I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times-Chapter 277Book 2: : The Collapse of Self, Where Lies the Path
Vol 2 Chapter 277: The Collapse of Self, Where Lies the Path
The grand visions outside were visible to all in the Jiushan Realm, but the changes inside Zheng Fa’s body—those were truly earth-shattering.
That speck of red light entered his body like it had awakened the Fusang Tree in his dantian. The leaves on the Fusang Tree swayed and trembled as if they were rejoicing.
A surge of vitality erupted from his dantian, spreading through his internal organs, meridians, and finally settling into his full network of acupoints.
Zheng Fa felt as if he were being reborn—transformed from the inside out.
Every part of his body, from organs to skin, under the nourishment of this vitality, seemed to be growing anew—or rather, perfecting itself.
It felt like a cycle:
Because he possessed the Qingyang Dao Body, his cells had those spiritual organelles, which allowed him to cultivate the seed of the Fusang Tree.
But now, the Fusang Tree seed, in turn, seemed to be perfecting his Qingyang Dao Body!
By this point, Zheng Fa had already realized that the end of his Qingyang Dao Body was to become one with the Fusang!
At the same time, the half-formed Nascent Soul within his Golden Core seemed to be undergoing corresponding changes.
A cultivator’s Nascent Soul was shaped by the Divine Soul, which is why Senior Sister Zhang’s Nascent Soul resembled her closely.
And the Divine Soul itself was closely tied to the cultivator’s physical body, so the shape and abilities of the Nascent Soul were often intimately connected to the flesh.
The moment the little Nascent Soul began to change, Zheng Fa’s Divine Soul embarked on a strange journey:
He became a bizarre red tree, barren of branches, leaves, or fruit, standing on a celestial island, timeless and still, hearing nothing but the endless sound of ocean waves.
Later, a golden crow landed upon him, building a nest, raising its young, and meditating on the Dao.
One day, this golden crow transformed into a radiant sun, carrying all the surrounding spiritual energy, flying off into the sky and scattering the Fusang’s mystical power across distant lands.
The golden crow left early and returned late, repeating the cycle day after day. No one knew how many years passed, but its aura grew ever stronger, until eventually, it became the most powerful existence under the heavens.
The illusion faded. The Fusang Tree in Zheng Fa’s body gently swayed its branches, pointing in a certain distant direction.
He could even see clearly what it pointed to—a black banner painted with countless demons.
“The Demon Emperor...”
Zheng Fa sighed inwardly.
He had always thought that “Demon Emperor” was too grand a title.
According to modern legends, it was likely a title reserved for the most supreme beings under heaven. Even the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor was nowhere near qualified. ŕ𝘼ＮɵᛒËꞨ
Now, he was sure:
The Demon Emperor Dao Fruit the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor cultivated was formed by creating a potential cultivation method suitable for all demonkind.
But the Fusang Tree—was fundamentally different.
It was the purest form of vitality, the original source of spiritual intelligence.
The so-called process of demonkind absorbing the essence of sun and moon, accumulating magic, and awakening spiritual wisdom—that very essence originated from the Fusang Tree.
When it came to who was more important to demonkind...
It was obvious.
Without a universal cultivation method, demonkind could still cultivate.
Without the essence of sun and moon born from the Fusang Tree—would there even be demonkind?
Even now, Zheng Fa’s Dao Body had only just reached perfection, and the Fusang Tree within him hadn’t yet fully materialized. Yet in the realm of the Demon Emperor Dao Fruit, he felt that he was already far beyond the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor’s banner.
One reason might be that golden crow in the vision—it could very well have been a real Demon Emperor in the distant past.
Put simply, he was the rightful heir!
Another reason was the universality of the Fusang Tree’s function. The Great Freedom Demon Ancestor had worked painstakingly for years, but he still couldn’t claim that his method worked for all demonkind.
But the Fusang Tree’s vital essence and power of creation had broader application—one could even say, no demonkind could live without it!
Zheng Fa now understood—if the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor wanted to truly obtain the Demon Emperor Dao Fruit, he would have to kill Zheng Fa and take the Fusang Tree for himself.
Otherwise, that path would forever be blocked to him.
...
Several days earlier, in the sea thousands of miles away.
The Great Freedom Demon Ancestor wielded the Ten-Thousand-Beast Banner, sweeping across the sea and subjugating its great demons.
He had changed appearance—his black robe replaced by a purple one, his head adorned with a golden jade crown.
Behind him were layer upon layer of ocean waves.
Upon those waves stood demon cultivators he had divided into thirty-six groups.
They hadn’t all fully taken human form—some still resembled shrimp, crabs, fish, or turtles—but their auras were by no means weak.
This group of demons stood above a sea region where the water was pitch black. That was because beneath the surface lay a trench tens of thousands of zhang wide, depth unknown. Not even the sea-dwelling demons knew how deep it went—only that those who wandered in never returned.
“Where is the Old Ancestor Tunhai...” The Netherworld Immortal stepped forth and shouted, “The Great Freedom Demon Emperor is here!”
At first, the sea before them remained calm, as if no living thing had heard him.
But suddenly, a column of water, a hundred zhang thick, shot up from the depths, scattering the overcast sky.
The Netherworld Immortal instantly felt the gaze of some terrifying existence upon him. His whole body tensed, and he instinctively stepped back two paces, eyes locked on the sea, only to watch the black water slowly turn blue-green.
A giant azure-skinned Kun leapt from the sea and stared directly at him.
Looking again at the sea floor—there was no trench at all! 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮
Only now did he realize: this tens-of-thousands-zhang-wide trench had likely been the mouth of the giant beast itself!
Feeling the aura radiating from the Kun, the Netherworld Immortal grew wary.
Though this great beast hadn’t taken human form, he knew that some ancient demonkind were proud of their lineage and chose to exist in their original forms. Not only were they not weak—they had accumulated divine powers over the ages that far surpassed mortal understanding.
Like this Kun before him, known as Old Ancestor Tunhai, one of the sea’s dominant overlords in the Eastern Continent.
Not only did his power rival that of Zheng Fa’s former master, Head Seat Mingde—his age was far older. Some even rumored he was a surviving elder from the previous era!
Even the Five Sects of Xuanyi had refrained from disturbing such an existence.
This time, the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor’s true aim in meeting Old Ancestor Tunhai was to recruit this demon—not merely for his strength, but for the secrets and ancient knowledge he possessed, which were immensely valuable to the Demon Ancestor.
“...Great... Free... dom... Demon... Em... peror?”
The Kun seemed to have lived so long that even his speech had slowed, though he grew more fluent by the end.
“You... dare... call yourself... Demon Emperor?”
Old Ancestor Tunhai’s enormous eyes fixed on the Demon Ancestor. It was as if he could immediately identify who in the group was most dangerous—and he showed the Demon Ancestor no particular respect in his tone.
“This spirit treasure...” His gaze lingered on the Ten-Thousand-Beast Banner, a hint of dread in his eyes. “You truly intend... to claim the Demon Emperor Dao Fruit?”
The Demon Ancestor waved the Ten-Thousand-Beast Banner and said:
“I seek to unify the demon race. In the future, our kind will no longer suffer the oppression of the human race, and I have created a supreme method...”
“They...”
He pointed to the thirty-six demon cultivators behind him and said proudly, “These are the ones who understand that under my rule, the demon race has a chance to rise again!”
Off to the side, the Netherworld Immortal also felt deeply impressed.
Everything the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor had done since his resurrection had truly exceeded his expectations.
He even felt that it had surpassed the imagination of the Nine Nether Sacred Ancestor.
Or rather, the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor had likely long anticipated that someone would try to target him—hence his unprecedented move to use the identity of a demon ancestor to attain the Demon Emperor Dao Fruit!
Everyone thought the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor pinned his hopes on reviving himself, but from what he had learned lately, Zheng Fa realized that, for this entire era, what the Demon Ancestor had truly focused on... was the bloodline fusion between demonkind and the Great Freedom Demonic Sect!
No one expected it: the Demon Ancestor's ambition was with the demon race!
Since his resurrection, apart from a tentative attack on the Immortal Sects, he had surprisingly given up on contending with the human forces. Instead, he fully turned his efforts toward uniting the demon race and achieving the title of Demon Emperor!
An era—hundreds of thousands of years of planning—was only now being revealed by the Demon Ancestor himself. Yet everyone realized: this man had truly found a path to step off the chessboard!
Had he continued to entangle himself within human realms, no major faction would have tolerated the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor.
Especially since, upon revival, he had few followers and was relatively easy to deal with among Dao Fruit cultivators—
After all, he’d been killed once by the Tianhe Venerable, suffering massive losses to his strength.
In short, before resurrection, the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor was indeed in a weakened state, and even after revival, he’d be hard-pressed to fend off coordinated attacks.
But instead...
He chose the demon race!
The demon race was too vast and chaotic. Their techniques weren’t unified, and the title of Demon Emperor existed only in myth.
The Five Sects of Xuanyi had tried to organize them before, but they’d found no path forward.
No one expected that the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor would, by some completely unthinkable means, actually create a cultivation method adaptable to a massive variety of demon species!
And with that foundation, he had even begun to form the Demon Emperor Dao Fruit!
Even more shocking—the demon race themselves didn’t resist him. In fact, the response was extremely enthusiastic.
Driven into the deep seas for too long, how could they not feel resentful? The Demon Ancestor’s actions instantly won over thirty-six factions of demonkind.
He now had six veteran Soul Formation demons under his command. The Demon Ancestor’s aura grew stronger by the day!
The Great Freedom Demon Ancestor had found a blank space—a vacuum of power—free of competitors and brimming with potential.
He looked toward Old Ancestor Tunhai. A flicker of hesitation flashed in the elder's massive eyes—he seemed tempted. But a moment later, the elder swished his tail and... refused!
He became the first demon cultivator to reject the Demon Ancestor even after he had brought out the Ten-Thousand-Beast Banner!
And Old Ancestor Tunhai—among all demonkind present—was the strongest, with reserves so deep that even the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor felt both wary and covetous.
The Demon Ancestor furrowed his brow and asked, “Tunhai, I’ve heard of you since the previous era. Even you have suffered oppression from human cultivators!”
Old Ancestor Tunhai remained silent.
“Do you truly mean to stay trapped in the deep sea your whole life?”
The Demon Ancestor’s words stirred roars of anger from the other demon cultivators behind him.
“I don’t accept it.”
After a long silence, Old Ancestor Tunhai finally spoke.
“If you don’t accept it, then why not—” The Demon Ancestor waved the Ten-Thousand-Beast Banner and pointed at the thirty-six demon factions behind him. “Join us?”
Old Ancestor Tunhai looked at the demons atop the waves, but his gaze turned cold.
“I don’t accept it. But if you want me to acknowledge you as Demon Emperor...” Old Ancestor Tunhai said slowly, word by word, “You... are... not... worthy.”
“I’m not worthy?” The Demon Ancestor’s tone grew colder. “I’ve devoted hundreds of thousands of years to creating a universal demon method!”
“Now, I have a whole host of demon warriors under my banner!”
“Even the Five Sects of Xuanyi are standing by, watching me rise!”
“I’m not worthy?”
The Demon Ancestor said proudly, “Then who in this world is worthy?”
Old Ancestor Tunhai was about to reply when, from the landward direction of Mount Tongming, a disturbance echoed out.
Due to the Jiushan Realm’s barriers, they couldn’t see the vision themselves. But...
Everyone present—except the Netherworld Immortal and Chen Ting—felt a vague resonance with the birth of the Fusang Tree!
“That... is the real Demon Emperor!”
The Great Freedom Demon Ancestor actually understood better than anyone what had just occurred. He turned to look in the direction of the Jiushan Realm. The certainty in his expression vanished. After a long silence, he turned to the Netherworld Immortal and asked:
“That Zheng Fa... how old is he?”
The Netherworld Immortal already had no idea what was happening and was thoroughly confused. Now hearing this odd question, he was even more puzzled, but still replied:
“Not yet thirty?”
“Thirty...”
The Demon Ancestor fell into a long silence.
Hundreds of thousands of years of effort, of hidden manipulations, of passing down secret instructions, of studying a universal demon method... all had culminated in the Ten-Thousand-Beast Banner.
And yet...
Zheng Fa... was only thirty?
The more he thought about it, the more he seethed. He raised the Ten-Thousand-Beast Banner and suddenly slashed it toward Old Ancestor Tunhai.
A few days later, a giant Kun pattern appeared on the Ten-Thousand-Beast Banner. The Netherworld Immortal, watching from the side, was deeply puzzled—why did it seem like the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor had been infuriated?
Wasn’t he originally trying to recruit Old Ancestor Tunhai?
But the Demon Ancestor clearly wasn’t about to explain. He simply stared toward the distant Jiushan Realm. On the Ten-Thousand-Beast Banner, ten thousand demons howled to the heavens.
...
Inside the Jiushan Realm, Zheng Fa didn’t know what the Demon Ancestor was doing—but he knew one thing:
That man... was probably eyeing him now.
And from the attitude of the Five Sects of Xuanyi, it was now clear they no longer saw the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor as a direct threat.
Therefore... Jiushan Sect now had only two paths:
One, the simpler one—choose a faction among the Five Sects and seek refuge.
The other, seemingly unreachable—fight for peace on their own!
Zheng Fa leaned toward the latter. But he still called in Senior Sister Zhang and the others to discuss—this was a matter of life and death for Jiushan Realm.
After hearing the current situation, Old Yuan and the rest all fell silent.
“Fusang Tree... tsk...”
“With Tranquility Bamboo, Fusang Tree, and Jiushan Realm, shouldn’t we be strong enough to stand against the Demon Ancestor?”
Martial Uncle Pang counted off his fingers and reasoned aloud.
“That’s not necessarily true. Last time, it was mostly the Qingping Sword doing the work.” Senior Sister Zhang said softly. “Besides, the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor... may have only been testing us last time.”
“We didn’t truly face him in a fight.”
Martial Uncle Pang nodded in agreement.
“As for joining the Five Sects, Taishang Dao is probably the best option,” Zheng Fa added. “They’ve always had a tradition of recruiting Xuanyi cultivators. Besides, Zhenren Chengkong and Head Seat Mingde are decent people.”
“I know it’s a bit presumptive to say, but if such people can hold high positions in Taishang Dao... then perhaps it isn’t quite the den of tigers and dragons we feared.”
His words drew nods from the crowd.
Martial Uncle Pang thought for a while, then suddenly sighed:
“I don’t know if Taishang Dao is good or not—but I do know, it’ll never be better than Jiushan Realm.”
