Forging Immortality through the Dao Seed

A slight breeze blew over.

A body fell to the ground, turning into a pile of rotten meat.

Just one hit, and the seventh-level Qi Refining cultivator, Gou Sheng, was killed, his death tragic and miserable.

On the spot.

Seeing this scene, Zhang Jing's gaze sharpened.

To his surprise, he sensed the existence of Taoism Rhyme in this man's attack.

Through this piece of Taoism Rhyme, he imagined seeing a monstrous crow, its feathers and flesh all rotten, emitting an overwhelmingly rotten aura.

Opposite him.

The grey-clothed man took a moment to regain his composure before turning his eyes onto Zhang Jing.

"Kid, your senior brother is dead now, isn't it about time you hand over the Blood Mill? Nevermind, I'll just take it myself."

With that being said, he moved directly towards Zhang Jing, his body once again radiating a powerful surge of spiritual energy.

A bone sword appeared abruptly in his hand.

"Yes, my senior brother is dead, you are now useless to me."

Zhang Jing stated indifferently, glancing at the grey-clothed man as though he were looking at a corpse.

"What do you me—" The grey clothed man curiously looked at Zhang Jing.

Before he could finish.

He noticed that the air in front of him began to shake violently, as if anything substantial had rumbled over it.

The next moment.

Rumble—

The symphony of the flow of the river interweaving with the clash of magic artifacts rang out, instantly filling every corner of the space.

That is!

The grey-clothed man raised his head hastily to see the river that had abruptly burst from the void, his pupils unconsciously dilating.

Through this river.

He appeared to see a ferocious black sea dragon.

"Taoism Rhyme!" the grey-clothed man yelled in shock.

But the voice was quickly drowned out.

Tinkling!

The river rushed, and the magic artifacts collided!

The sea dragon emerged from the sea, spanning the sky!

Chilling aquatic aura, greenwood magic light, raging flames, a thousand mountain-like powerful forces, blinding mace light…burst out abruptly. The five elements generate and circulate each other. Wherever they pass, nature's spiritual energy is instantly plundered.

The five-colored lights interwoven with each other.

The Five Treasures Ling River, bearing the Taoism Rhyme of the ghostly sea dragon devouring the void, revealed its ferocious sharpness to outsiders for the first time!

Although it looked chaotic and violent, it still gave people a feeling of wholeness and unity.

Unstoppable!

A touch of despair appeared in the eyes of the grey-clothed man.

He couldn't understand what kind of treasure it was, which could exert such terrifying power in the hands of a mere Fifth-level Qi Refining cultivator.

And he couldn't figure out why a random Five-level Qi Refining cultivator contained the Taoism Rhyme of a sea dragon.

In this desperate situation.

A strong desire to survive exploded from the bottom of his heart.

Without thinking too much.

All talismans and magic artifacts stored in his storage bag were activated in an instant.

Spiritual light formed into countless layers of barriers, blocking the onslaught of the Five Treasures Ling River.

Including the bone sword and the bone whistle, all kinds of magic artifacts were activated forcibly by him, to resist the attack from the front.

But even so.

The grey-clothed man didn't feel safe at all.

Because this attack had already crossed the boundary of the Seventh-level Qi Refining cultivator.

Boom—

The painstakingly arranged defense shattered instantly in front of the full-force attack of the Five Treasures Ling River, like paper-mache.

The next moment.

The grey-clothed man only had time to grunt before he was engulfed by the Five Treasures Ling River, glowing with a five-colored light.

...

Everything fell silent.

Tap tap—

Light footsteps sounded.

Zhang Jing walked to the body of the grey-clothed man, checked his storage bag, and the scattered talismans around him.

Then he frowned.

The storage bag was damaged and couldn't be opened.

And the talismans, even the mysterious bone whistle, were all damaged beyond repair.

They were completely worthless.

"I should try to avoid fully activating the Five Treasures Ling River, especially with the Taoism Rhyme of the ghostly sea dragon devouring the void attached to it. It's too expensive." Zhang Jing thought helplessly.

He then walked over to the dead Gou Sheng, and took the storage bag from his waist.

Without checking.

Zhang Jing simply transferred all the items from the other's storage bag into his own, and then tossed it back.

Two Scorching Sun Charms appeared between his fingers.

In the next moment, the two bodies turned into a blazing fire.

At this time.

In the medicinal garden.

The huge white deer secretly opened an eye, witnessing the scene of Zhang Jing burning the bodies. It couldn't help but shudder at the sight.

In its nervous state, it inadvertently let out a large gasp.

...

After cleaning up the scene thoroughly.

Zhang Jing heightened his vigilant, heading towards the medicinal garden.

Before long.

He was around ten feet away from the White Deer.

"Is this creature so deeply asleep while undergoing a breakthrough? I've approached so closely, yet it remains still. It's quite unusual."

Zhang Jing stood in place, his gaze fixed intently on the white deer.

It was then he noticed.

The white deer in front of him was somewhat different from the other monsters he had encountered.

Its aura was very pure, devoid of any violent or bloody energy.

Zhang Jing suspected this was because the deer had been cultivating with the spiritual herbs here year-round and had rarely, if ever, been involved in any killing.

"Could it be a friendly monster?" he mused with a smirk.

With that thought.

Zhang Jing found the creature quite pleasant.

Although the White Deer was lying on the ground, its fur was dust-free, pure white as snow. Its antlers looked twisted and entangled like a giant crown at first glance.

He moved a few more steps forward.

What is that smell? Zhang Jing covered his nose hastily.

"Perhaps this is the place?" he hesitated.

His ethereal Five Treasures Spirit River was ready to pounce.

This white deer might be a friendly monster, but Zhang Jing didn't dare to gamble. And he wouldn't simply give up those spiritual herbs either.

On the other side.

The white deer's eyelids began to tremble uncontrollably.

Especially after sensing Zhang Jing's murderous intent.

"I'm going to die, I'm going to die, what am I going to do?" It was in great distress, its aura fluctuating erratically.

Its wonderful life had just begun, and it hadn't even married yet. How could it allow itself to die so easily?

Maybe — Surrender?

It is said that Immortals like mounts, especially pretty ones.

As an attractive young stag, perhaps it could try submitting?

The white deer calculated in his heart.

As for resisting... it wasn't foolish.

It'd just witnessed the methods of this immortal. They were ruthless and sadistic. How could its small body endure such torment?

While pondering.

The white deer seemed to hear the previous terrifying 'clanging' sound again.

"The pressure is too great. I'm experiencing auditory hallucination." The White Deer chuckled bitterly in its heart.

However, in the next instant, it realized something was off.

This... wasn't an hallucination. The sadist was about to take action!

The white deer jumped up in surprise, collapsing on its knees in front of Zhang Jing, pleading with tears in its eyes:

"Immortal, spare my life! I'm the last descendant of thirty-eight generations of our deer family. I can't die."

"Wu wu, I've always lived here, never bullied any monster or even harmed a single human. Even that little girl who always steals the spiritual herbs, I haven't touched her.

"Immortal, I'm an utterly benign monster, heavens can testify!"

"Or else, make me your mount. I promise I'll eat less and run fast when necessary!"

...

Zhang Jing stared, dumbfounded at the unfolding scene.

He began to question his reality for a moment.

A colossal beast that was still taller than him after kneeling down, was crying a river of tears.

Who would believe this?

After composing himself.

Zhang Jing looked at the white deer with a complicated expression.

Its words matched his initial judgement, so it was most likely true.

As for the mount offer?

Zhang Jing was somewhat interested and asked with a smile:

"What's your name? If you want to be a mount, what abilities do you possess?"

"Honorable immortal, I am called Thirty-Eight."

"I'm incredibly strong, tough and can recognize hundreds of spiritual herbs. Also, I can travel on the wind, cross rivers, and easily navigate through mountains and rivers."

Thirty-eight vigorously promoted itself, fearing that if the Immortal didn't like it, he would kill him.

"You can recognize hundreds of spiritual herbs?"

Zhang Jing quickly caught onto the essential point of Thirty-Eight's words.

"Indeed, Immortal. That's exactly my magic trick." Thirty-Eight confidently said.

"And these?" Zhang Jing pointed to the surrounding spiritual herbs.

"Immortal, I transplanted some of these spiritual herbs from elsewhere and I've grown some here myself."

"So, this place isn't simple, is it? Capable of sustaining the growth of so many spiritual herbs."

Zhang Jing looked at Thirty-Eight with a smile.

"Immortal has discerning eyes," Thirty-Eight complimented. Then it explained: "This place was discovered by my ancestor, Deer 11. There's said to be a treasure underneath, hence why various spiritual herbs can continue to grow here."

"A treasure?"