"Sigh. I knew this business with the Demons and Evil Spirits wouldn’t end so easily, but why are they getting stronger?!"

CRACK!

The major powers within the Frost Moon Immortal Dynasty had long known that the world would face a second impact from the Demons and Evil Spirits, and they had made many preparations.

Now, even a True Disciple from a Major Sect could casually reveal this information. Clearly, it was no longer a secret.

Thus, Zong Chengze, the Sect Leader who had been out gathering intelligence, also learned of this news.

This caused his brow to furrow deeply, his expression so grim it looked like you could wring water from it.

However, the initial sigh and the sound of a fist cracking the air did not come from him. They came from the frantic-looking Sect Leader of the Golden Armor Sect, Hong Jing.

Unlike Zhong Ming, who had been cultivating within the sect, he had lived through it once and understood all too well the terror of an outbreak of Demons and Evil Spirits.

He had come to Qinghe County City with many schemes in mind. But upon hearing that the second impact was imminent, all his plans evaporated, leaving only a single thought: ’How can the Golden Armor Sect survive this catastrophe?’

"Our sect suffered grievous losses during the first outbreak of Demons and Evil Spirits. This time, if we make even the slightest misstep in our response, small and medium-sized sects like ours will probably be wiped out completely!"

Hearing this, Zong Chengze didn’t argue. He just nodded and said, "You’re absolutely right, Hong. If the situation hadn’t become so perilous, the royal family wouldn’t have allowed the Six Extremes Demon Sect in, and Prince Qinghe wouldn’t be recruiting so many people for an alliance."

"But this is also our opportunity."

Those words did nothing to improve Hong Jing’s expression.

"Opportunity, my ass! Prince Qinghe is recruiting all these people, calling it mutual aid, but it’s mostly us aiding him. He’s not going to protect us."

"When it’s a matter of life and death, he’ll definitely use his authority as Alliance Leader to commandeer our forces to defend Qinghe County City. Why would he care if we live or die?"

Despite his indignant expression, Hong Jing had no intention of storming off.

He knew perfectly well that Prince Qinghe would indeed do this when the situation became truly dire.

But as long as the pressure hadn’t reached its peak, the alliance could still be of some use. For example, if Prince Qinghe’s Mansion wasn’t under much strain but Jade Lake City was attacked by Demons and Evil Spirits, Prince Qinghe wouldn’t just stand by and watch, if only for his reputation’s sake.

There was another reason Hong Jing stayed. If the outbreak of Demons and Evil Spirits was too fierce for Jade Lake City to hold out, he could rely on their ties to the alliance to send some of the Golden Armor Sect’s seeds to Qinghe County City for safekeeping.

Of course, if they left Jade Lake City, they would lose their Spirit Fields, mines, Spiritual Veins, and all their other sect resources. Without these, the Golden Armor Sect would become like a rootless water plant, hardly worthy of being called a sect at all.

But as long as the embers remained, there was always a chance to make a comeback.

"Pull yourself together. Things aren’t that bad yet." Seeing that Hong Jing was already planning for the worst, Zong Chengze had to step in to console him. "Prince Qinghe is no fool. He knows very well that if he can’t fend off the Demons and Evil Spirits, his own Spiritual Treasures and Elixir Pills will just end up in someone else’s hands. That’s why he’s opened up his Treasure Vault and is preparing to cultivate prodigies on a massive scale."

"The Thirteen Morning Stars and the Thirty-six Heroes are our chance."

"If we in Jade Lake City can produce a Child of the Morning Star, we’ll certainly earn Prince Qinghe’s favor. At that point, we might even have a chance to become a Banner Holder."

"And a Banner Holder is already in the upper-middle echelon of Prince Qinghe’s alliance. Even if the situation becomes critical, others will fall first. It’ll be our turn second to last."

"With that buffer period, it will be enough for the Child of the Morning Star to mature. Then, our sect’s lineage can be preserved..."

The more Zong Chengze spoke, the more excited he became. But before he could finish, he noticed Hong Jing was looking at him with a hint of pity.

"I thought I was under a lot of pressure, but I never expected you to be even better at deluding yourself than I am."

This "word of comfort" made the corner of Zong Chengze’s mouth twitch. "You don’t believe what I’m saying?"

"It’s not that I don’t believe you, it’s that the prerequisite for your plan doesn’t exist." Hong Jing spread his hands and said bluntly, "Prince Qinghe has indeed sensed the danger and is willing to invest heavily in cultivating prodigies. And we do have a chance at competing for one of the Thirty-six Qinghe Heroes."

"But the title of Child of the Morning Star? That’s reserved for the Major Sects and the supreme prodigies. Do you think small-time sects like us can even reach that high?"

After a pause, he dropped a shocking piece of news. "I’ve made inquiries. The minimum requirement to even contend for the title of Child of the Morning Star is to have broken through a limit at least once!"

"Does your sect have a prodigy like that?"

"..."

These words made Zong Chengze’s brow furrow.

He had great confidence in Zhong Ming, especially after Zhong Ming learned a Celestial Level Cultivation Technique.

However, he also knew that Zhong Ming had been cultivating for too short a time. Furthermore, practicing the low-level Longxi Peak Cultivation Technique had wasted too much of Zhong Ming’s time.

Moreover, the sect hadn’t nurtured Zhong Ming from a young age.

This created a huge gap between him and the prodigies from Major Sects, who had been immersed in Spiritual Qi, Magical Treasures, and high-level Daoist Skills since childhood.

’Foundation, Magical Power, physical strength, Magical Treasures, even comprehension of Daoist Skills and cultivation level... They’ve been exposed to all this since they were children, some even accumulating it from the womb. Zhong Ming has only been at it for a little over a month...’

’Sigh, what a pity. If Zhong Ming had received the best training from a young age, he would absolutely have the ability to compete for the title of Child of the Morning Star!’

Seeing Zong Chengze’s downcast expression, Hong Jing shook his head and said, "That’s why I say you should save the daydreaming for the night. It’s daytime right now... hmm?"

Before he finished speaking, Hong Jing raised an eyebrow, noticing the sky around them had darkened.

A fierce wind swept up dark clouds, casting a gloomy pall over the Seven Profound Sect’s residence. Fat raindrops began to fall with a PITTER-PATTER.

His Wind Fiend Unity realm allowed Hong Jing to perceive something more. Behind the residence of the Seven Profound Sect, a presence—as sharp as a drawn sword and as majestic as a waking, hidden dragon—was slowly coming "alive," growing stronger and stronger.

A sour look, one of envy, appeared on Hong Jing’s face.

But at this moment, not yet realizing the gravity of the situation, he was still able to say calmly, despite his envy, "Congratulations. By nurturing this presence, that Mo Girl, Mo Shuying, must be just one step away from Foundation Establishment."

Hong Jing, who knew a little about the Seven Profound Sect, immediately assumed this eruption of presence was caused by Mo Shuying.

The latter had been cultivating for over a decade, was the daughter of the Longxi Peak Master, and had received excellent training since childhood. It was only natu...

Feeling the presence within the Seven Profound Sect’s residence growing stronger and gaining more Spirituality, Hong Jing couldn’t help but say:

"Speaking of which, when I saw that girl three years ago, her Sword Heart looked like it had been mostly shattered. Has she moved past it now? And judging by the strength of this presence, she has been reborn from the ashes."

"..."

Hong Jing’s words brought a strange expression to Zong Chengze’s face.

After a moment of contemplation, he finally spoke. "Mo Girl has indeed recovered from that blow. However, this eruption of presence isn’t her doing... She remained on Longxi Peak and did not come with me."

"Huh?"

The words stunned Hong Jing for a moment, but he quickly thought of something, and his expression changed drastically.

"Not Mo Shuying? How is that possible? This sharp presence is clearly in the style of your Longxi Peak. And besides Mo Shuying, haven’t the Sword Cultivators of your Longxi Peak... hasn’t your lineage been broken for a long time?"

"It was only this year that a prodigy skilled in sneak attacks appeared..."

At this point, Hong Jing’s words came to a sudden halt, his expression turning to one of utter shock.

HUUUU...

He took several deep breaths to calm himself before staring intently at Zong Chengze. "Don’t tell me this presence is being caused by that genius you just recruited this year."

Hearing this, Zong Chengze didn’t deny it. His face was full of wonder, yet he couldn’t hide his satisfaction. "Although I also find it a bit incredible, this aura is indeed from Zhong Ming."

As he finished speaking, Zong Chengze’s expression turned solemn. He stared at Hong Jing with burning eyes. "Now, do you still think our Seven Profound Sect can’t produce a Child of the Morning Star?"

"..."

Hong Jing opened his mouth to respond to Zong Chengze, but found he had no idea what to say.

...

Naturally, Zhong Ming was unaware of the ripples he was causing in the outside world.

At this moment, he had focused his entire being on comprehending the [Vitality Dao Rhyme] and the changes in his Dantian Qi Sea.

First was the [Vitality Dao Rhyme]. Just as Zhong Ming had predicted, once he raised his Longxi Swordsmanship, Longxi Sword-Drawing Technique, and other Magic Techniques to the Fourth Realm and pieced together the various aspects of the [Rhythm of Life], he obtained another Dao Rhyme after [Dao Rhyme Dragon Flood] and [Dao Rhyme - Flow of Water]: [Dao Rhyme - Living Rhyme (Fragment) (33.6%)].

After closing his eyes to perceive it for a while, Zhong Ming realized that the so-called Rhythm of Life could also be described as a cruder, ’younger’ version of a rhyme of Spirituality.

It allowed Zhong Ming to imbue his Magic Techniques with Spirituality for a period of time.

Not a true soul, but a kind of Spirituality akin to the intelligent AIs of his previous life.

After imbuing a Magic Technique with Spirituality, the technique Zhong Ming cast could act autonomously, automatically lock onto targets to attack, and even actively absorb external Spiritual Qi to nourish itself and achieve self-growth.

Of course, this growth had its limits and required Zhong Ming to expend some of his Heart Spirit to maintain it.

Once the power of the Heart Soul that Zhong Ming had infused was depleted, the Spirituality of the Magic Technique would also dissipate.

This ability was very useful, and what happened next caused its function to undergo a qualitative change.

The first swordsmanship Zhong Ming broke through with was the Longxi Sword-Drawing Technique, and his combat style was also centered on the One-Hit Kill.

Because of this, there had always been an ancient, silver-white tree in Zhong Ming’s Sea of Consciousness, bearing a single Sword Seed.

This Sword Seed absorbed all the power within his body. Now, sensing the birth of the Rhythm of Life, it began to actively draw it toward itself.

After a moment of thought, Zhong Ming did not stop it.

Then, the Rhythm of Life rushed into the Sword Seed, intertwining with the previously fused [Dao Rhyme: Vortex Dragon].

This time, the fusion did not cause the [Dao Rhyme: Vortex Dragon] to undergo another morphological transformation.

But its progress skyrocketed!

[Dao Rhyme: Vortex Dragon (Fragment) (81%)]

And just when Zhong Ming thought it was all over, with a HUM, the Candlelight Heart Eye he had condensed also manifested within his body.

The grade of this power was extremely high. Previously, the Sword Seed had been unable to bear it, so it had not been integrated.

But now, with its progress reaching 81%, the carrying capacity of the [Dao Rhyme: Vortex Dragon] had undergone a qualitative change, making it strong enough to contain the power of the Candlelight Heart Eye.

Zhong Ming naturally wouldn’t interfere with such a fortunate opportunity.

’I wonder how strong my Sword Seed will be after absorbing all these abilities!’

And so, with Zhong Ming’s acquiescence, the Divine Treasure: Candlelight Heart Eye also merged into the Sword Seed.

BOOM—

Its integration caused an extremely drastic change in Zhong Ming’s Sword Seed.

The originally deep blue fruit suddenly developed a streak of crimson.

The crimson and deep blue intertwined, clashing violently.

But in the end, under the influence of the Sword Seed’s own all-fusing nature, the harmonizing effect of the Rhythm of Life, and the purifying effect of the Candlelight Heart Eye, they did not explode. Instead, they merged together.

This process lasted for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

When the dust settled, the ancient, silver-white tree that symbolized Zhong Ming’s body and mind had turned crimson.

The only thing that hadn’t changed was that the tree still bore a single fruit.

But what made Zhong Ming’s eyes widen was that the name of this fruit had changed. And it wasn’t just the [Dao Rhyme: Vortex Dragon] that had transformed.

Even its prefix had changed.

It had changed from a Sword Seed into a—Dao Seed!

"How could it be a Dao Seed!"

Looking at those two words, a monstrous wave crashed through Zhong Ming’s mind, his eyes filled with incredulous shock.

It was no wonder he reacted this way. In the Cultivation Realm, the Dao Seed had another name: Dao Foundation!