Chapter 203
This speculation seems a bit far-fetched, yet it also holds a grain of truth.
"Brother Yan, your insight is truly impressive. I admire you greatly," said Zheng Fa.
"I admire myself too, though I’m not quite sure what I should be admiring," Yan Wushuang replied after a moment of silence.
(End of this chapter)
---
**Chapter 197**
The old man in the copper coffin was, after all, a Yuanying (Nascent Soul) cultivator.
Even in the Thunder Pool, without the protection of his copper coffin, he was firmly restrained by Sister Zhang, who wielded the thunder from the pool against him.
Yet, he was not without the power to fight back.
Although Sister Zhang could only exert the abilities of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, it was undeniable that she had rich experience in combat at this level.
Without his treasured coffin, the old man found himself severely limited in the Thunder Pool.
Still, he managed to hold his ground against Sister Zhang for a short while.
At first, he attempted to retrieve his copper coffin.
However, Sister Zhang was wary of this move, leaving him with little opportunity.
Eventually, the old man abandoned the idea of the coffin and charged toward Zheng Fa and the others—he seemed to have noticed that Sister Zhang was subtly protecting them.
"Zheng, get back!"
Before Zheng Fa could react, Sister Zhang was already standing in front of him, her feather fan sweeping forward, sending three fiery blasts toward the old man in the copper coffin.
At that moment, Sister Zhang was no longer the confused figure she usually was; she transformed into a majestic Qingluan (a mythical bird), her massive form firmly blocking the old man from reaching Zheng Fa, her treasured fan waving in the air, preventing him from getting close.
It was clear that her intention was not to kill but to protect Zheng Fa.
Sister Zhang seemed to be incensed by the old man's charge toward Zheng Fa. Her flying brush danced in the air, unleashing a barrage of spirit talismans that pursued the old man relentlessly.
An angry woman is never to be trifled with, especially when that woman is Sister Zhang.
Before long, the old man's body was reduced to ashes under the thunder, leaving no need for a coffin at all.
The treasured copper coffin floated helplessly in the Thunder Pool.
Sister Zhang flew forward with Zheng Fa and the others, beckoning the copper coffin to float before Zheng Fa.
"Here, take this."
"Sister?"
"With spiritual resources dwindling and materials hard to find, most cultivators can only forge one personal treasure. You should prepare for this after your Jindan (Golden Core) stage—this copper coffin is made of Yuming Shentie (Netherworld Divine Iron), which is excellent material."
Isn’t this a bit too early?
Besides, isn’t there someone else here who needs it more?
He glanced at the side, where Sister Yuan was looking down at her treasured fan, seemingly a bit distressed.
Earlier, she had used the fan to protect him, perhaps a bit too nervously, and in doing so, she had expended more of her spiritual sense than usual. While she was fine, the fan had been struck by the thunder several times in the Thunder Pool and was now somewhat charred.
Hearing Sister Zhang offer the copper coffin to Zheng Fa, she showed no signs of jealousy, but she didn’t lift her gaze to look at it either.
It seemed she was afraid of coveting it.
"Sister Yuan."
"Yes?"
"I’m not really fond of the coffin’s appearance," Zheng Fa said softly. "I plan to melt it down."
Sister Yuan blinked, puzzled as to why Zheng Fa was telling her this.
"Sister, you’re the best at fire magic, so I’ll need your help with this," Zheng Fa said with a smile. "I’ve already thought of a reward; I can share some of the Yuming Shentie with you after it’s melted down."
"Share... with me?" Sister Yuan's eyes brightened as she looked at Zheng Fa, exclaiming joyfully, "Really, Zheng?"
"Really."
"Sister Zhang..." Sister Yuan looked at Sister Zhang with eager eyes, her expression anxious.
"...I’ve already given it to him," Sister Zhang said, glancing at Zheng Fa and shaking her head. "He can decide how to distribute it."
Sister Yuan beamed, staring at the copper coffin with an expression that suggested she wanted to reach out and touch it.
Meanwhile, the copper coffin trembled slightly, as if it were aggrieved, silently protesting: You didn’t treat me this way when you were trying to entice me earlier!
Zheng Fa felt no sympathy for the copper coffin—
A treacherous treasure deserves no treasure rights!
---
Sitting in his room, Zheng Fa closed his eyes, focusing on the Yin-Yang Fish jade pendant in his sea of consciousness.
When he was conferred in the Tianbei realm, he received a silver register, granting him control over five thousand miles of land, which astonished Yan Wushuang and the others.
To be honest, Zheng Fa was a bit baffled himself:
It wasn’t that he underestimated himself.
His cultivation was clearly a notch below that of Yan Wushuang and the others.
There were also differences in talent.
The divine hall had placed him on the same level as Yan Wushuang, likely because they had discovered something unique about him:
Perhaps it was due to his innate ability, the Zhenfan Wuxing Shenguang (Five Elements Divine Light).
Or perhaps it was because of this Yin-Yang Fish jade pendant.
Zheng Fa suspected this because the light orb at that time seemed to avoid the jade pendant altogether...
This made Zheng Fa curious:
The Tianbei realm is a world unto itself, somewhat reminiscent of the modern world.
And judging by the light orb’s attitude toward his jade pendant in the divine hall—was there a "hierarchical" difference between the modern world and the Tianbei realm?
Speaking of which, Zheng Fa hadn’t paid much attention to the jade pendant for a long time.
In fact, after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, the pendant had undergone some changes: primarily, the time difference between the two realms had further expanded, allowing Zheng Fa to stay in the Xuanwei realm for a year before returning to the modern world.
However, Zheng Fa rarely lingered for that long, so he didn’t think much of it.
After a trip to the Tianbei realm, Zheng Fa found himself oddly intrigued by the jade pendant.
Yet the pendant seemed innocent, quietly standing in his sea of consciousness, appearing obedient and understanding, lacking the imposing aura of a powerful treasure.
Zheng Fa shook his head gently, directing his spiritual sense downward into his dantian.
Compared to his Qi Refinement stage, his dantian had also changed somewhat.
The Yuanfu Daoji (Yuan Symbol Dao Foundation)—or rather, the Möbius Subsymbol Diagram—was situated at the center of his dantian, while the other two types of sub-symbols danced around it like delicate jade ribbons.
The most significant change was in the spiritual energy within his dantian.
During the Qi Refinement stage, his spiritual energy flowed like a river, gradually expanding from a small stream to a mighty river as he progressed from the early to the late stages of Qi Refinement.
Upon reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, both the small stream and the mighty river vanished. The spiritual energy within him transformed from liquid to solid.
Now, his spiritual energy resembled grains of silver sand, swirling gently beneath his Yuanfu Daoji, like stars in the sky.
According to the "Shenxiao Yulei Zhenfa," the process from Foundation Establishment to Jindan involves gathering these grains of silver sand into a Thunder Field and then nurturing Thunder Fruits.
With the spiritual materials purchased by Uncle Pang in the market, he had taken his first step—there were now many more grains than when he first established his foundation, but he was still some distance from consolidating them into a unified Thunder Field.
The Foundation Establishment stage may not be as intricate as the Qi Refinement stage, but the difficulty of cultivation is incomparable.
Zheng Fa took out a Zidian fruit, chewed it, and swallowed, feeling a surge of thunderous spiritual energy flow down his throat into his abdomen, eventually settling in his dantian and condensing into a grain of silver sand...
---
"Zheng, the people from Qianhe Sect have arrived."
Just as he was immersed in his cultivation, Sister Yuan knocked on his door, reminding him from the threshold.
"I’ll be right there." Zheng Fa slowly opened his eyes, standing up from his bed. "Why did you come personally, Sister Yuan? You could have sent another senior brother to inform me."
"Don’t you know?"
"Know what?"
"Uncle Pang has issued an order that no one is allowed near your room," Sister Yuan explained. "Only a few select individuals can come."
"That... you really didn’t have to go to such trouble," Zheng Fa knew Uncle Pang was being overly cautious, but he felt a bit embarrassed to have Sister Yuan, a Jindan cultivator, relay messages for him.
"I think Uncle Pang is being too unreliable; how could he let those junior brothers come? I’ve already told him that from now on, if anyone needs to find you, I’ll handle it!"
Hearing Sister Yuan say this, Zheng Fa was at a loss for words.
It seemed Sister Yuan was even more overprotective than Uncle Pang.
"Sister Yuan, are you worried about me, or about that coffin?" Zheng Fa asked after a moment of silence.
"Zheng, asking that hurts our relationship a bit!"
Zheng Fa paused again before asking, "So... is it my question that’s hurting our relationship, or your answer?"
Sister Yuan’s gaze wandered as she coughed, "Well, you don’t know... that envoy from Qianhe Sect has had a rough time."
"Rough?"
As Zheng Fa entered the main hall, he understood why Sister Yuan had said that.
The visitor was Qianhe Sect's Master Qian, with whom Zheng Fa had first collaborated during his initial dealings with the sect.
He remembered that Master Qian had been polite yet assertive back then.
But now, Uncle Pang was watching him with a cold, piercing gaze, scrutinizing Master Qian from head to toe.
To be honest, anyone being scrutinized so closely by a Yuanying cultivator would need a fair bit of courage just to stand.
"Uncle Pang."
Zheng Fa entered and first bowed to Uncle Pang.
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