Chapter 615
As soon as Master Pang's words fell, Master Huang suddenly pointed at the sky and exclaimed, "Thunder tribulation!"
Everyone looked up and saw dark storm clouds rolling in, shrouding the sky over the Jiushan Realm.
"The Ancestor is about to transcend the divine tribulation!"
Zheng Fa quickly retreated with the other disciples, saying, "Once the Ancestor resolves the hidden dangers, the accumulation of spiritual energy will no longer be a problem."
Before he finished speaking, lightning flickered in the sky, and the continuous flashes of thunder enveloped the Mountain and River True Form Talisman.
Zheng Fa and Master Pang stood at a distance, watching the Jiushan Ancestor face the tribulation.
A hint of worry crept into Master Pang's eyes as he quietly asked Zheng Fa, "You understand thunder techniques best. How confident are you in the Ancestor's ability to transcend?"
Zheng Fa gazed at the lightning surrounding the Mountain and River True Form Talisman and gently shook his head.
Master Pang's heart sank.
"The thunder tribulation shouldn't be a problem."
Master Pang looked surprised, but then he heard Zheng Fa continue, "What I'm afraid of is the heart demon tribulation."
Master Pang was taken aback, quickly realizing, "The Jiushan Ancestor's previous spiritual intelligence was, after all, incomplete."
As the lightning dissipated, the Mountain and River True Form Talisman still radiated spiritual energy.
Master Pang let out a sigh of relief and whispered, "It seems the problem isn't significant after all."
However, Zheng Fa raised his eyes to the boundary beyond, once again sensing the soul power emanating from the starry sky.
"The heart demon tribulation..." he pondered, "Does the Jiushan Ancestor also face heart demons from the outer realms?"
This thought truly caught Zheng Fa off guard.
When he faced his own heart demon tribulation, he felt that his heart demon might be... a version of himself from a parallel world.
But the Jiushan Ancestor was different; he was an anomaly who achieved enlightenment in a unique way.
How could there be a similar existence in a parallel world?
Zheng Fa glanced at the Mountain and River True Form Talisman again, then looked up at the sky.
His gaze pierced through the Jiushan Realm, reaching the countless stars of the Xuanwei Realm.
"What are you looking at?"
"I'm thinking that the final answer to the path of immortality might be up there."
As his understanding of cultivation deepened, Zheng Fa's comprehension of the Dao fruit had become quite complete.
He also had new thoughts about the actions of the Tianhe Venerable... He wondered if the Jiuyou Demon Ancestor was aware of some of the reasons behind it.
"Look! The Ancestor!"
Zheng Fa lowered his head to look at the Mountain and River True Form Talisman, only to find that the four talisman images had vanished, replaced by a robust middle-aged man.
With a square face and familiar features, this man closed his eyes, his expression shifting as if lost in a dream, unable to extricate himself.
After a stick of incense had burned, he finally opened his eyes, looking bewildered.
Radiant light surged behind him.
Golden flowers fell from the sky, as if celebrating.
"It worked..."
After a long silence, Xie Qingxue finally broke into a smile.
Master Pang and Master Huang exchanged glances and bowed, saying, "Congratulations, Ancestor, on achieving enlightenment!"
The Jiushan disciples behind them also bowed their heads, following suit:
"Congratulations, Ancestor, on achieving enlightenment!"
The middle-aged man seemed to come back to himself, gently nodding at everyone.
He flew toward Zheng Fa and Sister Zhang, and upon landing before them, he directly bowed.
Zheng Fa instinctively stepped back, saying, "Ancestor."
"The grace of achieving the Dao cannot go unacknowledged."
Before Zheng Fa could respond, Sister Zhang shook her head and said, "Ancestor, don’t forget, when I first came to the mountain, you bestowed upon me the true method."
Everyone was momentarily stunned. Master Pang thought for a moment and suddenly said, "The only disciples who could ascend the Ninth Peak are Wuyi and Zheng Fa, right? Who would have thought... it was these two who helped you break free from your cage. Truly, every sip and bite is preordained."
The Jiushan Ancestor's expression carried a hint of sentimentality.
Hearing this, Zheng Fa suddenly turned to Sister Zhang, his expression astonished as he said, "...Someone might have thought of it."
"...Who?"
"...The Ancestor's true self."
The Jiushan Ancestor was taken aback, and Zheng Fa continued, "The Jiushan Trial might have been left for the Ancestor by his true self, a glimmer of hope for escape."
Master Pang was skeptical: "Could the Ancestor have foreseen you and Wuyi?"
"Perhaps not, but... the significance of the Jiushan Trial might be to find disciples who can help the Ancestor break free."
Upon hearing this, the Jiushan Ancestor looked bewildered, unable to speak for a long time:
"The Jiushan Trial was... left for me?"
"Perhaps."
After pondering for a while, the Jiushan Ancestor slowly shook his head and said, "Whether it was or not... I’ve scolded him for tens of thousands of years, and now it’s all forgiven."
Sister Yuan leaned closer, scrutinizing the Jiushan Ancestor with a puzzled expression.
"Ancestor, why do you have a different face now?"
The Jiushan Ancestor rubbed his face and laughed, "I did it myself! It's not someone else's face! It's my face!"
"My own face!"
Hearing this, Zheng Fa suddenly understood why the Jiushan Ancestor had been so intent on using Sister Zhang's face.
He didn’t want to keep the Ancestor's original face, but he couldn’t change his own origins.
Only now did he genuinely say, "I am me."
Sister Yuan clearly didn’t understand. She stared at the Jiushan Ancestor for a long time before suddenly expressing her distaste: "Ancestor, your eyes look a bit like Sister Zhang's, and your nose resembles Zheng Shidi's... If they had a child, would it look like you?"
...No wonder it looks so familiar!
Master Pang, glancing between Zheng Fa, Sister Zhang, and the Ancestor, muttered softly, "The relationships are a bit complicated."
Master Huang nodded in silence.
The Jiushan Ancestor declared with conviction, "I know their faces best! Besides, they are like my biological parents now, so I’m just being true to my roots!"
Zheng Fa gritted his teeth and said, "Ancestor... should we burn some more?"
He had thought the Ancestor was reliable now!
...
The Jiushan Ancestor's transformation into a divine being had a significant impact on the Jiushan Sect.
The most notable effect was that the Jiushan Sect now possessed its first unique divine transformation technique, the "Mountain and River True Form Secret."
But the benefits didn’t stop there.
The Jiushan Ancestor, now a divine being, brought Zheng Fa a great surprise:
"Can you enhance the spiritual veins?"
"Not just enhance, but change the spiritual veins."
The Jiushan Ancestor said proudly, "The 'Mountain and River True Form Secret' incorporates the 'Ling Mountain Method.' My very being is a manifestation of spiritual veins, so naturally, I can alter the direction and quality of the spiritual veins."
Zheng Fa rejoiced, "Can it increase the spiritual energy concentration of the Nine Islands in the Heavenly Palace?"
The Jiushan Ancestor nodded proudly, and behind him, the phantom of Jiushan appeared, with thousands of talisman images fluttering like butterflies, flying out from the nine peaks.
With the presence of the Pure Bamboo, the spiritual energy in the Jiushan Realm had been steadily increasing, albeit at a slow pace.
Now, Zheng Fa could feel that the spiritual energy concentration of the Nine Islands in the Heavenly Palace was rapidly rising.
The spiritual energy on the University Island alone had already increased fivefold compared to before.
"If we focus solely on the University Island, the spiritual energy here can be enhanced even more, but when expanded to the Nine Islands in the Heavenly Palace, this is the limit."
"Ancestor, what do you mean by changing the spiritual veins?"
"It means temporarily altering the direction of the spiritual veins; increasing spiritual energy is just part of my ability."
Upon hearing this, Xie Qingxue couldn’t help but sigh, "Achieving enlightenment as an anomaly is indeed not easy, yet it also grants us powers we can hardly reach."
Master Pang shook his head, saying, "The most useful part is still increasing the spiritual energy of the Nine Islands."
"The speed at which my Jiushan Sect cultivates disciples will also increase significantly."
"Zheng Fa and Wuyi need to accumulate spiritual power, and the Ancestor's ability will be a great help."
As he spoke, a smile appeared on Master Pang's face: "So, the Ancestor's transformation into a divine being is greatly beneficial for our Jiushan Sect."
Sister Zhang also smiled, "Aside from the Ancestor, anyone else transforming into a divine being might not provide as much help to our Jiushan Sect."
"No..."
Zheng Fa suddenly interjected.
Everyone looked at him, puzzled.
But Zheng Fa didn’t look at them; instead, he gazed beyond the Jiushan Realm and slowly said, "It’s more than that."
Sister Zhang followed Zheng Fa's gaze and curiously asked, "Shidi, are you looking at the Chongxuan Sect?"
...
At the peak of the Shenhui Mountain in the Chongxuan Sect.
Shi Nandang held a golden talisman in his hand, his face dark as night.
The other six divine beings also bowed their heads in silence.
Standing there, Zheng Fa and the three Yuanying from the Chongxuan Sect held their breath.
"The Holy Ancestor has issued a decree."
Shi Nandang spoke in a low tone:
"The mountain has provided us with so many spiritual stones and materials to weaken the Jiushan Sect and the Hundred Immortals Alliance..."
"But the Hundred Immortals Alliance has already heard rumors that the Jiushan Sect's Ancestor has transformed into a divine being!"
"The Holy Ancestor asks me, and asks you all, where have all these spiritual stones and materials gone?"
"How is it that the Hundred Immortals Alliance is growing stronger with each battle?"
Zheng Fa's expression remained as calm as a still pond, while Elder Jiu beside him couldn’t help but glance at him, thinking to himself:
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