"If I continue to let them devour my internal energy, will these shadows change further?"
Thinking of this, Ning Beichen continued to channel his internal energy into the beads. He wasn't afraid of the shadows inside the beads reacting; he was afraid they wouldn't.
As for whether it was dangerous?
Ning Beichen couldn't be bothered to consider it. He wasn't afraid of even transcendent beings, let alone these things.
This time, Ning Beichen didn't just trickle in his internal energy. Instead, it surged into the beads like a rushing river, pouring in without restraint.
He only used one of the two beads for his experiment, to avoid ruining both if something went wrong.
As his internal energy poured in, it wasn't long before the inside of the crimson bead was completely covered by shadows, making it look like a black bead.
At this point, the bead suddenly made a cracking sound. Ning Beichen saw several cracks appear on its shell, like a bird's egg hatching.
Suddenly, Ning Beichen remembered that his two beads had actually been taken from the eyes of a bird statue. Could it really hatch a bird?
Damn it, it was a bird statue!
As a series of creaking sounds echoed, more and more cracks appeared on the bead's shell. Soon, with a snap, the bead shattered, and a thumb-sized black bird appeared amidst a pile of dust.
The bird shakily stood up and began pecking at the dust on the ground.
"Holy crap, it actually hatched into a little bird."
Ning Beichen's expression was as if he had seen a ghost.
This strange black chick that hatched didn't look like a living bird at all. It looked exactly like the bird statue Ning Beichen had found on the Grand Dome, more like a statue than a living creature.
Yet, this bird, which didn't seem alive and looked like a statue, was exhibiting behaviors only a living creature would, right before Ning Beichen's eyes, making him incredulous.
He had seen many strange things, but something so bizarre and absurd was a first for Ning Beichen, truly opening his eyes.
At this moment, after finishing the dust from the broken bead, the statue-like bird hopped towards Ning Beichen.
Its body swayed precariously, like a clumsy duckling, tripping and falling with every step, yet it still ran towards Ning Beichen with immense enthusiasm.
Ning Beichen found he could clearly sense the strange bird's excitement and its dependence on him, like a child's reliance and trust in their parents.
"Could it be... this little thing thinks I'm its parent?"
Ning Beichen looked dumbfounded.
However, he truly felt no malice from this statue-bird, so Ning Beichen placed his palm in front of it.
The statue-bird happily hopped onto his palm and then nuzzled his finger with its head, conveying its feelings to Ning Beichen.
Ning Beichen extended a finger and gently stroked the statue-bird's head a few times. The bird seemed to thoroughly enjoy Ning Beichen's touch.
Ning Beichen hadn't expected this thing to truly consider him a parent, or at the very least, its most important and reliable support.
What the hell was this?
Ning Beichen couldn't help but look back at Liu Yilin with a wry smile.
Liu Yilin was also stunned by the scene.
"Beichen, it seems to consider you its parent. Could it be because it absorbed your internal energy?"
Liu Yilin had seen the crux of the matter at a glance.
"That's possible. I can clearly feel its dependence and closeness towards me," Ning Beichen replied.
"How cute! Can I touch it?"
Liu Yilin reached out to touch the statue-bird's head.
But the statue-bird acted fiercely towards her, showing no deference to Liu Yilin. It directly pecked at Liu Yilin's finger with its sharp beak.
"Ah!" Liu Yilin yelped and quickly withdrew her finger, only to find that it was bleeding from the statue-bird's peck, leaving both her and Ning Beichen momentarily stunned.
Liu Yilin was a Grandmaster!
Even if she hadn't intentionally defended herself, not just anything could injure her.
Seeing Liu Yilin's bleeding finger, Ning Beichen became furious. He flipped his palm, and with a roar, a tremendous force pressed down on the statue-bird.
Just as Ning Beichen was about to smash the statue-bird to death with a single blow, he saw it tremble uncontrollably, constantly conveying its fear to him.
"Wait, Beichen, don't kill it! I feel like it was unintentional. It might have mistaken me for someone threatening it," Liu Yilin hastily stopped Ning Beichen.
With Liu Yilin's plea, Ning Beichen abandoned the thought of killing it, but he still sternly admonished it, warning it not to attack people randomly.
Fortunately, it was Liu Yilin this time. If it had been an ordinary person, it wouldn't have just been a bit of bleeding; they might have lost a finger.
Under Ning Beichen's terrifying oppressive aura, the statue-bird trembled, like a child, conveying its apology to Ning Beichen. Only then did Ning Beichen let it go.
However, Ning Beichen looked at the statue-bird, which clearly now considered him its parent or relative, and felt a headache coming on. Would he have to carry this little thing with him wherever he went?
Bringing it along was not a problem; it was small and didn't take up much space. The real issue was how to carry it. Would he have to carry a birdcage around all day?
Just as Ning Beichen was finding it difficult to handle, something strange happened. The once lively statue-bird actually turned into a motionless statue.
Ning Beichen picked it up curiously. He found that not only had it turned into a statue, but there was also a tiny hole on it, the size of a fly's eye, like a jade pendant. If a string were threaded through it, it would become a jade pendant.
Ning Beichen found a string, threaded it through, and tried wearing it around his neck.
Then, he saw the statue-bird emit a faint glow. The glow connected with Ning Beichen's skin, making the connection between Ning Beichen and the statue-bird even clearer.
"What? You mean you don't need to be fed, and I just need to nourish you with my internal energy? And you can also help me speed up my cultivation? And make me even more powerful?"
After the statue-bird turned into a jade pendant and was worn by Ning Beichen, it conveyed some very important information to him.