiang Xuan, roaring hysterically.

Jiang Xuan sneered; he had just noticed this creature feared sunlight! Amid the snake’s curses, Jiang Xuan swiftly brought it outside the cave.

“Ahh! Help! The sunlight, I can’t bear it!”

“Hmph, then bear it you shall!”

“It’s pathetic—six-rank beast cultivation, yet afraid of mere sunlight. What a waste!”

Jiang Xuan scorned, circling the Teng snake in the air. Below, its sharp cries echoed through the heights, thrilling the eaglets nesting on the cliffside.

After a dozen or so circles, the screaming gradually ceased. Looking down, Jiang Xuan realized the Teng snake was rapidly dissolving—more than half of its scales had melted away.

“My spicy strips! I can’t just let them go to waste!”

Seeing this, Jiang Xuan flicked his foot, tossing the “spicy strips” into the air, opening his mouth to catch them steadily. The moment he swallowed, the blood power and immense spiritual energy of the six-rank beast surged through his body. Although not as domineering as the Golden Armored Snake Demon, it was still a six-rank beast, and Jiang Xuan knew it would take some time to fully digest.

Turning sharply, Jiang Xuan rushed down to the original bird’s nest, placing the barely breathing eaglet on his back before flying out again.

...

After half a day, Jiang Xuan had brought back thirteen eaglets, both male and female.

When he returned home, the Empress and Demon Lord were utterly bewildered.

“Are you out of your mind? There aren’t enough resources to go around, why bring back so many eaglets?”

“Do you expect me to survive on thin air?!”

“This is intolerable! My residence must not be shared with other eaglets!”

Inside the cave, the Demon Lord and Empress berated profanely as they watched the noisy birds.

“What nonsense! I brought them back, so I can support this whole family!”

“Bring the snake meat inside quickly!” Jiang Xuan snapped back, utterly exasperated with the pair.

Hearing this, the Demon Lord and Empress dashed outside, soon cries of astonishment rang out.

“So many resources! Truly heaven-sent!”

“This fat bird is thoughtful, bringing food to honor me!”

Jiang Xuan fumed inside the nest—what ungrateful ingrates! After bringing back so many resources, how could they say such things?!

However, as Jiang Xuan looked around, his anger softened somewhat. The original nest was barely over twenty square meters, but now it was noticeably larger—at least a hundred square meters, by rough estimate.

“These two may lack work ethic, but their efficiency is impressive.”

“Child, I didn’t expect you to speak human words; you make me proud!”

Just then, the mother eagle emerged from the cave, bowing her head. Judging by her aura, her injuries had mostly healed.

“Mom Eagle, of course. These little ones are all mine; they will live here from now on.”

“I’ll set up a spirit-gathering formation and a Golden Eagle Shield to keep enemies out!”

Jiang Xuan beamed with pride—though he was now a bird, he still longed for his mother’s praise.

“The six-rank is still too weak.”

“Hmph, if most of our clan weren’t scattered throughout the Beast Forest, and if your father weren’t absent here, a mere snake demon wouldn’t dare act so brazenly!”

“My father?”

Goodness, Jiang Xuan had thought he was from a single-parent family. Eagles were monogamous, and he’d never seen his father; he had always assumed the father had long passed on.

“Your father is a Great Demon Realm beast! He can take human form! Handsome as can be! Your mother was drawn to his looks and power, so…”

“Enough, Mom Eagle. I saw quite a few other beasts outside just now—what’s going on?”

From the shy expression on the mother eagle’s face, Jiang Xuan sensed something odd.

Snapping back to her usual aloof demeanor, she explained:

“The Eagle and Snake clans have been at war, suffering heavy casualties. If they don’t return soon, our lives are at risk!”

“Other beasts covet our eagle clan. By consuming enough flying bird meat, non-flying beasts gain the ability to fly. Our situation is extremely dangerous.”

So that was it! Jiang Xuan had wondered why those snake demons could all fly—it was because they had stolen the power by eating birds! This gave him a new understanding of the world’s cruelty.

“Though I don’t agree with you bringing those little ones back, now that you and I are both six-rank beasts, you’ve grown up. This area will soon be overrun by other beasts; if you don’t leave, you will die here.”

Having said that, Mom Eagle stepped outside the nest. Jiang Xuan turned his head and was shocked by the scene before him.

“Damn! You’re supposed to be my mother, yet you’re fighting me over resources? Are you even an eagle?!”

“That’s mine, thief! You’re asking for death!”

Outside the nest, the Demon Lord and Empress were desperately attacking Mom Eagle. But as fourth-rank beasts, they were no match for her and could only watch as she snatched the snake meat from their claws.

After a while, accompanied by a piercing eagle cry, Mom Eagle took all the snake meat away!

“Damn you! I treated you like my mother, and you treat us like this!”

It took Jiang Xuan a long moment to react. He rushed out but found no trace of Mom Eagle.

“That was the precious resource I risked my life to bring back—two Golden Armored Snake Demons and three Teng snakes, damn it!”

“You’re despicable! Bastard!”

“All these resources gone! You gave birth to the children and abandoned them, then even fought with your own offspring over food! Damn it!!!”