Chapter 233
Yuan Shijie puffed out her cheeks, looking at the sect leader with a tearful expression. She whispered, “Old man, can’t we just give up on Jiushan Sect if we can’t win?”
After all, she had been raised by the sect leader. Though she usually kept her feelings hidden, at this moment, her reluctance was hard to conceal.
The sect leader sighed lightly and said, “You can’t just give up on the Jiushan spiritual vein so easily. Right now, we haven’t taken the Tianbei Realm, and the Jiushan spiritual vein is still the foundation of our sect.”
Uncle Pang opened his mouth and said, “How about I go back instead?”
“Uncle Pang, you and Huang Shimei are still young. You can help Jiushan hold on a little longer.”
Uncle Pang fell silent.
After saying this, the sect leader turned his gaze to Zhang Shijie.
“Zhang Shiz, with Zheng Fa not having grown yet, you are already in the Yuanying stage. You must be the pillar of Jiushan Sect. I’ll be relying on you in the future.”
Zhang Shijie pursed her lips and gently cupped her hands in respect to the sect leader.
He then looked at Zheng Fa.
“Disciple.”
“Here.”
“Becoming my disciple, I don’t have much to offer you. I don’t have many spirit stones myself, and you’ve even mismanaged your cultivation methods.” The sect leader chuckled, “Do you blame me?”
“No.” Zheng Fa replied sincerely. After a moment, he added, “I’ve never regretted joining Jiushan Sect.”
The sect leader smiled and nodded, as if this affirmation was the highest recognition he could receive as a master.
He didn’t say anything else, just told the group, “If Jiushan Sect falls empty, those people might not even want to come after this old man.”
Zheng Fa and the others nodded.
What the sect leader said made sense.
After all, whether it was the demon clan or the demonic cult, attacking Jiushan Sect was primarily to vent their anger.
Secondly, it was to see if they could restrain the Jiushan disciples at the Thunder Pool, creating opportunities for those trapped in the secret realm of the Great Freedom Demonic Cult.
If Jiushan Sect were left with only the sect leader and the ancestor, two lonely old men in the Yuanying stage, attacking Jiushan Sect would likely be a losing battle…
“Remember, no matter what happens to Jiushan Sect, or what news comes through,” the sect leader said earnestly, “you must not act rashly! If the Great Freedom Demonic Cult finds an opportunity, that would be a matter of life and death for Jiushan Sect.”
The group nodded.
The sect leader glanced at everyone in the hall one last time, turned, and slowly walked out of the Wulong Heavenly Palace.
Zheng Fa couldn’t shake the feeling that he saw a determination to fight to the death in his master’s retreating figure—or perhaps, a resolve to struggle against fate.
…
After the sect leader’s figure disappeared outside, Uncle Pang fell silent for a moment before suddenly addressing Zheng Fa, “Shiz, when will you hold the sect leader ceremony? How many Yuanying should we invite?”
“Ah?”
“Not right.” Uncle Pang shook his head. “Your cultivation is too low; being the sect leader would draw too much attention. How about letting Zhang Shiz manage Jiushan Sect for a while? You two have a good relationship, and you can switch back later.”
Before Zheng Fa could respond, the sect leader’s frustrated voice came from outside, “I’m not dead yet!”
Uncle Pang was taken aback, as if he had just noticed the sect leader hadn’t gone far, and exclaimed, “Oh? You’re still here?”
The sect leader glared at Uncle Pang, gritting his teeth.
“You’re almost dead; why do you care about this?” Uncle Pang retorted confidently.
“If you die, I won’t die either!”
The sect leader snorted coldly, seemingly unwilling to continue the conversation with his junior brother, and flew out of the market.
Uncle Pang watched his retreating figure and suddenly smiled.
“Uncle?”
Zheng Fa spoke softly from the side.
“Zheng Fa, you all say I care about Jiushan Sect. Do you know what I really care about?” Uncle Pang suddenly asked.
“What?”
“I joined the sect at twenty. By then, your master was already a true disciple of the Jindan stage… Now, I’ve known him for nine thousand years.”
“That Huang, I’ve been arguing with her for over a thousand years.”
“I was just thinking, if these two are gone, if I lose the Jiushan spiritual vein where I’ve spent thousands of years, would Jiushan Sect still mean anything to me?”
Zheng Fa understood Uncle Pang’s meaning.
“Uncle, are you planning to go back?”
“Once Huang Shimei arrives and I settle you all, I will definitely return.” Uncle Pang nodded.
…
After leaving the Wulong Heavenly Palace, Zheng Fa and the others fell into silence.
“What do you think?”
“It’s right to send ordinary disciples away; the Thunder Pool is the safest place for them now.” Zheng Fa began, “As for the sect leader and Uncle Pang, if they don’t break through to the Huashen stage, with the three Yuanying combatants of Jiushan Sect and the protective formation, it won’t be easy for ordinary people to take their lives.”
Zhang Shijie nodded gently at this.
Yuan Shijie still had tear stains at the corners of her eyes. She whispered, “I want to go back too.”
Zheng Fa sighed softly and reached out to pat Yuan Shijie’s round head.
The aura of the Fusang wood on him made Yuan Shijie squint her eyes slightly, and she unconsciously leaned her head into his palm, a mischievous smile creeping onto her lips.
“Do you still want to go back?”
“No…”
Zhang Shijie watched this scene, shaking her head, and chose not to say anything.
Zheng Fa spoke again, “Zhang Shijie, your future is bright, but my cultivation is low. Uncle Pang and the others probably won’t let us go back…”
Zhang Shijie gently nodded, seemingly agreeing with Zheng Fa’s assessment.
“What we can do now is first arrange for those disciples.” Zheng Fa continued as he walked, “I was thinking, can we gather more information about the Great Freedom Demonic Cult and the demon clan’s movements?”
“Yes, right now the enemy is in the dark while we are in the light; we are too passive.”
Zhang Shijie nodded lightly.
The two turned their gazes to the golden crow in Yuan Shijie’s hands.
“Caw?”
“I really don’t know the Great Freedom Demonic Cult’s plans!” the golden crow protested, looking aggrieved. “I’m just a Foundation Establishment stage bird; those demon women only crave my body, why would they share any other information with me?”
Zheng Fa and Zhang Shijie exchanged glances and nodded.
Zheng Fa then asked, “So where did you escape from?”
“Where?” The golden crow thought for a moment and said, “The south, I think it was Fengcheng County.”
“Fengcheng County.”
Zheng Fa frowned.
He looked at Zhang Shijie beside him and found her expression equally serious.
The name Fengcheng County was not unfamiliar to them; it also belonged to Taiyang Prefecture.
Most importantly, the spirit stone mine in the spiritual cave was located there.
At this moment, it was a chaotic place, filled with all sorts of people.
It would indeed be difficult to find someone from the Great Freedom Demonic Cult there.
But for both Jiushan Sect and the Thunder Pool market, they posed a significant threat.
And now that this golden crow had escaped, if those people were cautious, they might have already changed locations.
It would be hard to find them in the crowd.
As the two were deep in thought, a Jiushan Sect disciple arrived outside the door, reporting to Zheng Fa:
“Fairy Lingye has come to visit.”
Zheng Fa was taken aback; the news brought by the golden crow was so sudden that he had completely forgotten about the matter with Xiao Yuying.
“Quick, please invite her in!”
Xiao Yuying walked in, her gaze first sweeping over Zhang Shijie, then landing on Zheng Fa. Seemingly mindful of Yuan Shijie’s presence, she casually asked, “Zheng Daoyou, have you given it some thought?”
A smile played at the corners of her mouth, as if she was already confident in Zheng Fa’s response.
“Sorry, Fairy Xiao, but I’m afraid I can’t help you.”
Zheng Fa directly rejected Xiao Yuying.
He hadn’t planned to go in the first place.
Now, with the added threat of the Great Freedom Demonic Cult, he truly didn’t want to stir up trouble.
Xiao Yuying was taken aback, staring at Zheng Fa for a long time before suddenly saying, “But… that’s the legacy of that person!”
Her tone seemed to convey disbelief, as if she thought she had misheard.
“Fairy Xiao, thank you for your trust, but I truly have no intention.”
Zheng Fa refused again.
Xiao Yuying fell silent for a moment before suddenly speaking, “Do you think I would burn bridges after crossing them?”
“Fairy Xiao, you misunderstand…”
“I can make a soul contract with you,” Xiao Yuying continued.
Zheng Fa was taken aback, looking at Xiao Yuying.
A soul contract was no ordinary matter.
It could be seen as a temporary two-way soul imprint—simply put, if one died, the other would die too.
Was Xiao Yuying really this determined about him?
Seemingly sensing Zheng Fa’s confusion, Xiao Yuying shook her head and said, “In this Xuanwei Realm, the only person I know who can surpass me in thunder law is you.”
“Unfortunately, my thunder law cultivation isn’t enough for that secret realm…”
Xiao Yuying’s explanation left Zheng Fa somewhat enlightened.
After pondering for a moment, he suddenly said, “Fairy Xiao, I can agree to your request.”
Xiao Yuying’s eyes lit up.
“But I have another request.”
“What request?” Xiao Yuying frowned, seemingly displeased with Zheng Fa’s taking advantage of the situation.
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