Chapter 291
At noon, Zheng Shan tilted her head back to gaze at the sky, her eyes wide open, searching for the sun's trace—but there was none to be found. Above her, dark red clouds loomed, casting a shadow over the world, leaving everything in a dim haze.
Zheng Shan instinctively tightened her grip on the sleeve of her Uncle Huang, who stood beside her.
“Don’t be afraid, just stick with me,” he said, giving her a couple of reassuring pats.
“I’ll take you all out soon.”
“Real people…” Zheng Shan seemed to grasp something, looking at the others around her. “What about them?”
Uncle Huang’s silence suddenly made the young Zheng Shan feel a weight she had never known before.
As if sensing her thoughts, Uncle Huang gently ruffled her hair, remaining quiet for a long while.
Finally, she whispered, “If we don’t leave, we might end up harming these mortals…”
It seemed she was trying to explain this to Zheng Shan.
“The people from the Great Freedom Demon Sect are growing bolder. If a real fight breaks out, we won’t be able to protect these folks.”
Zheng Shan nodded, still confused.
“What will happen to them?”
Uncle Huang paused, as if he wanted to lie, but looking into Zheng Shan’s clear eyes, he found himself at a loss for words. He could only speak honestly, “I don’t know…”
“…”
“This is the way of Xuanwei… the fate of mortals has never been in their own hands.”
Zheng Shan was taken aback, feeling that this statement was even more terrifying than the haunting whispers of that night.
She looked around at the tightly packed tents and the dazed expressions of the people, contemplating their unknown fates.
At that moment, she found that the math problems that had troubled her for two years suddenly seemed comforting…
“You are entering my Wulong Heavenly Palace!”
In the evening, Uncle Pang addressed Zheng Shan and the disciples of the Jiushan Sect.
The crowd began to stir, as if they had caught on to something.
Zheng Shan was tightly embraced by her mother, turning to look into the distance.
Golden lightning flashed more frequently and urgently, yet it could not halt the advance of the dark clouds.
The night sky was so black it felt hopeless.
Crying spread through the crowd.
It started as soft whimpers.
Then it escalated into panicked wails.
Finally, it turned into desperate howls.
Amidst this overwhelming sound of sorrow, Zheng Shan buried her head in her mother’s neck, yet somehow, tears began to fall.
Suddenly, a bell tolled from afar.
“Zheng Fa is here!”
Uncle Pang exclaimed, both surprised and delighted.
Zheng Shan shot her head up, witnessing a scene she would never forget.
A golden bell appeared in the sky.
The sound of the bell drowned out the cries of hundreds of thousands.
With a single toll, it unleashed a hundred bolts of lightning.
After the hundred chimes, the dark clouds that had once obscured the heavens scattered like a fleeing shadow, leaving only the golden bell above and the bright moon on the horizon.
The night was calm, bringing a sense of peace, as if the tension of the past few days had been nothing but a dream.
Then, a familiar voice rang in her ears.
“Don’t be afraid.”
The golden bell descended, transforming into a glowing archway on the ground, and within it stood a figure she had longed for.
“Brother!”
Zheng Shan leaped from her mother’s embrace, tears still unwashed, and ran towards Zheng Fa.
Zheng Fa scooped her up, holding her close and weighing her in his arms, nodding with apparent satisfaction at her weight.
Standing nearby, Senior Sister Zhang, Senior Sister Yuan, and the little golden crow—two people and one bird—watched Zheng Fa’s smile, exchanging thoughtful glances.
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Chapter 271: The Power of Mortals
“Looks like those people can run fast…”
The sect leader flew in from a distance, his tone somewhat disgruntled.
“They’re just wary of Zheng Fa!” Uncle Pang shot him a glance. “Otherwise, how could we have held out this long?”
Zheng Fa scanned the crowd, as if recalling something, and turned to Uncle Huang.
“The lady from the Zhao family doesn’t want to come.”
Uncle Huang seemed to know what he was asking and explained, “She wants to go to the Qingmu Sect…”
“Qingmu Sect…”
Zheng Fa frowned slightly, feeling a twinge of concern.
He had sent a message to the Seventh Young Master but hadn’t received a reply. It seemed the Qingmu Sect was not very stable either.
“I do have some news about the Qingmu Sect,” Uncle Pang interjected. “They’re currently closely aligned with Master Tongming, so they should be safe.”
Zheng Fa nodded.
He had considered the Zhao lady’s choice—after all, he wasn’t a member of the Zhao family, and she was a strong-willed person who wouldn’t want to rely on him.
Earlier, he had thought that if the Seventh Young Master were willing to come to the Jiushan Sect, it would naturally follow that the Zhao family would come as well.
Now, it seemed the Seventh Young Master would have to follow his own master, leaving him without autonomy.
He thought about sending a few more letters to the Seventh Young Master but decided to set that aside for now as he led everyone into the Jiushan Realm.
Currently, the Jiushan Realm was cut off from the mortal world, and the three hundred thousand newcomers could only reside in the Heavenly Palace.
Fortunately, there were plenty of islands in the Heavenly Palace, and Zheng Fa settled them on the largest one.
He furrowed his brow slightly—the rules separating the celestial and mortal realms in the Jiushan Realm were somewhat troublesome.
He had previously tried to transport rice seeds from the mortal realm to the Heavenly Palace, and that had gone smoothly.
He had even discovered a way to bestow rice seeds upon his followers.
But people were a different matter…
He himself couldn’t descend to the mortal realm—his Sun and Moon Bell had suffered significant damage, as if it had lost part of its functionality.
For now, he could only house these people in the Heavenly Palace.
---
“Is this the new variety you’ve cultivated?”
Looking at the clusters of rice seeds in the medicinal garden, Uncle Huang and Uncle Pang exchanged incredulous glances.
“Yes, we’ve managed to cultivate many new varieties in the past few days,” Zheng Fa explained. “Once everyone is settled, we’ll distribute the seeds for them to farm.”
This was also why Zheng Fa hadn’t given the rice seeds to the mortal followers earlier—
The mortals in the Jiushan Realm could still rely on other crops or fishing to survive, but there weren’t enough resources in the Heavenly Palace.
Zheng Fa could only reserve the rice seeds for the newcomers.
Uncle Huang remained silent for a while before sighing, “I was worrying for nothing.”
“Uncle, it takes time to farm,” Zheng Fa smiled. “For now, let’s stockpile as much food as we can.”
Uncle Huang nodded, his expression relaxed—collecting enough food for three hundred thousand people for a year might be challenging for mortals, but for a Yuan Ying, it was not much at all.
Her earlier concern was merely about how to sustain so many mortals in the Jiushan Realm.
If it was just for a year, that was not a significant issue.
“If we can help them become self-sufficient, it will lighten our burden.”
Suddenly, the sect leader spoke up, “If it weren’t for their connection to my Jiushan Sect, I…”
Zheng Fa remained silent; bringing these mortals along had actually been his suggestion.
His master, like all cultivators in this world, placed great importance on cultivators, especially talented ones, but didn’t think much of mortals.
“Master, mortals… have their own strengths too.”
Zheng Fa pondered for a moment before speaking.
Compared to Senior Sister Zhang, the three elders probably found it harder to understand some of Zheng Fa’s ideas.
Sure enough, a hint of doubt appeared on his master’s face.
“Master, I’m preparing to give the brothers and sisters their first lesson on thunder techniques…”
“Hmm?”
“Why don’t you come and listen?”
“…” The sect leader pointed at himself, astonished. “Me? Listen to your lecture?”
Zheng Fa nodded with a smile.
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Zheng Fa and Senior Sister Zhang divided the Heavenly Palace into nine large sections, with the largest one housing the newcomers, which Senior Sister Zhang named Le Tu Island.
There was also a medicinal garden, which had originally existed in the Heavenly Palace.
As for the previous alchemy room, Zheng Fa planned to transform it into a place for studying various arts of cultivation—or rather, an industrial zone.
Thus, he named this island Jingkai Island!
Senior Sister Zhang didn’t quite understand but went along with it.
The remaining two sections were designated for disciple housing and Yuan Ying housing.
One was named by the disciples themselves, called Qiu Xian Island.
The other was named by Senior Sister Yuan, who had quite the ambition, calling it Wan Xian Island.
Among the remaining three islands, Zheng Fa had plans for two.
One was to serve as a commercial area—Zheng Fa didn’t intend to isolate himself from the world.
On one hand, he planned to leverage the existing channels of Yan Wushuang and the Bai Xian Alliance to trade with the outside world.
On the other hand, he hoped to revive the advantages of the previous marketplace—such as dramas and various talismans—to attract many cultivators to spend here.
He even planned to have the Sun and Moon Bell roam around the Xuanwei Realm, becoming a mobile marketplace.
Of course, this idea still needed to be discussed with his master and senior sisters.
But even if the commercial area wasn’t open to the outside, it was still necessary to provide entertainment for the disciples and residents within the Jiushan Realm.
Another island he had planned was the one he cared about the most—University Island.
This island had originally been the residence of the Celestial Sovereign, with a grand palace.
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