Living In Another World With A Farm Chapter 8459: Mission (1)

The Divine Design Technique! This title was what Zhao Hai assigned to the full array of skills he had grasped, encompassing the Divine Secrets Finger too. Through this label, it became clear that Zhao Hai viewed the Divine Secrets art simply as a method for channeling power. His goal was to weave this art into every skill he possessed. In that way alone could he fully absorb and master the Divine Secrets art.

The Divine Secrets art truly served as a means to harness strength. Yet Zhao Hai understood that it remained limited to his fists and feet alone. Such restrictions wouldn't do. He sought to apply the Divine Secrets art across every domain, from artifacts and seals to arrays, and even the crafting of artifacts and pills. True mastery of the Divine Secrets art demanded this comprehensive reach.

This very mindset drove Zhao Hai to delve endlessly into the Divine Secrets art. Even amid his daytime duties, his biological brain churned away at computations and innovations. Such relentless effort was key to swiftly fulfilling his vision of blending the Divine Secrets art seamlessly with other cultivation methods.

Though he could practice his Divine Design Technique during the bustling days, nights in solitude allowed deeper focus and swifter gains. It mirrored his mana cultivation—while mana flowed through innate cycles of intake and flow, undivided attention amplified the results. That's why he often trained his mana in isolation, accelerating his progress.

Zhao Hai devoted the whole night to probing the Divine Secrets art. By now, he had managed to fuse it into arrays successfully. This marked a vital breakthrough, building on his prior mastery of the Dao of runes, which unpacked the world's essence through symbols. With the Divine Secrets art embedded in arrays, he could gradually infuse it into runes next. That would let him draw from runes to craft ways of merging diverse cultivation arts with the Divine Secrets art—a shrewd yet potent strategy.

Zhao Hai's deep expertise in rune arts had long eclipsed every cultivator in the Blood Sea Realm. None there could rival his rune prowess. This stemmed from his journeys across countless realms, exposure to vast rune varieties, his biological brain's aid, the rune-loving insights from Laura and her companions, and the backing of heaven and earth runes. Thus, no one's rune skills in the realm measured up to his.

Through this approach, Zhao Hai steadily wove the Divine Design art into all his known cultivation methods. Ultimately, he planned to embed it within the Nine Words Mantra's hand seals. After all, the Golden Lotus Nine Transformations Scripture he had fathomed rested on those very Nine Words Mantra hand seals. Once the Divine Design fused into them, his Divine Design art would achieve flawless completion.

Yet as Zhao Hai immersed in the Divine Secrets art, he noticed shifts in his body's transcendence energy. It had shed its blood-red hue, turning instead to a clear, colorless transparency. Even so, this energy felt far more refined. Such an evolution caught Zhao Hai off guard.

Testing the updated formation, Zhao Hai sensed its potent lethal aura woven in. But this killing intent hid subtler now, invisible to the eye. Meanwhile, a strand of faith power laced the dharma too. That faith power benefited him greatly, aiding his cultivation and even altering his destiny. For foes, though, it spelled doom. Should Zhao Hai's transcendence energy invade another's form, that faith power would slip in as well. Once inside, it acted like venom—untouchable save by countering faith power. It would ravage the victim's body relentlessly, making escape or death a cruel impossibility. Worse, this faith power strand obeyed his command, swelling as it corroded the foe, fueling his own dharma powers to hasten the destruction. In that dire bind, how could any opponent survive?

Zhao Hai felt little shock at his evolved dharma power. He grasped that the Divine Secrets art had sparked this shift. Truth be told, he barely recognized his dharma power anymore. Still, he accepted it—the transformation arose naturally, beyond his sway. Since it only brought advantages, he shrugged it off. Probing this new dharma power lay beyond his current reach; greater strength was needed first. Zhao Hai figured he'd need at least Island Lord level to explore it properly.

With that in mind, Zhao Hai stayed patient. He understood progress demanded steady steps, not haste. Mastering all at once was a fool's dream. One pursuit at a time, fully conquering each before the next—that was the path. Right now, his focus stayed locked on the Divine Design art.

The night slipped by without incident. Come dawn, Zhao Hai stepped out from the hotel toward the market. Watching those rogue cultivators toil for scraps in the market stirred a calm in his heart. Having witnessed the world's endless shifts, he felt he'd seen it all. So the sight of these strugglers sparked a flood of deep reflections within him.

As he pressed onward, Feng Xin approached abruptly. Spotting Zhao Hai, he blurted, "Brother Zou, you're out as well. Need anything specific? I know this area pretty well." Feng Xin had lingered in wait for Zhao Hai awhile. Though aware of his lodgings, he avoided barging in, opting instead for this casual encounter to greet him. It felt more organic that way.

Zhao Hai saw through Feng Xin's wait but grinned and saluted with clasped fists. "Big Brother Feng, fancy meeting you here. Nothing particular in mind. Funds have been slim lately, and as a newcomer to Blood Lake Island, I can't snag Blood Slaughter Sect missions. So I wandered to the market for a peek."

Zhao Hai skirted his true market purpose, claiming just a casual browse, mimicking the daily aimless drifts of many rogue cultivators who bought nothing. He tossed this out to gauge Feng Xin's take, unsure of their real motives. But as a rogue cultivator himself, Feng Xin might hold the answers.

Feng Xin nodded with a grin, showing no surprise. He glanced about before murmuring to Zhao Hai, "Let's step aside to chat." Then he led them to a sparser spot. The sprawling market had plenty of quieter corners. Soon settled there, Feng Xin told Zhao Hai, "Brother Zou, no need to scout further. Blood Jade Flowers are fetching top prices these days. Gather a bunch, and you'll rake in serious coin. Plenty have jumped on it already. Got plans like that, brother?"

Zhao Hai paused at Feng Xin's words, then it clicked—those rogue cultivators roamed to read the market's pulse. Smart lot, they were, picking outings by the fattest payouts.

In truth, venturing for missions echoed Feng Xin's point: scan the market for hot commodities, then hunt them on trips. Luck in, stockpile heavy for bigger hauls. Plus, these rogue cultivators played it sharp, sticking to known turf without rash leaps. They'd scout local yields first—if prices soared, harvest; if they tanked, hold off and never overpick. It ensured lasting viability.

That's why fresh faces in the market often drew scowls from veterans. Sure, some rogue cultivators ignored it all, grabbing whatever grew. But they earned no friends, sparking endless clashes.

Even in the Blood Sea Realm, sects grew basic herbs, yet their potency paled against the wild strains thriving in the blood sea. Hence, those natural blood sea herbs commanded premium rates. Sect disciples scorned such herb-gathering drudgery. It fell to rogue cultivators as their mainstay. In a way, they mirrored Earth's farmers—flocking to urban hubs for survival, yet stuck with the grittiest, backbreaking labor.

"Brother Zou, your thoughts?" Feng Xin eyed Zhao Hai and pressed. "Join me to snag some Blood Jade Flowers for sale? We'd pocket more that way. I've stuck around here a bit, so the local lay's no mystery. I know a Blood Jade Flower hotspot—we could check it. We aimed to settle permanent-like, but the Blood Slaughter Sect's picky on recruits. Gotta commit full-time, haul family along too. Solo folks like me need half a year residing here before applying for permanence. No kin for me, and not half a year yet, so no go on their missions. I just prowl the city square, grab odd jobs. Half a year in, though, I can push for residency."

Zhao Hai nodded along to Feng Xin's rundown. "Sounds good. My crystal stones are running low, and I was mulling mission options. Fresh off the boat here, surroundings are fuzzy to me. I'll lean on Big Brother Feng going forward."