I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times-Chapter 273Book 2: : A Glimpse of the Future, the Demon Ancestor’s Ambition
Vol 2 Chapter 273 A Glimpse of the Future, the Demon Ancestor’s Ambition
The Demon Ancestor came fast and left faster.
He only left behind a group of baffled Soul Formation cultivators from the Immortal Sects.
Each one was confused in their own way.
Zhenren Chengkong was still glaring at the Tranquility Bamboo, Zhenren Tongming was still staring at his collapsed mountain peak.
Head Seat Mingde looked in the direction of the sea, as if pondering why the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor ran off so quickly—why did it feel like he got scared?
The great contributor Xie Qingxue actually did seem startled. She looked at the Qingping Sword first, eyes deep, then looked up at the still-fading stars in the sky, blinked a few times, and, unusually, showed a bit of confusion.
Zheng Fa was also... well, especially, baffled.
He turned and looked at Yan Wushuang behind him. Yan Wushuang held his head up high, acting nonchalant, but his acting was awful.
Zheng Fa shifted his gaze away from Yan Wushuang and fixed it on Xie Qingxue, who was glancing around on the light screen. No wonder she’s the Senior Sister of the Tianhe Sect—her acting is at least a few levels above this dumb Junior Brother of yours.
Right, traitor of the Tianhe Sect... Xie Qingxue?
Just a moment ago, when Xie Qingxue unleashed all her spiritual energy to fully awaken the Qingping Sword, Zheng Fa had a fleeting resonance with the sword.
And in that moment, he saw a story spanning an entire era, filled with endurance and silence.
He had some emotions he couldn’t vent, so he asked Yan Wushuang a question through the Jade Slip of Creation:
"Your Tianhe Sect, does it have five branches?"
"Why are you asking that?" Yan Wushuang, though playing dumb, responded quickly. Then he added, "The rumor you heard is kind of old. There used to be five branches a long time ago. Now there are only four. One branch has already disappeared."
Disappeared?
"Was the vanished branch founded by the Tianhe Venerable’s third disciple?"
"How do you know that?"
Yan Wushuang’s reply was laced with confusion. Clearly, not many in the Tianhe Sect even knew this bit of history, let alone anyone else in the Xuanyi Realm.
The Qingping Sword told me.
He had seen a face within the Qingping Sword, the same one he had glimpsed in a projection on a mountainside. That face had pointed a sword at the Tianhe Venerable during the latter’s final days.
And in his own final years, that man often gazed at the dark sky, gently stroking the Qingping Sword, year after year in silence.
Zheng Fa stopped replying, his gaze shifting back and forth between Xie Qingxue and the Qingping Sword.
Now he understood why this woman talked so much.
With such a heavy past weighing on her, pressing down harder each year—it could drive someone mad.
Zheng Fa watched Xie Qingxue step into the Jiushan Realm and let out a soft sigh. Some things, she didn’t dare say, and he wasn’t in a position to say either. ℞𝐀Νồ𝐛Ё𝙨
Xie Qingxue, at this moment, showed no sign of anything wrong. She sheathed the Qingping Sword and looked curiously at the Tranquility Bamboo, her expression just as puzzled as Zhenren Chengkong’s.
Head Seat Mingde, still puzzled, looked at Xie Qingxue and said, "Fairy Xie, that... Demon Ancestor, why did he flee so fast?"
Xie Qingxue shook her head, seemingly puzzled too, and only said, "I think he was probably wary of the Qingping Sword."
"The Qingping Sword..." Head Seat Mingde glanced at the sword in her hand, then recalled the heaven-shaking scene from earlier. A trace of envy crept across his face. "Fairy Xie, the power of this Immortal Sword from your sect truly leaves me in awe."
Xie Qingxue lowered her eyes, unexpectedly looking a bit unhappy. Head Seat Mingde found this strange—wasn’t Fairy Xie the type who didn’t like praise?
Still, he changed the subject: "It seems the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor’s cultivation hasn’t fully recovered. With the Qingping Sword and the Tranquility Bamboo both here, he probably feared something might go wrong."
This speculation drew nods from everyone. Zheng Fa, however, looked slightly confused—so in Head Seat Mingde’s view, the Demon Ancestor isn’t that strong right now?
Head Seat Mingde seemed to notice his confusion and, surprisingly gentle, took the initiative to explain: "Though the Dao Fruit is powerful, there are levels to its strength. Its power depends on many factors, but there’s one key point..."
Zheng Fa listened intently as Head Seat Mingde said, "It depends on how many people cultivate this fundamental method."
That made Zheng Fa suddenly realize—so you’re just picking on the Demon Sect for being short on people!
Still, confusion lingered in his heart. What exactly is a Dao Fruit? He still didn’t really get it.
But since the topic seemed to involve many secrets, Head Seat Mingde didn’t want to elaborate further. Xie Qingxue instead pointed at the Tranquility Bamboo and curiously asked:
"You guys grew that?"
"Mm."
"...…"
A look of disbelief-but-trying-to-believe spread across Xie Qingxue’s face.
Just then, Zhenren Chengkong suddenly shivered and blurted out, "Then... the Haori Mulberry? No, the Fusang Tree?"
"Didn’t grow that."
Zheng Fa replied with complete honesty.
Zhenren Chengkong nodded, not sure if he was disappointed or relieved. He clicked his tongue while looking at the Tranquility Bamboo, "Now Leiyin Temple is going to lose it."
Zheng Fa’s expression also dimmed a bit. He had no choice but to act, but the stronger the Tranquility Bamboo grew, the more Leiyin Temple would take it seriously.
"Heh!" Head Seat Mingde snorted, "That man betrayed the Five Sects Alliance, and my Taishang Dao hasn’t even settled accounts with him. And he dares to covet the Tranquility Bamboo?"
"Besides, would people of my Taishang Dao ever get bullied by Leiyin Temple?"
Who?
Where am I from again?
Zheng Fa blinked, feeling something off, and looked at Head Seat Mingde.
Head Seat Mingde looked at him with a kindly smile. "Chengkong may have mentioned it before—our Taishang Dao has always embraced diversity. You’ve got talent, and rare abilities in spiritual planting. You’ve made great contributions to our sect!"
"If you join our Taishang Dao, I’ll guarantee you a Head Seat position!"
Zhenren Chengkong opened his mouth slightly. Didn’t this guy always look down on cultivators from the Xuanyi Realm? This turnaround is a bit much.
Though he grumbled inside, he couldn’t help looking at Zheng Fa with expectation. Head Seat Mingde’s offer matched what he had hoped for—
If before, he only cared about Zheng Fa’s talent,
Now... with Zheng Fa comes the Tranquility Bamboo, right?
A damaged bamboo sprouting into a peerless genius and a complete one? Who could say he wasn’t a savvy dealmaker?
He’s earned great merit for the sect!
Xie Qingxue and the other three Soul Formation cultivators also looked at Zheng Fa. The Soul Formation cultivators from Yaochi and Haori Mountain even looked slightly uneasy. Clearly, Zheng Fa joining Taishang Dao with the Tranquility Bamboo made them feel the pressure.
Zheng Fa glanced at Head Seat Mingde. This Head Seat... doesn’t seem that strong.
Of course, that wasn’t the main issue. Joining Taishang Dao might have some benefits, but he couldn’t see them right now.
The drawbacks, however, were obvious.
Let’s not even talk about the matter of the Tianhe Venerable—he also carried the Nine-Turn... the Jiushan Golden Core Method.
But the bigger issue: cultivators cannot betray their own Dao lineage. That iron rule made him hesitant.
Honestly, he was puzzled—what’s the reason behind this rule? Zheng Fa hadn’t figured it out. And judging by the Netherworld Immortal, didn’t that guy seem just fine?
There were mysteries he still couldn’t see through.
The problem was, joining Taishang Dao meant entering their Dao lineage. What if he learned some secret technique and ended up like the Great Sage Qingyun—unable to control life and death?
But if he didn’t learn it...
Forget suspicions from others—joining Taishang Dao and not cultivating anything would be like enrolling in university and skipping every class... kind of pointless.
Head Seat Mingde and the others watched him. When he just stayed silent, they naturally understood.
The two Soul Formation cultivators from Yaochi looked slightly pleased, but also a little puzzled.
Head Seat Mingde gave him a long look. The smile on his face gradually faded, but he didn’t say more. He simply turned and walked out of the Jiushan Realm.
Zhenren Chengkong watched his back, shook his head at Zheng Fa, and followed.
Zheng Fa looked at Mingde’s retreating figure and gave a reassuring smile to the worried Yan Wushuang beside him. As if everything had been expected.
When it came down to it, he and Taishang Dao were not the same kind. An alliance, sure, but Zheng Fa always put himself first.
When he first joined Jiushan Sect, he knew he didn’t fit in with the Xuanyi Immortal Sects. Now that the Jiushan Realm had finally taken his shape, unless absolutely necessary, he didn’t want to get involved in the muddy waters of the Five Sects.
Head Seat Mingde’s obvious displeasure left the scene a bit awkward. Everyone else had nothing to say and simply bid farewell.
But that evening, Zhenren Tongming came again to the Jiushan Realm.
"Zhenren?"
Zhenren Tongming took two Jade Slips from his sleeve and handed them to Zheng Fa.
"What’s this?"
"One’s a treasure from my Tongming Mountain’s treasury. The other is... from Zhenren Chengkong. Or rather, from Head Seat Mingde..." Zhenren Tongming paused, "Entrusted by Head Seat Mingde."
Zheng Fa nodded.
He had a decent grasp of Mingde’s personality now—he was rigid, valued the sect highly, but was always fair. Just like with the Haori Mulberry last time, this man always called things as they were.
These two Jade Slips were clearly his way of repaying a debt.
As for why they came from Zhenren Chengkong... wasn’t it just because Head Seat Mingde had no money left?
"Take a look."
Zheng Fa looked through the Jade Slips. Tongming Mountain’s items were mostly common cultivation materials—not especially valuable, but plentiful.
He looked at Zhenren Tongming. The old man lowered his eyes, and a wry smile tugged at his lips. "No use for them anymore..."
"..."
Zheng Fa said nothing and turned to examine the other Jade Slip.
The one from Zhenren Chengkong contained far fewer items, but each one was priceless. Zheng Fa’s eyes paused at one entry and he asked, "These Incense Beads—what are they?"
Now that the Fusang Tree lacked incense from the masses, anything with the word ‘incense’ caught his attention.
"Ah..." Zhenren Tongming knew this one. "It’s a special treasure from Leiyin Temple. Supposedly it works wonders for Cave-Heaven Worlds—very valuable."
Hearing that, Zheng Fa was secretly delighted. "Our Jiushan Realm doesn’t need much, but those Incense Beads..."
Zhenren Tongming thought for a moment, then said, "They’re not forbidden. I’ll go ask Zhenren Chengkong."
As Zheng Fa watched him leave, he turned and saw Mu Qingyan slowly approaching.
Her steps were slow, pausing every couple of paces, hesitant. When she saw Zheng Fa standing at the door, she seemed to make up her mind and quickly walked up to him.
"Master!"
Zheng Fa watched as Mu Qingyan dropped to her knees, voice low: "Disciple... has something to report."
Sure enough, the female disciple finally couldn’t hold it in anymore.
Zheng Fa helped her up, led her inside, pointed toward the Sun and Moon Bell, then said, "With the bell shielding us, no one else in the Jiushan Realm can hear what you say."
He was genuinely curious—this woman always looked so heavy-hearted. What kind of secret did she have?
The Result...
"Rebirth?"
He looked Mu Qingyan over carefully, then thought of Lin Bufan—maybe you two should have a chat first?
Mu Qingyan had revealed her biggest secret, and now she seemed much more at ease. She said in a low voice, "Disciple wouldn’t dare deceive. That Tianhe Secret Realm is the one I heard of in my previous life..."
Zheng Fa looked at her and didn’t speak for a long time.
As for rebirth, he had some doubts in his heart.
It wasn’t that he suspected Mu Qingyan—if this woman had any schemes, there were definitely better excuses to use. This one was just too shocking;if she’d said this to the wrong person, she might have ended up getting her soul searched.
But is it really rebirth?
Or rather, what does "rebirth" even mean in the Xuanyi Realm?
Zheng Fa listened to her without giving anything away, then suddenly asked, "In your past-life memories, was I there?"
"No..." Mu Qingyan hesitated slightly before answering honestly, "I heard in the Hundred Immortals Alliance that Jiushan Sect was the first sect to be annihilated by the Great Freedom Demonic Sect. The three Nascent Souls of Jiushan Sect fought to the death with Zhenren Zhang."
That... kind of did sound like something his master and senior sister would do.
So it seemed pretty believable.
"No me..."
That sounded very strange. Logically speaking, without him, Jiushan Sect encountering the reemergent Demonic Sect would likely have been wiped out.
That development made sense.
But with no mention of him, this so-called memory of rebirth lost a lot of weight—at the very least, it wasn’t as valuable.
"Then why are you saying it now?"
Zheng Fa asked Mu Qingyan directly.
"I... want to take you as my master!"
"Huh?"
Mu Qingyan’s idea actually stunned Zheng Fa.
Mu Qingyan immediately explained: "Though I had some lucky encounters in my last life, I was always drifting, and never once came across a sect like Jiushan Realm..."
Zheng Fa gave no response, simply continuing to look at Mu Qingyan.
Her next words finally made him nod slightly.
"I never got past Nascent Soul in my last life. Even reaching Soul Formation was difficult, let alone confronting the Demon Ancestor."
That did sound much more sincere than before.
It’s the same as looking handsome only gets you dates, while being rich gets you marriage... no matter how harmonious Jiushan Realm seemed, no matter how good the atmosphere, it would be hard to move someone like Mu Qingyan, who had lived through calamity.
Only by showing more and more strength in battle would she reveal her secret and hope to latch onto Zheng Fa.
"Take me as your master?" Zheng Fa thought for a moment, looked at Mu Qingyan, and shook his head slightly.
"Sect Master?"
"My cultivation is still low, and I have too many responsibilities. To accept a disciple, I’d have to at least reach Nascent Soul."
Mu Qingyan nodded, "Disciple had guessed as much."
This was standard among the talented in the cultivation world—those early years are all about advancement;very few take disciples during that time.
But once one becomes a Nascent Soul with long lifespan, time becomes abundant.
For example, the last two branches of Jiushan Sect were all disciples or henchmen of Nascent Soul cultivators.
"Also, I can only say—I don’t reject the idea of you becoming my disciple."
Mu Qingyan looked up, eyes widening as if she understood something, "There’s going to be... an exam?"
Zheng Fa smiled and nodded.
"Ex... exam on what?"
"Whatever you’ve learned before on University Island, or will learn later..."
This kind of pre-exam announcement that draws a circle around everything made Mu Qingyan’s lips tremble slightly—she looked kind of scared.
"You’ve lived a whole life as a Nascent Soul, filled with secret techniques..." Zheng Fa drawled slowly when she didn’t speak, "You’re not going to lose to the other disciples, are you?"
That really fired her up. She gritted her teeth and said loudly, "Absolutely not!"
Zheng Fa smiled and nodded.
He actually thought pretty well of Mu Qingyan. She had made notable contributions to the Golden Core Project, and among the project team, aside from Madam Xuanhua, she could rank top three—clearly her brain had substance.
If the rebirth story were true, then even without a master in her past life, she’d made it to Nascent Soul—her talent, mindset, and comprehension were all excellent.
As for this test—honestly, Zheng Fa didn’t think it was unfair.
Someone reborn and not even a little outstanding?
Lived two lives and still loses to others? Isn’t that embarrassing!
Right now, what really gave him pause was the idea of rebirth itself—but having Mu Qingyan in front of him actually felt a bit safer.
Mu Qingyan, meanwhile, seemed a bit more at ease. When Zheng Fa first said there’d be a test, she had found it strange. But then she realized—it meant the Sect Master didn’t view her too differently because of her secret.
It was unexpected, but not a bad thing. In fact, it gave her a sense of security.
Then she heard Zheng Fa ask again, "In your memory, what’s the future Xuanyi Realm like?"
Now that the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor had appeared and stirred up trouble, the talk of Dao Fruits not dying made Zheng Fa even more cautious—just how many Dao Fruit wielders were there in this world?
After all, the Xuanyi Realm had a very long history...
"Disciple may have reached Nascent Soul, but was always a rogue cultivator, barely surviving between great powers. I didn’t learn much about Soul Formation and beyond," Mu Qingyan said awkwardly.
"Great powers?"
"In the Eastern Continent, Taishang Dao Nation and Haori Mountain Holy Land were dominant, plus several demonic territories."
"In the Western Continent, there seemed to be Leiyin Temple’s Buddhist land and Yaochi’s Celestial Court."
Zheng Fa listened quietly. Judging by those names, it seemed the Five Sects of Xuanyi Realm each had a Dao Fruit wielder emerge and expand their power. Probably also tied to how many people practiced their foundational methods.
But... what about the Tianhe Sect?
"Tianhe Sect..." Mu Qingyan’s voice dropped, "was destroyed."
That shocked Zheng Fa. Tianhe Sect, gone?
But when he asked further, Mu Qingyan couldn’t explain the details. She only said it was a major event in the future of Xuanyi Realm. All the major demonic lands and even the other four sects were involved. By the time she reached high cultivation, Tianhe Sect had already been wiped out, and most rumors were hard to verify.
Zheng Fa had to let it go for now, though he had a hunch—this might have something to do with Xie Qingxue.
The rest of what Mu Qingyan knew seemed fairly rough in Zheng Fa’s eyes—after all, he was practically mixing in the Dao Fruit circle now.
He asked a few more things and found Mu Qingyan was most familiar with various secret realms and secret techniques, which made sense given her rogue cultivator background. But they weren’t especially helpful to him now—until he suddenly thought of something:
"What about the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor?"
"There is no Great Freedom Demon Ancestor..." Mu Qingyan lowered her head and said something that even surprised Zheng Fa: "Only a Great Freedom Demon Emperor!"
Demon Emperor?
...
Above the sea, the Black Moon reappeared. The Great Freedom Demon Ancestor stood in the void with the Netherworld Immortal.
The Netherworld Immortal glanced at the Demon Ancestor’s expression and then heard him sigh softly: "Tianhe..."
That stunned the Netherworld Immortal. He looked at the Demon Ancestor and finally understood why he had withdrawn so quickly.
Could it be he sensed the presence of the Tianhe Venerable?
"No... it’s that sword..." the Demon Ancestor furrowed his brow and pondered for a while before speaking with certainty, "That sword is strange."
The Netherworld Immortal grew even more puzzled, but the Demon Ancestor clearly didn’t plan to explain. Instead, he said softly:
"Abyss!"
A crimson Immortal Sword shot up from tens of thousands of meters beneath the sea and hovered silently in front of them.
The sword had a strange shape and an eerie aura. Just one look at it made the Netherworld Immortal feel a chill.
The next moment, a blood-red portal appeared before the three of them.
Only then did the Netherworld Immortal realize how naïve the Seven Great Sages had been!
He had never seen the Demon Ancestor’s treasure of the Great Freedom Heaven—this Abyss Sword must be it.
The sword was clearly linked to the Demon Ancestor’s aura, likely his Life-bound Spiritual Treasure. How could the Seven Great Sages ever hope to seize Great Freedom Heaven now?
The Demon Ancestor stepped in first.
The Netherworld Immortal followed, and saw that the inhabitants inside had already changed. But the atmosphere remained the same:
Thousands upon tens of thousands of demon race beings—mating, fighting, killing in front of them, faces and mouths all smeared with blood.
This familiar aura actually moved the Netherworld Immortal. In Great Freedom Heaven, whether human or demon, they all seemed wrathful and lustful by nature, prone to conflict, lost in desire, their beastly instincts stronger than their human ones.
Now the Netherworld Immortal understood—this was the influence of the Demon Ancestor’s Dao Fruit. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮
As the secret realm gate opened, six demon race Soul Formation powerhouses arrived. One burly one shouted from afar:
"Who dares enter the Seven Sage Heavens?"
"Seven Sage Heavens?"
The Demon Ancestor chuckled, a trace of anger in his voice. He gripped the Abyss Sword and didn’t even look at the six Soul Formation demons. With a single swing of the sword, the sky and land within Great Freedom Heaven turned into a blood-red vortex that swallowed all demon race beings.
Not a single one escaped—whether Soul Formation or lesser beasts. Not even a counterattack was possible!
The Demon Ancestor reached out, and five Blood Fiend Banners flew up and merged in mid-air into a single black flag.
He gripped the flagpole and threw it into the vortex, murmuring,
"Billions of demon blood, to forge my Dao Fruit."
As he spoke, thousands of blood-red patterns appeared on the pure black flag. Ordinary beasts like wolves and tigers, legendary Spirit Beasts like the Roc and Xuanwu—they all seemed lifelike.
The black flag slowly returned to the Demon Ancestor’s hand. The Netherworld Immortal could feel it—he was now many times stronger than before!
"Holy Ancestor, this is...?" he asked cautiously.
"The Myriad Demon Banner."
The Demon Ancestor shifted his gaze from the Abyss Sword to the Myriad Demon Banner, a hint of satisfaction in his eyes.
"Demon Emperor’s Dao Fruit!"
