"A Dao Seed?!"

The words on the attribute panel made Zhong Ming’s pupils shrink. He cried out in shock, "Have I reached Foundation Establishment?"

The most crucial leap for a Cultivator from Qi Cultivation to Foundation Establishment is the condensation of a Dao Foundation. Now that his Sword Seed had transformed into a Dao Seed, Zhong Ming couldn’t help but overthink it.

But he soon realized he was getting ahead of himself.

He had indeed condensed a Dao Seed, but just as the name implied, it was currently just a seed that had barely broken through the soil—still very immature.

’It has a promising future, but right now, it’s still incomplete...’

After this reflection, something even more frustrating appeared:

"And another thing! After advancing to a Dao Seed, why did its completion percentage drop?!"

Zhong Ming remembered clearly that before integrating the Candlelight Heart Eye, his [Dao Rhyme: Vortex Dragon], under the fusion of three Dao Rhymes, had already reached 81% completion. It was just a little shy of being perfected.

But with the integration of the Candlelight Heart Eye, its progress plummeted off a cliff, falling back to 13%!

’That’s a drop of nearly six-fold. It’s almost like starting over from scratch...’

Before the words had even left his mouth, Zhong Ming saw the Dragon Flood Dragon swimming freely within the fruit of the Dao Seed. At this moment, it no longer looked like the Vortex Dragon.

Because its incubation was only at 13%, its body was somewhat ethereal, like a phantom.

But its pair of mismatched eyes gave Zhong Ming a profound shock.

The ethereal Flood Dragon’s left eye was crimson, like a sun scorching the heavens. Gazing directly into that pupil, one could even see golden flames churning within. Its right eye was a deep, tranquil blue, like a frigid abyss in the deep sea, with a swirling vortex constantly flowing at its core.

This pair of strange eyes inexplicably made Zhong Ming think of a terrifying dragon species recorded in ancient texts.

"The God of Zhong Mountain is called Zhu Yin. When it opens its eyes, it is day; when it closes them, it is night. When it blows, it is winter; when it breathes, it is summer. It does not drink, eat, or rest; its breath is the wind..."

Swallowing hard, a storm raged in Zhong Ming’s heart.

’...Could my Dao Bell be evolving toward a Candle Dragon?’

[Dao Seed: Candlelight Vortex Dragon (Incomplete) (13%)]

...

The evolution from Sword Seed to Dao Seed didn’t just change the name of Zhong Ming’s Candlelight Vortex Dragon; the change in the sensation it gave him was even more intense.

At this moment, a sudden, intimate, and inseparable connection spread out from the Dao Seed, winding itself around Zhong Ming’s Heart Soul.

With a mere thought, Zhong Ming found his consciousness flooding into the Dao Seed like a tidal wave.

After his consciousness settled inside, Zhong Ming felt as if his Dao Seed had come "alive."

This "alive" didn’t mean the Dao Seed had birthed a new consciousness.

Right now, Zhong Ming’s own consciousness was inside the Dao Seed.

The feeling that the Dao Seed was "alive" came from the sensation that after his consciousness entered it, he himself was being nurtured and completed, as if he were about to be reborn into the world in the form of a dragon.

"..."

All of this left Zhong Ming stunned.

Fortunately, the afterglow of his epiphany had not yet faded.

Aided by the mental acuity from this afterglow, Zhong Ming gradually came to understand the situation with his Dao Seed, and more clearly grasped why it had evolved from a Sword Seed.

"Automatic attacks, automatic operation, and automatic growth are one form of ’alive’; growing from a seed (a sperm), into a baby, and then into an adult—this is also a form of ’alive’!"

"Moreover, going from inanimate to animate fits the true meaning of ’alive’ even better."

"Also, the opposition between the Candlelight Heart Eye and the water vortex was key... The Candlelight Heart Eye is yang, the water vortex is yin. The opposition of yin and yang can also be called the union of yin and yang..."

Having figured this out, Zhong Ming no longer had any doubts about the appearance of the Dao Seed.

At the same time, Zhong Ming also discovered that after obtaining the Dao Seed, his strength had taken a great leap forward.

’The previous Sword Seed was powerful, but it only had the strength for a single strike, so I usually just used its reflection. Now, even though the Dao Seed is still incubating, I can use it freely.’

Thinking this, Zhong Ming’s thought stirred, and he commanded the [Dao Seed: Candlelight Vortex Dragon] to fly out of its fruit and merge with his body.

BZZZZ...

The instant his spirit and flesh merged, a faint, rosy glow appeared on the surface of Zhong Ming’s skin.

His eyes transformed into mismatched pupils of crimson-gold and tranquil blue, and a strange, imposing pressure emanated from his body, sweeping out in all directions.

Even more wondrously, Zhong Ming felt the wind and rain in the sky become extensions of his limbs, the feelers of his consciousness.

With just a thought, he could make the dark clouds churn and blot out the sun, drawing all light into his eyes. He could plunge the world beneath the clouds into absolute darkness.

’So powerful...’

The power of the Dao Foundation attached to his body was intoxicating, and Zhong Ming found himself somewhat lost in it. But what followed was a sense of incompleteness.

He could feel that, as he was now, his strength lay only in his eyes, his Heart Soul, and his control over wind and rain.

In all other aspects, especially his physical body, he was far too lacking.

’Even with weather phenomena, I can only control wind and rain... Thunderbolt, mist, frost, and snow are all outside my control...’

’But the most crucial part is still the physical body. I can’t delay finding a Body Forging Cultivation Technique any longer.’

The [Dao Seed: Candlelight Vortex Dragon] was, after all, still incubating. Because of this, Zhong Ming didn’t use it for long. Soon, it was hanging on the small tree once again, absorbing the nutrients from Zhong Ming’s body and gradually growing.

However, Zhong Ming could feel that because its quality was too high, its natural growth was very slow.

’In one day, it can increase by 0.01% at most. Even if I consume Elixir Pills every day, its progress would only be 0.1%. To complete it, it will take at least three years or so.’

Because the quality of the Candlelight Vortex Dragon was extremely high, completing it in three years was not considered slow.