Forging Immortality through the Dao Seed

Outside.

The academy principals and pavilion masters remained sitting on their futons, having not left.

Some had their eyes slightly closed, seemingly in the midst of cultivation; others fixed their gaze intently on the Spiritual Pith list unfolding in midair, a trace of worry in their eyes; still others were chit-chatting away.

"Ha-ha, Brother Wu, I heard that your Thousand Law Pavilion has already chosen the next chief of the Inner Academy. The key is that the little fellow is still insisting on the path of the True Method?"

The reddish-faced old man at the beginning teased.

Upon hearing this.

The Pavilion Master with a goatee awkwardly smiled and argued, saying:

"Ha-ha, what does a little fellow understand, Yuanming will make him change his mind."

...

Inside the Mini-Void of All Gods.

"Junior Brother Zhang Jing, your Senior Brother is You Yuanming, do you know me?"

A dark-skinned man in simple clothes slowly walked up to Zhang Jing, his eyes full of amusement.

Senior Brother You?

Zhang Jing's face took on a startled look, but then he quickly reacted and respectfully greeted, "Zhang Jing has met Senior Brother You!"

While speaking.

He couldn't help but look at the man standing in front of him.

Of the two purple-robed men who had been with the academy principals and pavilion masters just now, one apparently is this man.

To be honest.

Zhang Jing was rather surprised.

The first impression Senior Brother You gave him was very ordinary, the kind that gets lost in the crowd.

However, the fact that the other party was very strong was true.

Right now both were at the same cultivation level.

Yet, Senior Brother You gave him a feeling of trembling horror.

That feeling was as if killing him was no harder for the other party than crushing an ant.

"Is this what it means to be on the True Spirit List?" Zhang Jing's eyes flashed a hint of dread.

Across from him.

"Junior Brother need not be overly courteous, I came over here to remind you of a few things,"

Senior Brother You spoke gently, his voice infused with a hint of simple honesty.

"Please speak, senior brother."

Zhang Jing's face showed a serious expression.

"Then I will get straight to the point. I know that you are still persisting with the path of the True Method, which is not important. However, what I want to remind you is that you need to better understand your own talents."

"Your talent in the Array Symbol One Way is truly astonishing, and it's also your assurance in trying to pursue the True Method Path."

"In this Mini-Void of All Gods, you can explore the Tao Intent with all your might. If successful, I naturally have nothing to say. But if you can't succeed, please consider the Array Symbol One Way."

"All I have to say is here, and you can weigh it yourself."

"Also, when you are free, you might as well pay attention to the Spiritual Pith List. In fact... the Array Symbol One Way is really strong!"

Senior Brother You's face was lit up with confident smiles.

"Zhang Jing has learned a lot, thank you, Senior Brother, for your advice."

Zhang Jing bowed, speaking respectfully.

Although there is the presence of Tao-Inducing Light right now, and he is almost certain that he can comprehend Tao Intent, there is no need to refute the words of the well-intentioned Senior Brother You in front of him.

Anyway, when he has comprehended Tao Intent someday, everything will be clear.

"That's really good."

Seeing Zhang Jing's sincere attitude, Senior Brother You nodded in satisfaction and continued to instruct:

"Also, within the Mini-Void of All Gods, if possible, you must do your best to get to the higher Void levels. The higher the Void level, the greater the chance for success!"

"Zhang Jing understands, thank you, Senior Brother, for the reminder."

"Also..."

...

Not far away.

Qin Nian gave Zhang Jing a sidelong glance.

She initially intended to greet him, but when she saw Senior Brother You going straight towards Zhang Jing, she gave up.

At the same time, she was becoming further convinced in her heart.

"Senior Brother was correct, this Junior Brother Zhang Jing is very extraordinary. Perhaps, he is the biggest threat to my achieving the first rank among all outer disciples in the three Dao Institutes."

Taking a deep breath.

Qin Nian walked determinedly towards the Ascent Staircase.

She had no interest in dawdling in the first Void.

...

Time slowly passed.

The numerous inner courtyard disciples had already started to ascend the heavenly staircase, and the Spiritual Pith List began to flicker wildly.

At this moment.

Zhang Jing, having rested well, also wanted to attempt the heavenly staircase.

However, as soon as he took a step forward, he was halted by a voice from behind.

"Zhang...Senior Brother."

He turned around and saw that it was Senior Brother Zhang Yangchu.

Hearing the other's address, an odd expression crossed Zhang Jing's face, and he reluctantly said:

"Senior Brother Yangchu, calling me like this is like making fun of your junior brother."

Seeing Zhang Jing maintaining his usual attitude.

Zhang Yangchu couldn't help but sigh in relief, laughing as he said, "Senior Brother Zhang, we still have to follow the rules of the Dao Institute. Before coming here, Senior Brother Li told me that your cultivation level is almost the same as his, so it's perfectly fine for me to call you senior brother."

"Sigh~"

Seeing that he couldn't persuade the other.

Zhang Jing could only sigh.

"Fine then, Senior Brother Yangchu, let's each address each other in our own way."

"Senior Brother, you're the boss! I arrived a bit late, so I didn't see you outside. I finally saw you just now and wanted to greet you, but then Senior Brother You came over."

Zhang Yangchu explained with a laugh.

Looking at Zhang Jing's youthful face, and thinking about his absurd growth rate in the Dao Institute, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

Fortunately, he was decisive and firm when he recruited Senior Brother Zhang Jing into the Luodu squad.

Otherwise— would there be a chance to enter the Treasury of All Gods?

Correct.

The reason why Zhang Yangchu could enter the Treasury of All Gods was purely because of his merits in recruiting Zhang Jing, for which Senior Brother Li rewarded him with a lot of cultivation resources.

Eventually, he successfully advanced to the tenth level of Qi Cultivation half a month before the Treasury of All Gods opened.

"So that's it," on the other side, Zhang Jing, who had finished listening to the explanation, smiled knowingly and casually asked, "Did Senior Brother Yangchu try that heavenly staircase?"

As he finished speaking.

Zhang Yangchu shook his head and said with a bitter smile:

"I won't lie to Senior Brother, I just unintentionally found a demon spirit just now and barely managed to kill it after doing everything I could, but I only gained a little bit of Spiritual Pith."

"I don't even dare to think about the heavenly staircase."

"Then what does Senior Brother Yangchu plan to do next?" Zhang Jing asked out of concern.

As for the situation the other had just mentioned, he was not surprised.

After all, the Treasury of All Gods was opened for those with Foundation Establishment, and the source of its Spiritual Pith would naturally not be weak.

For cultivators of the same level, whether there is the support of Taoism Rhyme is a huge difference, not to mention the mysterious and progressively complex Tao Foundation that connects to the principles of heaven and earth.

"I plan to slowly hunt demon spirits here, accumulate Spiritual Pith, and hope that I can exchange for something good in the Treasury of All Gods when I leave."

Zhang Yangchu said with a hearty laugh.

"Then Senior Brother Yangchu, be careful with everything. I'm going to try the heavenly staircase first."

"Senior Brother, take care."

...

Below the heavenly staircase.

At this moment, only the outer courtyard disciples of the three Dao Institutes were left here.

Chen Xiandao came down from the heavenly staircase with a pale face.

This caused the outer courtyard disciples of Dragon Lake Dao Institute to feel disappointed.

"How was it?" Shen Qingqing hurriedly asked.

"The seventh step."

He shook his head, saying unwillingly.

Off to the side.

"You two don't need to feel discouraged. I've heard that you've only been cultivating in the Dao Institute for less than two years. It's normal that you can't compare to the A-rank senior brothers and sisters from our Xuanguang Daoist Temple and Shenxiao Daoist Temple."

A man said proudly, while his eyes were glued to the Spiritual Pith List, his hand continuously recording something.

"Senior Brother, what are you doing?"

Shen Qingqing suddenly asked.

"Hehe, of course I'm compiling the Talent List from the outer courtyard!" The man answered with a grin.

But at that moment.

A familiar figure suddenly entered Shen Qingqing's line of sight.

A smidge of expectation crossed her face.