Chapter 258
As the golden bell tolled, one by one, the spiritual plants rose from the medicinal garden, landing before Zheng Fa—these were the various spiritual plants he had previously selected from the jade tablet.
The other spiritual plants, however, remained utterly still.
This golden bell looked formidable, and even Senior Sister Yuan dared not reach out to pluck the remaining spiritual plants.
Zheng Fa grasped the silver seal before him, a spark of realization igniting in his mind. He turned to Senior Sister Zhang and the others, saying, “Shall we explore other areas?”
The two senior sisters nodded, clearly intrigued.
With a flick of his spirit onto the silver seal, it summoned three gentle breezes, carrying Zheng Fa toward the other “islands.”
The first one was the closest to the medicinal garden.
“The shape of this land…” Before they landed, Senior Sister Zhang spoke up, “It seems to subtly align with that medicinal garden?”
Zheng Fa examined the edge of this “island” closely, recalling the shape of the medicinal garden, and nodded in agreement.
About ten courtyards stood before them.
There seemed to be a peculiar scent in the air, and Senior Sister Zhang’s expression changed, as if she wanted to speak.
A radiant light flashed from the silver seal, sweeping over the three of them, and the scent immediately dissipated.
“Senior Sister Zhang?”
“This should be the alchemy site of the Heavenly Palace,” Senior Sister Zhang frowned, saying, “That scent was likely from medicinal materials or pills that had been left too long, which could be toxic. If it weren’t for this silver seal, we should have left immediately.”
The three of them entered one of the courtyards, which had only one entrance. Inside the main house was an empty alchemy furnace.
In the left side room, several rows of shelves held what should have been spiritual herbs, but now they had all withered into thin black strands.
That earlier scent likely emanated from these remnants.
In the right room were dozens of jade bottles and gourds, presumably for storing the refined pills.
As expected, the jade bottles and gourds were also empty. Even if there were remnants, they seemed to be carelessly dropped, and after years of decay, they were no longer usable.
They moved on to other courtyards.
The interiors were largely similar, though some had their alchemy furnaces toppled, and several gourds and jade bottles lay shattered on the ground, suggesting a struggle had occurred.
“It’s common for alchemy rooms and medicinal gardens to be in the same place,” Senior Sister Zhang suddenly remarked as they exited a courtyard.
“So the Heavenly Palace was originally one entity?” Zheng Fa understood her implication and spoke, “It seems there must have been a great battle.”
“Yes, from the state of this alchemy room, it appears the inhabitants were aware of the danger and prepared to evacuate in advance…”
The three of them circled through these courtyards, finding nothing else of interest.
They then headed toward other “islands.”
The remaining islands only deepened their disappointment.
These seemed like the lairs of powerful beings, but they were long abandoned, devoid of treasures or secrets.
“Indeed, it seems these people must have evacuated early… leaving nothing behind.”
“But what about that golden bell?” Senior Sister Yuan asked, puzzled.
Zheng Fa understood her meaning; that golden bell looked like a valuable treasure. If they truly intended to flee, wouldn’t it have been wise to take it with them?
“I’m not sure about that,” Senior Sister Zhang pondered, “I suspect that golden bell might not have been left behind willingly, but rather could not be taken.”
Zheng Fa nodded, finding this speculation quite plausible.
…
After visiting several “islands,” they returned empty-handed, which even made Senior Sister Yuan show signs of boredom.
The last island was the largest.
It was a grand yet dilapidated palace complex, with about a thousand halls, but not a single one was intact…
Everywhere were collapsed palace walls, jade pillars smashed to the ground, reduced to rubble.
“This is likely the residence of the Heavenly Palace’s master,” Senior Sister Zhang said, “and probably the site of the great battle.”
The three of them ventured deeper into the palace.
Most of the halls were empty, with nothing left behind.
Some halls contained a few magical artifacts—yet, due to the erosion of time and lack of care from their owners, most had lost their luster and left no trace of power.
Having prepared themselves mentally from their earlier explorations, they were not disappointed and continued walking straight in.
Finally, they arrived at the innermost palace.
This palace was originally the largest, but it was also the most damaged, leaving only its foundation.
As they walked inside, Senior Sister Yuan suddenly pointed to a corner of the courtyard wall and exclaimed, “What’s that over there?”
Zheng Fa looked up to see that a section of the wall still stood tall, with something shimmering atop it.
As they approached, they saw two rows of blue characters, inscribed on the wall with an unknown substance, glowing faintly even after all these years.
Zheng Fa glanced at them and realized—he did not recognize this script.
Or rather, he could only vaguely comprehend it.
“Senior Sister Zhang?”
“This is likely a script from a previous era, one I’ve seen in ancient texts,” Senior Sister Zhang frowned, “Let me take a look…”
She began to read slowly:
“Sentient beings are all ignorant, unworthy of reliance. The divine path is but a wedding garment, the Heavenly Sovereign is no longer oneself.”
“Now, in the Nine Nether…”
Senior Sister Zhang’s tone paused slightly as she exchanged a glance with Zheng Fa.
Nine Nether…
“Now, the Nine Nether seeks to open the great path for the mysterious and subtle, but the gods obstruct the way, I shall take my own life.”
The two rows of characters plunged Zheng Fa and Senior Sister Zhang into silence.
Even Senior Sister Yuan, who had been somewhat oblivious, stammered, “Does this Nine Nether refer to the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor?”
“Perhaps…”
It wasn’t that others couldn’t be called Nine Nether.
But the Heavenly Sovereign of this realm should possess extraordinary strength; how many in the history of the Xuanwei realm could have killed the Nine Nether?
Most likely, it was indeed the current Nine Nether Demon Ancestor.
“Then… the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor… seeks to open the great path for sentient beings? Does that mean we have no work left to do?”
Senior Sister Yuan’s voice was filled with confusion.
Zheng Fa felt somewhat at a loss as well—he had known for some time that the Demon Ancestor might not be the representative of the old laws he had once imagined.
Now, this was confirmed here.
Even… the original intention of this Nine Nether Demon Ancestor was strikingly similar to his own, and to that of the Heavenly River Sovereign?
But what about now?
Zheng Fa gazed at the sky, pondering one thing—were these Demon Ancestors the dragon-slaying youths turned into evil dragons? Or had the youth already perished, leaving only the evil dragon alive?
Or perhaps, the Demon Ancestors had truly forged another path?
(End of this chapter)
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**Chapter 242: Senior Sister’s Advancement, Transformation into God’s Dependence**
In the small courtyard of Zheng Fa’s residence in Lei Chi Fang City.
The room was filled with spiritual materials, lush and vibrant, transforming Zheng Fa’s meditation chamber into a veritable garden.
Zheng Fa sat on the couch, gazing at these spiritual materials, yet his mind lingered on his two senior sisters.
After their return, the two senior sisters merely instructed him to focus on his cultivation before departing on their own—Senior Sister Yuan, even the most gluttonous, didn’t spare a glance at the spiritual materials.
Oh, perhaps she was too afraid to look, worried she wouldn’t be able to leave.
He shook his head, dismissing such thoughts, and with a flick of his hand, a bolt of Thunder Vine flew into his grasp.
Zheng Fa activated his spiritual power, slowly absorbing the energy from the Purple Lightning Vine, his consciousness following the flow of energy down into his dantian.
Inside the dantian lay a square patch of Thunder Field, with a slightly stout Fusang tree growing upon it.
The Fusang tree was entirely crimson, exuding a faint heat.
This warmth spread from his dantian to his limbs, seemingly strengthening his physique over time.
But this was far from enough to quell Zheng Fa’s dissatisfaction with the Fusang tree…
Since this divine wood had taken residence in his dantian, it had consumed who knows how much spiritual energy from the materials, yet it grew at a painfully slow rate, dragging down his cultivation progress.
Indeed, as soon as the energy from the Purple Lightning Vine merged into the Thunder Field, it was immediately devoured by the Fusang tree.
This thing hadn’t changed one bit!
Zheng Fa was determined—after spending two thousand days of effort for an entire room of spiritual materials, surely it could stir a little?
…
As the sun began to set, more than eighty percent of the spiritual materials in the room had been used.
Even Zheng Fa felt a bit fatigued, yet the Fusang tree in his dantian remained unchanged.
Zheng Fa understood that this was a divine wood of high quality, but it was simply too difficult to nurture!
Just as he felt a twinge of despair, the Fusang tree suddenly trembled, and the red on its trunk gradually coalesced into a hint of gold.
At the top of the Fusang tree, a five-colored bud began to form.
The petals of this bud tightly embraced one another, as if nurturing some precious treasure.
At the moment the bud appeared, Zheng Fa felt a surge of spiritual power throughout his body, converging toward that bud.
His spirit soared like grass and trees in the mountains meeting a gentle rain, rapidly expanding.
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