Chapter 689
No wonder he is called the Dao Zun!
“That means he has appeared in my Jiu Shan realm…”
“It should be said, it’s not really him,” Li Shangxian looked up, as if sensing something, “It’s his phantom in the river of time.”
Uncle Pang still didn’t understand.
Even Mingde and the others were puzzled about what was happening.
Li Shangxian sighed, “This concerns the Tianhe Zunzhang, and it’s kept confidential within the sect. If it weren’t for the Dao fruits of the Four Sects, we probably wouldn’t know the reason behind it at all.”
“What reason?”
“As long as a new path appears in the Xuanwei realm, the Dao Zun will manifest. When he reaches the transformation stage, he will compete for the Dao.”
“Compete?” Uncle Pang’s heart raced, “Zheng Fa is going to… fight the Dao Zun?”
Seeing his reaction, Li Shangxian reassured him, “There’s no need to be so tense. This phantom is only at the initial stage of transformation.”
Uncle Pang felt a bit relieved.
The Dao Zun, who established the Taishang Dao and created the Yangshen method, must have formidable cultivation.
Transformation stage, that’s manageable.
Seeing him nod, Li Shangxian smiled again, “The reason it’s called a competition is that it only considers the strength of the cultivator’s Dao techniques. Aside from their life-bound treasures, they cannot rely on anything else.”
Uncle Pang frowned, pointing at the Taiji diagram above the Daoist’s head, puzzled, “What about that?”
You see, the life-bound treasure was created by the Tianhe Patriarch, and this Dao Zun clearly wouldn’t have it, so the Taiji diagram seemed suspicious—Uncle Pang suspected the Dao Zun might be cheating!
“This is the Patriarch’s innate divine ability,” Li Shangxian chuckled, “Doesn’t Zheng Fa have one too?”
Uncle Pang pondered silently; it seemed this wasn’t necessarily a bad thing for Zheng Fa.
Although Zheng Fa’s most powerful treasure, the Xianxian Sword, was restricted.
But who knows what treasures the Dao Zun possesses?
If he could really use treasures, Zheng Fa might end up in serious trouble.
Seeing his expression calm down a bit, Li Shangxian laughed again, “You seem quite confident in Zheng Fa. You should know, the Dao Zun back in the day was unmatched, not just an ordinary transformation.”
Uncle Pang slowly shook his head, “It’s not that I’m confident; it’s that Zheng Fa would never be afraid.”
“Hmm?”
“He once said something.”
“What did he say?”
“We cultivate the techniques of our predecessors, and if we can’t surpass them, then what’s the point of practicing?”
Li Shangxian’s smile froze.
The expressions of the Taishang Dao cultivators around him turned awkward.
That statement was good, reasonable, and ambitious…
But it was also a slap in the face.
After a moment of silence, Li Shangxian asked, “So Zheng Fa thinks this way… No wonder he has achieved so much.”
Uncle Pang smiled, looking toward Zheng Fa’s transformation spot, his eyes filled with pride.
But at that moment, no one present from the Taishang Dao felt that his pride was pitiable or shallow:
The Jiu Shan Sect certainly lacked depth.
If they were only to compare with the past, they would naturally fall short in a thousand ways compared to the Taishang Dao, like comparing a firefly to the bright moon; even this comparison would be laughable.
But just as Zheng Fa said, predecessors are meant to be surpassed.
In this light, the previous secret mockery from the Taishang Dao cultivators seemed even more pitiable.
The courtyard fell into an awkward silence, but Uncle Pang was oblivious, his heart solely focused on Zheng Fa’s courtyard. Suddenly, his eyes widened as he asked Li Shangxian:
“How many Dao Zuns are there?”
“...How many? Throughout history, there has only been one who can be called the Dao Zun.”
“Then who are those two?”
Li Shangxian suddenly looked up, and saw two figures appearing in the sky.
One was a sword cultivator with a green sword hanging at his waist, his form transformed into sword light, slicing through the sky, arriving in an instant.
The other was a man clad in an imperial robe, striding with the grace of a dragon and tiger, stepping upon the universe.
Li Shangxian’s face showed confusion, as if he hadn’t anticipated this development, murmuring, “How could the Tianhe Zunzhang be here?”
Uncle Pang recognized the Tianhe Zunzhang.
Or rather, he couldn’t see the sword cultivator’s face, but he recognized the sword—the Qingping Sword.
But as Li Shangxian said, shouldn’t only the Dao Zun be competing?
How could the Tianhe Zunzhang appear?
He looked at Li Shangxian, who had a furrowed brow, deep in thought, before finally saying, “The sect recorded the phenomenon of the Tianhe Zunzhang’s transformation. At that time, indeed, only the Dao Zun appeared…”
He was the only one who had seen such records, so others naturally couldn’t question him.
But the looks from the others were filled with doubt and distrust.
Li Shangxian scanned the crowd, his face darkening: “I truly didn’t forget!”
Uncle Pang fell into deep thought. If what Li Shangxian said was true, then this change could only be due to one thing:
The Huangting Jing (Yellow Court Classic)!
When the Tianhe Patriarch created his method, only the Dao Zun stood in his way.
Yet Zheng Fa, using the Huangting Jing to transform, had three competing for the Dao.
Uncle Pang suddenly realized that these three were the founders of the Yangshen method, the Fashen method, and the Tianhe method!
From the Xianxian Sword Classic, it seemed the Tianhe Zunzhang’s Tianhe method had never relied on the Fashen method, but had a significant connection to the Yangshen method.
Or rather, both the Tianhe method and the Fashen method originated from the Yangshen method.
This Dao Zun could be said to be the ancestor of the Xuanwei Dao.
Thus, when the Tianhe Zunzhang transformed, only the Dao Zun appeared.
But Zheng Fa’s Huangting Jing integrated the three schools, and this time, three method founders emerged together!
“Shangxian, this… seems to be the founders of the three transformation methods.”
Uncle Pang’s eyes held worry, and his earlier confidence was gone.
Li Shangxian’s gaze shifted, landing on the man in the imperial robe, his expression stunned, as if he had realized something, a look of dawning comprehension washing over his face:
“It really is him.”
“Who?”
“The path of the Fashen was indeed created by that Lu Zhenxian.”
Uncle Pang was shaken to his core, but he wasn’t the only one; all the transformation cultivators from the Taishang Dao turned to the vaguely visible domineering figure, all lost in thought.
“Haori Mountain, Lu Zhenxian?”
“Yeah…” Li Shangxian looked at the figure, his tone almost gritting his teeth, “Though the Dao Zun had his suspicions, my master and I never dared to believe it. I didn’t expect… it really is him.”
Uncle Pang felt a heavy weight in his heart.
They had become mortal enemies with Haori Mountain, and now hearing that Lu Zhenxian had such astonishing achievements was certainly not good news for the Jiu Shan Sect.
But Mingde was the first to regain his composure. He frowned at the three figures in the sky and asked, “Setting aside everything else, with these three founders of methods, can Zheng Fa successfully transcend?”
Uncle Pang’s expression darkened; Mingde’s words struck a chord with him:
Any one of these three would command reverence from other Xuanwei cultivators.
Even if their cultivation was only at the transformation stage, they were not to be trifled with.
One, Uncle Pang had some confidence in Zheng Fa.
But three…
……
Zheng Fa felt a bit overwhelmed.
He raised his head, looking at the three figures in the sky; he recognized the Tianhe Zunzhang.
But the Jiu Shan realm was under his control, and he could hear the discussions of Li Shangxian and the others.
He felt as if he had lost all connection with everything around him.
The Xianxian Sword was no longer under his command.
Even the Sun and Moon Bell seemed distant, though he could sense it, he couldn’t summon it.
Now, he could only rely on his own cultivation and the Zao Hua Yu Tie (Creation Jade Tablet) in his dantian.
At this moment, he could only rely on his techniques and abilities to compete for the Dao.
Zheng Fa took a deep breath, stood up, and soared upward, his eyes flashing with silver light as he approached the three.
The Taiji diagram above the Daoist’s head swirled with the interplay of yin and yang.
The Tianhe Zunzhang drew his Qingping Sword.
The man in the imperial robe radiated golden light, his form towering to a hundred feet, his body solid, seemingly containing the power to suppress all defiance.
He scanned the three, then looked down, seeing Sister Zhang standing in the courtyard, holding a bamboo staff, her eyes filled with concern. But when she looked at him, she immediately broke into a smile.
Xie Qingxue bit her lip, her hand resting on the Qingping Sword, gazing at the Tianhe Zunzhang, as if she wanted to strike him with a sword.
Even the worry on the elder’s face and the unease in the eyes of the Jiu Shan disciples were not lost on him.
He could naturally feel the concern and tension of the Jiu Shan Sect; he was Jiu Shan, and Jiu Shan was him, always.
With a thought, Zheng Fa’s spiritual power began to circulate according to the Huangting Jing.
A purple Yangshen condensed from his Niwan Palace, holding the Zao Hua Yu Tie, leaping out from the top of his head.
A towering Fusang tree materialized in the void behind him.
The three presences were distinct yet subtly unified.
Just as Uncle Pang had said:
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