Chapter 736
It seemed that Shuyu Longzhu could see his confusion and explained, “I have never cared about the affairs of the human race. The world changes, but it has nothing to do with me.”
Understood.
This Shuyu Longzhu was accustomed to her own domain; matters of the ancient dragon clan were simply not on her radar.
On the other hand, no one wanted to provoke such an adversary.
Thus, before collaborating with the Baixian Alliance, the Dragon Lord had remained aloof from the affairs of the Xuanwei Realm.
“As far as I know, there shouldn’t be any relics related to the Tianhe Zunzhang in the sea,” Shuyu Longzhu recalled.
Zheng Fa found this somewhat believable:
Mainly because the cultivation methods of the ancient dragon clan were different from those of the human race.
If it came to techniques, this Dragon Lord probably couldn’t practice them.
As for treasures… it seemed this Dragon Lord was not lacking in those either.
So, while not entirely credible, there was a good measure of truth in her words.
But this posed a problem: if the Baixian Alliance had no leads and the sea yielded nothing, where could they possibly search for the next step of the Tianhe Fa?
Shuyu Longzhu pondered for a moment before speaking again, “This question was also asked of me by the people from Yaoci back then.”
“Yaoci?”
Shuyu Longzhu nodded, “They asked me if there was a jade pendant belonging to the Tianhe Zunzhang at the bottom of the sea.”
(The chapter ends here)
---
**Chapter 503: The Secret of the Jade Pendant, Difficult to Convey Messages**
The jade pendant of the Tianhe Zunzhang?
Hearing Shuyu Longzhu’s words, Zheng Fa’s heart trembled slightly, though his expression remained calm.
The Yin-Yang Fish jade pendant was the most lethal secret he possessed, one that he could not afford to expose.
It wasn’t pride; he was no longer afraid of bearing some of the Tianhe Zunzhang’s karma—after all, without the Tianhe Zunzhang’s involvement, Lei Yin Temple and Haori Mountain would not let him off the hook either.
But the modern world had always been his Achilles' heel.
If the existence of the Yin-Yang Fish jade pendant were to be revealed, it could very well expose the modern world as well.
Just thinking about it made Zheng Fa’s mind go blank; he momentarily didn’t know what to say.
Meanwhile, Xiao Yuying was quite curious: “A jade pendant? Master, what jade pendant? Did the Tianhe Zunzhang leave behind a jade pendant?”
She was already fascinated by history, and since the Tianhe Zunzhang was an unavoidable figure in Xuanwei, Xiao Yuying was naturally very interested.
Shuyu Longzhu glanced at her disciple, not noticing Zheng Fa’s silence, and waved her hand, “What those people from Yaoci said, I’m not too clear on. If you hadn’t mentioned the Tianhe relics, I wouldn’t have remembered it at all.”
Zheng Fa snapped back to attention and asked the most pressing question, “Did Yaoci mention what they wanted the jade pendant for?”
Seeing Zheng Fa’s eager expression, Shuyu Longzhu took a moment to recall, nodding uncertainly after a while.
“They said that the events surrounding the Tianhe upheaval were quite strange.”
“Strange?”
“The Tianhe Zunzhang was not defeated by the Four Sects; no, they didn’t even fight.”
Upon hearing this, both Zheng Fa and Xiao Yuying widened their eyes in surprise.
“Then why did the Tianhe Zunzhang perish?”
“It’s as if…” Shuyu Longzhu fell silent for a moment, her brow furrowed in confusion, “he chose death himself.”
This answer was somewhat shocking for Xiao Yuying.
But it was not unexpected for Zheng Fa.
Or rather, he too felt a vague confusion about the Tianhe Zunzhang’s final choice.
Regarding the strength of the Tianhe Zunzhang, Zheng Fa had some guesses: at the very least, he was a Golden Immortal.
The Four Swords of Zhu Xian had slain True Immortals, so as the master and wielder of the Four Swords, the Tianhe Zunzhang’s strength would generally be far above that of a True Immortal; otherwise, it would be difficult to subdue the Four Swords.
On the other hand, to unify Xuanwei, a True Immortal might not be enough; perhaps even a Golden Immortal would be a stretch—Zheng Fa just couldn’t grasp what a Golden Immortal truly was, so he hesitated to make any judgments.
And now, even if the Tianhe Sect turned against him, it wouldn’t pose any lethal threat to the Tianhe Zunzhang.
Thus, the complete nature of the Tianhe Zunzhang’s death was even more puzzling: even the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor could bounce around a few times.
“Suicide?”
Xiao Yuying looked dazed, seemingly unable to believe that the Tianhe Zunzhang would make such a choice.
“So no one can believe it,” Shuyu Longzhu shook her head, “Everyone is afraid…”
Afraid of what?
The greatest fear, of course, was that the Tianhe Zunzhang hadn’t died, lurking in the shadows, preparing to strike back.
Even if the Tianhe Zunzhang was dead, such a manner of death made it hard for people to believe he had no backup plan.
Zheng Fa could attest to that—he was the backup plan.
Thinking of this, he asked, “How did Yaoci know they were looking for a jade pendant?”
“The Tianhe Sect originally had a cave heaven called Wanjianjie, and one of the treasures within was missing a jade pendant.”
Zheng Fa suddenly understood.
He had seen that incomplete treasure of the cave heaven before—during the Six Sects Alliance meeting, Master Yan had used a formation plate to check if Zheng Fa had a jade pendant, only to be injured by the Jiu You Demon Ancestor.
“Wanjianjie was the foundation of the Tianhe Sect, but after the Tianhe Zunzhang fell, this cave heaven was nearly abandoned,” Shuyu Longzhu explained, “But I heard from Yaoci that several ancestors of the Tianhe Sect had mentioned that there were inheritances and even treasures left by the Tianhe Zunzhang in Wanjianjie.”
“Treasure?”
“The Tianhe Zunzhang unified Xuanwei, collecting all kinds of spiritual materials, treasures, and secret techniques from the world. Can you guess where he put them?”
“In Wanjianjie?”
Shuyu Longzhu nodded with a sigh, “Even I, upon hearing this, couldn’t help but feel tempted.”
---
“Wanjianjie, what are your plans, everyone?”
In the Tianhe Sect’s camp, within the main tent, the four of them from the Nizhang Yuanjun gathered again, but the atmosphere was not as good as before.
“Why not wait for Yun Zhenxian from Haori Mountain to arrive?”
The old monk Zhitong had lost his previous impatience and spoke up, “Yun Zhenxian will set off soon; he has already entrusted this matter to me.”
Upon hearing this, Nizhang Yuanjun couldn’t help but glance at Zhendin Zhenxian.
The relationship between Lei Yin Temple and Haori Mountain was closer than they had imagined, unlike Yaoci and Taishang Dao, who claimed to be allies but had conflicting interests.
It made sense, as Lu Yao from Haori Mountain was relying on Lei Yin Temple to achieve enlightenment.
Zhendin Zushi remained silent, but Li Sanxian acted as his mouthpiece, asking, “The treasure of Wanjianjie is incomplete; how can we make plans?”
Zhitong smiled but didn’t answer, only looking at Zhendin Zushi.
After a moment of silence, Zhendin Zushi asked, “Not waiting?”
“Not waiting anymore.”
Li Sanxian’s eyes widened in surprise, but he saw that the three True Immortals in the tent seemed to understand, suddenly realizing, “Have we been waiting for the person with the jade pendant to appear?”
Nizhang Yuanjun shook her head to clarify, “Not exactly.”
“In the last era, we saw that wanting to control Wanjianjie without the treasure of the cave heaven was nearly impossible.”
Li Sanxian was puzzled.
“If we can’t control Wanjianjie, we can completely destroy it.”
“…”
In an instant, Li Sanxian understood: “In that case, no matter what backup plan the Tianhe Zunzhang has, it won’t matter?”
Nizhang Yuanjun nodded, “Moreover, if we’re lucky, some of the treasures might be preserved.”
Li Sanxian stammered, “Then… why didn’t we do this before?”
“The ancestors of the Four Sects were unwilling; they were already constrained by the Four Swords and had been seeking the inheritance of the Tianhe Zunzhang,” Nizhang Yuanjun admitted, “Besides, who would willingly destroy the wealth of an entire Xuanwei realm?”
Li Sanxian nodded slightly; if they destroyed Wanjianjie, it would be fortunate if even one percent of the treasures inside could be preserved.
Zhitong continued to explain, “Destroying Wanjianjie is not such a simple matter; if the Four Sects hadn’t gathered to set up a great formation, we wouldn’t have the strength to do so.”
“Then we wait for the person with the jade pendant…”
“Just as a side note,” Zhitong pressed his palms together, “This time, if that person doesn’t come, then Wanjianjie will naturally have nothing to do with them, and the jade pendant will be irrelevant.”
“If they do come, all the better.”
---
Zheng Fa was contemplating the matter of heading to the Tianhe Sect.
By now, he had to admit that if he wanted to find the inheritance of the Tianhe Zunzhang, the most likely place was indeed Wanjianjie.
The problem was whether to go and how to get there.
He stood in the courtyard of Ziwei Yuan, watching as the Heavenly Emperor sat in his divine chariot, being pulled by the little Golden Crow, slowly rising from the east.
If he were to go, with the Heavenly Emperor’s presence, he wouldn’t be so afraid of death: the method of transforming Qi into the Three Pure Ones granted him a certain ability to resurrect.
But that didn’t mean there were no issues at all.
On one hand, the Four Sects had tightly surrounded the Tianhe Sect; under what identity could he enter, and how could he access Wanjianjie? That was a major problem.
On the other hand, if the jade pendant could indeed unveil the secrets of Wanjianjie, there could be numerous repercussions:
If Wanjianjie underwent any significant changes, it would almost certainly indicate the emergence of the jade pendant.
The reaction from the Four Sects could be easily imagined.
If he didn’t go, all these problems would vanish.
There was just one troublesome matter: how to perfect the Tianhe Fa.
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