Chapter 559
"I'll protect you."
As before, Senior Sister Zhang continued to tolerate Zheng Fa's "willfulness."
"And you, wait a few days..."
"Hmm?"
Senior Sister Zhang turned her head, looking at Madam Xuanhua and Elder Xiong in the arena, and without room for doubt, began to assign tasks: "Within the Jiushan Realm, any cultivator above the Nascent Soul stage must write a summary on the condensation of the infant... I'll draft a few contingency plans first."
"…"
…
Senior Sister Zhang didn't just make things difficult for Madam Xuanhua and the others; even Master Song was given assignments, not to mention Jiao Wuji, Blood River Ancestor, and others...
Oh, and her master, Huang Zhenren, was now sighing and racking his brains, cursing under his breath.
Senior Sister Zhang took her team to set up the infant condensation site for Zheng Fa, arranging various observation instruments and studying corresponding contingency plans.
Zheng Fa found himself with nothing to do while waiting for their summaries.
He simply took out the Zao Hua Yu Die (Creation Jade Slip) and sent a message to his online friends:
"Xiao Xianzi, we've successfully refined the spirit pill, and I'm getting ready to condense the infant."
Xiao Yuying, far away on her expedition into the secret realm, might not have made any significant gains, but Zheng Fa appreciated her intentions nonetheless.
Moreover, Jiushan Sect could really use her expertise as a treasure hunter to replenish their resources.
…
Xiao Yuying picked up the Tongjian (Comprehensive Mirror) and glanced at the message from Zheng Fa, a smile creeping onto her lips.
Behind her, she looked at the Jiushan Sect disciples on her treasure war chariot, her expression quite satisfied.
As the archaeology teacher of Jiushan Sect, this group of disciples could be considered her protégés. They had not only avoided causing any trouble in the secret realm but had also been quite helpful.
She felt her teachings had not been in vain.
Now that Zheng Fa had refined the spirit pill, she thought about bringing her disciples back and studying their recent findings.
Halfway through her journey, Xiao Yuying suddenly halted the war chariot and let a green silk scarf flutter from her hand.
The scarf enveloped the chariot, concealing her and the Jiushan Sect disciples from view.
From the outside, it appeared as if they were simply on a green hill overgrown with grass and trees.
Above, a powerful aura flashed by, seemingly unaware of the unusual situation below.
"Great cultivator..." Xiao Yuying tilted her head, deep in thought. "That direction, is it Chongxuan Sect?"
She knew well that Chongxuan Sect was currently an unstable factor within the Hundred Immortals Alliance.
But did this sect have any late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators?
She was quite sure that Chongxuan Sect only had two Nascent Soul cultivators, at most mid-stage.
Something felt off...
Xiao Yuying gazed in that direction, a sense of foreboding creeping into her heart, but she had no idea what had happened at Chongxuan Sect.
…
"Master, are you saying that Haori Mountain is secretly supporting Chongxuan Sect?"
In Tianhe Sect, upon hearing what seemed to be an unintentional revelation from Master Yan, Xie Qingxue immediately grew anxious. "Didn’t we sign a pact?"
"There is a pact."
"Then why is Haori Mountain..."
"Haori Mountain's Haori Mulberry has all died; these days, one plant after another has perished."
"What does that have to do with it?"
"Haori Mountain has a fundamental great method that requires Haori Mulberry for cultivation..."
Xie Qingxue was taken aback.
She understood the implication. With the Dao Fruit now in the world, accumulating power was inseparable from the fundamental great method.
Without Haori Mulberry, the Dao Fruit of Haori Mountain would find it unacceptable. Since they couldn't sustain the Haori Mulberry, they would naturally turn their sights back on Jiushan Sect.
"But that pact..."
"Of course, the pact must be honored," Master Yan replied, his tone still calm. "But that pact binds our hands and feet, and it also restricts Zheng Fa."
Xie Qingxue pondered for a moment and suddenly realized, "Jiushan Sect's foundation is too shallow."
"Yet, they are teachable." Master Yan stood up, looking out the door. "The Dao Fruit cannot attack one another; we still have the Transformation Stage and the Nascent Soul."
"But Chongxuan Sect is part of the Hundred Immortals Alliance... and it’s also a branch of Haori Mountain. In fact, Chongxuan Sect might now have many unknown Nascent Soul and even Transformation Stage cultivators."
Xie Qingxue immediately understood; this was akin to the relationship between Tongming Shangren and Taishang Dao.
Those so-called unknown Transformation Stage and Nascent Soul cultivators were likely Haori Mountain's offshoots.
"Who could be fooled by this... Zheng Fa is, after all, a Dao Fruit; can he not handle a Chongxuan Sect?"
"What about Haori Mountain?"
"… Do they really want to break the pact and go to war with Jiushan Sect?"
"Of course not, but preserving Chongxuan Sect and using it to stall the development of the Hundred Immortals Alliance is not difficult."
Xie Qingxue understood that this was true. In the Xuanwei Realm, various means existed. With the foundation of the five sects, even if they didn’t openly intervene, they could still cause great trouble for Zheng Fa and the Hundred Immortals Alliance.
"Are we just going to sit back and watch them do this?"
Master Yan looked at Xie Qingxue. "Who wouldn’t fear the emergence of another ancestor?"
"…"
Xie Qingxue's eyes widened.
"Zheng Fa's Dao Fruit has too many doubts," Master Yan said softly. "Even if he has the combat power of a Dao Fruit, his Golden Core cultivation is not a lie. His weaknesses are quite clear: cultivation level and influence."
"The Hundred Immortals Alliance already has a shallow foundation. If internal chaos arises, it will be a slow step backward, and how will they compete with Haori Mountain in the future?"
"And that’s not all; it’s best to keep Zheng Fa busy and distracted from cultivation..."
"When the pact expires, Haori Mountain will find it easy to obtain the Fusang Wood."
Xie Qingxue was stunned, and she heard Master Yan continue:
"For us, the Six Sect Pact is merely temporary; in the future, whether we are enemies or friends is uncertain. Moreover, the five sects dividing the Xuanwei Realm is better than the six sects."
"If Haori Mountain can stall Zheng Fa and the Hundred Immortals Alliance's development, this matter... aligns with the interests of our five sects."
Xie Qingxue looked at her master, and then she heard Master Yan say:
"To secure the title of the Six Sects is not so simple."
Xie Qingxue fell silent.
Master Yan added, "The ancestor faced similar challenges back then..."
"Ancestor?"
"After the ancestor established the strongest Golden Core name throughout history, every step was fraught with difficulty—Nascent Soul, Transformation Stage... countless tribulations."
"Now it’s Zheng Fa's turn."
(End of this chapter)
Chapter 416: Clear as a Mirror, You Are Unworthy
Chapter 416: Clear as a Mirror, You Are Unworthy
"Though the ancestor had some fame before achieving the Golden Core, he had already been in the Golden Core stage for over a hundred years. However, after that, his cultivation soared, earning him the title of invincible. He condensed his infant in eighty years, then spent three hundred years in the Transformation Stage, achieving the Dao Fruit at less than four thousand years old, younger than many Nascent Souls."
"This shocked the entire Xuanwei Realm."
Xie Qingxue listened, her heart stirred.
"Zheng Fa is also an extraordinary genius," Master Yan continued. "In the eyes of our five sects, what he has accomplished is akin to being the second ancestor. So... they won’t give Zheng Fa much time—perhaps a thousand years? Or even just a few hundred..."
Xie Qingxue's heart tightened.
She heard a hint of lament in Master Yan's voice: "Moreover, even the ancestor ultimately could not withstand the fickleness of fate."
Xie Qingxue looked up at Master Yan, her eyes filled with confusion, hesitantly speaking, "Master..."
Master Yan was not one to speak much.
But today, he seemed to be unusually talkative.
A guess surged in her mind, one that left her flustered and puzzled.
"Who says the five sects must include Haori Mountain?"
"…"
Indeed!
Her master had guessed her connection with Zheng Fa, yet for some reason, he not only tolerated it but also subtly revealed some confidential information to her.
Master Yan seemed amused by the complex and hesitant expression on Xie Qingxue's face, breaking into a laugh:
"Compared to Zheng Fa, our Tianhe Sect is still more wary of Haori Mountain."
"…I understand, Master."
Her master's meaning was quite simple: the other four sects, or at least Tianhe Sect, were not currently targeting Zheng Fa.
Instead, they were wary of potential future competitors.
From a geographical standpoint, Haori Mountain surrounded the Hundred Immortals Alliance, which was distanced from other sects, so the current conflict of interests was minimal.
On the other hand, Haori Mountain bordered Tianhe Sect.
Xie Qingxue lowered her gaze, still puzzled. Since returning from the alliance meeting, her master had shown some strange changes...
Was the reason he shared this with her genuine?
Or complete?
Xie Qingxue felt she couldn't see clearly.
But Master Yan had already closed his eyes, seemingly in meditation.
Xie Qingxue knew she could no longer ask.
She bowed to her master, who had turned his attention away, and walked out. After a considerable distance, she slowly turned back to look at the cold and desolate main hall of the sect.
She couldn't decipher what her master was truly thinking, but one thing she could confirm was that the matters concerning the Hundred Immortals Alliance and Chongxuan Sect were indeed real.
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