Forging Immortality through the Dao Seed

The towering ancient forest around them had already been flattened.

A massive handprint stood out conspicuously.

Zhang Jing stood in place, not having moved a single step.

His eyes were filled with indifference.

He hadn't used any spells just now, only simply marshalling the mana from his Dantian and merging it with the Tao Intent of the Five Elements, and gave it a casual slap.

And yet even so.

The power within was more than the dozen or so ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivators on the opposite side could withstand.

His gaze lightly swept over the scene of devastation before him.

Zhang Jing unconsciously recalled the scene of Lu Thirty-Eight carrying him, fleeing ignominiously from Langya County amidst the aftermath of a battle in the Foundation Establishment Realm.

It all felt like it had happened just yesterday.

"Have I unknowingly already come this far?"

He felt a sense of being in a daze.

Coming back to his senses.

Zhang Jing gestured slightly.

The Duobao River, which had transformed into a Mid-Level Mystical Seed, immediately returned from a distance, resembling a gleaming white jade belt, gently wrapping around his wrist.

"As a Mid-Level Mystical Seed, the Duobao River, after merging with nine spiritual embryos of magical treasures, has reached its limit in power. Even with the help of the Tao Intent, it's still far from being comparable to my counterfeit Primordial Spirit Light. After I advance to the Golden Core Realm, I need to find a way to integrate and upgrade it."

Zhang Jing thought to himself.

He withdrew his gaze from the Duobao River, turning instead to look in the distant direction.

The undulating mountains all came into view.

"Next, I should find a quiet place and wait for the end of the first round."

Zhang Jing exhaled lightly, unconsciously revealing a relaxed and joyful smile on his face.

With one step forward.

His entire person turned into a beam of light which hugged the ground, disappearing in an instant into the boundless vast mountains.

Not much later.

Within a dense forest hundreds of feet from the battlefield.

Accompanied by a rustling sound.

Nine people slowly emerged, each of them looking with horror toward the direction of Zhang Jing's disappearance.

"Whew~ Good thing you were wise, boss."

A chubby young man exclaimed with relief in his voice.

It was full of terrified meaning.

"Yes, yes!"

Another woman hurriedly nodded in response to his words.

"If we had acted just now, I'm afraid we would have ended up like that group of people. By the way, boss, how did you determine that we couldn't afford to offend that man?"

As his words fell.

The remaining few people all looked at the man standing at the front, dressed in white and floating like a deity, their eyes unconsciously revealing a hint of admiration.

"Haha," the man in white laughed loudly, then said with full confidence, "You guys are inexperienced, of course you can't see it. But I'm different. I've seen as many cultivators as there are cow hairs, and I can almost instantly tell how strong they are."

"Boss is amazing!"

"No wonder you're our boss. With you leading us, we'll definitely be able to advance to the next round smoothly."

The crowd praised in unison.

On the other side.

Taking advantage of the others' inattention, the man in white quickly wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, his eyes filled with relief.

He had no discerning eye at all.

Just now, he had purely seen that the other group had more people than his, and he couldn't help hesitating.

And then...

In that brief moment of his hesitation.

That group was simply and cleanly kicked out of the Secret Realm.

Thinking of this.

The man in white couldn't help looking at the large handprint not far away, horror flashing in his eyes.

This person was likely a legacy seed of a major Heavenly Immortal force.

Or perhaps he is... one of the top geniuses who came out of those seven places.

...

On a viewing platform in the middle layer of the Jiaoyun Realm.

The male and female cultivators who had been closely watching Zhang Jing before, were now sitting stiffly, their expressions slightly stagnant.

Unknown time had passed.

"Hehe, those guys finally got what they had coming. Thinking they could ambush others with their superior numbers? They finally met their match and got their fitting punishment."

The pretty girl grinned.

Her beautiful eyes inadvertently looked at Zhang Jing in the image, her gaze flickering.

And then as if thinking of something.

She turned her head and looked directly at the man next to her, raised her head high, revealing her slender and fair neck, and asked with an arrogant expression:

"Hey, didn't you say he was a nobody from somewhere?"

Her appearance was exactly like a proud peacock.

Seeing the expression on his beloved's face.

The man couldn't help but clutch his chest, his face flushing red.

He knew that the person was strong, but no matter what he couldn't bring himself to praise him.

After a moment's thought.

The man spoke with a grudging jealousy:

"Yun'er, that guy is indeed strong. But he's too good at concealing his strength, without a hint of a strong man's heart. Compared to those other top monsters in there, he's just a cloud of mud. Don't believe me? Look at those few, everyone is paying attention to them."

With that.

The man looked directly with 'Yun'er', the beautiful girl next to him, at the very center of the first battlefield.

A hillock no more than a hundred feet high.

On it were piled several hundred Jiaoyun decrees, the golden glow released by them gathering together like a miniaturized golden sun.

Tens of thousands of cultivators were tightly encircling the hill at this moment.

Screech!

A piercing cry echoed through the sky.

Looking over.

It was a golden feathered bird with red eyes, its feathers gleaming like gold.

The horrific wind feared by people, when it hit the bird's body, could only splash a few sparks, unable even to touch a single golden feather.

"Haha, is this all you humans are capable of? The Jiaoyun decrees are right there; as long as you can last ten breaths before me, you could gain one, but alas, no one has managed it!"

"Such pitiful weakness!"

"It seems that this time the champion of the Jiaoyun Realm's Foundation Establishment competition will have to be me."

The red-eyed golden feathered bird laughed arrogantly.

Its figure was basking in the increasingly fierce turbulent wind.

Below.

Many people glared angrily at the arrogant bird, but none of them dared to make a move.

Ten days had passed.

More than ten thousand cultivators of the Human Race had been eliminated by this terrifying bird from the All-Heavens Myriads Spirits Camp.

Even a monster from the Circle Heavenly Star Temple, one of the top seven legacies, was eliminated by this ruthless bird as if it were in a cakewalk.

"Really, no one can deal with this bird? Aren't we on our own territory?"

Someone cried out bloodily.

However,

The only response was the outrageous laughter of the bird in the sky.

...

In the stands,

The woman called Yun'er looked dazed.

Her small fists clenched unconsciously.

The man next to her smiled slightly at her state and then continued to direct her gaze towards the ninetieth-ninth combat field, explaining:

"The monster Yun'er just saw is from the All-Heavens Myriads Spirits Camp, while this one is the real Talent of our Human Race. Look at him, his dominance surpasses even that of the bird from the All-Heavens Myriads Spirits Camp."

Upon hearing this,

The pretty lady slowly returned to her senses and followed his pointing direction.

"Oh, my goodness!"

The moment she saw clearly, she involuntarily shouted out.

In her sight,

A young man in golden attire moved forward with an unstoppable force, leisurely walking through towering stone forests.

Stunning and brilliant lights were condensed within a range of three meters around him.

Wherever he passed,

The formidable stone forest obstructing the way all turned into dust.

Nothing seemed to be able to stop his advancing steps.

Some cultivators who noticed this terrifying turbulence from the distance immediately changed their faces and quickly retreated.

...

The pretty lady recovered her senses, unconsciously turned her head to gaze at Zhang Jing, who had already quietly closed his eyes and sat with a hint of worry flashing in her eyes.

Such a strong opponent...

At the side,

"Look at that existence, he's the real Talent! He's the only hope for our Human Race to counter that terrifying bird!"

The man was still chattering on and on.

...

In the ninety-ninth combat field,

Qu Junhou, who the man had praised as the real Talent of the Human Race, was now triumphantly talking to an incomplete figure in his sea of consciousness:

"Haha, Master, how about my move?"

"What's the problem with getting lost? If necessary, I can simply make a new path. As long as I keep moving forward, I can quickly exit this stone forest."

"I'm such a genius!"

But at this moment,

"But you said the same eight days ago." The incomplete figure threw cold water on him.

Qu Junhou's face became stiff immediately.

Then he stammered,

"I might... be able to get out tomorrow?"

The old man did not reply but said in a strange tone,

"Disciple, how about we just fly out from above? That southeast wind should not be able to stop you."

"No! Master, I vowed before that I must walk out from here. Thus, I might be able to overcome my inner demons and completely overcome my flaw of easily getting lost. What if I don't have a shortcut next time?"

Qu Junhou's tone was firm.

"But can your way really be considered 'walking' out of here?"

An incomplete figure could not help but curse inwardly.

After adjusting his emotions,

"There's only twenty days left, and you haven't even found one Jiaoyun decree yet. You need to hurry." The incomplete figure sighed.

"Don't worry, Master."

Qu Junhou confidently said.

He's not stupid.

He can still distinguish what's important in the scheme of things.

...

A flash of ten days had gone by.

At the top of a mountain on the edge of the twenty-ninth battle arena,

Zhang Jing was meditating with his eyes closed.

It's the secluded place he's chosen, where few people disturb him.

However, at some point,

Boom boom--

The ground suddenly began to shake violently.

Zhang Jing opened his eyes, and a trace of confusion flashed in his eyes.

What's happening?

The end of the first thirty-day round should not be here yet.

While he was pondering,

"Help me!" A miserable scream suddenly entered his ears.

Zhang Jing instinctively looked towards the sound.

His gaze then hardened.

He saw the edge of the battle arena beginning to crumble bit by bit.

A man who failed to react in time fell with the crumbling mountain and vanished into a light the next moment.

A Jiaoyun decree immediately appeared in the spot.

And then he saw the decree turning into a golden light, shooting straight into the inner area of the battle arena.

It disappeared in an instant.

Under Zhang Jing's feet,

The edge of the battle arena was crumbling more and more fiercely, and it was spreading rapidly inward.

At the same time,

The Jiaoyun Dharma Seal on his body suddenly scattered golden lights, which could not be shielded no matter how he used his spells.

Seeing this,

A contemplative look flashed across Zhang Jing's eyes.

"Interesting, so the first round ends here."

The light in his eyes suddenly deepened.

In this way, the last ten days in the battle arena... maybe they'll be lively!