Forging Immortality through the Dao Seed

"Imperial Brother, please sit."

In a certain palace.

A man clad in dark-gold nine-dragon robes opened his eyes and cast his gaze at Ji Jiulin, who was standing at the door. He spoke in a calm tone.

"Thank you, Imperial Brother."

Ji Jiulin responded with restraint, and then with familiarity, he walked into the room and sat down on a cushion nearby.

"Does Imperial Brother have any business here?"

Seeing Ji Jiulin take his seat.

The man across doesn't beat around the bush and directly asks.

He understood the character of his Imperial Brother.

If there weren't any important matters, he certainly wouldn't come over.

On the cushion.

Ji Jiulin's expression turned solemn.

"Back then, I had participated in the Dao Ming Council of the Boundless Tai Yi Taoist Gate and noticed two individuals who might pose a great challenge to Imperial Brother in the fight for the first place in foundation establishment in the Jiaoyun Secret Realm."

"Boundless Tai Yi Taoist Gate?"

A hint of curiosity immediately flashed across the face of the man opposite.

Isn't the strongest among their foundation-establishing disciples who participated in the Jiaoyun Secret Realm this time Ge Qingshen? If we're looking at the division within the correspondent Daoist Gate, he has the strength of at least the seventh rank of Foundation Establishment. Apart from him, who else could be a talent?"

Upon hearing this.

A flash of gravity passed through Ji Jiulin's eyes.

"I dare not withhold anything from Imperial Brother."

"One is named Zhang Jing, and the other is Qu Junhou! From what I personally observed, these two are atrociously strong, their combat power firmly within the eighth rank of Foundation Establishment. Imperial Brother must not underestimate them if he encounters either of them in the Secret Realm."

"I see, thank you for the reminder, Imperial Brother,"

The man said with a slight smile.

A moment later.

Ji Jiulin's figure vanished within the palace.

Meanwhile, the man's face regains its calm appearance.

His demeanor suggested that he hadn't taken Ji Jiulin's warning seriously at all.

"An opponent in the eighth rank of Foundation Establishment, if it were me before, perhaps it would require serious consideration, but now..."

His gaze flickered slightly.

Then, he suddenly lifted his head.

His gaze seemed to penetrate through numerous barriers, staring directly at a mysterious woman.

"The Taiyin Jade Rabbit clan, one of the thirty-six royal races of the All-Heavens Myriads Spirits, a fearsome breed born with the innate Power of Taiyin! Surprisingly, there are members who are not yet adults participating in the Jiaoyun Secret Realm."

"This is a perfect opportunity to see which is stronger, the ninth rank of my Foundation Establishment, or that?"

In fact.

Ever since his combat power broke through to the ninth rank of Foundation Establishment, and he became aware that, in this Jiaoyun Secret Realm, there would be not just one Taiyin Jade Rabbit in the Foundation Establishment Realm.

He instantly knew that

His competition had quietly changed from incredibly talented humans to that Taiyin Jade Rabbit.

...

On the other side.

Back in his palace.

Zhang Jing sat cross-legged.

Soon, he seemed to think of something, and suddenly, a vibrant, multicolored seed appeared in his hand.

He gently waved his divine sense over the seed, and a thriving sense of vitality, woven from seven different forces, immediately appeared in his perception.

Seven-Treasure Gourd Vine.

True to its name.

The seed actually contained seven different types of powers.

"Wait a minute! After planting this thing, wouldn't it grow into seven gourds and then..."

Zhang Jing thought to himself in hushed tones.

A strange expression involuntarily surfaced on his face.

Never mind.

This kind of thing is better left to Lu Thirty-eight to worry about. Who knows, maybe he might even enjoy it?

With this thought.

A faint smile appeared in Zhang Jing's eyes.

He then put away the Seven-Treasures Gourd Seed in his hand.

Soon after.

He closed his eyes again, and his aura slowly stilled.

...

Time passed slowly.

The opening of the Jiaoyun Secret Realm was fast approaching.

In this period of time.

The atmosphere in Jiaoyun's Immortal City was heating up, especially on the Fairy Fighting Platform, where there was no quiet even for half a day.

That's due to those...

Members of the All-Heavens Myriads Spirits Camp who seemed to have sprung out of the cracks in the rocks, were as crazy as that initial Red-Eyed Golden Peng, and they were frantically challenging the prodigies of various supreme immortal legacies.

It was precisely because of this.

That many ordinary cultivators within the Immortal City found out that within disciples of the major Daoist Sects participating in the Jiaoyun Secret Realm, there were so many talented cultivators lying dormant in the first round.

Renjie Daoist Court's Ji Jiulin, Ancestor Demon Sect's Wang Wunian...

One after another, thunderous names began to circulate among the people.

In contrast,

Red-Eyed Golden Peng, Water-Avoiding Deer, Strong-Sheep Demon, and other, formidable races of the All-Heavens Myriads Spirits Camp were gradually known to many ordinary cultivators.

Of course.

Among these.

Especially that initial fight between Qu Junhou and the Red-eyed Golden Peng; it was enjoyed the most by the cultivators.

On the one hand, its dramatic course from start to finish left anyone who saw it astonished and excited.

On the other hand, it was because.

In people's eyes.

It was this battle that directly set off the continuous bloody conflict and confrontation between the top celestial prodigies of the Human Race and the All-Heavens Myriads Spirits Camp!

It carries great significance.

But all of this has nothing to do with Zhang Jing.

Prior to his return from the Dao Ming Council, he had been cultivating quietly in his palace, waiting for the second round of the Jiaoyun Secret Realm to open.

As for Qu Junhou.

Unable to bear the loneliness, in the days that followed, he managed to find an opportunity to fight the Water-Avoiding Deer on the Fairy Fighting Platform.

This even made his title of Earthly-Ming King even more resounding.

He was even considered by many cultivators in the Immortal City to be one of the 'Ten Greats of Human Race's Foundation Establishment' and indeed bathed in glory.

On this day.

Inside the palace.

Zhang Jing suddenly opened his eyes, and the glow within instantly illuminated the gloomy room.

At the same time.

...

In another palace.

A man clad in a dark-gold nine-dragon robe slowly lifted his head, his body radiating a divine light.

...

Inside a remote cave dwelling.

A woman with an unclear face got up from the jade bed. Her sparkling jade feet gently fell upon the empty air half an inch above the ground. The silver bells around her ankle sparsely ringing, making her fair complexion appear all the more fascinating.

...

"It's begun!"

The gentle, domineering, and crisp voices rang out simultaneously in different places.

...

The dazzling celestial light spread rapidly on the stone gate of the Secret Realm, covering it completely in an instant.

A terrifying ripple of the void immediately dispersed to all directions.

In a blink of an eye.

In various corners of the Immortal City.

Rays of rainbow light burst into the sky, rushing towards the direction of the Secret Realm gate at extreme speed.

In just a short while,

In the square in front of the Secret Realm gate, a hundred and ten thousand powerful Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators gathered.

These were apparently the ones who got through the first round of the Jiaoyun Realm.

At this moment.

All of them were staring at the gate of the Secret Realm with serious expressions, not uttering a word.

The entire square was quiet, so quiet as to hear a pin drop.

No one knew how much time had passed.

Boom——

A sound like thunder crackled near their ears.

Across the stone gate.

The scene inside the Secret Realm began to slowly reveal itself to their eyes.

Without any hesitation.

Figures with faces either excited, confident, or insecure, walked briskly into the already open Jiaoyun Secret Realm.

In just a moment.

The densely packed figures on the square quietly disappeared without a trace.

...

Inside the Secret Realm.

Without realizing it, Zhang Jing looked around.

He suddenly discovered that the gazes of people around him seemed to be focusing on several specific places.

And in these gazes,

He faintly felt a trace of awe.

"What happened?"

Zhang Jing's eyes flashed with curiosity.

Following the direction of the people next to him, he looked over.

In the next moment.

Scattered among the crowd, including Qu Junhou and Ji Jiulin, ten figures slowly came into view.

Faint voices of deliberately suppressed discussions reached his ears.

In a short while.

After he completely heard what was said,

"The ten geniuses of the Human Race in the Foundation Establishment realm? It seems that Brother Qu and the others have made quite a few big moves in these few days. Interesting~"

Zhang Jing thought to himself.

A playful smile unconsciously appeared on his face.

As he pondered,

The sky suddenly changed color.

"Here it comes!"

Zhang Jing snapped back to reality, his gaze involuntarily looking upwards.

In his line of sight.

A giant face covering the sky gradually emerged.

The eyes were closed, expressionless.

Not long after.

The giant face slowly opened its eyes, their heavy gaze instantly sweeping down below.

Then a majestic voice echoed,

"The second round is about to begin!"

"Let me introduce the rules."

As the voice of the Spirit of the Secret Realm sounded.

In the deep of the sky,

A faint shadow suddenly appeared, looking like an island with brilliant celestial light gushing from it.

People below curiously looked at the shadow.

"As you can see, that's an Immortal Island in the depths of the sky, which I've given a nice name - Renjie Island. This round is related to this Renjie Island."

Having said that.

The Spirit of the Secret Realm paused for a moment.

At this time.

Tens of thousands of peculiar gazes suddenly fell on Qu Junhou and the other nine.

Among the crowd.

"Isn't that a coincidence?"

A hint of teasing flashed in Zhang Jing's eyes.

He clearly saw that when the voice of the Spirit of the Secret Realm fell, an awkward expression appeared on Qu Junhou's face.

However, this awkwardness didn't last long.

The people's attention was quickly drawn by the voice of the Spirit of the Secret Realm.

"The rule for this round is simple."

"Renjie Island is located a hundred thousand feet high."

"Within ten days, the first ten thousand to successfully ascend to Renjie Island will advance to the next round. The rest, all eliminated!"

"Now the second round officially begins!"

As soon as she finished.

The Spirit of the Secret Realm on the sky slowly faded away.

And down below, it was quiet.

On the spot,

Zhang Jing withdrew his gaze from the sky, contemplation stirring in his eyes.

"A height of a hundred thousand feet seems very high, but for the people present, it's basically nothing. To say it can be reached in an instant might be an exaggeration, but a few tens of breaths should be more than enough."

"However... "

"The Spirit of the Secret Realm has given a whole ten days!"

Zhang Jing couldn't help looking up at the clear blue sky and the so-called 'Renjie Island' that was faintly visible.

What kind of obstacles or traps are hidden in this?

As for the restriction of the first ten thousand.

It was temporarily not in Zhang Jing's consideration.

It can't be that ten thousand people have landed on the island before me, and I still can't get up, can it?

But at this moment.

"Haha, ascending to the island in the sky, this rule is completely set for me!"

A burst of laughter suddenly shattered the silence.

Zhang Jing looked towards the sound.

Surprised flashed in his eyes.

He saw the Red-Eyed Golden Peng from before, spreading its wings, transforming into a golden light, and flying directly towards the Renjie Island in the sky.

The golden feathers on its body that were shattered by Qu Junhou had astonishingly returned to their original state, once again gleaming with an unyielding light.

Seeing this scene,

Zhang Jing's eyes brightened.

It's really a pillow when you're sleepy...

He was just considering what traps or difficulties could be in between, but in the next moment, a bird took the initiative to test the waters.

In an instant.

Many people who had the same thought as Zhang Jing all locked their eyes on the Red-Eyed Golden Peng.