Name: Zhao Dingtian (Zhao Sheng)
Lifespan: 52/226
Realm: Foundation Establishment Level 8
Occupation: Second-tier Rune Master, Second-tier Alchemist
Physique: Rooted in Water, Metal, and Fire; Half-Spirit Race
Talents: Bullet Time, Danger Sense, Absolute Rationality
[Skill]
Cultivation Techniques: Profound Origin Heavy Water Technique (Mastery), Stacking Talisman Technique (Mastery), Sacrificial Fire Technique (Mastery), Blood Soul Scripture (Incomplete, Proficient), Fusion Spirit Dividing Mind Technique (Skilled).
Spells: Bingxin Frost Thunder, Blood Escape, God-Slaying Sword, Thousand Waterfalls Flowing Clouds...
Talisman making: ...Spirit Gathering Talisman, Blood Melting Talisman, Life-Giving Hundred Thoughts Talisman, Dragon Imprisoning Talisman, Thousand Mirror Ice Cloud Talisman, Illusion Escape Talisman, Lightning Summoning Talisman, and 196 other types.
Alchemy: Foundation Building Pill, Spirit Nourishing Pill, Marrow Spirit Pill, Spirit Gathering Pill, ... Spirit Condensation Pill, Barrier Breaking Pill, a total of thirty-three types.
...
Time flies, and years leave no trace.
Life on Phoenix Tail Island was peaceful and simple. The peaches on the peach tree in front of Zhao Sheng's cave had ripened seven times.
He probably didn't expect that this mine-guarding mission would last for seven whole years.
Seven years is neither a long nor a short time, but it is enough for some people and things to undergo earth-shattering changes.
In recent years, apart from occasionally inspecting the mine, Zhao Sheng has spent the rest of his time either refining elixirs and drawing talismans or in seclusion cultivating asceticism.
As his skills in alchemy and talisman-making improved day by day, his cultivation level also increased at an unimaginable speed. In just seven years, he broke through to the eighth level of the Foundation Establishment stage.
Having reached this point, he has exhausted the remaining blessings from his previous life, and his future cultivation speed will inevitably slow down significantly. He can only gradually increase his cultivation level step by step.
Three years ago, Zhao Sheng successfully refined the thirteenth second-tier spiritual pill, the Barrier-Breaking Pill, and officially advanced to the second-tier alchemist.
In that same year, many things related to him happened on Jiuzhen Island.
At the beginning of this year, the Jin family unexpectedly gained a Foundation Establishment cultivator named Jin Dansheng. This person had been traveling in the Shattered Star Sea for many years, and today he returned to the family, appearing in front of outsiders as a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
However, only a handful of people knew that Jin Dansheng was able to advance to the Foundation Establishment stage entirely because Zhao Sheng secretly sold a Foundation Establishment Pill to the Jin family.
It was also in this year that Zhao Sheng began to use his first Foundation Establishment Pill, naturally targeting the Red Light Pavilion, which was obsessed with obtaining pills.
Towards the end of the year, Master Xu Chong's beloved disciple, Ge Chen, suddenly disappeared after an outing.
Master Xu Chong was furious about this, and the Spring and Autumn Alliance had to mobilize all its manpower to search for half a year, but no one could find a trace of Ge Chen. He seemed to have vanished into thin air, and there has been no news of him since.
Because Zhao Sheng had a grudge against Ge Chen, he was also suspected. However, at the time, he was stationed on Fengwei Island, had an alibi, and there was no evidence to prove that he was the one who did it.
Therefore, with Master Qifeng's strong protection, Zhao Sheng passed the test with ease.
To avoid Xu Chong taking his anger out on others, Zhao Sheng, on the advice of Master Qifeng, stayed on Phoenix Tail Island for another three years.
The seven-year term has passed, and Zhao Sheng and the Foundation Establishment guest elder who came to relieve him of his duties have successfully handed over the mission.
Upon exiting the cave, Zhao Sheng gazed at the abundant fruit on the peach tree and silently exhaled. With a flick of his hand, a small, silver-white boat, no bigger than a palm, suddenly expanded to a size of two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters), its bottom three chi (approximately 1.5 meters) off the ground, hovering in front of him.
He lightly jumped onto the flying boat, casually cast a control spell, and with a thought, the flying boat roared into the sky, soaring to a height of a thousand feet. After circling half a circle, it sped towards Jiuzhen Island.
...
Two days later, at Hongguang Tower.
As soon as Zhao Sheng entered the building, he was invited into a private room in the back courtyard by an extremely attentive waiter. Upon hearing that Daoist Longli had arrived, Hong Yuanliang immediately dropped everything and rushed to the private room to meet him.
Ta-da!
A series of hurried footsteps quickly approached from afar. The door was just pushed open, and before the person appeared, laughter preceded it.
"Haha, I've been longing to see you here, Daoist Master, day and night. I've finally got you! I've been waiting for you so long!"
The burly Hong Yuanliang strode through the gate, his face beaming as he greeted Zhao Sheng, saying repeatedly.
"Fellow Daoist Hong, you flatter me!" Zhao Sheng stood up, cupped his hands in a polite gesture, and said.
After another round of compliments and pleasantries, the two sat down, drank a pot of tea, and then got down to business.
Zhao Sheng took out two white jade pill bottles and gently pushed them in front of Hong Yuanliang.
Upon seeing this, Hong Yuanliang's face lit up with joy. He quickly opened the pill bottle and exclaimed, "Wow, amazing! There are actually two Foundation Establishment Pills this time. It seems that the Daoist's alchemy skills have improved again. This is truly a cause for celebration!"
"Same as always, first exchange for ten Thousand-Patterned Star Algae Fruits, and then use the rest to exchange for one Yuan of Heavy Water."
"Ha, it's already prepared for you!"
As he spoke, Hong Yuanliang took out two dark wooden boxes and a black iron gourd, and solemnly handed them to Zhao Sheng.
As soon as he received the gourd, Zhao Sheng probed it with his divine sense and saw twelve transparent "crystals" the size of teardrops, clearly separated and suspended in the center of the gourd.
This "crystal" is the famous One Yuan Heavy Water. At this moment, its spirituality is completely restrained, as light as a feather, but once it bursts forth, it instantly becomes a thousand pounds heavy.
Zhao Sheng opened the wooden box again and looked inside. There were ten Thousand-Patterned Star Algae Fruits neatly arranged inside.
"Very good! Has the 'Blood Soul Scripture: Profound Blood Elixir Transformation Technique' I requested arrived?" Zhao Sheng asked, satisfied as he put away the wooden box.
Hong Yuanliang paused upon hearing this, looking troubled: "Daoist, you are unaware of this. I have already informed the sect of your request, but the situation is not optimistic. The 'Mysterious Blood Transformation Elixir Technique' is already considered a true transmission technique of our sect, and it is extremely difficult for outsiders to obtain it, unless... unless you, Daoist, can return to the sect with me and truly become a disciple of our sect."
"Since that's the case, then forget it! Have you managed to get your hands on the formula for the Golden Core?" Zhao Sheng waved his hand, settling for second best.
Hong Yuanliang scratched the back of his head awkwardly, looking away from Zhao Sheng's gaze with great embarrassment.
Seeing this, Zhao Sheng sighed inwardly, thinking that things were indeed not that simple.
In a sense, the formula for forming the Golden Elixir is more valuable than a magic weapon and is in no way inferior to any Golden Elixir-level cultivation technique.
Seeing that Zhao Sheng could not hide his disappointment, Hong Yuanliang quickly tried to make amends by saying, "Daoist Master, don't you want a talisman for protection? I happen to have three different talismans for you to choose from."
After saying that, he hurriedly took out three palm-sized talismans that shimmered with intense blood-red light and had a jade-like texture, and placed them in front of him.
The surface of the talisman revealed three typical blood-cultivation type magic weapon patterns: a blood sword, a blood shield, and a blood bone knife.
Looking at the three talismanic treasures in front of him, Zhao Sheng couldn't help but show a look of excitement on his face.
Seeing this, Hong Yuanliang smiled smugly.
...
An hour later, Zhao Sheng, draped in a black robe, left the Red Light Tower with satisfaction.
After leaving Hongguang Tower, he immediately changed his appearance and wandered around the market, going in and out of more than twenty shops.
After leaving a shop selling talismans, Zhao Sheng's expression became very solemn.
In just six months, the prices of items such as pills, artifacts, and talismans in the market have all risen by 30% to 50%.
Hong Yuanliang was not lying to him; a new wave of sirens was about to begin.
It turns out that just now at the Red Light Tower, Hong Yuanliang told him that in the past six months, there have been signs of a large number of demonic beasts gathering in the outer ocean of the Shattered Star Sea.
During long-distance voyages, there were increasingly more incidents of treasure ships being attacked by monsters.
The Blood Demon Sect has the Blood Demon Pirates, which roam the oceans and are far more well-informed than ordinary forces.
A year ago, the Blood Demon Sect discovered the clues, and a few months ago, after verifying from various sources, they confirmed that the monstrous tide was inevitable.
At the same time, Star God Island also issued a decree announcing the holding of the Star God Festival and the imminent closure of the Star Algae Sea.
In the history of the Shattered Star Sea, the Star God Festival is almost synonymous with the Siren Tide.
Whenever the Star God Palace holds the Star God Festival, the Siren Tide will not always arrive on schedule, but it will happen five or six times out of ten.
Over time, the cultivators of the Shattered Star Sea realized that this could not be called a coincidence at all, but rather a deliberate scheme.
As to why the three major ocean overlords always choose to attack human territory during the Star God Festival, the low-level rogue cultivators have many different opinions, while the Golden Core cultivators who know the "truth" choose to remain silent.
Information monopolies exist in every world, but they are particularly severe in the cultivation world.
Over millions of years, in the face of repeated monstrous sea monster tides, the Shattered Star Sea people have long since developed extremely comprehensive methods to deal with them.
The first and second defensive island chains were specifically designed to deal with the sirens horde.
For the cultivation world of Shattered Star Sea, the great tidal wave is both a calamity and a once-in-a-century opportunity.
After every calamity, countless forces and individuals are wiped out, while countless new forces and outstanding individuals emerge.
Amidst the repeated baptisms of the sirens' tides, countless geniuses and outstanding individuals emerged in the Shattered Star Sea. Thus, a Nascent Soul True Lord once praised: "In every generation of the Star Sea, outstanding figures have risen to prominence, each leading the way for hundreds of years!"
...
Three months later, on Qiong Turtle Island.
Qionggui Island is located on the edge of the outer star sea, more than 6,000 nautical miles away from Longshou Island, and is oriented due south-southeast. It is one of the 108 dragon-scale level spirit islands.
The island is roughly turtle-shaped, with an area of over 100 miles. The terrain is high in the west and low in the east. The western side has a steep cliff called Ao Shou Cliff, and the easternmost part of the island is covered with white sand beaches. The central part of the island is flat with fertile fields and is home to nearly 100,000 direct descendants. There are also 200,000 close descendants on the twelve nearby affiliated islands.
The Zhao family on Qionggui Island is known for its craftsmanship, especially its defensive magical artifacts, which are renowned worldwide.
This is because every summer, thousands of armored tortoises crawl onto the white sand beach and bury their eggs there.
Qionggui Island has a first-grade mid-level spiritual vein that runs east-west. The core spiritual vein is located under Ao Shou Cliff. It runs through the central spiritual field and extends westward to the white sand beach. Part of the spiritual vein ends in the shallow sea.
Therefore, most of the Zhao clan members who cultivate immortality gather at Aoshou Cliff.
Through the development and maintenance of successive generations of island owners, more than 150 cave dwellings have been built on Aoshou Cliff, but only two-thirds are currently inhabited, while one-third remain vacant.
On this day, the "Dianjing Mansion" at Aoshou Cliff welcomed its new owner.
The Eye-Catching Mansion is located near the Spirit Aperture, where the concentration of spiritual energy is extremely high, second only to the "Mysterious Mystery Mansion" where the patriarch resides, and in no way inferior to the cave dwellings of the other two Foundation Establishment elders.
Therefore, the news that Dianjing Mansion had a new owner caused a sensation throughout the Zhao family.
Those idle Qi Refining juniors were all looking around for information, trying to find out who had such great ability to "snatch" the Eye Pointing Mansion from the family head.
You should know that their current family head, Zhao Yunxian, is notoriously stingy and miserly; it's extremely difficult to get anything out of him.
At this moment, in the reception room deep inside the Dianjing Mansion, an old man and a young man were having a pleasant conversation.
"Brother Zhao, what do you think of the environment of this cave? If you feel there's anything you don't like, just let me know. I'll definitely meet your requirements."
Zhao Yunxian is the current head of the Zhao family. He is over 130 years old, has a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation, is 7 feet 8 inches tall, and has a dignified appearance. However, his eyebrows and eyes are long and narrow, and his nose is high and prominent, like an eagle's nose, which occasionally gives people a cold and stern feeling.
This person is witty and enthusiastic, and extremely experienced in dealing with people, but his cunning sometimes makes him lack generosity.
Zhao Sheng quickly recalled his memories of Zhao Yunxian, and at the same time, a satisfied smile appeared on his face. He said in a gentle tone, "You're too kind, Patriarch Zhao! I'm very satisfied with the arrangement here, so there's no need to bother changing it."
Upon learning of the impending monstrous tide, Zhao Sheng immediately abandoned his "secluded" life in the Spring and Autumn Alliance and traveled tens of thousands of miles back to Qiong Turtle Island.
If he came back out of family affection, that's pure nonsense.
Of course, there is a little bit of blood ties involved, but most of it is driven by self-interest.
Only when the Zhao family prospers can he prosper even more!
The reasons behind this are obvious to everyone, so there's no need to go into detail.
When Zhao Sheng unleashed his Foundation Establishment realm aura and demonstrated his alchemy skills, Zhao Yunxian was overjoyed and immediately offered him the position of guest elder.
Zhao Sheng had come for the Zhao family's sake, so he pretended to be reserved and casually made a few small requests before nodding in agreement.
During their enthusiastic conversation, Zhao Sheng intentionally or unintentionally revealed his "background and origins" to Zhao Yunxian through casual conversation. This was both a way of opening up and a way of showing sincerity.
An hour later, Zhao Yunxian left, having had his fill of fun.
The next day, he summoned all the Zhao clan members on the island and introduced the new guest elder, Cen Hezi Zhao Tianding, to them.
Zhao Sheng reversed his name in this life, changing it to Zhao Tianding, with the Daoist name "Cen Hezi." He was a Foundation Establishment Realm rogue cultivator and also an alchemist.
The Zhao family has sixty-four generational names: Fengxian Mingrenzong, Quanzhen Dutaihe, Zhicheng Xuanyudian, Zhongzheng Jinke, Chongxuan Tonghanyun, Gaohong Dingdaluo, Daode Yanqinghua, Xiuxian Guichangsheng.
The lineage of the Shattered Star Sea has reached the "Da" generation, with the two "Han" generation elders, Zhao Hanqing and Zhao Hanguang, being the highest-ranking members.
Originally, the Zhao family had four Foundation Establishment cultivators, but the eldest, Zhao Tongbei, passed away sixteen years ago, leaving only three.
Furthermore, the younger generation of the Zhao family is not very promising, and they are now facing the danger of a break in the Foundation Establishment lineage. There are only four members of the entire clan who have reached the Great Perfection of Qi Refining, two of whom have already failed to establish their foundation once and have exhausted their potential.
Zhao Sheng knew most of the Zhao family members, except for the younger generation born in the last thirty years or so, so there was no need for Zhao Yunxian to introduce him.
With just one glance, all sorts of memories about these people immediately resurfaced in his mind.
Who is still worth training, and who is just a complete waste?
At a glance, Zhao Sheng grasped the essence of the matter and instantly formed a plan.