Chapter 265: The Difficulty of Seeking Jin Dan

In the secret chamber, Seeing Suo Huan's robe fluttered as he smiled warmly, the expression like a mask glued to his face, unchanging even as he moved to act.

"Thank you, fellow cultivator."

Looking at Miaoyin True Person, Seeing Suo Huan's mind flashed back to his meeting with the 【Zengcai Qiluo True Lord】 beyond the seas, a shadow flickering across his face.

'To seek skin from a tiger—there's no other way!'

'I am an outsider cultivator, with no True Lord behind me; to seek Jin Dan, I must gain the tacit approval of the various True Lords to have even a glimmer of hope.'

'From this perspective, I must thank Chongguang. Had he not exposed that late-stage Jin Dan True Lord, I might have died without ever finding an opening. Now at least the Holy Sect's True Lords permit me to prove the 【Long Flowing Water】, and even offer to personally refine a Dinghai Pearl for me.'

Yet as he thought of this, Seeing Suo Huan's face showed no trace of joy.

As an outsider cultivator, his path to Jin Dan was undoubtedly several times harder than Chongguang's; he needed to meet three conditions just to have a slim chance.

First was the ritual to stir the Position.

'【Long Flowing Water】 is endless, ceaseless, boundless. I use the 【Dinghai Pearl】 to embody its meaning—this should draw the Position's gaze.'

This was the first condition.

Second, his 【Lingxu Fudi】 was still incomplete; he must fully perfect it through qi absorption to meet the minimum standard for transformation into a Cave Heaven.

Third was status.

'My current strength is strictly that of a Great True Person, comparable to Foundation Establishment late stage, yet I fall far short of Foundation Establishment completion—this is my innate flaw!'

Seeing Suo Huan's heart ached; his home realm, though sizable, had only formed a nascent Position, and strictly speaking was even inferior to the current 【Wan Wu Jie】, otherwise it would not have become a battlefield for Dao usurpation. As a cultivator from that realm, his cultivation was inherently deficient.

The strongest he could reach was Foundation Establishment late stage!

Unless he reincarnated and re-cultivated, he would never reach Foundation Establishment completion, let alone refine Jin Xing—how could he possibly support his Fudi?

Three obstacles, each harder than the last.

'But my lifespan is nearly spent—everyone in the 【Huan Xu Jie】 is dead! If I die now, the 【Huan Xu Jie】 will be truly extinct!'

Thinking of this, Seeing Suo Huan's previously hesitant gaze hardened instantly. He had nothing to lose—he would die without breaking through to Jin Dan, but breaking through might still grant him life. What was there to fear? A cultivator with no backing like him had no other path but to gamble.

With this thought, Seeing Suo Huan immediately began preparations.

He borrowed Miaoyin True Person's 【Xutian Mirror】 outright, casually modified the array patterns, and soon the mirror's surface shimmered once more with radiant light.

'Amitabha.'

Within the radiance appeared a bald head—a venerable monk with kind features. Seeing Suo Huan, recognizing him, bowed deeply with practiced reverence.

'Servant greets the Great Power Supreme One.'

The old monk was none other than 【Da Shizhi】, a Great True Person of the Pure Land and the most promising candidate among its elders to ascend to Bodhisattva status.

As soon as the Great Power Supreme One appeared, his gaze locked directly onto Seeing Suo Huan: 'Have you made your decision, lay follower?'

'I have.'

Seeing Suo Huan declared firmly: 'I seek to prove the 【Long Flowing Water】. If I ever ascend to True Lord status, I shall merge my Cave Heaven and Position entirely into the Pure Land!'

Seizing a celestial Position offered no future.

Seeing Suo Huan knew this well—ordinary realms were lucky to have one Position, yet this cursed place had thirty!

What was there to play for?

Besides, above them stood Nascent Soul Dao Lords—he could not comprehend that realm, only knew that if he seized a Position, he would be crushed the instant he did so.

Thus Seeing Suo Huan had long planned ahead.

'Seizing the Position is only to revive the 【Huan Xu Jie】 within my Fudi; afterward, I can return it. Merging it into the Pure Land is a fine option.'

'As for the Pure Land's cultivation flaws at the Bodhisattva stage, there is still some autonomy—troublesome for others, but not for me. If I can achieve Jin Dan and ascend, I can deal with the aftermath later. If I cannot even seek Jin Dan, hesitation is meaningless!'

Thinking thus, Seeing Suo Huan bowed again:

'I humbly beg the Master to act—please have the Bodhisattva establish a temple within my 【Lingxu Fudi】, infusing it with great Dharma power to hasten its completion.'

He was willingly handing them leverage.

Allowing the Pure Land to leave its mark within his 【Lingxu Fudi】 ensured they would trust him, aiding his Fudi's perfection without fearing betrayal.

As expected, the Great Power Supreme One's face brightened with satisfaction:

'Buddha means awakening.'

'Lay follower, with awakening heart, you shall surely become a Buddha.'

Saying this, the Great Power Supreme One withdrew a thick scripture, its cover emblazoned with seven golden characters: 【Mahayana Zhengjue Genben Jing】!

'This scripture was personally transcribed by the Bodhisattva with great magic power—each character is a pearl, empowered by the Position. All you need do is send it into your Fudi and absorb it via qi method; your Fudi will naturally complete. But tell me—how do you intend to seek Jin Dan? Perhaps we can lend you a hand.'

'No need to trouble the Master.'

Seeing Suo Huan shook his head. The method to seek Jin Dan touched his very core—he could never reveal it, lest someone find a flaw to exploit.

The Great Power Supreme One, seeing this, asked no further, merely chanted a Buddha's name.

Soon, the radiance faded.

Yet Seeing Suo Huan did not stop—he altered the array's patterns, and moments later, the mirror glowed again, revealing a different figure.

The figure wore official robes, draped in a crimson cloak, crowned with a coronet—clearly a Dao Court official, solemn and imposing. Above his head, radiant light wove together tadpole-like talismanic script, finally forming the title: 【Dutian Zhangbing Shangshu】, enhancing his divine aura.

'Servant greets the Shangshu my lord.'

Seeing Suo Huan bowed again, this time using the Dao Court's formal ritual, his movements practiced and precise.

The 【Dutian Zhangbing Shangshu】 was a second-rank Dao Court position, also a Great True Person rank—strictly speaking, even weaker than Seeing Suo Huan.

Yet neither he nor Seeing Suo Huan felt anything amiss in the bow.

The 'Shangshu my lord' gazed calmly and smiled: 'You contacted me directly—so you've finally decided to pledge allegiance to our dynasty?'

'I have.'

Seeing Suo Huan answered without hesitation: 'I only beg Your Majesty to grant me a first-rank honorific title, aiding me in seeking Jin Dan. In return, I shall forever guard the border seas for the Dao Court!'

'Good, good, good!'

At these words, the Dao Court's 【Dutian Zhangbing Shangshu】 wore a satisfied expression: 'Since you are sincere, I shall present your petition to Your Majesty.'

"Thank you, my lord."

Suo Wan bowed deeply, then skillfully produced a storage bag and transmitted it via the Void Heaven Mirror: "These are spiritual materials I harvested overseas. I was blind to Mount Taishan and could not distinguish their quality. Please, my lord, evaluate them for me; consider it a favor to a humble servant."

"You! You must not do this again!"

The Great Heaven Commander of Military Affairs laughed loudly, openly accepted the storage bag, and only then severed the connection with the precious mirror as the brilliant light gradually faded.

Only after finishing all this did Suo Wan finally lift his body.

He straightened his back as if to push up every inch of the waist he had just bent in humble obeisance, and a hint of a smile finally appeared in his eyes.

This was true joy.

For him, wearing a smile on his face had long become a habit and did not reflect his true emotions; only the thoughts in the depths of his eyes were his genuine heart.

'There is hope!'

The Ever-Flowing Water had made the Pure Land, the Dao Court, and the Holy Sect all stop rejecting his request for gold, giving him the chance to solicit benefits from all three sides.

'The Holy Sect provided me with the Fixed Pearl of the Ocean, taking the meaning of Ever-Flowing Water; the Pure Land helped me perfect my Blessed Land, making it complete; the Dao Court bestowed an official rank upon me, allowing me to remedy my innate defects and attain a perfect Foundation Establishment cultivation. With this, I finally have a glimmer of hope to seek the gold!'

Thinking of this, Suo Wan could hardly suppress his joy.

For this, he had specifically borrowed the hand of True Person Miaoyin to reach Wan Wu Jie, a realm beyond the heavens, ensuring the karmic threads of his three-sided bidding would not be calculated.

At this point, the only flaw...

Thinking of this, Suo Wan finally turned his head to look at True Person Miaoyin, whose beautiful face was stiff, still bearing traces of shock and fury, yet frozen and unable to move.

(End of this chapter)