Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension

"Oh, the Capturing Sky Basket?!" Zhao Xuanjing exclaimed in surprise upon seeing the bamboo basket, immediately recognizing it by its true name.

"Great insight, Ancestor, it is indeed this treasure!" Zhao Sheng held the Capturing Sky Basket in his right hand, looking slightly proud.

Zhao Xuanjing, upon seeing this, teased with a laugh, "You brat! You clearly obtained this treasure yet kept it hidden for so many years. How come you're willing to bring it out now? Are you planning to present it as a gift?"

Zhao Sheng shook his head repeatedly, "A gift? I wouldn't part with it, but using it to trade for another treasure sounds good."

Zhao Xuanjing's expression turned serious as he said earnestly, "By rights, with the great merit you've achieved, you could freely take whatever you like from the family's Treasure Vault. However... the Capturing Sky Basket is too important. It forms a perfect pair with the Soul-hooking Pole; the absence of either greatly diminishes their power. I might as well shamelessly take this ancient treasure from you.

So tell me, what kind of treasure do you need? As long as it exists in this realm, I will go all out to get it for you."

Seeing Zhao Xuanjing's earnestness, Zhao Sheng smiled slightly and said, "Ancestor, there's no need for such formality. All I wish for is to borrow the Sea Shell. I heard it is currently in your possession."

"Haha! I wondered what treasure it was. Turns out it's just the Sea Shell. Take it, take it!"

Zhao Xuanjing laughed heartily and reached into his bosom, taking out a shell as big as his palm, glistening white like jade, and tossed it to Zhao Sheng without a second glance.

Zhao Sheng caught the Sea Shell and, after probing it with Divine Thought, showed a look of surprise on his face and immediately said, "Ancestor, please look at this..."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhao Xuanjing interrupted jovially, "No need to say more. Everything inside is yours. I don't lack for these treasures."

Seeing this, Zhao Sheng stopped refusing and quickly tucked the Sea Shell into his bosom.

Their relationship was such that saying more would seem overly formal.

After handing over the Capturing Sky Basket, Zhao Sheng suddenly wore a mysterious expression and said enticingly, "Ancestor, aren't you curious to know why I want to exchange for the Sea Shell?"

"Oh, now that you mention it, I am indeed intrigued. Tell me, what do you plan to use it for?"

Zhao Sheng seriously replied, "Do you remember the experimental mutation cultivation of the Devil Fungus I mentioned years back? The Sea Shell can isolate its internal space to form a Grotto Heaven, making it the ideal experimental site."

Zhao Xuanjing, upon hearing this, suddenly realized, "So it's that outlandish experiment! If you hadn't mentioned it, I might have forgotten."

"Ancestor, it's not outlandish; I've given it careful thought." Zhao Sheng corrected his terminology, exhibiting extreme seriousness, and explained, "One fundamental root of the Blood God's origin is the endlessly corrupting 'Blood Soul Scripture.' Because everyone cultivates such evil skills, the Blood God continuously receives sustenance from the living, allowing his consciousness to remain ever vigilant, entangled against and competing with the Heavenly Dao of the Netherworld and Mingye Realms up till now."

"However, my idea is to harness the unique properties of the Void Devil Fungus, causing its cells to mutate into a special blood plague poison cell, then spreading it into the blood of the human clans across the two realms.

Under normal circumstances, its toxicity is mild and not lethal. However, Cultivators practicing the 'Blood Soul Scripture' will inevitably refine a great deal of Essence Blood Pearls to rapidly elevate their cultivation.

Once the human clans across both realms are infected, the more Essence Blood Pearls they refine, the more accumulative the fungal cells in their bodies become.

When these cells surpass a certain quantity, it would trigger a reversion phenotype, thereby engendering an outbreak of blood plague while manifesting symptoms of crystallization. According to the characteristics of the Void Devil Fungus, anyone showing signs of crystallization is doomed to die.

If my concept can be successfully realized, no one would dare cultivate the 'Blood Soul Scripture' at that point.

Should this come to pass, the Blood God would undoubtedly suffer a severe blow, presenting a golden opportunity for the Two Realms Heavenly Dao to obliterate the Blood God." Zhao Sheng spoke with conviction, and Zhao Xuanjing listened just as earnestly.

Yet, upon hearing the entire plan, Zhao Xuanjing suddenly voiced a reality check by pointing out the largest flaw, "Qiong Tian, your idea is great, but the Netherworld and the Mingye Realm are riddled with hidden forces, and Divinity Transformation True Monarchs aren't rare. Regardless of how fierce the Void Devil Fungus might be, I don't believe there will be no one capable of countering it."

With a smile, Zhao Sheng said, "Ancestor, please take a look here!"

As his voice fell, he flipped his right hand, from which his Storage Bag emitted a streak of crystal light that instantly transformed into a crystal tree about a foot high, wreathed with Crystal Silk.

Seemingly sensing the presence of living beings, the Crystal Fungus Tree swayed its crystal branches, countless strands of Crystal Silk rising with the wind, writhing like living creatures.

However, under Zhao Sheng's calming influence, the tree refrained from making any aggressive gestures.

"Ancestor, take a careful look, what is prevalent within the spiritual energy?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xuanjing's brow suddenly brightened as his Primordial Spirit Power rapidly expanded in all directions, enveloping the surroundings of the fungus tree within a thirty-foot radius.

A breath later, his expression suddenly changed for he had detected numerous Devil Fungus cells, each ten times smaller than spiritual energy particles.

"This... what on earth is this infernal thing? No, it's the Devil Fungus cells! Their size is so minuscule, it's utterly incredible!" Zhao Xuanjing displayed surprise in his eyes, unable to stop exclaiming in astonishment.

On this side, Zhao Sheng took out four Jade Scrolls and handed them to Zhao Xuanjing, signaling for him to take a look.

The Jade Scrolls contained all information about the Void Devil Fungus, including the eradication of Crystal Corpses in the spiritual realm, the Ghost Crystal Pill, the acquisition of the fungus tree, and other mutation experiments conducted in the Mingye Realm.

Zhao Xuanjing swiftly perused the contents of the Jade Scrolls, and this time his expression truly changed.

With the substantiation from those formidable Crystal Corpses in the spiritual realm, one could only imagine the terrifying threat once the Void Devil Fungus multiplied to a sufficient scale.

If no solution is found, this thing could indeed destroy worlds!

"The Ghost Crystal Pill, where is it? Hand it over quickly!" Zhao Xuanjing stowed away the Jade Scrolls and reached out his hand sternly in front of Zhao Sheng, urging him seriously.

Seeing this, Zhao Sheng promptly pulled a black cloth bag from his waist and tipped out a thumb-sized, lustrously transparent Crystal Ball, flicking it to Zhao Xuanjing.

With the emergence of the Crystal Pill, an invisible, intangible wave of ghostly green radiance radiated from within, gradually permeating a ten-foot radius around the two of them.

At this moment, Zhao Xuanjing's expression suddenly relaxed, for he "saw" the drifting Devil Fungus cells indeed being effortlessly annihilated by the ghostly green radiance.

Witnessing this scene, Zhao Sheng summoned the Crystal Fungus Tree back, transforming it into a streak of crystal light, which flew back into the Storage Bag on its own.

Zhao Xuanjing toyed with the Ghost Crystal Pill with a very serious expression and said, "I retract my earlier statement! Go ahead with your plan. In my opinion, there's about a two percent chance of success."

Jokingly, Zhao Sheng questioned, "Only two percent? That's too low! I'd say at least a thirty percent probability, especially since the Two Realms Heavenly Dao is on our side."

However, Zhao Xuanjing said, "Even if there's the amplification of Heavenly Dao Qi Fortune, at most it can raise the chance to ten percent, which isn't negligible. Besides, do not underestimate the people of the world. The Netherworld conceals several troublesome figures that give me quite a headache."

Reflecting on this, Zhao Sheng accepted that he maybe was complicating things and should not take them too lightly.

"...Additionally, I have a suggestion. In this realm, when it comes to the use of poisons and gu refinement, none compare to the Gu God Lineage of the Beast Taming Sect. Since you're aiming to cultivate mutated strains, perhaps you could learn a thing or two at Gu God Peak by exchanging insights. Surely, that would be quite rewarding."

The saying goes, one word can awaken the dreamer!

Immediately enlightened, Zhao Sheng almost overlooked that this realm also had impassioned individuals who delighted in nurturing and refining gu.

Both gu nurturing and mutation experimentation share similar methods, and there's certainly common ground between them.

Buoyed by Zhao Xuanjing's guidance, Zhao Sheng couldn't help his eagerness, and after beseeching the ancestor for a letter of introduction, he swiftly and zealously departed from there.

After returning to Earth Flame Island, Zhao Sheng settled matters and summoned two family Golden Core cultivators, instructing them to manage affairs on the island and continue amassing gold, silver, copper, iron, and tin—the more, the better, including non-ferrous iron.

The next day, a streak of golden tunneling light shot up from Heavenly Pillar Mountain, and after plunging into the Cloud Sea, blazed southward at full speed.