Chapter 371
Zhang Shijie nodded at his words. “From what I’ve heard from Cheng Kong, the heavenly spiritual roots aren’t so easily obtained… If that’s the case, are you planning to enter the Taishang Dao?”
Zheng Fa shook his head.
He had always been wary of the relationship between the Five Sects of Xuanwei and the Tianhe Zunzhe. Unless absolutely necessary, he preferred to keep his distance from these people. What if his jade pendant acted up?
“Then it seems my Jiushan Realm is destined to have no connection with the heavenly spiritual roots…”
Zhang Shijie sighed and shook her head.
“That’s not necessarily true.”
Zheng Fa thought about his modern research on spiritual plants. He recalled the similar structures in his cells after cultivating the Qingyang Dao body. Suddenly, he felt a pang of realization:
I misunderstood my biology teacher!
He wasn’t lying to me; the future… could it really be the century of biology?
“You’re thinking… of growing a Fusang tree?”
Zhang Shijie’s eyes widened as she looked at Zheng Fa, seemingly doubting his sanity.
“I do have that thought, but the main issue right now is to see what distinguishes heavenly spiritual roots from ordinary spiritual plants.”
Zheng Fa felt that he was already farming in a way. Wanting to grow a heavenly spiritual root… wasn’t that too much to ask?
Upon hearing this, Zhang Shijie looked at him with a somewhat dazed expression, which made her quite endearing.
“Shijie, do you think if I ask Cheng Kong for some dead branches and leaves, he would give them to me?”
Zheng Fa asked, his eyes sparkling.
Zhang Shijie immediately understood his intention and pondered for a moment before saying, “Leaves that grow on the Qingjing bamboo… even if they’re just yellowing or falling off, they’re still treasures.”
Zheng Fa thought this made sense and temporarily shelved that idea. “Zhang Shijie, did you come to find me for something?”
Zhang Shijie tapped her head and replied, “It’s about Madam Xuanhua. She’s refined a magical artifact that can shield against the interference of spiritual energy on electromagnetic forces.”
……
The Seventh Young Master sat nervously on the mat, his head lowered as he pondered a question—what merit do I have to sit here?
When he arrived, he had taken the flying boat of the Qingmu Sect, surrounded by fellow disciples of similar cultivation levels. To his surprise, on the way back, he was brought aboard his own ship by Tongming Shangren.
In the hall, apart from him, there were only two Huashen…
“Zheng Fa refused?”
The Seventh Young Master perked up his ears.
“Refused… or rather, politely declined.” Cheng Kong chuckled lightly. “There’s no rush; I’m still dealing with the Da Zizai Demon Sect…”
Tongming Shangren fell silent for a moment before speaking again:
“Should you let him be?”
“He’s not even a Jindan yet; why should I be anxious?” Cheng Kong laughed. “He has that talent, and it’s common for someone proud to not want to be beneath others. But he will eventually realize that without entering the true teachings of my Taishang Dao, he’ll reach his limit at Huashen.”
“Moreover, he’ll come to understand what I meant when I said the Jiushan Realm is easily exploited.”
“…”
Tongming Shangren fell silent again, as if pricked by something.
“Shangren… why are you so patient with Zheng Fa?”
Tongming Shangren couldn’t help but ask.
He had already figured out Cheng Kong’s temperament over the past few days—he was an extremely proud and impatient person. Previously, when the cultivators from the Baicao Sect wanted to help treat the Qingjing bamboo and saw no results after a few days, he had sent them away.
He had little patience for those who sought to curry favor with him. Yet, he treated Zheng Fa differently.
“… He’s worth my time.” Cheng Kong smirked slightly and replied.
“Do you know that the Tianhe Zunzhe once wanted to join a major sect but was turned away?”
“…” Tongming Shangren understood Cheng Kong’s implication.
“That sect has been ridiculed for hundreds of thousands of years…”
Tongming Shangren realized—Cheng Kong’s patience likely stemmed from the fact that the Tianhe Zunzhe… had once been here.
The Seventh Young Master understood as well; his special treatment was probably due to Zheng Fa.
Could it be that this Taishang Dao envoy intended to recruit Zheng Fa into the Taishang Dao?
And Zheng Fa had turned him down?
What was even more alarming was that this envoy hadn’t given up…
He regarded Zheng Fa as he did the Tianhe Zunzhe.
Mother… I finally understand what you meant when you said I was lucky!
He smiled foolishly for a moment, but a hint of sadness crept into his heart.
Gao Yuan had corresponded with him before but had never written to Zheng Fa.
He had once asked about it, and Gao Yuan had replied with just three words—“Not suitable.”
At that time, he thought he understood:
Not suitable, because they came from the same background, but their distances had grown, and their experiences were vastly different; they could hardly communicate anymore.
It was also because of a sense of pride deep down, a fear that their relationship might change.
Now, he understood it even better.
As Zheng Fa grew stronger, he would likely find himself in a position similar to Gao Yuan’s, where even writing a letter would feel like a form of flattery…
He felt a mix of wanting to laugh and wanting to cry.
……
“Actually, if Zheng Fa really is like the Tianhe Zunzhe, what awaits him won’t be patience…” Cheng Kong suddenly spoke again.
“Shangren, what do you mean by that?”
Tongming Shangren was even more puzzled.
“Just think about it: who would want another Tianhe Zunzhe to emerge?”
Cheng Kong shook his head and asked.
“…” Remembering the Tianhe Zunzhe’s legendary feats, Tongming Shangren began to understand.
“If he truly were like the Tianhe Zunzhe, someone who would draw his sword at the slightest disagreement, that would be a headache.”
He suddenly grasped Cheng Kong’s underlying meaning:
As long as Zheng Fa remained quietly focused on his cultivation, Cheng Kong didn’t want to push him…
Otherwise, if a second Tianhe Zunzhe were to emerge, the first to turn against Zheng Fa might be the Baixian Alliance.
Then there would be no need to deal with the Da Zizai Demon Sect… they’d be laughing themselves to death.
Cheng Kong glanced at Tongming Shangren, who seemed to have understood his meaning, and smiled, as if there were some things he didn’t want to say.
If another Tianhe Zunzhe were to emerge, the Da Zizai Demon Sect wouldn’t sit idly by…
“This Zheng Fa is indeed a bit timid…” Tongming Shangren said with a smile, “Or rather, he’s a true cultivator focused solely on his practice, not concerned with anything else.”
“That’s fine; since he only wants to cultivate, there will come a time when he needs me.” Cheng Kong nodded. “But there is one thing that’s a bit strange.”
“What is it?”
Instead of answering him, Cheng Kong turned to the Seventh Young Master.
“I want to ask you, what is Zheng Fa’s relationship with Chen Jun?”
“Chen Jun?”
Tongming Shangren was puzzled. He thought for a moment and replied, “I know his whereabouts after he joined the sect; he’s never been to Chen Jun.”
Cheng Kong nodded slightly. “That’s true, but when Zheng Fa bid me farewell, he specifically asked me to gather some information about Chen Jun.”
“Especially regarding the strength and misdeeds of the Da Zizai Demon Sect there; he seemed quite interested.”
“It seems he has some intention of taking action himself.”
“…” Tongming Shangren furrowed his brow. “Although Zheng Fa has never suffered losses at the hands of the Da Zizai Demon Sect, he has always avoided them. With his nature of keeping to himself, how could he be so interested?”
The Seventh Young Master hesitantly said, “Chen Jun… we have a friend who should have died at the hands of the Da Zizai Demon Sect.”
Both envoys were taken aback and turned to stare at the Seventh Young Master.
Tongming Shangren thought for a moment:
“A woman?”
“A man.”
“Did he have any debts of gratitude to Zheng Fa?”
“Probably not.”
“Is he a relative of Zheng Fa?”
“… Just a friend. You asked me about him before; it’s Gao Yuan.”
Cheng Kong paused for a moment before saying, “Tell me in detail about the relationship between Gao Yuan and Zheng Fa.”
……
After the Seventh Young Master finished speaking, both Cheng Kong and Tongming Shangren fell silent.
After a while, Tongming Shangren said, “I’m planning to go to Chen Jun.”
“…”
Cheng Kong looked at him.
“Having a friend like Zheng Fa is quite valuable.”
“I’ll go too.”
“Shangren?” Tongming Shangren was surprised.
Cheng Kong chuckled lightly and said, “Having such a junior brother is quite nice.”
The Seventh Young Master lowered his head and smiled faintly.
He didn’t know what kind of cultivation level had harmed Gao Yuan…
But being served by two Huashen at the same time was a blessing that ordinary people couldn’t bear.
From Cheng Kong’s words, it seemed Zheng Fa even had thoughts of taking action.
That would mean three Huashen…
That person must have accumulated great virtue in their past life!
Thinking of this, the Seventh Young Master pursed his lips, wanting to laugh.
……
After Zheng Fa saw off the group from the Baixian Alliance, he followed Zhang Shijie to University Island.
On University Island, another courtyard had been added, officially designated for Madam Xuanhua to manufacture those experimental instruments.
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