Chapter 274
"Then this Sun-Moon Bell is probably alive..."
Zheng Fa spoke in a low voice.
Beside him, Huang Shishu and Zhang Shijie exchanged glances, their mouths agape.
"I even suspect that the method of the Tianhe Zunzhang's innate spiritual treasure..." Zheng Fa continued, "was inspired by this kind of cave heaven spiritual treasure."
"According to what Xiao Yuying said, possessing a cave heaven spiritual treasure allows one to escape the decline of spiritual energy..."
"Tianhe Zunzhang might have developed the method of the innate spiritual treasure precisely because of this."
Zheng Fa carefully pondered the techniques of the three epochs in the Xuanwei Realm—Tianhe Zunzhang was undoubtedly a genius, but it was impossible for him to perfect a method that directly pointed to the Dao all on his own.
Moreover, the Tianhe Sect also had a Tianbei Realm.
Not to mention, in the Xuanwei Realm, research relied heavily on archaeology.
...
"What are they doing?"
Zhang Shijie pointed at the dozens of people in the image.
"This is the flaw of the Divine Dao method," Zheng Fa sighed lightly and replied.
"I had been wondering why that Jiuyou Mozu, upon entering this Tianbei Realm, didn’t take the Sun-Moon Bell with him."
"Is there something wrong with this item?"
"The Divine Dao method... it's not the Tianzun who is cultivating, but the Sun-Moon Bell that is cultivating..."
Zheng Fa lamented.
"From the beginning, I was curious why the Tianbei Realm needed us to nurture the people and improve the thunder method."
"The Sun-Moon Bell?"
"Yes, the Sun-Moon Bell requires the power of incense, so the population of the Tianbei Realm is extremely important."
"It needs to perfect its own Dao method, so our improvement of the thunder method is also beneficial to it."
"In that era, treasures like the Sun-Moon Bell had a special name—" Zheng Fa paused, seemingly lost in thought.
"Uh-huh?"
"The treasure that suppresses fate."
Zhang Shijie listened, somewhat confused, not fully grasping the meaning behind it.
"Those cultivators practicing the Divine Dao method have their strength determined by the power of the cave heaven spiritual treasure, which in turn is influenced by the number of incense offerings. It's a trinity—thus, the major forces in the Divine Dao epoch often waged wars against each other, plundering populations, which essentially was to enhance their cave heaven spiritual treasures."
"The problem is, the growth of the spiritual treasure made the Tianzun realize something— the more they cultivated the methods derived from the Sun-Moon Bell, the more they awakened the original spirit of the Sun-Moon Bell, possibly even its former master."
"By the time he understood this, it was already too late; he had long been controlled by the Sun-Moon Bell."
"All the cultivators in the Tianbei Realm were essentially just nutrients for the Sun-Moon Bell."
Zhang Shijie slowly furrowed her brow and spoke:
"Then acquiring this Tianbei Realm, is it good or bad for you...?"
Zheng Fa shook his head. "This matter... I have to thank Jiuyou Mozu."
"Uh-huh?"
"He invaded the Tianbei Realm and fought against the Tianzun, awakening the Tianzun's original consciousness. The Tianzun, at the cost of himself, extinguished the spiritual energy circuit on the Sun-Moon Bell—oh, they call it the rules of the Heavenly Dao."
"That's why Jiuyou Mozu erected a monument for the Tianzun, as a sign of respect."
"Therefore, I speculate that the current Sun-Moon Bell is somewhat like the state of an ancient ancestor; even if it possesses intelligence, it is still in slumber, only exhibiting some instincts—perhaps the emergence of the Tianbei is a means of self-rescue."
...
"What are you planning to do?"
Zhang Shijie asked.
Zheng Fa's meaning was clear; the Sun-Moon Bell was almost equivalent to a slumbering great cultivator.
Even Jiuyou Mozu seemed a bit wary of it.
"I think we need to refer to the new methods of Tianhe."
"…"
Zhang Shijie was taken aback, suddenly realizing, "Zhu Xian?"
Zheng Fa nodded. "Tianhe Zunzhang also has a Tianbei, and on the other hand, he seems unaffected by this cave heaven spiritual treasure..."
He even had a suspicion—
This Tianhe Zunzhang might be playing a game of free riding.
Not only did he take advantage of the spiritual energy, but perhaps he also exploited the cave heaven spiritual treasure.
Zheng Fa's current situation indeed bore some resemblance to that of the Tianhe Zunzhang back in the day; he could only say that he needed to explore this stone of Tianhe more.
The cultivators of the Xuanwei Realm were indeed in a dire situation.
They stumbled upon an extraordinary spiritual treasure, only to find it had its pitfalls.
In fact, he now felt that perhaps the demonic sects had their own means to deal with this thing— in this regard, the cultivators of the Xuanwei Realm were likely searching high and low, and the Mozu was clearly wary of it as well.
But... who would have thought that the spiritual energy itself could also be a trap?
Perhaps the various Mozu had fallen into this very pit.
"The Zhu Xian method, I fear, isn't so easily obtained..."
Zhang Shijie reminded him.
"This matter can only be discussed later." Zheng Fa shook his head. "Zhang Shijie, I actually think this thing has great reference value."
Zhang Shijie nodded in realization. "It will greatly help us understand the state of our ancestor."
Zheng Fa then began to recount the books he had read in modern times, one by one, slowly explaining them to Zhang Shijie.
He wasn't particularly knowledgeable in this area, but having read so many books, he found himself gaining some insights as he spoke.
Not to mention Zhang Shijie.
Meanwhile, Huang Shishu and Yuan Shijie, listening intently, leaned closer together.
"Is this how you lived before?"
"..." Yuan Shijie nodded.
"That must have been tough for you."
...
After finishing his discussion with Zhang Shijie, Zheng Fa roused the drowsy Huang Shishu and Yuan Shijie. Upon exiting the main hall, he noticed—
The Tianbei Realm was now completely deserted.
Zheng Fa suddenly had a realization—now that he had obtained the jade seal, unless he allowed it, others would find it very difficult to enter the Tianbei Realm.
Huang Shishu seemed to have thought of this as well, a look of joy appearing in his eyes.
No matter what the Sun-Moon Bell was like, the disciples of the Jiushan Sect in the Thunder Pool now had a safe logistical base.
He led the two directly to the medicinal garden.
The Sun-Moon Bell still stood like a small mountain in the center of the garden.
After hearing Zheng Fa's speculations about the Divine Dao method, Yuan Shijie and Zhang Shijie now looked at the Sun-Moon Bell with a hint of trepidation.
"Junior Brother, is it really alive?"
"It probably doesn't have much intelligence left now," Zheng Fa replied softly.
"That looks a bit scary..." Yuan Shijie murmured.
After saying this, he tapped his jade seal, and sure enough, the various spiritual plants he had previously selected rapidly matured and landed before Zheng Fa.
Zheng Fa looked at the medicinal garden, hesitating—
He was contemplating whether to ask Xiao Yuying to help him study the spiritual wood thunder.
Now Zheng Fa understood the importance of the thunder method to the Sun-Moon Bell—years ago, the Tianzun had extinguished the spiritual energy circuit on the Sun-Moon Bell, causing it to lose much of its power.
And this spiritual treasure had the instinct to perfect itself.
Thus—perfecting the spiritual wood thunder was a process of awakening for the Sun-Moon Bell.
Zheng Fa had to be cautious.
To be honest, the information left by the Tianzun was too sparse; many things were merely conjectures.
Zheng Fa thought for a moment, then suddenly extended his hand, sending a wave of Five Elements Divine Light to brush against the bell.
The Sun-Moon Bell trembled, as if suddenly awakened, and leaped into the air.
"Junior Brother?"
Yuan Shijie and Huang Shishu tensed up.
The Sun-Moon Bell seemed to have recognized Zheng Fa, flying towards him and hovering in front of him, buzzing.
"Huh?" Zhang Shijie suddenly scratched her head and said, "This scene feels so familiar..."
Zheng Fa sent out another wave of Five Elements Divine Light.
The Sun-Moon Bell quivered again, suddenly tilting and resting on Zheng Fa's shoulder, as if wanting to nuzzle against him.
"..." Yuan Shijie widened her eyes, murmuring, "Isn't this just another one trying to curry favor?"
Zheng Fa was also silent; he was merely testing—though the Five Elements Divine Light was his innate divine ability, he couldn't quite grasp its subtleties.
It was probably due to his low cultivation level.
If it were anything else, he wouldn't have used the Five Elements Divine Light to probe, but he truly knew too little about this thing and found it hard to be at ease...
Unexpectedly, the Five Elements Divine Light proved so useful.
Looking at the Sun-Moon Bell nuzzling against his shoulder, Zheng Fa had a feeling—this fellow had been through quite a bit with the Tianzun, and its intelligence was likely pitifully low; it seemed... to have mistaken its master.
Suddenly, Yuan Shijie spoke up, "Junior Brother, did you make a mistake?"
"…"
"This thing doesn't seem very valuable; you say it's powerful?"
(End of this chapter)
Chapter 256: Easy to Talk To
The intelligence of the Sun-Moon Bell had indeed diminished significantly—it seemed to want to communicate with him, but the messages it conveyed were akin to a child learning to speak.
For some reason, Zheng Fa suddenly felt a pang of guilt...
The former Tianzun had devoted himself to this thing, yet received nothing in return; in the end, perhaps thinking he couldn't have it, he chose to destroy it, giving the Sun-Moon Bell a harsh blow.
In the end, he ended up making a wedding dress for someone else.
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