Chapter 593
Zheng Fa could tell that Xie Qingxue didn’t fully believe in the power of the formation she spoke of. Perhaps she was just grasping at straws, hoping to catch the last chance with the Tianhe Sect. On the other hand, she might also be thinking of helping Jiushan Sect resolve the crisis with the Xianjian.
Without wasting any time, Xie Qingxue discussed matters with the two and then flew away from the Jiushan Realm.
Zheng Fa saw her off and turned to Sister Zhang, saying, “I’m afraid I’ll have to stay at the Chongxuan Sect for a while.”
Being valued by Shi Nandang was certainly a good thing, but it also made things a bit inconvenient compared to before. Fortunately, he could still descend the mountain to “plunder” the Baixian Alliance, which provided him an opportunity to return to Jiushan Sect.
“True… you sold the secret techniques of the Haori Mountain formation to the Tianhe Sect, so you’d better go back and learn them thoroughly,” Sister Zhang said with a hint of melancholy.
Xie Qingxue didn’t notice the issues surrounding this transaction, but Sister Zhang did.
This junior brother was using the secret methods of Haori Mountain to do business with the Tianhe Sect.
The price difference had all been pocketed by Zheng Fa, the middleman!
…
As Zheng Fa was diligently stocking up at Haori Mountain, a message suddenly arrived through the Daoist Jade Tablet.
“Master Tongming has secretly arrived at the Baixian Alliance with his disciples?”
He pondered this development.
At this point in time, Master Tongming’s arrival here was quite intriguing.
Since the Six Sects Alliance meeting, Zheng Fa had gradually untangled the complex relationships among the five sects.
Outwardly, they were united.
But internally, the relationships were intricate.
In Zheng Fa’s view, they could be broadly divided into three factions:
Leiyin Temple and Haori Mountain appeared to be close.
Yaoci seemed deeply influenced by the Taishang Dao.
And the Tianhe Sect was almost neutral.
This was certainly due to the awkward position of the Tianhe Sect.
It was likely a self-preservation strategy for them.
Given this, Haori Mountain’s stance against the Baixian Alliance would elicit several responses from the Taishang Dao:
The first would be to uphold the unity of the five sects, jointly suppressing the Baixian Alliance, or simply turning a blind eye—
This had been the Taishang Dao’s response for some time.
Now that Master Tongming had come, it indicated a shift in their thinking.
Zheng Fa hadn’t expected to conspire secretly with the Tianhe Sect, only for the Taishang Dao to intervene… Remembering the previous developments, Zheng Fa couldn’t help but smile:
Could it be that Jiushan Sect had struck a chord of unity?
…
Perhaps to avoid Haori Mountain, Master Tongming and his group arrived in a hurry and stealthily, unnoticed by both Haori Mountain and Jiushan Sect.
Xie Qingxue returned to the Tianhe Sect, Zheng Fa was learning techniques at the Chongxuan Sect, and the situation for the Yuanying-level cultivators in the Jiushan Realm was becoming increasingly dire.
When Master Tongming arrived, even Sister Zhang was absent.
Zheng Fa didn’t let them enter the Jiushan Realm but instead arranged for them to stay in a separate courtyard of the Baixian Alliance, waiting for Sister Zhang to return, sending only a few disciples to greet them.
“Zheng Fa is being too dismissive of our Taishang Dao,” one disciple murmured beside Master Tongming.
The others also wore expressions of discontent.
Master Tongming’s group consisted of ten people, seven of whom were former disciples of Tongming Mountain, but had now joined the Taishang Dao.
To avoid drawing attention, they weren’t wearing the Taishang Dao robes, but their hearts were filled with the pride of their new affiliation.
Returning to familiar ground, they felt a sense of coming home in glory.
Master Tongming coldly said, “Mind your words! Zheng Fa is not someone you can discuss lightly!”
The disciples fell silent, though some still wore looks of defiance.
“Zheng Fa sent me a message explaining that the Baixian Alliance is currently short-staffed and not intentionally neglecting us,” one disciple muttered.
“They’ve been so heavily suppressed by Haori Mountain; it’s only right they try to curry favor with us.”
“Good thing we left the Baixian Alliance,” another added.
Master Tongming shot him a glance and scolded, “Do you think that’s why we’re here to help Zheng Fa?”
The disciples shook their heads.
“If Zheng Fa were to join our Taishang Dao, I’d have to call him ‘Immortal’ in the future!”
The faces of the disciples changed dramatically, but they knew he spoke the truth.
Master Tongming shook his head; these disciples had become restless since joining the Taishang Dao.
He was, of course, acting on orders from within the sect, intending to secretly assist Jiushan Sect, with plans to annoy Haori Mountain, and he had his own thoughts about Zheng Fa.
If Zheng Fa agreed to join the Taishang Dao, he would immediately become a major figure within the sect, and how could he dare offend him?
Yet, to be honest, he felt he was providing timely assistance.
Deep down, he felt a sense of superiority, as if Jiushan Sect was in need of him.
Looking at the current Jiushan Realm, where there wasn’t even a proper person in charge, he couldn’t help but sigh for the Baixian Alliance:
From the perspective of the Taishang Dao, the Baixian Alliance was doomed.
What the Taishang Dao wanted was for Jiushan Sect to act as a blade, consuming more of Haori Mountain’s strength.
Now, seeing that there were no Yuanying cultivators available to receive them in the Jiushan Realm, he felt even more that the situation for Jiushan Sect was dire.
As the former leader of the Baixian Alliance, his feelings were naturally complex.
Just as he was reflecting, a few Jiushan Sect disciples approached from a distance, bowing to them and saying, “Greetings, Master!”
The leader was a Jindan cultivator, and Master Tongming found him familiar. After a moment, he recalled, “You are… Sun Daoyu?”
Sun Daoyu was taken aback and quickly replied, “Master remembers me!”
“I was received by you the last time I came to the Baixian Alliance,” Master Tongming said, his tone friendly, though he frowned, “You’ve reached the mid-stage of Jindan?”
Sun Daoyu spoke somewhat sheepishly, “I’ve made a bit of progress.”
Master Tongming fell silent.
He remembered Sun Daoyu not just from the last time, but also from the Baixian Dharma Assembly, where Sun Daoyu had advanced to Jindan alongside ten or so Jiushan disciples, leaving a deep impression on him…
How long had it been?
He turned to look at his disciples behind him, falling into silence.
The disciples in his sect who had joined the Taishang Dao had access to resources far beyond what they had before, yet they didn’t seem to progress this quickly.
Sun Daoyu, during such difficult times for the Baixian Alliance, was advancing at such a rapid pace—could he be a once-in-a-lifetime genius?
Thinking this, he cast a deep glance at Sun Daoyu, scanning the other Jiushan disciples, but found no one else he recognized, only a female disciple in the Foundation Establishment stage, whose expression was somewhat clever, glancing at him more boldly than the other Jiushan disciples.
Looking at her face, he felt a sense of familiarity.
“Who is this?”
“This is our sect leader’s sister,” Sun Daoyu quickly introduced. “The sect leader said that Master is an old friend of Jiushan Sect. He’s been quite busy lately and couldn’t come to greet you personally, so he sent Junior Sister Zheng to extend our hospitality.”
Master Tongming smiled, waved to Zheng Shan, and gently asked, “You’re Zheng Fa’s sister?”
Zheng Shan nodded obediently and said, “Greetings, Master.”
Master Tongming took Zheng Shan by his side and walked into the courtyard.
As they walked, he casually asked, “How long have you been cultivating?”
Zheng Shan didn’t hide it, her voice clear as she replied, “Four years!”
Master Tongming stopped in his tracks, looking at the pure aura of spiritual energy around her, his brows furrowing tightly.
“Four years?”
Four years of cultivation, mid-stage Foundation Establishment… another genius?
Zheng Shan sensed his doubt and weakly added, “...Three years, eight months, and five days.”
(End of this chapter)
**Chapter 433: Generous Yet Pretending to be Poor, the Elders’ Thoughts**
When Master Tongming arrived at Jiushan Sect, he had anticipated that the Baixian Alliance would be struggling.
However, the scene within the Jiushan Realm still took him by surprise.
“Zhang Zhenren, what happened to the marketplace?” Master Tongming asked, following Sister Zhang and pointing at the Jiushan Realm’s marketplace.
He had a vivid memory of the bustling marketplace:
In the past, when he visited, it was ablaze with lights, thronged with people, the aroma of food mingling with the sounds of laughter, creating a lively atmosphere.
But now, upon his return, he found that nine out of ten shops had their doors tightly shut, with only a few disciples aimlessly patrolling the marketplace, the howling wind through the streets carrying a sense of desolation.
Sister Zhang fell silent, seemingly reluctant to speak.
Master Tongming understood.
The blow that Haori Mountain dealt to Jiushan Sect was far greater than they had realized.
It made sense; Haori Mountain’s accumulation was far more substantial than the suddenly rising Jiushan Sect. That Jiushan Sect had managed to endure under Haori Mountain’s pressure for so long was already beyond many people’s expectations.
Master Tongming carefully observed the Jiushan disciples along the way, noticing that their spiritual energy was very pure, and their clothing was not tattered. However, they all appeared hurried and busy, a bit anxious.
When they reached the medicinal garden, Master Tongming was once again taken aback.
The medicinal garden of Jiushan Realm was quite renowned even among the five sects—Jiushan Realm could cultivate both Qingjing Bamboo and Fusang Wood, and their agricultural expertise could even be said to surpass that of Xuanwei.
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