I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times

Vol 2 Chapter 228: The Lament of Tongming, the Spiritual Root of Heaven and Earth

The Jiushan Auction House was housed in a wooden building resembling a double-tiered theater, with a square courtyard in the center.

At one end of the courtyard was a wooden platform, upon which stood a small table with a bell and a small golden hammer leaning beside it—used by the host to present auction items.

Beneath the platform were dozens of tightly arranged rows of chairs, reserved for cultivators below the Golden Core stage.

The second level housed several private rooms—cultivators above the Nascent Soul stage would be led into these rooms upon arrival. This was the convention in Xuanyi Realm auctions, and in a way, it was a relief for those lower-level disciples…

Zheng Fa and Martial Uncle Pang stood inside one of the rooms directly facing the platform. Watching as the seats below gradually filled, and only after seeing Zhenren Chengkong and Zhenren Tongming enter their respective rooms, Zheng Fa smiled and said to Martial Uncle Pang beside him, “Martial Uncle, your little rumors have worked wonders.”

Those disciple rumors had all been deliberately spread by Martial Uncle Pang.

Martial Uncle Pang chuckled, his face showing a touch of pride, and replied, “It was just a bit of probing to see who had close contact with Hundred Immortals Alliance disciples. My ‘Void-Seeking Spirit Eyes’—aren’t they made for this?”

Zheng Fa nodded slightly.

These cultivators from the Hundred Immortals Alliance had entered the Jiushan Realm, and of course, the realm wouldn’t neglect its security—let alone the laboratories on University Island, which were top secret. In fact, the Jiushan Realm had always been relaxed on the outside but strict on the inside. Martial Uncle Pang’s branch, in particular, kept constant watch on these cultivators.

Identifying a few who were familiar with the Hundred Immortals Alliance disciples wasn’t hard.

“It wasn’t exactly my doing that brought them here,”

Martial Uncle Pang added.

Zheng Fa turned his head and saw a hint of sincerity on Martial Uncle Pang’s face: “These Soul Formation or Nascent Soul cultivators—how could they be persuaded by a few rumors alone? It’s just that Jiushan Sect has produced fourteen Golden Cores in half a month, with half of them being upper-grade… Even if they don’t believe, they have to.”

Zheng Fa nodded gently.

Rumors may be trivial, but facts were undeniable.

“They might not need to form a core anymore, but what about their disciples? Their juniors? To them, what’s a single external pill?” Martial Uncle Pang looked at those Nascent Soul cultivators entering one by one, his grin growing wider, and his tone even held a trace of pride: “Besides, when has my Jiushan Sect ever lied?” 𝐑𝙖ɴ𝘰ΒЁŠ

“That external pill contains the secrets of the ‘Golden Core Project.’”

“Let’s see if they can grasp them.”

Zheng Fa was intrigued and asked, “Martial Uncle Pang, what do you think? Can any of them discern the secrets of the ‘Golden Core Project’ from it?”

Martial Uncle Pang shot him a look, as if thinking his question was dumb. “You’ve seen the ‘Golden Core Project.’ Do I look like I’ve figured it out?”

“…Cough.”

Zheng Fa nodded quietly. The ‘Golden Core Project’ looked simple on the surface, but it fused a wide range of knowledge—he himself wouldn’t claim full understanding.

Not to mention that cultivators outside the Jiushan Realm followed different knowledge systems altogether.

As the two spoke, the hall was already filled. On the platform, Senior Sister Yuan walked out from backstage, a warm and graceful smile on her face.

She bowed to the upper-floor private rooms, then turned to address the cultivators below: “Dear guests…” Thıs text ıs hosted at novel[f]ire.net

Watching Senior Sister Yuan speak confidently onstage, Martial Uncle Pang let out a sigh of admiration, “You really know how to make the best use of people and birds alike… how’d you think of her?”

Zheng Fa also looked at the stage with a smile. Senior Sister Yuan was hosting with ease and grace—though she usually seemed a little silly, she was now giving everyone a special sense of trust.

Even though they all knew she was trying to fish out money from their storage pouches.

But seeing her round face and slightly naïve smile, it was hard to believe this Fairy Yuan could even think of cheating anyone…

“She volunteered,” Zheng Fa explained to Martial Uncle Pang. “She said she’d gained a lot of experience from her time reporting the news, and that she wasn’t who she used to be.”

It was basically the whole “the bird has changed in three days” thing.

Honestly, Senior Sister Yuan really did seem like… a new bird.

Martial Uncle Pang actually thought it over seriously, then suddenly laughed. “That’s true. Although she used to run the market district, we all knew she didn’t have the knack for it… Junior Sister Zhang gave her the position more because she trusted her pure heart.”

“Who would’ve thought she had a real talent for this.”

“Not just me—even your Master thought this girl was just a silly one, and only hoped she wouldn’t cause trouble. Never expected she’d have such fortune.”

Zheng Fa also agreed. The profits in the previous market district were too tempting. Senior Sister Zhang used Senior Sister Yuan precisely because she only loved to eat—not spirit stones.

Anything more was wishful thinking.

“Senior Sister Yuan has never been this happy before.”

Martial Uncle Pang suddenly sighed.

Looking at the somewhat inexperienced but increasingly confident Senior Sister Yuan on stage, Zheng Fa also smiled gently—she was always cheerful, had a simple nature, and just a bite to eat could erase all her worries. She was a little ball of sunshine.

But to find where your true talent lay, to use your intelligence to its fullest, and to be loved by others—that was another kind of joy.

…

After the auction, Zhenren Tongming held a Dragon-Tiger External Pill in hand, frowning, “This so-called ‘Golden Core Project’—could it be Jiushan Sect deliberately leaked that rumor? To lure us into buying these pills?”

He spoke with a trace of irritation.

Jiushan Sect had sold fifteen external pills in this round, but the buyers far outnumbered the pills.

So of course, the prices were a bit inflated.

“The rumor was definitely deliberate,” Zhenren Chengkong glanced at him and smiled, “Otherwise, how would such a classified matter be spoken of so freely?”

Zhenren Tongming nodded. He had considered that too.

“But this thing, being tied to Jiushan’s core formation method… is probably legit,”

Zhenren Chengkong suddenly added.

Zhenren Tongming was startled and listened as Zhenren Chengkong explained, “Most external pills in the world are only equivalent to lower-grade Golden Cores—at best.”

He pulled out a Divine Thunder External Pill, pointed at it, and said, “But this one has the quality of a mid-grade Golden Core.”

“That proves they’re not lying about the ‘Golden Core Project.’”

Hearing that, Zhenren Tongming was convinced. Thinking about it again, he even felt Jiushan Sect had been generous: “In that case, even if we can’t uncover their core formation secret, such high-quality pills are still worth the price.”

Zhenren Chengkong smiled faintly and suddenly added, “Don’t forget, there’s still the Great Freedom Demonic Sect.”

Zhenren Tongming winced—he understood what Zhenren Chengkong was implying. Even if one couldn’t extract the ‘Golden Core Project’ secret, this external pill was still a powerful magic tool.

In the hands of a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator, it could nearly rival a weak Golden Core stage cultivator…

Thinking this way, he no longer thought the pill was overpriced—if anything, it felt underpriced.

These Jiushan external pills, with such quality, might just become the next big thing!

“Jiushan Sect…” Zhenren Tongming sighed.

He only uttered three words, but Zhenren Chengkong seemed to understand his meaning: “Jiushan Sect is full of ingenuity. Forget the external pills—just look at those spiritual plants…”

As he spoke, his voice gradually lowered.

Zhenren Tongming didn’t mind the silence, instead turning his eyes toward the market district in front of him.

The auction house was located on Economic Development Zone Island. Once they stepped outside, a few steps brought them to Jiushan Sect’s newly built market—

The market wasn’t large, just a square area.

Three streets horizontal, three vertical, dividing the place into sixteen blocks.

Each block was filled with shops. The buildings were newly constructed, with simple styles—some weren’t even decorated.

The goods sold were actually quite basic.

Just three signature categories:

Spiritual talismans—mostly thunder and soul-type talismans.

Qianhe Grain and Thunder Pepper—newly developed crops by Zheng Fa and his group.

Some thunder-type spiritual materials—disciples redeemed them from the medicine garden, then sold them here either out of reluctance or lack of immediate use.

There were also a few scattered shops selling magic tools or pills, most of which were opened by disciples from the earlier batch of Hundred Immortals Alliance.

Besides the talismans, Thunder Pepper was the hottest item.

The market was still crude—even Tongming Sect’s own market was livelier and more diverse than this.

But…

He strolled slowly through the market without buying anything, just turning to look around.

The Jiushan shopkeepers all wore peaceful, enthusiastic smiles.

His own disciples walked happily and freely among the shops.

That lightness on their faces—he hadn’t seen it in a long time.

Indeed, no matter how bustling Tongming Market was, the constant threat of the Great Freedom Demonic Sect always loomed.

He even saw Master Yu of Baicao Sect wandering around, seemingly inspecting the shops—likely considering opening one here. It made sense: the Hundred Immortals Alliance was now broke, and earning some spirit stones through business could really help the sect.

Now that Jiushan Sect had built its reputation through external pills, and the place was extremely secure—

Opening a store here was simply too tempting.

At this thought, he blinked and felt a wave of sadness.

Zhenren Chengkong glanced at him, curious about his expression.

“I was just thinking… no wonder Zheng Fa looks down on our Hundred Immortals Alliance.”

“Hmm?”

Zhenren Tongming explained:

“Our alliance isn’t even able to recruit new disciples anymore—our current ones are barely surviving. Meanwhile, Jiushan Sect gains hundreds of disciples each year.”

“Our Golden Core disciples have died off in recent days, while Jiushan’s upper-grade Golden Cores are like clouds…”

“Now that their market is open, it’s bound to flourish.”

“Give it time—one will thrive, the other will wither…”

Zhenren Chengkong could barely bear to listen and interjected, “But he only has the Jiushan Realm to rely on…”

“The Jiushan Realm… it used to be called the Heavenly Monument Realm. My Tongming Sect had disciples enter this realm too—it was only because they lost to Zheng Fa that it became Jiushan Realm.”

Even Zhenren Chengkong had no words for that—Zheng Fa had conquered the Jiushan Realm with just Foundation Establishment cultivation, defeating even Xiao Yuying!

Who could not accept that?

“It’d be more accurate to say that Jiushan Sect relies on Zheng Fa!” Zhenren Tongming said through gritted teeth.

“……”

“Zhenren, how do you think we could make Zheng Fa… willing to return to our Hundred Immortals Alliance?”

Zhenren Chengkong glanced at him, said nothing, his eyes deep and unreadable.

…

“Zhao Jingfan greets the Envoy and the Alliance Leader.”

Seventh Young Master Zhao Jingfan stepped into Zhenren Chengkong’s courtyard, looking at the two Soul Formation elders before him, completely bewildered:

I’m just a small-time Qi Refining cultivator—why have two Soul Formation cultivators summoned me all of a sudden?

He bowed obediently, not daring to raise his head.

Unexpectedly, Zhenren Chengkong’s tone was incredibly gentle: “Sit, no need to be nervous.”

Seventh Young Master cautiously sat down beside the chair in the room. Looking up, he saw… Zhenren Chengkong was actually smiling at him.

Smiling!

“Envoy?”

“You’re close with Zheng Fa?”

Seventh Young Master blinked and started to catch on, nodding lightly.

“He was your study attendant?”

“Yes.”

With a Soul Formation cultivator in front of him, Seventh Young Master naturally didn’t dare hide anything. “But he’s also my teacher.”

“Teacher?”

“He was the one who introduced me to the Way of Talismans,” Seventh Young Master explained. “Zhenren Zhang once said that Zheng Fa’s talent in talismans is number one in this era!”

He couldn’t help but start bragging about Zheng Fa.

Zhenren Chengkong nodded slowly, deep in thought, then asked again, “Tell me everything about Zheng Fa’s past, in detail.”

Seventh Young Master didn’t understand why, but still recounted everything honestly.

After he finished, Zhenren Chengkong asked a few unrelated questions.

What confused him was that most of the questions were about how Zheng Fa treated him, treated Gao Yuan, even treated Huang Yu and the others.

When he left the courtyard, he still felt dazed, as if his soul hadn’t caught up.

In the courtyard, Zhenren Tongming looked at Zhenren Chengkong with confusion, not understanding why he summoned Zhao Jingfan.

“Zheng Fa has been exceptionally gifted since childhood. Not only does he have perfect recall, he picks up martial arts and talisman skills instantly…”

“And later, the same was true for thunder techniques.”

“Even those spiritual plants like Thunder Pepper seem to be partly his doing.”

“And the external pill—it seems he has some talent in artifact crafting as well.”

At this, Zhenren Tongming was stunned: “He can really master whatever he learns? A true all-rounder?”

Zhenren Chengkong thought for a while, then shook his head: “That’s different from Tianhe Venerable. The Venerable had nothing but the sword—too different.”

“Tianhe Venerable?”

Zhenren Tongming was puzzled, not understanding why Zhenren Chengkong brought him up.

But Zhenren Chengkong didn’t explain. He just continued to himself: “And then there’s Jiushan Sect’s current condition. He even seems to have a knack for managing a sect.”

Hearing all that, Zhenren Tongming grew even more restless—some things you don’t realize until you put them together…

Put together, Zheng Fa wasn’t just a cultivation genius—he defied classification!

“But… how do we convince him to return to the Hundred Immortals Alliance?”

He couldn’t help asking.

Zhenren Chengkong didn’t seem to hear him, only said slowly:

“Zheng Fa is… both cold and sentimental.”

“From what Zhao Jingfan said earlier, he doesn’t easily bond with people. He prefers solitude. But once he considers someone a friend, he’s extremely generous and never withholds secret techniques.”

Zhenren Tongming was deeply convinced.

He thought about it—it was true. Zhao Jingfan accidentally befriended Zheng Fa and ended up learning the Way of Talismans.

“So, to convince Zheng Fa, starting from him directly would be best. If not, we must begin with Jiushan Sect…”

“That’s it!”

Zhenren Tongming suddenly realized, clapping his hands. Then he frowned again, “But starting from Jiushan Sect isn’t simple either. Becoming the leader of the Hundred Immortals Alliance would be great for Jiushan, yet he’s unmoved.”

“The Hundred Immortals Alliance… he looks down on. But what about Supreme Dao?”

Zhenren Chengkong suddenly said.

“Supreme Dao naturally… huh?”

Zhenren Tongming finally realized what Zhenren Chengkong was implying. He snapped his head toward the envoy, his expression saying only one thing—

You’re trying to poach him too?

Now he fully understood—Zhenren Chengkong’s detailed analysis of Zheng Fa’s talents wasn’t casual curiosity. He was truly interested in him!

Good news: Zheng Fa is even more talented than he imagined!

Bad news: He’s also more talented than Zhenren Chengkong imagined.

“This Jiushan Realm of his isn’t impenetrable… only my Supreme Dao can protect Jiushan Sect through this catastrophe.”

“……”

Zhenren Tongming understood but chose not to speak.

“Someone with talent like his… would be highly valued in my Supreme Dao.”

“Then… what about the Hundred Immortals Alliance?”

Zhenren Tongming couldn’t help but ask.

“I’m not from the Hundred Immortals Alliance.”

“……”

“Zhao Jinglan came by?”

When Zheng Fa returned to Letu Island, his little sister chirped out the news.

“Yes, Eldest Miss came over specifically. She said Seventh Young Master was very anxious and sent a message talisman through her to give to you.”

Zheng Fa took the message talisman and instantly understood.

It was from Seventh Young Master. He was so worried that he even asked his own sister to bring it personally.

The talisman explained how Zhenren Chengkong had summoned him and detailed his responses. Between the lines, it said only one thing:

Match your statements!

Zheng Fa felt a wave of warmth in his heart. Truth be told, what Seventh Young Master did was risky—even though he was extremely careful, facing a Soul Formation cultivator’s divine abilities, it was hard for a Qi Refining disciple to hide anything.

He thought it over and realized that at least he hadn’t exposed anything modern in front of Seventh Young Master, nor mentioned the Yin-Yang Fish jade pendant.

Seventh Young Master’s words were safe.

But Zhenren Chengkong—what exactly was he after?

Soon, he found out.

Late at night, Zhenren Chengkong came to visit.

He came alone.

“Zhenren?”

“Would you be willing to join my Supreme Dao?”

Still as direct as ever.

“Zhenren?”

“I know, you believe that with the Jiushan Realm, you can remain untouched by the great catastrophe.”

“……”

“But perhaps you don’t know—the Jiushan Realm, or rather, any Celestial Grotto, is not enough to let you rest easy.”

“Forcing entry into a Celestial Grotto is hard, but… not impossible.”

Zheng Fa stayed silent. He had thought of that too.

He hadn’t forgotten how the Heavenly Venerate died.

Zhenren Chengkong’s meaning was clear: right now, no one’s targeting the Jiushan Realm, likely because it holds nothing yet that would tempt top cultivators.

But at the rate it was developing… who could say?

Maybe Zhenren Chengkong only suspected that the Jiushan Realm might grow into something worth coveting.

But Zheng Fa was increasingly confident that it would.

Not to mention, there was still the Grand Xuanyi Catastrophe looming—no one could predict what might happen in the future.

“Moreover, your Jiushan Realm cannot connect Heaven and Earth. That means it’s an incomplete Celestial Grotto, which makes it even easier for others to exploit.”

Zheng Fa was shocked. He had been pondering this for a while, always assuming it was an issue with the Sun and Moon Bell.

But now it seemed… there was another reason?

Zhenren Chengkong pulled out a stalk of spiritual bamboo.

The moment it appeared, the Sun and Moon Bell in the medicine garden began to hum faintly. What struck Zheng Fa most was—he could feel the spiritual bamboo’s energy changing the composition of spiritual energy within the Jiushan Realm.

In other words—

The Jiushan Realm had previously only allowed thunder techniques, but with this bamboo, some other spell types seemed to work again.

“This is…”

“A spiritual root of Heaven and Earth,” Zhenren Chengkong said calmly. “This is a secret known only to the Five Sects of Xuanyi Realm… if you didn’t possess the Jiushan Realm, I wouldn’t tell you this.”

“To complete a Celestial Grotto, there’s one method—you must find a spiritual root of Heaven and Earth, fuse it with the realm, and the world will grow and improve along with the root.”

“Where do you think the Five Sects of Xuanyi draw their true foundation from?”

“A spiritual root? No, the Celestial Grotto?”

Zheng Fa guessed.

“Exactly… if you join my Supreme Dao, you’ll have a chance to obtain a spiritual root of Heaven and Earth. Then the Jiushan Realm can take its next step toward perfection.”

Zheng Fa fell silent for a moment, then couldn’t help asking, “Are these so-called spiritual roots common?”

“Of course not. This Tranquility Bamboo is just a branch of one… to my knowledge, there are fewer than ten types of spiritual roots. The most famous are the Yellow Plum, the Peaches of Immortality… oh, and the Fusang Tree!”

Zheng Fa: …

Not gonna lie, I’m a guy… and I’m already pregnant with a Fusang Tree.