Forging Immortality through the Dao Seed

Another month had flashed by in the blink of an eye.

Thanks to the abundant supply of water attribute spiritual medicines and the frightening cultivation speed of the Sea Dragon Vacuum True Method, Zhang Jing finally broke through to the sixth level of the Refining Qi Realm on a dark, windy night.

The price was that he had nearly exhausted all the water attribute spiritual medicines in his possession.

This fact cast a shadow over Zhang Jing's heart.

He had initially thought that he had enough spiritual medicines to at least reach the seventh level of the Refining Qi Realm.

Now it seemed like he had been too optimistic.

Of course, the Sea Dragon Vacuum True Method played a part in this.

The quality of the spiritual power was too high.

So, it required more resources to attain the same cultivation level.

...

On this day.

Zhang Jing stepped out of the cultivation room lightly.

By now, he could perfectly control the Sea Dragon's brute force contained in his body. Even though his body was as heavy as iron, he didn't leave a single footprint on the ground.

When he passed by the Spirit Plant Room.

"Master, the spiritual medicines I planted have sprouted!"

Lu Thirty-Eight noticed something and suddenly popped his head out, unable to contain his excitement.

"Thirty-Eight, have you broken through to the seventh level of the Refining Qi Realm?"

Zhang Jing didn't answer, instead, he asked with a surprised expression.

"Thanks to your blessing, master. The spiritual energy here is so abundant that I unknowingly broke through in my sleep," Lu Thirty-Eight happily replied.

"That's good, congratulations!" Zhang Jing smiled and nodded.

Breaking through in cultivation was a great thing!

Now he didn't have to worry about Lu Thirty-Eight struggling to carry him for transportation.

Walking into the Spirit Plant Room.

Zhang Jing noticed that indeed, dozens of sprouts had emerged.

Seeming to remember something, he turned to Lu Thirty-Eight and asked, "Thirty-Eight, where is the fragment of cloth I asked you to keep earlier?"

"I have it here, master," Lu Thirty-Eight said promptly, shaking his head vigorously.

Soon, a piece of cloth fell from his deer antlers that looked like a crown on top of his head.

Zhang Jing took it and immediately walked to the center of the Spiritual Medicine sprouts. Gently parting the soil, he buried the cloth fragment.

In an instant.

Zhang Jing felt wisps of spiritual energy gathering.

"It's working!"

A hint of a smile unwittingly appeared at the corner of his eyes.

The other half of Lu Thirty-Eight also seemed to sense the change and silently laughed, revealing two rows of stark white teeth.

"Thirty-Eight, the spiritual medicines should grow faster in the future. Be more careful in the future."

"Once these spiritual medicines mature, they might help you exchange for your cultivation method."

Zhang Jing encouraged.

"I understand, master! I promise to take good care of these spiritual medicines."

Upon hearing that the spiritual medicines were related to his future cultivation method, Lu Thirty-Eight's voice instantly became passionate.

He stood up, his big eyes turned into extraordinarily bright lights, scanning the Spirit Plant Room non-stop.

Seeing this.

Zhang Jing didn't say much and quietly left the cave dwelling.

Checking the time, it was time to meet Senior Brother Li.

...

Luodu Tower.

It was still the same quiet room as last time.

"Hahaha, Junior Brother Zhang, you've truly surprised me this time! Just over a month and your cultivation jumped from the fifth to the sixth level of the Refining Qi Realm. You are really impressive," Senior Brother Li beamed with unconcealed delight.

Even though he had previously told Zhang Jing with resolute confidence that he should advance to the tenth level of the Refining Qi Realm before the opening of the miniature Void of Gods, only he knew how much confidence he actually had.

Only now.

After witnessing Zhang Jing advancing from the fifth to the sixth level of the Refining Qi Realm in merely a month, Senior Brother Li relaxed a bit.

He made a secret decision.

After Junior Brother Zhang Jing broke through to the seventh level of Qi Refinement, if he needed, the resource support could be increased a bit more.

After all, cultivation speed slows down the further you progress.

Especially in the late stages of Qi Refinement.

However, there were still nearly sixteen months left.

Given Zhang Jing's exhibited cultivation speed, and as long as resources can keep up, there was a high chance of success.

The only uncertain factor, and the one that needs the most attention, is the two huge bottlenecks between the middle and last stages of the Refining Qi Realm, and between the ninth and tenth levels of Refining Qi Realm.

Thinking of this.

Senior Brother Li's brows slightly creased.

He glanced towards Zhang Jing, his lips puckered as if he was formulating his words.

Opposite him.

Zhang Jing also detected the suddenly serious atmosphere.

After a while.

"Junior Brother," Senior Brother Li said softly, "Your next step is to breakthrough to the seventh level of Qi Refinement. There are some things in this process that I need to remind you of."

"Please speak, Senior Brother."

Zhang Jing became a bit nervous.

"This is a challenge as we move from the middle to the later stages of the Qi Refinement stage. It is also a significant transformation. Therefore... encountering a bottleneck and not advancing in cultivation is normal. At that time, don't be impatient, you must maintain a calm mind!"

"Although there is a time constraint, it cannot be rushed."

"If you feel that you have hit a bottleneck, remember to come to me."

Senior Brother Li stated clearly and succinctly.

"Senior Brother, I understand. Thank you."

Zhang Jing said gratefully.

So, it was about the issue of the bottleneck.

On this point, he didn't worry at all.

With the presence of the Pure Elemental Light and Crimson God Light, and the epiphany he had last time, together with the purification of the Five Treasures Ling River providing pure Spiritual Energy,

Zhang Jing hardly had any bottlenecks in his cultivation at the Qi Refinement stage.

All he needed were resources - a lot of them.

During their conversation.

A figure slowly appeared at the entrance of the quiet room.

"Senior Brother Li, eh - Junior Brother Zhang? You're here as well." There was a hint of surprise in Senior Brother Li's voice.

"Glad to see you, Senior Brother Li."

Hearing this, Zhang Jing turned around and greeted with a smile.

Seeing Senior Brother Li came over, he knew that the two captains probably had something important to discuss.

Just now, Senior Brother Li had already handed him this month's Water Element Pill, so there was no point staying here any longer.

Thinking of this.

He slowly stood up and politely said:

"I apologize for any disturbance. I'll take my leave first."

"Please take your time, Junior Brother."

"Please take your time, Junior Brother."

...

Only when Zhang Jing was far away.

Senior Brother Li turned to Senior Brother Li, who was seated on a cushion, his voice a bit low:

"Senior Brother, after the end of the Langya Monster Rebellion this time, the inner courtyard issued a batch of resources as rewards. But now the specific share for each of the top ten teams needs to be discussed with the other nine team leaders."

"What's there to discuss?"

Senior Brother Li showed a hint of surprise.

"As per tradition, the Coiling Dragon, Yanxia and our Luodu each receive a 20% split, the remaining 40% is equally divided among the other seven teams."

"Has there been a change?"

As his voice fell.

Senior Brother Li slowly nodded, a worried look on his face.

"Apparently, this time the other teams' shares remain unchanged, but the Coiling Dragon and Yanxia teams each want 25%, so..."

"What's their reason?"

The tone of Senior Brother Li suddenly became colder.

"They claim that the two A-ranked monsters will inevitably enter the Void of Ten Thousand Gods, but the cost of cultivating them consumes too much resources, so this time they want to 'borrow' 5% from us in Luodu. After all, Luodu doesn't need to bear the burden of cultivating."

After a pause, he continued:

"Chen Xiandao and Shen Qingqing will be entering the inner courtyard in one or two years so the other seven teams don't want to offend these two now. Given that their shares have not changed this time, they're just staying out of it."

Senior Brother Li poured out all the information he knew.

"What about the inner courtyard's seniors?"

"Their attitude is somewhat ambiguous."

The quiet room plunged into silence for a moment.

After what felt like a long time.

"Heh heh," Senior Brother Li gave a cold laugh, "All these cultivation tasks are nonsense. Why do they need so many resources to nurture an A-ranked individual to the tenth level of Qi Refinement?"

"They just want to take this opportunity to oppress us so that Luodu will completely withdraw from the competition for the top team."

"Good strategy."

Senior Brother Li lowered his head, not daring to speak anymore.

A short while later.

"Junior Brother, let's go. Let's see what they have to say."

Senior Brother Li suddenly stood up, a stern expression on his face.