Great Immortal With Boundless Mana

Chapter 148: It's Settled

Shangong Hall, elegant room.

Zhang Qing, a meticulous steward with thin eyebrows and small eyes, politely invited Gao Xian to take a seat and had someone serve fragrant tea.

Zhang Qing then took out numerous Shangong tokens and carefully calculated them against the Shangong register.

After a while, Zhang Qing looked up and smiled at Gao Xian, saying, "Fellow Daoist, there are a total of 5,037 Shangong. No mistakes."

Gao Xian smiled. With so many people from the Zhu family doing Shangong tasks together, it was not difficult.

Zhang Qing asked, "May I ask what Fellow Daoist would like to exchange for?"

"I want to exchange for the Foundation Building method of the Great Five Elements Gong," Gao Xian said.

"Oh. Please wait a moment, Fellow Daoist. I will go and consult the hall master," Zhang Qing said.

Zhang Qing nodded to Gao Xian and quickly left the quiet room.

After a while, Zhang Qing returned with a somewhat complicated expression on his face.

Seeing Zhang Qing's expression, Gao Xian felt that the situation was not good. But he didn't say anything, just waited quietly for Zhang Qing to speak.

Zhang Qing first cupped his hands to Gao Xian, then sighed deeply and said with a troubled face, "Fellow Daoist, I'm sorry, but the Foundation Building method of the Great Five Elements Gong cannot be exchanged."

"Hmm?"

Gao Xian's face also turned ugly. "This was said by the Elder personally. How come it's not possible when it comes to you guys?!"

Zhang Qing smiled bitterly. As a lowly steward, he didn't dare to block Zhu Qiniang's path.

With things turning out like this, he was the most uncomfortable being caught in the middle.

There was nothing he could do but respectfully explain to Gao Xian, "Fellow Daoist, the hall master does not allow it, and I have no way to change that."

Gao Xian stood up and said, "I will go and ask your hall master. There must be a reason and an explanation if you won't give it to me!"

Zhang Qing was a little surprised. Their hall master, Zhang Chunjian, was a Foundation Building cultivator. Zhu Qiniang didn't come this time, yet Gao Xian, a little pretty boy, had the courage to argue with Zhang Chunjian!

However, this was a good thing, saving him from having to explain humbly.

Zhang Qing pretended to be hesitant and asked, "Fellow Daoist, are you really going to do this?"

Gao Xian glanced coldly at him, his face as calm as water.

Zhang Qing no longer rambled on and led Gao Xian through a side door of the main hall, straight to the backyard.

After passing through two doors and turning around a huge screen, the two arrived at a spacious courtyard.

In the middle of the courtyard, there was a large water pool with various colorful fish swimming in the green water, appearing lively.

As a result, the courtyard was quite cool due to the large water pool, without the usual fishy smell of a reservoir.

A small bridge is built over the pond, leading directly to the main house.

In the courtyard, there is also a tall and majestic ginkgo tree, its canopy like an umbrella, covering most of the courtyard.

Zhang Chunjiang, a tall and sturdy figure, is sitting on a chair under the shade of the tree, with a small tea table next to him. It seems that he is enjoying tea and watching the fish.

This big man is wearing a purple robe, open at the chest, without any inner or outer garments, revealing a dense black chest hair.

His hair is messy, his eyes slightly narrowed, his legs casually spread apart, giving off a reckless and unrestrained appearance.

Gao Xian had seen Zhang Chunjiang at the Feima gathering, but of course, Zhang Chunjiang had not seen him.

At that time, he felt that Zhang Chunjiang's speech was vulgar, but he had a kind of bold and unrestrained aura.

This time, Zhang Chunjiang seemed even more relaxed.

Gao Xian had seen many cultivators, but only Zhang Chunjiang had a bit of the free and easy demeanor of a Daoist.

He originally admired the other party, but unfortunately, the other party insisted on blocking his way. This was something he couldn't tolerate.

"I, Gao Xian, pay my respects to Master Zhang."

After bowing with clasped fists, Gao Xian directly said, "Master Zhang, I want to exchange 5,000 merits for the Foundation Building technique of the Great Five Elements technique. This is the rule of the sect. Why won't you allow it?"

Zhang Chunjiang didn't even open his eyes, he just glanced at Gao Xian with his eyes turned.

Gao Xian, dressed in a green robe and carrying a sword, had a tall and straight figure, handsome appearance, and stood there with an air of neither servility nor arrogance. There was a sharpness in his star-like eyes.

Zhang Chunjiang originally just casually glanced at him, but found that the person in front of him had quite a demeanor, different from the rumors.

He couldn't help but softly exclaim, "Oh," but he quickly returned to normal.

No matter how outstanding a young man was, he was just a small Qi Refining cultivator.

Zhang Chunjiang was originally not interested in Gao Xian, but now he changed his mind.

He directly said, "You offended Xu Lingyun, he won't let you exchange the technique. Of course, I have to stand up for an old friend. No need for further discussion."

Gao Xian had already guessed this, but Zhang Chunjiang's indifference and directness still made him angry.

This Zhang Chunjiang completely didn't put him in his eyes.

He fell silent for a moment and said, "Master Zhang, it's understandable that you help a friend. I just want to ask, what is the reason, what is the rule for not allowing the exchange of techniques?!"

Zhang Chunjiang was a little displeased. He slowly sat up straight, opened his eyes, and stared straight at Gao Xian.

Gao Xian remained calm and met Zhang Chunjiang's gaze, his eyes firm and steady.

He had seen Zhang Chunjiang's abilities, which were indeed stronger than Zhu Changsheng's. But within the sect, he had to abide by the rules, and Zhang Chunjiang shouldn't think about acting recklessly.

If the other party wanted to suppress him with divine sense, it was wishful thinking.

A glimmer of light flashed in Zhang Chunjiang's eyes, but quickly receded. He had originally wanted to use his divine sense to overpower Gao Xian, but then he felt that it would be beneath his dignity to bully a child.

He hummed and said, "Kid, don't be so stubborn. Your good deeds tasks were all done by others. You can't do them yourself."

Gao Xian retorted, "There's nothing wrong with getting help for good deeds tasks."

"I said it's not allowed, so it's not allowed."

Zhang Chunjian was getting impatient. He waved his hand and said, "Leave before I lose my temper."

Of course, Gao Xian wasn't going to let it go. He raised his voice and said, "Master Zhang, what evidence do you have that someone else did my good deeds tasks?"

Zhang Chunjian was really getting angry. How dare this kid argue with him? Everyone in the Zhu family knew that they helped him with the good deeds tasks.

He raised his thick eyebrows and was about to get angry.

Since killing Zhu Changsheng, Gao Xian no longer feared Foundation Building cultivators. He calmly said, "What's wrong, Master Zhang? Are you going to resort to violence because you have nothing to say?"

Zhang Chunjian was taken aback by Gao Xian's words and felt a bit embarrassed to resort to violence.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "Kid, don't accuse me of bullying you. There's an evil spirit causing trouble in Dajiangfang and harming people. If you can solve it within three months, I'll give you the method to reach Foundation Building."

Before Gao Xian could speak, Zhang Chunjian continued, "Zhu Qiuniang can't intervene. Otherwise, you'll never get the method to reach Foundation Building in your lifetime."

Gao Xian nodded after thinking for a moment. "Alright, it's a deal."

He arched his hand towards Zhang Chunjian and said, "Goodbye."

Gao Xian left, leaving Zhang Chunjian with a graceful and upright figure.

Zhang Qing, who was on the side, was also stunned. This Gao Xian was too arrogant. He dared to show his displeasure in front of Zhang Chunjian!

Zhang Qing looked at Zhang Chunjian again and found that the master was laughing mischievously, which puzzled him.

Seeing Zhang Qing's confused expression, Zhang Chunjian couldn't help but laugh even more.

"Hahaha, this little pretty boy has some guts, daring to argue with me!"

Zhang Chunjian leisurely said to Zhang Qing, "But he's not very smart. That evil spirit in Dajiangfang is very powerful. This kid is just walking into his own death."

He lay back in his chair and muttered to himself, "He chose this dead end himself. I can't be blamed for that woman..."

Back at home, Gao Xian's anger had already dissipated.

Since offending Xu Lingyun, he knew that he would face difficulties when doing tasks for the sect.

He wasn't too surprised by the situation in the Good Deeds Hall this time.

Xu Lingyun, as an inner sect elder, would easily create obstacles for him.

The conditions Zhang Chunjian set at the end were clearly a trap for him. The other party was overestimating themselves!

Why should he be trapped by an evil spirit?

With his current abilities, he could kill a Foundation Building level evil spirit just the same!

Gao Xian took out the "Wind and Moon Treasure Mirror" and his gaze fell on the "Zhengyang Spear".

In the past few months, he had accumulated nearly 200,000 Human Dao Spiritual Lights. Combined with what he had left, he had a total of 270,000 Human Dao Spiritual Lights.

After investing over 30,000 Human Dao Spiritual Lights, the "Zhengyang Spear" immediately reached the level of Grandmaster Perfection.

"Zhengyang Spear: A formless blazing spear condensed from the gathering of Yang Qi and spiritual consciousness. It can refine souls, break divine spirits, and exterminate evil spirits (20,000/20,000, Grandmaster Perfection)."

The upgrade of the "Zhengyang Spear" also increased Gao Xian's spiritual power by about 10% and extended his lifespan by ten years.

An extended lifespan meant overall enhancement of the body and spiritual soul, although this kind of hidden enhancement couldn't be directly observed.

A 10% increase in spiritual power may seem insignificant, but his spiritual power was already stronger than that of an ordinary Foundation Building Initial Stage cultivator, so this quantifiable increase was quite substantial.

After all, spiritual power was the foundation of cultivators. With stronger spiritual power, one could control more mana, cast more sophisticated spells, and have more precise and efficient attacks.

Gao Xian was somewhat satisfied with the upgrade of the "Zhengyang Spear," but compared to the Great Occult God's "Law Manifestation," the "Zhengyang Spear" seemed to be lacking in various aspects.

Gao Xian hadn't figured out the reason behind this yet.

He entered the Heart-Mind Temple and experienced the effects of the "Zhengyang Spear" upgrade from various perspectives.

Inside the Heart-Mind Temple, he couldn't simulate enemies, so Gao Xian could only attack himself with the "Zhengyang Spear."

With his powerful spiritual power, even a single strike from the "Zhengyang Spear" made his brain feel like it was being pierced by a red-hot iron rod. The intense pain was almost unbearable.

The scorching power of the "Zhengyang Spear" was extremely terrifying to the divine soul.

Gao Xian had used the "Nine Yang Talisman" before, and in his opinion, the Grandmaster Perfection level of the "Zhengyang Spear" was far superior to the "Nine Yang Talisman" and should have reached the level of a second-tier spell.

Moreover, his current spiritual power could continuously activate the "Zhengyang Spear" five times in a row.

The scorching power of the "Zhengyang Spear" was effective against evil spirits. Even if it was a Foundation Building level evil spirit, it would probably not be able to withstand five consecutive strikes from the "Zhengyang Spear."

For this adventure, Gao Xian didn't need to save any Human Dao Spiritual Lights, so he also upgraded the "Crimson Dragon Swallowing Moon Technique" to its maximum level.

The main advantage of this secret technique was its ability to enhance spiritual power, and that alone was enough.

To Gao Xian's surprise, after reaching the Expert level, the amount of Human Dao Spiritual Lights required for upgrading the "Crimson Dragon Swallowing Moon Technique" suddenly increased to ten thousand points.

The amount of Human Dao Spiritual Lights required for upgrading the "Crimson Dragon Swallowing Moon Technique" was actually higher than that of the "Zhengyang Spear."

Gao Xian speculated that the level of the "Crimson Dragon Swallowing Moon Technique" was much higher than that of the "Zhengyang Spear," so it required more Human Dao Spiritual Lights for upgrading.

Fortunately, he had accumulated a large number of Human Dao Spiritual Lights, so he no longer faced the predicament he had during the time of the Flying Horse Gathering. He could freely upgrade various spells.

Investing over 80,000 Human Dao Spiritual Lights, the "Crimson Dragon Swallowing Moon Technique" immediately reached the level of Grandmaster Perfection.

Deep within the "Wind and Moon Treasure Mirror," a flickering crimson divine light transformed into a nimble and dancing red dragon.

In an instant, the red light soared into the sky, completely engulfing Gao Xian's consciousness...

(End of this chapter)