Forging Immortality through the Dao Seed

"Take a look at my treasure?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jing couldn't help but cast a strange glance at the breathtakingly beautiful woman before him.

Following her gaze, his mouth twitched fiercely and he subconsciously clenched his legs together.

At this moment, even though his entire being was shrouded in a dense fog, under the woman's piercing gaze, Zhang Jing still felt a shameful sense of being stripped bare.

This experience of being teased was entirely new to Zhang Jing, leaving him at a loss for how to respond.

The air suddenly turned silent, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Three breaths later.

Seemingly sensing Zhang Jing's discomfort, the lady in red blinked playfully, her hands gently pushing aside the lock of black hair on her forehead to reveal her delicate and smooth skin.

"Giggle, it seems you truly are a young little brother. It's just a skin, why care so much about it?" she said earnestly.

"If little brother truly desires my Cause and Effect Stone, then trade it for the Spirit Essence Stone of a Nine-tailed Fox," the lady said earnestly.

"The Spirit Essence Stone of a Nine-tailed Fox?"

Zhang Jing's eyes flickered.

That wouldn't be easy to obtain, especially since he didn't have it.

The Nine-tailed Fox clan isn't a simple presence among the vast legions of All Heavens Beasts.

An adult is at the Unity Realm Stage, naturally growing nine tails.

The so-called Spirit Essence Stones are special treasures formed from the full concentration of the spirit and life essence of a fallen Nine-tailed Fox clan member, precious beyond compare.

"Fairy, since the Nine-tailed Fox clan lives undisturbed, almost never venturing out from Qing Qiu, obtaining a Spirit Essence Stone means forcefully entering their ancestral tombs, which is quite risky," Zhang Jing said somewhat helplessly.

"Then little brother, please do as you see fit," the lady said with a gracious smile. "Or perhaps you could wait, and who knows, maybe after a thousand years, I'll have a breakthrough in my cultivation and no longer need the Spirit Essence Stone."

"At that time, considering the affinity between us as brother and sister, it's not impossible for me to gift the Cause and Effect Stone to you," she said.

"Fairy, isn't there any room for negotiation?"

Zhang Jing ignored the teasing undertone in her words and calmly pressed for an alternative.

Innate divine items governed by the principle of causality were already rare, and the higher-tier ones were even harder to come by.

Now that he had encountered one, he naturally wanted to seize the opportunity.

"If little brother has enough Innate Purple Qi, sister may consider it," she said.

...

...

The fog surged, the scene before him gradually becoming hazy until it disappeared completely.

"Innate Purple Qi is indeed intriguing; hopefully, all goes well with Senior Brother Yan Chihong," Zhang Jing's eyes narrowed ever so slightly, with an enigmatic smile on his face.

Although the lady mentioned trading the Cause and Effect Stone for Innate Purple Qi, he expressed his regret and took his leave directly after bidding her farewell.

The transaction for the higher-tier innate divine item necessary for the cultivation of the Thirty-Six Essential Heavenly Realms was meant to be handled by Senior Brother Yan Chihong, not himself.

Moreover—

"Account number 009 in the Auction Field of All Worlds should be able to identify this lady's identity. If all else fails, I can seek her out again using my Dao," Zhang Jing thought to himself.

What? The Auction Field of All Worlds can't disclose the information of their clients?

That's just because the price offered isn't high enough.

The Auction Field of All Worlds is an affiliate power of the Wanbao Immortal Sect, and the people from Wanbao are known for their slogans of 'buy and sell anything.' Would Zhang Jing really trust their integrity?

That's precisely why he had enough Innate Purple Qi but didn't trade with the lady for the Cause and Effect Stone.

Not to mention he didn't trust the Auction Field of All Worlds.

Even Senior Brother Yan Chihong, whose interests were tied to his own, did not receive Zhang Jing's complete trust.

The reason for letting him take the lead was that Senior Brother Yan's identity made him the best current collaborator, having sufficient channels to find the numerous high-tier innate divine items Zhang Jing needed without attracting too much attention.

Add to that the fact that he knew who Zhang Jing's master was.

Even if unforeseen events occurred in the future, he would likely hesitate to act rashly.

That was sufficient.

...

...

Time passed by.

"My fellow Daoist, I'm truly sorry,"

came a deliberately hoarse voice from within a cloud of fog that blocked Divine Sense probing across from him.

"In that case, I won't disturb you any further,"

Zhang Jing said with a smile, though his gaze couldn't help but sweep over the golden feather tightly held in the other's hand once more.

Failure to trade for a metallic higher-tier innate divine item!

"My foundation is still too shallow,"

Zhang Jing shook his head helplessly, then a thought crossed his mind, the fog before his eyes billowed and began to dissipate.

The room across from him suddenly changed.

Account number 003.

"Another who doesn't bother to conceal his form, seems quite confident in himself… Eh, are there two people?"

Zhang Jing's eyebrows twitched.

And as his view became clearer, a wave of astonishment flickered in his eyes.

The reason being simple.

Zhang Jing saw a familiar figure.

"Qu Junhou, what's he doing here, and he's ascended to the Unity Realm Stage? How many years has it been since he left the Nether Night Realm?"

Surprise welled up in his heart.

It seemed that the legacy left behind by the old God of Fortune was no small thing.

Zhang Jing quickly recovered, a faint smile appearing on his face, feeling genuinely happy for his old acquaintance from the Lower Realm.

As for the fact that the other's cultivation had surpassed his own in a short time, Zhang Jing felt no disturbance in his heart.

After all, he never longed to be the highest in cultivation amongst his peers... unless it brought some benefits.