Chapter 357
“How could the Chéng Kōng envoy not find cultivators skilled in nurturing spirit plants? These two sects... they’re just dreaming.”
“Indeed, but I wonder what that spirit bamboo is for, to have the envoy so invested…”
Tōng Míng Shàng Rén shook his head; he didn’t understand much about spirit plants either.
Naturally, he understood even less.
…
In the Jiǔ Shān Realm, Zhèng Fǎ arrived at Tiāngōng Island and slowly walked into the Hall of Worthies.
At this time, the Hall of Worthies was nearly empty; after all, no one would come every day… However, when the disciples inside saw Zhèng Fǎ enter, they curiously glanced over.
Zhèng Fǎ took a look around at the statues and then pulled out a special sculpture from his storage bag—
It depicted a box, inside which were about ten books, and the box’s exterior was engraved with four characters: “Jiǔ Shān Nóng Diǎn” (九山农典, “The Agricultural Treatise of Jiǔ Shān”).
Next to these four characters were densely packed small words:
The most prominent was “Editor: Táng Língwǔ.”
Following that were the names of dozens of authors, with the first being the name of the old man Hóu.
With a wave of his hand, the sculpture stood in the Hall of Worthies, right beside the statue of Qián Dàorén.
This sculpture was carved by Zhèng Fǎ himself—not for any particular reason, but simply because he didn’t want those who had made significant contributions to the Jiǔ Shān Realm to go unrecognized.
In the future, when other knowledge became more systematic, he would do the same, especially for names like Bái Lǎo Tóu and others… He didn’t know if he would be able to bring Bái Lǎo Tóu and the others to the Jiǔ Shān Realm, but at the very least, he wanted to leave their names behind.
Sister Zhāng, who usually worked in the main hall of Tiāngōng Island, walked in. She glanced at Zhèng Fǎ, then her gaze lingered on the book box sculpture, especially on the three characters “Táng Língwǔ,” for quite a while.
Zhèng Fǎ… suddenly felt a bit guilty.
Just then, Qián Zhēn Rén hurried in and asked, “Sect Master! What is this ‘Jiǔ Shān Nóng Diǎn’? May I take a look?”
He certainly had reason to be excited; after all, Zhèng Fǎ had previously provided him with a lot of information, all of which proved to be extremely useful.
Now, suddenly having about ten more books…
How could he not be envious? How could he not be thrilled?
With a wave of his hand, the copied “Jiǔ Shān Nóng Diǎn” appeared before Qián Zhēn Rén.
Qián Zhēn Rén didn’t even have time to go back; he directly picked up a book and began to read—though he probably didn’t fully understand it, sometimes he furrowed his brows in concentration.
At other times, he seemed to have sudden realizations, even showing signs of being deeply shocked.
Cultivators read quickly, and Qián Zhēn Rén merely skimmed through it; in less than half an hour, he had nearly finished.
“How is it?” Zhèng Fǎ asked.
I must say, although Qián Zhēn Rén was an outsider, his eagerness to learn had almost transformed him into a reflection of Zhèng Fǎ—he had gained Zhèng Fǎ’s trust.
This set of books was primarily for him.
“I’m rather dull; I understood about twenty to thirty percent…” Qián Zhēn Rén said honestly, then couldn’t help but exclaim, “But I’ve already gained so much!”
“This Miss Táng has written the book in a way that’s both profound and accessible; she truly wants to spread the path of spirit farming. She’s definitely a person of great virtue!”
Zhèng Fǎ glanced at Sister Zhāng.
Well… you’re praising her well, but the occasion is a bit off.
(End of this chapter)
**Chapter 317: Xuān Huá Joins, Hundreds of Immortals Arrive**
Fearing that Qián Zhēn Rén might say too much, Zhèng Fǎ hurriedly sent him on his way.
He walked with Sister Zhāng toward the main hall of Tiāngōng Island. Sister Zhāng didn’t say much, but Zhèng Fǎ felt inexplicably guilty and changed the subject, saying, “Tōng Míng Shàng Rén has replied; they’re willing to pay with Tiāngāng and Dìshā. If that’s not enough, they’ll supplement with spirit stones and materials.”
Sister Zhāng shot him a glance as she walked ahead, not mentioning Táng Língwǔ, but nodded, “That’s quite convenient.”
Zhèng Fǎ thought it was good too, as it spared them the trouble of having to procure it themselves.
“They have quite a bit of Tiāngāng and Dìshā stored up.” Thinking of this, Zhèng Fǎ couldn’t help but sigh.
“That’s only reasonable,” Sister Zhāng nodded. “Recently… many disciples of the Bǎi Xiān Alliance have died.”
Sister Zhāng spoke slowly. At first, Zhèng Fǎ didn’t quite understand, but then it clicked, and he felt a bit grim:
Many had died in the Bǎi Xiān Alliance… so some spirit materials had actually been left over.
Although the Bǎi Xiān Alliance had lost many resources, especially spirit fields, the Tiāngāng and Dìshā energies were typically collected early by cultivators for their core formation…
Moreover, some cultivators would prepare a bit for their descendants.
When those sects fled, spirit fields and veins were hard to carry.
But these things were easy to take along, so for a while, it wouldn’t be obvious that they were lacking.
In fact, due to the deaths of many disciples… the Tiāngāng and Dìshā energies had increased.
How to describe it?
When people die, money doesn’t disappear.
It was precisely for this reason that the Bǎi Xiān Alliance might be more willing to use these temporarily useless spirit materials to settle debts—they had previously sold quite a bit of Tiāngāng and Dìshā energy to them.
Zhèng Fǎ suddenly felt a sense of profiting from the alliance’s misfortune…
“What about Madam Xuān Huá? What are your plans?” Sister Zhāng suddenly asked.
Zhèng Fǎ fell silent for a moment.
Madam Xuān Huá… was quite important to the Jiǔ Shān Realm now.
The newly emerged eleven external alchemy methods needed validation—this would require external alchemy experiments.
Although Jiǔ Shān Zong could manage without her, having Madam Xuān Huá would certainly make a significant difference.
That was a minor issue.
What really needed a master craftsman was Zhèng Fǎ’s life-bound treasure.
“Since we’ve had cooperative experience, it would be best if we could continue working together,” Zhèng Fǎ said. “If not, I won’t force it.”
Sister Zhāng nodded slowly.
“That aligns with my thoughts. Madam Xuān Huá is capable and gets along well with us…”
“More importantly, she’s all alone.”
Zhèng Fǎ was taken aback; it wasn’t that he didn’t understand Sister Zhāng’s meaning, but rather… she had inexplicably come to the same conclusion as him!
The letter from the Bǎi Xiān Alliance, though he couldn’t see through its implications, was undoubtedly related to that Jiāng Chéng Kōng.
In this light, it seemed that if the Jiǔ Shān Realm wanted to remain stable, it would be difficult to avoid the winds of change.
For some time, Zhèng Fǎ had been pondering a question:
Who are the enemies of Jiǔ Shān Zong, and who are its friends…
Of course, since he hadn’t conducted any investigations and had too little information, he could only see through a fog.
On the other hand, Zhèng Fǎ had begun to form some judgments:
The Xuán Wēi Five Sects, along with the Demon Sect, were likely the most dangerous forces to be wary of—unless they were like Yān Wú Shuāng and Hán Lǎo, who would eat with one hand and prepare to flip the table with the other.
The reasons for this were not based on good or evil, but rather from the perspective of Tiānhé Zūnzhě, who likely wouldn’t accept the new laws and order that Zhèng Fǎ envisioned.
From the Xuán Wēi Five Sects down, the major sects were also worth being cautious about:
For instance, the Bǎi Xiān Alliance could unexpectedly have a background tied to the Tàishàng Dào—yet compared to the Xuán Wēi Five Sects, there was less to worry about; for example, they probably didn’t know about the Tiānhé Secret Realm before.
More trustworthy were those like Madam Xuān Huá, who weren’t closely tied to various forces.
Of course, everyone has their own character, and among loose cultivators, there are plenty with bad morals.
But from the perspective of the new laws, the hidden dangers weren’t as great.
Below that were the Xuán Wēi commoners—they hadn’t gained any benefits from the Xuán Wēi Five Sects and had instead lived difficult lives, so they wouldn’t genuinely support the five great sects.
The most trustworthy were naturally the disciples of the Jiǔ Shān Realm and the common folk.
This is why Zhèng Fǎ’s thinking was almost entirely focused on solidifying the foundation, building from the bottom up…
Because he didn’t trust what was above!
What was most valuable about Madam Xuān Huá was that she wasn’t deeply entangled with the major forces, yet she was highly capable.
This thought was something he had only recently begun to organize in his mind and had never spoken of to anyone.
He hadn’t expected Sister Zhāng to… point it out directly!
Zhèng Fǎ looked up at Sister Zhāng, only to see her glance at him, her eyes filled with meaning…
“I see Madam Xuān Huá seems quite happy in the Jiǔ Shān Realm,” Zhèng Fǎ cleared his throat and added, “Why don’t we first take that eleven external alchemy methods to show her?”
Sister Zhāng smiled, likely understanding his intentions—this was yet another of Zhèng Shīdì’s old tricks: the so-called knowledge temptation.
But it was surprisingly effective.
…
Old tricks? Not at all, it wasn’t needed!
“Madam, what did you say?”
Zhèng Fǎ held a jade tube in his hand, looking a bit bewildered.
“I… wish to be an elder of Jiǔ Shān Zong. I wonder if the Sect Master would take me in?”
Madam Xuān Huá had been thinking for days and had finally come to a decision, speaking directly to Zhèng Fǎ.
Standing beside them, Xiāo Yù Yīng had long anticipated this—this woman had been mulling it over for days, nearly driving her mad… Today, she had finally made up her mind.
“Uh…”
Zhèng Fǎ glanced at the jade tube in his hand, which contained the newly organized eleven external alchemy methods.
This was originally meant to entice Madam Xuān Huá.
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