Dao Equaling the Heavens
Chapter 129 - 109: The Daoist Sect Treats Me as an Immortal Talent

Chapter 129: Chapter 109: The Daoist Sect Treats Me as an Immortal Talent

"Nine-nine Dao Foundation, how can it be so easy?"

Ao Tang didn’t quite believe it, and with a glance Yu Hua retorted with his usual venom, "Protector, if you were facing the assassination by three Mahayana Realm powerhouses, with your life in constant danger, under the current circumstances, the Daoist Sect would probably be erecting your monument right away."

"I am an elder of three dynasties, a Venerable, and have even met Qingcang!"

"Then bask in the glory of having your name on the tablet and enjoy the offerings."

"..."

Lies don’t hurt people; it’s the truth that cuts like a swift blade.

Although Ao Tang was stubborn, he knew that if he were in the same situation, he would indeed be awaiting death. It wasn’t that the Sanqing Taoist Sect wouldn’t save him, the old creature, but rather in times of crisis, the sect’s cold tradition would choose the future.

That is to abandon an old fellow who has become fixed in his ways, even if as strong as the Mahayana Realm, and give way to a young prodigy who might reach the Mahayana Realm.

Perhaps at this moment, the Daoist Sect had already commanded the Three Pure Daoist to lie low, in case something truly happened, so they could reopen their gate in the future.

At the same time, since the Daoist Sect had Qingyang risk his life to bring a treasure, it implied that they considered Gu Wen more important than a Mahayana Realm cultivator. Especially at such a critical juncture, they had the courage to sacrifice a Mahayana Realm cultivator for a prodigy, suggesting a higher level of importance.

Could it be that the Daoist Sect’s True Monarchs along with Yun Miao and Huayang, the two leading Venerable Masters, truly believed that Gu Wen could fulfill the nine-nine Dao Foundation?

Impossible!

That was Ao Tang’s first reaction. He was quite old, having lived for five to six thousand years due to being from the Dragon Clan, which came with inherent stubbornness and personal opinions.

They had seen too many individuals; often even the prodigies appeared to them as a kind of phenomenon with regular patterns. What age corresponds to what realm for the Human Race to be considered ordinary or a genius, or even descendants of prodigies, and so on.

During the long years, a few extraordinary beings emerged, incapable of breaking their set beliefs, because these were irreplicable.

Seeing that Ao Tang had been silent for a while, Yu Hua tilted his head slightly and asked, "Protector, are you feeling inferior again?"

"..."

Ao Tang changed the subject, "Let’s talk about this life-saving treasure instead, lest the Second Ancestor doesn’t know how to use it."

By now, Gu Wen’s Divine Thought had probed into it. The bead wasn’t close, nor did it have a trick to being refined.

Refining a treasure was like picking a lock; no matter how thick a door is, there must be a lock, but a life-saving Magic Treasure was like a bronze wall and iron barrier. He couldn’t even sense any spirituality in it.

Logically, the higher-grade the artifact, the more likely it was to birth spirituality. Many Artifact Refining materials could also produce spirits after a long time; it was inevitable.

But how could a treasure meant for protecting one’s life lack an Artifact Spirit?

Ao Tang, seeing his confusion, explained, "The most important thing about a life-saving treasure is stability, and for it to be used by prodigies with shallow cultivation. Even if there is an Artifact Spirit, it would be subdued by default, making it more convenient to use."

"I see. So how do I refine it?"

"By a special method of Magic Skill and dripping blood to acknowledge as the master."

Here it came, a classic moment in immortal cultivation.

Gu Wen’s spirits lifted. Refining artifacts previously was as dull as threading a needle. People are creatures of habit; after doing too much needlework, one always dreams of a loom.

"Come, let me teach you how to refine it. Every life-saving treasure has a unique method for refining, and a limited number of attempts."

Ao Tang sent a Divine Thought that contained a spell meant solely for refining the life-saving treasure, which had no other purpose. Clearly, it was a secret of immortal cultivation.

Gu Wen silently recited the spell, forcing a drop of essence blood from his fingertip onto the amber bead. Instantly it merged into the bead, and then the bead turned into a clear vapor that entered Gu Wen’s body through his nostrils.

In the blink of an eye, there was an additional bead in his Qi Sea, which had turned a clear jade color.

A faint connection came through, interwoven with information about the treasure.

[Life-saving Pearl, can withstand attacks from a Mahayana Realm powerhouse nine hundred times, a Dao Realm expert’s full-force strike nine times.]

Nine strikes from a Dao Realm expert, that is, the Emperor would need at least nine attempts to kill him. The words ’full-force’ deserved contemplation; for instance, if he used his full force, he could only swing the True Sword Dao ten times, but to avoid fainting afterward, it was best to keep to eight times, with nine being the limit.

If the Lord Emperor was the same, then this pearl alone could prevent him from being killed, able to bring himself back from the dead if alone.

And ordinary True Monarchs simply couldn’t lay a hand on him.

Another message followed: [Activates upon severe injury or imminent fatal injury, effective if the Divine Soul is harmed, otherwise useless.]

Well, that made sense.

Gu Wen would have claimed invincibility, but now he saw that it was merely his life being safeguarded. He wouldn’t worry about being killed when far from Yu Hua, and he certainly wasn’t planning to take hits just to enjoy the buffering of the life-saving treasure.

Moreover, this was only temporary safety. What if he were imprisoned and slowly tortured to death?

However, if it came to that, presumably Yu Hua would be dead too, and it wouldn’t matter what treasures Gu Wen had if he were captured. This was for buying time, giving Yu Hua and Ao Tang a chance to save him.

"How is it? Let this old man see what the Daoist Sect has given you."

Curious, Ao Tang stretched his head over to see. Due to the unique nature of the life-saving treasure, he actually didn’t know which specific one it was.

Gu Wen passed on one of the messages to the two of them, and Ao Tang’s eyes widened in shock, exclaiming, "It’s actually this thing? Do Yun Miao and the others really expect you to achieve Dao Foundation Perfection?"

Previously, he had merely speculated, but now it appeared the Daoist Sect might truly be cultivating Gu Wen for a nine-level fulfilled Dao Foundation.

Even Yu Hua showed rare surprise, "Life-saving Pearl, it’s one of the top treasures of the Daoist Sect. But why this one?"

Gu Wen asked in wonder, "Is there something special about the Life-saving Pearl?"