"You must always remember the guiding principle of my Interception Sect: 'Teach without discrimination, and let ten thousand immortals come to pay homage.' The Great Dao is fifty, yet Heaven's workings derive forty-nine, leaving one to escape. In all things, there is a sliver of hope. From now on, you must cultivate diligently and never slack off, so that you do not fail that sliver of hope."
The Sea-Calming Divine Pearls!
Zhao Gongming gazed at the treasure before him, renowned in the legends of the Investiture of the Gods. Feeling its vast power, which seemed capable of suppressing the four seas and overturning Qiankun, he was swept by a storm of emotion.
This core spiritual treasure of his original story had actually... come into his possession ahead of time?!
Uncontainable joy surged through his chest in an instant! His hands trembling, he hurriedly accepted the Sea-Calming Divine Pearls, then knelt again. His voice even carried a trace of excitement. "This disciple... thanks Master for this generous gift! I will not fail your expectations!"
He knew that with the Sea-Calming Divine Pearls, and the system's support, his future would hold far more possibilities!
The clouds of the Investiture of the Gods hanging over his head seemed to have thinned somewhat.
Sect Master Tongtian seemed to see what Zhao Gongming was thinking—or perhaps he was offering him a reminder. His voice drifted over, ethereal and distant. "Treasures are good, but they are ultimately external things. Your own Great Dao is the foundation. Go, cultivate well, and do not let these pearls gather dust."
"This disciple... will heed Master's teachings!" Zhao Gongming's mind shook as though enlightened. The elation and restlessness that had risen within him at suddenly obtaining such a treasure instantly subsided. He bowed deeply once more, then carefully backed away until he had left the main hall of Biyou Palace.
Only when Water-Fire Boys had escorted him to the foot of Purple Ganoderma Cliff did Zhao Gongming feel as though he had awoken from a dream.
He turned to look at Biyou Palace, wreathed in clouds and mist and surrounded by endless Sword Intent and Dao resonance. An unprecedented sense of belonging filled his heart.
This was his Master, his cultivation ground!
His heart still stirred with excitement, Zhao Gongming did not dare delay another moment. He transformed into a streak of light and returned as quickly as he could to his cave dwelling on the outskirts of Jin'ao Island.
Back in the familiar, crude cave, he could hardly wait to wave his hand and lay down several restrictions, sealing off the entire dwelling.
Only after doing all that did he let out a long breath. With a shift of his thoughts, the heavy string of pearls, radiating Five-Colored Radiance, appeared in his palm once more.
The twenty-four pearls were each as smooth as dragon's eyes and crystal clear, as though each contained a vast, boundless ocean.
A strand of innate Water Spirit energy, invisible to the naked eye, linked the pearls together. They resonated with one another, their Dao resonance arising naturally. Simply holding them in his hand gave Zhao Gongming an unprecedentedly close connection to the Great Dao of Water Element between heaven and earth.
"System!" He suppressed his excitement and murmured inwardly.
[Ding! The host has obtained an Innate Spirit Treasure—the Twenty-Four Sea-Calming Divine Pearls. Would you like to enter it into the Primordial Deduction System?]
"Enter it!"
As soon as he confirmed with a thought, a faint purple light shot from between his brows and enveloped the Sea-Calming Divine Pearls. The string of pearls trembled slightly, and all its information transformed into a stream of data that appeared in Zhao Gongming's mind.
[Treasure Name: Sea-Calming Divine Pearls] [Current Grade: High-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure] [Contained Law: Origin of the Great Dao of Water (incomplete)] [Functions: Suppression, attack, opening Water Origin Space] [Deduction Path One: Innately Supreme Treasure. Complete the Origin of the Great Dao of Water within, bringing it into perfect harmony with the host's Great Dao. Estimated Primordial Points required: 5,000.] [Deduction Path Two: Chaos Spiritual Treasure. Reforge its foundation with the Chaos Origin, evolve a sea of chaotic stars, and transform the Twenty-Four Heavens into the embryonic form of a chaotic universe. Estimated Primordial Points required: 100,000.]
One hundred thousand points!
Seeing that number, Zhao Gongming drew in a sharp breath.
The cost of a Chaos Spiritual Treasure was truly terrifying!
He glanced at the 4,200 Primordial Points on his status panel, the total he had after receiving the reward for breaking through to Golden Immortal, and gave a wry smile.
Forget a Chaos Spiritual Treasure—even advancing it to an Innately Supreme Treasure would still leave him 800 points short.
"It looks like I'll have to find a way to build up points as quickly as possible..." Zhao Gongming murmured.
However, his gaze soon returned to the deduction panel.
Although he couldn't complete the transformation in one step, the system's deductions were not limited to those two options.
"System, can you perform a preliminary optimization deduction on the Sea-Calming Divine Pearls?"
[Yes. The host may choose how many Primordial Points to spend on optimizing a spiritual treasure. The more points spent, the greater the effects.]
A glint flashed in Zhao Gongming's eyes. What he lacked most right now was time, along with ways to rapidly increase his strength.
The Sea-Calming Divine Pearls were his strongest trump card at present. Maximizing their power was the most urgent task at hand.
"Spend 1,000 Primordial Points to perform a preliminary optimization of the Sea-Calming Divine Pearls!" He made the decision without hesitation.
[Confirm spending 1,000 Primordial Points. Beginning optimization deduction...] [Deduction in progress...]
The instant the words appeared, the Primordial Points on Zhao Gongming's panel plunged from 4,200 to 3,200.
At the same time, a dense cloud of Primordial Violet Qi enveloped the Sea-Calming Divine Pearls in his hand, and the twenty-four pearls on the string began to tremble violently.
Within each pearl, the vague image of an ocean seemed to have been infused with a soul.
The illusory forms of mountains, rivers, and peaks flashed through them. The cycles of tides and ebbing became clearer, and faint traces of life began to gestate within, only to vanish again.
The Five-Colored Radiance on the pearls' surface grew brighter. The innate Dao Patterns inscribed upon them seemed to come alive, flowing and rearranging themselves, becoming more mysterious and profound.
The process lasted roughly the time it took an incense stick to burn. Only when the Primordial Violet Qi had fully retreated into the string of pearls did everything settle down.
Zhao Gongming held the Sea-Calming Divine Pearls in his palm once more and probed them with his divine sense. A look of delight immediately appeared on his face!
It worked!
The Sea-Calming Divine Pearls were still High-grade Innate Spiritual Treasures, but the power they contained was more than thirty percent greater than before!
What delighted him even more was that the Water Origin Space opened within each pearl had expanded several times over. What had once been a small lake had become a vast ocean. The twenty-four spaces were linked together, their Water Origin energy flowing endlessly in a continuous cycle, multiplying their power!
Most importantly, when he immersed his divine sense within them and comprehended the laws of the Great Dao of Water, they were ten times clearer than before! It was as if a Grandmaster of the Great Dao were personally explaining the mysteries of the Origin of Water to him.
"Rise!"
At a thought from Zhao Gongming, his magic power surged into them like a tide.
Hum—!
The twenty-four Sea-Calming Divine Pearls immediately rose into the air and began slowly circling around him.
Inside the cave, the already-dense Water Element spiritual energy erupted into a frenzy. It transformed into visible blue mist, drawn by the string of pearls into tiny water dragons that circled and danced around them.
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