Chapter 636
Zheng Fa looked at the Nine Mountain Patriarch, who had a face that clearly said he was ready to strike, and felt a bit of a headache.
“Patriarch…”
“I’m not doing it!”
“How about this, Patriarch? Let’s make a deal.”
“A deal?”
“I want to enhance your spiritual energy, but it’s actually because I need to test a cultivation method later.”
“A cultivation method? What kind of method?”
“It’s a technique derived from the 'Tiangang Dishan Bianhua' (Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiends Transformation). The only issue is that it consumes a lot of spiritual energy, which is why I need your help.”
“Then I’m still not doing it!”
“So I promise you, if you can help me cultivate for a month, I’ll recommend you for the position of Grand Elder!”
The Nine Mountain Patriarch’s eyes lit up. “Really?”
“Zhang Shijie can vouch for me!”
Zhang Shijie nodded with a slight smile from the side.
The Nine Mountain Patriarch looked at Zheng Fa, puzzled. “Just one month?”
“One month?”
“It’s that simple?”
“Of course, but I have one condition: if you give up during that month, you’ll have to help me continue cultivating afterward.”
Upon hearing this, the Nine Mountain Patriarch immediately became alert, scrutinizing Zheng Fa from head to toe.
Zheng Fa turned to glance at Zhang Shijie, feeling a bit helpless. This Patriarch wasn’t really foolish!
The Nine Mountain Patriarch furrowed his brows, took two steps back, and suddenly turned to wave at Yuan Shijie and Xiao Jinwu.
The three heads huddled together, discussing.
“What do you two think?”
“I think Shijie is trying not to laugh!” Yuan Shijie whispered.
“Is there a conspiracy? Then I won’t agree!”
“Agree!” Xiao Jinwu shouted, “How could you not agree?”
“...Patriarch, think about it. If you stick it out for a month, you’ll be a Grand Elder! Then you can do whatever you want!”
“That’s true…”
“Besides, you’re already at the Transformation stage, and with your spiritual veins, you have plenty of energy. Zheng Fa is just at the Nascent Soul stage. What are you afraid of?”
The Nine Mountain Patriarch nodded repeatedly.
“And even if you lose, what’s the big deal? It’s just helping Zheng Fa cultivate. What’s there to lose?”
Xiao Jinwu patted the Nine Mountain Patriarch’s shoulder with his wings, looking quite confident in him.
“That makes sense!”
The Nine Mountain Patriarch suddenly turned around and shouted at Zheng Fa, “I agree!”
What he didn’t see was that behind him, Xiao Jinwu was looking at Zheng Fa with a bright, loyal expression.
With these two advisors, the Nine Mountain Patriarch felt he was ready.
…
Zheng Fa sat in the pavilion of a small courtyard, while Zhang Shijie stood beside him, guarding him.
At this moment, the Nine Mountain Patriarch transformed into the true form of mountains and rivers, standing in the center of the courtyard.
The spiritual energy of the entire Wanxian Island was now five to six times denser than before.
After meditating for a few incense sticks, Zheng Fa’s body slowly began to shimmer with rainbow light.
When the radiance faded, Zheng Fa had completely vanished.
“Where’s Shidi?” Yuan Shijie looked around, confused, “Didn’t he say he was cultivating?”
“He’s cultivating.”
“Ah?”
Zhang Shijie pointed to the sky, her eyes filled with awe. “He’s up there.”
Yuan Shijie followed Zhang Shijie’s finger and looked for a long time but saw nothing.
She rubbed her eyes and opened them again, her mouth agape as she gazed at the sky.
The blazing sun of true fire burned fiercely, turning the entire sky of Wanxian Island into a vast golden sea of flames.
Zheng Fa’s Nascent Soul sat cross-legged among the golden flames, resembling a celestial child descending to the mortal realm.
The spiritual energy from the entire island surged toward Zheng Fa’s Nascent Soul like frantic moths drawn to a flame.
The once visible dense spiritual energy was, in an instant, completely devoured by the blazing sun.
“So fast?”
A panicked shout came from the mountains and rivers true form, as streams of spiritual energy surged out to replenish the island’s consumption.
But it wasn’t enough!
Far from enough!
Every strand of spiritual energy that appeared was instantly swallowed by the blazing sun.
“Slow down! Slow down!”
The Nine Mountain Patriarch’s voice grew increasingly frantic, sounding almost like he was about to cry.
Yuan Shijie counted on her fingers. “Hasn’t it only been half an hour?”
Zhang Shijie nodded gently.
“Will the Patriarch even last until the end of the month?”
Yuan Shijie looked at the mountains and rivers true form, which had fallen silent, enveloped in despair.
Zheng Fa’s Nascent Soul was voraciously consuming spiritual energy in the true fire, visibly growing larger.
Gradually, his Nascent Soul transformed from that of a child into a boy of eleven or twelve.
“Mid-Nascent Soul stage?”
The Nine Mountain Patriarch in the mountains and rivers true form couldn’t help but shout.
“Shidi was already close to completing the early Nascent Soul stage, so it’s not surprising.”
“Not surprising?!” the Nine Mountain Patriarch retorted while desperately channeling spiritual energy. “This is a hundred times faster than normal! What kind of cultivation method is this?”
“Shidi calls it the 'Tiandi Honglu' (Heaven and Earth Furnace).”
“Tiandi Honglu?”
…
The Tiandi Honglu wasn’t derived from that paper; it was something Zheng Fa had envisioned long ago.
Cultivating in the Nascent Soul stage essentially involves absorbing spiritual energy to construct spiritual material particles within the body, allowing the Nascent Soul to grow.
His previous emphasis on the spiritual material transformation in 'Tiangang Dishan Bianhua' stemmed from this reason:
In truth, being able to transform into spiritual materials isn’t particularly useful.
After all, he couldn’t refine himself.
However, being able to produce spiritual materials naturally meant he could also produce the corresponding spiritual material particles—this is the essence of the Nascent Soul. Zheng Fa’s focus on spiritual material transformation was actually to delve deeper into the exploration of cultivation.
But spiritual materials are too abundant and diverse.
Due to the existence of spiritual energy, the types of spiritual materials in the Xuanwei Realm far exceed those of non-spiritual materials by dozens of times—based on Zheng Fa’s collected information, while there are many types of spiritual materials, their total quantity is low, making each type even scarcer.
The sheer variety made it difficult to summarize the transformation of spiritual materials.
This idea had never had a clear direction.
However, the Tiandi Honglu was different. At this moment, he transformed into a gentle breeze, swirling with the blazing sun, frantically devouring and refining the spiritual energy contributed by the Nine Mountain Patriarch, turning it into nourishment for his Nascent Soul.
The inspiration from that paper could be summed up in eight words:
“The heavens and earth as the furnace, creation as the craft.”
Or to put it more plainly:
Zheng Fa was no longer merely inhaling spiritual energy; at this moment, this very space and time was his dantian!
Previously, he selected spiritual energy suitable for his Nascent Soul.
Now, he was all-encompassing, not picky at all—whatever was available, he would swallow first.
Then, using the characteristics of the blazing sun, he would remove impurities from the spiritual materials.
In simple terms, most cultivators’ practices are like treasure hunting at the bottom of the sea.
Zheng Fa, however… he had drained the sea.
This wave of spiritual energy was truly terrifying, as a stream of light descended from the rainbow bridge, landing beside Zhang Shijie.
Uncle Pang’s figure emerged from the light, his expression initially worried, but upon seeing Zheng Fa’s Nascent Soul in the sky, he immediately froze, and after a long pause, he turned his stiff neck to ask Zhang Shijie:
“Is this the method Zheng Fa is trying to experiment with?”
Zhang Shijie nodded gently.
“...How did Zheng Fa’s Nascent Soul grow so much all of a sudden?”
Before Zhang Shijie could respond, he continued, “My Nascent Soul is only slightly smaller than his!”
Zhang Shijie opened her mouth, about to say something, when she heard Uncle Pang’s voice filled with deep sorrow:
“...Now it’s smaller than his.”
Zhang Shijie’s mouth snapped shut.
At this moment, no words of comfort could alleviate Uncle Pang’s sorrow.
Except for…
“Patriarch, how did you suddenly shrink so… small?”
Looking at the Nine Mountain Patriarch, who appeared gaunt and emaciated, Uncle Pang’s eyes widened in disbelief:
The Nine Mountain Patriarch looked up at Zheng Fa’s increasingly robust Nascent Soul in the air, then down at his own body, which had shrunk significantly in just half a month. The sadness on his face flowed silently, his expression conveying just two words:
Blood loss!
Uncle Pang understood:
Not a single piece of Zheng Fa’s Nascent Soul’s flesh came without a price.
Zhang Shijie looked at Uncle Pang, puzzled.
Why did she feel that Uncle Pang seemed much happier after seeing the Patriarch?
…
“What’s happening on Wanxian Island?”
The changes on Wanxian Island were so drastic that even through the mist, one could faintly sense the surging spiritual energy and boiling true fire.
“Zheng Fa said he wanted to try a cultivation method,” Xie Qingxue replied.
She, Yan Wushuang, and Old Han were currently wandering through the market.
“Why is it so noisy?”
Yan Wushuang frowned slightly, feeling a bit uncomfortable.
The three of them looked ahead, where a new shop had opened, and a long line had formed at the entrance, stretching all the way to where Yan Wushuang and the others stood, even turning a corner.
The commotion was coming from inside the shop.
A disciple of the Nine Mountains walked out and shouted to the line:
“Those at the back, don’t queue anymore! We’re out of stock on Tongjian! Come back tomorrow!”
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