"Don’t worry about it. We’ll just stick to our respective titles," said Zhang Deming.
"Okay, Senior Brother. Once you’ve recovered, we can..." Halfway through her sentence, Pei Xiaoxiao’s expression suddenly fell.
Zhang Deming asked, "What’s wrong?"
Pei Xiaoxiao said, "Um, Senior Brother... I only have one Spirit Stone. I found it among my great-grandfather’s belongings."
"I’ve already used half of it, and I can’t post another Sect mission anyti soon."
"So... I can’t afford to pay you."
Sect missions couldn’t just be posted casually. If you wanted to post one for free, the Sect would foot the bill, but otherwise, you had to pay the reward yourself.
You only got one such opportunity every twenty years. Moreover, for a family dispatched to develop a new territory, you could only post two free missions—one every twenty years for a forty-year period—before you made a significant contribution back to the Sect.
After that, you were completely on your own, unless you could make so great accomplishnt.
Zhang Deming smiled. "Don’t worry about that for now. We can discuss it after we kill the snake."
"Thank you, Senior Brother! You’re so kind," Pei Xiaoxiao said, overjoyed. At sixteen, she was still at a naive age.
Even though the need to survive had made her sowhat precocious, it only went so far.
’Uh... did I just get put in the friend zone?’
The two of them quickly ward up to each other, and Zhang Deming began to recover his Magical Power.
Several hours later, by mid-afternoon, Zhang Deming had fully recovered his Magical Power.
After a quick discussion, the two of them set off directly for Qingshui Lake.
Along the way, Zhang Deming suddenly froze in place.
Pei Xiaoxiao, who was walking behind him, wasn’t paying attention and bumped right into him.
"What’s wrong, Senior Brother Zhang?" Pei Xiaoxiao looked up at Zhang Deming, her face full of confusion.
Zhang Deming ignored Pei Xiaoxiao, his Heart Spirit diving into his internal repository. Inside, the mostly-ford golden light ball condensed a little further, becoming nearly a complete sphere.
At the sa ti, a white light ball also began to condense, reaching about one-fifth of its total size.
He had suddenly gained 0.2 of a white Qi Fortune Light Ball and 0.02 of a Golden rit Light Ball. Zhang Deming was completely baffled.
’What’s this all about?’
Before Zhang Deming could investigate further, a scene abruptly appeared in his mind.
The scene depicted a chamber in an attic, which looked like it was sowhere within the Celestial Spirit Sect.
In the vision, a senior brother in his twenties or thirties nervously held a glass bead. Inside it, a miniature vine swayed gently.
He held the glass bead and ditated for a long while before taking a deep breath, channeling his Spiritual Power, and lting the bead in his hand.
The instant the glass bead lted, it expanded into a sphere of countless motes of light, enveloping him within.
Then, a tiny vine flew directly into the space between his eyebrows.
He kept his eyes closed for a long ti, his body trembling slightly.
Unable to contain his excitent any longer, he flipped his hands over, and a small, young vine sprouted from his palm, swaying gently.
With that, the entire scene shattered into a single mote of light, about to vanish from the center of Zhang Deming’s consciousness.
’This is...?’
’The Spirit Nurturing Ball I sold?’
’So, if soone uses a Spirit Nurturing Ball to successfully achieve Enlightennt Dao, it counts as spreading the technique, and I gain rit from it?’
’And not just rit, but Qi Fortune as well.’
’A single successful case of Enlightennt Dao gave 0.2 Qi Fortune. The rit I gained was even a bit more than the roughly 0.01 from the light ball I got when Zong En achieved his enlightennt during my lecture.’
’Looks like I’ve found another way to acquire Qi Fortune and rit.’
’I wonder if I’ll only get this from him, or if every successful use of a Spirit Nurturing Light Ball will grant rewards.’
’Either way, it looks like choosing to minor as a Spirit Nurturing Master was the right call.’
A faint smile spread across Zhang Deming’s face.
As Zhang Deming was lost in thought and smiling, the mote of light in his consciousness was just about to vanish. In that instant, as if moved by so unseen force, he reached out and touched it.
Instantly, he felt as if he’d been shoved into the drum of a washing machine, tumbling over and over.
Then, it was as if he’d been stuffed into a slick, narrow passage, squeezed forward by its writhing contractions.
After what felt like an eternity, Zhang Deming felt an overwhelming urge to vomit, but nothing would co out.
With a ntal SPLAT, he was spat out of the passage, and Zhang Deming’s thoughts returned to normal.
"Who are you? What do you want?" A wary voice spoke while Zhang Deming was still dizzy and disoriented.
Zhang Deming looked up to see the senior brother from the earlier vision staring at him warily.
Huh?
’What the hell?’
’Who am I?’
’Where am I?’
’What am I supposed to do?’
The three classic questions of philosophy perfectly captured Zhang Deming’s current state of utter bewildernt.
The surroundings were a vast, white emptiness, like the primordial Chaos. The only thing there was a single, transparent figure with a blurry face. He could tell it was the senior brother from the vision—a spiritual form, it seed.
Right now, the other person was watching him with extre caution and tension, as if waiting for an answer.
’I’m not about to tell him who I am. As for what I’m doing...’
’I’d like to know that myself!’
Zhang Deming collected his thoughts. He had arrived here after touching the mote of light, which ant that this was probably his own doing.
The most likely reason was that his "plugged-in" Spirit Nurturing Technique made the Spirit Nurturing Beads he created extrely special.
’That must be why I had the vision and am now having this experience. So, can I go back?’
The mont the thought surfaced, a pulling sensation washed over him.
’Wait, I was just spat out! Let catch my breath!’
’Otherwise, I’m really going to puke!’
The thought appeared, and the pulling sensation vanished!
’So, I can enter and exit freely, or at least I have control over it?’
He looked down at himself and found that his own form was even more indistinct, completely shrouded in a hazy Chaos that made him impossible to see clearly.
Having more or less grasped the situation, Zhang Deming took a deep breath and replied in a low, profound voice, "This old man was rely bored, using my Technique of Wandering the Great Thousand."
Ran Yanping’s face filled with astonishnt when he heard this. ’Divine Travel across worlds? Dwelling at Dawn Vast Sun Curtaining Azure Moon?’
’What level of Cultivation is that?’
"Celestial Spirit Sect Disciple Ran Yanping greets you, Senior. May I ask for what reason Senior has co into my consciousness?" Ran Yanping bowed his head respectfully and perford the complete, highest-ranking salute of the Celestial Spirit Sect.
"The Celestial Spirit Sect, one of the forty-nine Upper Sects? So I have arrived in this realm."
"You need not worry. I simply saw sothing novel and ca to take a look." At that mont, Zhang Deming felt a pulling sensation.
’Hm?’
’Is my ti almost up?’
"Very well. This old man only ca to take a glance. I will not disturb your Cultivation any longer."
"Keep up the good work, young man. You possess a Great Opportunity. Sooner or later, you will have a place for yourself in the Hongng Cultivation Realm."
With that said, he gave the other man no chance to reply and chose to leave imdiately.
He was once again pulled into a passage, tumbling and writhing for a long ti before his consciousness returned to his Dantian.
His entire consciousness, now transford into a mote of light, appeared inside the Spirit Nurturing Technique’s Rune Ball.
Before his eyes was a world resembling a giant placenta. He seed to be floating in amniotic fluid, a sensation that was incredibly comfortable, warm, and reassuring.
Beside him, the very mote of light he had touched earlier was now floating quietly in the amniotic fluid.
Zhang Deming observed his surroundings for a long while, but it seed none of it was within his control.
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