Cultivation of Immortality: This is what unorthodox methods are like.

It took the cultivators a full quarter of an hour to understand the function of this magical artifact when explained in plain language.

This made Wang Quan sigh, "You all have nothing better to do than study more Taoist scriptures!"

"The Daoist scriptures are the true path!"

The group of cultivators sneered, "Senior, our sect only has three thousand volumes of Daoist scriptures!"

Wang Quan paused for a moment, then asked, "Are there any unorthodox or legitimate sects or branch schools of Taoism nearby?"

"Go and study at one of the lower houses."

"Or perhaps you could go and learn from the Immortal Master?"

The cultivator leading the group hesitated for a moment: "Senior, is this Dao Scripture really that important?"

Wang Quan laughed: "The Daoist scriptures contain Daoist sayings!"

"If you could understand the Daoist language just now, then you only need a few Daoist phrases to control this magic weapon prototype!"

"But if you don't speak the language, you'll have to pay a heavy price!"

The group of cultivators didn't seem to care much.

Wang Quan didn't continue trying to persuade them, but casually asked, "Which sect are you from?"

The leader of the group said, "We are cultivators from the Reliance Mountain Sect."

"We are from the Mountain Sect..."

Wang Quan waved his hand: "You don't need to explain to me what your Backing Sect is like."

"I might need your help with something in the future, so just remember to do it for me once!"

The leader of the group nodded: "Senior, rest assured, we will definitely handle things well!"

"If we die, we will tell our disciples about this."

Wang Quan nodded.

He made a token and split it in two, with each party keeping one half.

"Friends, the journey is long and the mountains are high, but we will meet again someday."

"Goodbye!"

The next second, Wang Quan's flesh and blood body transformed into seventy-two beams of earthly evil spirit light that shot into the sky and continued to chase after the round-faced Taoist nun.

After he left, the group of cultivators remained silent for a long time.

After a long silence, the leader of the group sighed, "I, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, am considered a major figure in this vast area!"

"But when facing this senior, every organ and every limb in my body was telling me to run away as soon as possible."

"This senior must be a Purple Mansion Realm expert!"

"Luckily, he was kind-hearted and didn't kill us!"

"otherwise...."

One of the cultivators muttered, "Master, forget about that senior, let's test the power of this treasure first!"

The monk leading the group nodded.

He chanted the incantation taught by the king, and after several dozen breaths, the bluish-green, smoke-like magical artifact drew three hundred strands of his magical power, then rose into the air, drifting like smoke and clouds.

The leader of the group carefully sensed the surroundings, then said with a strange expression, "Disciples, you may all go inside!"

With the next breath, his thoughts raced, and the smoky, cloud-like magical artifact swept up all the cultivators.

One breath...

Five breaths...

Ten breaths...

The cultivator leading the group stirred up clouds of smoke, and then dozens of his disciples tumbled out.

The apprentices fell to the ground, their eyes either blank or empty.

After a long while, a cultivator stood up, straightened his clothes, and bowed:

"This humble servant, Ning Cai'er, the Undead Knight, greets my esteemed father-in-law!"

At this moment, another cultivator also awoke. He scratched his head and gave a simple, honest smile: "This humble one, Ning Caicai, the Undead Knight, greets you, sir!"

"Sir, I, Xu Jie, a humble hero, greet you!"

"...Xu You..."

The cultivator leading the group looked completely bewildered.

He took deep breaths and performed mind-clearing spells, constantly calling upon the minds of his disciples.

It took a full day and night for the disciples to break free from the illusion.

They described the hallucinations they had witnessed with lingering fear:

"I became a ghost knight to collect debts, and then I entered a place called a temple, where I met a female ghost; the ghost fell in love with me, and I helped her escape, but we were killed by a guy called Black Mountain Granny!"

"Then keep repeating this scene!"

"After repeating this ten times, I feel that if I continue, I will completely forget my original self and become a ghost knight in an illusion!"

Others chimed in, some saying they had encountered the White Snake in their illusions and had fallen in love with her.

A female cultivator said she met an old man, and after giving birth to seven fat sons for him, she was captured by a scorpion and a green snake spirit and tortured day and night.

One monk said he had become a little girl selling charcoal.

A monk said he had wandered into the depths of the peach blossoms and did not know where to return.

One monk became a little gray wolf wearing a red hat, and was eventually shot and killed by a hunter.

The monk leading the group made detailed records, totaling twelve different illusions.

Upon seeing the sheer number of illusions, many cultivators gasped in shock: "The magical artifacts we've painstakingly forged over years are nothing more than illusions!"

"This senior crafted a magical artifact prototype in the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, and it already possessed twelve illusions!"

"Moreover, each illusion was more bizarre than the last!"

"This method is truly defying the heavens!"

The cultivator leading the group rolled his eyes: "Good disciple, from now on, this senior will be our new backer!"

"Upon returning, we will immediately draw his likeness and worship him day and night, praying only for his protection!"

The cultivators all nodded in agreement: "That's right."

"Such a powerful senior should be our support!"

"It's a pity I still don't know your name, senior!"

"Does it matter if he has a name or not? What matters is—he's powerful and can intimidate people!"

The cultivator leading the group laughed: "From now on, he'll be our powerful patriarch!"

"good!"

"By the way, Master, what's this magic weapon called?"

The leader of the group looked at the token that Wang Quan had given him. The token was a piece of white jade with the twelve zodiac signs carved on it.

A thought struck him, and he said, "Let's call them the Zodiac!"

"This treasure has a very high chance of becoming a true magic weapon!"

"At that time, our Reliance Sect will rise under the protection of the Zodiac and become a regional hegemon!"

Upon hearing this, the cultivators cheered.

"Master, let's test this treasure's power on an enemy first, and see if we can refine him!"

"good!"

-----------------

On the cloud boat:

The round-faced Taoist nun finally saw the power of the king.

When the two met, they were filled with emotion and remained silent for a moment.

Not far away, some cultivators who had always wanted to form a temporary Daoist partnership with the round-faced Daoist nun gritted their teeth in envy.

However, everyone was afraid of the round-faced Taoist nun's identity and dared not speak rashly, so they could only fum inwardly.

After a short while, Wang Quan spoke: "I created a spirit called the Sunflower Spirit."

"This spirit is most adept at refining sunlight!"

He explained about the sunflower essence, and concluded by saying, "You stay in the lower courtyard, clear the hillside, and plant them."

"It won't be long before I can amass a lot of sunlight, then I can go to the second layer of the world, wreak havoc, and reap the rewards."

The round-faced Taoist nun shook her head: "No need, I still need to go back to my hometown!"

Wang Quan was quite disappointed: "Too late?"

The round-faced Taoist nun shook her head: "It's not that it's too late, but that my mind is made up!"

"My family has declined, and I have no one to support me; if I don't go back, the entire family may be wiped out!"

Seeing this, Wang Quan didn't dare to persuade him, but simply handed him the box of sunflower essence: "Take this with you!"

"You can cleanse your hometown of evil!"

"Feel free to contact me if you need anything in the future!"

"As long as I live, and as long as I can do it, no matter how far away I am, I will personally go to help!"

Pfft!

The round-faced Taoist nun laughed: "I hope I'll never need you in my life!"

Wang Quan paused for a moment, then burst into laughter: "I hope so!"