Forging Immortality through the Dao Seed

Unconsciously, several months had passed.

Deep within Diandao Mountain.

The towering qiulimu trees, each over a thousand zhang high, were like colossal gods that blotted out the sky and greedily plundered all resources, including light, spiritual machines, and even flesh and blood.

The forest was incomparably dim, filled with a silence that seemed ready to devour anyone who dared enter.

From time to time, terrifying roars came from distant places, adding to the oppressive atmosphere.

Tap tap—

A series of subtle footsteps rustled softly.

Then, three figures struggled out from the darkness. Although their expressions were not clear, their cautious movements were enough to suggest their nervousness.

"Brother Li, shall we rest for a moment?"

A deliberately hushed voice floated over, and Zhang Jing, who was at the forefront, stopped in his tracks. He habitually scanned his surroundings. Although the light was faint, to his eyes, it was as bright as day.

What met his eyes was desolation, with no sign of Diandao Spirits in activity.

"Yes."

Whoosh—

Upon hearing this, Zhu Dayou and his sister Zhu Hongxia immediately breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed to sit on the ground together.

However, before they could settle down,

Zhang Jing pointed at the ancient qiulimu trees surrounding them and reminded them with good intentions,

"By the way, you can't use fire-related Divine Skills here, or these things will treat it as nutrients. By then, even a True Immortal who has completed the first Feathering might not be able to leave here alive."

Upon hearing this,

The siblings' recently eased hearts once again tensed up. They instinctively exchanged glances, each seeing the panic on the other's face.

With continued penetration into Diandao Mountain.

The various encounters along the way truly sent shivers down the spines of Zhu Dayou and his sister, who were venturing into the Secret Realm for the first time—terrifying Diandao Spirits, lands containing all sorts of strange rules, and so on.

Of course, the most dangerous elements were not limited to these.

Especially since more and more creatures had rushed to Diandao Mountain in recent times—devils, ghosts, and even fellow Cultivators from the Human Race had all become significant threats.

Murder for treasure was, after all, an all too common occurrence.

After all, no one could guarantee they would definitely catch the man named Zhang Jing or get the Opening God Seal, so naturally, they would take the opportunity to make a fortune while they could.

Since they were here already,

"This Diandao Mountain, this Diandao Mountain..."

Zhu Hongxia looked around and immediately felt as though countless eyes were watching her.

She stealthily glanced at Zhang Jing in front of her and felt a sudden surge of relief in her heart.

It was fortunate that they had encountered Brother Li soon after entering Diandao Mountain. Otherwise, she and her brother would have rashly blundered in without knowing anything, and it would have been doubtful whether they could even survive, let alone find Zhang Jing.

"Luckily we have this fellow daoist. He seems to have Diandao Mountain at his fingertips. Following Brother Li, we may very well find that Zhang Jing,"

Zhu Dayou secretly communicated with Zhu Hongxia, a glimmer of longing in his eyes.

"Brother, if it really is as you say, how should we divide the Opening God Seal after obtaining it?" Zhu Hongxia immediately asked with curiosity after hearing his words.

Upon hearing this,

Zhu Dayou first fell silent for a moment, then resolutely said, "There's no need to think too hard about it. The main effort will definitely be on us two. However, Brother Li does deserve some credit for guiding us, so we should give him some compensation."

Meanwhile,

Zhang Jing, with his back to the two of them, had a flurry of thoughts racing through his mind.

He would continue to lead them around for another two months, waiting until most of the Cultivators searching for him had gathered around Diandao Mountain, and then he would use that secret spot to relocate.

This way, he would have as much breathing space as possible.

"Sigh, if only my cultivation could advance just one more step, I'd be able to maintain the formless state of the cloud body continuously, and Mysterious Pavilion wouldn't be able to cling to me so doggedly,"

Zhang Jing sighed inwardly, then seemed to think of something, and a sudden notion arose in his heart.

He still lacked one water-related divine object... If his luck was good enough this time, he might be able to completely shake off the Mysterious Pavilion's tracking.

Then it would be the open sea where fish leap, and the vast sky where birds soar!

While he was lost in thought,

A series of rustling noises suddenly came from afar.

Zhang Jing's heart sank, and he involuntarily looked up.

In his view,

Five strange-looking creatures were rapidly closing in, their bodies exuding oppressive and violent auras.

Zhu Dayou and his sister, having noticed the newcomers as well, tiptoed behind Zhang Jing, their faces showing a hint of panic.

"Follow me,"

Zhang Jing turned and gave them a resigned smile.

Having spoken, he cautiously led them in a different direction, trying to avoid the five powerful creatures.

This was not the first time they had encountered such a situation.

Especially for Zhang Jing, it was second nature; he knew exactly what to do.

Before long,

Five tall figures quietly emerged where Zhang Jing and his companions had just rested.

"Do we pursue?"

A creature with three wings on its back, a humanoid body, and a serpent's tail looked towards the formidable figure in the front and asked in a low voice, a bloodthirsty intent in its voice.

"No need," the formidable figure slowly turned around, his three eyes opening and closing in succession, "There's no trace of the target's aura here, and the three of them together... are likely from the Human Race's teams. There's no need to waste time on them."

"The number of competitors arriving at Diandao Mountain is increasing. The priority is to find that slippery Zhang Jing. Damn it, this Human Race is really good at hiding."

"Indeed!"

Another powerful White Deer creature stepped forward to add,

"Moreover, with five against three, we don't have the assurance of a quick kill. If we make a move, we might attract other Combining Dao creatures."

"It would be a minor issue if we couldn't consume these three humans. But if any of us five brothers gets damaged, that would be troublesome."

...

...

Two months later.

In an abyss so deep that the bottom was unfathomable,

Zhang Jing stared intently at a spring eye the size of a palm in front of him.

The spring water looked pure as though it contained nothing, not even a feather could float upon it.

"Nine Space Weak Water! Originally, I thought that finding an ordinary-quality water-element innate divine item would be enough, but I never imagined I would stumble upon the Nine Space Weak Water."

"It's really like the saying, 'You plant flowers and they don't bloom, you plant willows and they grow into the shade unexpectedly."

He murmured to himself, his entire being seemingly struck by a tremendous surprise, his consciousness failing to return to reality for quite some time.

But how could the Nine Space Weak Water appear here?

Could it be—

Zhang Jing unconsciously thought of the characteristics of Diandao Mountain.

Diandao Mountain, as its name suggests, has many rules that are the opposite of the outside world. For instance, light spirits sink while murky airs rise.

As such, the presence of the weak water, being of utmost lightness and purity, in this abyss thousands of fathoms deep, seemed somewhat reasonable.

With a thought to his mind, Zhang Jing couldn't help but look towards a corner of his storage space, where four ordinary-quality innate divine items lay quietly.

Now, with the joining of the water-element divine item, he had all five elements.

And now he had found it.

"The materials for crafting the Five-Color Cloud Flag are all ready, and the quality even exceeds expectations. Next, I should look for an immortal artifact furnace."

"Well, the time is about right, I should go to the market."

Zhang Jing breathed a sigh of relief.

With the Five-Color Cloud Flag, things would be vastly different.

"Fellow Taoist, what are you looking at?"

A curious voice came from behind.

Zhang Jing quickly stowed away the Nine Space Weak Water, then pretending nothing happened, stood up with a smile and said:

"Nothing much, I was just thinking whether or not to take you to Lindshi Market. After all, we have been searching the mountain for so long, weary in mind and spirit, and it's time to take a break."

"Oh?" Zhu Dayou glanced at Zhang Jing's empty hands without leaving a trace and said meaningfully, "Indeed, it's almost been ten months; you are always so thoughtful, fellow Taoist."

After saying this,

he directly brought out a jade slip that he had purchased at a great price from Mysterious Pavilion, and seeing that the target was still on Diandao Mountain at this moment, he sighed:

"That Zhang Jing is truly formidable! In these ten months, fellow Taoist, at least you've led us siblings around half of Diandao Mountain, yet we haven't found the slightest trace of that guy."

"Indeed, what's key is that there are people everywhere in Diandao Mountain looking for him, but not a hair has been found, which is truly bizarre."

Zhu Hongxia frowned deeply.

"By all accounts, even a fly should have been found by now."

"Haha," Zhang Jing laughed heartily, "If it were so easy to find that Zhang Jing, it wouldn't be our turn."

"That's true."

Hearing this, Zhu Hongxia nodded like a pecking chicken, seemingly in quite agreement with what Zhang Jing said.

...

...

Time slowly passed.

As more beings entered Diandao Mountain, Linshi Market became increasingly lively.

The so-called Linshi Market is located on a main peak deep within Diandao Mountain.

It wasn't built by some individual or a power, but rather, it formed spontaneously as a temporary place of trade and rest out of the needs of many Combining Dao beings for trading, resting, and even exchanging information.

On this day,

Zhang Jing and his two companions, blending into the endless stream of people, slowly walked into Lindshi Market.

"This is Linshi Market, it's quite magnificent."

Zhu Hongxia swept her gaze around curiously, exclaiming aloud.

She had originally thought Linshi Market would be very simple.

Now it seemed she was utterly mistaken. Its grandeur and magnificence did not lose to any other marketplace she had seen before, and even exceeded them.

"Naturally."

Zhu Dayou, standing beside her, laughed as he explained to his younger sister:

"It's merely a matter of a Divine Skills spell, and besides, everyone coming and going is a Combining Dao being. Those markets we've been to before don't have such conditions."

"Indeed, where have I ever seen such a market where everyone is a Combining Dao being?"

Zhang Jing whispered in agreement, his body tensing unconsciously.

Most of these people were here for him, and he hardly dared to think of the dire consequences if his identity were to be exposed.

If he had an Opening God Seal on him, it would be fine; he could just throw it out and shift the focus of attention.

The problem was he didn't have one.

Thinking this, Zhang Jing couldn't help but covertly glance at the two siblings beside him, and felt somewhat relieved.

With their cover and his changed appearance and aura, it shouldn't be so easy to be exposed.

But to be honest, he still needed to acquire that item as soon as possible, so that he could completely get rid of the aura tracking technique of Mysterious Pavilion.

Unconsciously,

The three of them followed the wide streets directly to a delicately designed three-story shop.

As they entered, a corpulent figure seated behind the counter suddenly opened his eyes, but upon seeing it was the three of them together, the figure closed his eyes again, dozing off by himself.

At the same time,

A standing lizard creature approached Zhang Jing and his companions with a broad smile and a shrill voice, asking, "Do the three of you need to rent a cave dwelling?"

Zhang Jing nodded and then asked a question in response:

"Is your cave dwelling safe?"

"The guest is joking, this Linshi Market is a place of rest agreed upon by all; no one would dare to brazenly break the rules. Unless they do not wish to live!"

"We'll rent three cave dwellings."

Zhu Dayou spoke over Zhang Jing, stating plainly.

"This—"

The lizard creature's voice carried a hint of difficulty.