I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times

Vol 2 Chapter 216: Unhindered Progress, Tianhe’s Sword Mark

“They’re the ones you’re looking for?” the cloaked man asked when Zhenren Chengkong stayed silent, pointing at Senior Sister Zhang and the others.

Zhenren Chengkong didn’t answer—he seemed unsure himself. After a long pause, he finally said, “When the one shows up, I’ll know.”

Their eyes followed the white jade tower ship, and only now did they realize—these cultivators weren’t just “prepared,” they were well-trained.

Senior Sister Zhang led several disciples, using Void-Seeking Spirit Eyes to guide the ship. Whenever they encountered a formation or barrier, a single hand signal sufficed—no words needed—and her disciples would immediately begin casting spells or deploying Spiritual Talismans.

If one technique didn’t work, another disciple would try the next without hesitation—sometimes five or six solution attempts would fly out in a flash.

Their teamwork was seamless, and every maneuver took barely any time. The ship didn’t even slow down.

Without pause, the tower ship broke through five or six lesser formations, and entered a great array.

The once calm surface of Lake Changji erupted in towering waves, several meters high, threatening to overturn the ship.

But that was nothing—the white jade tower ship was a treasure, and remained steady. Of course, this formation was created by Zhenren Chengkong himself, so it wouldn’t be that simple. When the waves failed to capsize the ship, they didn't fade. Instead, they rose like palace walls on either side, blocking the Jiushan disciples’ vision, leaving only a narrow winding corridor.

The lake water, usually blue and clear, had now turned pitch-black along those towering water walls.

From Chengkong’s vantage point, it looked like the Jiushan disciples were trapped in a maze—twisting, turning, no clear path ahead or back.

“This is…” the cloaked man began.

“Lake Changji… a mighty Demonic cultivator is said to have died here ages ago. The water here erodes Divine Souls and drains vitality. That’s why I picked this place. This Maze of Abyssal Waters is naturally enhanced by the lake,” Chengkong explained.

The other man nodded slowly, thoughts drifting.

So Chengkong had chosen this lake to make Tianhe Venerable’s secret realm feel more “authentic.” The lake was already known to be strange, so placing a relic here seemed plausible. Ȑ𝓪ɴǑ₿Εs̈

Thinking of what Chengkong had said earlier—how real treasures had been placed in the ruins, all associated with Tianhe—it made sense. It was to protect the illusion, draw in cultivators, make people flock here.

Decades, centuries, even millennia of effort had gone into this. The Five Great Sects and the Demonic Sects were clearly playing a long, long game.

And the person they were looking for…

He shook his head, watching the ship now hemmed in by walls of water.

“But what if your formation is too strong?” he asked. “What if that person… can’t get in?”

Chengkong gave him a look like he was an idiot. After a moment, he said, “If they can't get through something like this, why would we be looking for them? If they can’t pass, they’re not who we’re looking for.”

“…”

“And besides, Tianhe Venerable was no ordinary man. If this ruin was too easy, wouldn’t that raise suspicion?”

“…”

“In fact,” Chengkong added, “the longer they’re delayed, the more widespread the legend of Tianhe’s ruin becomes. The word has already been out for over a month. I’m hoping this place can stay active for three months or more—that’s when it’ll have real effect.”

The other man finally understood—Chengkong cared about return on investment. If he wanted to draw someone out, he had to attract everyone.

But…

“The formation… it’s broken.”

He didn’t even need to point it out—Chengkong had seen it too.

As the ship was hemmed in, Xiao Yuying’s jade bracelet flickered, and a water-blue pearl floated into the air and drifted toward the liquid walls.

The walls parted like drawn curtains, quietly revealing a passageway.

“…?”

Even more baffling—the Jiushan Sect members seemed to know exactly where the underwater palace was. They surged forward without hesitation, not the least bit confused.

“Who is that woman?” Chengkong couldn’t help but ask.

“That should be Fairy Lingye, Xiao Yuying!”

“Ah… that explains the Water-Avoidance Pearl, and how she seems to know where the palace lies.”

Chengkong looked like he’d heard of her before. But then he frowned again.

“Isn’t Xiao Yuying known for her pride and independence? Why would she work with others? With her skill, she shouldn’t need to.”

“…”

His companion had no answer either—this truly was beyond them.

—

Aboard the tower ship, Senior Sister Zhang glanced at Xiao Yuying with subtle admiration.

Zheng Fa had long been keen to work with Xiao Yuying. Zhang hadn’t opposed it, but she’d never really felt the importance—she herself was a well-known genius, prideful in her own right.

But now, she understood.

Xiao Yuying had rare treasures, absolute defense, and more importantly, her Primordial Magnetic Dao Body was perfect for navigation.

Inside the formation, visibility had dropped to zero—not even Void-Seeking Spirit Eyes could help.

But Xiao Yuying hadn’t been affected in the slightest.

In the blink of an eye, she broke the formation. It was… impressive.

Zhang turned to look back and saw Daoist Mu and the others still struggling in the formation.

These people had hesitated at first, but once the Jiushan crew entered, they couldn’t hold back. Driven by urgency, they followed.

Some, like Daoist Mu, were Nascent Soul cultivators—not weak at all. With Zhang’s team forging ahead, they followed the path like mimics and moved fast.

But the moment they hit the great formation, they weren’t so lucky.

This water was deadly. Just brushing against it spelled death.

Several Golden Core cultivators were already floating lifeless in the water.

Meanwhile, even Mu Qingyan, still at the Qi Refining Stage, was bouncing around alive and well on their ship…

—

The tower ship sailed to the very heart of Lake Changji. Xiao Yuying halted it and pointed at the water.

“It’s right beneath us.”

Senior Sister Zhang nodded, waved her hand, and the group left the ship, taking shelter under the Water-Avoidance Pearl as they dove below.

As they moved, five more cultivators followed behind.

Zhang turned to look—it was Daoist Mu and four other Nascent Soul cultivators.

No one else remained behind them.

The rest had either died in the formation… or were still stuck.

These five had powerful means and barely caught up.

Ironically, the rest of Jiushan’s team—apart from Zhang and Xiao Yuying—weren’t especially strong. They were slower, so these outsiders overtook them.

Zhang understood their intentions—Xiao Yuying was known throughout the Xuanyi Realm for her treasure-seeking abilities. Tagging along with her could only be beneficial.

The group stayed silent, wary of one another, as they descended to the lakebed.

There stood a submerged palace, no more than ten halls in size, in a distinctly ancient style—clearly not from this era.

Senior Sister Zhang looked at Xiao Yuying, who nodded. “Last epoch.”

As they approached, the palace’s strangeness became clearer.

A hemispherical, dark-green translucent barrier enclosed the palace. Inside, there wasn’t a drop of water. On the surface of the barrier, dense symbols covered every inch.

Before Zhang and the others could act, a middle-aged man from the followers stepped up. With a confident air, he held aloft a tower-shaped treasure and marched forward.

Clearly, he had faith in his artifact.

He reached the barrier—his tower flashed gold—and a door-shaped hole opened in the barrier.

“A remarkable treasure… It has the power to break through formations!” the other man watching from afar murmured.

But Zhenren Chengkong only laughed coldly. “Idiot.”

Before the other could ask why, the green glow on the barrier turned blood red.

Moments later, the barrier spat out the tower, broken and dim, landing at Zhang’s feet like a piece of trash.

“…?”

“This is the Nine-Turn Abyssal Water Barrier, a formation passed down from the last epoch,” Chengkong said. “It has no attack or defense—just one feature: if you don’t understand the right symbols, you can’t enter.”

“Even I would run into trouble if I forced my way in.”

His companion suddenly understood. “Symbols?”

Chengkong continued, “They’re all written in the ancient form from the last epoch—recognizing them is hard enough, let alone deciphering.”

“I only control it because I’ve memorized the nine activation sigils.”

The man nodded again. Now he understood why Chengkong hadn’t panicked earlier when Xiao Yuying broke through the earlier formation.

Talisman technique is already hard. Ancient talismans? Nearly impossible.

He glanced at the barrier—its runes shimmered endlessly, densely packed and ever-shifting. Just looking gave him a headache.

Three months? A normal person might not crack this in a year.

Or so he thought.

Because right in front of him, the Nascent Soul cultivator beside Xiao Yuying—Senior Sister Zhang—didn’t even look at the barrier. She simply drew nine incredibly complex Spiritual Talismans.

Then—

The barrier trembled.

Two doors opened wide, like a host politely inviting them in.

It looked like… this place had just met its true master.

“…?”

Zhenren Chengkong was stunned into silence again. After a long pause, he muttered, “How… is she more familiar with this than me?”

—

Senior Sister Zhang put away the Flying Immortal Brush, still in disbelief at how easy that was.

The nine symbols to unlock the Nine-Turn Abyssal Water Barrier had originally been described by Mu Qingyan, but she wasn’t well-versed in Talisman techniques—she could only describe them vaguely.

Had she come alone, she likely wouldn’t have gotten in.

The real advantage?

Zheng Fa’s archaeological team was packed with talent.

Not only did they have Jiushan’s top Talisman Masters, all Nascent Soul-level…

They also had Xiao Yuying, a literal historian of Talisman evolution.

Before they even arrived, they had fully deciphered the nine sigils.

Zheng Fa had even made a comment she didn’t quite understand: “It’s like memorizing answers—essay questions are hard to cheat, but fill-in-the-blank? Easy.”

They stepped inside.

Behind them, Daoist Mu and his group stood dumbstruck.

Only when the barrier resealed did they snap back to reality—frantically trying to recreate the symbols.

But these nine symbols weren’t from the current era. And even if they saw them once, their own Talisman proficiency wasn’t high enough to copy them immediately.

They could only fumble around, slowly experimenting.

The more they tried, the more they despaired.

Did Tianhe Venerable himself even know this much about his own barrier!?

Xiao Yuying's eyes were filled with a strange glint. She couldn't help but turn to Senior Sister Zhang and say, “...If it were me, I’d probably have spent a long time stuck outside this palace.”

She wasn’t being modest.

Though she knew a fair bit about the history of runes, when it came to actual runecraft, she was no match for Zhang.

Against the Nine-Turn Abyssal Water Barrier, she’d have been forced to slowly test it, one step at a time.

Senior Sister Zhang smiled and nodded.

“Collaboration… has its charm,” Xiao Yuying added.

It was clear that this experience had given her new appreciation for cooperating with Jiushan Sect.

Once they entered the palace, they didn’t rush to claim treasures. Instead, they resumed their earlier approach:

Recording footage with Image Capture Talismans.

Taking soil samples.

Even gathering architectural materials from within the palace...

Though they didn’t start dismantling walls, they were certainly collecting things with zero value.

Outside, the two observers were utterly baffled.

“Zhenren… what are they doing?”

“How the h*ll should I know?” Zhenren Chengkong snapped, finally snapping out of his trance.

“Then… are they the ones you’re looking for?”

“……” Chengkong paused, then replied, “Once they enter the main hall, we’ll know.”

The other nodded and forced himself to wait, watching as Senior Sister Zhang and the others continued doing everything except entering the treasure hall.

They waited and waited…

And Zhang’s team still wandered around, collecting samples and drawings like a bunch of archaeologists.

Even Daoist Mu and his group, still trapped outside the barrier, were growing frustrated.

If they had already taken the treasure, they’d just leave! Then we’d give up too!

But the way they were acting… made it impossible to back out.

—

Finally, after thoroughly documenting the ten or so buildings—structures, soil, bricks, everything—Senior Sister Zhang led her group to the main hall.

Yes, she had done this intentionally.

She hadn’t forgotten Mu Qingyan’s warning. There could be traps or tricks inside the main hall. Better to finish the “archaeology” first, just in case.

At the entrance, she and Xiao Yuying exchanged a look—both alert.

They released Spiritual Energy together to push open the doors.

The hall was… empty. No mechanisms, no traps. Calm.

Inside were two wooden desk tables, each bearing one object: a yellow gourd and a jade slip.

The gourd held no Spiritual Aura. The jade slip’s contents were unknown.

Zhang and Xiao Yuying stepped inside—only then did they spot something else:

A massive stone slab, as tall as two people, stood in the far, darkest corner.

It was pitch-black, nearly invisible, and carried no Spiritual Energy. Easily overlooked.

Up close, one could see—it was a clean-cut slab, likely sliced into shape by someone.

On its surface, sword scars, deep and shallow, traced across the stone.

Xiao Yuying’s eyes flickered. She extended a finger and fired a small arc of lightning at the stone.

The flash faded.

Not a scratch.

“…Tianhe Venerable,” she murmured with a soft sigh.

Zhang understood what that sigh meant. That earlier strike wasn’t casual—it carried Nascent Soul power, yet didn’t leave even a mark.

And the sword scars on this stone—

They weren’t carved.

They were left behind by someone training their swordplay. Sword Qi so powerful it impressed itself onto the stone… reshaping it through pure will and force.

There was only one cultivator she could think of capable of that:

Tianhe Venerable.

Xiao Yuying sighed again—not out of shame, but deep yearning.

A longing for the powers of those who came before…

—

Outside Lake Changji, Zhenren Chengkong was watching that very same stone.

When he saw no reaction, he shook his head.

“Zhenren?”

“Not them.”

His companion caught the implication: the stone was the real key. If there was no reaction, then the person they were looking for wasn’t present.

Chengkong seemed ready to leave. After one last glance at the palace, he stood and turned away.

The other quickly followed, puzzled. “Zhenren, we’re just letting them go?”

“What else?”

“But the relic…”

Chengkong was quiet for a moment. Then he said, “Until that person is found, the name of Tianhe’s legacy must remain intact.”

The follower understood—no one could know this secret realm was a fake, or that it had anything to do with the Five Great Sects.

No mistakes could be made. No loose ends.

“…Pity about those treasures.”

“Pity what?” Chengkong smiled faintly, clearly unconcerned.

“The gourd…”

“It’s genuinely a treasure from Tianhe Venerable. But the method to use it is long lost.”

“The jade slip?”

“Oh, that’s the Tianhe True Method.”

“…” The man fell silent. After a pause, he said, “Isn’t that the core cultivation method of Tianhe Sect?”

“Sure is.”

“If that spreads—”

“It’s a hassle.”

“Then why—”

Chengkong interrupted, calm and dismissive: “Tianhe Sect’s problem. What’s that got to do with Jiang Chengkong of the Supreme Dao?”

“…”

“And besides, it’s just the portion up to Golden Core Stage. No one knows what comes after. No one will dare cultivate it anyway.”

That did seem reasonable. The Tianhe True Method might be alluring—if it were complete.

But only up to Golden Core? No one would risk offending Tianhe Sect for that.

“And the stone?”

“That one’s important. It’s how we’ll find them,” Chengkong said. “But do you know its origin?”

“No…”

“Ever heard of Mount Wuyá?”

“I think I’ve seen it in old records… said to be the largest mountain range in East Continent. But it vanished…”

“That stone is…”

“…?”

Chengkong sighed, then told the tale: “According to the Supreme Dao’s records, Tianhe Venerable battled someone for months, his sword Qi filling the skies. In the end… he leveled Mount Wuyá, spanning ten thousand li.”

Silence.

Both men stood in quiet awe, imagining the scale of that sword technique.

“That stone… is a fragment of Mount Wuyá, the hardest part of the range. We only have a few pieces, but the Supreme Dao isn’t lacking.”

—

After the two departed, Senior Sister Zhang and Xiao Yuying stored the yellow gourd and jade slip.

Xiao Yuying was ready to leave—but then saw Zhang wave her hand and put the stone slab away too.

She held her head in her hands, remembering Zheng Fa’s archaeological motto—“take one of everything.”

The stone was unmovable?

Then take the whole damn thing.

Even she wouldn’t have gone that far!

—

The group exited the palace and found that… the area outside was empty.

Daoist Mu and the others were gone.

But as soon as they flew out of Lake Changji, they understood—

Three Nascent Soul cultivators were waiting above the lake’s surface.

Earlier, five had followed them in. One had died at the Nine-Turn Barrier. Daoist Mu was nowhere to be seen.

These three? Waiting for their exit.

Xiao Yuying knew exactly what they were thinking. They hadn’t attacked in the palace—likely due to the lake’s oddity.

But now?

“Tianhe’s relic” was tempting enough to make them risk it.

“Fairy Xiao… and you, fellow cultivator,” one of them said with a smile. “Just two Nascent Souls between you… plus all these juniors to protect. Why don’t you hand over the treasures from the palace? No need to make this ugly.”

The meaning was clear.

They had three Nascent Souls. The Jiushan group only had two. Better to hand things over and avoid bloodshed.

Xiao Yuying understood—her Master’s name could intimidate many.

But this was Tianhe Venerable’s treasure. Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs novèlfire.net

People would gamble their lives for it.

Like these three right now.

Seeing her silent, they started getting impatient.

Then she suddenly smiled and pointed behind them.

The three turned—

And saw Old Yuan, Martial Uncle Pang, Martial Aunt Huang, and Madam Xuanhua all standing silently behind them.

From the moment they were preparing to leave the palace, Senior Sister Zhang had already used the Investiture of the Gods to notify Zheng Fa. The timing was flawless.

Above Lake Changji, silence fell.

Then came Xiao Yuying’s voice, light and pleasant:

“Now… we have six.”