First Draw! Green Lotus Core Flame

[Ding! Beginner mission to stop the old yellow ox's actions completed]

[Reward issued: merit +1,000]

[One top-tier draw opportunity]

[Current merit: 1,200]

Looking at the notifications before him, Jiang Zhe was just about to reflect on them when a young woman's playful voice suddenly rang in his ear:

"Hey, are you a swordsman from Mount Shu or a Daoist from Mount Longhu?"

Jiang Zhe turned to look.

Weaver Girl was sitting on a patch of starlight, her legs swinging idly, her bare feet swaying back and forth in the night as though she were on a swing. With her chin in her hands, she studied him curiously.

"Hm? Why haven't you gone back yet?" Jiang Zhe rubbed his nose, a little unaccustomed to having the fairy so close.

"No way. It wasn't easy for me to come down here, so I'm not going back." Weaver Girl pouted, then her eyes suddenly widened. "Wait! How did you know I came from up there?"

"I'm not blind." Jiang Zhe chuckled. "So many streaks of starlight fell from the sky and landed on the back mountain. People rarely come here normally."

After that brief explanation, his gaze sharpened slightly, and he asked:

"Do you know which way Mount Hua is?"

"Mount Hua?" Weaver Girl blinked, full of curiosity. "What are you going there for?"

"It's a secret." Jiang Zhe smiled faintly.

"Stingy," Weaver Girl muttered, though she didn't press him. "All right, all right. Mount Hua is a long way from here. Want me to take you?"

Halfway through speaking, she shook her head herself:

"Oh, no, I can't. If I'm out too long, Wind-Following Ear and Thousand-Mile Eye will find out, and Big Sister and the others will come looking for me too... How about this, kid? I've memorized your presence. I'll come down and play with you again."

"Oh, right, is there anything you want? Tell me. I'm a very generous fairy."

Weaver Girl patted her chest, brimming with confidence.

"Something I want..." Jiang Zhe closed his eyes. When he opened them again, his gaze burned. "A cultivation art for becoming an immortal!"

"Well... I'll look for one when I get back."

Like a sprite, Weaver Girl suddenly floated in front of Jiang Zhe and leaned closer, her nostrils twitching:

"Were you just fighting someone? Why do I smell those bald donkeys on you?"

"And another thing, why is the karmic thread between us so thick? It's practically as strong as the debt of saving my life."

She jumped straight down from the starlight and landed in front of Jiang Zhe. Reaching out, she poked him in the chest and tilted her head:

"Little scholar, what exactly did you do?"

"Karma?" Jiang Zhe murmured to himself.

Put that way, she wasn't wrong.

After all, his actions had completely changed the fate of the fairy before him.

But he couldn't say that.

"Vega's Protection!"

Suddenly, Weaver Girl's expression changed. She extended a jade-like finger and pointed it at Jiang Zhe from a distance!

The next second, a beam of starlight shot from her fingertip into Jiang Zhe's body, turning into a faint layer of radiance that enveloped him.

"My sisters and the others are looking for me. I can't chat anymore!" Weaver Girl said as she hurriedly floated backward. "Just follow the Weaver Girl Star. It'll guide you to Mount Hua!"

"When I get back and find that cultivation art, I'll pass it on to you!"

"I'll come play with you again!"

An invisible pull arose from her body, and she was slowly lifted into the air like a drifting cloud.

Before she left, she waved frantically at Jiang Zhe, once, then again.

Something about the sight struck Jiang Zhe as oddly familiar.

She was just like Wolffy from Pleasant Goat, flying away and shouting, "I'll definitely be back!"

Only when Weaver Girl's figure had vanished completely beyond the edge of his sight did an exceptionally brilliant star slowly light up in the night sky, hanging in the east.

The Weaver Girl Star!

"Until fate brings us together again, innocent girl."

After their brief encounter, Jiang Zhe had gained a rough idea of the temperaments of the star gods in this world.

The old fellows who had taken part in the Investiture of the Gods were all as crafty as old foxes, but setting them aside for now...

Those like Weaver Girl, born and raised by heaven and earth, who had barely encountered outsiders since coming into existence, really were adorably innocent.

In other words, you could sell someone like her, and she'd still count the money for you.

Coming back to himself, Jiang Zhe turned his gaze back to the panel.

First, the accounting.

He had spent 100 merit to reach the beginner level in Wild Bull Force. Now that the mission reward had arrived, he had 1,200 left.

The system panel stated it plainly: by spending another 500 merit, he could raise Wild Bull Force straight to the proficient level.

But what Jiang Zhe was more curious about was the draw.

[Low-tier draw: 1,000 merit]

[Mid-tier draw: 10,000 merit]

[High-tier draw: 100,000 merit]

[Top-tier draw: 1,000,000 merit]

Besides that, to unlock new armor, he had to absorb power of origin.

For example, to unlock the Black Rhino Armor, he had to absorb a treasure rich enough in the water element.

With luck, perhaps he could draw one from the system shop.

But the odds of that were infinitely close to zero.

Rubbing his hands together, Jiang Zhe thought:

"System! Give me one low-tier draw!"

[Merit -1,000. Current balance: 200]

Buzz!

A ball of light spun rapidly in his sea of consciousness, then abruptly stopped!

[Draw successful! Congratulations, host, you have obtained the Heavenly Flame: Green Lotus Core Flame!]

"Damn!"

Jiang Zhe swore on the spot.

It really was the myriad heavens and worlds. He could draw all sorts of crazy things!

He had actually drawn the Green Lotus Core Flame, a flame listed on the Heavenly Flame Ranking?!

Before he could recover, a flash of green appeared out of the void!

The flame was like a lotus in full bloom, its petals green with a spot of crimson gold at the center. It floated quietly before him, looking warm and lustrous as jade, yet the air around it had already begun to warp soundlessly!

The next moment, the green lotus bloomed, and the flame poured into his body like spilled quicksilver!

Boom!!

Magical power surged forth!

Wild Bull Force began circulating on its own, beyond his control, as waves of wild, primordial force surged and roared through his meridians!

Early Void Return!

Middle Void Return!

Peak Void Return!

Dao Integration!

His cultivation realm raced ahead like a wild horse that had thrown off its reins, finally coming to a steady halt at:

Peak Dao Integration!

Jiang Zhe floated cross-legged in midair, green and red firelight flowing alternately around him.

To be precise, at that moment, he could summon a lightning tribulation whenever he wished!

Once he passed the lightning tribulation, he would step into the Human Immortal realm!

Under heaven and upon earth, he had advanced a thousand miles in a single day!

What delighted him most was that, the instant the Green Lotus Core Flame entered him, that gentle yet violent flame had also thoroughly washed and tempered every corner of his body, from his skin and flesh to his bone marrow!

Deep within the flame patterns on the fiery red medallion on his chest, a faint green lotus pattern had appeared, flickering with light.

Another formidable addition had been made to the Flame Dragon Armor's fire reserves.

Jiang Zhe slowly clenched his fist, and from between the plates of his armguard came the faint, almost imperceptible sound of a green lotus blooming.

The night wind brushed over the back mountain.

After tonight, in this world of Journey to the West, there would probably be no one left who dared look down on this "mortal."