I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times-Chapter 376Book 2: : Not Quite the Same, Heavenly River in Chaos
Vol 2 Chapter 376: Not Quite the Same, Heavenly River in Chaos
The Nine Nether Demon Ancestor held the Tongjian, the screen within it directly facing the freshly forged Trapping Immortal Sword.
His expression was wistful, as if recalling something, with a faint smile lingering at the corners of his mouth.
Sect Master Yan stood behind him, leaning in to look at the Trapping Immortal Sword, clicking his tongue in amazement:
“Did they really make it? Aside from those messy talismanic diagrams, there’s absolutely no way to tell the difference.”
He was quite familiar with the Trapping Immortal Sword as well.
Although the real Trapping Immortal Sword was kept at Haori Mountain, there was an ancestor of the Trapping Immortal Sword lineage in the Sword Pavilion who usually existed in the form of the Trapping Immortal Sword.
“Materials, techniques, style…” The Nine Nether Demon Ancestor glanced at him, seemingly finding him noisy, but still nodded in agreement, “Even if you send Heavenly River itself, it’d be hard to distinguish the real from the fake.”
Sect Master Yan was rather pleased: “Zheng Fa, if you really use this fake one to replace the real Trapping Immortal Sword, you’d be doing us a huge favor.”
The Nine Nether Demon Ancestor was not afraid of the Trapping Immortal Sword.
But he was afraid of something else!
Therefore, he was extremely enthusiastic about Zheng Fa’s imitation of the Trapping Immortal Sword, even sending over many records from the Heavenly River Sect in one go.
Now seeing the counterfeit Trapping Immortal Sword completed, he even felt a certain pride.
“What’s so funny?” The Nine Nether Demon Ancestor glanced at him, “The Trapping Immortal Sword originally belongs to the Heavenly River Sect, and now the Jiushan Sect has forged a replica. You’re happy about that?”
“...”
“Could you really make one yourselves?”
“...”
“As the Sect Master of the Heavenly River Sect, you can actually laugh at this?”
“...”
Sect Master Yan looked at the Demon Ancestor’s dark expression, thinking, This is absurd. You’re about to overturn the Heavenly River Sect, yet you still expect this from me?
But he had no rebuttal—in theory, this man was possibly one of the founders of the Heavenly River Sect, an absolute ancestor. His reprimands towards the current Heavenly River Sect descendants made sense.
Suddenly inspired, Sect Master Yan recalled the Trapping Immortal Sword ancestor in the Sword Pavilion and said, “We have fake Trapping Immortal Swords in the Heavenly River Sect too…”
Under the cold gaze of the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor, his voice lowered until it was barely a mosquito’s buzz, “We are indeed… not quite the same.”
Listening to Sect Master Yan’s manner of speaking, Zheng Fa felt a strange familiarity. On second thought, this annoying speech style was probably very similar to Yan Wushuang’s.
Just as he was about to laugh, the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor said to him:
“The Heavenly River Sect will soon undergo a major change. Are you prepared?”
Zheng Fa suppressed the smile on his face and silently nodded.
In fact, he had cooperated with the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor once before. Now, unknowingly, they stood on the same side because of Haori Mountain.
Although he still harbored some doubts about the Demon Ancestor, honestly, he firmly stood with him and hoped the other party would deliver—preferably to crush Haori Mountain completely.
Ŗ𝙖𐌽O͍𝐁Ę𝓢
The Nine Nether Demon Ancestor’s face showed no expression, only staring at Zheng Fa as if pondering something.
“I will have someone send you a Nine Nether Talisman Edict.”
“Huh?”
Zheng Fa’s eyes widened, unexpectedly pleased by this surprise gift.
“I can’t attend to you right now.” The Demon Ancestor’s voice was faint, but to Zheng Fa’s ears, it felt like a spring breeze brushing his face, warming his heart. “Don’t die.”
…To be honest, at this moment, Zheng Fa felt a bit ashamed, thinking he shouldn’t have been so harsh to the Demon Ancestor before.
As the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor’s face disappeared from the Tongjian, Zheng Fa turned and saw Senior Sister Zhang frowning at him, asking, “Why is the Demon Ancestor so generous?”
Zheng Fa had figured it out: “He probably values the Tongjian very much.”
Unless he really was the reincarnation of the Heavenly River Venerable, he wouldn’t be so universally beloved. After careful thought, only the Tongjian could make the Demon Ancestor keep investing.
“The Tongjian?” Senior Sister Zhang didn’t fully understand the Demon Ancestor’s purpose but felt a bit relieved and nodded gently. “Since the Demon Ancestor has a purpose, that’s somewhat reassuring.”
Indeed, otherwise this Nine Nether Talisman Edict would be a hot potato for Zheng Fa.
“With this, the final flaw of my Heavenly and Earthly Fiend Transformations can almost be said to be gone.”
The Heavenly and Earthly Fiend Transformations was not flawless—the only weakness was the soul.
It was fine against ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators, but against Dao Fruit cultivators above Nascent Soul, he lacked confidence. If they had secret soul techniques, his identity as Li Hao would be immediately exposed.
But with the Nine Nether Talisman Edict, things were different.
The Nine Nether Demon Ancestor’s skill in manipulating the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor was still fresh in Zheng Fa’s mind…
From this, it was clear the Nine Nether Talisman Edict had no flaws even against Dao Fruits of the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor’s level.
Keep in mind, the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor was also an expert in soul manipulation.
…
The person delivering the Nine Nether Talisman Edict was an old acquaintance—the Netherworld Immortal Qin Mu.
“Sect Master Zheng.” Qin Mu didn’t hesitate, directly handing a black talisman edict to Zheng Fa and explained, “Sect Master Zheng can link the talisman edict to his soul, incorporating it into his sea of consciousness. This edict can alter your soul’s aura, making it impossible to discern reality from illusion.”
Holding the Nine Nether Talisman Edict, Zheng Fa’s eyes brightened with joy but his heart still harbored doubts:
How did the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor know this would be useful to him?
Was the intelligence really that precise?
Could there be a mole in Jiushan Realm?
At this moment, Qin Mu spoke again: “But to the Sacred Ancestor, this is merely a trifle. The Nine Nether Talisman Edict has other mysteries.”
“Huh?”
“Aren’t you curious how I died and came back to life within that great array?”
“Died and came back to life?”
Zheng Fa’s eyes widened, suddenly lowering his head to look at the Nine Nether Talisman Edict in his hand, shocked.
“Concealing life count, determining life and death.” Even though the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor was not before them, the Netherworld Immortal’s tone held fervent reverence. “The Sacred Ancestor’s divine power is awe-inspiring.”
Zheng Fa watched the Netherworld Immortal depart, then looked again at the Nine Nether Talisman Edict and felt somewhat relieved:
It seemed the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor didn’t know the full details of the Heavenly and Earthly Fiend Transformations. Sending the Nine Nether Talisman Edict was as he said—afraid Zheng Fa would recklessly lose his life.
Unexpectedly, the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor was a professional at playing with life and death.
The power faction called the Underworld, as Mu Qingyan had said, seemed to subtly align with the effect of this Nine Nether Talisman Edict.
Holding the Nine Nether Talisman Edict, Zheng Fa felt only one word in his heart—stable!
The Nine Nether Demon Ancestor was quite generous;if he had a good treasure, he truly gave it.
Sect Master Yan did not think so.
He looked at the Demon Ancestor nervously, eyes flickering, “Demon Ancestor, you bestowed the talisman edict to Zheng Fa because…”
The Nine Nether Demon Ancestor turned his head to look at him with an expressionless face: “Didn’t I say? Afraid he’d die. I don’t have many helpers in Xuanshui now;he is the most important one. I’m spread too thin…”
Sect Master Yan hurriedly said, “I am also your helper, Demon Ancestor…”
The Nine Nether Demon Ancestor said nothing and just stared at him. Sect Master Yan stared at the silence and continued:
“Demon Ancestor, look at this Nine Nether Talisman Edict…”
He looked at the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor expectantly. His situation was far more dangerous than Zheng Fa’s.
He understood the talisman edict’s power much better than Zheng Fa.
He was envious!
“You said something earlier that was quite good.”
“What?”
“You are indeed… not quite the same.” The Nine Nether Demon Ancestor gazed outside the hall, still speaking calmly, but Sect Master Yan felt the words chill him to the bone. “I condensed a Nine Nether Talisman Edict, which cost a lot of cultivation.”
“...”
“Zheng Fa’s life is more valuable than the talisman edict.”
Sect Master Yan’s mouth opened and closed repeatedly before tightly shutting it and turning silently to a corner of the hall.
…
When returning to Divine Fire Mountain, Zheng Fa had the counterfeit Trapping Immortal Sword hidden in his storage bag and the Nine Nether Talisman Edict crouching in his sea of consciousness, feeling as relaxed and at home as ever.
But the atmosphere at Divine Fire Mountain was far from relaxed.
“Senior Brother Li.”
Junior Sister Ye stood at the mountain gate, seemingly waiting for him.
“Looking for me?” Zheng Fa looked at the younger junior sister with genuine concern;after all, she was Elder Jiu’s relative and a major client of the Jiushan Marketplace.
Over the years, Haori Mountain had contributed quite a lot to Jiushan Sect:
Before, Zheng Fa was the only one exploiting Haori Mountain’s resources.
Since the Tongjian became widespread, disciples of Zhongxuan Sect used resources from Haori Mountain to shop wildly within the Tongjian.
As the acting leader of Zhongxuan Sect, Zheng Fa was well aware of resource distribution.
According to his calculations, eighty percent of the spirit materials and spirit stones from Haori Mountain ended up in Jiushan Sect’s hands.
He even knew who bought what, through marketplace orders and Zhongxuan Sect’s distribution records.
Junior Sister Ye was a compulsive buyer.
Actually, Zheng Fa was a bit reluctant to sever ties with such a big client like Haori Mountain…
“Senior Brother Li, do we… still have a way out?”
Junior Sister Ye was silent for a long time before softly asking.
Zheng Fa stopped walking and looked at her, but she didn’t look at him, staring instead at the mountaintop, almost muttering to herself, “All those Nascent Soul elder disciples have left.”
Junior Sister Ye wasn’t stupid.
Besides, Shi Nandang and the others weren’t keeping all secrets.
These Zhongxuan Sect disciples had long vaguely sensed their fate.
But the departure of the Nascent Soul elder disciples was like the final death knell, making them unable to escape or deceive themselves any longer.
Those Nascent Soul elder disciples only came to leech resources;they wouldn’t die alongside the Zhongxuan Sect disciples.
Seeing Zheng Fa silent, Junior Sister Ye turned to him and suddenly smiled, “That’s right, Senior Brother Li is valued by Elder Jiu and is different from us.”
Her words were tinged with emotion.
Zheng Fa wasn’t angry, just found it a bit funny—Elder Jiu’s secrets were tight, and Junior Sister Ye clearly had no idea about his identity.
Junior Sister Ye continued, “Actually, I thought about taking the juniors and disciples to join Jiushan Sect.”
“...”
Zheng Fa twitched his mouth, surprised at the boldness of this junior sister today.
Apparently sensing his expression, Junior Sister Ye gave a bitter smile, “Someone actually tried.”
“Huh?”
Now Zheng Fa was even more astonished.
“They were captured and brought back by Elder Ba.”
“No punishment?”
“...Punishment?” Junior Sister Ye laughed bitterly, “Elder Ba looked at them as if they were dead. Why punish them?”
“Nowadays, no matter what we say or do, no one cares.” Her tone grew heavier. “No one cares, which makes us even more desperate.”
Zheng Fa now understood why Zhongxuan Sect disciples shopped so wildly—it wasn’t revenge consumption but spending money because they feared dying before using it all.
“How come I never knew?”
“You’re always at the mountaintop or outside the mountain. How could you know?”
“...”
Increasingly confused, Zheng Fa simply asked, “Junior Sister, what did you want to see me about?”
Junior Sister Ye pulled out a storage bag and handed it to him.
“Huh?”
“Senior Brother and I are fellow disciples, and you trust me deeply, which I remember. If I…” She trailed off, then said, “Inside are some spirit stones, magical tools, and pills I’ve accumulated. I give them to you as a keepsake.”
Zheng Fa was stunned, looking at the storage bag in her hand.
Unexpectedly, many people had been giving him gifts recently.
Seeing Zheng Fa not reach out, Junior Sister Ye’s tone darkened: “These things are useless to me. Giving them to others is the same. Only Senior Brother…”
Seeing her somewhat stubborn gaze, Zheng Fa thought for a moment and took the storage bag.
Junior Sister Ye smiled and boldly spoke again, “Senior Brother, Haori Mountain is not a kind place. You’ll need to be careful in the future.”
Her words hinted at the imminence of death but were kind.
“Haori Mountain is one of the Five Great Sects in the world…”
“Senior Brother, if I didn’t know what Jiushan Sect was like, then Haori Mountain would indeed deserve the name of one of the Five Great Sects.”
...It seemed Zhongxuan Sect’s opinions were very free.
Or rather, since doing nothing is a death sentence, seeking death isn’t much worse.
“If I could join Jiushan Sect, with Senior Brother’s talent and aptitude…”
Junior Sister Ye gave a wistful smile, as if it were impossible.
She lightly saluted Zheng Fa and said, “I won’t bother you anymore.”
Zheng Fa looked at her back, then gazed at the top of Divine Fire Mountain, where a few emotionless eyes seemed to be watching the entire Zhongxuan Sect.
…
Passing through the mist in the array, Zheng Fa reached the summit of Divine Fire Mountain and heard Shi Nandang laughing and asking,
“That disciple named Ye is quite bold.”
Indeed, Shi Nandang was keeping a close watch on Zhongxuan Sect at this moment.
“Senior, the hearts of Zhongxuan Sect are like this. In the future…”
“What future?” Shi Nandang laughed heartily, utterly unconcerned. “When the Heaven and Earth Divine Fiend Array is completed, what they think won’t matter.”
Zheng Fa looked toward the volcanic crater.
The Trapping Immortal Sword lay quietly inside the mountain’s fire.
Seven stars in the sky shone seven beams of light, forming seven thick silver chains locking the sword.
The black surface of the Immortal Sword now had many new runes, very much like those on the fake Trapping Immortal Sword.
With the sword spirit’s cooperation, this Heaven and Earth Divine Fiend Array could be said to be ninety-nine percent complete.
“Li Hao.” Shi Nandang suddenly asked, “Once this array is completed, that disciple named Ye’s life will be in danger.”
Zheng Fa looked up at him.
“If you couldn’t bear it and pleaded, I could spare her life. But her thoughts…”
Shi Nandang stared intently at Zheng Fa.
“Whatever you decide, Senior.”
Shi Nandang glanced at him, nodded lightly, and didn’t express satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the reply. Instead, he turned to Elder Ba and said, “From now on, Zhongxuan Sect is under your control.”
Elder Ba was stunned, his face showing some delight. He glanced at Zheng Fa and quickly went down the mountain.
Zheng Fa said nothing and then heard Shi Nandang continue:
“It’s not that I don’t trust you, just afraid you might get confused.”
“I understand, Senior.”
“Good that you understand.” Shi Nandang’s gaze settled on Zheng Fa and he suddenly smiled, saying, “Don’t let her words mess with your thoughts.”
“You are a disciple of Patriarch Lu, different from them.”
At this point, Shi Nandang was painting a bright future for him:
“When the array is completed, we will have achieved great merit for the sect. Returning to Haori Mountain, you will be among the clan’s mainline with a bright future.”
“Thank you very much for your support, Senior.”
Zheng Fa somewhat understood—Shi Nandang truly regarded him as a trusted confidant.
That made sense;he was almost personally promoted by Shi Nandang from within Zhongxuan Sect.
In Shi Nandang’s eyes, if not for him, both Li Hao and Junior Sister Ye would have died within the array—in other words, he was Li Hao’s savior.
Plus, Li Hao’s talent was indeed exceptional.
Hence Shi Nandang said these things today.
Sure enough, upon hearing Zheng Fa’s thanks, Shi Nandang’s expression finally showed genuine warmth. After a moment, his tone grew contemptuous:
“Your Junior Sister Ye only sees how great Jiushan Sect is in stories but doesn’t know that once the Trapping Immortal Sword is refined by us, it will be the day Jiushan Sect falls.”
“Advising you to go to Jiushan Sect? That’s short-sighted, throwing you into the fire pit.”
Zheng Fa didn’t refute but nodded repeatedly, acknowledging the Senior’s words as valuable advice. Then he suddenly froze, looking at Shi Nandang with an odd expression:
“Could it be, Senior, that you’re also my Jiushan customer?”
Shi Nandang seemed to understand Zheng Fa’s gaze and cleared his throat: “It’s really boring up on Divine Fire Mountain. During rest, it’s easy to get bored.”
He sincerely sighed, “You know, I still know Zheng Fa. He really is a prodigy… what a pity.”
Elder Jiu twitched his mouth, watching Shi Nandang’s strange expression.
Shi Nandang didn’t notice and became more cheerful: “Though refining the Trapping Immortal Sword was a bit rough earlier, we completed the sect’s goal in less than ten years.”
“When we return to Haori Mountain, the sect will surely reward us heavily!”
“At that time, you’ll also share a good portion of the credit.”
Shi Nandang’s expression was full of anticipation, as if already calculating the rewards.
Zheng Fa felt it too—Shi Nandang genuinely had some goodwill toward him.
Handing Zhongxuan Sect’s power to Elder Ba today was also to avoid trouble, letting Elder Ba be the villain. In fact, Shi Nandang was quite considerate of him.
Zheng Fa’s divine sense swept over the counterfeit Trapping Immortal Sword in the storage bag.
This man wasn’t exactly good but treated him well and understood his difficulties.
Making him carry this huge burden seemed a bit unbearable…
Mainly because the burden was too heavy, and Zheng Fa doubted Shi Nandang could handle it.
Shi Nandang was only a Nascent Soul cultivator;if he damaged the Trapping Immortal Sword during refining, Haori Mountain would surely send someone to investigate.
If they discovered any problem, things would go badly.
At this moment, a message talisman suddenly flew from afar, directly into Shi Nandang’s hand.
Inside Zheng Fa, the Creation Jade Slip shook violently, as if someone was sending him an urgent message.
His soul immersed in the Creation Jade Slip, he saw the sender was none other than Head Seat Mingde of Taishang Dao. He had sent eight or nine spirit messages consecutively.
“The Heavenly River Sect is undergoing upheaval;Sect Master Yan suddenly dismissed all disciples below Nascent Soul.”
“The Heavenly River Sect’s territory seems to be sealed by a great power. Our Taishang Dao informants have lost contact.”
“The Haori Mountain’s rogue immortal Luo Sanxian has emerged, seemingly heading toward the Hundred Immortals Alliance. Be careful!”
“…”
Reading Head Seat Mingde’s warning, Zheng Fa took a deep breath and felt a sudden understanding:
Although the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor and his companion operated stealthily, Shi Nandang had already told him that both Taishang Dao and Heavenly River Sect had anomalies. The rivalries among the Five Great Sects were full of spies and intrigue;they had likely noticed something wrong early on.
Now that Sect Master Yan was truly taking action, Taishang Dao and Haori Mountain immediately detected it.
Haori Mountain reacted quickly;that rogue immortal from the Five Great Sects’ assembly had directly gone to the Hundred Immortals Alliance—showing Haori Mountain’s caution toward Heavenly River Sect rivaled that toward Jiushan Sect.
Zheng Fa looked up at Shi Nandang, seeing his shocked expression mixed with uncontrollable grief.
Seeing Zheng Fa look at him, Shi Nandang gave a bitter smile, no longer excited, and said, “We probably won’t get credit for this merit.”
Others wouldn’t understand, but Zheng Fa did.
That rogue immortal Luo Sanxian was likely here because of the Trapping Immortal Sword.
Seeing Shi Nandang’s despondent face at having his credit stolen, Zheng Fa felt that Shi Nandang’s luck had come—Luo Sanxian was clearly here to take the blame for him!
Come to think of it, the top brass of Haori Mountain were all surprisingly considerate.
