I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times

Vol 2 Chapter 246: Agent of Justice, Rakshasa Blocks the Path!

By the Blood Pool, Zheng Fa stood beside Senior Sister Zhang, looking at the pale corpses among the black and red, momentarily lost for words.

Compared to other cultivators who had cultivated for centuries or even millennia, he had only stepped onto the Dao four or five years ago. This scene weighed on him more heavily than it did on others.

“What’s the purpose of this blood pool?”

He turned to the four captives beside him—three men and one woman. All four were Golden Core cultivators from the Great Freedom Demonic Sect. They had abandoned Lin Yangtian and fled, only to be captured by Senior Sister Zhang’s group.

“For refining treasures.”

The female captive replied honestly. People from the Great Freedom Demonic Sect looked quite normal;

as long as they didn’t use cultivation techniques, they were no different from ordinary cultivators.

But this woman was unlike most cultivators—she was too beautiful.

Her slender waist looked like it could barely support her expansive chest.

Looking upward, above her delicate, jade-like collarbone, was a pitiable little face. At the moment, she didn’t look at Zheng Fa, but lowered her head, frowning, eyes shimmering as if tears were about to fall, her expression full of guilt toward those who had died in the blood pool.

“The Elders ordered us to drive mortals here, to use the earthfire to refine Blood Fiend Silk...”

“Though I am a disciple of the Holy Sect, I too was born of father and mother, both of whom are mortals, so my heart resists it deeply.”

“But in our Holy Sect... we cannot defy the Elders’ orders.”

Her voice was mournful and lingering, plaintive and tender, stirring sympathy.

Many male disciples around began to show sympathetic expressions.

Zheng Fa gave her a glance, then looked at the three male captives. They seemed speechless—or rather, even in this situation, they were softening.

He turned to the woman and asked, “What is Blood Fiend Silk?”

The woman pulled out a roll of red thread from her storage pouch. In the sunlight, the fine thread turned transparent and lustrous, as if it were made from the most precious ruby.

Senior Sister Zhang reached out, and the thread flew into her hand. After verifying it was safe, she handed it to Zheng Fa.

Before the Blood Fiend Silk even reached his hand, Zheng Fa already heard countless wails—curses, pleas, screams, sobs—echoing by his ear.

Frowning, he looked at the female disciple and pressed, “How is this Blood Fiend Silk made?”

“One mortal from birth to death, collecting all their resentment and blood essence, can produce one strand of Blood Fiend Silk.”

“One hundred strands can be twisted into a single thread.”

“Only then can a Blood Fiend Banner be made.”

Zheng Fa suddenly felt the silk in his hand grow much heavier.

“How many of these blood pools are there?”

“There are five in Chenyang County alone. As for the rest, I do not know.”

“Where exactly?”

The woman cooperated completely, dutifully revealing the locations of the five blood pools.

“Where are the Soul Formation and Nascent Soul cultivators of your sect?”

“There are usually three Nascent Soul Elders in Chenyang, but I don’t know where they are... As for Soul Formation cultivators, I’ve never seen them.”

Zheng Fa nodded and looked at the blood pool, as if deep in thought.

Then the woman said, “I am from the Holy Sect, burdened with heavy sin. I only ask for death...”

Upon hearing this, many began to feel even more sympathetic—she was in the Demonic Sect, not by choice. A woman this beautiful couldn’t be all that bad...

“That won’t be necessary...”

Zheng Fa finally spoke.

The woman suddenly looked up at him, eyes teary, face full of hope as if seeing her savior, evoking even more pity.

But instead of Zheng Fa, what met her eyes was a pen—a pen brimming with powerful spiritual energy, imbued with the momentum of wind and thunder, aimed straight at her—the Flying Immortal Brush!

Seemingly unwilling to touch her, the brush halted three inches from her face. A golden talisman bloomed at its tip.

The woman turned pale and transformed into a streak of escape light, attempting to flee—no sign of wanting to die anymore.

But the talisman was faster. It split into five spiritual flames that circled her once. Her seductive body and innocent face turned to ash in an instant.

“Senior Sister...”

Zheng Fa twitched his mouth and looked at her. Now he understood why Senior Sister Zhang had so many enemies.

She just killed without a word!

Didn’t she see how many male disciples looked pained?

“You’re feeling sorry for her too?” Senior Sister Zhang stared at him with a half-smile and asked, “You couldn’t see through that little charm of hers?”

“Not really...” Sensing danger, Zheng Fa hurriedly explained, “I was just curious if she could turn into a bird, wanted to do some research...”

Senior Sister Zhang’s eyes widened slowly.

She suddenly understood what Zheng Fa meant—that Little Golden Crow once said the Great Freedom Demonic Sect had women skilled in seduction, and for breeding purposes, they could even turn into birds and mate...

“That’s a new field of research!”

Zheng Fa’s face showed a thirst for scientific exploration, completely devoid of carnal desire.

The disciples who were previously a bit indignant now all looked stunned.

Now Senior Sister Zhang wasn’t worried about Zheng Fa falling for charm spells anymore—this junior brother, faced with such a stunning woman, only thought about avian mating research?

This brain... might be worse than being charmed!

“Also, our Jiushan Sect’s talisman production can’t just rely on Bufan alone...”

Zheng Fa’s tone was full of regret. Outer disciples who didn’t know the context were fine, but Jiushan Sect members couldn’t keep a straight face.

So the sect master was planning to use this woman for breeding research and as a blood bag?

“Senior Sister, that was kind of wasteful.”

Zheng Fa solemnly criticized Senior Sister Zhang.

“......”

Lin Bufan glanced at the pile of ashes and suddenly felt that Zhenren Zhang was truly a kind soul—she at least gave the woman a quick death!

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“Senior Sister Zhang, we really should keep some of the Great Freedom Demonic Sect disciples alive...”

In the Jiushan Realm, inside the main hall on Heavenly Palace Island, Zheng Fa said sincerely to Senior Sister Zhang:

“Before, we didn’t dare widely promote talismans because we didn’t want to provoke the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor... but now that’s no longer a concern.”

Senior Sister Zhang nodded in agreement: “The Xuanyi Realm is getting more chaotic. Talismans are important.”

Spiritual talismans weren’t very effective for Golden Core or above, but for Foundation Establishment and below, they were extremely useful.

Old Yuan had a righteous face:

“This Great Freedom Demonic Sect kills too much. It's against heaven’s will. They should all be executed.”

“But Heaven is merciful. We should select those with lighter crimes and reform them properly in Jiushan Sect!”

“This will show our Immortal Sect’s compassion...”

Zheng Fa couldn’t help glancing at Old Yuan, only to see his face full of compassion.

He truly seemed eager to save those lost disciples of the Demonic Sect...

Zheng Fa thought for a bit and felt that Old Yuan made sense!

What bad intentions could he have?

He just wanted to establish a Demonic Sect disciple sanctuary as they neared extinction—a warm home for the lost!

However, Senior Sister Zhang frowned: “This will have to wait until we settle the situation in Chen Prefecture. That blood pool has refined quite a bit of Blood Fiend Silk—who knows if the Blood Fiend Banner is complete.”

...

“There’s still one banner missing...”

In a small mountain outside Chen Prefecture City.

The mountain had been hollowed out. Dozens stood inside, frowning at four Blood Fiend Banners planted before them.

Most of the Soul Formation-level cultivators from the Great Freedom Demonic Sect were gathered here, refining treasures.

At the front was none other than Qin Mu, the traitor of Taishang Dao, known as the Netherworld Immortal.

His expression was calm and upright, yet he faintly led the group. He sighed softly: “I still don’t know how Chengkong discovered our formation here in Chen Prefecture.”

The others nodded.

“We were already very careful, always guarding against Chengkong, but he still caught us off guard and cost us two Blood Fiend Banners.”

“Now all the mortals in Chen Prefecture are used up, and the Five-Point Blood Fiend Formation can’t be completed. How can we summon the Holy Ancestor to descend?”

“...Someone must have leaked information!”

Suddenly someone said, “Who? His Martial Uncle is right here!”

The cave fell instantly silent.

Everyone looked toward the one who spoke—their features blurred between male and female, and their voice carried a seductive tone that stirred the blood.

“Yin-Yang Rakshasa, are you saying that I colluded with Taishang Dao’s Chengkong?”

The Netherworld Immortal spoke slowly, still smiling.

“I didn’t say it was you. I only said... we don’t have any way of contacting Taishang Dao, do we?” Seeing him smile, the Yin-Yang Rakshasa’s tone grew a bit softer, but their words were no less biting. “What we’re doing in Chen Prefecture is top-secret within the Great Freedom Holy Sect. Ordinary disciples may know we’re here, but they’d never guess we’re planning the Holy Ancestor’s descent…”

“Only Soul Formation cultivators would know!”

“Besides you, the four of us all come from the Holy Sect. You alone were a true disciple of Taishang Dao who broke away…”

“If someone leaked the plan, who else could it be but you?”

The other three Soul Formation cultivators exchanged looks—there was some truth to that.

Although the Netherworld Immortal defected from Taishang Dao, he had always acted differently from the rest, keeping his distance.

There was no prior grudge between Yin-Yang Rakshasa and him, but within the Great Freedom Sect’s native Soul Formation cultivators, Rakshasa was among the strongest, and had once held great power within the secret realm.

But after the Netherworld Immortal arrived—not only was he stronger, but he also seemed to win the Holy Ancestor’s favor, overtaking them all and becoming the top Soul Formation cultivator of the sect.

Naturally, this irked Rakshasa.

And now, he was seizing the opportunity.

“So, what do you suggest we do now?”

The Netherworld Immortal didn’t get angry, only asked again.

“Since we’re short on mortals, then let’s use the Immortal Sect disciples!” Rakshasa said coldly. “The blood essence of one cultivator is worth tens of thousands of mortals! I’ve done the math—if we kill that group of Immortal Sect cultivators, that’s more than enough to refine one Blood Fiend Banner!”

“They’ve split into several groups. We strike fast and hard, take them by surprise, and use them to finish the banner, then summon the Demon Ancestor!”

“That’s a solid plan...” the Netherworld Immortal commented objectively. “Then which group do we attack?”

“No, the four of us will go. You stay here and continue refining the treasures...”

Rakshasa answered, clearly not trusting Qin Mu.

Qin Mu looked reluctant, but when he glanced at the other three, they all wore approving expressions—clearly a premeditated decision.

“If Senior Brother doesn’t trust me, then so be it. I’ll remain here and guard the four Blood Fiend Banners.”

...

The four exited the cave. After exchanging glances, they activated concealment spells before speaking.

“Rakshasa, why did that Qin guy agree so easily?”

Rakshasa shook his head, frowning—he couldn’t figure the Netherworld Immortal out either. After a moment, he said, “No matter. Once we complete the banner and the Holy Ancestor descends, our contributions will be seen... The Ancestor won’t keep favoring Qin Mu over us.”

Everyone nodded slightly.

“So which group do we hit?”

“No, we hit two groups!”

That caught the others off guard.

“Two groups?”

“Yes! The leak happened too fast, and Qin Mu’s acting far too compliant—I fear he really is colluding with Chengkong!” Rakshasa explained. “Besides, there are still four Immortal Sect Soul Formation cultivators unaccounted for... If we only hit one group and reinforcements arrive, we’ll be outnumbered and fail.”

“...You mean, strike two groups at once? So they can’t reinforce each other?”

“Exactly! Each group has only one Soul Formation cultivator, and one group has none! We split into pairs—two against one is more than enough!” Rakshasa continued, “Otherwise, if reinforcements show up—especially that Chengkong with the Spirit Bamboo—whether it’s four against two or four against one, it won’t make much difference.”

Though this somewhat boosted the enemy’s morale and downplayed their own, none of the others disagreed. They sighed:

“Tranquility Bamboo... truly the bane of our Holy Sect...”

“Splitting up weakens us, and we may lose one group to Chengkong. But... we of the Holy Sect can be revived in the Holy Ancestor’s blood pool! As long as the Ancestor descends, our sacrifice won’t be in vain!” Rakshasa said with narrowed eyes. “As long as we buy enough time for the other group, we’re good.”

Hearing this, the other three considered and then nodded slowly.

“This way, even Qin Mu won’t know which group we’re attacking—buying time is enough.”

“Which two groups?”

“I’ll take Jiushan Sect.” Rakshasa said directly.

The others looked at him, faces suspicious—Jiushan was the only group without a Soul Formation cultivator, seemingly the weakest.

“You know as well as I do—Zheng Fa and Zhang Wuyi of Jiushan were personally named by the Holy Ancestor... No matter which two groups we pick, we must hit this one. It’ll win us more favor from the Ancestor!” Rakshasa added, “But that also means Jiushan can’t be underestimated!”

“The Ancestor values them.”

“Even Chengkong trusts them.”

“I wouldn’t feel at ease letting someone else handle it.”

The others froze—they thought Rakshasa was picking the easy target, but he seemed to value Jiushan highly.

“Right, that Blood River guy suffered a loss at Jiushan... I remember him saying that Jiushan was basically equivalent to having two Soul Formation cultivators.”

“Exactly. If we want to take Jiushan down quickly, I must go myself!”

Seeing how thorough his planning was, the others couldn’t help feeling impressed.

“……”

“The last blood pool.”

Zheng Fa led Jiushan disciples, using Breeze Talismans to clear out the miasma.

Disciples from other sects also didn’t stay idle—they used spells to move nearby rocks and soil to bury the pool, preventing further use.

The boiling pool slowly stilled, the wailing faded, and the rocks formed a new hill—like a grave with no marker.

“After screening, none of the Nascent Soul cultivators from the Great Freedom Sect are worth sparing. But two Golden Core ones have lighter sins,” Senior Sister Zhang said, glancing at the captured enemy cultivators. After a moment’s thought, she added, “Of course, if you want to keep a few more...”

“No need.”

Zheng Fa shook his head.

He did want to keep a few alive to draw blood, but didn’t want to retain too many.

Blood could be replenished, but keeping lots of them was unnecessary—Jiushan couldn’t afford it.

Senior Sister Zhang nodded, and with a flick of the Flying Immortal Brush, the captured cultivators collapsed, lifeless.

Zheng Fa didn’t blink—war in Xuanyi Realm was crueler than he’d imagined, and he was adapting faster than he expected.

Along the way, who knew how many Demonic Sect disciples had died by their hands.

He could even coldly watch Jiushan disciples skillfully collect blood from the corpses with Blood Extraction Talismans—and still reflect on whether his zero-waste mentality had rubbed off on them.

Behind them, Sect Master Chen and other outer Nascent Soul elders exchanged glances, feeling a bit absurd—

The Great Freedom Demonic Sect loved playing with blood, but Jiushan had flipped the script...

As the saying goes, wicked have their own wicked nemesis... or rather, Heaven repays all!

Jiushan Sect truly was a model of the Immortal Sects!

With the fifth blood pool handled, Zheng Fa was about to lead them to the next county—

But the sky suddenly went dark.

Before Zheng Fa even figured out what was happening, he jumped straight into the Jiushan Realm, pulling in all disciples below Nascent Soul level and leaving only Senior Sister Zhang and the Nascent Soul elders outside.

Sect Master Chen blinked, confused, and looked out.

Darkness had engulfed the surroundings.

Beyond a hundred meters—no light.

No sound, no scent, nothing visible.

Senior Sister Zhang flipped her hand, summoning the Mountain River Seal, which transformed into Nine Peaks encircling her in mid-air.

“Formation!”

Old Yuan barked lightly. Sect Master Chen and the others, now used to the drill, swiftly deployed the Zhoutian Divine Thunder Immortal Formation.

Just as the formation settled, two enormous figures emerged from the darkness.

They were taller than the mountain they’d just built, towering over them like gods gazing down at ants.

One of them had a face split in half—one side male and hideous, the other female and alluring.

Behind him, the other looked even less human. From the front, he seemed like a towering man, but from the back, four massive serpents sprouted from each shoulder blade.

Eight snake heads slithered and hissed, their cold eyes chilling to the bone—like the chill in Sect Master Chen’s heart.

“Demonic Sect Law Bodies...”

Senior Sister Zhang hovered in the air, her voice low, her gaze wary and focused.

Sect Master Chen took a deep breath.

This time—they were really fighting Soul Formation cultivators.