Chapter 618
From the depths of his heart, he was inclined to help the trapped sword spirit.
Whether it was out of respect for the Tianhe Zunren or for his own safety, he could not allow the other party's treasure to be refined by Haori Mountain.
On the other hand, he could see from the Heavenly Spirit and Evil Array that what Haori Mountain sought was complete control over this sword.
It was likely to damage the sword's power.
Even if they were unwilling, the Tianhe Zunren could forge four true immortal-level magical treasures, while Haori Mountain's strongest was merely a true immortal...
Generally speaking, such modifications were usually enhancements in reverse.
What he hesitated over was the relationship between this sword spirit and the four ancestors of the Tianhe Sect.
If he were to rescue one of the four ancestors of Tianhe, that would be quite a joke.
He also worried that if he released the great array and thwarted Haori Mountain's plans, how they would react.
"Save me!"
"Save me!"
"Save me!"
He had only pondered for a few moments when suddenly, a series of piercing cries echoed in his mind.
Zheng Fa looked down and saw a little girl with a twisted face, her eyes bulging larger than her fists, fixated on Zheng Fa's soul.
"Save me!"
Zheng Fa's soul was suddenly pierced by waves of pain.
"Let me out!"
"I'll kill you!"
"I'll kill you!"
"Haori Mountain deserves to die."
"The Tianhe Sect deserves to die!"
"Everyone deserves to die!"
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
"Slay all living beings, prove my path!"
In just a few phrases, the sword spirit's voice transformed from its earlier childish tone into a cacophony of different voices.
There was the wail of an old man.
Then a woman's mournful cry.
Finally, four or five voices shouted together in Zheng Fa's ears, each one more chilling than the last.
As they cried out, the trapped sword in the mountain's belly suddenly leaped, as if going mad, lunging toward Zheng Fa.
Zheng Fa's heart jolted, and the spiritual energy from the "Trapped Immortal Sword Classic" rapidly transformed into the "Chixiao Jade Record."
With this change in technique, the little girl in his mind vanished.
Still feeling insufficient, Zheng Fa unleashed a torrent of spiritual energy from his hands, channeling the overwhelming power of the stars down onto the trapped sword.
The people at the mountain's peak sensed something was off, but they couldn't quite grasp why.
Shi Nandang, who had been meditating, suddenly awoke. He stared at the trapped sword for a long time, seeing it quite docile, and shook his head in confusion: "This sword has an unpredictable temperament and often shows strange movements. As long as the great array remains intact, it’s no problem."
He then turned to Zheng Fa with a smile:
"How about it? Are you scared? Want someone else to take over?"
Zheng Fa shook his head: "My spiritual energy is still quite sufficient!"
With that, he poured forth his spiritual energy, looking full of vigor.
This thing was seriously ill!
Just after curing one case of cross-dressing, now he was facing a case of split personality. He finally understood why Haori Mountain wanted to refine this trapped sword.
It was just a madman; he had experience with the scalpel!
---
Chapter 445: The Burden of the Ancestors, Artificial Intelligence
With his Yuan Ying cultivation, Zheng Fa found it somewhat strenuous to maintain control over the great array for an extended period.
Shi Nandang, however, was considerate. As if sensing Zheng Fa's spiritual energy was about to run out, he turned to the head of the Chongxuan Sect and commanded without room for argument:
"Li Hao, take a break. You give it a try."
Zheng Fa didn’t push himself and settled beside Shi Nandang, watching the head of Chongxuan Sect awkwardly take over the control of the Heavenly Spirit and Evil Array.
"How's it going?"
"My cultivation is lacking; I must have embarrassed the seniors."
"Ha." Shi Nandang shook his head, as if he found Zheng Fa's words quite amusing, "This is the Trapped Immortal Sword."
Zheng Fa turned to look at Shi Nandang, who laughed: "Don’t think that just because you’re a Yuan Ying, you can handle this treasure. Even we, without the aid of the great array, would have no way to deal with it."
That was true.
The sword being mad wasn’t a big deal, but a madman at the true immortal level? No one would think they could withstand it.
With that thought, he felt a spark of inspiration and asked Shi Nandang: "After the sword is refined, can the seniors control it?"
Shi Nandang looked at him, his expression complex: "You really overestimate me."
Understood.
Expecting a Nascent Soul to make the Trapped Immortal Sword obedient was like dreaming.
That was troublesome.
He had thought about stealing the Trapped Immortal Sword, but with his current strength, even if he managed to steal it, he wouldn’t be able to control it. It might suddenly go berserk and slaughter the Jiushan Realm.
Then he would have nowhere to cry.
He had anticipated that this matter would be somewhat difficult.
If the Trapped Immortal Sword were easy to subdue, Haori Mountain wouldn’t have spent hundreds of thousands of years without finding a solution.
Zheng Fa's previous hope was to use the "Trapped Immortal Sword Classic" to attempt to resonate with the sword. Even if he couldn’t fully control this treasure, he hoped to use it roughly.
At the very least, if he could coexist peacefully with the Trapped Immortal Sword, Zheng Fa could reluctantly accept that:
Whether he could control the sword wasn’t important; what mattered was that Haori Mountain couldn’t control it.
But the current problem was that with the sword in its current state, holding it felt like carrying a bomb...
As he pondered his strategy, Shi Nandang nodded at him:
"You can step back for now. The matters of the Chongxuan Sect will be entrusted to you." He glanced at the three Yuan Ying of Chongxuan Sect and thought for a moment: "In the future, you only need to come up once every two months."
Upon hearing this, Zheng Fa cupped his hands to everyone and retreated from the mountain peak.
Watching his figure disappear into the mist, Shi Nandang seemed to think of something and smiled at Elder Jiu beside him: "You are his master; why not guess what he will do after taking charge of the Chongxuan Sect?"
Elder Jiu thought to herself: Who is his master?
This Zheng Mengzhu often thought differently from others; what he wanted to do and what he would do were beyond her guessing.
At this moment, Elder Ba chimed in: "As a newcomer to a high position, with hearts not yet won over, he naturally needs to establish authority and reorganize the sect to act effectively in the future."
Shi Nandang nodded slightly, not commenting.
Elder Ba asked: "What do you think, senior?"
"That would be fine."
Fine?
Elder Jiu understood from this that Shi Nandang didn’t think it was the best choice.
She watched as Shi Nandang's gaze turned toward the mountain below, seemingly observing Zheng Fa, and she had a realization:
This Shi Nandang was still testing Zheng Fa's thoughts.
She just didn’t know what Zheng Mengzhu would do.
---
"He’s been in the Cangjing Cave for a month?" Elder Ba's face was blank, full of confusion. "No matter who came to the door, he ignored them, and they couldn’t even find him?"
Even Shi Nandang wore an expression of surprise.
He gazed in the direction of the Cangjing Cave, as if he could see a figure buried in study within.
After silently watching for a while, he finally smiled, his expression somewhat joyful.
"Senior?"
Elder Ba and the others were puzzled by his sudden laughter.
"Li Hao's resolve is quite firm," Shi Nandang commented. "Ordinary cultivators, upon first taking power, even if they don’t have the arrogance of returning home in wealth, can hardly avoid the ambition to showcase their talents."
"But Li Hao shows not a trace of desire for power; his heart is pure. I can’t compare."
Elder Jiu thought to herself, what status does Zheng Mengzhu hold?
It’s probably not that you can’t compare, but rather that he looks down on you...
She felt a spark of curiosity and asked: "Do you know what he has been studying in the Cangjing Cave?"
"Well... mostly methods of refining tools. The first book is your Chongxuan Sect's "Xuantian Qi Dian."
As he spoke, Shi Nandang's tone grew more appreciative:
"From this, it seems Li Hao is quite determined in the path of tool refinement."
"Xuantian Qi Dian?"
Elder Jiu immediately recalled that Zheng Fa had wanted to learn the "Xuantian Qi Dian" back then, but that was a secret technique of the Chongxuan Sect, which she didn’t even know.
She hadn’t expected Zheng Mengzhu to remember it, and now that he had power, he immediately went to study this.
Watching the appreciative expression on Shi Nandang's face, Elder Jiu lowered her head, shaking her head in her heart:
She didn’t know whether Zheng Fa's determination in tool refinement was strong or not.
What she did know was that his determination to learn this was unwavering.
---
When Zheng Fa returned to the Jiushan Realm, the "Zao Hua Yu Zhe" was filled with the texts of the Chongxuan Sect.
A month’s time was enough for him to take the "Zao Hua Yu Zhe" and sweep away the Chongxuan Sect's methods of tool refinement.
There weren’t many people in the Chongxuan Sect that he found worthy of his attention.
In his heart, they were still considered enemies.
But technology is innocent; the technology of enemies is even more innocent.
Within the Jiushan Realm, seeing the various secret texts Zheng Fa brought back, Elder Han's eyes widened, his face showing a hint of defeat.
From his expression, Zheng Fa even sensed a kind of despair:
No matter how hard this old man tried to play both sides, it couldn’t compare to the sudden inspiration of this group of gifted individuals from the Chongxuan Sect.
Madam Xuanhua was also engrossed in the jade tube, her expression captivated and unable to extricate herself.
Although the Chongxuan Sect was merely a Yuan Ying sect, the methods of tool refinement within were intricately linked to the pinnacle of refining, Haori Mountain, and possessed their own subtleties.
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