Chapter 477
In the Xuanwei Realm, the conflict between immortals and demons could barely be classified as ideological; the real issue lay in the stark racial divide between humans and demons, where humans devour demons and demons feast on humans—a clear case of racial conflict.
The Great Freedom Demon Ancestor found himself in a predicament.
Zheng Fa… was caught off guard by an unexpected windfall.
He had some abilities; why not develop the Jiushan Realm?
At this moment, he harbored a vague concern—once the Fusang Tree matured, he might end up becoming a Demon Emperor because of it.
Whose body was this, really? His own, or that of the Fusang Tree?
Or perhaps it belonged to that Golden Crow from years ago?
Could it be that the dream he had was actually a memory of the Fusang Tree? That memory felt strangely elusive.
The Great Freedom Demon Ancestor had created his own methods, and while they seemed a bit crude now, he didn’t face this dilemma.
But if he were to become a Demon Emperor, would he truly become one, or merely transform into a Demon Emperor?
With these thoughts swirling in his mind, Zheng Fa found himself uncertain about whether the Fusang Tree was a blessing or a curse, and he felt a twinge of confusion regarding the term "Demon Emperor Dao Fruit."
…
This conundrum left Zheng Fa frowning even when he returned to the modern world.
“Zheng Fa? What are you thinking about?”
Tang Lingwu leaned in closer, her concern evident.
Zheng Fa sighed. The matter of the Dao Fruit was worlds apart from the modern era, and he feared that the contemporary world wouldn’t offer much assistance.
To be honest, he was still at the Golden Core stage, yet to achieve the Nascent Soul, but the enemies he faced were overwhelmingly powerful.
This made many things appear ambiguous to him.
He didn’t want to voice his thoughts, but the old man Bai and the others were clearly worried. During dinner, their concern became even more apparent:
Zheng Fa didn’t need to eat anymore; he had simply grown accustomed to accompanying everyone.
However, Tang Lingwu and the old man Bai still needed their meals—yet the two of them would take a bite, glance at Zheng Fa, take another bite, and after a long while, they had only managed to eat from the two dishes in front of them, without touching anything else.
This left even Tang Mu and Teacher Tian, who were sitting nearby, unable to enjoy their meals.
Seeing this, Zheng Fa could only speak up and share his thoughts on the Dao Fruit.
“Dao Fruit?”
Old man Bai furrowed his brow, pondering Zheng Fa’s words, and after a long pause, he shook his head.
“This is too mysterious; I can’t quite grasp it.”
After a moment of contemplation, Tang Lingwu and the others also shook their heads, their faces reflecting disappointment.
At this point, Zheng Fa had managed to adjust his mood and even found himself smiling.
“This is something I can barely see through with my current cultivation; it’s only natural that you find it even harder to understand.”
No matter how clever one was, they had to adhere to the basics. This group was at most at the Foundation Establishment stage, with Tang Lingwu being the only one at that level. It was perfectly normal for them to be puzzled about the nature of the Dao Fruit.
Tang Lingwu pursed her lips, suddenly putting down her bowl and looking up. “I want to cultivate!”
Zheng Fa looked at the stubborn expression on Tang Lingwu’s face and understood her simple logic: if my cultivation is low and I can’t help you, then I’ll just train harder!
After all, Tang Lingwu was already the fastest learner in the retirement home.
Though Zheng Fa found her reasoning a bit naive, he couldn’t help but feel a warm flutter in his heart. Seeing her gaze fixed on him, he sighed inwardly and sent out a Spirit Awakening Talisman, activating the Ling Mountain Method.
In the past, he had practiced the Ling Mountain Method hundreds or even thousands of times.
But today was entirely different!
The sky had already darkened, the sun had set, and a crescent moon hung like a boat in the dim blue expanse.
Yet at the moment Zheng Fa’s spiritual energy began to circulate, the sky suddenly lit up!
…
Inside the International Space Station, two astronauts, one white and one black, were engaged in a mundane conversation. Suddenly, the white astronaut stopped mid-sentence, pointing out the window and exclaiming, “What is that!”
The black astronaut turned around, only to see the sun, initially unsure of what was happening.
But in the next moment, his eyes widened in disbelief.
On the ground, an office worker who had just finished his shift stood before a floor-to-ceiling window, arms raised high, mouth agape, preparing to stretch in the most satisfying way possible.
But in the next instant, his movement froze.
His hands remained suspended, and his mouth widened further, his pupils reflecting the sun that was rising again from the horizon.
In the sun, there was a clear shadow, entirely different from anything seen before.
It was a tree!
If that were all, one might attribute it to an optical illusion caused by the light.
But beneath that tree sat a figure, cross-legged, seemingly in meditation.
Strangely, although the man’s features were indistinct, his clothing and form were vividly clear.
The office worker rubbed his eyes, closed them, and opened them again, only to be met with a brightness akin to daylight.
Aside from feeling absurd, a sense of despair crept in—dawn had broken; did that mean it was time to go back to work?
Zheng Fa felt the impact most profoundly.
As soon as he activated the Ling Mountain Method, he realized the issue:
His Qingyang Dao Body inexplicably resonated with the sun in the sky, which somehow returned to hover above Hongshan, directly over the retirement home.
Old man Bai stared blankly at the sky, pointing at the image in the sun. “Is that you?”
Zheng Fa silently nodded at the figure.
After a long pause, he heard old man Bai exclaim, “...Well, now I’m curious to see how they’ll spin this.”
“…”
Moments later, Zheng Fa heard old man Bai ask, “Will that sun set?”
With a thought, he gently stirred the Fusang Tree within him, and the strange phenomenon in the sun gradually faded, the enormous sun quickly sinking below the horizon.
Zheng Fa understood that the Fusang Tree within him had somehow established a connection with this world.
When he had nurtured the Fusang Tree, he knew that the roots of heaven and earth could not coexist within a single cave world. At that time, he wondered if the modern world could accommodate the Fusang Tree!
Now it seemed, it could!
Or perhaps his Qingyang Dao Body was already effective in the modern world. Now that the Qingyang Dao Body had merged with the seed of the Fusang Tree, bringing it into this realm made perfect sense.
Just as the Qingjing Bamboo was evolving the Jiushan Realm, the Fusang Tree likely had some impact on the modern world as well.
Yet compared to the momentum of the Qingjing Bamboo in the Jiushan Realm, the Fusang Tree seemed to have made less of a stir in the modern world…
And the Fusang Tree was a more powerful spiritual plant than the Qingjing Bamboo.
If that’s the case, then the modern world must be stronger than the Jiushan Realm?
…
The next day, while Zheng Fa was still refining his spiritual power, he heard a commotion outside the retirement home.
He opened his eyes, puzzled, and extended his consciousness to find the source of the noise—it was the group of scholars who had just entered the retirement home.
They were gathered together, chatting excitedly, their faces beaming with joy, as if something monumental had occurred. Their voices grew louder, turning the retirement home into a veritable marketplace.
“What’s going on?”
Before Zheng Fa could step outside, old man Bai had already bounced out, diving into the crowd.
Professor Wang, Cheng Yun’s mentor, clearly held a higher status than the others, speaking more assertively. He directly stated, “After yesterday’s… phenomenon, we found that our martial arts progress has accelerated significantly!”
“Many of our old ailments have vanished today!”
“Exactly! My knees have been weak for ages; I didn’t dare exert myself while training, but today I feel fine!”
“I had a bit of a lung issue, but I’m not coughing anymore!”
“I had intestinal blockage and constipation…”
Old man Bai quickly interjected, “No need to go into detail, no need to go into detail.”
Zheng Fa stepped out, exchanging a glance with old man Bai, and they immediately understood the reason.
If only one person had experienced a change overnight, it might be attributed to their cultivation improving.
But if so many people had broken through together, the odds of that happening were far less likely than another explanation—
The phenomenon from yesterday!
Professor Wang continued, “Last night, I was thrilled, wondering how I suddenly made such rapid progress.”
“But today, when I asked around, everyone was the same…”
At that moment, everyone turned to look at Zheng Fa.
Just then, outside the retirement home, a commotion erupted from the newly established experimental field, where Teacher Tian and Old Hou came running, one after the other, their faces alight with uncontainable joy.
Seeing the group gathered together, all wearing smiles, the two paused for a moment, and Teacher Tian asked, “You all know?”
“Know what?”
“Yesterday, three new spiritual plants suddenly sprouted in the spiritual field!”
“And I think there are two more that seem to be changing…”
This was remarkable! Over the past few years, the only crops in the retirement home that could truly be called native spiritual plants were just one or two.
The rest had all been slowly cultivated through genetic engineering and other methods.
Now, in just one night, three to five new spiritual plants had emerged?
The efficiency was simply astounding.
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