Chapter 28: The Legendary Birds' Thank You Gift
"I will definitely do my best!" Bai Feng said with a serious expression.
While Lugia's sanity remained, Articuno shattered the ice block freezing its Spirit Form, allowing its Spirit Form to return to its main body.
Articuno instructed Bai Feng, "Lugia won't be able to stay conscious for long. You must work together with it to quickly remove Yveltal's Tail Feather!"
Bai Feng nodded and quickly walked to the Black Egg, placing his hand on it.
The moment Bai Feng touched the Black Egg, countless Scarlet Energy surged towards him, baring their fangs and claws.
However, the instant the Scarlet Energy touched him, the Golden Finger Energy within his body immediately seemed to boil, launching a frantic counterattack against the Scarlet Energy. It quickly repelled the intruding Scarlet Energy.
These Scarlet Energy seemed to have consciousness. After being suppressed by the Golden Finger Energy, they actually became wary of it. They circled Bai Feng's body, constantly probing, but no longer dared to rashly drill into his body.
Bai Feng controlled the Golden Finger Energy to enter the Black Egg. The next second, his consciousness was drained, and he felt as if he had arrived in a starry sky. In the center of the starry sky, a giant Lugia floated.
However, this Lugia was completely black, looking full of evil and ominous meaning.
"You're here!"
The black Lugia suddenly opened its eyes and looked directly at Bai Feng.
"Y-yes." Bai Feng felt a bit overwhelmed by the powerful pressure from Lugia.
"Thank you for your trouble this time!" Lugia said calmly. "If it doesn't succeed, please leave as soon as possible, otherwise it wouldn't be good if you were hurt by me!"
The Lugia that had regained its sanity was a very kind Pokémon.
The next second, Bai Feng was beside Lugia. At this moment, Bai Feng was not in a physical state either, but in the same Spirit Form state as Lugia. His Spirit Form entered Lugia's body along with his Golden Finger Energy.
Why this happened, Bai Feng himself didn't know. He was just acting on instinct.
He saw milky white light bands suddenly appear on Bai Feng's Spirit Form. He controlled the light bands to invade Lugia's body.
The light bands formed by the Golden Finger Energy constantly moved within Lugia's body and quickly found the Yveltal's Tail Feather that Articuno had mentioned.
Yveltal's Tail Feather was actually clearly inserted into Lugia's heart! No wonder it had such a huge impact on Lugia!
Yveltal's Tail Feather was generally strip-shaped, completely black, emitting a terrifying eerie glow, and continuously releasing a steady stream of Scarlet Energy.
Was that it?
Bai Feng cautiously controlled the light bands formed by the Golden Finger Energy to approach. The moment the light bands made contact, countless Scarlet Energy surged violently, like boiling water meeting hot oil, attacking Bai Feng's Golden Finger Energy.
But Bai Feng's Golden Finger Energy was not to be trifled with. The moment the Scarlet Energy attacked, they raised their "little whips" and lashed out fiercely. The Scarlet Energy instinctively recoiled after being whipped.
From this point of view, Bai Feng's Golden Finger did have the effect of suppressing Scarlet Energy. It was just a pity that it was still too weak at the moment. After a brief burst, it quickly fell into a disadvantage.
Even though Yveltal's Tail Feather had detached from its main body, it was still essentially from a powerful Deity. With Bai Feng's current power, he truly couldn't contend with the power of a Deity.
However, just then, blue-purple light bands suddenly descended from the sky, instantly binding Yveltal's Tail Feather tightly. The speed was astonishing.
This was Lugia making a move!
Lugia was able to grasp Yveltal's Tail Feather so smoothly thanks to Bai Feng attracting all the Scarlet Energy's attention.
Although the Scarlet Energy seemed conscious, it actually only possessed simple instinct. When facing something that could suppress it, like Bai Feng's Golden Finger, even if the opponent wasn't strong enough, it would still be instinctively attracted to them.
The Scarlet Energy completely didn't expect someone to launch a sneak attack at this moment, so it turned its head to go back and deal with the blue-purple light bands.
Taking advantage of this moment, Bai Feng controlled the light bands transformed from his Golden Finger Energy, also binding Yveltal's Tail Feather with lightning speed.
Bai Feng's Golden Finger Energy wasn't strong enough yet, but it did have a suppressive effect on Yveltal's power. The moment it bound the Tail Feather, the Scarlet Energy emanating outwards significantly decreased.
Seizing this opportunity, Lugia's power began to pull the Tail Feather outwards, and Bai Feng also quickly controlled the Golden Finger Energy to help. Both exerted force together.
The Scarlet Energy naturally didn't want Lugia and Bai Feng to succeed and began to frantically attack the two types of light bands binding the Tail Feather.
But both Bai Feng and Lugia ignored the Scarlet Energy's attacks. They focused solely on pulling the Tail Feather outwards.
Little by little... Finally, the Tail Feather was pulled out of Lugia's heart by the combined effort of Bai Feng and Lugia. At that moment, the Scarlet Energy seemed to become much weaker.
At the same time, the two colors of light bands had become extremely thin, especially Bai Feng's Golden Finger Energy, which looked like it could break at any moment.
"Lugia, let's continue!" Bai Feng shouted loudly.
Pulling the Tail Feather out of Lugia's heart was only the first step. Only by completely expelling it from Lugia's body could it be considered a success!
The two colors of light bands began to exert force again. Finally, the moment Bai Feng's Golden Finger Energy light band broke, Yveltal's Tail Feather was completely pulled out.
It... succeeded!
"Human, thank you for your help!" At this moment, Lugia's voice sounded again, but it was full of exhaustion.
"Y-you're welcome?" Bai Feng stammered in reply.
"Hehe..." Lugia suddenly chuckled softly. "I am about to fall into deep sleep to repair my body. Before I leave, I will give you a gift."
After speaking, a bright purple light suddenly lit up in Lugia's eyes, and a purple mist was controlled by it and blown onto Bai Feng's Spirit Form.
"W-what is this?" Bai Feng was completely bewildered.
"You will know in the future," Lugia's voice seemed to become even more tired. "Alright, it's time for you to go out."
As Lugia's words fell, Bai Feng's Spirit Form's vision went black, and then it disappeared into the starry sky.
Articuno, who had been watching the situation outside, only saw the Scarlet Energy on the Black Egg constantly churning and boiling. The steaming black mist almost submerged Bai Feng.
Because the Scarlet Energy was going truly wild, Articuno had to retreat a bit.
At this time, its heart was very conflicted. It was worried about whether Bai Feng could hold on under these circumstances, and also hesitated whether it should take Bai Feng away from here.
However, just then, Articuno saw a black, strip-shaped object slowly being drawn out of the Black Egg.
Yveltal's Tail Feather!
Articuno was overjoyed. Bai Feng had succeeded!
The moment Yveltal's Tail Feather was pulled out of the Black Egg, Bai Feng suddenly opened his eyes. The black mist and Scarlet Energy entwined around him began to gradually disappear.
*Bang~*
At the same time, after a crisp sound, the Black Egg transformed into a small-sized Lugia, tiny and very cute.
However, although Lugia's body was small, the power it emitted was extremely terrifying.
The Lugia that had the Yveltal's Tail Feather removed was still completely black, indicating that there was still a large amount of residual Scarlet Energy within its body. This would require it to clear it out little by little on its own. Bai Feng couldn't help with that.
"Phew~"
Bai Feng plopped down on the ground, feeling completely drained of energy. His eyelids felt as heavy as if a large stone was hanging on them.
At the same time, he wondered inwardly what Lugia had done to him before leaving. He looked left and right, but couldn't find anything different about himself.
At this moment, Yveltal's Tail Feather seemed unwilling to be expelled. After falling to the ground, black mist steamed up from it again, even forming a miniature Yveltal shape, roaring and trying to pounce on Bai Feng.
Articuno was quick-witted. It blew a blast of cold air, instantly freezing it. This source of all evil finally couldn't cause trouble anymore.
Also, the moment Yveltal's Tail Feather was frozen, a pair of scarlet eyes slowly opened at the bottom of a lake in the center of an Unnamed Forest, and let out an angry roar.
Many Pokémon originally lived around the lake, but startled by this roar, they fled in terror, no longer daring to approach the lake.
After a burst of venting, the scarlet eyes closed again, and the area around the lake returned to calm, as if nothing had happened.
After settling the not-yet-awake Lugia, Articuno told Bai Feng to rest for a while, and it would watch over him.
Upon hearing this, Bai Feng didn't even think and immediately fell asleep. He was simply too tired.
When he woke up again, it was already seven or eight hours later.
After waking up, Bai Feng ate a few berries and was fully revitalized. The fatigue on his body was swept away. So, he proactively offered to help Zapdos and Moltres remove the Scarlet Energy from their bodies.
Articuno was overjoyed upon hearing this. Its two companions were still unconscious. It hadn't attended to them before because Lugia's matter was more urgent.
Now that Lugia's predicament was gone, Articuno naturally began to worry about its companions' situation.
Bai Feng stayed on the White Jade Pillar for another two days. While he was removing the Scarlet Energy from Zapdos and Moltres, Articuno went back to report their safety to Calyrex and the others.
Upon learning that Bai Feng had successfully completed the task, everyone, including Calyrex, Lysandre, Bai Ye, Popplio, Helioptile, and Talonflame Captain, quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
Two days later, Bai Feng was carried back outside the Giant Pit by Articuno.
After setting Bai Feng down, Articuno sincerely said to him, "Thanks to your help this time, Lugia was freed. You can make a request to us. As long as we can do it, we will definitely do our best to help you complete it."
Bai Feng's eyes lit up upon hearing this. Was there such a good thing? But after thinking carefully, he didn't seem to have anything that required the help of the Legendary Birds.
Just then, a thought struck him. He looked at the Forest outside the Giant Pit and said to the Legendary Birds, "Can I take some Fruit Trees and Fruit Tree Seeds back from here?"
"Just this?" The Legendary Birds were stunned upon hearing this, completely not expecting Bai Feng to make such a request.
No, this couldn't even be considered a request, because those Fruit Trees weren't planted by them. They had simply grown naturally when the Sea God's Cavern was established.
Articuno nodded, "Of course you can. You can take any of the Fruit Trees and Seeds here that you fancy."
Bai Feng was ecstatic upon hearing this. Many of the Fruit Trees here had grown for over a thousand years. Even if they hadn't been carefully cultivated, with the accumulation of time, their Energy Rating had reached an extremely terrifying level.
If he used the Seeds they produced to cultivate Fruit Trees, he might be able to grow Grade A Berries.
Grade A and Grade B were two completely different levels of Berries. If Grade B Berries could still be bought on the Market, then Grade A Berries were absolutely impossible to buy.
For any force or organization, Fruit Trees that could produce Grade A Berries were a kind of foundation. They would only use Grade A Berries for themselves; selling them was impossible.
Moreover, the Fruit Trees here, having grown in a high-Energy environment for many years, had all undergone a certain degree of mutation if they survived. In Bai Feng's view, this had great research value.
"Then I won't be polite."
Afterward, Bai Feng began collecting Seeds in the Forest with Bai Ye and the others. Calyrex and Lysandre, having nothing to do, also went over to help.
The Legendary Birds were willing to give Bai Feng a reward, but they didn't have a good attitude towards Calyrex and Lysandre because the two hadn't helped at all. In their eyes, the two were simply adventurers who caused trouble.
The two had no complaints about this. This experience alone had left them in awe; other things were secondary.
After a period of hard collection, Bai Feng obtained a large amount of Fruit Tree Seeds, filling his Space Backpack tightly.
In fact, he was also very tempted by many of the Fruit Trees, but his Space Backpack had limited capacity. It was already difficult to fit the Seeds; if he were to load full-grown Trees, perhaps two or three would be the limit. This was simply not cost-effective; loading Seeds was much more practical.
Lysandre was a person with high emotional intelligence. He seemed to see Bai Feng's predicament, so he packed up his own things and proactively handed his empty Space Backpack to Bai Feng.
"If your Space Backpack isn't enough, take mine."
Bai Feng hesitated, "Wouldn't that be bad?" Space Backpacks were generally very expensive.
Lysandre said nonchalantly, "It's just a Space Backpack. I'm giving it to you. If it weren't for you this time, we don't know how long Articuno and the others would have blamed us!"
"Alright then, thank you!" Bai Feng happily accepted Lysandre's Space Backpack.
"Take mine too!" Calyrex said at this moment.
This time, Bai Feng didn't pretend to be modest and directly accepted the Space Backpack Calyrex handed over.
Lysandre's and Calyrex's Space Backpacks were much larger than Bai Feng's own, especially Lysandre's, which was the largest type on the Market currently. Its value was immeasurable, almost comparable to Bai Feng's entire current net worth.
Although Calyrex's wasn't as good as Lysandre's, it was still very valuable.
After seeing the capacity of the two Space Backpacks, Bai Feng made up his mind that after returning and transferring the Fruit Trees, he would return them to Lysandre and Calyrex.
They were simply too valuable; he felt unworthy of receiving them.
Even for wealthy people like Lysandre and Calyrex, such a Space Backpack might not be much, but Bai Feng had his own scale in his heart. He didn't want to take too much advantage of others.
Many of the Fruit Trees here grew exceptionally tall, so even with the Space Backpacks gifted by Lysandre and Calyrex, Bai Feng could actually only take a very small portion.
After collecting the Seeds and Fruit Trees, Bai Feng and the others returned to the Legendary Birds, waiting for them to send them out of the Sea God's Cavern.
It had taken Bai Feng and the others a lot of effort to get in, but according to Articuno, they had their own shortcuts for entering and exiting the Sea God's Cavern.
However, when Bai Feng returned, Articuno carried a few items in its beak and placed them in front of him.
"These are..." Bai Feng asked in confusion.
Placed in front of Bai Feng were six crystal-clear deep blue crystals and a dark green Pokémon Egg.
The deep blue crystals were undoubtedly Water Stones, and of a terrifyingly high Purity.
As for the dark green Pokémon Egg, Bai Feng didn't recognize the species. After all, besides Lugia's Black Egg, Bai Feng hadn't come into contact with any other Pokémon Egg.
"Screech~" It's for you!
Articuno said.
Bai Feng had genuinely helped them solve a major problem that had troubled them for thousands of years. Using only some Fruit Trees as compensation, the Legendary Birds felt it was too petty.
Due to Kyogre, a large number of Water Stones had been born in the Sea God's Cavern. It was a pity that these Water Stones were useless to the Legendary Birds and were usually only used for the Evolution of a small number of Water-type Pokémon living here.
So the Legendary Birds picked out a few of the ones with the highest Purity and gave them to Bai Feng. As far as they knew, Water Stones of this level should be quite valuable outside.
In addition, they also knew that Human Pokémon Trainers liked to pursue rare Pokémon, so they chose a Pokémon Egg and gave it to Bai Feng.
This Pokémon Egg was found by Moltres outside.
Because the Sea God's Cavern was not very suitable for Fire-type Pokémon like Moltres to live in long-term, Moltres would go out every once in a while. This Pokémon Egg was obtained from a dying Pokémon mother during one of its trips outside.
In Moltres's opinion, this Pokémon was quite rare, so after discussing it with Zapdos and Articuno, they decided to give it to Bai Feng to raise.
"What kind of Pokémon Egg is this?" Bai Feng asked in confusion. To be honest, if it was just ordinary, he didn't really want to raise it.
"I won't tell you yet. You can look forward to it. From a Human perspective, it should be considered a very rare Pokémon," Moltres said with a slightly playful tone. Having solved Lugia's problem, it now felt incredibly relaxed, to the point where a hidden side of its Nature was released.
"Alright then, I'll look forward to it."
Since Moltres said so, it was likely indeed a rare Pokémon, perhaps even a Pseudo-legendary.
He could definitely look forward to it.
(End of Chapter)