I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times

Vol 2 Chapter 241: The Thoughts of the Nine Nether, The Question of Chengkong

“Why did the Holy Ancestor send us to Jiushan Realm…” The woman didn’t seem to care about Chen Ting’s expression. She turned her head, taking in the bustling streets of Economic Development Zone Island with deep interest. “To gather intel on Jiushan Realm—do you know why?”

Chen Ting shook his head.

“Never mind, the Holy Ancestor’s intentions aren’t something we can easily guess.” The woman didn’t press the matter, instead nodding with satisfaction. “We just need to report what we see and hear in Jiushan Realm.”

“Speaking of which, Jiushan Realm is pretty impressive. Why didn’t you ever mention it before?”

The two of them stood amidst the crowd, openly discussing their identities and all sorts of things about Jiushan Realm.

The people around them seemed completely oblivious to their conversation. Even those whose gaze passed over them naturally shifted to other directions. Clearly, they were using some kind of concealment technique.

Chen Ting followed behind the woman, adopting a somewhat subordinate stance. As they walked, he answered with a bitter smile:

“Senior Sister wouldn’t know—Jiushan Sect used to be no different from other sects. If it had any strengths, I’d say it was the generally harmonious atmosphere.”

“As for sights like these—I never saw anything like this when I was there.” His tone carried no small amount of nostalgia for Jiushan Sect.

But his Senior Sister didn’t seem to care.

She strolled casually through the streets with Chen Ting, thought for a moment, then said, “So Jiushan Sect’s changes only happened in the past two years?”

“Yes.”

“And it was in these two years that Zheng Fa became Jiushan’s Sect Master. So this is all thanks to Zheng Fa?”

Chen Ting paused for a bit, as if considering how to answer, but eventually responded honestly, “Seems so.”

Her brows rose sharply. “If Jiushan wasn’t anything special before, but the Holy Ancestor is paying it this much attention now, then the real reason must be Zheng Fa!” Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on novel-fire.ɴet

Her tone now was far more serious than earlier. Yet, she still muttered with doubt, “But it's only been two years…”

...

Chen Ting found it unbelievable too.

Their mission this time was originally to target the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor—as far as he knew, he and his Senior Sister weren’t the only ones from the Nine Nether Sect who had come.

He had defected from the Great Freedom Demonic Sect to join the Nine Nether, so he understood well that the two Demon Ancestors didn’t get along.

The Holy Ancestor sending them here surely meant something big was about to go down… and in Chen Ting’s mind, that “something big” probably meant killing the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor.

Of course, Chen Ting was terrified, even felt like backing out—after all, this was a Demon Ancestor!

But on the other hand, he was also a little excited. After all, this was a top-tier power struggle in Xuanyi Realm—not just anyone could take part.

More importantly, unlike the Great Freedom Demonic Sect, the Nine Nether Sect was strict with punishment and generous with reward:

Make a mistake, and you’d fall into eternal damnation.

But complete a mission, and the rewards came in heaps.

Especially something this big—going after a Demon Ancestor.

As signs of the Demon Ancestor’s descent became clearer each day, that excitement and fear only grew stronger.

Chen Ting figured he wasn’t the only one feeling that way.

But just when things were reaching a critical point, the two of them had been sent here—supposedly under orders from the Holy Ancestor, to investigate Jiushan Realm’s true nature. ṙἁΝO͍𝐛Еṣ

...He had this strange feeling that the Holy Ancestor might actually be more interested in Jiushan Realm than the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor.

While he was lost in thought, his Senior Sister suddenly sighed with regret:

“Too bad we can’t visit the other islands.”

Jiushan Realm was open, and yet not.

For foreign cultivators, shopping and wandering was allowed only on Economic Development Zone Island. All other areas were strictly off-limits without invitation.

Naturally, that limited how much intel they could gather.

Just then, a group of young cultivators passed by.

None of them had high cultivation—the strongest among them was a Foundation Establishment cultivator in the middle.

“Senior Brother! Did you get a Tongjian?”

The Foundation Establishment disciple replied modestly, “The Sect Master was kind enough to bestow one on me.”

Chen Ting and his Senior Sister exchanged a look—they could tell these were Jiushan disciples. Without a word, they began to tail them.

Their cultivation was high, and with secret techniques at play, none of the disciples noticed them. They continued chatting around the Foundation Establishment disciple.

“Senior Brother, you placed first in the Artifact Crafting class!”

“I heard Tongjian is usually only given to Golden Core cultivators. If others want one, they have to get exceptionally good grades.”

The Foundation Establishment disciple couldn’t help showing a bit of pride upon hearing that.

“What’s this ‘Tongjian’? Why are they treating it like a treasure?”

Chen Ting suddenly heard his Senior Sister’s voice transmitting directly to him.

“Junior Brother has no clue.”

He could tell she was looking at him oddly—and to be fair, even he found it bizarre. Had he been a fake Jiushan disciple all along?

The two of them kept eavesdropping.

“Senior Brother, is the Tongjian really that good? I see lots of seniors holding it all day, grinning like fools… uh…”

The Foundation Establishment disciple’s expression turned a bit strange—clearly, he knew what those seniors were grinning at.

The forum’s so fun!

Watching the three Elders argue every day, listening to juicy sect gossip from years ago—so entertaining!

He glanced at the junior disciples around him. Many of them hadn’t officially entered the sect... he couldn’t corrupt them just yet.

“Ahem, you don’t get it—that’s called enlightenment.”

“Enlightenment?”

“You all know that once you reach Golden Core, you craft your Life-bound Treasure.”

“Yeah.”

“Then do you know what the Sect Master’s Life-bound Treasure is?”

Everyone shook their heads.

“If I hadn’t helped craft the Tongjian, I wouldn’t have known either... The Sect Master’s Life-bound Treasure is called the Jade Slip of Creation.”

“The Jade Slip of Creation? What kind of treasure is that?”

Chen Ting perked up. He hadn’t expected to overhear something this confidential.

“I don’t know the details,” the Foundation Establishment disciple admitted. “But according to Madam Xuanhua, the Jade Slip of Creation is the treasure the Sect Master uses to teach in Jiushan—and the Tongjian was derived from it.”

“Derived?”

“The Tongjian can link to the Sect Master’s Jade Slip of Creation. When you have a question in your cultivation, you can ask it there... The one answering might be a senior brother or sister, a Supreme Elder, even Zhenren Zhang... I even heard the Sect Master himself replies sometimes.”

The disciples were all wide-eyed with excitement.

Jiushan Realm might be kind and welcoming, but no one ignored cultivation rank.

How many of them would dare ask a Nascent Soul elder anything?

“That’s why those seniors you see giggling while holding their Tongjian... they probably just had a moment of realization after someone answered a tough question.”

The Foundation Establishment disciple’s face was dead serious, as if afraid they wouldn’t believe him.

...

Whether those junior disciples believed it or not—

Chen Ting and his Senior Sister did.

“Tongjian lets you ask questions any time, anywhere? And Nascent Soul cultivators will actually answer?” Watching the group disappear into the crowd, the woman scratched her head, frowning. “Doesn’t that mean anyone with a Tongjian is like a personal disciple in other sects?”

“No... even more than that. It’s like being the joint personal disciple of multiple Nascent Souls.”

After he said that, Chen Ting saw his Senior Sister looking at him with an even stranger expression.

He knew what she was thinking:

You really defected from this sect? Are you out of your mind?

He looked up at the sky, suddenly struck with the sorrowful thought:

If only that Junior Brother Zheng had arrived two years earlier...

...

Zheng Fa didn’t know that the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor had also set sights on him.

But he was, in fact, troubled because of the Demon Ancestor—ever since that one had stormed into the Heavenly Monument Realm and killed a Heavenly Venerate, he had remained on high alert.

And now, the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor might be trying to pull the same stunt...

There were only two approaches to deal with this:

One, help Zhenren Chengkong stop the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor from resurrecting. Zheng Fa knew he couldn’t do much in this regard, and to be honest, that path meant putting all the initiative in Chengkong’s hands...

He didn’t like that.

The other option was to strengthen himself—or strengthen Jiushan Realm.

Improving his own cultivation wasn’t realistic in the short term.

So that left him with one path: cultivating Heaven and Earth Spiritual Roots, to enhance Jiushan Realm.

“Sect Master, these mulberry trees... haven’t shown any signs of change...”

In the Medicine Garden, Zhenren Qian groaned, looking like he was about to die of frustration.

Zheng Fa could sympathize.

He’d been hoping to cultivate a Fusang Tree, but even setting aside whether that was possible or not—

Even if it were possible, it would still take a long time...

Heaven and Earth Spiritual Roots—even Zhenren Chengkong had spoken of them longingly, treasuring a half-dead Tranquility Bamboo like it was a divine artifact.

How could it be that easy?

Zheng Fa had transplanted various mulberry trees from the mortal world into the Medicine Garden—honestly, it was a bit of a long shot. He couldn’t really say he had high hopes.

He looked at the rows of mulberry trees.

They were of different types, some from the mortal lands of Jiushan, others imported from Xuanyi Realm.

Some weren’t even suited to Jiushan’s environment, and had already withered.

Zhenren Qian stood beside him. Seeing Zheng Fa wasn’t upset, he looked a bit embarrassed. “Actually, we might’ve gotten something out of it.”

He pointed to one mulberry tree and said:

“I tried fusing this tree with a type of thunder-element spiritual wood, and the leaves... seem to carry a hint of spiritual energy.”

A silver light flickered in Zheng Fa’s eyes as he looked. Sure enough, faint spiritual energy lingered around the tree’s branches.

The energy wasn’t strong, but Zheng Fa instantly understood what Zhenren Qian meant.

“Zhenren Qian, are you suggesting... raising silkworms?”

“Exactly.” Zhenren Qian nodded eagerly. “In Xuanyi Realm, many sects raise spirit beasts, including spiritual silkworms... some sects even became extremely wealthy through spiritual silk.”

“To raise spiritual silkworms, you need mulberry leaves that carry spiritual energy.”

“Sect Master, if we can import a few silkworms and try raising them, it might turn into a big moneymaker.”

Zheng Fa gave a slight nod.

Various spiritual silks were among the most common—and most important—spiritual materials in Xuanyi Realm.

To say nothing of others—Zheng Fa’s own robes, storage bags, and many of his magic tools and artifacts couldn’t do without the stuff.

“Spirit beast farming... I’ve been thinking about that too,” Zheng Fa followed up on Zhenren Qian’s suggestion. “Right now in Jiushan Sect, we’ve more or less covered our grain supply. But that just means we have enough rice and vegetables.”

“As for meat, especially spirit beast meat, we still rely on Xuanyi Realm imports, and lately we can’t even buy any.”

Jiushan Realm’s agriculture had been developing step by step—

First came staple crops.

Then fruits and vegetables.

Once those basics were in place, Zheng Fa’s focus naturally shifted toward economic crops and animal husbandry.

Zhenren Qian’s comment had unknowingly aligned perfectly with his thoughts.

He looked at Zhenren Qian with approval. This widower was really skilled at anticipating Zheng Fa’s intentions.

Especially after Zhenren Qian refused to leave Jiushan, everyone in the sect now saw him as one of their own—even Zheng Fa had to admit: that decision had seriously changed his opinion of the man.

Zhenren Qian seemed to misunderstand Zheng Fa’s expression and looked panicked. “Sect Master, I might know a little about farming, but spirit beast husbandry... really not my area…”

Zheng Fa blinked, then waved it off. “I was just thinking—if not for you, Zhenren Qian, our Jiushan agriculture wouldn’t have developed this fast.”

“……”

Zhenren Qian looked a little embarrassed and said modestly, “It’s all thanks to your guidance, Sect Master... uh, and the Qianhe Sect too...”

Zheng Fa agreed inwardly.

The Qianhe Sect’s secret techniques weren’t particularly useful to Jiushan’s agriculture—but Zhenren Qian’s experience in Qianhe was.

The modern agricultural knowledge Zheng Fa brought didn’t fully match this world’s environment.

Only by combining it with Zhenren Qian’s real-world experience from Qianhe could Jiushan’s current agricultural system truly take shape.

“Qianhe’s help has been a big deal for Jiushan…”

He couldn’t help but sigh.

Then Zhenren Qian suddenly lowered his voice: “Sect Master… there are quite a few sects in the Hundred Immortals Alliance that are skilled in husbandry too…”

Zheng Fa gave him a strange look—what’s with this tone like you’re trying to pull decent people into shady business?

...Even he hadn’t thought of poaching from the Hundred Immortals Alliance that much.

“If the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor really comes back,” Zhenren Qian said, “a lot of sects in the Alliance are in for disaster…”

“If you’re serious about building a spirit beast industry, maybe it’s worth keeping an eye on them.”

Zheng Fa had to admit, he was shamefully tempted.

There were indeed quite a few beast-taming sects in the Alliance—the one that left the deepest impression was naturally the Spirit Beast Sect, the same one that once scammed Jiushan... and was apparently destroyed by Zhenren Tongming.

But that didn’t mean other beast-taming sects didn’t exist.

Just like Qianhe, there were lots of small sects with unique animal husbandry skills.

As for milking the Hundred Immortals Alliance for all they were worth...

Zhenren Tongming had said it best: “We’re all one family—why keep up pretenses?”

Zheng Fa wasn’t deliberately targeting one sheep for fleece—it just happened that the fattest sheep nearby was the Alliance. More importantly, they were the ones unlucky enough to cross paths with the Great Freedom Demonic Sect...

Other sects didn’t get to be this miserable even if they wanted to.

“If the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor really revives…” Zheng Fa sighed, “we might not even get the chance to poach anyone from the Alliance.”

He looked back at the mulberry trees.

“Sect Master, it’s not that we’re not trying—it’s just that Fusang Tree, or really, Heaven and Earth Spiritual Roots, we just can’t figure them out…”

“They’re said to be spiritual plants, but no ordinary spiritual plant can match that power.”

“We don’t even have a starting point. There’s just no way…”

Zheng Fa understood Zhenren Qian’s frustration. After thinking for a long while, he sighed, “For now, we’ll still need to take a look at Zhenren Chengkong’s Tranquility Bamboo... At least get a grasp on what Heaven and Earth Spiritual Roots are.”

Zhenren Qian shook his head, saying nothing—but in his heart, he was thinking:

Heaven and Earth Spiritual Roots, that rare and precious... you think it’s that easy to borrow?

...

Tongming Mountain, Zhenren Chengkong was staring at his Tranquility Bamboo, looking deeply conflicted. His expression was worse than the withered yellow on its leaves.

“What do you think… What does Zheng Fa like?”

He turned to ask Zhenren Tongming, who was standing nearby.

Zhenren Tongming couldn’t help but twitch the corners of his mouth. Ever since that Xie Qingxue showed up, Chengkong had already asked him this question three times.