Chapter 735
“I, the humble monk, must return to Xizhou!”
In the large tent, the old monk Zhitong's brows danced wildly in the air, his expression no longer the compassionate calm it once was, but rather one of fierce wrath, like a wrathful deity.
He fixed his gaze on Xuanding, his voice booming with an authority that seemed to carry the weight of the Buddha's lion's roar: “Whoever stands in my way is an enemy of the Thunder Sound Temple!”
The three of them had yet to receive any news and were somewhat puzzled, unsure of what had driven Zhitong to such a frenzy.
But looking at Zhitong's demeanor, it was clear that something grave had occurred at the Thunder Sound Temple.
Li Sanxian suddenly thought of a possibility and hurriedly asked, “Is it that a Demon Ancestor has emerged?”
Nishang Yuanzun felt a jolt, realizing the same.
She was even more worried than Li Sanxian, for after all, the Yaochi was also in Xizhou.
But upon hearing this, Zhitong's face turned even redder, and he gritted his teeth, saying, “My Thunder Sound Temple has hundreds of cultivators harmed in the sea!”
“The sea?” Nishang Yuanzun murmured, her heart suddenly racing as she took out the Tongjian.
She opened the Jiushan News.
The voice of Yuanzhen appeared within the tent.
“Recently, our Jiushan Sect has launched a demon-cleansing operation in the sea, achieving significant results!”
“We have killed one hundred and five disciples of the Demon Sect, and over two hundred more have surrendered!”
“The sect leader declares that the demon-cleansing operation has only begun and will not end!”
“The pursuit of the Demon Sect will not cease for Jiushan Sect!”
No one spoke; only the sound of Zhitong's gritted teeth grew louder alongside the news broadcast.
Now everyone understood why Zhitong wanted to return.
“Zheng Fa…”
Li Sanxian murmured, his tone mixed with surprise and admiration.
Nishang Yuanzun felt a tremor of shock.
No one had expected Zheng Fa's counterattack to be so fierce, even so brazen.
The pursuit of the Demon Sect…
Nishang Yuanzun suddenly felt like laughing; they had just heard Zhitong mention this.
Who would have thought Jiushan Sect would apply it so effectively?
Yet Zhitong and the Thunder Sound Temple not only failed to appreciate this student but also harbored deep resentment.
“Xuanding, the Thunder Sound Temple has not suffered such losses in many years.”
Nishang Yuanzun's heart quivered.
She knew Zhitong and the Thunder Sound Temple truly wanted to eliminate Zheng Fa as quickly as possible.
Li Sanxian muttered, “But the sea is the territory of the Hundred Immortals Alliance…”
Nishang Yuanzun agreed with this statement.
Everyone knew that the Thunder Sound Temple would not send hundreds of disciples to the sea without reason.
What thoughts could be hidden in their minds? Those in the tent could guess.
However, Zhitong paid no heed to this remark, merely staring at Xuanding.
Indeed.
In Zhitong's view, there were things the Thunder Sound Temple could do that Jiushan Sect could not.
After several epochs of being high and mighty, the people of the Thunder Sound Temple had grown accustomed to it.
To be fair, wasn’t Yaochi and Taishang Dao the same?
Thus, they had never considered that Zheng Fa would retaliate so fiercely.
The deaths or captures of hundreds of Thunder Sound Temple disciples…
For the Xuanwei cultivators, it was an unbelievable absurdity.
Such losses, if they occurred in Yaochi, would surely provoke a full-scale retaliation.
Thinking of this, her heart tightened. She looked at Zhitong and felt Zheng Fa was somewhat impulsive; while it might have felt good in the moment, it would be hard to wrap things up.
Xuanding Zhenxian toyed with some counting chips, remaining silent, his expression calm.
“Xuanding!”
“Please proceed.”
Suddenly, Xuanding Zhenxian spoke.
Nishang Yuanzun grew anxious, opening her mouth to say something.
But before she could, Xuanding Zhenxian continued, “Dragon Lord, I await you.”
“…”
Zhitong the old monk was momentarily stunned.
Nishang Yuanzun's eyes widened as she suddenly understood the meaning behind Xuanding's words.
To capture so many disciples of the Thunder Sound Temple simultaneously, Jiushan Sect's intelligence was frighteningly accurate.
Of course, it was also possible that Jiushan Sect had other means.
But in the sea…
Previously, Longzhu Shuyu had suddenly made a move.
Thus, the most likely source of Jiushan Sect's intelligence was clear.
Jiushan Sect had the support of Longzhu Shuyu!
Zhitong stood awkwardly in the tent, feeling embarrassed.
Nishang Yuanzun silently calculated for him:
Now that Zheng Fa was considered a true immortal, with the addition of Longzhu Shuyu, Jiushan Sect's strength was hardly inferior to that of the Thunder Sound Temple.
If they were to attack the Thunder Sound Temple, two true immortals would naturally not be enough.
But if it were in the sea, Longzhu Shuyu would be enough to give the Thunder Sound Temple a headache.
Zhitong returning… would only mean he had to swallow his pride.
Thinking of this, she suddenly realized something:
The sea was now the domain of the Hundred Immortals Alliance!
The earlier Jiushan news stating that the demon-cleansing operation had only begun and would not end was a blatant warning.
Behind this warning lay the might of Jiushan Sect.
The trade routes between the East and West continents no longer had to worry!
The one worried was Zhitong the old monk, who stood frozen in the tent, and after a long while, left without saying another word about returning to the Thunder Sound Temple.
Watching him return to the Thunder Sound Temple's camp, Li Sanxian chuckled, “The Thunder Sound Temple is going to have a headache in the future.”
Nishang Yuanzun nodded silently.
Not to mention anything else, with the sea being sealed off by the Hundred Immortals Alliance, the connection between the Thunder Sound Temple and Haori Mountain was practically severed.
“Yuanzun, I heard that your Yaochi has repeatedly invited Longzhu Shuyu?”
“Yes, the Dragon Lord has refused my invitations twice; she doesn’t want to get involved in the affairs of the Five Sects.”
“Then how is it that Zheng Fa has gained the Dragon Lord's support?”
Nishang Yuanzun also shook her head in confusion. As she turned, she found Xuanding looking at her.
Strangely, his gaze was no longer distant but seemed… somewhat guilty?
Guilty about what?
As Nishang Yuanzun returned, she pondered Xuanding's inexplicable look until she suddenly realized upon reaching the base:
He must feel that even someone like Longzhu Shuyu has been won over by Zheng Fa.
So, aligning with Jiushan Sect didn’t seem so bad after all?
No, could it be that Xuanding thought she had fallen under Zheng Fa's charm?
And the reason she had fallen for it was because he had asked her to go teach the divine path at Jiushan Sect?
Was that why he felt guilty?
Sitting on the meditation cushion, Nishang Yuanzun couldn’t help but smile, thinking Xuanding was overthinking things.
But as she smiled, her expression stiffened, and she began to feel anxious:
If Zheng Fa didn’t have any outrageous charm techniques, then why would Longzhu Shuyu be involved?
…
“Thank you for your assistance, Dragon Lord.”
Inside the Crystal Palace, Zheng Fa bowed in gratitude to Longzhu Shuyu.
To put it simply, as long as they had the intelligence from Longzhu Shuyu, Jiushan Sect would undoubtedly hold an absolute strategic advantage in the sea in the future.
They no longer needed to worry about the trade routes between the East and West continents.
This allowed Zheng Fa to focus more on cultivation and other matters.
Longzhu Shuyu nodded lightly, seemingly indifferent, but her gaze remained fixed on him.
“This is the Lingbo Snake developed from experiments.”
Zheng Fa took out a spirit beast pouch and handed it to Longzhu Shuyu.
Longzhu Shuyu opened the pouch, and a few azure spirit snakes slithered out. They seemed unaccustomed to the deep sea or perhaps overwhelmed by the invisible dragon might emanating from the Dragon Lord, appearing stiff and half-dead.
With a flick of her hand, a stream of clear light burst forth.
Only then did the Lingbo Snakes regain their spirits, rising and falling as if bowing to the Dragon Lord.
She sighed in relief and carefully examined these ordinary spirit snakes before turning her attention back to Zheng Fa and the others.
“The next experiment will take place within the Jiushan Realm, where we will cultivate the Sea-Subduing Flood Dragon you sent.”
“If the Dragon Lord is concerned, you are welcome to observe in the Jiushan Realm.”
Longzhu Shuyu immediately agreed, “I will go.”
Both Jiushan Realm and Longzhu Shuyu were quite cautious regarding the experiment to revive the ancient dragon race.
Zheng Fa had only recently learned that Longzhu Shuyu had only four dragon eggs in her possession, and it was uncertain whether they could be used.
Thus, they could not proceed with the experiment recklessly.
He suggested starting with close relatives of the dragon race, conducting several trials to refine the technique.
To reassure the Dragon Lord, for these experiments, even the spirit beast eggs would be provided by her.
Perhaps sensing Zheng Fa's sincerity, Longzhu Shuyu's attitude had become increasingly favorable and approachable during her last two visits.
Seeing Longzhu Shuyu's gentle expression, Zheng Fa glanced at Xiao Yuying and suddenly asked:
“Dragon Lord, do you know if there are any treasures left by the Tianhe Venerable in the sea?”
Longzhu Shuyu was taken aback, seemingly not expecting Zheng Fa to ask this question.
This inquiry was not a whim; previously, to perfect the Tianhe technique, Xiao Yuying had searched for Tianhe relics on land but had found little.
At that time, Zheng Fa thought the sea might be worth a try.
After all, the sea was vast, much larger than the territory of the Hundred Immortals Alliance, and the possibilities were naturally greater.
Now, there was no need for Xiao Yuying to search everywhere; Longzhu Shuyu knew the sea like the back of her hand, so it was best to ask her.
“Tianhe Venerable?” Longzhu Shuyu shook her head and replied, “I have never interacted with him.”
Zheng Fa was somewhat surprised.
The Tianhe Venerable was on the verge of unifying Xuanwei, yet Longzhu Shuyu had never met him?
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