"I greet Senior Brother Gongming!"
"Greetings, Senior Brother."
Most of them were Outer Sect Disciples, with cultivation ranging from Earth Immortal to Heavenly Immortal. Some were from the Demon Race, some were Spirits and Monsters, and others were from the Human Race.
They looked at Zhao Gongming with heartfelt reverence.
After all, he was the earliest among the Outer Sect Disciples to enter their master's sect, and the Senior Disciple Brother whom their master had personally praised as "upright and pure of heart."
Relying on his memories, Zhao Gongming smiled and nodded to each of them in turn. He showed not the slightest trace of arrogance; instead, he seemed even more gentle and approachable than the aloof Zhao Gongming in his memories. Many disciples were flattered by his kindness. After returning his greeting, they regarded him with even greater awe.
However, not everyone was like that.
As he approached a cliffside clearing where the spiritual energy was especially dense, he saw several disciples with noticeably deeper, more powerful auras gathered together, discussing the Dao.
When they saw Zhao Gongming, they merely gave him a cursory glance before looking away, their expressions faintly distant and indifferent.
Zhao Gongming understood. These few were probably disciples of extraordinary origins and influential backgrounds.
Though they were all Outer Sect Disciples, they thought highly of themselves and might not think much of him, the Senior Disciple Brother who had Formed from Clear Wind.
In their eyes, perhaps those few Personal Disciple Senior Brothers and Sisters of the Inner Sect were the ones they aspired to catch up with.
Zhao Gongming didn't care.
His state of mind was no longer that of a youth who would quibble over a little empty fame.
He silently memorized their faces and auras, matching each of them with the figures in his memories.
Only by knowing himself and his opponents could he find his footing within the complicated Interception Sect.
As he pondered, a silver-bell-like laugh rang out nearby.
"Senior Brother Gongming!"
Zhao Gongming turned toward the voice and saw three graceful, immortal maidens approaching together.
The one in front had a dignified, imposing beauty and a gentle, waterlike temperament. Her lovely eyes seemed to hold the stars themselves! At her sides were two others: one dazzlingly beautiful and seemingly quite lively, the other charmingly adorable, her eyes full of spirit.
The San Xiao Fairies—Yunxiao, Qiongxiao, and Bixiao!
Zhao Gongming's pupils contracted slightly.
In his original fate, these three had been closest to him. After his death, they had flown into a rage and stormed Kunlun, only to meet a tragic end themselves: their Three Flowers on the Crown were cut away, their cultivation utterly destroyed.
Now that he saw them again, immortal light flowed around them, and their magic power far surpassed his. They had clearly reached the Early Golden Immortal realm.
Their smiles were pure and sincere, entirely free of guile. They showed the heartfelt affection of younger sisters toward their Senior Brother.
"Yunxiao, Qiongxiao, and Bixiao greet Senior Brother." As the eldest, Yunxiao stepped forward first and bowed gracefully, her manner dignified and courteous.
"There's no need for such formality, Junior Sisters." Zhao Gongming hurriedly returned the greeting, a gentle smile on his face. "It's been several days since we last met. Your cultivation has improved even further. Congratulations."
"How could we compare to you, Senior Brother? We heard you went into seclusion. You must have made another breakthrough, right?" Bixiao was the liveliest of the three. She blinked her big eyes and gazed at Zhao Gongming curiously.
Zhao Gongming merely smiled without going into detail. He could feel that the San Xiao Fairies' kindness toward him was genuine. He had never experienced such warmth from the bonds between fellow disciples in the dreams of his previous life.
I must protect them! The thought took root in his heart, growing into a resolve as unyielding as bedrock.
After chatting briefly with the San Xiao Fairies and agreeing to discuss the Dao another day, Zhao Gongming took his leave and continued on.
Yet the encounter had stirred an even greater turmoil in his heart.
The San Xiao Fairies were already Golden Immortals, while he was still a Perfected Heavenly Immortal.
After walking a short while, he saw a Sword Light rise into the sky in the distance, incomparably fierce, as if it would carve a gash in the heavens themselves!
Endless killing intent swirled around the Sword Light. Even from afar, merely looking at it made Zhao Gongming's Nascent Soul ache.
"Senior Brother Duobao..." he murmured.
That was the Interception Sect's foremost Inner Sect disciple, Daoist Duobao! The aura he revealed was already at the level of a Grand Unity Golden Immortal, perhaps even higher!
Compared with a true top disciple like him, Zhao Gongming's current strength was indeed insignificant.
A fierce sense of crisis and an intense desire to grow stronger burned in his chest like two raging flames.
Back at his cave abode, Zhao Gongming sat down cross-legged without the slightest hesitation.
"There's no time to waste!"
He sank his mind into the system's interface once more, fixing his gaze on the [Technique Deduction] section.
"I'm still short three hundred Primordial Points..."
His eyes narrowed as he made up his mind.
If he didn't have enough to deduce the technique, then he'd earn more first! The system had indicated that absorbing Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy could also earn points.
Jin'ao Island had many things, but it certainly had no shortage of Innate Spiritual Energy!
"System, begin absorbing Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy and converting it into Primordial Points!"
[Command received. Conversion function activated. Current conversion rate: 100 strands of Innate Spiritual Energy / 1 Primordial Point.]
As soon as he willed it, the spiritual energy inside the cave abode formed visible white whirlwinds, surging madly into his body!
[Primordial Points +1] [Primordial Points +1] ...
In only a few breaths, the number on the interface began to tick upward.
"Not enough. Too slow!" Zhao Gongming furrowed his brows. At this rate, gathering three hundred points would take at least several days. He couldn't wait that long!
He sank his mind into his Dantian Sea of Qi and looked at the Perfected Heavenly Immortal magic power that had just broken through, now brimming within him.
A bold idea surfaced.
"System, can my own magic power be directly converted into Primordial Points?"
[Yes. The host's Immortal Essence is of higher quality than ordinary Innate Spiritual Energy. Conversion rate: 1 strand of Heavenly Immortal magic power / 1 Primordial Point. Convert?]
"Convert!" Zhao Gongming didn't hesitate for a moment.
He could cultivate more magic power after losing it, but improving his technique was an urgent matter!
This was a qualitative leap, a crucial step in laying the foundation for his future Dao.
Boom!
The system instantly extracted a portion of the Immortal Essence within his body. It became a torrent of pure energy and surged into the mysterious system space.
[Primordial Points +100!] [Primordial Points +100!]
The number on the interface climbed rapidly: 500... 600... 700...
In just a moment, nearly half of his magic power had been converted.
His total Primordial Points had reached 800!
The emptiness in his Dantian made Zhao Gongming's face pale, but the light in his eyes had never burned so fiercely.
"That's enough!"
"System, immediately spend 800 Primordial Points to deduce the Shangqing Basic Immortal Method to Innate Level!"
[Command received. Spending 800 Primordial Points... Deduction begins...]
Buzz—!
A torrent of insight, even more vast and profound than when his origins had transformed before, poured into the depths of his Nascent Soul like wisdom streaming into him from above!
Countless runes, Dao symbols, and scriptural meanings appeared and vanished, evolving within his mind. The originally rudimentary Shangqing Basic Immortal Method seemed to have been refined and elevated by a supreme expert. Every character now contained a deeper truth of the Great Dao.
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