The First Immortal of Destiny

Spirit Stones were essential for many purposes. They were needed to fuel the Destiny Panel's [Martial Performance] for simulating cultivation methods and increasing experience. Vast quantities were also required for spiritual medicines to nurture the Dragon-shaped Undead Body, and for demonic beast corpses or Demon Cores to condense Bloody Fiend's Demonic Qi. Furthermore, a variety of high-class talisman scrolls and high-grade elixir recipes demanded a great number of Spirit Stones. Essentially, everything required a large number of Spirit Stones.

There was also the matter of the Divine Iron! If this spiritual ore is truly discovered, I'll also need a considerable amount of Spirit Stones to acquire it.

After ten days of diligent work, Shen Mo had earned over five hundred Spirit Stones. Adding the Python Dragon Demon Core and other miscellaneous items previously harvested from the Spirit Treasury, then after a round of inventory checks, selling, and clearing out his stock, Shen Mo now possessed a total of one thousand five hundred Spirit Stones.

His two secondary professions, Alchemy and Talisman creation, had also greatly improved through numerous rounds of practice.

[Destinied Lord: Shen Mo]

[Cultivation: Qi Gathering Realm Layer I]

[Talisman Path: (Grade II) 1,120/3,000]

[Alchemy Path: (Grade II) 1,211/3,000]

[Forge: (Grade I) 987/1,000]

Although his current experience was substantial, he was still far from advancing to Grade III. However, Shen Mo was quite satisfied with the hundreds of experience points he'd gained in such a short span of time.

After ingesting the Nether Fire and making it his symbiotic companion, he could freely control it to refine Elixirs. Thanks to the assistance of this Nether Fire, his Elixir refining efficiency had somewhat improved, which was how he managed to accumulate so many Spirit Stones in such a short time.

One day, he cultivated through the night. At daybreak, after using magic to cleanse himself, Shen Mo planned to continue with Alchemy. But that day, his magical communication talisman sounded. The sender was Deacon Ma. According to him, there were some clues regarding the Divine Iron Shen Mo was seeking.

Upon hearing this news, Shen Mo's spirits lifted, and he immediately flew his sword to the Deacon Hall, located in the central square.

「Inside the hall.」

"Deacon Ma, what's the news?" Shen Mo asked, arriving at Deacon Ma's window.

"That disciple claims to have information," Deacon Ma said, pointing towards a disciple standing by the task screen.

Shen Mo followed his gaze. The disciple in blue was evidently an outer sect disciple, still at the Body Tempering Realm level. How could a disciple of such low strength know the whereabouts of the Divine Iron? Could he be bluffing? Shen Mo was skeptical, but he still approached to inquire.

"Are you the disciple who accepted this bounty task?"

"Outer sect disciple Xu Que, at your service, Senior Brother." Seeing Shen Mo, the blue-clad disciple appeared rather nervous and hastily saluted.

"No need for formalities. If you know anything about the Divine Iron, tell me everything," Shen Mo said with a wave of his hand.

"Some time ago, while I was training outside the sect, I set up a stall in Jiyun Town's Market. There, I heard the town guards mention that an auction will be held in Jiyun Town on July 15th. The Divine Iron is reportedly one of the main treasures featured in that auction."

An auction? July 15th? Jiyun Town? Upon hearing this, Shen Mo's doubts were dispelled. Markets rarely held auctions. However, when they did, many high-level cultivation resources, normally hard to find, were sure to appear. It would be quite normal if the Divine Iron were to appear there.

"The information has been verified; it's true," Deacon Ma, who had approached at just the right moment, added.

Hearing this, Shen Mo abandoned the thought of taking this disciple to Jiyun Town's Market to verify it himself. Since Deacon Ma has already verified it for him, it should be accurate.

Thus, Shen Mo paid the disciple the one hundred Spirit Stone reward as promised. Upon receiving the hundred Spirit Stones, Xu Que's breathing clearly quickened. For an outer sect disciple, one hundred Spirit Stones was an astronomical sum.

After watching him depart quickly, Shen Mo exchanged a few words with Deacon Ma. Soon after, beside the task screen, a comment from another disciple caught his attention.

"Twenty middle-grade Spirit Stones! That's equivalent to two thousand low-grade Spirit Stones! Such a hefty reward just for finding a person?"

"Are you blind? Look who posted this bounty! It's Zhao Lingyin, the top prodigy of the Alchemy Zone and the sole Direct Disciple of Alien Minister Wu. Of course, she'd be generous!"

"But who on earth is this Mo Shen? Why would Zhao Lingyin offer so many Spirit Stones just to find him?"

"Who knows who he is. All I know is that this person broke many of the alchemy records Zhao Lingyin left in the Alchemy Tower, and that's how he caught her attention."

"If he broke the records and left his name, why would there be a need for a bounty specifically to find out his identity and whereabouts?"

"Isn't it obvious? The name he left was fake!"

Nearby, two disciples were chatting animatedly.

"Breaking Zhao Lingyin's alchemy records—what an honor! What could he be hiding? Why leave a false name?"

"That's unknown. However, I heard that Zhao Lingyin has been so preoccupied with finding him that she has even lost the will to practice Alchemy."

"If we find a clue, we'll get all those Spirit Stones! That would be more than enough to cover the expenses for advancing to the Qi Gathering Realm, and we might even be able to connect with that prodigy from the Alchemy Zone!"

"Dream on! If it were that easy, why would such a huge bounty be offered and still no one has found him?" The taller disciple beside the lean one rolled his eyes, shattering his companion's daydream.

A bounty... to find Mo Shen. Zhao Lingyin? Hearing the name Mo Shen, Shen Mo's ears perked up. From the fragmented conversation of these two outer sect disciples, he pieced together some information. It seemed that Zhao Lingyin was looking for him? And she had even figured out that he had left a false name?

"Excuse me, fellow daoists," Shen Mo said, approaching them out of curiosity. "Why is Zhao Lingyin so desperate to find this Mo Shen that she'd even post a bounty?"

Recognizing Shen Mo's purple robe as the mark of an inner sect senior brother, the two outer sect disciples respectfully answered, "Senior Brother, you may not be aware. That Mo Shen broke numerous records Zhao Lingyin had set in the Alchemy Tower. As the top prodigy of the Alchemy Zone, proud and arrogant as she is, how could Zhao Lingyin accept that? Naturally, she wants to find this person and see who he is and why he possesses such skill."

"But... the Alchemy Tower records Mo Shen broke seem to be for low-grade Elixirs, and not that many either," Shen Mo mused, feeling somewhat puzzled. He felt that Zhao Lingyin posting a bounty to find him was a massive overreaction, verging on the absurd. A reward of twenty middle-grade Spirit Stones was simply preposterous. Seeing such a generous reward, let alone others, even Shen Mo himself felt a slight urge to report himself.

"This isn't about the grade or quantity of the Elixirs whose records were broken," one disciple explained. "Zhao Lingyin is the strongest prodigy the Alchemy Zone has seen in recent years. In the Alchemy Tower, she constantly broke various alchemy records set by her predecessors; almost no one could match her standard. Now, someone has suddenly appeared out of nowhere and broken her records in a short period, and she can't even find him. Naturally, this is difficult for her to accept."

"I heard she even tried to reclaim her records by breaking the ones he set anew, but she failed! Now, she spends all her time poring over basic elixir recipes like the Yang-Strengthening Powder elixir recipe, trying to identify her shortcomings. She doesn't even have the heart for Alchemy anymore."

Is it really that exaggerated? Shen Mo's lips twitched slightly as he listened to the vivid descriptions from the two outer sect disciples. It seemed he had underestimated the impact that continuously breaking Zhao Lingyin's Alchemy Tower records had on her.

Good thing I had the foresight to leave a false name, he silently applauded his past caution.

At this moment, Shen Mo did not want to expose his talents in Alchemy. After all, the sect kept records. Just over half a year ago, he didn't know Alchemy at all. For him to suddenly become enlightened in a little over half a year, making rapid progress in the Alchemy Path and even breaking the alchemy records of the Alchemy Zone's top talent—such a thing would undoubtedly arouse suspicion.

He wasn't afraid of others linking it to his Destiny Panel. After all, apart from transmigrators, the natives of the cultivation world couldn't conceive of such a cheat. But he could foresee that others would inevitably assume he had obtained some fortuitous encounter or perhaps an alchemy treasure. He might attract the unwanted attention and covetous gazes of those with ulterior motives. I'll need to be more careful when I challenge the Alchemy Tower in the future.

With these thoughts in mind, he walked out of the Deacon Hall.