Jade Pure Sect Jurisdiction, Outskirts of White Crane City
Hua Lian's hand slightly trembled as he looked at the lifeless body of Ming Huang. Breathing deeply, Hua Lian steeled his heart, "It's a dog-eat-dog world, I knew I'll have to kill the moment I awoke in this world, but still…"
He was again reminded of his sister from Earth, 'Grace, what would you have done?' Shaking his head, he landed near the lifeless body of Ming Huang and picked up his core, guqin, and storage ring.
An array protected the storage ring, but it couldn't withstand Hua Lian's qi, so it quickly broke. As array symbols broke like glass, he inserted his divine sense into the ring.
Golden Core pills, one high-grade spirit stone, two hundred middle-grade spirit stones, and some talismans Hua Lian didn't understand, 'Not bad, but it can't compare to this guqin.'
As his fingers touched it, it let out a sorrowful shriek. Deciding to refine it immediately, he dropped a drop of his blood, as a purple barrier arose around him. He injected his Dharmic Powers into it, refining it, 'It's a pity, I could enhance it, but then I won't be able to control it.'
After two hours, he finally refined it, and the guqin changed from pitch black to dark purple. A name came to his mind, "Moon Wail Guqin." Holding it, a small light entered his forehead, and a Magic Spell insight appeared.
"Absolute Equanimity, a spell to still others' emotions. This is perfect for disciple nurturing, as I can enter Dao Comprehension at will and also lead them to it." Putting it into his storage ring, he planned his course of action.
He sat down on his lotus throne, 'Neither novel nor manhwa dives deeply into Scarlet World geography. As far as I remember, Daoist Nine Cauldrons went overseas, where everyone is stronger.'
'Then I should head West, one of the ingredients I need is Yang Stone.' He willed the 36th-grade Violet Lotus westward, as Dao insight filled his mind.
Many things entered his eyes, small villages, mortals experiencing their own suffering and happiness, and his eyes gleamed, 'What is life? What is Dao? Why is it never-ending?' Despite reading the novel, Hua Lian's understanding of Dao was quite shallow.
Jade Pure Sect, Cultivate Diligently Become Immortal Mountain
Han Jue again opened his eyes, checking his emails to see if he had received any hatred points. Seeing no hatred, he closed his eyes and went back to cultivation.
Back in the air, Hua Lian comprehended Dao, condensing his foundation. Opening his eyes, he checked his state. 'Primordial Dao Genesis is a top-notch cultivation technique, but my understanding is low. I'm bound by my superstition that this isn't real…'
He couldn't help but think about his life back on earth, 'Though boring, I had Grace, Aron, Laila… Here I don't even know if I'm hallucinating all this or it's real.'
Shaking his head, he looked upward, and seeing two cultivators flying in the distance, he decided to avoid them, 'I can't see through their cultivation. Trouble is brewing, strong cultivators keep appearing left and right.'
The other party, also seeing that they couldn't sense his cultivation and his weird-looking flying treasure, decided to avoid him. Both parties were wary of each other.
As Hua Lian passed, he encountered more and more cultivators, 'There should be a trading center near here, as I have already left the jurisdiction of Jade Pure Sect.' And after half an hour of continuous flying, he saw high walls covered in array symbols and formation flags.
Flying down, he put the lotus back into his soul and went toward the gate, where many lined up, waiting. Hua Lian also went into the queue while listening to cultivators discuss.
"Did you hear, Master of Peng City broke into the 9th level of Nascent Soul, the market prices are halved because of it."
"Right, right, I also heard many rare items are to be displayed, some say Gu Zhu Flower Seeds are going to be sold."
Hearing the name of the flower, Hua Lian was a bit surprised, 'A Tribulation Transcendence pill ingredient. However, they're bound to be expensive. So I could try to use Jade Slip of Creation, just if I could get my hands on one seed.'
"Not only that," One of them whispered, but Hua Lian heard it, "I heard Peng City's founder ascended." Hua Lian was even more interested in this Peng City.
At that time, a man walked out. He wore a gray robe, his hair was held by a crown, and many murmurs stopped when he walked out, "The entrance will open! Remember no fighting, stealing, or flashing your cultivation, or else you'll be expelled, no matter your background."
With that, some of the people, knowing what's next, took out fifty middle-grade spirit stones and gave them to the man, entering the city in a hurry.
Hua Lian reluctantly took out when it was his turn, 'I have to make some, luckily that Fiendish cultivator had one high-grade.' When he entered, he saw stalls stretching as far as the eye could see, "Wow."
Some looked at him with understanding, as they also were in his shoes on their first time here.
Hua Lian strolled to see what people sell, and what he saw shocked even him, 'Fur of Six-tail Fox, Cultivation Manuals, Spell Diagrams… What the f**k is this place? How can they sell this stuff?' With a glimpse, he saw a really old man in rags, selling all kinds of materials, but no one bought from him.
Approaching the old man, Hua Lian was stilled by the things he was selling, 'Yang Stones, Yin Ice Flower, and Hundred-year-old Moonlight Dew! That's exactly what I need!' Looking at the things, many of them are used to make high-grade pills, 'There's so much…'
Snapping out of his daze, Hua Lian quickly asked, "How much for all of these?" As he pointed at the whole stall. Cultivators around them continued, as they didn't see the stall or the old man.
Dazed, the old man looked at Hua Lian, calculating his fingers, and smiled, "A Karma Dharma Treasure, Junior, you sure like to hide."
That sentence made Hua Lian tense up, 'F**k, I forgot. To defeat a man, make him crazy with greed.'
The old man's long gray hair turned black and short, and his wrinkly face became that of a child, "I could predict many things, but for an unknown existence to grasp my full inheritance, remarkable."
Hua Lian began to tremble, his heartbeat increasing, as he pointed at the now child-like person, "D-Dao Ancestor…" Hua Lian's breath was stuck in his throat.
The child shook its head, "Dao Ancestor is no more." He changed the subject, "You should be a disciple of that anomaly, right? Even I couldn't see his future, but you… I couldn't even see your existence."
Hua Lian was still trembling, 'This is the strongest being under the Great Dao, Eternal Deity, founder of Dao.'
Seeing him scared, the child slowly put the ingredients from the stall into the storage ring, "I mean no harm, this form is but a thought of my true self. I have no desire to kill a Junior, I was just curious what existence could take my inheritance behind my back."
He took Hua Lian's trembling hand and put the storage ring into it, "Take these, they can be made into many things. Consider it a favor from a Senior." With that, the child dissipated into smoke, and so did the stall.
Jade Pure Sect, Cultivate Diligently Become Immortal Mountain
[Your disciple, Hua Lian, received a favor from a mysterious mighty figure. His providence is changing.]
[Dao Ancestor has a favorable impression of you. Current favorability: 1 star.]
Han Jue was perplexed, "What's that disciple of mine up to?" He checked Dao Ancestor's profile, his image was covered in purple mist.
[Dao Ancestor: Cultivation unknown. Chaotic Fiendcelestial, the founder of the Dao, the will of the Heavenly Dao, the ancestor of the Sages, the Eternal Deity, the Transcendent Daoist, the Immeasurable Lord. Possesses countless Dharma avatars. Because you're an anomaly and your disciple inherited his full teachings behind his back, he's curious about you. Current favorability: 1 star]
Han Jue looked even more confused, "Such impressive titles, never mind that, behind his back? How did Hua Lian do that? His cultivation is even unknown. What does that mean?"
[It means he surpasses the limits of the current system.]
"So impressive?" Han Jue frowned, "He shouldn't be an enemy, but such a low favorability, it can quickly turn into hatred. Why did that disciple have to attract the attention of such a bigshot?"
With that, his forehead began to sweat, and he fell into cultivation frenzy, 'No, I have to be as strong as possible. I can't slack off. 4th level Nascent Soul isn't enough, I have to reach at least Void Amalgamation.'
Great Yan Dynasty, Peng City
Hua Lian was still in shock about the things that had happened, and he unconsciously clenched his hands. Blinking, he found himself at the entrance of the city, where he initially was when he saw the old man.
'Illusion?' Looking at his hand, he saw a spiritual ring, slightly shaking, he sent divine sense, and lo and behold, many ingredients and seeds were inside, 'It wasn't an illusion, I met Dao Ancestor…'
As nervousness escalated, a small chuckle escaped his mouth, 'I met THE Dao Ancestor, the real deal, strongest below the Great Dao.' Taking a few deep breaths, he tried to calm down, but failed as his hands kept shaking.
He looked at the people around him, and seeing that everyone was in their positions where they were before he saw Dao Ancestor, he concluded, 'Time disorientation! That is one of the explanations.'
After a minute of blank-mindedness, he slipped on his storage ring, deciding to return to Han Jue's side after getting a good furnace, 'Might as well spend all my spirit stones for a top-tier furnace.'
He looked for at least an Eight-grade Numinous Treasure furnace. As he passed the stalls, many things fell under his eyes, and knowing their value, he was tempted by greed, 'No, Hua Lian, these are trash compared to Great Dao, don't fall for it twice.'
He finally found a girl who sold the furnace treasures. Approaching, he saw an old man trying to haggle the price, "Come on, I'm a regular customer. Your father always sold them at that price. Why did you up it to a superior-grade spirit stone?"
The girl replied, in a less respectful tone, "My father sold them at his price, I sell them at mine. No one forces you to buy it." Crossing her hands, the girl looked at the old man fearlessly, 'He can't touch me in the city, heh.'
Hua Lian watched the interaction, and seeing him, the girl called in a respectful tone, "Dear Customer, do you wish to buy an alchemy furnace or the metal to refine one? I got both, only a superior-grade spirit stone."
Seeing that he was ignored, the old man huffed and left. Hua Lian approached the stall, thinking, 'That is not a bad idea, I could make my own, if I could find the right metal. Or use Jade Slip of Creation to remake a metal I've seen.'
When he laid his eyes on the furnaces, he was disappointed, 'Only Dharma Artifacts, no Numinous Treasures.' But when he saw a certain metal, he was surprised, 'Cold Iron Shard?! What's it doing in the Mortal Realm?'
The girl, seeing him look at the small iron shard, said, "I discovered this in a Secret Realm; it's only a shard, so I'll get your price down to five high-grade spirit stones." While inside, she was secretly happy, 'Yes! I can get rid of that trash.'
'So cheap!' Hua Lian immediately took out the Jade Slip of Creation, spending five days of his lifespan, to materialize five high-grade spirit stones, "Here."
With that, he grabbed the shard and headed home, 'I've accomplished all things I wanted and more.' He quickly passed the gates, took out his lotus, and stepped on it, flying back.
The girl at the stall looked at the five high-grade spirit stones in her hand and clicked her tongue in wonder, "Tch, he sure is rich, I should've asked for more." Sighing, she continued to wait for more customers.
As Hua Lian was flying back, he first checked his status.
{Status}
{Name: Hua Lian}
{Lifespan: 27/~500}
{Race: Mortal}
{Inheritance: Dao Ancestor #Mortal Part}
{Cultivation: 1st-level of Golden Core}
{Technique: Primordial Dao Genesis}
{Cultivation Potential: Top-Notch Dao Comprehension, Dao Root}
{Magic: …, Absolute Equanimity}
{Mystical Power: Primordial Sky-Splitting Palm, Heaven-Sealing Myriad-Forms Palm, Void-Drifting Steps, Imitate Heaven and Earth}
{Equipment: …, Moon Wail Guqin}
Looking at his lifespan, he decided to use it to create more Cold Iron Shards and thus forge an alchemy furnace out of it, 'I can use 36-grade Violet Lotus as the conduct to refine it.'
He took the Jade Slip of Creation and began. Looking at his lifespan, he created one, and seeing it drop to 498, he was a bit reluctant to continue. But thinking about the pills he could make, he pushed through, 'I'll need at least 20 shards to make the furnace.'
Shard after shard fell from it, landing in his spiritual ring. With each shard, he felt like he was growing old, like time was slipping away, 'How did Han Jue spend billions of his lifespan with this discomfort?'
With the last shard, he felt blood dripping from his nose. Using the Clean Spell, he got rid of it and immediately stopped producing the shards. With that, he decided to cultivate until he arrived at the sect.