"That hag did remind me." Holding the box of Foundation Strengthening Pills, Zhou Hao muttered, "If this keeps up, I might really end up with kidney deficiency. I need to find a way to stop her endless demands—but what way is there? Hmm..."
This plunged him into deep thought. Although nothing had gone wrong with him yet, she came at him hard every three days. If this continued for too long, he felt that something really would go wrong.
Indulgence like this had to be kept in moderation, but he still had not thought of a solution.
After thinking for a long while, Zhou Hao finally shook his head. "Forget it. I'll cultivate first."
As he spoke, he took out a divine crystal. It truly differed from the crystals Du Tianhong had left behind; the gap in energy was like heaven and earth.
Sitting cross-legged, Zhou Hao circulated his cultivation technique and guided the energy contained within the divine crystal slowly into his body.
The moment the divine crystal's energy entered his body, he immediately felt the difference. The energy within him was actually being tempered by the divine crystal's energy, gradually becoming purer.
Especially the Green Core in his Dantian—the divine crystal's energy mainly acted upon that area.
In just ten minutes, Zhou Hao broke through and reached the Spirit Profound Second Stage.
Zhou Hao's eyes lit up. At this rate, the day he left the secret chamber was not far away.
"Continue." Seeing the results, he felt even more motivated.
Time passed. After cultivating for an entire day, Zhou Hao actually advanced another minor realm, reaching the Spirit Profound Third Stage.
Two minor realms in a single day—if others learned of it, it would likely cause a tremendous uproar. Without question, this was an achievement only a peerless genius could attain.
Just as Zhou Hao finished his cultivation, one of the eggs in the corner began to glow with golden light.
Zhou Hao's eyes snapped open. He turned toward the corner, hurriedly rose, and walked over. Seeing the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon Egg radiating golden light, he murmured happily, "I can finally form a contract with it."
The Metamorphosis Incantation came with a corresponding contract technique. It was said that the limit was fifteen spirit beasts, and only contracted spirit beasts could enjoy to the fullest the evolution and transformation brought by the Metamorphosis Incantation.
Of course, uncontracted spirit beasts could also enjoy Zhou Hao's services, but the effects would be greatly diminished.
Zhou Hao swiftly formed a hand seal, then forced out a drop of blood essence from the tip of his index finger. With a gentle wave of his hand, the blood essence left his fingertip and slowly drifted down onto the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon Egg.
The next instant, the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon Egg's golden radiance surged violently, blazing in all directions.
Zhou Hao raised a hand to shield his eyes and narrowed them slightly, peering at the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon Egg through the gaps between his fingers.
"Crack~"
Zhou Hao heard the sound of eggshell cracking. Immediately afterward, the golden radiance drew inward, gathering entirely around the egg before slowly fading away.
By then, a piece of the egg had cracked open, revealing a hole in its shell.
"Pop~"
Suddenly, a little dragon head smashed through the eggshell and looked around from side to side, its large golden eyes filled with curiosity about the new world.
When it saw Zhou Hao, it immediately cried out excitedly, "Daddy!"
"Pfft~"
Zhou Hao was so startled by that cry that he nearly fell to the ground. Did he really have such a talent for being a father?
That hag wanted him to have children, and now this newly born Five-Clawed Golden Dragon was calling him Dad. This... was speechless.
The tiny Five-Clawed Golden Dragon shot out of its eggshell, finally revealing its full form. It was less than half a meter long, with antlers like a deer's, a head like a camel's, eyes like a rabbit's, a neck like a snake's, a belly like a clam's, scales like a fish's, claws like an eagle's, paws like a tiger's, and ears like an ox's. It truly looked exactly like the legendary creature.
"Daddy." The Five-Clawed Golden Dragon flew to Zhou Hao's side and coiled around his neck.
Zhou Hao's mouth twitched. In a patient tone, he corrected it, "Don't call me Daddy. Just call me Big Brother."
"Why? You're Daddy!" the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon asked.
Zhou Hao helplessly covered his face and tried to explain it to the dragon. But after five minutes, he gave up. This dragon had a one-track mind.
Still, after all was said and done, Zhou Hao gained something. He finally got the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon to change "Daddy" to "Dad," which sounded a little more pleasant to him.
Zhou Hao unwound the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon from around his neck. After pondering for a moment, he said, "Let me give you a name! How about Zhou Yuanbao? Your nickname can be Bao'er."
Since it was calling him Dad, of course it had to take his surname.
The Five-Clawed Golden Dragon—no, Zhou Yuanbao—was quite casual about it, and so its name was happily decided.
"Dad, you're so weak!" Zhou Yuanbao circled Zhou Hao once in flight, then suddenly said this.
Zhou Hao's mouth twitched, and three black lines ran down his forehead. Curling his lip, he said, "You were just born..."
He suddenly froze, because he discovered that Zhou Yuanbao's aura was incredibly strong. The power hidden within its body was even more terrifying—it felt as though a single finger could crush him to death.
Zhou Hao stood dumbfounded for a long while before asking in a stammer, "Y-you... what's your cultivation level?"
"Profound God Paragon." Zhou Yuanbao thought for a moment before answering.
That was what its inherited memories told it.
Zhou Hao froze again, then sucked in a breath of cold air and asked, "How are the ranks of gods divided?"
With its two claws folded before its chest, Zhou Yuanbao began to explain in detail. "Gods are divided into Demigods, Earth Gods, Heaven Gods, Profound Gods, Golden Gods, Divine Lords, Divine Kings, Divine Emperors, Divine Sovereigns, and Divine Venerables. Every major realm has twelve minor stages."
"Holy shit." Zhou Hao could not help blurting it out. So Zhou Yuanbao had been born already in the lower-middle ranks among gods?
Zhou Yuanbao continued, "But I have to suppress my cultivation here, or I'll draw heavenly lightning tribulation. So right now, I should be at the Demigod realm."
A Demigod was essentially equivalent to the Divine Realm of the Sky Dome Continent.
Zhou Hao's mouth twitched. For a moment, he did not know what to say. This was the benefit of bloodline inheritance—being born already close to the peak.
However, divine beasts also had a drawback. They basically relied on the accumulation of time to raise their cultivation, so they could not improve as rapidly as humans.
Just then, the other egg also began to emit a red glow.
For the time being, Zhou Hao stopped thinking about Zhou Yuanbao and turned his gaze to the Fire-Phoenix Egg.
Without hesitation, he once again formed the hand seal from before and forced out a drop of blood essence. Only blood essence could be used to form a contract; ordinary blood was completely useless.
When the blood essence fell onto the Fire-Phoenix Egg, it instantly evaporated. The contract had failed.
Zhou Hao froze for a moment. What was going on? Had it not been said that the limit was fifteen spirit beasts? This was only the second one!
Could it be because Zhou Yuanbao was a divine beast?
Just as his thoughts ran wild, an aged and profound sigh sounded out.
"Alas~"
Zhou Hao was startled. The voice sounded familiar. Though it carried a hint of electronic distortion, he could not be mistaken—it was Du Tianhong's voice.
Could it be... that old man was not dead yet?
A faint expectation rose in Zhou Hao's heart. After all, Du Tianhong counted as his master.
Before you continue