Forging Immortality through the Dao Seed

"'Fair words?'"

Zhang Jing's gaze flickered, involuntarily looking towards the hall entrance.

He could distinctly sense the terrifying presence carried within that voice, unique to beings of the Unity Realm Stage.

Yet even so, Zhang Jing's complexion remained perfectly calm.

The Unity Realm Stage was indeed fearsome, but he was not without the power to resist.

Long before he decided to take action, he had already prepared to face a being of the Unity Realm Stage.

After all, it was highly probable that the Taiyi Pavilion would be implicated in this matter. And those capable of presiding over the Taiyi Pavilion, guarding a territory within the vast Tao Sect, were all beings of the Unity Realm Stage.

Even, among them, there were those of the True Teaching.

Around him,

upon hearing that voice, the many cultivators of the Dharma Phase Realm from the Li Family visibly relaxed, with hints of joy spreading across their faces.

"The True Immortal has finally arrived. This guy is as good as dead, absolutely dead! He knows about the Underground Palace, and now not even the king of heaven can save him."

"Right, I must quickly tell my son not to teleport away."

The burly man's mouth curled uncontrollably into a smile, his left hand discreetly revealing a golden-jade talisman.

Rustle rustle—

Accompanying the faint sounds of footsteps, a trace of searing heat suddenly arose in everyone's hearts.

The air started to boil as endless streams of Immortal Spirit converged from all directions, igniting one fiery golden lotus after another in mid-air, each brimming with profound and mysterious meanings.

Soon after,

a young man clad in a red robe with dishevelled hair stepped on the fiery lotus, slowly entering the hall.

"From my perspective, there seems to be some misunderstanding in this matter—"

A gaze swept over Zhang Jing's body, and the voice abruptly ceased.

On the other side,

"We respectfully welcome the arrival of Jiu Yan, the True Immortal. We wish you eternal life and boundless longevity on the Immortal Way."

In an instant, including the burly man, members of the Li Family all kneeled, calling out loudly with practiced reverence.

"Jiu Yan, the True Immortal, what an impressive show of authority!"

Witnessing this almost exaggerated scene, Zhang Jing couldn't help but think to himself, yet his figure remained completely still.

In the midst of the sea of prostrate figures, he stood out conspicuously.

"Hey, why are you not kneeling upon seeing the True Immortal Jiu Yan? Do you think that with your own strength, you can neglect even the slightest reverence for the True Immortal?"

Someone lifted their head to stare at Zhang Jing and arrogantly rebuked him, with a hint of satisfaction in their voice.

Perhaps it was the presence of a strong backing.

Including the one who had just spoken, the people of the Li Family no longer showed any of their prior compliance and were instead staring at Zhang Jing with strange glances.

However, just as these words were uttered, the Jiu Yan True Immortal who had just entered the hall appeared startled.

He quickly chastised aloud,

"Don't talk nonsense! This one is a true disciple of the Tao Sect and I, a mere cultivator of the Combining Dao, cannot bear such an address!"

After speaking,

Jiu Yan, the True Immortal, completely disregarded the reactions of the others in the hall, only stepping forward to approach Zhang Jing and bowing slightly,

"Jiu Yan has seen the true disciple. Who could have imagined that in just a few short years, the true disciple's cultivation would reach the very limit of the Golden Core Realm. Truly a matter for celebration."

"You know me?"

Zhang Jing neither confirmed nor denied this but asked curiously.

Although his time spent cultivating in the Heavenly Realm had been brief, he had indeed met and become acquainted with a myriad of cultivators of all sorts.

But if his memory served him correctly, this 'Jiu Yan True Immortal' before him shouldn't have been included among them!

"Haha, the true disciple need not be surprised! Back when the Thirteenth True Disciple took you to Difei Mountain, I just happened to be cultivating within the mountain, and thus we shared a brief encounter."

"Perhaps the true disciple did not notice, but I remember it clearly! After all, a true disciple only at the Golden Core Realm is indeed rare in our vast Taiyi Tao Sect."

Jiu Yan, the True Immortal, explained with a laugh, seamlessly complementing his words with flattery.

"So that's how it is. In that case, True Immortal Jiu Yan has been cultivating under the guidance of Senior Brother Lou Buyi?"

Zhang Jing nodded.

"Precisely. In the presence of the true disciple, I cannot presume to bear the title of True Immortal. Please, just call me Jiu Yan," Jiu Yan, the True Immortal, said politely.

At this moment,

as the conversation between Zhang Jing and Jiu Yan reverberated slowly through the hall, the expressions of the kneeling members of the Li Family froze unanimously, as an overwhelming fear took hold of their hearts.

Having lived generation upon generation in Qingxiao's ethereal realm, how could they be unaware of the significance that the term 'true disciple' carried?

Without exaggeration, the individual before them was one of the true masters of this realm of heaven...

Among the crowd, the man who had just spoken was now shaking uncontrollably.

"It's over! I'm certainly doomed now," he thought in utter despair.

On the other side,

the burly man who was kneeling at the forefront still had a profound shock lingering in his eyes.

A sense of helplessness suddenly enveloped him.

"How is this possible! This man turns out to be the legendary—"

...

...

"True Disciple!"

In a mountain forest thousands of miles from the Li Family's Immortal City of Zhuning,

a cry filled with disbelief echoed, startling a large flock of birds.

"Senior Brother Zhang Jing is actually a true disciple of our vast Taiyi Tao Sect?" Nong Xingzhou stared blankly at You Yuanming and the other two, his face showing an expression that said you must be joking.

This news was even more shocking than the sudden revelation that Zhang Jing had come to his rescue.

In fact, the two were not even comparable.

Nong Xingzhou was no newcomer to the Heavenly Realm, and he was not ignorant. A strong personal strength could be explained by a fortuitous encounter, but a true disciple... that was the kind of awe-inspiring existence tied to the fate of the Tao Sect itself!