Perhaps it was because the appearance and scent of this potion were truly unpleasant, the White Phoenix Parrot let out an indescribable parrot scream, fluttered its wings, and flew to the corner of the laboratory ceiling, pressing its claws against the walls on both sides to hang upside down and watch Lin Guang warily—it was no wonder it had the nickname "White Cockroach"—even when Wang Dawei ordered it, it did not come down.

Fortunately, Lin Guang had anticipated this and put on disposable rubber gloves, taking out the items sent by the Messenger Ambrosia.

Miaomiao stretched her head over, watching the worms in the box squirming and squeezing with vigorous life force. Her face showed none of the typical disgust of a young girl, just some surprise: "It's actually Beetle Worms, how luxurious."

Beetle Worms, an original-type (as opposed to elf-type spirit beasts similar to "Pocket Monsters", resembling traditional Earth plants and animals) insect spirit beast, had gray potential at a low inferior level. After maturation, they could evolve into various types (attributes) of beetle category spirit beasts depending on the food they were fed. Once Spirit Beast Researchers decoded the "Beetle Mother Insect" evolutionary path, they could be bred at scale, but they were still not cheap. This box averaged a level of 6, costing Lin Guang a full five thousand Daxia Coins, yet it was merely an ordinary meal for the White Phoenix Parrot.

"Feast, feast!"

As soon as it was taken out, the White Phoenix Parrot swooped down like the Big Bad Wolf spotting a sheep, but glanced at the fierce-looking Vishdair nearby and immediately fluttered back to the corner, a cowardly demeanor nearly identical to Wang Dawei's, truly a case of one bird matching the other.

However, once Lin Guang mixed a few berries from Tier Two Plant-type Spirit Beasts into the pile of Beetle Worms, the White Phoenix Parrot finally couldn't resist, flapping its wings to the table beside the odd-smelling glass bottle, expression like that of a criminal heading to the gallows or a housewife threatened by a superior, utterly surrendering in resistance.

While Wang Dawei helped the White Phoenix Parrot take the potion, Lin Guang retrieved a small bottle from a plastic bag, similar in appearance to a seasoning bottle—if the White Phoenix Parrot could read Great Xia script, it might fly straight back to the ceiling without eating—sprinkling the dark red powder within onto the Beetle Worms and berries. The restless wriggling of the worms distributed the spice evenly by themselves, as if coated in breadcrumbs, awaiting a deep fry in the oil like tempura.

Soon enough, the White Phoenix Parrot finished drinking the deep purple potion and leaped before Lin Guang. It looked at the Beetle Worms covered in dark red powder, hesitated to peck immediately, stood with both feet on the table, leaned its body forward, and used its thick black tongue to cautiously taste a tiny bit of the powder. After confirming nothing happened, it began to feast enthusiastically, quickly devouring the entire plate of delicacies.

After the White Phoenix Parrot finished dinner, Lin Guang checked his phone, noting it took a total of half an hour, slightly longer than he expected. Mainly, none had much related experience, though Wang Dawei was supportive enough to step in, otherwise, it could have taken up to an hour.

Wang Dawei breathed a sigh of relief, worried beyond measure: "All set?"

Lin Guang nodded slightly, then shook his head: "Should be fine, but to be safe, it's best to observe for half an hour."

"Specifically?" Wang Dawei wasn't quite sure.

"Didn't you notice something?"

Stepping forward, Lin Guang reached out his almost imperceptibly glowing right hand to stroke the colorful crest feathers atop the White Phoenix Parrot's head. Perhaps just fed, or maybe moved by Lin Guang's caress, it narrowed its eyes slightly, showing an expression of enjoyment, then opened its beak: "..."

"..."

"..."

"Huh?"

Both Wang Dawei and his big bird were stunned, finally realizing something was off. The White Phoenix Parrot swatted Lin Guang's hand away, spread its wings, flew to a coat rack, extended its neck, and opened its beak as if going to sing loudly, yet no sound emanated from its mouth.

Miaomiao stepped forward to inspect the situation, only to have the big bird suddenly dodge her touch warily—the gaze in its eyes was even somewhat fierce, as if ready to attack at any moment.

"It's...very uneasy, a bit irritable, seemingly also confused."

Miaomiao pondered: "The potions shouldn't have this effect, is it the powder?"

"Yes." Lin Guang nodded slightly, "That's a chili pepper powder ground from the seeds of Silencing Peppers. Though the spiciness is intense, capsaicin isn't what's effective, but rather its unique nature. It's commonly bought by apartment tenants who've let out their canine spirit beasts; just adding a bit to the feed can greatly reduce barking."

"I see."

Wang Dawei nodded in earnest, whether he understood or not, before rushing to approach the White Phoenix Parrot. Perhaps due to their contracted bond over time, it still regarded its Spirit Master differently, allowing him to cradle it, slowly smoothing its feathers.

While petting the big bird, he asked: "By the way, why make it mute?"

"This is why I insisted on you being here."

Holding the empty bottle and inspecting the remaining liquid inside, Lin Guang began: "The White Phoenix Parrot's energy is exceptionally vigorous, as you might already know."

Seeing the two nod, he continued: "Vigorous energy, unable to remain still all day, this is intrinsic to their species."

"And your White Phoenix Parrot, carefully selected from its group, has even stronger desires, right?"

Wang Dawei responded proudly: "Of course, my bird isn't just any bird!"

"Have you ever thought, when such energy and nature are forcibly suppressed by external factors, what might happen?"

Lin Guang said calmly: "In the wild, in those Secret Realms, occurrences like this are exceedingly rare, such as making noise which could easily be detected by a higher-level predator, or intrinsic issues causing silence."

"What will happen then?"

Pulling at the bangs on her forehead, Miaomiao pondered: "The White Phoenix Parrot is a highly intelligent spirit beast, and high-level White Phoenix Parrots, when well nurtured, can possess intelligence comparable to normal humans without evolving into a White Phoenix Giant Parrot, due to the Phoenix bloodline within them..."

"Wait, Phoenix?"

Miaomiao suddenly realized something: "Do you mean..."

"Yes, it's quite proud."

Lin Guang nodded: "With its high level of intelligence, it won't just act on instinct like ordinary animals; its emotions and likes or dislikes far exceed those of typical spirit beasts, so the suppressed energy and desires won't dissipate into thin air, but will remain entrenched within, accumulating with repression and anger together."

"Awaiting the moment the Phoenix's pride unfurls."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.