Chapter 70: Expectations

The Yellow Ox was full of confidence because the piece of soil it had obtained was truly extraordinary.

"Hurry up and take it out!" Chu Feng urged.

The Yellow Ox, full of energy, took the piece of soil from its large cloth bag and carefully placed it on the stone table in the courtyard, immediately capturing Chu Feng's attention.

It was indeed extraordinary!

It was crystal clear and translucent, resembling a piece of jade rather than a clod of earth, and incredibly transparent. Most importantly, it was about half the size of an adult's fist.

Earlier, Chu Feng had acquired several pieces of exotic soil, but they were only fingernail-sized and couldn't compare to this one; the difference was vast.

Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be formed from countless tiny jade particles fused together, making it remarkably transparent.

This exotic soil exhibited two colors: a tender green intertwined with purplish-gold, emitting a soft, glistening light. These colors corresponded to the verdant little tree and the purplish-gold pinecone.

"It's so much stronger than the exotic soil beneath the roots of those plants!" Chu Feng exclaimed.

When light shone on the exotic soil from beneath the mysterious small tree, green and purple light emanated, flickering like dancing flames.

Chu Feng was surprised, and then his smile grew even brighter.

The Yellow Ox grinned, giggling foolishly without stop.

Both were filled with anticipation, believing that this attempt would be successful.

"I wonder how the three seeds are doing."

Chu Feng squatted down and carefully dug away the soil in the flowerbed. Last time, he had buried fingernail-sized pieces of exotic soil there to nourish the seeds.

In the blink of an eye, many days had passed.

"There's a slight change!"

Beneath the damp soil, the plumper seed was revealed. It still hadn't sprouted, but the green hue on its surface had deepened, imbued with a hint of life force.

Yet, it ultimately hadn't transformed or grown any roots.

The Yellow Ox also came closer, observing carefully alongside Chu Feng.

"This one, in fact, has changed quite a lot," Chu Feng remarked.

When it was first discovered at the foot of Kunlun Mountain, it was withered, dull, and heavily wrinkled.

Now, many areas were no longer wrinkled; instead, they were encircled by glowing green patterns, emanating a strange, palpable vitality that was hard to describe.

The patterns on the seed were very unique, even appearing intricate, with a hint of mysterious charm in the vibrant green.

Chu Feng dug again, but to his disappointment, the other two seeds showed no changes, remaining utterly lifeless.

One was black, shriveled, and slightly deformed. The other was purplish-brown, flat, and round, as if squashed. They had been in this state, devoid of vitality, when he first acquired them.

It seemed exceedingly difficult for these two seeds to take root and sprout.

"Let's gather all the exotic soil and use it solely for the first seed," Chu Feng decided.

The Yellow Ox nodded in agreement.

The only concern was that the seeds would take time to sprout and grow.

Meanwhile, the white snake in Taihang Mountain was a cause for concern.

The Yellow Ox disappeared, going to find the Big Black Ox to reconfirm if the area was still safe, as it didn't want any mishaps to occur while the seeds were growing.

It left quickly and returned just as fast, assuring Chu Feng that there would be no issues in the short term.

The kings among the exotic beasts understood each other best.

"I hope something grows soon!" the Yellow Ox wished.

This was because the Big Black Ox had told it that it would soon be taken westward to Flame Mountain, and its time was running out.

"Is it really the Ox Demon King!?" Chu Feng wondered, stunned.

The Yellow Ox shook its head, indicating it didn't know.

The so-called Flame Mountain was a volcanic region adjacent to Kunlun Mountain.

The Yellow Ox, having always desired to enter Kunlun, naturally wouldn't miss this opportunity.

"How is that small tree doing?" Chu Feng asked. The tree, rooted on Kunlun Bronze Mountain, had left a deep impression on him.

"The old mystic didn't elaborate," the Yellow Ox wrote, "only telling me that he could take me there later."

Chu Feng placed the plump seed, with its increasing green patterns, inside the fist-sized exotic soil, and then buried it in a wooden barrel.

The few fingernail-sized pieces of exotic soil from earlier were not wasted either; they were all placed in the barrel, along with other types of soil.

He was prepared to take the wooden barrel and leave if the situation turned unfavorable.

After watering it, the man and the ox sat there, gazing eagerly, wishing it would sprout roots and germinate immediately.

One could easily imagine their eagerness and longing.

Chu Feng was filled with hope and immense anticipation; it was precisely this hope that made him temporarily hold off on consuming the purplish-gold pine nut.

He felt that this seed buried in the soil might bring him a pleasant surprise!

The Yellow Ox was restless, pacing back and forth. Every now and then, it would approach the wooden barrel to observe for a moment, which in turn made Chu Feng anxious too.

Suddenly, Chu Feng's communicator rang; it was his mother calling.

"Mom!" Chu Feng answered.

On the other end of the line, his mother was extremely anxious, almost in tears, eagerly asking if he was still in Qingyang Town.

The outside world was in an uproar, almost exploding with news, because the commotion in Taihang Mountain was so immense that it had spread everywhere in the shortest amount of time.

A giant white snake, hundreds of meters long, which even missiles couldn't kill, had rampaged through Taihang Mountain, slaughtering thousands of evolved humans, shocking the entire world.

This was no longer a localized event; it had spread across all nations.

Its impact was immense, arguably the most serious event to occur since the world's transformation began.

People all over the world were discussing it.

"Mom, I'm fine, don't worry. I'll come find you soon."

Chu Feng continuously reassured her, even telling a white lie, for example, saying he had already left and was at a classmate's house elsewhere.

It was a long time before he finally ended the call.

Afterward, Chu Feng browsed various news reports and found that the outside world was indeed abuzz; the impact of this event was truly immense.

A few photos of the white snake had been uploaded online, showing its massive body twisting off mountain peaks, breaking the sound barrier, and moving through the sky – a truly astonishing sight.

Coupled with the eyewitness accounts from evolved humans who had personally experienced the battle, explaining the events, the entire world was astonished.

People were deeply concerned. The white snake's appearance stemmed from its long-standing legends in Taihang Mountain.

And there was no shortage of such strange tales domestically; some regions even had more bizarre and terrifying legends. Could unknown creatures truly be hidden in all those places?

Foreign nations were also uneasy, as there were many mysterious legends worldwide; if they were to all become reality, it would be utterly terrifying.

Chu Feng watched for a long time; it wasn't until the sun had set that he finally put down his communicator.

"Chu Feng, something terrible has happened, help!"

Just then, Zhou Quan burst into Chu Feng's courtyard, screaming in terror.

His face was pale, and he looked utterly terrified.

"What happened?!" Chu Feng was greatly surprised. It was evident Zhou Quan had encountered something; his eyes were unfocused, as if he had been scared out of his wits.

The Yellow Ox was highly alert, immediately jumping onto the wall to peer towards Taihang Mountain, suspecting that the great white snake might have appeared.

"It's a bolt from the blue! Terrible news!" Zhou Quan cried out.

"Did something happen to your brother?" Chu Feng knew that Zhou Quan had a brother who had been away and hadn't been able to return yet, as many roads were currently cut off.

"No!" Zhou Quan shook his head, trembling as he pointed to himself. "Something happened to me."

What could have possibly caused such a loss of composure? Chu Feng eyed him suspiciously.

"My horns have grown back!" Zhou Quan wailed.

Not long ago, when those two horns broke off, he had felt liberated, believing he had returned to normal.

But after eating the two pine nuts Chu Feng gave him and sleeping, he found his scalp itching, and the broken horns had begun to regenerate, with a small section reappearing.

Chu Feng was speechless. He had actually anticipated that Zhou Quan would likely recover, so this was hardly a major issue.

The Yellow Ox was annoyed, having thought the white snake had arrived, and nearly gave him a kick.

"It's just two horns, no big deal!" Chu Feng said, patting his shoulder in comfort.

Zhou Quan immediately burst into tears. "It's not just two horns," he sobbed. "If it were, I wouldn't be so upset."

"Look, another one has grown! Now there are three horns!" He lifted his slicked-back hair, pointing to the top of his head.

Indeed, besides the regeneration of the broken horns, a new one had appeared right in the center of his head, pointing straight upwards, like a stiff topknot.

"How did another one appear?" Chu Feng was almost speechless.

Zhou Quan tilted his head back, speechless, questioning the heavens. The original two horns had already driven him mad; who would have thought things would escalate, with a third one sprouting!

Chu Feng felt quite sympathetic. If the third horn had been "more subtle," it would have been acceptable, but its resemblance to a stiff topknot was simply too peculiar.

The Yellow Ox grinned and chuckled, then approached and touched Zhou Quan's third horn.

Zhou Quan was so furious he wanted to bite the ox; at a time like this, the shameless creature was still mocking him.

"Moo!"

The Yellow Ox let out a low bellow and carved a line of text on the ground, stating that this was a good thing and explicitly telling him that he might have a place in the Ox clan in the future.

"You, get away!" Zhou Quan exclaimed, his teeth aching from anger, as he pushed away the hoof that had touched his head. With indignation, he ran back to the house behind.

That night, Chu Feng and the Yellow Ox sat in the courtyard, seemingly admiring the moon, but in truth, they were staring intently at the wooden barrel, wishing a miracle would appear instantly.

"Someone's here!"

Suddenly, Chu Feng became alert.

In fact, the Yellow Ox had already detected it; its strength had increased significantly, making its intuition even sharper.

"Hide, don't come out!"

Chu Feng instructed, and quickly tidied the courtyard and room, making sure nothing that shouldn't be seen was exposed.

The bright moon hung high, and the night was still.

Chu Feng's home was on the easternmost side of the town, adjacent to an orchard. Large swaths of pure moonlight bathed the area in white, making it incredibly serene and peaceful.

A slender woman approached, stepping through the moonlight. She was exceptionally beautiful, and under the watery moonbeams, a hazy halo shimmered around her.

It was Lin Nuoyi. She had come.