Spirit Taming

Chapter 492: Flowing caves

The small clump of vibrant algae would have just been that to anyone else. But when Clark began to look at it, he could easily guess what was causing the odd shapes on the stalactite within the pool of water.

'Jade worm eggshell…

Jade worm egg shell…

Jade worm egg shell…'

Clark used the analysis and kept finding the same result. But the worst part was that he knew a creeping eel was slowly approaching. If there was a single egg that had not hatched, then he would lose it to a natural predator. If he attacked the creeping eel, then he would be sending a signal to every single predator around that there was food here.

Therefore, it would end the eggs that were still unhatched.

"Come on, there has to be one left." Clark mumbled as he looked at the clump of algae and slowly reached a hand in. with very soft motions, Clark brushed away the vibrant green algae moving some of the egg shells away.

The more that he moved them the more that he exposed the stalagmite that had been growing within the water pool before it had somehow filled up and become a perfect place for eggs to be left and algae to grow. Nature had odd ways but they were working.

'Cracked jade worm egg- ultra rare

The crack in the egg shell caused it to absorb energy in a purer form. However, this has caused an odd development in the body. The result will be the slower growth of the jade worm overall, however, it will have a closer water affinity, spiritual affinity, and ability to adapt to other elemental manas.

The fact that it was able to survive being cracked is something that most beast eggs would be unable to do. Therefore, it is amazing. This also came with more positive than drawbacks since the higher and purer energies getting to the jade worm larva have helped it learn to better process energy. That is why it is slower growing. It needs more time to enhance itself with better energies now.

The process to ensure that it will keep growing is quantity. It will need more energy so it can process and purify it within its body. To add the earth elemental nature to it, there will need to be earth energy from ten large earth crystals for a period of five weeks. To gain a fire affinity…'

Clark had read through things very quickly as he saw the fingernail sized egg with a slight black crack on it. The egg was clearly smaller and less developed. However, it was already ahead of those that had already hatched. The simple reason being the way that it would handle the energies its body was influenced by.

Because it would want purer energies, the jade worm would hatch and gather larger amounts of every energy it needed. This would be a massive bonus since it would have Maria's spirit sea taming space. That alone was enough to condense more energy.

But where Clark saw the best information was when it came to acclimating and awaking the third affinity that the jade worm would need. The fire affinity. The jade worm was adaptable. It would need a lot of a third energy to be able to form a proper affinity. But once that was done, it would be well ahead of any other beast in terms of alchemy.

Since the jade worm was able to already process energy better, that meant that the jade moth at its adult stage would be able to better manipulate the spiritual energy of herbs. The liquids involved in alchemy and potion making. Then the what of flames while these things were mixed and prepared. Overall, it would mean better potions overall.

As Clark gently scooped up the cracked egg, he noticed that the creeping eel was just barely slinking through the water and coming from another pool. It had traveled through the underwater areas to reach what it had sensed as food. Regardless of what was happening, Clark kept a steady movement. He could not further damage an already harmed egg.

If he did then the jade worm would never have a chance to hatch.

When the egg was brought out of the water, Clark noticed another small bit of vibrant green algae on it. Perfect for when it hatched, they could grow the algae somehow in a pool of water or in a container. That was if they didn't have enough energy crystals to feed it purer energy instead.

"Clark? What is… you found one?" Maria was looking at the pool of water and saw the creeping eel open its mouth and try to swallow the covered stalagmite. It bit on to the stone and immediately realized the mistake. The creeping eel rushed away after its mistake, proving that the jade moth that laid its eggs here was smarter than the predators.

It was a great natural defense that would have saved multiple eggs even though some were lost. Clark had not thought of this when he saw it.

"This is a jade worm egg. It's damaged but if we give it much more materials we will have the best possible jade moth for you. But it will take time. We can't really speed it up. So you will need to start learning to manipulate the energies before it hatches and when it first develops a fire affinity through special methods." Clark was simple. He didn't push all the information on Maria at once.

"I found shells." Purple had a handful of shells. It seemed that they had been late for the general hatching of jade worms and that most had been found by predators or moved off to eat algae. It was also clear that there were many more underground and underwater portions of this cave system.

"There are a lot of shells, but I found one stunted egg. It's the only one I saw and I think it worked out for the better. It might grow slower but it will be stronger in the long run." Clark saw Purple nod. They had come down here some time ago and had managed to gather a few decent materials but mostly some crab meat to be snacks to share with everyone.

"I thought the deep caves would be harder to maneuver but we managed to get down here easily." Clark made the calm comment while he evaluated the pools. He thought that they would have been fewer and far between.

"We followed a very direct route. Most explorers of caves would have needed to go to less explored areas. This area is still mapped out." Purple proved his point by taking the map out again and showing them.

"Clark, I will focus on making this egg safe. Let's head back to Terra City before we have to handle anything else." Maria was not following the two as they spoke about how caves were explored and whatnot. Maria had her total focus on the little cracked egg that felt as if it could be harmed by even breathing too heavily.

"You're Right. Just because we didn't go to an unmapped cave doesn't mean we should worry about everything. It's probably hunted by a few tamers since there are plenty of food items. I bet there is much more to explore through the other end of this cave." The large space was very connected through the water and most likely where the three couldn't see.

The process they started moving back through was the same anyone would. They followed their exact steps moving back under the water and wall of where they had come. But when they entered the place they had come from, one thing was certain.

"There's more water now." Maria looked down at the overflowing pools. The water appeared to have been coming in a tricky when they had entered. But now, there was a decent flow from the upper caves filling the pools and making them overflow. Pale shrimp darted here and there around their feet as they seemed to flee from the heavier moving waters.

"Rain. It is raining above ground." Purple sounded much more serious. Rai funneling in to the underground was a massive danger. This meant that they could all be washed away or trapped in a filled cave.

"We are moving faster now." Devi started to check for beasts everywhere and Clark took the lead behind him. The two were the best at seeing what might be around due to Devi's invisibility and Clark's analysis.

As they rushed through the water, Clark noticed that they were being slowed substantially. The water was keeping them from using their normal stride. The cave they had come from was also flowing completely with water. It wasn't gushing out but two inches of water flowed over the floor. The perfect amount to constantly fight them when they attempted to move upwards.

"Purple, take the back. You are heavier so if we fall you can be the anchor. I will use my spear to cut in to the stone a little and use to keep pulling forward. Maria, take the middle." The simple plan was enough to begin their journey upwards. As long as they weren't interrupted they could make it upwards and out of the flooding caves.