Forging Immortality through the Dao Seed

"Hmm, is there a problem?"

Seeing the hesitation of the other party, Zhang Jing's eyebrows knitted together. He immediately asked.

"Not to hide it from the three sirs, the number of caves that our small establishment has made available is limited. Moreover, the number of fellow daoists entering the market has been increasing recently, so... so now there are only two caves left."

The reptilian creature spread its claws and its gaze wandered over the three people.

"How about the three of you squeeze in together?"

Upon hearing these words.

Zhu Dayou's eyes flickered slightly. Glancing at Zhang Jing from the corner of his eye, he pondered,

"That's not impossible. How about this—I'll cover the cost of the two caves, but it means that Daoist Li will have to make do with squeezing in with me."

"Dear guests, the space in the caves we have opened up is still considerable. It's not just two people, even ten people wouldn't be a problem,"

the reptilian creature interjected in a timely manner.

However, as soon as its voice fell, Zhang Jing rejected the offer.

His venture into the market was not really for rest and recuperation, but to find an opportunity to craft the Five-Color Cloud Flag.

Upon entering, Zhang Jing had observed that the market did not have a specialized Artifact Refining room, which meant the best place was within a cave.

Therefore, he naturally did not want to share a cave with someone else, especially a male cultivator.

He hardly hesitated.

"No, that won't do," he said apologetically to Zhu Dayou, then explained, "I hope the Daoist understands, I am accustomed to being alone."

After speaking, Zhang Jing turned to the reptilian creature and asked in a deep voice,

"Is there really no available cave left? Price is no object."

Confronting Zhang Jing's gaze.

A flicker of displeasure crossed the reptilian's face.

"To tell you the truth, there is one, but it is reserved for a Pure Yang True Immortal of the Human Race,"

it paused, looking at Zhang Jing with a half-smiling gaze,

"If you dare, you can stay in it, but if that person blames you afterward, it has nothing to do with our establishment."

"Pure Yang True Immortal!"

Zhang Jing's expression stiffened.

A Pure Yang True Immortal is a cultivator who has completed the second metamorphosis of the Combining Dao.

Such beings have comprehended at least one third of a Dao principle, integrating it into their bodies, shedding their mortal bodies and souls, possessing a hint of eternal life characteristics, and a lifespan of tens of millions of years, or even a billion years.

Compared to ordinary cultivators at the Unity Realm Stage, they were beings of an entirely different level.

"Maybe we should just squeeze in together? Find a good furnace in the market first, and as for crafting the Five-Color Cloud Flag, we can talk about it after leaving the market?"

Zhang Jing began to think of retreating.

The reason was simple; he could not afford to provoke such an existence. Of course, if his true body fully developed all thirty-six Worlds of Origin, condensing the complete form of Taiyi's Thirty-Six Heavenly Layers' Supreme Jade Vault Emperor Dharma Phase, he might consider trying.

But for now, it was better to keep his distance.

"How about this, Daoist friend—I and the little sister will squeeze together, and you can have a cave to yourself. How does that sound?"

Zhu Dayou offered a way out.

"Then I thank you,"

Zhang Jing said after a short while.

On the outskirts of the market, in front of a few caves, the figures of two men and a woman appeared quietly.

Zhang Jing subconsciously surveyed the surrounding terrain, instantly planning an escape route in his mind.

His gaze slowly lowered.

"Hmm, not bad,"

he nodded in satisfaction.

The ground had been smoothed and polished, even reflecting shadows. The entire surface, including the cliff that housed the caves, had some sort of Divine Skills akin to turning earth into steel applied to it, making it look very sturdy.

Of course, due to the chaotic aura of Diandao Mountain, there wouldn't be any spirit-gathering immortal arrays set up in the cave; it was just a place purely for rest.

The key was that the area was very quiet, which suited Zhang Jing's needs.

Not far away.

"If you, Daoist Li, are ready to set off, please let me know," Zhu Dayou reminded Zhang Jing with a smile before he entered his cave.

"Of course,"

Zhang Jing responded with a smile.

Then.

Rumble rumble——

Amidst a loud frictional noise, the cave door of Zhu Dayou and his sister closed swiftly, leaving only Zhang Jing behind.

He looked towards his own cave, but instead of entering, he turned and walked away.

Zhang Jing was off to find a furnace.

Walking down the broad stone street beneath his feet, he reached a bustling market after several miles.

The market was filled with stalls set up by Unity Realm Stage cultivators, offering a convenient way to exchange unwanted heavenly materials and earthly treasures or divine weapons and immortal rarities for desired items.

There was no unified order in management of transactions, which relied solely on one's judgment; prices were negotiated.

Some made a fortune while others suffered huge losses; in short, it was all down to capability.

If one was strong enough to plunder all the treasures, nobody would have any objections.

"Hey, you black-hearted toad, why are you selling me Idea grass as Soul nourishing flower?"

"Sorry, once the goods are sold, we take no responsibility. And by the way, little human, I'm a Golden Toad, not some toad."

"Aaah! You unscrupulous toad, you truly have no conscience!"

"Heh, I'm not from the Human Race to begin with. Besides, as you said, I'm a toad, lalala—"

"Dare to step out of the market, I'll kill you!"

"..."

As Zhang Jing walked through the market, incessant noises of bargaining, arguing, and cursing came from both sides.

A strange smile appeared on his face as he thought:

"If cultivators outside knew that these highly esteemed Unity Stage True Immortals could also indulge in street brawls and haggling over every nickel, their eyes would probably pop out."

After wandering for an unknown amount of time.

Zhang Jing came up to a white crane and slowly squatted down, looking at an antiquated three-legged bronze immortal furnace.

For some reason, upon seeing this furnace, he felt a sudden stirring in his heart.

"How much for this?"

Zhang Jing asked.

The crane glanced at him, and with a flash of radiance, she suddenly transformed into a half-grown girl in a white dress with a bun atop her head.

"Human Race, do you want this furnace?" she asked in a soft, glutinous voice.

Is the stall owner so young?

Zhang Jing couldn't help flashing a look of surprise in his eyes, but quickly regained his composure.

"Indeed."

"Do you have anything tasty? I can exchange this little furnace with you," the girl said shyly as she blinked her glossy eyes.

"Something tasty?"

Zhang Jing felt a bit troubled and, after thinking it over and realizing he indeed had nothing, he reluctantly said, "It seems I don't, could we perhaps trade for something else?"

However, as soon as his words fell,

the opposite girl's cheeks puffed up and she exclaimed indignantly, "No, you clearly do have something. It's those shiny things, big and round, so delicious, crispy-crunchy."

Upon hearing this,

Zhang Jing's expression involuntarily froze.

Shiny, crispy-crunchy things... wait, could she possibly be talking about the River of Time Gold Crystals?

With that thought,

his mind stirred, and the River of Time Gold Crystal in his storage space immediately appeared in his hand.

"Could it be this that you're talking about―"

Before Zhang Jing could finish speaking, he felt a sudden emptiness in his hand, followed by the sound of crisp crunching next to his ear.

He watched dumbfounded as the girl across from him hugged the River of Time Gold Crystal and munched away joyfully, feeling rather bewildered for a moment.

The River of Time Gold Crystal, could actually be eaten?

After a good while,

Zhang Jing managed to squeeze out a word of admiration, "Impressive bite you have, Miss!"

"Of course."

The girl murmured, then cheerfully went back to nibbling on the River of Time Gold Crystal, her eyes shining with happiness.

"Ahem, Miss," Zhang Jing coughed lightly trying to catch her attention and pointed to the three-legged bronze immortal furnace on the ground, "about our deal..."

"Just take it away."

The girl managed to free one hand and waved carelessly at Zhang Jing, indicating he should take it.

Seeing this, Zhang Jing didn't stand on ceremony but picked up the bronze immortal furnace with one hand and probed into it with his Divine Sense.

The next moment,

his face suddenly showed a hint of surprise.

"It's actually a high-grade immortal furnace? That's not right, from its energy fluctuations just now, it should have been, at most, a middle-grade immortal furnace."

"Could there be something odd about it?"

With a gleam in his eye, Zhang Jing tentatively asked, "May I inquire, Miss, do you know the origin of this furnace?"

"I don't know,"

the crane-turned-girl shook her head, indicating her ignorance.

Is that so?

After a bit of thought, Zhang Jing immediately took out three treasures from his storage space that he had obtained from the River of Time Secret Realm and explained in a low voice,

"Miss, your furnace is a high-grade immortal furnace. You should keep these three treasures, together with the River of Time Gold Crystal, their value is about the same as your furnace."

He didn't want to take advantage of her,

but facing this carefree little crane, Zhang Jing couldn't bear to.

Although the other party's cultivation was indeed higher than his, a bona fide Harmonized Dao Realm being, he could clearly feel that she had almost no experience at all.

To say she was naive would be an understatement.

"At such a young age to be already at the Unity Realm Stage, this innate talent seems even more exaggerated than that of Chang Jin from the Taiyin Jade Rabbit clan; no doubt countless others would envy her,"

"The All Heavens Beasts camp truly is filled with hidden dragons and crouching tigers," Zhang Jing thought to himself with a sigh.

Half an hour later,

Zhang Jing stored the three-legged bronze immortal furnace and walked back quickly.

Meanwhile, on the spot,

a man in white, with a gentle visage, suddenly appeared beside the girl who was the transformed crane, without any sense of abruptness, as if he was supposed to be there all along.

His gaze followed the direction where Zhang Jing's figure disappeared,

"Interesting, who would have thought that the target so many people are desperately searching for is actually right under their noses."

"But to say or not to say, this little fellow does have good judgment, and his nature... his nature is also quite decent, at least he's human."

Coming back to his senses,

"Little Five, is it tasty?" the man in white gently rubbed the girl's forehead and asked with a smile.

"Tasty, very tasty,"

"Do you realize, Little Five, that with one bite, you've just eaten the Azure Treasure Furnace that I was preparing to use for myself?"

Crunch―

"Ouch, Little Five's tooth, Little Five's tooth is chipped!"

"Don't change the subject!"

...

...

Back in the cave dwelling,

Zhang Jing immediately took out the newly acquired immortal furnace.

Perhaps because it was an unclaimed treasure, he encountered virtually no resistance imprinting his Divine Sense within the immortal furnace.

The process went so smoothly that Zhang Jing wondered if he was dreaming.

It was his first time encountering such an easily refinable immortal treasure.

The next day,

after regaining his composure,

Zhang Jing slowly opened his eyes, his tranquil gaze suddenly filled with anticipation.

Since the Immortal Seed from the Artifact Refining Furnace merged into his thirty-six life worlds, it was the first time he used it to refine an artifact.

Of course, Zhang Jing was not worried about being out of practice.

In a certain sense, the Artifact Refining Furnace was his Innate Divine Ability, so refining an artifact was practically effortless.

"Four ordinary innate divine materials, plus the higher-order innate divine material Nine Space Weak Water, I wonder what grade the Five-Color Cloud Flag I will refine will reach?"

He curiously thought.