Chapter 745
In this seemingly tranquil dead volcano, a seething magma named ambition flows beneath the surface.
Zheng Fa glanced around and spotted a few familiar faces, including several members of the Lu clan.
Speaking of which, Zheng Fa had received quite a few messages in recent days, both overt and covert, offering allegiance.
There were disciples who had not joined the Three Clans.
Even members from the Lu, Yun, and Luo clans had reached out.
At first, Zheng Fa was somewhat surprised, but after reading numerous messages, he began to understand:
While the Three Clans were dominant in Haori Mountain, there were always those within the clans who felt discontented.
Especially among the Lu clan, with their long lineage and countless descendants, even Lu Yao might struggle to keep track.
Thus, there existed distinctions between the direct and collateral lines.
The collateral line enjoyed slightly better treatment than ordinary disciples, but how could they compare to a true dragon's subject?
Of course, there were also many who were eager to offer their support, keen to help him strengthen the Shi clan.
With this thought, Zheng Fa felt a surge of goodwill and sent a message through the Zao Hua Yu Tie:
“Let the others be, but what about that direct female disciple from the Yun clan? Should I agree on your behalf?”
On the other end, Shi Nandan remained silent for a long while before replying, “Are you throwing in the whole family too?”
...
In the Jiushan Realm, Shi Nandan gazed at the white clouds outside the island, a hint of relief appearing on his lips.
Xie Qingxue had also noticed their conversation, and now, seeing Shi Nandan's expression, her curiosity piqued.
She felt increasingly at ease in Jiushan Sect, no longer needing to hide her talkative nature. Without Zheng Fa around, she found herself engaging in many conversations with Shi Nandan and others.
With a tone of profound understanding, Shi Nandan said, “Xie Xianzi, when she finally comes around and chooses me, I will realize that what I have been clinging to is merely the part of myself that resents being powerless. She... is no longer important.”
Xie Qingxue nodded gently, her expression still puzzled, as if she hadn’t quite grasped his meaning.
“Of course, Xie Xianzi, you haven’t experienced love, so it’s hard for you to understand…”
“I get what you mean,” Xie Qingxue interrupted him, “I just don’t understand why that Yun clan female disciple wouldn’t choose the Sect Master?”
Shi Nandan’s expression froze as he looked at Xie Qingxue, murmuring, “Is this how all sword cultivators are?”
Xie Qingxue nodded confidently, “The great sword cultivators are like this.”
“And the not-so-great ones?”
“They’re like that too, but they’re all dead.”
Shi Nandan gazed at the Qingping Sword, took a deep breath, and earnestly said, “Xie Xianzi, I still prefer you when you’re silent.”
...
Zheng Fa made his way to a secret library.
The cultivation texts held little practical value for him at the moment.
However, the secret techniques for artifact forging were immensely useful for Jiushan Sect.
One could say, without Haori Mountain, there would be no Tian Gong Pavilion of Jiushan Sect today.
The secret library Zheng Fa entered was among the more prestigious in the scripture building, containing artifact forging techniques that Shi Nandan had previously been unable to access.
As soon as he stepped inside, the disciples of Haori parted to make way.
Zheng Fa wore a smile, nodding gently to those around him, and approached a bookshelf, picking up a tome on artifact forging.
To the onlookers, it appeared he was engrossed in reading.
In reality, he was copying the techniques into the Zao Hua Yu Tie while chatting with Senior Sister Zhang and others.
After perusing about ten of Haori Mountain's top-secret artifact forging techniques, Zheng Fa sighed to Senior Sister Zhang and the others:
“Spirit tools and spirit treasures are indeed just as we imagined.”
What are spirit tools and spirit treasures? Zheng Fa had long speculated about them, and now, in the scripture building of Haori Mountain, he had finally confirmed his thoughts.
The most fitting analogy would be—intelligent robots.
From the texts of Haori Mountain, it was clear that spirit tools and spirit treasures were magical artifacts endowed with a certain level of intelligence.
In simple terms, they function like smart robotic arms or vacuum cleaners.
While they may not match the comprehensiveness of cultivators, they possess specific functionalities, and in some cases, they can even outperform the cultivators themselves.
However, the features favored by the Xuanwei cultivators were mostly combat-related, lacking in everyday utility, and their power was significantly greater.
Senior Sister Zhang replied, “So, spirit tools and spirit treasures are akin to embedding part of a cultivator's Yang spirit structure, or their spiritual intelligence, into the magical artifacts? Hence, only cultivators above the Transformation stage can begin forging spirit tools?”
Zheng Fa nodded in agreement, “You’re right, Senior Sister. Compared to the Tianhe method, the traditional spirit tools and treasures from Haori are much more limited in function.”
The “Nine Transformations Golden Elixir Method” from the Tianhe method allows a cultivator's innate spirit treasure to be more flexible, capable of being modified at will, even fully embodying the cultivator's spiritual intelligence.
Traditional spirit tools and treasures, constrained by their materials, can only achieve partial intelligence.
Zheng Fa continued to browse through several more shelves of texts, gradually clarifying the distinctions between spirit tools and spirit treasures in his mind:
If we were to draw an analogy, it would be somewhat like the levels of intelligent driving.
Spirit tools still require some control or commands from the cultivator.
Spirit treasures, in certain aspects, can operate fully autonomously, even surpassing cultivators.
The cultivators of Haori Mountain were not as well-versed in the connection between the Yang spirit and intelligence, which is why many spirit tools and treasures relied on biomimetic simulations, optimized over generations.
The methods for forging related spirit tools and treasures numbered less than twenty.
Zheng Fa wasn’t particularly interested in the specifics of spirit tools and treasures; Jiushan Sect's Tian Gong Pavilion had already taken the lead in intelligent research.
What was truly valuable for Jiushan Sect was Haori Mountain's exploration of various spiritual materials:
Which spiritual material was best suited for inscribing intelligent spiritual energy circuits.
What kind of spiritual material maximized the power of specific spells.
This accumulation of experience was what Tian Gong Pavilion lacked but could not bypass.
The more Zheng Fa read, the more engrossed he became, hardly skipping over any jade tubes or tomes.
...
In the Jiushan Realm, Shi Nandan looked at the various artifact forging techniques in the Tongjian, a smirk playing on his lips:
“Cloud Master is foolish!”
“Letting the Sect Master into the scripture building is like letting a rat into a grain store!”
He turned his head and saw Madam Xuanhua holding the Tongjian, biting her lip, her breath quickening, clearly very excited.
As if sensing his gaze, Madam Xuanhua looked up at him, a bit embarrassed, and said, “Though it’s not my first time, I still lost my composure.”
“Not your first time?”
“Speaking of which, I owe my first time to you, Master.”
Shi Nandan blinked, feeling a bit uncomfortable.
“Thanks to you, Master Shi, we have so many profound secret techniques.”
Shi Nandan was stunned for a moment, the smile on his lips gradually fading.
Xie Qingxue chuckled beside them.
“…”
“I didn’t say anything!”
...
Zheng Fa had been squatting in the scripture building of Haori Mountain for over ten days.
At first, the disciples of Haori Mountain were somewhat in awe, afraid to disturb him, and dared not speak.
But as they saw he didn’t mind much, they gradually became more at ease.
Though they didn’t dare to approach him directly, they began to whisper among themselves.
As Zheng Fa examined the techniques for spirit treasures, he heard a buzzing sound behind him, and upon listening closely, he caught the mention of Shi Nandan’s name.
“Master Shi is so serious; he must be forging an impressive spirit treasure!”
Zheng Fa extended his consciousness and found it was a middle-aged Yuanying cultivator.
He didn’t mind; after all, they weren’t discussing him.
This wasn’t the first time someone had commented on Shi Nandan; Zheng Fa had ignored it before, and naturally, the disciples grew bolder.
Moreover...
“Remember, Master Shi is our model in Haori. You should learn well.” The middle-aged Yuanying admonished a young girl, “If you can achieve even one-thousandth, no, one ten-thousandth of Master Shi, I can die in peace.”
Very well.
Flattering someone behind their back.
The ambition to improve is as hard to hide as a cough.
The girl nodded earnestly, gazing at Zheng Fa with admiration, silently noting what this Master Shi was reading.
Zheng Fa was aware that it wasn’t just her; many disciples of Haori would rush to see what he had read after he finished a tome—seemingly eager to discover the secrets within.
However, both the middle-aged Yuanying and the girl lacked the cultivation level to qualify for those secrets.
It seemed the girl had good potential and was quite confident she would be able to read them in the future.
In fact, most of the disciples in the scripture building were naturally hoping for a chance to catch his eye.
On the other hand, there were certainly those who wished to steal knowledge.
Zheng Fa set down the jade tube in his hand, knowing he had already read the most valuable techniques.
Yet he was not satisfied.
After all, he had come all this way.
He quickened his pace, no longer reading carefully, and picked up a jade tube, directly copying it into the Zao Hua Yu Tie.
If he had already read it or if Jiushan Sect possessed it, he would skip it.
But compared to Haori Mountain, Jiushan Sect had less than one percent of the total texts.
Zheng Fa rushed through, reading nearly ninety-nine percent of Haori Mountain's texts, hardly leaving any behind.
At first, the girl was still noting down what Zheng Fa was reading.
But soon, she was left dumbfounded, looking at her father with wide eyes, her face reflecting a single thought—how can anyone learn this?
The middle-aged cultivator gaped, unsure of what to say.
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