Chapter 156
He walked back to his room and pulled out five books from his suitcase.
"Chi Xiao Jue, Bi Shui Jue, Chang Chun Gong, Geng Jin Jue, and Huang Tu Gong."
These were all introductory cultivation techniques provided by the Jiu Shan Sect for its disciples.
The five elements—metal, wood, water, fire, and earth—each had a corresponding technique that Zheng Fa had selected.
The primary criterion for selection was—safety!
He wanted the one with the most annotations, the most detailed instructions, and one that would be difficult to go astray with.
“What’s this?”
“You each try one, and whichever one you can cultivate the fastest, stick with that.” The reason for this clumsy method was that he had no means to test the spiritual roots of Bai Laotou and the others—this was the hardship of being a modern-day Daoist master.
In a way, the modern world was an enhanced version of the Xuan Wei realm, where spiritual energy was waning.
There were no spiritual plants.
No spirit stones.
And certainly no methods that had long been established in the Xuan Wei realm.
On the other hand, developing a small cultivation civilization from scratch allowed Zheng Fa to gain a deeper understanding of the essence of the Dao.
Even now, Zheng Fa still didn’t know what spiritual roots really were.
He had some of his own theories—based on the process of transforming spiritual energy into spiritual power, there were two determining factors: the first was, of course, the divine soul, and the second was the trajectory of spiritual energy determined by the meridians.
Spiritual roots were likely related to this trajectory.
As for the exact relationship, Zheng Fa still needed some additional evidence.
Bai Laotou and the others exchanged glances and each picked a book.
Bai Laotou chose Huang Tu Gong.
Tang Lingwu picked Chang Chun Jue.
As they flipped through the books, both couldn’t help but frown.
These were techniques from the Xuan Wei realm, and some concepts were difficult for modern people to grasp.
Many of the ideas were relatively unfamiliar to most.
“I’ll teach you first; it’s always a bit tough at the beginning.”
Zheng Fa had anticipated these issues. He walked over to the two and picked up their books, starting to guide them in their cultivation.
Fortunately, compared to others, both had practiced Ling He Shen before, so they had some foundation.
However, some of the terminology in these techniques still needed Zheng Fa to explain slowly.
He was also worried that they might encounter problems during their first attempt, so he patiently went through both books in detail.
To his surprise, Bai Laotou seemed to have quite a solid foundation.
Many terms—like meridians, meditation, and breath control—he was very familiar with.
“Am I really that slow?”
Tang Lingwu looked at Zheng Fa with a hint of frustration in her eyes.
Zheng Fa shook his head, equally puzzled—Tang Lingwu was certainly not slow; when he had learned these things, he hadn’t performed much better than her.
He glanced at Bai Laotou, his expression thoughtful.
“What have you been reading lately?”
“Ahem.” Bai Laotou scratched his head, slightly embarrassed at being caught: “I just bought a few scriptures to read.”
Tang Lingwu’s gaze towards Bai Laotou changed, resembling the way Wang Chen used to look at Zheng Fa—how could you be so diligent!
…
When it came time to cultivate, Zheng Fa was even more certain—this old man had practiced before!
His sitting posture was extremely standard.
He entered the cultivation state much faster than Tang Lingwu.
This inevitably made Tang Lingwu a bit anxious.
Bai Laotou, feeling a bit shy, comforted Tang Lingwu: “Once I succeed, I’ll share the secret with you!”
Zheng Fa’s strategy was to have them each try the five techniques.
Then he would use Dong Xu Ling Yan to observe their speed of absorbing spiritual energy.
This way, he could determine which technique they could cultivate the fastest.
Zheng Fa breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that both were able to absorb spiritual energy smoothly.
This indicated that both had what was referred to as spiritual roots.
However, to Zheng Fa, it seemed that spiritual roots were not merely a matter of existence but rather of quality.
After trying them all, he found that Bai Laotou was most suited for Huang Tu Gong, meaning he absorbed the most spiritual energy from it.
As for Tang Lingwu, she had a good eye; the Chang Chun Gong she initially picked was extremely suitable for her constitution.
It was truly a perfect fit…
Seeing the speed at which Tang Lingwu absorbed spiritual energy, Zheng Fa couldn’t help but glance meaningfully at Bai Laotou—he estimated that Tang Lingwu likely had the cultivation speed of a single spiritual root.
In other words, she was a genius!
As Bai Laotou and Tang Lingwu gradually immersed themselves in their cultivation, Zheng Fa watched closely, worried that these two beginners might run into trouble.
After a while, Bai Laotou slowly opened his eyes, looking at Zheng Fa with excitement: “Zheng Fa, I’m definitely cultivating Huang Tu Gong faster than the other four techniques! I feel like I’ve already cultivated a trace of spiritual energy.”
Zheng Fa placed a finger to his lips, signaling him to look at Tang Lingwu.
At that moment, a small vortex of spiritual energy was forming above Tang Lingwu’s head, as if she were advancing.
Bai Laotou was taken aback, and the look he gave Tang Lingwu was reminiscent of how Wang Chen now looked at Zheng Fa—why her?
…
In the Xuan Wei realm.
Zheng Fa had just written down his thoughts on cultivating Ling Shan Fa on paper.
Suddenly, Yuan Shijie burst in.
“Zheng Shidi!” Her face was pale with alarm. “Huang Shishu sent word that the Chang Chun Sect has been wiped out, Zhang Shijie is missing, and the other disciples have been ambushed!”
(End of this chapter)
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Chapter 157: Thunder Pool
On the ninth peak of Jiu Shan, the atmosphere was unusually tense.
Such a major incident had occurred that even Shishu Pang had personally come to the ninth peak, accompanied by Sun Daoyu and Zhou Qianyuan, both looking bewildered.
Zheng Fa and Yuan Shijie were also present.
As soon as Shishu Pang arrived, he called out, “Shixiong, what on earth happened?”
His face was filled with urgency.
The sect leader, however, appeared somewhat calm: “Huang Shimei sent a message back; she arrived late.”
“What do you mean by ‘late’?”
“She first went to the Chang Chun Sect to assess the situation, but found the place completely deserted, even the spiritual vein had been destroyed.”
The others couldn’t help but shudder.
This was no longer just a matter of extermination—it was as if the roots had been dug up, indicating a ruthless approach.
The sect leader continued, “With no leads, Huang Shimei could only search for clues at the Thunder Pool. After several days with no results… she eventually discovered traces of many disciples from the Da Zizai Demon Sect.”
“Many?”
Shishu Pang frowned.
“Yes, later she followed these demon sect disciples and realized that the Chang Chun Sect had been destroyed by the Da Zizai Demon Sect… When the Chang Chun Sect’s leader discovered their presence and attempted to send a warning to Zhang Shizong, they were detected.”
“Da Zizai Demon Sect?” Shishu Pang’s face was filled with confusion. “What are they doing sending so many people to Taiyang County?”
This was also a mystery for Zheng Fa.
He could understand why the Da Zizai Demon Sect would target talented individuals like himself—this was a lesson learned from history.
But wiping out the Chang Chun Sect was a bit too conspicuous.
Currently, the Xuan Wei realm was still under the control of the immortal sects.
No matter how deep the roots of the demon sect were, they were at a disadvantage in this calamity.
“They weren’t coming to Taiyang County.” Unexpectedly, the sect leader shook his head, looking somewhat troubled. “They were already in Taiyang County.”
“Ah?”
“According to Huang Shimei, this time the spiritual vein emerged, bringing along a Thunder Pool, which triggered a massive change underground—exposing the secret realm of the Da Zizai Demon Sect.”
“…”
Zheng Fa was at a loss for words.
This situation… why did it feel like the Da Zizai Demon Sect was the one being wronged?
They were just minding their own business, and then a spiritual vein fell from the sky.
Shishu Pang also seemed speechless.
He pressed his lips together, his expression growing heavier.
Zheng Fa understood the implications of this.
This was an unexpected ambush, and no one was prepared.
On the other hand, the Da Zizai Demon Sect, cornered at their doorstep, would likely fight back desperately if provoked.
“What about Zhang Shizong and the others?”
“Huang Shimei followed those demon sect disciples and found the disciples taken by Zhang Shizong. When they reached the Chang Chun Sect, they were ambushed by the demon sect disciples, and Zhang Shizong could only lead them to hide.”
“What happened next?”
Hearing this, even Zheng Fa felt anxious.
“After all, that was the old lair of the Da Zizai Demon Sect. Zhang Shizong faced several Yuan Ying and was outnumbered, sustaining injuries. He could only lead them toward the Thunder Pool…” The sect leader shook his head. “Only by leveraging the power of the Thunder Pool could they barely hold on.”
“What do you mean… leveraging the power of the Thunder Pool?”
Shishu Pang was confused again.
“That Thunder Pool is extremely violent… According to Huang Shimei, the higher one’s cultivation, the more cautious one must be in that Thunder Pool. If one’s cultivation exceeds the Foundation Establishment stage, they will attract heavenly lightning.”
“If one is above the Golden Core stage, it’s a rain of a thousand bolts; above the Yuan Ying stage… I heard that a demon sect Yuan Ying was killed on the spot for being too arrogant.”
“…”
Zheng Fa twitched his lips.
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