Chapter 412
Zheng Fa's mind was swirling with thoughts, and he felt surprisingly at ease, for the blood sea within the Five Directions Blood Fiend Array had dissipated, and the Youming Immortal had turned to ash.
Even Wu Zhi's expression had relaxed somewhat—though he desired tranquility, he clearly did not wish for the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor to be resurrected.
Zheng Fa glanced at the Blood River Ancestor beside him, curious about his expression, but saw him wearing a serious look, fixated on the pile of ashes left by the Youming Immortal.
"What's wrong?" Zheng Fa asked.
"The Youming Immortal... has mastered two paths," the Blood River Ancestor replied.
Zheng Fa's gaze shot up to the array, where a Tai Chi diagram, merging gold and blood, suddenly appeared!
As the Tai Chi diagram spun, an arm unexpectedly emerged from the ashes!
That arm pushed against the ground, and a figure slowly stood up.
It was none other than the Youming Immortal, Qin Mu, who had just moments ago appeared dead!
However, his expression was no longer the gentle demeanor from before; it was now fierce and ruthless. Instead of radiating golden light, he was enveloped in a bloody glow, resembling a flesh-and-blood body!
A法身 (fa shen, or Dharma body)!
This Qin Mu not only possessed a Yang Spirit but also a法身!
At this sight, not just Zheng Fa, but also Cheng Kong and Xie Qingxue wore expressions of despair.
It seemed the Youming Immortal had not emerged unscathed; he took several deep breaths, his gaze landing on Wu Zhi and Cheng Kong, as if wary of them. He extended his hand and cast a spell towards a Blood Fiend Flag.
"Stop him!" Cheng Kong suddenly shouted.
With that, he soared into the air, his whisk striking towards the Youming Immortal.
Wu Zhi gritted his teeth, unexpectedly switching sides, raising his Vajra Pestle to bear down on the Youming Immortal.
Only Xie Qingxue remained still, focusing on her breathing.
The strange Tai Chi diagram above the Youming Immortal soared up to block the Vajra Pestle, while he turned to attack Cheng Kong, managing to hold his ground against two opponents, even gaining the upper hand!
Just as Cheng Kong's despair deepened, a golden rainbow descended from behind him into the array. Zheng Fa's figure materialized, unleashing five-colored divine light, seizing a Blood Fiend Flag, and transforming into a rainbow light that flew into the Nine Mountains Realm, closing the door behind him.
This seamless action of transforming into a rainbow, seizing the flag, and closing the door was executed with such skill that it resembled a fish slipping through the net in a legal channel...
(End of Chapter)
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**Chapter 345: No Fear of Losing Face, The Truth of the Spiritual Root**
The hundreds of Yuanying cultivators below all focused on the unfolded map, their eyes widening at the colored regions of Taizhou and Liangzhou.
Zheng Fa understood their astonishment—not because his contributions were insignificant, but because Tongming had given away too much.
The Hundred Immortals Alliance encompassed seven states and twenty-three counties, not merely territories, but the spiritual mines and plants that had sustained the alliance for many years.
Tongming had suddenly relinquished four states, a significant loss indeed.
Had he used those four states to strike at the Great Freedom Demon Sect, he might have even gained a close ally among the demon sects, or even competed on equal footing with the Youming Immortal.
Now, Cheng Kong's acquisition of two states to strike at the Nine Mountains Sect was no small feat either. Not to mention Liangzhou, the Nine Mountains Sect was originally based in Taizhou—where the secret realm had been located, in Taiyang County, also in Taizhou.
In fact, the Nine Mountains Sect had never occupied the entirety of Taizhou.
Now, with just a nod from Zheng Fa, the Nine Mountains Sect could directly expand its territory, doubling its land!
Moreover, Taizhou was not only the ancestral land of the Nine Mountains Sect, but it also held significant value—Taiyang County had a spiritual vein, and there was even a spirit stone mine!
Cheng Kong looked at Zheng Fa with a smile, clearly having put a lot of thought into this.
Xie Qingxue, on the side, felt like a spectator; she had no stake in the territory. After all, the resurrection of the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor was not solely a matter for the Taishang Dao.
She scanned the faces of the others.
Two Huashen cultivators looked somewhat displeased; after all, the Nine Mountains Sect was gaining much while they were left with little. Yet, they dared not speak up—Cheng Kong was not someone they could question, and Zheng Fa's current strength was enough to silence them.
The expressions of the Yuanying cultivators were mostly envious; as for showing displeasure—they were not fools.
She also took a special look at a few Yuanying from the Nine Mountains Sect. The elders were somewhat excited; they understood that seizing Taizhou and Liangzhou not only reclaimed their ancestral land but also brought in a wealth of territory and resources.
While others looked on with envy or jealousy, Zheng Fa, however, wore a frown, deep in thought.
It seemed he truly did not want to exert himself!
"Zheng Fa?"
Zheng Fa first asked, "What about the Demon Sect's secret realm?"
He remembered that Taiyang County had not only a spirit stone mine but also a Demon Sect secret realm.
"It has vanished without a trace," Cheng Kong quickly understood what he was worried about and explained, "Tongming has investigated, and that place no longer has an exit to the secret realm."
Zheng Fa suddenly recalled the Qingyun Great Sage.
The Qingyun Great Sage had once said that the price for the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor to let them act was to relinquish their own secret realm.
So, did that mean the secret realm had now been taken over by the demon race?
And they had run off with it?
It seemed Cheng Kong likely had no intention of tricking him.
But the question remained—did the Nine Mountains Sect really need this piece of territory?
In terms of population, the Nine Mountains Realm was not lacking.
To be honest, the significance of Taizhou and Liangzhou to the Nine Mountains Sect was far less than others perceived.
Cheng Kong was still puzzled: "Zheng Fa, I know you have the Nine Mountains Realm, but this kind of cave world has limited resources and is rather barren."
He felt he was being quite sincere.
The Taishang Dao was not without cave worlds; while they were safe, their resources were too singular to support the cultivation of the sect's disciples.
Otherwise, why would they still care about Xuanwei? They could just close the door and live their own lives.
Who would have thought Zheng Fa would be so indifferent?
Even the Yuanying from the Nine Mountains Sect seemed to awaken, their expressions of joy fading as they weighed their options...
This expression made others feel particularly uncomfortable:
Seeing the Nine Mountains Sect being granted such a large territory was already hard to bear, but they could only hold it in.
Yet, the members of the Nine Mountains Sect seemed to look down on these two states, which made it even more unbearable!
They were about to burst!
Was the Nine Mountains Realm really that affluent?
...
Of course, the Nine Mountains Realm also had its cave world drawbacks—its resources were primarily thunder-based.
But the problem was, Zheng Fa had a solution for this flaw.
With the exploration of the essence of spiritual materials and the improvement of the five-element cycle of spiritual essence, the artificial synthesis of spiritual materials was on the horizon.
In other words, the spiritual material dilemma that troubled other cave worlds, and even the Taishang Dao's Xuanwei Five Sects, was not a significant issue in the Nine Mountains Realm—regarding the cost of synthetic versus natural spiritual materials, that was another topic altogether.
Cheng Kong's expression was also puzzled:
He did not expect Zheng Fa to be ungrateful, but he truly did not anticipate that there would be times when territory could not be given away.
In the midst of the crowd's silence, Zheng Fa glanced at Sister Zhang, seemingly seeking her opinion.
Sister Zhang seemed to understand what he wanted to say; she remained silent but nodded gently.
Zheng Fa then looked at the elder below, who smiled back at him.
"We, the Nine Mountains Sect, do not want these two states."
"Don't want?" Cheng Kong, having lived for over ten thousand years, felt he had seen and heard a lot, and at this moment, he couldn't help but widen his eyes, "Then the secret realm really is gone."
Zheng Fa shook his head.
He was giving up the two states for one reason—because the Youming Immortal was not dead!
Whether Cheng Kong was completely at ease, Zheng Fa did not know.
But he was not.
With the Youming Immortal's strength and his hatred towards Zheng Fa...
They could hide in the Nine Mountains Realm without fear.
But occupying Taizhou and Liangzhou was a different story.
Even if Zheng Fa could remain within the Nine Mountains Realm, managing two states and gathering resources would naturally require sending people out—this would create vulnerabilities.
The simplest scenario: if the Youming Immortal captured a disciple of the Nine Mountains Sect, would Zheng Fa rescue him or not?
If no one ventured outside, then these two states would be even more meaningless.
If he did not have a method for synthesizing spiritual materials, he would not have been so decisive; but now, it was a different matter.
"You are being overly... cautious," Cheng Kong said, looking quite troubled, his smile tinged with bitterness, "Really don't want it?"
"Don't want it."
Xie Qingxue glanced at Zheng Fa, her gaze sweeping over the Yuanying of the Nine Mountains Sect, her expression inexplicably moved.
"You have made great contributions to the extermination of the Great Freedom Demon Sect..." Cheng Kong said, "I thought these two states would suffice as a reward, but if you... then what does the Nine Mountains Sect want?"
The Yuanying below exchanged glances.
At this moment, even Xie Qingxue couldn't help but twist her face in disbelief.
Had they gotten this all wrong?
One was adamant about giving, while the other was equally adamant about refusing.
She could read the silent cries on the faces of those Yuanying—He doesn't want it, give it to me!
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