Immortal Road.

After adjusting my breathing, I gradually entered a meditative state.

Unconsciously, several figures appeared in Zhong Shenxiu's mind. In the past, the person he cared about the most was actually Lin Shan, because no matter in Lu Kingdom, the forbidden land of the cliff, or the secret treasure of Yuxing, he was always overshadowed!
Therefore, he always wanted to surpass his second brother.

But reality always goes against his wishes. Every time he felt that his skills had improved greatly, he would find that Lin Shan had made even greater progress, leaving him further and further behind.

Even now, he's being suppressed and beaten by his underling, Mu Yan!
Mu Yan, what makes him so special?
"No, what's wrong with me! I was once a true immortal prodigy of the Lu Kingdom, a young Golden Core cultivator, how did I end up like this?"

Zhong Shenxiu had put on a mask of pain at some point. Thinking about his current precarious situation and how he was disgusted by that bird-like Sunflower Fairy every day, he felt as if ants were crawling all over his body.

Looking back on his carefree and dashing self, playing power games with his eldest brother, the young master of the Nine Netherworlds, and deceiving and scheming with his second brother, Lin Shan, how did he end up in such a sorry state?

Every time he ventures out of the illusionary realm in search of opportunities, he gets targeted and ambushed by that elusive Mu Yan. He's had enough!

"No, I can't go on like this. I need to improve my strength as soon as possible and become a great supernatural being so that I can temporarily protect myself in this chaotic world."

Those with great supernatural powers are the pinnacle of this world. As long as their core interests are not involved, even primordial spirit level experts will greet them with a smile.

Zhong Shenxiu has been working hard for this all along!
His innate spiritual body lacks a catalyst; he needs a body-tempering technique for the Nascent Soul stage to help him open his spiritual sea and achieve great success!

"It seems we have no choice but to use that in exchange."

"You need a body tempering technique for the Nascent Soul stage?"

Inside a room, the Sword Master of Minghuang opened his eyes, looked at Zhong Shenxiu below, and stroked his beard, pondering slightly.

"I know your talent and I am aware of your hard work, but there are some things that I, the Holy Lord, cannot give you simply because I admire you. You need to make sufficient contributions to the Holy Land and the decision can only be made after the elders have discussed it together."

"Disciple understands!"

Zhong Shenxiu knelt down respectfully and presented an item with both hands.

The Sword Master of Minghuang glanced at him, took the item, and casually lifted the red cloth. He froze when he saw what was inside!

"This is."

"Qiankun Jade Ink is a treasure left over from the ancient Confucian and Taoist era. It contains strong literary energy and spirituality, and has a wide range of uses, especially for enhancing Confucian and Taoist supernatural powers."

"Treasures left behind from the Confucian and Taoist eras?"

Zhong Shenxiu gave a simple explanation and provided several usage examples.

"For example, it can be used to create powerful talismans, or to add Confucian restrictions to magical artifacts and spiritual treasures. This ink is a natural carrier, and it would be even more unique if used to pass on Confucian supernatural powers. Please allow me, as the Holy Lord, to take a look!"

As he spoke, he took out his gold-lacquered wolf-hair brush from his pocket, dipped it in the inkstone, and immediately laid out the paper to write a magnificent article.

Then it shook and suddenly shone brightly!

This article was originally a simple prose piece, but with the blessing of Qiankun Jade Ink, it exudes a rich and colorful charm, with a subtle fragrance and outstanding literary style. Even from a distance of ten feet, it looks like a remarkable masterpiece!
Moreover, the Sword Master of Minghuang had sharp eyes and could see that there was a hidden supernatural power inside, a secret move deliberately left by Zhong Shenxiu. This meant that the ink was not only rich in literary energy to support the consumption of supernatural powers, but also had the function of sealing the essence and locking the spirit.

"In this light, it is indeed a priceless treasure. If it were used to create a legacy, it would save a great deal of effort in terms of supernatural powers and true meanings!"

The Sword Master of Minghuang repeatedly praised it, acknowledging its preciousness.

"This should be the most prized possession of your White Deer Academy, right? Are you really willing to hand it over to this Holy Lord?"

“This item is my own good fortune and has nothing to do with the academy. You may take it as a token of my gratitude, Holy Lord.”

Zhong Shenxiu remained unfazed, giving away such a treasure so readily, which impressed the Sword Master of Minghuang.

The other party pondered for a moment.

Then she took out a booklet and handed it to him.

"This Nascent Soul stage body tempering technique is nameless. It was also my own fortuitous encounter back then. There's no need to consult the elders of the Holy Land. You can take it!"

Zhong Shenxiu was overjoyed!

He immediately bowed three times, took the booklet with great excitement, and the Sword Master of Minghuang briefly explained the key points to him to prevent him from going astray.

"This method is moderate and peaceful, suitable for gradual progress, one step at a time. Do not rush it. However, with your literary cultivation, you should be able to master it in no time. After you have mastered it, you can rebuild your literary spirit and sword courage within your body and then try both modes."

"Either you follow the conventional Confucian path of literature, or you follow the path of my Spring and Autumn Sword Sect of swordsmanship. In the end, being a great supernatural being is just a transition. It's up to you to decide which direction you want to take in the future!"

"As for the resources needed for body tempering, I will give you a token. Go to the warehouse and collect some."

The Sword Master of Minghuang was very generous, thoughtfully gifting him a large amount of resources. Clearly, this wasn't just for exchange, but also because he valued his talent and intended to cultivate him.

Zhong Shenxiu thanked him and then withdrew.

Half a day later.

In another place, Venerable Lan Jian Ping Shuang found the Sunflower Fairy.

"The elder guarding the wartime warehouse just reported that Zhong Shenxiu took a large amount of resources from inside with the Holy Lord's token, most of which are related to body refinement. It seems he intends to break through to become a Great Divine Power."

"What? So fast!"

The Sunflower Fairy looked on in disbelief, and in her panic, she was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.

"What should we do, Auntie? If this kid manages to reach the ranks of Great Supernatural Powers, my status as a prodigy of the Holy Land will be in jeopardy! At that time..."

“I know, you don’t need to tell me, this must be the Holy Lord’s will.”

Orchid Sword Venerable Ping Shuang's expression remained calm as he gazed slightly into the distance.

“Our Ping family has a huge influence and a long history in the Holy Land, with many supporters. The Holy Lord is obviously dissatisfied and does not want me to be the previous prodigy and you to be the current prodigy. The Ping family has monopolized all of them. Zhong Shenxiu is just a pawn that they have brought in from the outside.”

"Then, Auntie, what's the family's opinion?"

"The Nascent Soul stage body-forging secret technique I taught you before, 'Lan Jian Li Dan Jue,' should be used to cultivate here, taking advantage of the unique environment of the earth veins, while we are still stationed in the Red Dust Star Sea for a long time during the end of the spiritual tide. The cultivation resources will be on credit for now, and I will try my best to collect them and send them to you continuously. You will have to repay me in the future."

Venerable Lan Jian showed no sign of compromise, adopting a strategy of confrontation. Even the Sword Master of Minghuang couldn't easily replace the Holy Land's prodigy. The way to curb Zhong Shenxiu's rise was to first ensure that Fairy Sunflower achieved the status of a Great Divine Power!
"Although Zhong Shenxiu is a self-taught Confucian scholar, his opportunities and luck are truly extraordinary. We cannot underestimate him; we must make the most of everything we can. The only question is, will the Holy Lord keep the Formless Star Cocoon he obtained last time for his own use or to train his disciples?"

Cultivation takes no time.

The cycle of illusions continues in the mortal world and starry sea, and the various holy lands are still fighting endlessly within it. Although there is no longer any trace of the formless star cocoon, other treasures are still emerging one after another.

Even the slightest success can lead to fierce fighting among the various factions!

The sudden retreat of the Star Palace Hundred Clans one day caught all four families off guard. They didn't know what had happened, and they left in disappointment before the spiritual tide had even ended.

The power vacuum it left behind was immediately divided up and devoured.

During this period, many young geniuses from various holy lands rose to fame. Chaotic times are the best time to produce heroes, and the previously well-known prodigies were among them.

The return of Qianbu made the Ghost Valley Holy Land shine brightly in this wave of spiritual energy, encompassing many mineral-rich secret realms. It's just a pity that there will be no more opportunities for the Formless Star Cocoon.

Zhong Shenxiu and Sunflower Fairy have been missing for a long time, and have begun a secret contest at the Spring and Autumn Sword Sect's base!

Both of them were putting in their best effort, striving to become great supernatural beings before the other.

When it comes to their future, they are constantly working hard to improve themselves, borrowing every resource they can think of, and accumulating huge foreign debts!
However, becoming a great master is not so easy. Just look at how difficult it was for Lin Shan back then. The secret techniques for tempering the body during the Nascent Soul stage were one aspect, but the vast and terrifying resources were another!

Energy of a level like Dark Star Fragment is something even holy lands cannot easily sustain.

Zhong Shenxiu's foundation was already weak, and the amount given to him by the Minghuang Sword Master was far from enough. If he wanted to find a source of energy, the only thing he could rely on was the Star Vortex in his hand!
This treasure connects to a mysterious star sea with extremely high energy levels, which is inexhaustible. Previously, it helped me unconsciously temper my body, but now that I have the Nascent Soul stage body tempering secret technique, I can finally use it to train this at specific times!
But the prerequisite is that you need to keep topping up your account.

He threw everything he owned into it, constantly maintaining his high-intensity cultivation. The feeling of soaring like a rocket was mesmerizing, practically addictive!
But soon he became penniless; once he stopped spending money, his relationship with his girlfriend vanished.

Having experienced the feeling of flying, returning to the slow pace of self-cultivation instantly triggered Zhong Shenxiu's sense of crisis!

He knew that the Sunflower Fairy was also catching up quickly, not to mention that she had the support of her family's power. If he fell behind by even a little, it would be extremely difficult to make up for it. So he borrowed money from all over the place under the name of the Bright Emperor Sword Master.

Many people in the Spring and Autumn Sword Sect knew that the Holy Lord thought highly of him and wanted to curry favor with him, hoping that he could help him out when he became successful in the future.

Thus, Zhong Shenxiu began his "borrowing to cultivate immortality" journey!
However, his situation was clearly a bottomless pit. He borrowed from every possible source within the Spring and Autumn Sword Sect, but still couldn't fill the hole.

The only option is to take out more loans!

If the White Deer Academy, which is still stationed in the Dark River Layer and Jade Marrow Cold Pool, knew that their prodigy had started to frantically take out loans on the fifth layer, they would probably be so scared that they would pack up and run away overnight. If they couldn't repay their debts, they would have to sell the entire White Deer Academy to make up for it!

As the saying goes, once is enough, twice is too much, but a third time is not. After Zhong Shenxiu repeatedly exploited the people of Chunqiu Jianmen, no one dared to lend him money anymore, for fear that he would not be able to repay it.

When the news reached the ears of the Sword Master of Minghuang, as the Holy Lord, he could not be too blatant in showing favoritism. He simply smiled quietly and let it go. He wanted to see how far Zhong Shenxiu could go and whether he would be qualified to play cards in the future.

After borrowing from one lender to another, he was finally forced into a corner and borrowed money from Xinghai!

Even Lin Shan, who was working on his primordial spirit at the other end of the star vortex, was startled.

What's wrong with me, Third Brother? Why are you asking me for online loans from so far away? Are you confused from your cultivation?

He naturally refused to give it away. These days, through the scattered Nine Abyss Star Vortex, a large number of treasures have been arriving in his account every day. He specifically ordered the six Void Spirit brothers in the Spirit Beast Ring to retrieve them for him near the Star Sea.

His star sea is different from other great supernatural beings. It is not the spiritual sea of ​​an innate spiritual body, but a star sea built by intercepting the space of the Heavenly Dao and personally linked by the calamity star. It can establish a bond for others to transmit star power, which is unique in this world!
The feeling of collecting rent while lying down was so wonderful that it inspired him to throw Star Vortex out and continuously provide Star Sea rental services to people across the continent.

Because there were too many things that needed to be sorted, he threw the old toad in as well.

On the other side, Sunflower Fairy's dedication was on par with Zhong Shenxiu's.

She discovered the use of the Star Vortex from the very beginning, and used all her family's wealth to train her body, even going so far as to divert public resources to give herself special treatment!

Although Venerable Lan Jian took the blame for her afterwards, she risked everything again for the sake of her future.

While in seclusion, Lin Shan suddenly felt a disturbance in the star sea within his body. He heard the six Void Spirit Brothers shouting and yelling inside, and Xiao Die and the sapling of the Illusionary Spirit Ancient Tree also came to join in the fun.

"This is incredible! So much earth vein essence! Could it be that some holy land's treasury has been moved here?"

"That's right! Those people are absolutely insane. They're throwing away pounds of ice jade essence just to get star power. We're making a fortune with no investment!"

"Wait a minute, look at that! It looks like a magical artifact?"

"Whoa, someone's throwing magical artifacts in here?!"

With Lin Shan's tacit approval, his subordinates were allowed to take whatever they wanted, and the six Xu Ling brothers all had bulging pockets, stuffed full to the brim.

The evil spirit swam over, picked up a large three-legged, two-eared cauldron, brought it back, and threw it on the ground with a bang, attracting many onlookers.

The Mo Ye Spirit Toad circled around twice to confirm that it was indeed a spiritual treasure, which caused a group of little toads nearby to croak loudly!

"Huh? Isn't this my third brother's cauldron? I remember it was an ancient treasure before, but he upgraded it to a spiritual treasure?"

Lin Shan's voice echoed in the sky above the starry sea. Before he could finish speaking, another magical treasure was thrown down from the other side.

Pfft!
The vengeful spirit quickly swam over and retrieved it, only to find it was a small magical flag, which the Sunflower Fairy had used in the illusion.

Are these two at odds?

Nine vortexes above continuously spewed out treasures from all directions, and another talisman fell down.

The ancient tree of illusion stretched out its branches and leaves to receive it, and Lin Shan recognized it even more!
Isn't this my third brother's precious treasure, the fifth-tier spirit-communicating talisman Wen Qiong Taibao Talisman? He's even willing to sacrifice this.
On the other side, the Sunflower Fairy threw in another ball of embroidered flowers.

With great effort, Xiaodie flapped her wings and carried over a scroll of her sect's divine power, which turned out to be a scroll woven from the silk of the Silkworm King!
Before Lin Shan could even lament that the two had lost their minds, the vortex flashed, and a golden wolf-hair brush fell from the sky.

"What's wrong with Third Brother? He doesn't even want his natal magic treasure anymore???" (End of Chapter)