San Xiao

"Greetings, Senior Brother Gongming!"

"Senior Brother, are you well?"

Most of these were Outer Sect Disciples, their cultivation ranging from Earth Immortal to Heavenly Immortal. Among them were members of the Demon Race, Spirits and Monsters, and the Human Race.

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The looks they cast at Zhao Gongming carried a reverence born from the depths of their hearts.

After all, he was the first among the Outer Sect Disciples to bow at their Master's feet, and the one their Master had personally praised as "straightforward and pure of heart"—the Senior Disciple Brother.

Drawing on his memories, Zhao Gongming responded to each with a nod and a smile. There was not a trace of arrogance in him; on the contrary, he seemed even warmer and more approachable than the aloof Zhao Gongming of his memories. This left many disciples flattered, and after returning his greeting, they regarded him with even greater awe.

Yet not everyone felt this way.

When he reached a cliffside terrace thick with spiritual energy, several disciples whose auras were notably deeper and more powerful were gathered together, discussing the Dao.

They cast Zhao Gongming only a brief, indifferent glance before looking away, their expressions carrying a faint, almost imperceptible air of distance and aloofness.

Zhao Gongming understood at once. These were likely the disciples with extraordinary origins and deep backgrounds.

Though they were also Outer Sect Disciples, they held themselves in high regard and might not think much of him, the Senior Disciple Brother who had Formed from Clear Wind.

In their eyes, perhaps the Personal Disciple Senior Brothers and Sisters of the Inner Sect were the true targets they strove to match.

To this, Zhao Gongming paid no mind.

The state of his heart was no longer that of a youth who would fuss over empty repute.

He simply silently noted the faces and auras of these few, cross-referencing them with the figures in his memory.

Know yourself and know your enemy, and you can stand firm within the complex web of the Jiejiao Sect.

Just as he was lost in thought, a silvery laugh rang out from not far away.

"Senior Brother Gongming!"

Zhao Gongming turned to look, and saw three graceful, immortal-like female fairies approaching side by side.

The one at the lead bore a dignified and noble countenance, her temperament gentle as water, her beautiful eyes as if holding stars within them! At her sides, one was radiant and striking, her personality seemingly quite lively; the other appeared charming and cute, her eyes brimming with cleverness.

The San Xiao Fairies—Yunxiao, Qiongxiao, and Bixiao!

Zhao Gongming's pupils contracted slightly.

These three, in the original fate, had been the closest to him. It was because of his death that they had stormed Kunlun in fury, only to end up with their bodies destroyed and their Dao extinguished, their Three Flowers on the Crown stripped away, and their entire cultivation reduced to nothing.

Now, as he saw them again, immortal light swirled around their bodies, and their magical power fluctuations far surpassed his own. They had clearly already reached the Early Golden Immortal stage.

Their smiles were pure and sincere, without a trace of impurity—a closeness born from the heart toward their senior brother.

"Yunxiao, Qiongxiao, Bixiao, pay respects to Senior Brother." Yunxiao, as the eldest sister, stepped forward first and made a graceful bow, her bearing dignified and proper.

"Three Junior Sisters need not stand on ceremony." Zhao Gongming quickly returned the bow, a warm smile spreading across his face. "It has been but a few days, yet your cultivation has grown ever more refined. Congratulations."

"Nowhere near as impressive as Senior Brother! We heard you were in seclusion—surely you've made another breakthrough?" Bixiao, the most lively of the three, blinked her big eyes and studied Zhao Gongming with curiosity.

Zhao Gongming only smiled and did not elaborate. He could feel that the goodwill of the San Xiao Fairies toward him was genuine. This bond of Fellow Disciples was a warmth he had never experienced in the dreams of his past life.

"I must protect them!" A thought sprouted wildly in the depths of his heart, hardening into a resolve as firm as bedrock.

After exchanging a few simple words with the San Xiao Fairies and agreeing to discuss the Dao another day, Zhao Gongming took his leave and continued onward.

Yet this encounter had stirred even greater waves in his heart.

The San Xiao Fairies were already Golden Immortals, while he was still only a Perfected Heavenly Immortal.

He had not walked far when he saw a Sword Light shooting into the sky in the distance, fierce and unmatched, as if it would split the very heavens open!

Around that Sword Light swirled an endless aura of slaughter, and even from afar, Zhao Gongming felt a sharp pain in his Primordial Spirit just from looking.

"It's Senior Brother Duobao..." he murmured to himself.

That was the Senior Disciple Brother of the Jiejiao Sect's Inner Sect—Daoist Duobao! The aura he now revealed had already reached the level of a Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal, or perhaps even higher!

Compared to true top-tier disciples like him, his own strength was indeed negligible.

A fierce sense of crisis and a burning desire to grow stronger blazed like twin fires in his chest.

Returning to his Cave Abode, Zhao Gongming did not hesitate for a moment. He immediately sat down cross-legged.

"Time waits for no one!"

He sank his mind once more into the system's light screen, his gaze locked onto the [Technique Deduction] tab.

"Still three hundred Primordial Points short..."

His eyes sharpened, and a decision was made in his heart.

If he couldn't afford the deduction, then he would earn the points first! The system had indicated that absorbing Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy could also yield points.

If there was one thing Jin'ao Island had in abundance, it was Innate Spiritual Energy!

"System, begin absorbing Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy and convert it into Primordial Points."

[Command received. Conversion function activated. Current conversion rate: 100 strands of Innate Spiritual Energy / 1 Primordial Point.]

With a single thought, the spiritual energy within the Cave Abode instantly transformed into countless visible white vortices, madly surging into his body!

[Primordial Points +1]

[Primordial Points +1]

Within just a few breaths, the numbers on the panel began to tick upward slowly.

"Not enough—too slow!" Zhao Gongming's brows knit tightly. At this rate, gathering three hundred points would take at least several days. He couldn't wait that long!

He sank his mind into the Dantian Sea of Qi and gazed at the newly broken-through, brimming power of a Perfected Heavenly Immortal.

A bold idea surfaced.

"System, can my own immortal power be directly converted into Primordial Points?"

[Yes. The quality of the Host's Immortal Essence exceeds that of ordinary Innate Spiritual Energy. Conversion rate: 1 strand of Perfected Heavenly Immortal power / 1 Primordial Point. Convert?]

"Convert!" Zhao Gongming didn't hesitate for a moment.

Power could be cultivated again, but advancing his technique was an urgent necessity!

This was a qualitative leap—a key step in laying the foundation for his future Dao!

Boom!

A portion of the Immortal Essence within him was instantly drawn away by the system, transforming into a torrent of pure energy that surged into the mysterious system space.

[Primordial Points +100!]

[Primordial Points +100!]

The numbers on the panel rocketed upward—500... 600... 700...

In just a short moment, nearly half of his immortal power had been drained away.

And the total of Primordial Points had reached 800!

The hollow emptiness in his Dantian made Zhao Gongming's face pale slightly, but the light in his eyes burned hotter than ever before.

"Enough!"

"System, immediately consume 800 Primordial Points to deduce the Shangqing Basic Immortal Method to the Innate Level!"

[Command received. Consuming 800 Primordial Points... Deduction beginning...]

Hum—!

A flood of insights—vast and profound beyond even the transformation of his origin moments ago—crashed into the depths of his Primordial Spirit like a baptism of enlightenment!

Countless runes, Dao seals, and scriptural meanings were born and perished within his mind, evolving endlessly. The once crude Shangqing Basic Immortal Method seemed to be personally refined and elevated by a supreme being, every single character now imbued with a deeper layer of the Great Dao's ultimate truth.