Book 2: Chapter 218: Abandoned Village, Paradise Land; Sunrise Over Jiushan |
Vol 2 Chapter 218: Abandoned Village, Paradise Land; Sunrise Over Jiushan
"That's it?"
Martial Uncle Pang was holding a book—calling it a book was a bit generous, since it only had a single sheet of paper. To put it bluntly, that paper wouldn’t even be enough to wipe your a*.
It was the very page where Zheng Fa had transcribed the Nine-Turn Golden Core Method.
"That's it."
Zheng Fa’s face was all sincerity.
But Martial Uncle Pang’s expression was hard to describe—it was incredibly complicated, like he was doubting himself, and also a little disillusioned with the world.
The look on his face left Zheng Fa scratching his head.
"Wait… even Tianhe Venerable teaches disciples like this?"
Zheng Fa blinked, finally realizing what this Martial Uncle was so bitter about:
Among the three Supreme Elders of the Jiushan Sect, he was the one who was most meticulous when teaching disciples—almost to the point of hand-holding.
Yet in terms of actual results, the seedlings in his field grew the least promising.
He and Senior Sister Zhang had practically become a sore spot in Martial Uncle Pang’s heart…
Now even Tianhe Venerable turned out to be unreliable.
It was no wonder Martial Uncle Pang was starting to doubt himself—he probably even felt that being responsible was a mistake in itself…
"Junior Brother Zhou made it to Foundation Establishment a while ago, didn’t he?" Zheng Fa offered some comfort.
Zhou Qianyuan had already reached Foundation Establishment a few months ago, just about half a year behind Zheng Fa.
"That was only because of the Talisman Foundation Establishment Technique," Martial Uncle Pang sighed, not taking the credit. "He learned talisman techniques from me, then from you, and later picked up the Talisman Foundation Establishment Technique—that’s when his cultivation took off. How is that my merit?"
Old Yuan also nodded beside him. "Now that you mention it, this generation of disciples under Zheng Fa have all improved a lot after entering the Jiushan Realm."
Senior Sister Zhang added, "Yes, the disciples’ progress has been so fast that the sect’s resources have been stretched pretty thin."
Hearing this, Martial Uncle Pang couldn’t help but laugh. "Well… I don’t even know whether to feel happy or worried."
Judging by his expression, though, this was the kind of trouble that made people feel good.
The three of them were all looking at Zheng Fa. They didn’t say it out loud, but the subtext in their words was clear—they were praising him.
Zheng Fa smiled and changed the subject, saying, "Even though it’s only a general outline, it’s still been helpful to me."
"Nine-Turn Golden Core… so after condensing the Golden Core, it uses the Three Gates and Nine Apertures to further enhance and improve the core’s quality. It can even upgrade a lower-grade core to a top-grade one…"
Martial Uncle Pang sighed in amazement while grinning, "…No wonder Tianhe Venerable is so formidable…"
Zheng Fa, of course, understood why he was so astonished:
Xuanyi cultivators often say, once the core is formed, there are no regrets…
For years, these four words had been accepted as gospel truth.
But Tianhe Venerable dared to say: Really? I don’t buy it!
Reading the general outline of the Nine-Turn Golden Core Method, Zheng Fa could roughly grasp Tianhe Venerable’s thinking:
There are no regrets after core formation—probably because the reactions within the Golden Core are too intricate and intense, and the average cultivator has no hope of further refining it. If they mess it up, they’ll blow themselves up.
But Tianhe Venerable’s approach in the Nine-Turn Golden Core Method was: temper the apertures, build a stronger physical body, and then use post-Foundation Establishment spiritual energy and divine sense—along with various spiritual herbs—to complete the process.
Golden Core strong?
My body’s stronger!
The idea reminded Zheng Fa of that Tianhe disciple with the overpowering physique he’d encountered before.
According to Zheng Fa’s understanding, it was something like:
Upgrade the workshop, overhaul the equipment, and revamp the production line.
What Zheng Fa didn’t understand was, if the core was already top-grade, what room was there to improve it?
That was one of the knowledge gaps caused by the lack of the full Nine Turns in the Nine-Turn Golden Core Method…
"Strengthening the Nine Apertures should help with Core Formation," Zheng Fa said.
Senior Sister Zhang thought for a moment and said, "The True Method of Tianhe seems to include this kind of secret technique."
On the recent trip to the Water Mansion, besides the stone slab that recorded the Nine-Turn Golden Core Method, they also found a yellow leather gourd and a jade tube.
Inside the jade tube was the True Method of Tianhe. Though it only went up to the Golden Core stage, it included some secret techniques—especially ones involving the apertures.
"No, that won’t do…" Martial Uncle Pang interjected. "Since this Tianhe Secret Realm appeared so suspiciously, that True Method of Tianhe might have some trickery to it."
Zheng Fa, however, had a theory—whoever had arranged the Tianhe Secret Realm was likely searching for that jade pendant.
That pendant had to be connected to Tianhe Venerable; he just didn’t know what exactly it was.
"The strangeness of this stone slab… can’t be spread," Zheng Fa said after thinking for a while, addressing the four people before him.
Even though knowledge was meant to be shared, this thing was clearly of great importance—and he wasn’t trying to get himself killed.
Senior Sister Zhang, Master, Martial Uncle Pang, and Martial Aunt Huang were all Nascent Soul cultivators of the Jiushan Sect. After spending so much time together, Zheng Fa trusted them deeply.
But beyond these four… he couldn’t say the same for the other disciples.
Even Martial Aunt Huang was nodding, clearly understanding the danger hidden in this secret.
Old Yuan chuckled and sighed, "I really wonder what the person who set up that secret realm was thinking, letting that stone slab be taken so easily."
"I looked into it…" Senior Sister Zhang spoke up. "That Tianhe Secret Realm appears every few decades or a hundred years…"
"So there must be quite a few of those stone slabs?" Old Yuan realized.
Senior Sister Zhang nodded in reply, "Each secret realm seems to have one, and plenty of people have taken them back… probably didn’t get any insight from them."
Zheng Fa thought about it, and it made sense:
If people weren’t allowed to take them, it’d raise suspicions. Since there were so many of the slabs and they’d been searching for hundreds of thousands of years with no results, they naturally got lazy.
In fact… Zheng Fa had to admit, if it weren’t for Mu Qingyan’s reminder—and using archaeology to prove the realm was artificial—
Any other cultivator who found a single benefit from a stone slab would instinctively want to keep searching for Tianhe Venerable’s slabs and wouldn’t want to involve anyone else.
Whether looking on the market or heading back into the secret realm, it’d be easy to expose their secret.
In the end, traditional Xuanyi cultivators couldn’t see the full truth, nor could they resist the urge to act—and that would always lead to their secrets being revealed. But these people, waiting hundreds of thousands of years, clearly weren’t lacking in patience.
"Before the Nine-Turn Golden Core Method is fully understood, it shouldn’t be spread. But the True Method of Tianhe can be shown to others."
"You mean… Sunset Sword Immortal?"
Martial Uncle Pang was stunned, then immediately caught on to what Zheng Fa meant.
"Exactly. This time there’s a huge amount of Taichu Gang Qi—very valuable. Sunset Sword Immortal sent word that he’ll personally deliver it."
…
Sunset Sword Immortal Han Lao was currently en route to the Jiushan Realm.
He was short in stature, but his sword light was long and fast. Still, he would occasionally stop and rest at night—not because he was tired, but because there were too many people from the Great Freedom Demonic Sect around. Even he had to be extra cautious, making sure his spiritual energy was full and his spirit strong, just in case.
That day, he happened to stop at a village.
The place looked abandoned—no one could be seen near the fields or houses.
Dozens of households, yet no cooking smoke, no lights.
But judging by the farmland, while the rice stalks were gone, it hadn’t been deserted for long—probably less than a year.
Clearly, a year ago, this place hadn’t looked like this.
Sunset Sword Immortal paused, then walked toward one of the houses and knocked on the door.
From inside came a trembling voice: "Who is it?"
He didn’t respond. It was a long while before the door opened.
The one who opened it was an old woman, holding no lamp, squinting hard to see him.
"You are..."
"A traveler, seeking a place to rest," Han Lao said loudly.
"Please, come in!"
The old woman led him to a bedroom and said, "This was my son's room. If you don’t mind how shabby it is, you’re welcome to stay."
Han Lao nodded lightly.
The old woman seemed a bit embarrassed and said, "I didn’t even give you a cup of water. We’ve run out of lamp oil... I can’t see clearly either."
Han Lao looked toward the outer kitchen.
With his divine sense, of course he could see everything—this household didn’t just lack lamp oil, there was no rice in the vat, and no oil in the pot.
There was a shallow layer of water in the water jar, not much—probably because the old woman couldn’t carry more.
Han Lao asked, "What about the villagers?"
"People? They’ve left... Life’s tough now. One day some Immortal Sect folks show up, the next day it’s someone from the Holy Sect..."
"They all want something, take whatever they can..."
Han Lao gave a slight nod—the old woman wasn’t wrong.
The Great Freedom Demonic Sect was plundering all over, and even the Hundred Immortals Alliance was running short on supplies.
Word had it that all the spiritual fields managed by the Alliance were under attack by the Great Freedom Demonic Sect, leaving sect resources strained.
Less resources, but the Alliance wasn’t short on mouths to feed.
Zhenren Tongming had gathered several major sects, and many smaller ones had joined too. These cultivators all had relatives and families—and those families still needed to eat.
If they couldn’t get spiritual grains, even regular food would do to fill their bellies.
Naturally, the demand on the common folk had become more frequent.
To this old woman, whether it was Immortal Sect or Holy Sect—what difference did it make?
Though from the Immortal Sects’ perspective, the conflict with the Demonic Sect was still minor, for people like her—it had already completely changed their lives.
"Where did they go?"
"To the city, doing odd jobs for the Immortal Sect disciples," the old woman smiled. "My son and daughter-in-law went too, there's work and a bit of food—they won’t starve..."
"And you? You didn’t go with them?"
"I’d just be a burden, wouldn’t I?" the old woman laughed softly, "The world’s only getting worse... one less mouth to feed, and they..."
Han Lao looked at the old woman before him, feeling pity—his hearing was sharp, and even back at the village entrance he could hear the old woman’s stomach growling like thunder. Her breathing was faint, barely there. If she went another two days without eating, she’d probably die.
If not for that, he wouldn’t have knocked on the door.
Han Lao said no more.
The next morning, the old woman struggled to her feet and went to check her son’s room, only to find the bed made and the room empty.
She looked outside the door—and saw a small jujube tree now growing in front of the house.
It wasn’t the season for jujubes, but on the tree hung a single large fruit—green tinged with red.
Her stomach still aching from hunger, she couldn’t help but salivate at the sight. She reached up, picked the jujube, and popped it into her mouth.
Once it was in her stomach, she felt warm and full—and not even thirsty anymore.
At that moment, Han Lao’s voice drifted through the air: "This tree is your lodging fee. One jujube per day. No need to fear others coveting it."
The old woman froze for a moment, then dropped to her knees and shouted, "Thank you, Immortal! Thank you..."
Up in the air, Han Lao curled his lips and muttered,
"D**n Immortal!"
…
"Much obliged, Han Lao!" Zheng Fa said sincerely, "If not for you, I wouldn’t have been able to get this Taichu Gang Qi anywhere."
He had previously sent letters to both the Hundred Immortals Alliance and Yan Wushuang, trying to purchase a large amount of Taichu Gang Qi.
But the replies weren’t promising—the Qi was available, just not in great quantities.
Han Lao, on the other hand, said he had a way to get it, and personally delivered it—solving Zheng Fa’s urgent need.
"I wasn’t doing anything anyway."
After a bit of small talk, Zheng Fa glanced at Senior Sister Zhang, then took out the jade tube and yellow leather gourd retrieved from the Water Mansion and asked, "Han Lao, do you recognize these two items?"
Han Lao frowned slightly, first examining the yellow leather gourd, then reading the jade tube for a while before opening his eyes and asking in surprise, "The True Method of Tianhe?"
"Yes, we found it in a Water Mansion."
"This..."
Han Lao furrowed his brows, thought for a moment, then said, "This True Method of Tianhe seems fine. Not much different from what’s taught in the sect... but it’s not left behind by the Ancestor."
Indeed, Han Lao had been the first to suggest that the Tianhe Sect had betrayed Tianhe Venerable—the more this True Method of Tianhe resembled a sect secret, the less likely it was from Tianhe Venerable himself...
But he wasn’t planning to cultivate this method anyway—just borrow the aperture-enhancing secret techniques inside to boost the power of his Core Formation. Whether it was authentic or not didn’t matter—useful was enough.
"This yellow leather gourd..." Unexpectedly, Han Lao seemed even more interested in the gourd. After thinking for a while, he said, "This really looks like something the Ancestor would have owned..."
"Hmm?"
"I’ve heard a lot of stories, things others don’t know but I do... The Ancestor had a secret sword technique—extremely powerful and famous throughout Xuanyi. It’s called—" Han Lao stared at the gourd. "Gourd Sword Technique!"
"This yellow leather gourd looks exactly like the rumored Spirit Root Gourd from those stories."
"That technique has long been lost to the Tianhe Sect..." Han Lao sighed, "We later generations... each worse than the last, can’t even use this kind of supreme secret art anymore."
Zheng Fa suddenly understood, and his gaze toward the yellow gourd became much more serious.
Even though the thing didn’t seem to hold any power now... it sounded impressive!
And it might even be a spirit root?
Zheng Fa had already decided to award the archaeology team some Merit Points—and of course, the price of this yellow leather gourd would be going up too...
The next day, Zheng Fa said apologetically to Han Lao, "Han Lao, I’m preparing for Core Formation. I won’t be able to entertain you much."
"You’re forming your core?"
"Mm!" Zheng Fa said. "I’ve long since reached peak Foundation Establishment. Now that I’ve got the necessary cultivation method and resources, there’s no reason to delay."
Senior Sister Zhang was always a straightforward and decisive person, but these past few days she’d been advising him to prepare more thoroughly—but Zheng Fa also understood something: while it's true that there should be no regrets after core formation, and more preparation is good...
Sometimes, you have to burn your bridges.
If you keep obsessing over preparations, you might never get anything done.
And now with the Nine-Turn Golden Core Method, Zheng Fa felt even more at ease—if it fails, I’ll just upgrade again!
Han Lao didn’t try to stop him. He simply smiled and nodded. "Go on and form your core. I’ll wander around the Jiushan Realm myself. You don’t mind, do you?"
"Of course not."
…
After Zheng Fa went into seclusion, the Jiushan Sect entered a state of outward calm but inward tension.
Han Lao noticed that no matter who he talked to in the sect, they all seemed distracted, zoning out constantly—he could understand why. Zheng Fa’s core formation was a huge deal, and every disciple in the sect, from top to bottom, had it on their mind.
Which meant, there wasn’t much worth chatting about with any of them…
It was the mortals on Letu Island who were still living as usual, men farming and women weaving.
So he spent his days hanging around Letu Island—and even made a friend:
Zheng Shan!
"Why the frown?" Seeing Zheng Shan looking all gloomy, Han Lao couldn’t help but ask curiously.
It wasn’t that he felt any particular affinity for Zheng Shan—just that on Letu Island, she was the only one who spoke to him freely and comfortably. As Zheng Fa’s younger sister, she saw several Nascent Soul cultivators every day... so she was used to it.
"Exams are coming!"
Zheng Shan replied as she practiced her Linghe Body stance.
You could tell—her Linghe Body cultivation wasn’t bad at all... mostly thanks to the private lessons from Zheng Fa.
"Exams?"
"Yeah!" Zheng Shan’s tone held an unusual nervousness. "Math and martial arts—once I pass, I can officially start cultivating in Jiushan Sect!"
Han Lao looked a bit surprised.
He could certainly tell that Zheng Shan was well cared for... not just from her polished Linghe Body, but even the way she spoke to him—clearly, her life was very comfortable.
"You’re worried you won’t get into Jiushan Sect?"
"Of course not!" Zheng Shan tilted her little head proudly. "Grandpa Pang says I’ve got great talent, I’m good at math too, and my brother teaches me martial arts—I’m definitely getting in!"
Han Lao smacked his lips and picked up on something subtle.
Zheng Fa had indeed been giving her one-on-one training, but it seemed he wasn’t planning to cut her any slack. He was trying to keep things fair.
"I just don’t want to embarrass my brother!" Zheng Shan declared loudly.
Han Lao nodded with a smile.
"And also..." Zheng Shan muttered, "I’m not as smart as my brother. I’ve been studying math for so long and still don’t get it as clearly as he does. How am I ever gonna surpass him..."
Han Lao blinked, pretending not to understand, and asked, "Surpass your brother?"
"Yeah!"
Zheng Shan nodded.
"Do you know how amazing your brother is?"
"Of course I do! My brother is the most talented person in Jiushan... no, in the entire Xuanyi Realm!" Zheng Shan puffed out her chest, full of pride.
"And you still want to surpass him?"
"My brother said it himself!"
"……"
"My brother said, he’s not all that much stronger than the ones who came before. But by learning the wisdom of the past, he figured out things others hadn’t. If I follow after him, I can learn from him too—and one day be even stronger."
"If not, how would Jiushan Realm have a bright future?"
Sunset Sword Immortal stood there in a daze—for some reason, the image of that old woman in Xuanyi Realm, saying the world was getting worse, popped into his mind.
He couldn’t say a word.
"But... even studying math, I never feel like I’m stronger than the ones who came before. I can’t even learn what they already knew! I always feel like my brain’s broken..." Zheng Shan suddenly added, face full of confusion. "Did my brother lie to me?"
"……"
Han Lao was silent for a long while, unsure how to respond.
After a bit, Zheng Shan said again:
"My brother’s been in seclusion for six months... how long before he comes home?"
"Hmm? Didn’t he lie to you?"
"...If being a fool could bring my brother back, then sure."
Han Lao looked toward Ten Thousand Immortals Island, where Zheng Fa was in seclusion. Just then, on the island, that little rogue Golden Crow suddenly spread its wings and let out a long, piercing cry—a caw that echoed through the sky.
He stood up abruptly, witnessing a Core Formation scene the likes of which he had never seen in his life:
First, a glimmer of light sparked—then, it exploded!
It burst into ten thousand beams of golden light, shooting in all directions.
The brightness was so intense that even a Nascent Soul cultivator like him couldn’t keep his eyes open. He instinctively closed them, but even through his eyelids, his vision was flooded with white.
A few breaths later, as the light finally dimmed a little, he opened his eyes and saw—
The white mist over Jiushan parted, and a golden sun rose with glowing clouds!