Forging Immortality through the Dao Seed

Thud—

The cold corpse of the man clad in black, hidden behind the tree, heavily fell to the ground. His forehead was covered in frost, spreading to his neck as if creeping roots.

Zhang Jing stared blankly at the several bodies scattered on the ground, his emotions in turmoil.

When he was assured that he could pass the Dragon Lake Dao Institute's examination, he knew such a day would come.

However, he did not expect that day to arrive so soon.

And... is this it?

Looking at the number of opponents and their formation earlier, Zhang Jing was anticipating long and drawn-out battle.

However, this fight, from when the opponent summoned the magic artifact flying sword, to when he used the double-enchanted Frost Formation Art to counter-attack, was complicated, but the actual elapsed time did not exceed ten breaths.

"This flying needle magic artifact was really unexpected, and its power is nothing weak. I'm glad that I stored three Ice Spell Charms in the Spirit River in advance." Zhang Jing said in relief as he bent down to pick up the flying needle magic artifact in front of him.

The speed of the flying needle magic artifact was so swift that he nearly did not react in time.

Fortunately, yesterday, after mastering the Ice Spell Charms, Zhang Jing decisively replaced the Frost Formation Art in the Spirit River, which had not been boosted by the Hidden Dragon Swallowed Void Taoism Rhyme, with the Ice Spell Charms.

Zhang Jing made this decision because of the "Heavy Light" attribute that appeared when Ice Spell Charms were upgraded to level one.

The presence of the "Heavy Light" attribute allowed his Ice Spell Charms to stack and fuse, as if they were one.

This way, if the defense power of a single Ice Spell Charm is confirmed, then the more stacked Ice Spell Charms, the more terrifying the defense power would be.

Zhang Jing could not help but revisit his recent experience.

"It won't do, it won't do, storing three Ice Spell Charms in the Spirit River is still too few. I might as well turn all four of them into Ice Spell Charms and just leave one Frost Formation Art with Hidden Dragon Swallow Void Taoism Rhyme as a surprise attack. Judging from the fight just now, one is nearly enough."

Just as he was deep in thought, a very faint voice drew his attention.

Following the direction of the sound, he found it to be the old man lying on the ground. The old man was struggling to crawl to a body of a man in black, a shaky hand stretching into his bosom, seemingly searching for something.

Wait, this old man looks familiar.

Zhang Jing suddenly remembered. This was the old man who had walked past him when he first entered the market.

At that time, he felt that the old man's foundation was unstable, his spiritual power was impure, and cultivation was definitely going nowhere.

It seems his words indeed became prophetic.

"Young man...," the old man seemed to find what he was looking for and quickly turned his head to Zhang Jing, pleading, "Can I make a deal with you?"

"Old man, go ahead and say it first."

Zhang Jing smiled.

At his words, the elderly man's face regained some color, hopeful, "I have a very precious legacy of cultivation here, which I can give to you immediately, as long as you can help my pitiful grandson find a benevolent family to survive."

Following his words, the old man used his last bit of strength to throw the legacy towards Zhang Jing.

He didn't have any intention to hold back.

The old man knew that no matter what choice the young man in front of him made, the legacy would end up in his hands.

He could only gamble on Zhang Jing's kindness now.

"Precious cultivation legacy?"

Zhang Jing looked surprised, he casually caught the legacy, then unfolded the fabric in front of the old man.

Inside was a jade slip.

He extended his spiritual awareness into the jade slip, the next moment he obtained the related information of this legacy—the low-grade cultivation method Azure Bird Gathers Qi Jue.

While Zhang Jing inspected it, the old man panted heavily a few times, then said:

"Young man, as a cultivator, you should know the preciousness of this dharma method. If there was a chance to donate it to the Dao Institute, perhaps it could be used as a ticket for admission for self-cultivation. The four men you killed earlier coveted this legacy, which led to them chasing us down here."

"I'm using this to exchange for your seemingly insignificant help, what do you think?" He asked.

"Is this legacy truly precious?"

At this point, Zhang Jing asked with an odd expression on his face.

"Absolutely! If the news got out, it would be enough to drive countless cultivators to desperately covet it."

Zhang Jing instantly fell silent.

It was only then that he completely understood the immense differences between a loose cultivator and a disciple of the Dao Institute.

Although a low-grade legacy is not a rarity among many disciples of the Dao Institute, the disciples could choose a legacy that best suited them based on the compatibility of the dharma door.

As for loose cultivators—

Zhang Jing shook his head.

To him, this low-grade legacy, Azure Bird Gathers Qi Jue, wasn't useful.

He didn't know how compatible the dharma door was, and in addition to its low rank, forcing himself to cultivate it would only waste time and delay the practice progress of his Five Zang Guided Water Element Pour.

It would not be worth it.

However, even so, Zhang Jing imprinted all the contents of the dharma door in his mind.

Only when he saw the skill display appear on the Jade Talisman did he nod satisfactorily.

He might not want to cultivate, but it doesn't mean he can't have it.

After all, there is currently no limit to the number of skills that the Jade Talisman can hold.

"After the examination is thoroughly over, I'll go ask Senior Brother Liu if I can exchange this Azure Bird Gathers Qi Jue for Tao Merits, or any other legacy."

Zhang Jing thought to himself.

"Old man, instead of..."

Zhang Jing looked at the old man on the ground, only to notice that the old man had lost his breath and died. His body remained facing him with hopeful eyes.