Chapter 110
“What's most infuriating is that the manuscript is finished! Uncle endured humiliation and carried the weight of scorn for his nephew, living a life despised by all... Just when everyone finally understood him, the protagonist is dead! Dead!”
Seeing the angry expression on the sect leader's face, Zheng Fa felt a bit scared and couldn't help but inch closer to Senior Sister Zhang and Senior Sister Yuan...
But the two sisters quickly dodged, their faces filled with disdain.
(End of this chapter)
**Chapter 121: Generosity**
Seeing how ungrateful Senior Sister Zhang and the others were, Zheng Fa felt a bit wronged.
He turned to Senior Sister Zhang and said, “Senior Sister Zhang, I did all this for the market, for Jiushan Sect, and for you!”
“... For me?” Senior Sister Zhang looked a bit confused.
“Senior Sister Zhang, when I saw the world inside the Lu Zhong Tian Di, I started wondering—could this be showcased in the market for people to see?”
Senior Sister Zhang paused, her eyes gradually brightening as if Zheng Fa had awakened something in her.
“Go on,” she urged.
“Although our Jiushan Sect's market has seen some improvement, you know it’s just a temporary fix—other markets and sects will likely follow our lead and use the ferry boats too.”
Senior Sister Zhang nodded lightly.
Other sects weren’t foolish; ferry boats were readily available. Once they learned of their effectiveness, many would likely imitate them.
“And as for spirit talismans, they can be bought anywhere. Our market is just cheaper, and that’s mainly because we have too many talismancers.”
Zheng Fa pointed out a critical issue.
Their current method of attracting customers was simply the low prices of spirit talismans.
The product range was too limited.
Moreover, these cheap talismans were a result of the internal competition among Jiushan Sect disciples, earning only meager profits.
Most people didn’t even need to come buy them; they could just ask friends or family to purchase on their behalf.
Jiushan Sect didn’t resemble a modern shopping mall; it felt more like a wholesale market—sure, things were cheaper at a wholesale market, but how many people would actually want to go there to shop?
Especially when it was a wholesale market selling only one type of product.
Ultimately, they had no compelling reason to spend at Jiushan Sect.
But Lu Zhong Tian Di was different.
This could be turned into a cinema.
Even a holographic projection cinema.
It was already a major draw in modern shopping malls.
And it was Jiushan Sect’s unique business!
“You mean... to adapt the stories from those manuscripts into performances using Lu Zhong Tian Di?”
The anger on the sect leader's face slowly faded, and he fell into deep thought.
“Do you think this idea is feasible?” Zheng Fa asked.
“It is,” the sect leader nodded. “Lu Zhong Tian Di essentially uses spiritual consciousness to manipulate talisman arrays to create worlds—it's not too demanding in terms of cultivation.”
“Just... will people really come to see this?”
The sect leader's tone was somewhat self-doubting.
“Aren't you the one who has come down from the mountain?”
“This?”
The three of them, including Senior Sister Zhang, were taken aback, looking at Zheng Fa.
“Even someone like you, who’s reluctant to go out, is willing to make the trip. Doesn’t that prove the appeal of those stories?”
“...”
Senior Sister Zhang glanced at Zheng Fa, then at the sect leader, stepping in front of Zheng Fa.
Her expression said it all—he’s still useful.
Senior Sister, you’re being a bit too pragmatic!
“Is this why you lured me down the mountain?” the sect leader suddenly asked.
“Disciple wishes to take you as my master!” Zheng Fa replied earnestly.
“What if I say I still won’t accept you?” the sect leader continued to refuse.
“Then I can only ask if Master Pang knows the art of Lu Zhong Tian Di.”
“Bah! That blockhead wouldn’t know a good manuscript if it hit him; he’d ruin these few!” the sect leader scolded.
“Don’t worry, I have plenty of manuscripts; enough for Master Pang to get familiar with.”
Upon hearing the bold claim of having many manuscripts, the sect leader’s expression grew increasingly conflicted.
“All of them!” Zheng Fa added.
“I’ll take you!” The sect leader’s expression shifted: “But I have a condition!”
Before he could finish, Zheng Fa rummaged through his bag and pulled out a few books.
“What’s this...?”
“Turn around.”
The sect leader silently accepted the books, then suddenly sighed, “I just have a feeling you’re going to be more trouble than those two... If it weren’t for someone speaking on your behalf.”
“Speaking on my behalf? Senior Sister Yuan?”
“The founder of Jiushan Sect,” the sect leader glanced at him and said.
“Founder?”
“He said you’ve chosen the Ling Shan method after much deliberation.” The sect leader smiled. “Perfect, I’ve practiced it too.”
...
On the way to Zheng Fa, Zhou Qianyuan looked gloomy, while Sun Daoyu beside him wore a sympathetic expression.
“Junior Brother, don’t overthink it... We can’t defy the decisions made by our master.”
“Senior Brother, I can accept that Master wants to take Zheng Fa as a disciple... but asking me to invite him? That’s just too...”
Hearing this, Sun Daoyu’s sympathy deepened. “But you and Junior Brother Zheng are the closest, right?”
Zhou Qianyuan still looked dejected.
“Junior Brother, think about it; Master is also trying to appease Zheng Fa.”
“Appease?”
“Master’s decision to take a disciple has a bit of coercion behind it—after all, our two factions don’t get along well.” Sun Daoyu explained. “Having us invite Zheng Fa shows that he’s valued.”
Zhou Qianyuan sighed and nodded, “Thank you, Senior Brother, for clarifying. I understand now.”
“From now on, don’t harbor any resentment.” Sun Daoyu advised. “As Master said, having Zheng Fa join our faction is a good thing for us in the future. At least you won’t have to face the combined efforts of Senior Sister Zhang and Zheng Fa.”
Zhou Qianyuan silently nodded.
“Given Master’s regard for Zheng Fa, he’s definitely going to show him some favor.” Sun Daoyu speculated. “This way, Zheng Fa will willingly become a disciple. Just look at how Master is handling things today, and you’ll know how to treat Zheng Fa in the future.”
“... I’ll keep your advice in mind, Senior Brother.” Zhou Qianyuan said softly, “But I really don’t feel good about this.”
“...”
“I had an old friend from childhood.”
“Old friend?” Sun Daoyu was puzzled as to why he suddenly brought this up.
“He had a childhood sweetheart, and they grew up together, sharing a deep bond.” Zhou Qianyuan continued. “Later, he met a classmate, and they hit it off immediately, sharing the same ideals.”
Sun Daoyu listened, still a bit confused.
Clearly, he didn’t understand why his junior brother was saying all this.
“One day, he introduced his childhood sweetheart to that classmate...”
Sun Daoyu froze, his expression showing he found it hard to listen.
“Later, he ended up drinking the wedding wine of those two.”
After finishing the story, Zhou Qianyuan sighed slowly, “Senior Brother, do I seem like I’m introducing my childhood sweetheart to a classmate?”
Sun Daoyu was silent for a moment before speaking, “Is your childhood sweetheart somewhat similar in appearance to Master?”
“...”
“Then why are you sighing? I think your classmate should be the one sighing!”
“I’m just making a comparison! And it’s not me; it’s my old friend!” Zhou Qianyuan grew anxious.
“Junior Brother, I understand... It’s not easy to encounter such situations twice in a lifetime.”
“It’s not me!”
Sun Daoyu looked skeptical but still comforted him, “But think about it... You have experience now; it’s one thing to be a novice, another to be familiar!”
...
When Zheng Fa was called before Master Pang, he was still a bit dazed.
He looked at Sun Daoyu and Zhou Qianyuan, who had brought him here, with a puzzled expression.
Since they weren’t saying anything, he had no idea why Master Pang was looking for him—he had already become the sect leader’s disciple!
“You are Zheng Fa?” Master Pang asked.
“Yes.”
In front of the Yuanying (Nascent Soul) master, Zheng Fa remained honest.
After all, he dared to use a manuscript to challenge the sect leader because Senior Sister Yuan had told him that the sect leader was not easily angered.
But... Master Pang’s reputation in the sect wasn’t so amiable.
As the head of the Discipline Hall, he naturally left a less than friendly impression on the disciples.
Among the disciples, especially those from the market, rumors painted Master Pang as a stern and even ruthless figure, always wearing a serious face.
Of course—since these disciples were all from Senior Sister Zhang’s faction, he had always questioned the objectivity of such evaluations.
But Zheng Fa didn’t expect the evaluations to be so biased.
Master Pang was clearly quite capable of smiling!
“I’ve heard about you for a long time,” Master Pang said warmly. “I’ve also seen the talisman techniques you taught Qianyuan—truly profound.”
“I admire Master Pang’s talisman skills as well,” Zheng Fa replied, engaging in polite exchanges.
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