Chapter 72
**Chapter 81: Choosing Treasures**
"Is Bai Yuanying really that strong?"
Zheng Fa turned his head, glancing at the four runes, and his admiration for the legendary Jiushan Patriarch diminished significantly.
"Let me think... with your talent, you can choose two items from what the old man left behind."
... My respect for the Patriarch is as vast as the heavens!
With a flick of his finger, the Jiushan Patriarch activated the four runes, and two crimson doors appeared halfway up the mountain.
The doors were a deep red, seemingly made from an unknown type of hard wood, towering three to four zhang high, making Zheng Fa feel rather small standing before them.
He took a couple of steps closer, and the doors swung open silently, without a hint of wind.
Inside, there were no signs of human decoration; instead, it was a stalactite cave, filled with bizarre rock formations that made it feel like stepping into a somewhat magical rainforest.
Dozens of stone pillars resembling bamboo shoots shot up from the ground, their tips shimmering with various colors of light, clearly the treasures left behind by the Jiushan Patriarch.
The number of treasures was not large, and compared to the exaggerated size of the two doors, they seemed a bit meager.
The Jiushan Patriarch followed Zheng Fa into the cave, gazing at the shimmering lights with a hint of nostalgia. "I haven't seen these old things left by that old man in a long time."
Zheng Fa, puzzled, couldn't help but ask, "Patriarch, you can't enter here yourself?"
"Me?" The Jiushan Patriarch pointed to himself. "I'm not him. I am the spiritual vein, the essence of Jiushan, but not him. All I have are his memories..."
Zheng Fa suddenly understood.
He had found it strange that this Jiushan Patriarch, clearly the founder of the sect, had a temperament akin to that of a child.
"If I were to say who I am," the Jiushan Patriarch chuckled oddly, "I'm merely a substitute for Jiushan Sect, even like a treasure he created."
"He wanted to merge with this true form rune but couldn't let go of Jiushan Sect, so he created me..." The Jiushan Patriarch's expression grew complex as he spoke of the original Patriarch. "Sometimes, I don't know whether to see him as my father or as the master who puts a leash around my neck."
"Enough of that." The Jiushan Patriarch seemed to sigh, turning to Zheng Fa. "With your talent, according to what that old man left me, you can take two treasures from here."
"How do I take them?"
Zheng Fa tried to discern the treasures hidden within the shimmering lights, but their brilliance obscured their shapes.
"Look for fate!"
"Huh?" Zheng Fa was taken aback; wasn't that a bit hasty?
"Or you could say it's about luck." The Jiushan Patriarch rolled his eyes. "That old man didn't have any divine foresight; how could he know who would come or what you need? His treasures might not even suit you... But treasures have their own spirits and will respond to you. Just take a stroll; if something gives you a special feeling, it’s likely useful to you."
Hearing this, Zheng Fa stepped into the cave, trying to find the special feeling the Jiushan Patriarch had mentioned.
However, most of the treasures felt aloof. As he approached them, all he felt was their blinding light, with no other sensations.
After wandering through most of the cave, Zheng Fa began to doubt whether the Jiushan Patriarch was just pulling his leg.
Until he arrived in front of a treasure radiating a blue-gold glow.
The energy within him, belonging to the Linghe Body, suddenly surged with excitement, racing through his body as if expressing an instinctual desire.
A phantom of a Linghe appeared behind him, its wings spread wide, seemingly wanting to dive into the blue-gold light.
"Ah?" The Jiushan Patriarch immediately understood. "You’ve practiced the Linghe Body?"
"Yes."
"With both wood and fire spiritual roots, the Linghe Body... No wonder this Qingyang Qi resonates with you." The Jiushan Patriarch pointed, and the blue-gold light gradually faded, leaving behind a stream of azure energy with flickering golden flames, flowing gently before Zheng Fa.
"Qingyang Qi?"
"Yes, back in the day, that old man transformed into Jiushan, and the vitality of countless trees flourished, resonating with the great sun's spiritual energy, giving birth to this Qingyang Qi, which he treasured." The Jiushan Patriarch explained. "I didn't expect it to be so suitable for you."
"Suitable?"
"You have both fire and wood spiritual roots, and the Qingyang Qi is born from the interaction of the great sun and vegetation, perfectly aligning with your spiritual root talent. Moreover, you’ve cultivated the Linghe Body."
Zheng Fa began to understand why the Qingyang Qi corresponded to his spiritual roots, but the Linghe Body?
He looked at the Jiushan Patriarch in confusion.
"All things in heaven and earth correspond to the spiritual mechanisms of the universe. The color of the crane is white, pure and yang; some cultivators call it a yang bird, seeing it as a symbol of longevity. The Linghe Body is based on the pure yang Dao body."
With a flick of his finger, the Jiushan Patriarch sent the Qingyang Qi floating towards Zheng Fa. "This Qingyang Qi is extremely rare; otherwise, that old man wouldn't have clung to it until his death. If you can cultivate a pure yang body refinement technique before reaching the Foundation Establishment stage and merge this Qingyang Qi, you might achieve the Qingyang Dao body, which would greatly benefit you in the future."
Zheng Fa reached out, and the Qingyang Qi flew into his palm like a fledgling returning to its nest, flowing into his dantian along his meridians.
This Qingyang Qi was incredibly domineering; once it entered his dantian, it treated the place like its own home, pushing the Linghe Body energy Zheng Fa had cultivated to the edges, leaving it to wander around the periphery in a rather aggrieved manner.
Yet Zheng Fa could faintly sense that the energies within him were slowly being permeated by the Qingyang Qi, undergoing subtle changes, becoming a bit more vibrant.
...
After obtaining the Qingyang Qi, Zheng Fa's luck seemed to run out.
The other treasures showed no interest in him, and his body had no reaction, creating an awkward mutual disregard.
"Well..." The Jiushan Patriarch frowned. "These treasures are not meant for you, so you can only look at the techniques left by that old man."
With a wave of his hand, a pile of jade tubes appeared before Zheng Fa.
"Choose."
"?"
Zheng Fa was momentarily stunned. This felt even more abstract than the previous task; how was he supposed to choose?
"Actually, compared to treasures, techniques are less helpful for you—after all, that old man was an anomaly in his path to enlightenment, and not many can cultivate his techniques. That's why I had you choose treasures first," the Jiushan Patriarch explained.
Zheng Fa nodded. Treasures were often ready to use, but techniques required a suitable match.
Especially with the Jiushan Patriarch's extraordinary background, his cultivation path was certainly different from that of ordinary people.
"However, there are some formations or talismans among these that should suit you." The Jiushan Patriarch pointed at the pile of jade tubes. "The previous female disciple was quite clever; she chose an incomplete Foundation Establishment technique, which might actually suit her cultivation."
"Incomplete?" Zheng Fa's spirits lifted as he understood Senior Sister Zhang's reasoning—since she couldn't cultivate it, why not take a half-finished product and modify it?
He was eager to continue learning from Senior Sister Zhang.
"Don't get your hopes up; that old man didn't have that much leisure—he created that Foundation Establishment technique just casually while comprehending the true form rune." The Jiushan Patriarch seemed to recall something. "Speaking of which, I was actually created around that time too."
"?"
"That old man also created a Ling Mountain technique back then. He transformed into a spiritual vein to become a Dao body. Later, he reversed his own cultivation process to create the Ling Mountain technique, which aims to use the human body as a vessel for the spiritual veins to supply Jiushan Sect's cultivation, and that's how I came to be."
"This Ling Mountain technique is of no use to you; it's a method meant solely for others to benefit from. You..."
"I want this Ling Mountain technique."
Zheng Fa suddenly declared.
The Jiushan Patriarch looked at him, his expression complex. "I misjudged you..."
"?"
Zheng Fa didn't understand why he said that.
"I thought you were someone with a complicated mind, secretly scheming. The atmosphere in Jiushan Sect is already quite restless; if you join Jiushan Sect, what will become of it in the future..."
... You seem to have a lot of people to scold.
"But I was wrong. That old man said when he created this Ling Mountain technique that it is a method only those with selfless hearts and great virtue would choose to cultivate, and perhaps no one in this world would choose it..." The Jiushan Patriarch looked at Zheng Fa with a hint of respect. "I now feel that Jiushan Sect is unworthy of you!"
Zheng Fa sensed a beautiful misunderstanding in this.
For him, the reason for choosing the Ling Mountain technique was simple:
This technique solved a major problem for him—how to safely and controllably create spiritual energy in the modern world.
**Chapter 82: Returning to the Mansion**
Creating a spiritual energy environment in the modern world had always been Zheng Fa's idea.
This idea stemmed from an extremely practical need—he couldn't take it anymore.
To get Bai Laotou to analyze the rune diagrams, Zheng Fa felt he had turned into a scanner and printer.
In the Xuanwei Realm, he was the scanner, tirelessly memorizing those nauseating rune diagrams day and night.
In the modern world, he was the printer, tirelessly drawing them out day and night.
Table of Contents
