Feng Bingwen naturally did not comment on his mother's suggestion. Even if he held the title of Supreme Daoist Child, he had no right to be picky about the Innate True Dragon and the Pure Blood Vermilion Bird.

Although his mother had an inexplicable confidence in him, and even began to wonder whether her daughter-in-law was better as a dragon or a bird, Feng Bingwen did not discourage her.

He still had some confidence in himself. Although with his current strength, it was impossible for him to marry a primordial true dragon, even if the Dragon King Yingli herself was willing, those old guys in the dragon clan would never agree.

But the future is promising. With his current potential, once he fully taps into it and transforms it into cultivation strength, he is confident that he can sweep away all those who disagree with him.

"There's no need to rush this matter; let's take it slowly!"

This was Feng Bingwen's promise to his mother. Although Yu Huilian was worried, she knew that this matter could not be rushed, especially since the object of her son's affections was so special.

After comforting his mother, Feng Bingwen strolled around the newly built manor. This manor was built by his father after he obtained the golden toad. After all, it wouldn't be proper to run around with a giant toad, even if the toad was glittering with gold.

"come out!"

When they reached the only pond in the resort that had been dug out by hand and was quite ingenious, Feng Bingwen was expressionless, and neither his tone nor his attitude could be described as friendly.

Around the pond, in the meticulously built houses, complex gazes were cast toward Feng Bingwen, but no one uttered a sound, simply watching silently.

Those were cultivators who came looking for Feng Zichuan because they believed he possessed great fortune, but none of them dared to utter a sound in the face of Feng Bingwen at this moment.

Since Yu Huilian was not present, and without any reservations, Feng Bingwen naturally did not suppress his power too much, and let a little bit of it leak out.

"Croak, greetings to the immortal!"

A golden figure leaped out of the pond, scattering clear water droplets. A toad the size of a millstone lay before Feng Bingwen, its ugly face revealing a human-like fear and humility.

"What a fat toad!"

Feng Bingwen looked this thing, which could barely be called auspicious, up and down, and indeed it had no trace of evil spirits.

Even so, the golden toad felt that the way the Supreme Daoist was looking at it was not quite right, as if he were looking at a dish, a delicious food.

"Immortal, spare my life!"

Under such gazes, the already timid toad became even more frightened and begged for mercy without any restraint, showing no awareness of its auspicious nature.

How could it not be scared? It had just sensed two extremely terrifying auras. Compared to them, it was really no different from those toads that everyone disliked on the ridge.

"I heard that the golden toad should have three legs? How come you have four legs?"

Perhaps because the golden toad had backed down, Feng Bingwen's tone softened a bit, but it wasn't much better.

"Immortal, you may not know this, but the most widely known ancestor of my clan, whose deeds are most famous among humans, had one leg broken when he was subdued. So, as the story spread, he became a three-legged toad. But how could there be a toad born with three legs in this world!"

Jin Chan explained in a fawning tone and a humble manner.

There was nothing it could do; it simply couldn't muster any strength in the face of this celestial being. After all, compared to other auspicious omens of the human race, this one, which brought wealth, was only sought after by mortals and was basically useless to cultivators.

"I see, I've learned something new!"

Feng Bingwen smiled. He didn't have a deep impression of the legends about the three-legged toad. This thing was indeed not very famous. He only remembered that the immortal who captured the three-legged toad seemed to have broken one of the toad's legs before subduing it.

"This is just a trivial matter. Someone as great as you, Immortal, would naturally not care about it!"

The golden toad forced a hideous smile and flattered Feng Bingwen. As long as it could save its life, it didn't care about anything else, even if it belittled itself to the point of worthlessness. It just hoped that this man would let it go, because it really hadn't done anything wrong!

"Don't be afraid. As long as you honestly tell me how you found my father and what your purpose was, I won't do anything to you!"

A smile appeared on Feng Bingwen's face, but the smile was so cold in the eyes of the golden toad that its fat body couldn't help but tremble.

"I……"

The golden toad stared at Feng Bingwen, hesitated for a moment, and then cautiously said,

"It's to repay a debt of gratitude, do you believe it?"

"Repaying a debt of gratitude?"

Upon hearing this unexpected answer, Feng Bingwen couldn't help but laugh. Then, he looked at the toad, which seemed to be planning to play tricks, with amusement.

"Do you remember that toad you released a while ago?"

"When I was a kid, I released more than just one toad!"

Feng Bingwen's eyes finally showed surprise as he looked them up and down. However, he couldn't recall any of the toads he had released back then that had golden skin. Of course, maybe they just suddenly awakened their bloodline later on. Who could say for sure?

“This may be a trivial matter to you, but to me it is the continuation of life. So when I vaguely gained intelligence, I thought that I must repay your kindness!”

"And then you went to my dad?"

Feng Bingwen gave a half-smile; such a reason certainly wouldn't fool him.

"I can only find your father. I cannot keep up with your pace, nor can I repay your kindness. I can only follow your father and do my best!"

"Okay, that's all, thanks for your hard work!"

"It's not hard work at all!"

Upon hearing Feng Bingwen's words, the golden toad was overjoyed. Although it didn't know what he meant by those words, judging from the wording, it seemed that it was no longer in great danger.

"No, what I mean is, you must have gone to great lengths to come up with all these reasons!"

Feng Bingwen's smile faded, and he returned to his initial expressionless face.

"I don't have time to listen to your nonsense. If you waste my time again, I won't hesitate to stew you."

"Immortal!"

"Aren't you going to tell the truth?"

Feng Bingwen coldly stared at the giant toad. Perhaps this giant toad really was one he had unintentionally released back then when he had painstakingly accumulated good deeds and hadn't even opened the Heavenly Book. But he didn't believe a word of the nonsense that the toad was repaying a debt of gratitude.

There are generally two types of demons repaying kindness. One type has nothing to do with cultivation; it's purely because they've had more contact with humans and have come to accept the moral standards established by humans, simply repaying a debt of gratitude. The other type wants to use the guise of repaying kindness to experience the prosperity of the human world.

As for the second kind of gratitude, it is more advanced, severing the cause and effect and taking solid steps towards a higher level.

But no matter how Feng Bingwen looked at this toad, he didn't think it had reached the point of severing karmic ties. As for whether it was purely repaying a debt of gratitude, Feng Bingwen didn't think this thing had such a high moral standard.

Then there's only one possibility left: under the guise of repaying a debt of gratitude, they want to experience the world's pleasures or gain some benefits. In short, they're here for profit, not simply to repay a debt of gratitude; it's just a nicer way of putting it.

"I……"

The golden toad trembled and cowered, afraid to reveal the truth, lest the immortal before it truly cleave her in two if it did.

"Fine, since you're unwilling to talk, let's just kill you!"

Feng Bingwen shook his head, not wanting to waste any more time. He reached out and gently pulled out a sharp blade radiating a bright red light.

"I have come for the merits of your father!"

Under the threat of the Demon-Slaying Sword, the Golden Toad's defenses were breached, both mentally and physically.

"continue!"

“Your father is a man of great merit, a fact that I believe the immortals are aware of. On that day, your father happened to be driving his carriage past my water palace. I couldn’t resist my greed and took it upon myself to jump onto your father’s carriage, which startled him. After I explained my purpose, your father accepted me!”

The golden toad cautiously observed Feng Bingwen's expression and explained why it had followed a mortal.

There's nothing else to it but to use his merits to purify my bloodline and evolve into the ancient mythical figure who was favored by the immortals.

"Although I will deplete his merits, I will grant him a continuous stream of wealth!"

The golden toad spoke quickly, as if afraid that if he was too slow in explaining, the demon-slaying sword in the hands of the cultivator in front of him would come down.

beqege.

It sounds like a good exchange—using useless merit to gain wealth that can tangibly change one's life—but that's only true for ordinary people. Even if a cultivator were completely out of their mind, they wouldn't do that.

"You've got some nerve!"

Feng Bingwen sneered. Come to think of it, it's because his reputation hasn't been established. What kind of shady stuff dares to make a move on his family?

“I’ve only ever met a mortal like your father once in my life, so I made a bold choice and made a deal with him!”

"If it was truly my father's decision, then so be it. But if you're lying to me!"

"Even if I had ten more lives, I wouldn't dare to deceive you, Immortal!"

Feng Bingwen put away the killing sword he had forged to slay the demon, but he didn't really do anything to the toad. After all, if it was really his father's decision, then he couldn't interfere too much, since it was the merit he had earned.

What followed was unremarkable. Feng Bingwen gave another warning to the cultivators who had come to stay at his house. He was fully aware of their intentions, but there was no need to stop them.

For his parents, it wasn't really a bad thing. They even got to see things that ordinary people would never see in their entire lives. Although Feng Bingwen could also be a guide, he was at a much higher level.

Feng Bingwen stayed for a few days in the mountain villa built by his father, mainly to use his own immortal power to help his mother recover.

The old man had a mythical beast called Xie Zhi by his side, his grandmother, who stayed in his hometown, raised a flock of geese that had become spirits, and even his father found a golden toad. Although he had ulterior motives, it was still a good thing. Only his mother had nothing.

After staying for a few days and promising to go home to visit again after a while, Feng Bingwen set off once more, mainly to find his elderly father who was not at home and was traveling around.

The golden toad transformed his accumulated merits into wealth. Although he embezzled a little bit in the process, it was enough to make him successful in business. While not everything went smoothly, it was not far off.

While theoretically one could receive unexpected wealth even without taking any action, when one actively seeks it, the wealth will naturally accumulate into one's possession more quickly and in greater quantities.

Finding his father was not difficult, and Feng Bingwen did not spend too much time with his father, who seemed to use even his sleeping time. He mainly inquired about the Golden Toad and confirmed that the giant toad was not lying before setting off again.

"My little apprentice, I wonder where you've been causing all this trouble?"

After his visit to his family ended, Feng Bingwen had only one goal left: his first disciple, Wang Shu, whom he had abandoned and raised in a hands-off manner. She was also the reincarnation of an ancient deity.

"You have disciples?"

After leaving home, Suzaku and the Dragon King, who had originally only followed behind him, caught up with him. When they heard that Feng Bingwen was going to find his disciple, Xia Lin expressed her doubts.

"With your cultivation level, are you even qualified to be accepted?"

"I wasn't accepted as a disciple by the sect."

Feng Bingwen rolled his eyes. With his current cultivation level, he was qualified to be a master even in the Supreme Dao.

"Fine, you actually dared to take on disciples without permission! I'm going to tell your sect leader!"

Charlene's eyes lit up, as if she had caught Feng Bingwen red-handed, and she became excited.

"Go ahead and complain if you want, as long as you can find the gate of the Supreme Dao Sect!"

"It's not like I haven't been to the Supreme Dao before, what's with the arrogance?"

"Oh!"

Feng Bingwen sneered, not bothering to explain further. Right now, the Supreme Dao is probably busy suppressing that extraterrestrial being, so how could they have time to deal with a Vermilion Bird?

"Fellow Daoist, I wonder where your disciple is now? For you to make an exception and accept him as a disciple, he must be exceptionally talented!"

Yingli Dragon King spoke up to ease the tension. Xia Lin and Taishang Daozi had been bickering non-stop along the way, and she had gotten used to it. She would usually say a few words when they started talking, but now she just let them be. She only spoke up because she was a little curious.

The previous Supreme Daoist Master made an exception and accepted this person, and as it turns out, the previous Daoist Master, Zhao Junxian, had an extremely sharp eye.

With the previous Daoist Master setting such a shining example, what kind of special disciple will this current Daoist Master be if he also makes an exception to accept one?

It probably won't be too bad.

"Fellow Daoist, you've guessed wrong. My disciple's aptitude for cultivation is absolutely terrible."

Feng Bingwen smiled and said, which naturally drew surprised looks.

"However, her comprehension is truly unparalleled; in my opinion, no one can surpass her!"