Wang Yue returned to his own stronghold, thinking to himself that he had learned by questioning the residents of Shilpo Mountain Stronghold that Zhou Hao had appeared out of nowhere and had remained there ever since, with no intention of leaving.
Looking at it this way, Zhou Hao's goal probably was not his Fire Core Flower.
But Wang Yue still did not feel secure enough, so he decided it would be safer to guard the Fire Core Flower himself.
He had waited seven years. He could not let those years go to waste.
Zhou Hao had no idea that he had inadvertently made Wang Yue jumpy and paranoid.
Of course, he had no interest in learning about Wang Yue either. They were strangers, after all.
After cultivating for a while, Zhou Hao recovered a little Metamorphosis Power, then stopped cultivating.
He glanced at the little piglet, which was sleeping like a log, shook his head, and left the room.
He was going to find a piece of jade. After all, he had promised Murong that he would give her a gift the next time she came, so naturally, he could not be perfunctory about it.
He planned to find a fine piece of jade and carve a Guan Yin who bestows children for Murong.
Murong wanted children so badly that this had to be the best possible gift. It was sincere and thoughtful, and its symbolism was good too. He believed she would be delighted to receive it—at least, that was what Zhou Hao thought.
However, he had no jade on him. He had heaps of crystals, but the problem was that he could not carve them! Besides, a Guan Yin who bestows children carved from crystal somehow did not carry as good a meaning as one carved from jade.
Zhou Hao had gone out now to ask Ma Hongyun whether he had any jade.
Naturally, Ma Hongyun answered honestly, "There is some, but the quality is ordinary."
"Bring it to me." Zhou Hao held out his hand.
Ma Hongyun then gathered every piece of jade he could find for him, including the jade belonging to the other people in the stronghold.
Zhou Hao looked at the pile of jade stacked into a small hill. Much of it had not even been cut open yet.
He nodded in satisfaction. "Go take care of your own business. I'll cut them open myself."
With his current strength, determining where the jade lay within a stone was as easy as turning his hand over.
Ma Hongyun then left.
Zhou Hao began searching through the jade. Unfortunately, an hour later, all the stones had been cut open, but none of their quality satisfied him.
He could only choose the best piece from among the inferior ones. If he could not find suitable jade over the next two days, he would have to use this piece for the carving.
As for the remaining jade, it would not go to waste. Zhou Hao needed it for practice. Although his company back on Blue Star had dealt in jewelry and jade, he had only personally carved something a few times.
After all, he had been the boss. He only carved something himself when the mood struck, so his skills were a little rusty and needed practice.
Zhou Hao brought all the jade home and began his life of carving.
Sure enough, now that his cultivation was higher, his control over his strength had improved greatly as well. Though he had not touched carving in a long time, he produced a decent piece as soon as he got started.
"Sure enough, the higher your cultivation, the easier everything becomes." Zhou Hao looked at his first work and nodded in satisfaction.
Though it still had a few flaws, they were no great issue.
After that, Zhou Hao carved several more pieces and quickly became familiar with it again. His carvings improved more and more, but he did not stop there.
Striving for perfection was his work ethic. When he went mad, he could work overtime for five straight days, sleeping less than five hours in total, and had nearly dropped dead in his office at the end of it.
But after that, he had never worked overtime again. Wasn't being alive good?
As he carved now, he felt as though he had rediscovered the feeling of working back then.
Zhou Yuanbao and Mu Jinyin, watching from the side, were both somewhat surprised. It was their first time seeing Zhou Hao so serious.
By the time night fell, Zhou Hao had finally finished carving the last piece of worthless jade.
His skill at carving Guan Yin who bestows children had now reached the point where the fire was pure and the flames green. Give him a fine piece of jade, and without even needing to think, he could immediately carve one for you.
"Finally finished." Zhou Hao looked at the small mountain of "Guan Yin who bestows children" piled on the table and let out a heavy breath of stale air.
Everything was ready; all that was missing was the east wind.
He hoped he could find a suitable piece of jade within the next two days!
Zhou Hao rose and stretched his limbs. Then, with a casual glance, he suddenly noticed that the little piglet seemed a little different.
He hurried closer to look, then raised his head to Zhou Yuanbao and Mu Jinyin and asked, "Has its nose changed color a little?"
Zhou Yuanbao and Mu Jinyin leaned closer to look as well, then nodded. "It has changed color. Its nose was black this morning, but now it seems to have faded a little."
Zhou Hao smiled. "The Metamorphosis Power must be taking effect. I'm looking forward to tomorrow's results."
Zhou Yuanbao and Mu Jinyin were quite curious too. After all, the Metamorphosis Power would eventually be used on them, so it was good to learn about it in advance.
Afterward, Zhou Hao began cultivating. His daily schedule was packed now, and he basically used cultivation in place of sleep.
The next day
"Oink, oink~"
The little piglet woke up and began oinking first thing in the morning.
Zhou Hao emerged from his cultivation state and immediately went to observe the little piglet.
The first thing he focused on was the piglet's nose, since it had already changed the night before.
Taking a closer look, Zhou Hao discovered that the little piglet's originally pitch-black nose had turned rosy and pink overnight.
"Pfft~" Zhou Hao could not help laughing at the sight of the little piglet.
The pink nose clashed so badly with the little piglet's dark skin that it looked rather comical. Yet after staring at it for a while, he found it quite adorable instead, with a sort of ugly-cute charm.
After Zhou Hao's careful observation, he found that aside from its nose, the little piglet had not changed at all. It was still an ordinary pig, not even at the Mortal Embryo Realm.
Zhou Hao tilted his head at the little piglet and muttered, "It doesn't seem particularly special?"
"It really doesn't seem special." Zhou Yuanbao nodded in agreement.
"Achoo~"
The little piglet suddenly sneezed violently.
Zhou Hao and the other two hurriedly looked over. They saw the little piglet's nose twitch, then it immediately ran toward the door.
Zhou Hao froze slightly, then said thoughtfully, "Let's follow it."
The little piglet ran through the stronghold, while Zhou Hao followed behind at an unhurried pace.
The sight drew the attention of many residents, but none of them dared go up and ask.
Zhou Hao followed the little piglet all the way to the stronghold gate.
The little piglet was blocked by the gate and could not get out.
"Open the gate," Zhou Hao ordered the residents guarding it.
The two guards immediately opened the gate in panic.
The instant the gate opened a crack, the little piglet fiercely squeezed through it.
Zhou Hao continued following at an unhurried pace. The little piglet was only an ordinary pig, so it was not fast.
"Dad, where is it going?" Zhou Yuanbao asked.
Zhou Hao shook his head. "I don't know. We just need to follow it. We'll naturally know once we get there."
"It seems to be having a hard time running. Should I help it?" Mu Jinyin asked as she watched the little piglet's tiny, chubby body.
Zhou Hao considered it, then shook his head. "Let's watch for now. If it can't keep going, we'll help it."
Afterward, they followed the little piglet over mountains and ridges all the way...
Before you continue