New Initiate Disc... Magic Artifact

Day had fully broken.

Ren Qing finished feeding on vapor. The Imperial Court Scroll gained another streak of vivid dawn glow, and his cultivation progress was most gratifying.

With his eyes closed as he regulated his breath, he saw Ren Shanshi approaching with two flapping crucian carp in hand.

His bargain-bin father wore an irrepressible smile, and an unsharpened iron-ringed saber now hung at his waist. Clearly, his first session practicing stances at the martial hall had brought substantial gains.

A woman in her forties or fifties followed behind him, still conversing with him in low voices as they walked.

"Shopkeeper Ren, the second daughter of Old Wang's family in the west of town is quite good. She's diligent and proper-looking, though she's a little older than your boy."

"Matchmaker Wang, isn't that girl already past twenty?"

"Or the girl at the cloth shop on East Street. She studied for two years, and she's a perfect match for your Ah Qing."

Ren Shanshi said awkwardly, "That depends on whether she's willing. Matchmaker Wang, you know how scholars all think our coffin shop brings bad luck."

"Don't worry. What marriage fate cannot be made?"

Matchmaker Wang cast a sidelong glance toward the coffin shop's back courtyard.

"Old Ren, don't say that although your family has no mistress, the courtyard is kept so clean..."

Before she could finish, she suddenly noticed Ren Qing sitting cross-legged by the well, his hands forming seals and his lips murmuring. A faint glow of dawn clouds seemed to linger around him.

Just as Matchmaker Wang was about to speak, her mind suddenly went hazy.

When she regained her senses, Ren Qing seemed utterly ordinary again.

Ren Shanshi pushed open the back courtyard gate and placed the two crucian carp in the water vat. "Ah Qing, this is the famous Matchmaker Wang from the city. She's here to look into your marriage prospects."

Matchmaker Wang promptly said, "Shopkeeper Ren, your young master is truly a fine-looking talent. The coffin business may seem undignified, but in truth, countless people could only dream of such a livelihood!"

Ren Shanshi beamed at the praise. "What do you think, Ah Qing? Matchmaker Wang has connections everywhere. If you're willing, your father will have her find someone for you right away."

"Mm."

Ren Qing nodded without a ripple of emotion. Indeed, it was time to consider carrying on the Ren family line.

Ren Shanshi's delight showed on his face as he hurriedly took out some broken silver from his clothes and handed it to Matchmaker Wang.

After accepting it and exchanging a few courteous remarks, Matchmaker Wang was about to turn and leave when her mind went hazy again.

A faint glimmer shone between Ren Qing's brows as he said calmly, "Matchmaker Wang, you must help my father carefully seek out a girl from a good family."

Matchmaker Wang's smile immediately grew even brighter. "Of course. I'll make sure to pick a good one for Shopkeeper Ren!"

Ren Shanshi failed to notice anything strange in her words. He only saw Matchmaker Wang off, then eagerly turned back to chatter with Ren Qing.

"Ah Qing, you have no idea—I showed off at the martial hall today! The instructor said my talent for external martial arts isn't bad at all. Even at forty, my qi and blood haven't withered!"

Ren Qing noticed that twenty percent of the dawn glow within Ren Shanshi's body had already been consumed. His external martial arts had clearly improved, so more dawn glow could be invested in him later.

If this continued, bringing the Iron Body Art to completion would not be a problem.

"Ah Qing, the instructor even personally taught me a saber technique!"

Ren Shanshi began demonstrating in the back courtyard, wielding the iron-ringed saber with decent form.

Ren Qing ignored Ren Shanshi and walked over to the water vat on his own.

His fingernails fell into the water.

The two crucian carp were soon enlightened, each dressed in a Daoist robe and lying prostrate without moving.

Ren Qing could sense that the crucian carp Dao Children possessed even less intelligence than the Black Rat Dao Child, while also being far more limited. The Toad Dao Child, which could serve as a storage pouch, was still more reliable.

Without hesitation, he condensed a thread of dawn glow and removed another small piece of flesh.

"They're both fish. Black carp and crucian carp shouldn't differ by much."

He fed one to each crucian carp.

The crucian carp enlightened by the Metamorphosis Immortal Art began shedding their scales without end. Then their flesh wriggled, and within moments they swelled like balloons.

Pop.

They exploded completely into a mass of flesh and blood.

Ren Qing had expected this. His gaze fixed on the second crucian carp, whose body began to emit a faint glow as its scales became brilliant at a visible rate.

A trace of anticipation flashed through his eyes. Just as talismans began to emerge inside the crucian carp's body, its tail started convulsing violently, and its scales shattered inch by inch.

Bang.

It too burst apart and died, leaving the water vat in a complete mess.

Ren Qing frowned slightly. The Vapor-Feeding Immortal Art should have succeeded; it was simply that the crucian carp, unlike the Toad Dao Child that had undergone a long period of enlightenment, could not endure the formation of talismans.

"Father, these fish aren't fresh. Let's eat something else tonight."

Hearing this, Ren Shanshi put away his iron-ringed saber. Just as he was about to answer, he realized Ren Qing had already vanished.

Ren Qing had already jumped into the well and landed steadily within the cave abode.

Croak.

A heavy croak rang out.

Toad Dao Child—no, Frog Immortal Lord was indeed the more fitting name now.

It had grown close to a meter long, its round, plump body taking up nearly half the pond.

All the soil cleared out by the Black Rat Dao Children while excavating the cave abode had been fed into Frog Immortal Lord's mouth. After consuming vast amounts of dirt, its back had become increasingly solid, and its skin had even formed rock-like patterns.

Ren Qing swept out with his divine sense and discovered that the storage space inside Frog Immortal Lord had expanded to two meters.

Croak.

Upon seeing the Immortal Elder, Frog Immortal Lord puffed out its cheeks and revealed an extraordinarily guileless smile.

"Very good."

Ren Qing praised it aloud, though inwardly he was somewhat disgusted. Frog Immortal Lord was far too unusual as a storage pouch—it was practically an immovable safe.

He could only hope that after its seventh metamorphosis, Frog Immortal Lord would undergo another transformation.

"Trash Fish, come out!"

Trash Fish Dao Child hurriedly leaped from the water and landed by Ren Qing's feet.

It was now as long as an arm. Had it been a wild grass carp, it would not have grown to such a size without four or five years—though it still looked as misshapen as ever.

"Whether you can become immortal will depend on your own fortune."

Ren Qing condensed a wisp of rosy light and sent it into Trash Fish Dao Child's mouth.

Trash Fish Dao Child immediately began thrashing violently, twisting itself into a knot on the ground. Its scales fell away in showers, only to regrow in the blink of an eye, over and over without end.

As it rolled about, its body gradually lengthened, becoming ever more slender and streamlined. Its ordinary fins spread open, translucent membranes growing along their edges like folded wings.

Ren Qing watched silently as talismans of the Vapor-Feeding Immortal Art took shape amid Trash Fish Dao Child's flesh and blood.

After a long while.

Trash Fish Dao Child's flopping gradually subsided, and its form stabilized. Its streamlined body shimmered with multicolored light, its fins gently fanning and stirring a current of air.

Its mismatched eyes remained, but it looked far better than before.

"It's no longer appropriate to call you Trash Fish. From now on, you shall be... Fish Immortal."

Ren Qing connected with the talismans inside Fish Immortal. Logically, it should possess some special trait as well.

Whoosh.

Fish Immortal shot into the air, darting and weaving through the cave abode without making the slightest sound.

"If it can only fly..."

Ren Qing suddenly recalled that Fish Immortal was, after all, connected to the Vapor-Feeding Immortal Art. He quietly activated the Imperial Court Scroll.

Rosy light enveloped the surroundings.

Fish Immortal plunged directly into the rosy light, and its body vanished in an instant. The rosy light's power surged by thirty percent out of nowhere, and it came under Ren Qing's divine sense as easily as an arm obeyed a hand.

The rosy light, which originally could not remain outside for long, now showed no sign of dispersing.

"Frog Immortal Lord is a storage pouch, while Fish Immortal has become... a flying sword?"