Forging Immortality through the Dao Seed

"Oh?"

Upon hearing True Monarch Yuanming's words.

The Seven Desire God King revealed a hint of surprise in his eyes.

The criteria for participation in the Jiaoyun Secret Realm were rules that he had personally established.

If his memory served him correctly.

It seemed that it only involved some cultivators of the Foundation Establishment Realm and the Golden Core Realm.

The dignified True Sun Realm Master was unexpectedly interested in these little ones?

He was even willing to swallow his pride and request him to unlock the core of the Jiaoyun Secret Realm, just for a chance to comprehend the Undying Jiaoyun (Proud Sun) for the disciples?

All of a sudden.

The Seven Desire God King became a bit curious about the disciple the True Sun Realm Master kept mentioning.

He wanted to know.

What did this youngster have that could cause the True Sun Realm Master to consider so thoughtfully for him?

Gradually.

The Seven Desire God King started to contemplate over it.

Unlocking the core of the secret realm, allowing the young disciple to comprehend the Undying Jiaoyun, wasn't a big deal.

Moreover, he could even owe a favor to the True Sun Realm Master.

However... if he agreed so easily, it might end up being embarrassing. More importantly, once he agreed to this, there would be endless annoyances in the future.

Sometime later.

"True Sun, it's not impossible to let him in. But I have a condition too," said the Seven Desire God King.

There was a teasing glint in his eyes, which were constantly burning with terrifying Karmic Fire.

"As long as the young one takes the first place in this competition of the Secret Realm, he can enter the core of the Secret Realm and comprehend the Undying Jiaoyun."

"How about that?"

"Perfect! It should be this way."

Across him.

A knowing smile appeared on True Monarch Yuanming's face, and he nodded in agreement.

"Haha, True Sun, you seem to have immense faith in that youngster."

The Seven Desire God King laughed heartily.

In response,

True Monarch Yuanming simply smiled and did not reply.

He turned his head slightly, looking towards another direction.

His gaze seemed to cross immense distances instantly, falling directly onto Zhang Jing, who was sitting quietly in the Jiaoyun Secret Realm.

"Disciple, consider this opportunity as a meeting gift from your mentor. Under the blessings of the five-colored clouds, I believe that you should gain some insights. And if you could comprehend even a bit of the Seven Desire God King's origination way of Karmic Fire, that would be quite a fortune," True Monarch Yuanming muttered to himself.

Soon after.

As if remembering something,

True Monarch Yuanming glanced at the Seven Desire God King rather awkwardly, trying to broach a subject:

"Divine Monarch, I have another disciple. How about taking this opportunity to––"

"…True Sun, have you no shame?"

…

Ten days passed in the blink of an eye.

At the highest point of Renjie Island, on the dueling platform.

Zhang Jing opened his eyes, slowly stood up, and swept his gaze over the other dueling platforms below.

His eyes revealed a sense of 'I thought so.'

At the center of each duel platform, a figure sat quietly.

Clearly.

Faced with the impending final ranking battle,

All one hundred who had advanced this time, just like him, were quietly cultivating in the Jiaoyun Secret Realm.

"Indeed, any cultivator who advances to this stage would long for a better rank. After all, according to the Spirit of the Secret Realm, rank is closely related to the reward of the luck movement."

"In just ten days, it's only natural to seize the time to adjust one's condition, and even cultivate with the hope of a breakthrough."

Zhang Jing analyzed in his heart.

A faint smile appeared at the corner of his eyes.

But at this moment.

Like sensing something, everyone else on the platform stood up from where they were and looked up towards the sky.

Zhang Jing also raised his head.

In his sight.

A large scroll suddenly appeared, then a pair of gigantic hands slowly unfolded it, creating a booming sound.

That was––

Zhang Jing held his breath.

On the unrolled scroll, there was nothing but emptiness.

Before he could fully comprehend.

The profoundly massive face of the Spirit of the Secret Realm started to emerge in the sky, wearing an exceedingly bright smile.

"The time has come, I declare, the final ranking battle begins now!"

"Each of you will be given a number, and there will be four battles every day. The winner of each battle will earn a victory."

The moment the voice fell.

A flash of dazzling light.

Zhang Jing immediately felt an irresistible force suddenly appearing, carrying him away from the arena under his feet.

In an instant.

All the people on the arena subsequently appeared in various locations across Renjie Island.

In the sky above.

A hundred arenas began to merge two by two, instantly transforming into wider ones, while an overwhelmingly strong aura began to permeate the atmosphere.

"Is this...my number?"

Zhang Jing stared thoughtfully at the line of small characters that read 'B1' that had just manifested before his eyes.

So...

He suddenly looked up at the fifty massive arenas floating mid-air.

A series of numbers, just as he had expected, began to flash on them.

"Take note, the number you just saw is your identifier. Follow the instructions and ascend to the corresponding arena,"

The timely voice of the Spirit of the Secret Realm resonated by his ear.

Upon hearing this.

Zhang Jing couldn't help but look upwards again, almost instantaneously focusing his gaze on one of the arenas.

B1! D13!

So, his opponent in this round is the person with number D13?

Interesting.

His gaze continued to drift upwards unintentionally.

And only then did Zhang Jing realize that now, arranged neatly from top to bottom on the giant blank scroll in the sky, were a hundred names that had appeared without him noticing.

Very quickly.

He found his own name among them.

[B1. Zhang Jing, Number of Victories: Zero]

...

On the arena.

A rainbow-colored light flickered across the sky.

As the flash of light faded, Zhang Jing's tall figure was revealed.

His gaze swept across the empty area in front of him.

His calm eyes showed no signs of wavering as he simply put his hands behind his back and quietly awaited the arrival of his opponent.

After a short while.

A red rainbow dashed into his view, transforming into a beautiful woman dressed in palace attire.

The moment she caught sight of him.

The woman's eyes widened in surprise and her face immediately turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

How could her luck be so terrible?!

How was it possible that she would face one of those three powerful beings in her very first ranking battle?

Wasn't this the literal definition of a bad start?!

However, the facts were as they were, and the woman had nothing else to say.

She took a deep breath and a firm resolution flickered in her eyes, her entire body's mana churned out instantly.

"I look forward to your guidance, Dao brother!"

With a loud shout.

The woman took a step forward, instantly transforming into hundreds of illusory figures, completely surrounding Zhang Jing.

The next moment.

All the illusory figures formed a spell-sign simultaneously.

Hundreds of crimson flames ignited from their hands, sending out powerful mana fluctuations, and flying towards Zhang Jing from all directions.

Giving him the sense of an inescapable, overwhelming onslaught.

For a while.

The intense heat illuminated a small patch of the sky red.

An aroma of scorching air diffused through the space.

Even the bronze arena underfoot gave a faint sense of melting in the face of such terrifying flames.

However, the next moment.

A divine light flashed.

The bronze arena instantly regained its ice-cold hardness.

The exaggerated commotion immediately attracted the gazes of the cultivators fighting on a dozen nearby arenas.

At the edge of the arena.

The woman stood there, her face pale as she watched Zhang Jing engulfed by layer upon layer of flames, a hopeful glint lit up in her eyes.

She knew she shouldn't harbor such thoughts.

But what if?

After all, her legacy was inherited from a place of great serendipity.

According to legend, it was left behind by a powerhouse who was just a hair's breadth away from becoming a Heavenly Immortal.

And this explosive move that had almost drained all the mana in her Dantian.

It was her strongest method at her current stage!

"It should have some effect, right? It should at least make him flustered. This performance should attract the attention of those Immortal Dao beings,"

The woman thought, hope flickering in her heart.