The Myriad Essence Stone: an ancient treasure born from heaven that contained the essences of myriad lives. Various human bloodlines, mysterious beasts of all kinds, elemental and great spirits — at the exception of the likes of Divine and Ancient Spirits, the essences of all bloodlines under the jurisdiction of Heaven appeared in that stone.
In the past safely locked in the Highest Heaven Palace's treasury, the Myriad Essence Stone was later stolen by the Infernal Paradise's most resourceful thief — with the support of concealment artifacts bestowed by various Primeval Devils.
Many believed that Shenzhuo allowed it to be stolen, but with no proof to back these serious accusations, they all kept their mouths shut. When the four infernal nuns first appeared to Qiu Meng, they offered him the stone, which he sealed under the Nameless Sword Mountain, at a location known only to Xinzi and him.
At first, Qiu Meng planned to use the Myriad Essence Stone to build his Imperial Platform and break through to the Immortal Emperor realm while simultaneously laying an unparalleled foundation for the Great Principle. But after spending thousands of years studying the River of Time, he now knew that the best moment to use that stone was at the Golden Core realm.
By relying on the Myriad Essence Stone, Qiu Meng could not only integrate the energies of myriad lives into his core but also add the gigantic quantities of Divine Power, Immortal Qi, and the Great Principles that the stone had accumulated for trillions of years.
A brand-new cultivation world would open up to him, and without a shred of doubt, he'd exceed all previous revolution-per-second limits.
'On the road to Immortal Ascension, Foundation Building and Golden Core are the most critical realms. Cultivation truly starts at Foundation Building. But at the Golden Core realm, destiny gets rewritten. Qiu Meng let the Myriad Essence Stone bathe in Earthly Qi for 10,000 years, hoping to mellow out the overwhelming energies that it contained. But that's not enough. Judging from the quality of his Dao Foundation and fleshly body, he will need a whole bunch of treasures before he can attempt to refine that stone.
I, on the other hand, can use it whenever I please. Time isn't on his side, and since he must know that I'm aware of the existence and location of that stone, he will soon try to buy himself more time.'
Qiu Meng didn't reject Tusha because he refused to ally with Xinzi. Quite the contrary, in fact. At the moment, the Celestial Grandmaster wanted nothing more than an alliance with Xinzi. But if he agreed to it from the get-go, he risked putting Xinzi on high alert. So at first, he not only had to say no but also confront Xinzi with a defiant stance.
Qiu Meng knew myriad variations of the futures that didn't involve him. Xinzi could use the Glorious Eye of Heaven to expose thoughts and plots. Both had their own tricks, but from Qiu Meng's current standpoint, Xinzi's position was unshakable at best.
'If I weren't Hengye Zhen and wanted to defeat someone so much stronger than me that I had no hope to bring them down in an all-out war, what would I do? Try a Lianist trick...probably.' As Xinzi's thoughts trailed off, the door of his Tower of Exaltation opened, revealing a gathering of ladies that, judging from their looks, had been waiting for some time already.
"Ouin!" The Mini Overlords bolted out of Zi Feng's arms, flying towards Xinzi's shoulders and pinching his cheeks.
This was a new move, a futile attempt to pinch the emotions out of Xinzi's silent heart. The Mini Overlords knew that daddy dearest's emotions struggled to resurface. As his Heaven Trampling Dao Bones, Evil Qi and Holy Force improved, so would his ability to cast out Heaven's influence and recover his true self. But the Mini Overlords couldn't wait. They had to make a move. And since Xinzi liked to pinch them, maybe pinching back would have some effect.
It didn't.
"Hi, little ones. I'd ask if you behaved, but judging from your mothers' looks, you must have been wreaking havoc in my absence," Xinzi said, playing the role of a doting dad.
"Ouin!" Upon hearing Xinzi's words, the Mini Overlords pinched harder, full of grievances. Minus a couple of scandalous glutton incidents, they'd always been exemplary babies. Sleeping early, waking up late, bringing joy and laughs wherever they went while cultivating diligently. How could dad dismiss their good deeds and efforts by reducing them to misbehaving punks?
Tears filled the Mini Overlords' eyes, and they sniffed hard, ready to cry for the world to hear.
"I'm kidding. You're the best babies in the world, perfect and beyond reproach. Come give daddy a hug," Xinzi said, but though softened by daddy's words, the Mini Overlords didn't want to hug the faker, pouted, and flew into the distance.
Still, they didn't forget to point at Tusha, reminding daddy dearest that they wanted their diamond.
"Heheh!" The move brought a genuine laugh out of Xinzi's lips. If the girls sensed the difference, their body language didn't show squat. But regardless, eyes flashed for a split second, concealing a variety of fluctuating thoughts.
Struggling to not activate his Bloodshifter Heart, Xinzi flashed the girls a radiant smile.
"I already know what happened. You all did a wonderful job," Xinzi said.
"You know. Of course, you know. Since you know, why didn't you intervene?" Dong Ling struck first, not surprising anyone with her blunt honesty. At first, the girls all believed that due to his secluded cultivation, Xinzi had shut his senses from the outside world, and couldn't notice the invasion.
This was true. In true secluded cultivation, experts couldn't sense what went on outside their cultivation abode. But in Xinzi's case, this didn't apply. Thanks to his avatars and spies, Xinzi was always connected to the outside — able to intervene whenever he pleased.
And though some knew more than others, the girls could all name at least one of Xinzi's avatars, an existence that across the last three months shook the Eastern Continent's silk and clothing market: the Divine Tailor.
"Because if I did, I wouldn't have been able to give you...this." Xinzi extended his right hand, summoning over 300 silver gemstones that drifted towards the girls.
"Divine Transformation Stones..." Tusha recognized the goods, unique treasures that enabled those that refined them to massively improve the quality of their fleshly body, souls and Dao Foundation.
By now, Xinzi's wealth shouldn't have surprised anyone, but to see him so casually summon 300 pieces of a treasure that could singlehandedly make a mess of a continent, Tusha couldn't help but hold her breath.
"Indeed. I refined them to reward your progress. You won't always be able to count on me and must be ready, able to crush dangers several realms above your current cultivation. Now that you've proven that you can achieve that, I can rest easy. Enjoy the stones. I'm going to check on my master/disciple," Xinzi said and vanished from the scene.
Recently, all girls could agree that their monk had become a grandmaster at deflecting and shifting topics. For that reason, Zi Feng didn't follow them, predicting that Xinzi would find a reason to ditch them fast.
"Trying to dismiss girls with jewelry — what a typical prodigal young master move. Xinzi, shame on you," Dong Ling said, grabbed a bunch of gemstones and stormed out of the tower.
"You can't say that and still leave with the treasure. That...is so shameless."
