Forging Immortality through the Dao Seed

Since leaving Senior Brother Li.

Zhang Jing didn't return to his cave. Instead, he once again entered the Merit Building.

It had been a month.

It was time to see how the personal task he had published was going.

He had exhausted all his Spiritual Medicines and needed some replenishment.

Although he got three Water Element Pills from Senior Brother Li, those were barely enough for Zhang Jing.

They were only marginally faster than him absorbing spiritual energy directly.

But it was nothing compared with water-attribute spiritual medicine or a Demon Core.

Second floor.

"Senior Brother Deacon."

The woman who sat behind a counter quickly got up to meet Zhang Jing when she saw him.

"Junior Sister Feng."

Zhang Jing smiled and nodded.

The woman in front of him happened to be the one who had managed the task he had issued last time.

It turned out to be her shift again today.

This saved some trouble.

In the silent room.

Zhang Jing, sitting at the center, asked softly:

"Junior Sister, how is the task I issued last month? Are there any Tao Merits left from those five hundred?"

Issuing a personal task required prepayed Tao Merits.

After redeeming a high-grade cultivation method from the Legacy Pavilion, Zhang Jing had barely any Tao Merits left.

Out of necessity, he had to spend a few days making more talismans.

Only after accumulating five hundred Tao Merits could he successfully publish the task of collecting water attribute Demon Cores and spiritual medicines.

As soon as his words fell.

Junior Sister Feng, who seemed to have been prepared, suddenly held a crystal clear jade box in her hand.

She opened the box, revealing the Demon Cores inside, and handed them to Zhang Jing.

"Senior Brother, these are the Demon Cores exchanged this month, please have a look. As for water-attribute spiritual medicines, we don't have any yet."

"Also——"

She hesitated to speak.

Zhang Jing took over the jade box.

Inside it were five Demon Cores.

One was from a Qi Refinement sixth stage, one from a Qi Refinement fifth stage, and the remaining three from a Qi Refinement third stage.

Surprisingly, there were few than expected.

Zhang Jing came here thinking that five hundred Tao Merits might be insufficient, needing to add some more.

Who would have thought that he hadn't even used up just five hundred Tao Merits.

Seeing the expression on Junior Sister Feng's face.

It seemed that something unknown to him had happened in between.

He thought in his heart.

However, there was no change on his face.

"Junior Sister, feel free to speak."

Upon hearing this.

Junior Sister Feng breathed a sigh of relief and then explained:

"Senior Brother Zhang, at the beginning, your task of collecting was running smoothly. However, later some Pill Masters from the Coiling Dragon Team also issued tasks to collect water attribute Demon Cores, and their prices were higher. So..."

"We don't have the authority to change your task content."

So that's how it was.

After listening to her, Zhang Jing finally understood what had happened.

It was common for Pill Masters to collect Demon Cores, but he didn't expect to bump into this situation.

Those folks were awfully rich.

If it were an ordinary Deacon, they might just let it go.

However——

Demon Cores and Spiritual Medicine relate to cultivation, and he could not delay that.

Without much thought.

He packed up the Demon Cores, a faint smile flashed in his eyes.

The identity spirit medallion suddenly appeared in his hand.

"Junior Sister, here are one thousand five hundred Tao Merits. Continue to collect water attribute Demon Cores and Spiritual Medicines. For the price, let's go half higher than those Pill Masters."

Now he, Zhang Jing, lacks everything but Tao Merits.

...

Inside the cave.

Talisman Making Room.

With the shimmering of the Origin Talismans, batches of low-grade talismans silently took shape.

On the table, a thick stack of Spiritual Paper was rapidly flipping, leaving a trail of afterimages.

The air was filled with the scent of Tao Merits.

Zhang Jing had a thought, and Jade Talisman slowly appeared.

[Jiu Yan Spirit Star Talisman Script·Level 5（551/1600）]

Skill Characteristic: Source Talisman Birth (Mid-level), Stacking Dao Spirit Gathering (Mid-Level)

"With the Origin Talisman, the upgrade of the Jiu Yan Spirit Star Talisman Script is indeed fast." he secretly thought.

His gaze swept over the newly appeared skill characteristic[Stacking Dao Spirit Gathering].

There was no ripple in Zhang Jing's heart.

Stacking Dao Spirit Gathering means ignoring the existing Dao Patterns, and drawing new Dao Patterns on the finished talisman.

Theoretically.

As long as Zhang Jing's spiritual power and spiritual sense, as well as the materials used for making talisman can hold up.

He can completely make use of the Stacking Dao Spirit Gathering characteristic to stack countless Dao Patterns on a talisman, whether they are of the same type or not.

At first glance, it seemed workable.

Unfortunately...

Zhang Jing felt that it would be tough to earn Tao Merits this way. At most, he would only make a few 'Special Talismans' as his trump cards.

Compared to this...

Zhang Jing was more concerned about the middle-grade Origin Talisman.

In his sight...

Three incomplete middle-grade Origin Talismans slowly emerged from nothingness.

"Almost there, according to my current speed, I should be able to condense a complete one in half a month."

Excitement flashed in his eyes.

With the appearance of the middle-grade Origin Talisman…

The speed at which he would accumulate Tao Merits was about to explode.

…

After more than ten days...

The Xunfeng Team, ranked seventh in the Outer Academy.

In the Merit Value Building...

A few mid-stage Qi Refinement Cultivators were discussing fervently, their faces all filled with excitement.

"Oh my, Luodu's team and the Coiling Dragon's team's Deacons started fighting again. They have directly increased the price of Water Element Demon Cores and Spiritual Medicine by more than fifty percent."

"These Pill Masters sure are damn rich!"

Their voices was full of amazement and envy.

In the middle of their conversation...

Some of the people suddenly seemed to have realized something and hurriedly ran out.

"Eh, where are you guys going?"

"Fools are still here lamenting, while the smart cultivators have already started hunting water-element devils. Opportunities to earn Tao Merits like this are not common."

The few that had run out yelled without looking back.

This immediately led to the cultivators in the Merit Value Building scrambling to run outside along with them.

Meanwhile, similar scenes...

Were taking place in other teams.

…

On Coiling Dragon Island...

Inside a cave...

"Insane, insane! Where did this stupid Pill Master from Luodu's team come from? Can they even afford to raise prices like this?"

There was a moment of silence...

"Oh well, you have many Tao Merits, so you're exceptional. I won't refine Water Element Pills then."

"If I can't provoke you, can't I still avoid you?"

Voices filled with slight grievances suddenly echoed.

…

Unlike the inexplicably hot atmosphere outside...

The atmosphere inside Luodu Tower was extremely tense.

Sitting at the main seat was Senior Brother Li. There was a trace of coldness in his eyes.

On both his left and right side were the deputy team leaders, including Senior Brother Li.

These people all were wearing serious expressions.

"What do you Junior Brothers think?"

Senior Brother Li suddenly spoke, breaking the silence.

"Senior Brother, we can't let this go. If we allow this to continue, Luodu's prestige will surely be undermined! How will the latter seven teams see us?"

"Yes, Senior Brother, if we concede this time, they will surely ask for more. If we're not careful, Luodu could be squeezed out of the first tier. The loss in resources is minor compared to the loss in recruitment rights for the first position in the Outer Academy Assessment."

"Hehe, we all know we can't back down, but the question is – how should we counter?"

"Coiling Dragon and Yanxia are clearly taking this opportunity to flex their muscles, and the attitude of the Inner Academy Senior Brothers is..."

The speaker suddenly fell silent.

"Damn, if we knew it would be like this during the last Outer Academy Assessment, we wouldn't have respected the agreement and would have directly contacted those two first-level teams."

Someone said bitterly.

"Enough. Stop squabbling!" Senior Brother Li coldly chided, interrupting the conversation, "I'll go find Senior Brother."

Having said this...

He stood up and walked towards the door.

…

Half an hour later...

On the second floor of the Legacy Pavilion...

A tall figure in a purple robe stood with his hands behind his back, his expression as calm as ever.

Behind him...

Senior Brother Li stood quietly, his face filled with respect.

His eyes occasionally swept over the figure in front of him. His lips moved, but no sound came out.

The Senior Brother in front of him was called Xie Yu. He was one of the Inner Academy that stood behind Luodu's team.

After a long while...

"Junior Brother Yuanhang, I understand your intentions, but..." Xie Yu turned around, and in a somewhat troubled tone, said, "This matter concerns the struggle between the several pavilions of the Inner Academy over Junior Brother Chen and Junior Sister Shen. There is almost no room for a turnaround."

"So for now, Luodu's team will just have to swallow this setback."

"Is there really no other way? Senior Brother Xie, you are a predecessor who came out from Luodu's team. How can you bear to..."

Senior Brother Li pleaded, his voice full of bitterness.

He couldn't stand by and watch the decline of Luodu's team under his watch.

"Ah, Junior Brother Li..."

The tall figure of Xie Yu suddenly turned around, his gaze landing squarely on the other party.

He didn't answer the previous question, but instead asked with a somewhat amused expression:

"Were you not the one who bought a large amount of Water Element Pills a while ago? As far as I remember, you shouldn't need all of them."