Chapter 100: Water Source Daoist Temple

Flames spiraled around him as Dongbo Xueying soared at high speed toward the north, gazing down at the scenery below.

As he flew further north, the temperature dropped lower and lower, and the cities and villages on the ground became increasingly sparse.

“Whoosh~~~”

A pure white expanse.

The vast northern tundra stretched into view. Five northern provinces bordered this snowy wilderness, which was immense, spanning tens of thousands of miles in every direction. This land was rarely trodden by humans, yet it was home to some unique magical beasts found only in the tundra.

“Boom~~~” A herd of enormous magical beasts, each as large as a hill, galloped across the land.

“Snowland White-Furred Elephants?” Dongbo Xueying, flying high above, looked down at the massive creatures. Each was over ten meters tall, with four massive, thick legs and a dense, long coat of fur. Even the relentless attacks of Silver Moon Knights struggled to pierce through this thick fur. Let alone the thick skin and fat layers beneath it—Silver Moon Knights were nearly powerless to kill a Snowland White-Furred Elephant.

And they preferred to live in herds! When a large herd of Snowland White-Furred Elephants charged forward, even Title-ranked Knights dared not face them head-on. Any mortal human army would be crushed beneath their stampede.

“These Snowland White-Furred Elephants are actually quite docile,” Dongbo Xueying smiled. Because of their gentle nature, they were relatively easy to tame and raise.

The more ferocious magical beasts of the tundra had long been eradicated by humans.

…

Flying onward, as he continued northward, the wind grew colder and sharper, like blades slicing through the air.

“Water Source Taoist Temple!” Dongbo Xueying’s eyes lit up.

After flying twelve thousand miles, he had finally reached his destination.

Even in this frozen tundra, there were continuous mountain ranges. On one such range, stretching for thousands of miles, stood a Taoist temple.

“Whoosh.” Dongbo Xueying transformed into a streak of light, diving swiftly from the sky and landing at the main entrance of the temple.

“Eastern Guardian.” A deep, resonant voice sounded.

Dongbo was slightly startled.

The temple was constructed entirely from a single piece of dark gray metal. Carved patterns twisted along its walls—on the left wall was a strange bird pattern, while on the right wall was a dragon pattern. The voice had come from the dragon carving on the right, whose mouth was still moving.

“Uh…” Dongbo Xueying was momentarily taken aback as well. This was clearly not an alchemical construct, just a mere carving.

“Haha, Eastern Guardian.” A streak of light flew out from within the temple and landed at the entrance. It was a handsome, free-spirited man carrying a divine sword on his back. “Our entire Water Source Taoist Temple is a semi-divine artifact composed of multiple components! Elder Dragon and Elder Bird are both spirit entities of the temple, existing since its founding.”

“Greetings, Elder Dragon, Elder Bird.” Dongbo Xueying bowed respectfully.

He was secretly astonished.

From what he knew, normally only divine artifacts had spirit entities—semi-divine artifacts almost never did.

And divine artifacts were even more crucial to the Xia Clan than the birth of a new deity!

Because newly ascended gods didn’t even know how to forge divine artifacts. Every divine artifact currently possessed by the Xia Clan had been passed down from the Divine Realm or the Dark Abyss.

“Kid, cultivate diligently. Elder Dragon and I made a bet—wagering that you’ll reach Saint Rank within fifty years.” Elder Bird said.

“Don’t pressure the youth too much. If he breaks through within a hundred years, that’s already remarkable enough.” Elder Dragon added.

“Two Elders, I must guide Guardian Dongbo now. We’ll take our leave.” The handsome man said, then led Dongbo Xueying into the temple.

Inside the temple, it was quiet and serene. The paths were winding and snow still covered the ground. Occasionally, small courtyards lined the way. They often encountered Title-ranked knights and mages, who respectfully bowed upon seeing Dongbo Xueying and his guide.

“My name is Gongliang Yuan. I’ve just crossed into Saint Rank.” The handsome man smiled. “This temple is a place for quiet cultivation. Here, the highest rank among mortals is Title-ranked. Normally, there are hundreds of Title-ranked cultivators here. Usually, only when they feel they can no longer progress do they return home.”

“Transcendent beings usually remain here for cultivation at Saint Rank or Half-God Rank.”

“As for Flying-ranked cultivators, they are rare here. Most are either in the Ember World or in the mortal realm. Before the age of five hundred, most Transcendents are deeply attached to the mortal world. But as time passes, they appear in the mortal world less and less.”

Gongliang Yuan explained.

“This is your first visit to the temple. For you, the most important things will be choosing a Qi cultivation method, secret techniques, a Transcendent weapon, and Source Stones.”

…

Walking through the tranquil temple grounds, Dongbo Xueying followed Gongliang Yuan first to collect six hundred jin of Source Stones, then proceeded to select a Qi cultivation method.

“Brother Dongbo, for ordinary Transcendents, whether it’s Source Stones, cultivation methods, secret techniques, or weapons—they all must be exchanged using Transcendent Contribution Points!” Gongliang Yuan exclaimed. “Thinking back, I used to desperately take on Transcendent tasks, even risking life and death to earn Contribution Points. Then I had to count on my fingers to decide how to spend them—choosing between cultivation methods and secret techniques. Compared to many Transcendents, you, Brother Dongbo, are indeed rich in resources.”

“Embarrassing,” Dongbo Xueying replied modestly.

“No need to be embarrassed. These resources were actually obtained through the efforts of Saint or Half-God experts. It’s impossible for every ordinary Transcendent to receive such a bounty. If they want them, they must earn them through their own contributions! Only rare prodigies like you, Brother Dongbo, can receive direct cultivation resources.” Gongliang Yuan continued.

Dongbo Xueying understood well.

Source Stones had to be seized from the Transcendent World. And fighting for them in the Transcendent World required at least Saint Rank strength. It was through life-risking battles that Saint experts obtained large quantities of Source Stones.

…

The Qi Pavilion.

A simple, three-story wooden building. Dongbo Xueying entered and began browsing through the available Qi cultivation methods, searching for one suitable for himself.

Qi cultivation methods were extremely important—they were essential for efficient cultivation, enabling the development of Qi all the way to godhood!

Yet, in another sense, they weren’t that important. Every Transcendent would choose the best available Qi method. When Contribution Points were low, they would rather exchange step by step—first exchanging the Flying Rank portion of the method, then exchanging the Saint Rank portion after reaching Saint Rank.

“There are only two Divine Rank Fire Qi methods: ‘Starfire Qi’ and ‘Fire Dragon Qi.'” Dongbo Xueying mused as he flipped through the records.

He could choose either without worrying about the cost.

“Which one should I pick?”

“‘Fire Dragon Qi’ is more fierce and powerful, while ‘Starfire Qi’ is more balanced in all aspects.” Dongbo Xueying thought for a moment and made his decision. “I’ll go with ‘Starfire Qi.'”

Selecting a Qi method was relatively straightforward.

After all, the method was simply a tool for cultivation.

As for combat effectiveness, it depended more on techniques, experience, cultivation realm, weapons, and secret techniques.

Techniques, experience, and realm were internal factors that required gradual accumulation.

But weapons and secret techniques were choices one could make.

This was why many Transcendents joined the Earth Temple and Blood Blade Tavern despite their strict rules—they were among the few organizations that possessed Divine Rank secret techniques!

“Brother Dongbo, choosing weapons and secret techniques requires careful thought,” Gongliang Yuan said. “You can only choose one secret technique now. As for other secret techniques, you’ll have to exchange for them using Contribution Points from Transcendent tasks in the future! So you must think carefully—otherwise, you’ll regret it.”

“I understand,” Dongbo Xueying replied seriously.

“Shall we choose a weapon or a secret technique first?” Gongliang Yuan asked.

“Let’s choose a weapon first. Weapons are simpler. We’ll leave the secret technique for last—it’s the most important and diverse.” Dongbo Xueying said. Among external factors, secret techniques had the greatest impact on power—greater even than weapons! A Divine Rank secret technique versus an ordinary one could make two otherwise equal Transcendents differ in strength by several, even tenfold.

One could be instantly killed with a single strike!

This showed how precious secret techniques were. Although Dongbo Xueying couldn’t obtain a Divine Rank secret technique, he would still choose the best possible one to minimize the gap between himself and organizations like the Earth Temple, Blood Blade Tavern, and Demon God Society.

Of course, secret techniques also required deep study. If one merely mastered the basics of a Divine Rank secret technique while another cultivator had fully mastered a weaker one, the latter could completely overpower the former.

But for the same individual, naturally, the stronger the secret technique, the better.