Chapter 466
Xie Qingxue looked at the obedient Qingping Sword in her hand, and memories of that day when she felt utterly powerless flooded back. She turned her gaze to the junior brother before her, her tone laced with a palpable killing intent.
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Outside the Jiushan Realm, Chengkong Shangren watched helplessly as Zheng Fa sent the Yaochi transformation out the door. The two were chatting and laughing, appearing extremely familiar with each other, which made him anxious.
As soon as the head of Mingde spoke, he immediately understood.
In the past, only the Taishang Dao encouraged disciples to seek masters with skills, while the other five sects of Xuanwei preferred to cultivate their own talents.
But Zheng Fa was different!
Although Zheng Fa's talent was already astonishing, the current issue was—if they recruited Zheng Fa, their sect would gain another natural spiritual root!
Who knew if the Jiushan Sect could produce another one with the technology to cultivate such a spiritual root?
For the Jiushan Sect, holding onto the Qingjing Bamboo felt a bit like a child carrying gold through a bustling market.
But who wouldn’t want to bring home a child who could spit out gold ingots?
Now, all they needed to do was win over Zheng Fa!
Was there a better deal than this?
Meanwhile, Zheng Fa was still expressing his gratitude: "I must thank Lingxia Shangren for this incense bead..."
"To be honest, you’ve saved my life twice already..." Lingxia Shangren from Yaochi smiled warmly, and upon noticing Chengkong Shangren's presence, she casually added, "This incense bead is produced by the Leiyin Temple. Yaochi and Leiyin Temple are both in the West Continent, so we have some connections..."
"If you’re interested, joining Yaochi would mean you’ll have plenty of these in the future!"
At this point, she added, "As for the Qingjing Bamboo issue, Yaochi can also help you deal with Leiyin Temple."
Zheng Fa cupped his hands towards Lingxia Shangren, indicating that he would consider it carefully. After watching her leave, he turned to Chengkong Shangren.
"Why didn’t Lingxia Shangren mention any life-saving grace before she saw the Qingjing Bamboo?" Chengkong Shangren began with a provocative remark.
Zheng Fa shook his head. Both Lingxia and Haorishan's transformation had just visited the Jiushan Realm, and he understood—they were most eager for the technology to cultivate Qingjing Bamboo.
Of course, they wanted the Qingjing Bamboo too.
"And Yaochi has always revered female immortals... male cultivators have a lower status."
Seeing that Zheng Fa remained silent, Chengkong Shangren continued.
Zheng Fa shot him a glance and suddenly laughed, pulling out a storage bag from which he retrieved five incense beads: "I understand the reasoning, but..."
"They're offering so much!"
Chengkong Shangren squeezed his own storage bag, which contained two incense beads, and for a moment, he felt a bit inferior.
Just as he was about to say something else, a grim figure crossed the desolate mountains from Tongming Mountain.
Xie Qingxue, wielding the Qingping Sword, looked at Zheng Fa as if he were a thief.
"Um... Xie Xianzi," Chengkong Shangren said, taken aback by her expression, and gently advised, "A forced fruit isn’t sweet."
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Chapter 369: Dark Yet Bright, the Fruit is Quite Sweet
"Zheng brother! My senior sister already knows about the Jiushan Golden Pill Method, so be careful!"
Zheng Fa glanced at the urgent letter from Yan Wushuang in the Zao Hua Jade Tablet, then looked at Xie Qingxue, who stood before him with a fierce expression, and couldn’t help but feel that Yan Wushuang's message was a bit late.
Or perhaps Xie Qingxue was too anxious, arriving so quickly that it made Yan Wushuang's urgent letter seem slow.
Yan Wushuang had signed a pile of confidentiality agreements, and since he was still alive and well, he shouldn’t have revealed the contents of the Jiushan Golden Pill Method.
However, his assistance in researching the Jiushan Golden Pill Method for the Jiushan Sect was not covered by confidentiality.
Thinking back to the last time he sensed the Qingping Sword and observing Xie Qingxue's expression, Zheng Fa began to guess at her grievances...
This resentment was so deep that even Chengkong Shangren, standing nearby, noticed something was off. He subtly lifted his foot, positioning himself between the two, seemingly afraid they might come to blows.
"Qingxue, are you here to find Zheng Fa?" he asked, feigning ignorance. Among these transformations, he had the closest relationship with Xie Qingxue, having met her early on, and she often regarded him as an elder.
But this time, Xie Qingxue's tone was ten times colder than usual: "Yes."
Chengkong Shangren, seeing her expression, stole a glance at Zheng Fa and forced a smile: "So... did Zheng Fa offend you in some way?"
It was clear he wanted to say a few good words for Zheng Fa.
"No..." Xie Qingxue flashed a bright smile, her teeth gleaming white as she looked at Zheng Fa, enunciating each word: "I still need to thank Zheng Zhangmen..."
The emphasis on the word "thank" was particularly heavy!
Chengkong Shangren's smile faltered, likely sensing that something was off. He wanted to say more, but Zheng Fa spoke up: "Shangren, Xie Xianzi probably has something she wants to discuss with me privately."
He turned to Chengkong Shangren, who saw Zheng Fa nodding with a grateful smile, yet there was little worry in his expression, as if he was quite confident.
Chengkong Shangren felt it was inappropriate to say anything further and discreetly transmitted a message: "Qingxue has always had a quick temper and a strong personality. If it’s not a serious matter, let her vent a little."
Zheng Fa nodded at him, extending his hand toward Xie Qingxue, gesturing toward the portal of the Jiushan Realm behind him, confident that she didn’t want to discuss this matter outside.
Sure enough, Xie Qingxue followed him into the Jiushan Realm without hesitation.
Zheng Fa then heard Chengkong Shangren's transmission: "If it really comes to blows, remember to send a message. We can help mediate."
It was clear that Xie Qingxue's darkened expression gave Chengkong Shangren a very bad impression.
Zheng Fa glanced at Xie Qingxue, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
Creak... creak...
A series of strange sounds made Zheng Fa look around, only to find Xie Qingxue glaring at him intently.
Seeing him smile seemed to infuriate her even more; she gritted her teeth, producing a sound.
The two walked one after the other into Zheng Fa's courtyard, and once they were finally alone, Xie Qingxue raised the Qingping Sword, pointing it directly at Zheng Fa, her eyes filled with malice as she coldly asked, "Jiushan Golden Pill Method?"
Without waiting for Zheng Fa to respond, she unleashed a barrage of words: "The Qingping Sword was stirred by the Jiushan Golden Pill Method? You’re trying to cover up the truth!"
"From the very beginning, you lured my junior brother, probably for the secret methods of my Tianhe Sect!"
"Now that you’ve obtained the Tianhe Sword Dao, what’s this about the Jiushan Golden Pill Method?"
"How shameless of you to deceive the Xuanwei Sect!"
Zheng Fa couldn’t help but laugh even more heartily: "Xie Xianzi, if you think that way, it makes it seem like I deliberately befriended Yan brother for the sake of the 'Nine Turns Golden Pill Method.'"
"Isn’t that the case?" Xie Qingxue retorted coldly.
"Xie Xianzi, you’re viewing me with too much suspicion..."
Xie Qingxue's smile turned even colder.
"And you’re underestimating my junior brother’s intelligence..."
Before Xie Qingxue could respond, Zheng Fa hesitated for a moment and said, "Yan brother is not someone who doesn’t know what’s good for him. Don’t you know whether he would leak the sect’s secret methods?"
Xie Qingxue's expression softened slightly. She scanned the surroundings with her divine sense, and upon confirming that they were indeed alone, she spoke: "He might not know, but I do... the 'Nine Turns Golden Pill Method' has not been completely kept from circulating outside."
Zheng Fa immediately understood she was referring to the stone.
Although the 'Nine Turns Golden Pill Method' passed down through the stone didn’t even have a directory, from Xie Qingxue's words, it seemed the other party was unaware, even believing that the stone contained the complete 'Nine Turns Golden Pill Method.'
Or perhaps the five sects of Xuanwei were also unaware of the truth within the stone.
Zheng Fa's heart stirred; this was the perfect opportunity to clear the name of the 'Jiushan Golden Pill Method.' He directly stated, "Didn’t Yan brother mention that our sect's 'Jiushan Golden Pill Method' only references the concepts of the 'Nine Turns Golden Pill Method' and is entirely self-researched?"
Xie Qingxue merely smiled without speaking, her face betraying disbelief. She glanced at the Qingping Sword, as if to say that a method capable of stirring the Qingping Sword could not possibly be unrelated to the Tianhe Sect.
Zheng Fa looked at the Qingping Sword, a flicker of intrigue in his eyes. He opened his mouth, ready to speak, when Xie Qingxue coldly interjected: "What he said, I might believe a little."
"But do you think my Tianhe Sect’s leader believes it? What about the elders of Tianhe... do they believe it?"
Xie Qingxue paused, seemingly waiting for Zheng Fa to digest her words before continuing: "A method outside the Tianhe Sect that can stir the Qingping Sword, in the eyes of the elders of the sect, it’s not the 'Nine Turns Golden Pill Method,' it must be the 'Nine Turns Golden Pill Method.'"
This statement was shamelessly realistic, so much so that Zheng Fa didn’t know how to refute it. He then heard Xie Qingxue add:
"You Jiushan Sect offending the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor is a minor issue."
"Carrying the Qingjing Bamboo, you’ve also provoked Leiyin Temple."
"The 'Nine Turns Golden Pill Method' is ten or even a hundred times more precious to my Tianhe Sect than the Qingjing Bamboo is to Leiyin Temple, especially since it relates to the Qingping Sword."
Xie Qingxue looked at Zheng Fa's face, speaking each word deliberately:
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