In an unknown place far away, a skinny old man was seated cross-legged in a cultivation abode filled with Dao aura.
He suddenly opened his eyes and waved his hand. A wave of Dao power spread throughout his body, and his eyes shone.
A three-inch small sword floated above his head, which emitted an intense aura.
"Which Daoist is spying on me?"
After waiting a long while, there was no response. He frowned. He felt that he had suddenly gained a connection with something.
It was as if he could communicate with someone or something.
The other party had recorded a strand of his aura.
What treasure was that?
He had tried deducing it several times, trying to find its whereabouts and particulars. However, he could not discover anything concrete.
Furthermore, he was being rejected by the Great Dao. It seemed as though the Great Dao would not allow him to forcefully search for the other party.
It was too terrifying!
The other party's strength was clearly above his.
"Fellow Daoist, may I know why you are contacting me?"
After realizing how powerful the other party was, Ying Kong's tone became gentler as he asked.
No one replied.
Ying Kong's frown became deeper and deeper. His heart was uneasy. Was this a blessing or a curse?
Should he find a few close friends to discuss this?
"Fellow Daoist?"
He tried contacting the other party again.
After a long while, a message was finally transmitted over.
Words appeared directly in his dao rhyme.
"Little friend, don't be rash. Since you possess some fate with me, stay awhile. This is your opportunity!"
Little friend?
Ying Kong was extremely angry.
He was a Dao realm expert, not some random weakling. The other party actually called him "little friend"?
However, when he thought about it, the other party's strength was above his. Was this person really an old monster?
He frowned and replied with extreme reluctance, "May I ask Senior's honorific title?"
"Honorific title?"
The other party seemed to be deep in thought, after a while, another message was transmitted over. "Countless little fellows like you, or those who are stronger than you, once called me eternal, immortal, handsome, unparalleled, mighty, virtuous, supreme and holy number one Dao master in the myriad realms."
Ying Kong's brows twitched. What an awesome title…
Yet, why had he never heard of such an expert before?
"Little friend, cultivate well. There will be people coming here to exchange ideas one after another in the future."
After the message was transmitted over, that unknown existence fell silent.
Ying Kong frowned and pondered. Was it a fortuitous encounter or a scam?
Or was it a calamity?
Should he reveal this matter to a few close friends and discuss countermeasures?
What if it really was an opportunity?
Ying Kong waved his hand and imbued his Dao aura into a jade talisman, using it as a carrier to receive and transmit messages.
Chu Xuan did not interact much with Ying Kong. After all, the other party was a Dao realm existence. He did not want to risk exposing himself.
He did not even send a voice transmission.
He directly changed the Origin Dao Crystal's communication method to only transmit messages.
"Keep working hard. Connect with a few more Dao realm experts and have them join as well. This is a Dao realm chat group."
He had finally found his first Dao realm expert.
This meant that Dao realm experts existed in the nine zones. However, he had no idea where they were hiding.
The Dao-seeking mirror did not indicate distance, so it was entirely possible that the other party was extremely far away.
It was even possible that they were in an independent mystic realm.
He had recorded a wisp of the other party's aura, and it was the other party's Dao aura that maintained this wisp of aura.
Moreover, it was done passively.
The other party was unable to sever the Dao aura used to maintain it.
Of course, this bit of Dao aura consumption would not be a burden to them.
However, this also meant that the other party would be using their Dao aura to help Chu Xuan nurture the Origin Dao Crystal.
After recording the first wisp of the Dao realm expert's aura and establishing a connection, Chu Xuan could sense that the Dao principles that the Origin Dao Crystal emitted had grown slightly stronger.
Over the next half a month, Chu Xuan did not discover the existence of a second Dao realm expert, though he did find out the name of the one Dao realm expert that he had connected to, Ying Kong.
A month passed.
Chu Xuan occasionally chatted with Ying Kong. During this time, Ying Kong had tried to ask him for advice. In reality, the other party wanted to verify if he was really an awesome old monster.
In the end, when Chu Xuan heard the question he asked, he was briefly stunned.
Was the Dao realm just that?
Was Ying Kong's comprehension of the Great Dao so low that it was inferior to even his own?
Could the other party have asked such a stupid question on purpose?
On second thought, Chu Xuan understood.
The cultivation techniques he cultivated and the comprehension of those techniques were instilled into him by the system. Furthermore, with his divine soul's Dao intent, his comprehension of the Great Dao had reached an extremely high realm.
The only thing that was lacking was his cultivation level.
Therefore, even if his cultivation level was not high enough, he could still dispel Ying Kong's doubts by answering his Dao realm questions.
It was just like how he managed to dispel Ren Changhe's doubts back then.
Of course, Chu Xuan did not dare to guarantee that he could answer all of Ying Kong's questions.
After all, his cultivation level was still miles away from the Dao realm.
In order not to reveal any flaws, Chu Xuan only gave Ying Kong a few pointers and did not allow him to continue asking other questions.
Even so, Ying Kong immediately became much more respectful.
He now believed that Chu Xuan was an old senior monster.
Ying Kong was inwardly excited. This was a great opportunity. Fortunately, he did not look for those few close friends of his.
This opportunity had to be firmly grasped in his hands.
"Thank you, Senior, for answering my questions!"
Actually, Chu Xuan's worries were unnecessary. Ying Kong was very tactful. How would he dare to be greedy if he could get Senior to answer even some of his questions?
At least for a short period of time, he would not express the doubts in his heart without a suitable opportunity.
If he asked too many times, then Senior might become unhappy and feel that he was greedy. Would Senior then chase him out of the Dao realm chat group?
"Little friend Ying, cultivate well. The Great Dao is endless. You have to constantly forge your own Dao aura so that you can take a step forward and comprehend the Great Dao more effectively."
Chu Xuan spoke after some deliberation.
He wanted Ying Kong to take the initiative to develop his Dao aura so that it would nurture the Origin Dao Crystal.
Chu Xuan had already thought about this matter the moment he resolved Ying Kong's doubts. He wanted to use this opportunity to deceive him.
"Senior, please enlighten me on how to forge my Dao aura?"
Ying Kong asked respectfully.
Dao realm cultivators cultivated Dao aura and condensed Dao principles.
Could Dao aura be forged?
Ying Kong had never heard of such a thing.
"It's very simple. Continuously expend your Dao aura and continuously condense your Dao aura. Every time you expend your Dao aura and condense it again, you will gain new insights into the Great Dao."
"It's just like refining artifacts. Only by continuously forging can you refine a powerful artifact. Dao aura is the same. If you repeatedly do this, your Dao aura will grow stronger."
Although Chu Xuan was trying to deceive Ying Kong, he was not bluffing. There was a certain basis to his words.
By repeatedly expending and condensing one's Dao aura, new insights would indeed appear during the process. It would also allow the Dao aura to grow stronger.
Ying Jiankong seemed to fall into a state of deep thought as he said, "Senior, I understand!"
"This child is worth teaching!"
Chu Xuan looked very gratified.
He stared at the Origin Dao Crystal, waiting for it to absorb the Dao aura that Ying Kong consumed.
In order to ensure that the Origin Dao Crystal could absorb the Dao aura that Ying Kong had consumed, he added, "The best method to consume Dao aura is not through combat, but rather to dispel your Dao aura by yourself and condense it again."
"Thank you for your guidance, Senior!"
Ying Kong took a deep breath and shook the Dao aura around his body. It was continuously pushed out and dissipated.
A third of his Dao aura was consumed in the blink of an eye.
