Dao Lord: Starting from a Top-grade Golden Core

"What’s this? Da Ji, you little punk, don’t you go trying to trick Xu the Kid with some worthless junk." The Immoral Taoist suddenly popped up from behind Xuzhuang and peered at the alms bowl, a suspicious look on his face. "Isn’t that the item your master, the Divination Daoist, used to carry?"

"It is." Da Ji Zhenren huffed at the Immoral Taoist, but said gently to Xuzhuang, "Young friend, if you are not satisfied, you may exchange it for something else."

The Immoral Taoist paid Da Ji Zhenren’s attitude no mind at all. In fact, he was delighted to hear this and whispered to Xuzhuang, "Kid, this was a personal item of that great senior, the Divination Daoist. Though it’s not a combat weapon, its uses are quite remarkable..."

Xuzhuang listened intently, a look of surprise appearing on his face. After the Immoral Taoist finished explaining the alms bowl’s wondrous properties, he added, "Hurry up and accept it. If you’re really not happy with it, I’ll just trade you one of my treasures for it later."

"Since that’s the case, I’ll accept it." After a moment of contemplation, Xuzhuang cupped his hands and agreed, accepting the bronze alms bowl from Da Ji Zhenren. Da Ji Zhenren nodded slightly, said no more, and called Zhuo Hansheng back into the array formation.

Zhuo Hansheng was silent for a long moment before saying, "Thank you, Zhenren. Since this is the outcome, there’s no need to mention the reward you promised me."

"In any case, I was unable to win the match."

Da Ji Zhenren coughed lightly and said, "Winning and losing are common occurrences. You need not be too concerned, young friend."

Zhuo Hansheng shook his head faintly and said bluntly, "To be rewarded without merit would weigh on my conscience." He let out a long breath. "I still have much training to do. Since I have been defeated, I will not delay any further. I will take my leave now."

Da Ji Zhenren had clearly expected this and just shook his head. Zhuo Hansheng performed a salute, then unexpectedly took out a Golden Seal Talisman and shook it. Wrapped in a rainbow of light, he instantly broke free from the star’s gravity and shot toward the Guangyuan Realm, disappearing into the profound void.

Meanwhile, as Xuzhuang followed the Immoral Taoist back into the array, he was surprised to suddenly see Zhuo Hansheng shoot into the sky. The Immoral Taoist slung an arm around his shoulder and whispered, "So, Xu the Kid, are you going to trade that thing or not? This Daoist master has a magic treasure, an incredibly powerful one... but you won’t be able to use it in this array competition."

"I appreciate the kind offer." Xuzhuang smiled faintly and replied, "But I’m also quite interested in this item, so I think I’ll hold onto it for now."

The Immoral Taoist scoffed, released his shoulder, and let him return to the group. Cen Fenghong and the others congratulated him on his victory, and he responded to each of them in turn.

Once the Immoral Taoist and the Jide Taoist began discussing the match-ups again, he split off a sliver of his mind to keep an eye on the duels. Only then did he take out the bronze alms bowl and sink his Spiritual Sense into it—

From the outside, the alms bowl appeared to hold a pool of clear water. But when his Spiritual Sense entered it, it felt as though it had shrunk to an infinitesimal size, instantly finding itself in the midst of a vast, misty expanse of water.

Water stretched to the horizon in all directions, its surface rippling gently. There was no sky above; instead, one could see the world outside the bowl’s "heavens." Besides everything appearing gigantic, there was nothing else out of the ordinary.

The moment Xuzhuang’s Spiritual Sense entered this space, the water parted without him needing to do a thing. A great, dragon-headed turtle several zhang in circumference, with a rounded back and a shell patterned with the eight trigrams, revealed itself. It stood steadily upon the water’s surface, spoke in a human voice, and asked, "Greetings, honored one. How may I address you?"

A peculiar light flashed in Xuzhuang’s eyes. This great turtle before him was the true form of the "treasure" Da Ji Zhenren had given him: the unique spirit beast that had once accompanied the Divination Daoist, a famous master of the divination arts!

This turtle possessed no powerful cultivation, nor any ability for combat. It could not even survive outside the lake of True Water within this alms bowl. But it was a naturally unique being that understood human speech, knew history, could distinguish yin and yang, and comprehended the principles of heaven!

What made it even more precious was that this turtle had cultivated alongside the Divination Daoist. It knew millennia of history and held countless secrets, making it nothing short of a talking Daoist canon!

Even setting aside everything else, this single function was enough to justify its value.

Not daring to be impolite, Xuzhuang cupped his hands and replied, "I am Xuzhuang. Greetings, Senior."

The great dragon-headed turtle chuckled. "Honored one, you are the master and I am the servant. How could I possibly deserve such a respectful address from you?"

"You speak too seriously, Senior. I was merely fortunate." Xuzhuang smiled. "To be able to receive your guidance is an honor; there’s no need to speak of master and servant. Please, just call me Fellow Daoist."

"Hmm..." The great dragon-headed turtle contemplated for a moment, then replied, "Very well. My name is Bitu. If you do not object, we shall address each other as ’Fellow Daoist’."

Hearing this, Xuzhuang no longer demurred and called out, "Fellow Daoist Bitu."

Bitu was very pleased and said, "Now that I follow you, Fellow Daoist, if there is anything you require, you need only inform me with your Spiritual Sense."

It glanced up at the surface of the lake and added, "However, while I do not need to eat, I rely on this True Water to live. I’m afraid this is a matter that you will have to attend to, Fellow Daoist."

Xuzhuang naturally had no objections and agreed. Bitu’s lips then parted and closed, transmitting a Magic Formula for refining True Water into Xuzhuang’s ear. As he listened carefully, Xuzhuang was slightly taken aback.

The refining method itself wasn’t difficult, but every single material was exceptionally rare. In particular, it required primordial essences of both Kui and Ren water as a base, with the Sun, Moon, and Star Three-Flavored Divine Water as a medium... It was an incredibly extravagant recipe.

However, the alms bowl still contained enough to last Bitu for several hundred years, so there was no need to worry for the time being. Besides, compared to its value, spending a few worldly possessions was nothing.

’If Bitu really is that miraculous.’

An idea sparked in Xuzhuang’s mind. He nodded to show he understood, then cupped his hands and asked, "I happen to have a question, and I was wondering if you might be able to provide some clarification, Fellow Daoist."

Bitu replied in a deep voice, "Please speak freely, Fellow Daoist."

Xuzhuang contemplated for a moment before voicing a recent question, "Fellow Daoist, do you know the precise origin of the connection between the Spirit Treasure Sect of my Profound Yellow Realm and the Spirit Treasure Sect of the Cyan Sky Realm?"

"Well..." A troubled expression appeared on Bitu’s dragon head, but Xuzhuang didn’t press it.

But it reasoned that having just come into Xuzhuang’s possession, it would not be well-regarded by its new Fellow Daoist if it didn’t prove its worth. So, it replied in a deep voice, "Very well. To be clear, Fellow Daoist, I do indeed know about this matter."

"The truth is, the Spirit Treasure Sect was founded hundreds of thousands of years ago by several Spirit Treasure True Monarchs of boundless Magical Power. They joined forces, vowing to protect each other through reincarnation, all in the pursuit of re-attaining the state of Pure Yang and achieving Immortal Merits."

"What!" Xuzhuang was greatly shocked, having never imagined such an origin for the Spirit Treasure Sect. Before he could ask for more details, Bitu continued, "However, as those Spirit Treasure True Monarchs reincarnated—some re-attaining Pure Yang, others... not—the Spirit Treasure Sect eventually split apart under the leadership of the various True Monarchs. To this day, they can no longer be considered a single family."

After saying this, Bitu sighed softly. "To be honest, Fellow Daoist, at your current level of cultivation, knowing the secrets of Pure Yang brings few benefits. It’s more likely to entangle you in karmic ties. Unless absolutely necessary, it would be better to wait until after you’ve attained the Primordial Spirit to discuss these things."

Xuzhuang’s expression turned serious. "Thank you for the warning, Fellow Daoist. I understand."

Having demonstrated its value and seeing that Xuzhuang had taken its words to heart, Bitu nodded slightly. Xuzhuang, for his part, did not wish to ask any more questions for now. "I still have matters to attend to," he said, "so I won’t disturb your cultivation any longer, Fellow Daoist."

Bitu replied, "Go on ahead, Fellow Daoist."

Xuzhuang gave a slight nod and withdrew that strand of his Spiritual Sense, returning it to his body.

While he was communicating with Bitu, he had kept a sliver of his mind focused on the duels. The fourth match, following his own against Zhuo Hansheng, was between Sima Zongfa and Yao Liqing.

Sima Zongfa was a True Disciple of Taiyi Palace from the Eastern Celestial Realm, while Yao Liqing hailed from a major Demon Sect in the Cyan Sky Realm. Both were experts of the Demon Dao and almost evenly matched. Their duel was absolutely spectacular!

Unfortunately, at the critical moment, Sima Zongfa seemed to be holding back, perhaps reluctant to reveal his trump cards. In the end, he was defeated by Yao Liqing by a narrow margin.

With that, after four matches, the score was a tie between the two sides. However, on Yi Daoist’s side, both Zhong Shenxiu and Xuzhuang had already fought. On the Divination Daoist’s side, Jin Yuanzai was still available.

The Immoral Taoist contemplated for a long time before declaring, "Then it will be Jin Yuanzai."