Two Eggs

"Holy crap, I can fly?"

Zhou Hao floated in the air, but the next moment he pitched headfirst straight down.

Thud. It sounded painful, but Zhou Hao didn't feel a thing. That was the benefit of high cultivation, right?

"Heh, cultivation's great. Not only can I fly, but my stomach doesn't feel hungry either. Perfect." Zhou Hao patted his belly, pleased.

He wouldn't have to endure hunger anymore.

"I've still got two pills. Might as well take them now." Zhou Hao thought it over and decided to down the remaining two.

Following Du Tianhong's instructions, he took the Body-Reforming Pill first, then the Supreme Rejuvenation Pill.

Zhou Hao pulled the stopper from the porcelain bottle, tipped out the Body-Reforming Pill, and swallowed it without hesitation.

After a short wait, the medicine began to take effect. The next moment, a cry of pain—"Ahhh!"—escaped his lips, followed by screams that echoed through the secret chamber.

Zhou Hao writhed on the ground in agony. As the medicine worked, black impurities oozed from his body, streaked with traces of blood.

Time passed. Only ten minutes, but Zhou Hao felt like he'd endured ten years.

When the effect faded, he lay on the floor, unwilling to move a muscle. His body felt as if it had been torn apart.

But after a while, the sensation slowly subsided, replaced by a lightness—like the sudden relief of shedding a thousand-pound boulder that had been crushing him.

Zhou Hao sat up, looked at the sticky grime coating his skin, and curled his lip in disgust.

"Gross. But my body feels way better than before. At least the pain wasn't for nothing."

He stretched and scraped off the filth, but without water, he couldn't get clean. A stench still clung to him.

Zhou Hao took a sniff and nearly passed out. After a few more breaths, he got used to it. It still reeked, but not enough to knock him out.

Next, he decided to take the last pill. With two doses under his belt, the Supreme Rejuvenation Pill slid down easily.

This time, the effect wasn't as violent as the Body-Reforming Pill's.

Zhou Hao felt a cool breeze swirling around him—pleasant, refreshing, almost making him drowsy.

A green glow radiated from his body, and the cracked skin left by the Body-Reforming Pill slowly healed.

Soon, a fully restored Zhou Hao emerged. The only downsides: he was still naked, and he still smelled like salted fish.

Zhou Hao didn't complain. He'd cultivated the technique and taken the pills. Next up: checking out Du Tianhong's coffin.

Inside Du Tianhong's coffin, besides two spirit rings, there were also two eggs.

These eggs were no ordinary finds. One was a Five-Clawed Golden Dragon Egg, the other a Fire-Phoenix Egg. Du Tianhong and his wife had gone to great lengths to acquire them.

Zhou Hao lifted the eggs out. The golden one was clearly the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon; the red one with patterns was the Fire-Phoenix.

One egg was meant for him, one for Murong.

But... Zhou Hao wanted both. No way he'd let that woman get a single advantage.

However, the eggs had been starved of energy for too long. They couldn't bond with a master now, let alone hatch.

Zhou Hao had no choice but to set them aside for now. He'd feed them energy slowly later; bonding shouldn't take long.

"Better focus on cultivation first." Zhou Hao sat cross-legged and began circulating the Metamorphosis Incantation.

According to Du Tianhong, once he reached the Spiritual Consciousness Realm, he could leave. All he had to do was lie in the coffin and channel spiritual power into it to escape the chamber.

Zhou Hao didn't even know how to complain about such a bizarre way to leave.

Ice and Snow Divine Realm

Murong watched the Spirit-Womb Ring constantly. The moment its energy was full, she'd teleport straight to Zhou Hao's side.

But only half a day had passed since she returned. Three days were still far off.

"Isn't there any way to charge the Spirit-Womb Ring?" Murong's cold gaze swept over the ministers below.

Elder Yan Hongjun gave an awkward bow. "Your Majesty, the ring's teleportation function relies on the World Stone. At present... we haven't found a way to recharge it."

Murong Xianxian tapped her jade fingers lightly on the armrest of her throne, pondered for a moment, then asked slowly, "Are the things I asked you to prepare ready?"

Yan Hongjun stepped forward quickly, presenting a spirit ring with both hands. "All prepared, Your Majesty. The Heaven-grade High-rank Undying Divine Art, the Heaven Grade Mid-Rank Myriad Transformations Divine Ability, and a set of luxurious robes. Please inspect them."

Murong waved her hand lightly. The ring flew to her. She swept her Spiritual Sense inside and nodded slightly. "Good."

These were all for Zhou Hao. After all, he was contributing to her child's creation. Treating him well was only right.

Murong waved her hand. "You may go."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Yan Hongjun withdrew respectfully.

Murong leaned slightly, her elbow resting on the armrest, her five fingers curled to support her stunning face. She let out a soft sigh. "Time is passing so slowly."

She kind of missed Zhou Hao.

Of course, it wasn't romantic longing. She just wanted him to keep working on giving her a child.

But wanting and having were two different things. Time wouldn't bend, and there was nothing she could do.

"A-Zhao~"

Zhou Hao sneezed for no reason, jolting him out of his cultivation state.

"What the hell, aren't cultivators supposed to not get sick? Why'd I sneeze out of nowhere? Did I catch a chill?"

He glanced down at his bare body—maybe he really had caught a chill.

He waited a moment, found no discomfort beyond the sneeze, and nodded in satisfaction, muttering, "Cultivation does work."

He chalked up the lack of illness to cultivation, never once thinking someone might be thinking of him.

Who would bother thinking about someone as ordinary as him? Sure, back on Blue Star he had a house, a car, savings, he was pretty handsome, had a good personality, and was gentle and refined...

Zhou Hao's thoughts drifted unbidden to Blue Star, the world he'd crossed over from.

He'd been raised by his Grandma since childhood; his parents were nowhere to be found, gone without a trace for years. His Grandma passed away when he was a junior in college.

After that, he was all alone. After graduation, he started a business with a friend, but they parted ways over differing ideals.

Later, he used the money he'd earned over a few years to open a small company, step by step, slowly growing it bigger.

On Blue Star, he counted as a fairly successful young entrepreneur, worth over a hundred million at a young age. But he wasn't all that happy—he'd lost touch with all his friends. The only thing left was a hobby.

Collecting antiques. And by the way, this Spirit-Womb Ring was something he'd dug up from an antique hunt—and that hunt had dumped him right into this godforsaken place.

"Sigh." Zhou Hao pulled his thoughts back, looked around, and mused, "Maybe a different way of living isn't so bad."

After all, on Blue Star, he'd just been repeating the same day over and over. Coming here might bring him a bit of new life.

Of course, his idea of "new life" didn't mean being a poop-scooper, and definitely not being a tool.