Chapter 122
Unfortunately, my master, the esteemed Pang Zhenren, has always forbidden his disciples from watching the play. This time, with "Rescue the Little Cultivator: Pang Qian" being re-released, he still strictly ordered his disciples not to attend.
Zhou Qianyuan was curious. After much contemplation, he decided to disguise himself as his senior brother, Sun Daoyu, to sneak in.
As for why he didn’t choose to be a complete stranger, it was because he had purchased an internal ticket. A non-Jiushan Sect member couldn’t enter the theater with such a ticket.
And why Sun Daoyu, you ask?
Well, it was simply because transforming into someone else might lead to an awkward encounter with the original owner of this face.
That would be quite embarrassing, wouldn’t it?
So, he could only transform into someone from his own master’s lineage. Since this group of senior brothers couldn’t come, he should be safe from running into the original owner.
Sun Daoyu was just perfect!
Having spent a lot of time with him, Zhou Qianyuan felt confident in his ability to impersonate Sun Daoyu.
Sure enough, he passed through the ticket check and smoothly entered the theater without anyone noticing anything amiss.
The play hadn’t started yet, and Zhou Qianyuan, feeling a bit bored, looked around. That’s when he spotted a familiar face.
Well, not exactly a familiar face—he saw himself.
Zhou Qianyuan stared intently at the person, who seemed to sense his gaze and turned to look back at him.
In that moment of eye contact, they both recognized each other’s identity.
“Sun Daoyu?”
Zhou Qianyuan mouthed the words softly.
The person across from him nodded, and they both looked a bit bewildered—wasn’t this a bit redundant?
The next day, as Zhou Qianyuan arrived at the Eighth Peak, he heard his master’s cold voice asking, “Did you go to see that play yesterday?”
Zhou Qianyuan quickly replied, “It wasn’t me; it was Sun Daoyu!”
As he said this, he couldn’t help but apologize silently to Sun Daoyu in his heart.
But to be honest—yesterday’s “Zhou Qianyuan” was indeed Sun Daoyu!
“...What a coincidence, your senior brother said the same thing.” Pang Zhenren snorted. “You two disguised yourselves to sneak into the theater, and I saw it all clearly! Disobeying my orders is one thing, but hiding and sneaking around? You’ve embarrassed me thoroughly!”
Zhou Qianyuan lowered his head in shame, looking at his master’s cold smile.
Indeed, his actions were too sneaky, lacking any sense of integrity.
Wait!
“Master, you watched it too?”
The smile on Pang Zhenren’s face slowly faded, replaced by a hint of embarrassment.
“Skipping the ticket... isn’t that worse?”
Zhou Qianyuan asked sincerely.
“…”
…
In the straw hut of the sect leader, Zheng Fa was discussing the next play to be produced when he suddenly heard Senior Sister Zhang say, “Zheng Shidi, I’m considering having you teach at the Fufa Pavilion. Are you willing?”
“Ah?”
Zheng Fa was caught off guard by Senior Sister Zhang’s words. He looked up at her.
Senior Sister Zhang nodded gently, her expression serious, as if she had been contemplating this for a long time.
At the same time, Zhou Qianyuan, who was nearby, furrowed his brows, deep in thought.
He clearly understood Senior Sister Zhang’s intentions.
(End of this chapter)
Chapter 131: Heavy Responsibility
When Senior Sister Zhang made her proposal, besides her and Zheng Fa, there were also Senior Sister Yuan, Zhou Qianyuan, and the sect leader present in the straw hut.
“Teach at the Fufa Pavilion?” Zheng Fa pointed at himself in disbelief. “Me?”
He remembered that the instructors at the Fufa Pavilion were all at the Foundation Establishment stage.
He had only recently joined the sect, and he was still at the fourth level of Qi Refinement.
“You’re already a Xuanpin talisman master,” Senior Sister Zhang said, nodding. “I’ve seen your progress in talisman studies lately; you’d be more than qualified to be an instructor.”
Zheng Fa hesitated at her words.
“Right now, the play business is just getting started, and I’m really stretched thin…”
He wasn’t trying to make excuses.
“Rescue the Little Cultivator: Pang Qian” had already been shown twice within the sect, but not many outside cultivators had seen it—he and Senior Sister Zhang had set the ticket prices a bit steep.
One spirit stone could only buy three tickets, which was more than three times the internal ticket price.
During the last screening, not many outside cultivators were willing to pay—most who came on the free ferry didn’t have much money.
This price was indeed a bit of a burden on their wallets.
There wasn’t much that could be done about it; they could only rely on word of mouth to spread slowly.
However, the plan for the second play had already been put on the agenda by him and the sect leader—now, with the support of Jiushan Sect disciples, they could at least ensure that developing a play wouldn’t lead to losses.
Moreover, it would enrich the entertainment life of the Jiushan Sect brothers.
Not to mention, he needed to cultivate, earn money, and study talismans; time was indeed limited.
Seeing Zheng Fa’s reluctance, Senior Sister Zhang shook her head. “For you, the Fufa Pavilion is far more important than this play.”
Zheng Fa looked at her, puzzled, and noticed Zhou Qianyuan nodding in agreement.
Zhou Qianyuan, seeing Zheng Fa’s gaze, decided to explain for Senior Sister Zhang. “I think what Senior Sister Zhang means is that she wants you to take over the Fufa Pavilion in the future.”
“Take over the Fufa Pavilion?”
Zheng Fa glanced at Senior Sister Zhang, who remained silent but nodded slightly.
“Zheng Shixiong, the conflict between our two lineages actually stems from the training of disciples in the Fufa Pavilion,” Zhou Qianyuan sighed softly. “You must have noticed the tensions between the two factions in the Fufa Pavilion.”
Zheng Fa nodded lightly, recalling the brawls that had erupted when he first joined the sect over trivial disagreements.
“The teachings of our two lineages are actually quite different,” Zhou Qianyuan explained. “From what I’ve heard when you and your brother discuss talismans, your lineage focuses on researching elemental talismans.”
“Whereas my master’s lineage doesn’t emphasize elemental talismans—if we have them, we use them; if not, we can still use the old talisman diagrams.”
Hearing this, Zheng Fa found it absurd that such a minor difference could lead to conflict. “Is that really a conflict?”
“It’s not a conflict,” Senior Sister Zhang shook her head. “But it reflects a different understanding of the Dao.”
“To put it simply, I believe in human determination overcoming heaven, while Master Pang believes in following the natural order.”
“For example, when faced with a decline in spiritual energy, I think we should find a solution.”
“Master Pang believes we shouldn’t force it.”
As Zheng Fa listened, he still felt that there wasn’t much of a real conflict between the two. If Senior Sister Zhang wanted to research, let her research; how did that interfere with Master Pang?
“I’ve never mentioned this before, but within the Hundred Immortals Alliance, there are cultivators who think like me, and there are those who think like Master Pang.”
“We believe that since the predecessors have failed, we should seek a new path to change the decline in spiritual energy,” Senior Sister Zhang said softly. “I research new talisman methods, and others research different things… it’s all the same.”
“Master Pang and his followers believe that our ideas have too low a chance of success… and that they easily waste the limited resources of the Hundred Immortals Alliance,” Senior Sister Zhang paused before continuing. “Their belief is that chaos is imminent in the Xuanwei Realm, and we cannot waste resources on such endeavors.”
Now, Zheng Fa began to understand.
This was a question of choosing between the present and the future:
Senior Sister Zhang’s ideas were commendable, and Zheng Fa agreed with them.
The predecessors had failed time and again; should they just wait for death without change?
But Master Pang also had his reasons—after all, the enemy was almost at the door; who had the time to indulge in research?
If you succeeded in your research but someone else took the credit, wouldn’t that be like making a wedding dress for someone else?
And if the research failed, wouldn’t that be a waste of resources?
Seeing that Zheng Fa seemed to grasp the situation, Senior Sister Zhang said softly, “I nearly used the resources meant to cultivate three Golden Core disciples to perfect the ‘Talisman Path Foundation Establishment Method.’”
Zheng Fa recalled when Senior Sister Zhang had described her path of being opposed by the world; he had thought it a bit exaggerated, but now he understood—during this era, using so many resources, who wouldn’t be targeted?
“This kind of…” Zheng Fa searched for a term to describe the two factions: “Is the conflict between the conservative and reformist factions quite intense within the Hundred Immortals Alliance?”
“More or less. There are few like me, but many like Master Pang,” Senior Sister Zhang explained. “However, those who share my viewpoint generally hold some position within the sect.”
That made sense; not everyone could claim to forge a new path like Senior Sister Zhang, a genius.
Ultimately, this conflict boiled down to attitudes toward the decline in spiritual energy.
Senior Sister Zhang looked at the issue fundamentally—she believed that solving the decline in spiritual energy was the right path.
But Master Pang took a more pragmatic view:
First, survive the impending chaos, then address the decline in spiritual energy.
With limited resources and time, these two approaches were almost mutually exclusive.
“What does this have to do with my managing the Fufa Pavilion?” Zheng Fa asked.
“In our two lineages, Master Pang oversees the Discipline Hall, and I manage the Affairs Hall, which keeps things separate,” Senior Sister Zhang said to Zheng Fa. “Only the Fufa Pavilion, which is responsible for training disciples, is crucial. It influences the balance of power between the two lineages and is the most likely source of conflict.”
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