I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times

Vol 2 Chapter 248: Surrendered Too Early, One Finger Left

The three of them arrived in a rush, all looking slightly disheveled.

Zhenren Chengkong was enveloped in a golden glow—faint, dreamlike—and above his head floated a cloud of celebration, within which the Tranquility Bamboo swayed in the wind. There were a few more withered leaves than before.

Master Wuzhi of Leiyin Temple appeared even more imposing. Behind him, a barefoot Buddha manifested, surrounded by the chanting of countless scriptures, as though billions were praying and offering blessings.

But the Buddha’s radiance flickered dimly, with a stuttering glow, like a spiritual signal suffering from lag.

Only Xie Qingxue remained cold and composed, seemingly unchanged. She watched Martial Uncle Pang and the others with curiosity, apparently interested in the Zhoutian Divine Thunder Immortal Formation.

In truth, not only her—all three of them were subconsciously drawn in by the formation.

After all, they had known these people before, knew exactly what kind of “goods” they were, and if they were being honest, hadn’t ever considered them worth much.

But now, everything had changed!

These twenty-four Nascent Souls, standing atop the immortal formation, had truly displayed Soul Formation-level power. Even now, the faceless thunder god was weak—not a real threat to them.

But what if there were two hundred forty of them?

What if... Jiushan Sect had even more powerful formations?

A single genius who could fight across realms was terrifying—but that they’d seen before. Some of them were such geniuses.

But a method of cross-realm combat? That was far more terrifying!

The shock on Zhenren Chengkong’s face was only partly due to the current battle. The majority of it—nine parts out of ten—was in awe of the potential of this Jiushan immortal formation!

He looked toward the Jiushan Realm—and not just him.

Xie Qingxue also gazed in that direction, eyes thoughtful.

Both were thinking of the same person:

One who still remained inside the Jiushan Realm, seemingly “hiding,” but was clearly the mind behind the immortal formation!

A new idea surfaced in Chengkong’s mind: this formation was already enough to shock the world—but it might still not be all Jiushan Sect, or rather Zheng Fa, had to offer.

Thinking this, his gaze grew deeper.

At that moment, the "cowering" Zheng Fa inside the Jiushan Realm gained an air of mysterious calm, as if watching from above.

Zheng Fa noticed Chengkong looking his way and was utterly confused—Dude, why are you looking at me? Look at the Yin-Yang Rakshasa!

He’s escaping!

Do something!

After Chengkong arrived, the ones who reacted fastest weren’t anyone else—it was the Yin-Yang Rakshasa duo.

“Rakshasa!” the eight-serpent giant roared. One of the giant serpents behind him spewed a dense white mist, cutting off all spiritual senses and visibility. ṛâɴO͍𝐁Êṧ

Through divine sense, he asked urgently, “What do we do?”

“...The Holy Ancestor will revive you.”

“True... wait, what about you?”

The big eye on the giant’s face widened, along with all sixteen serpent eyes—like sixteen giant lightbulbs failing to illuminate his confusion.

The twisted male half of the Rakshasa smiled with one corner of his mouth—then let out a furious, beastly screech.

The eight-serpent giant’s eighteen eyes all turned blood red.

He turned around and charged furiously back toward the faceless thunder god, screaming:

“Yin! Yang! Rak! Sha!”

Roaring his comrade’s name, he launched a desperate charge, seemingly to cover their retreat—it left Zheng Fa deeply shocked.

The Demonic Sect has this much brotherhood?

“Yin-Yang Rakshasa’s greatest strength lies in manipulating the heart,” the Blood River Ancestor calmly explained. “His left face governs desire, the right anger. If he strikes without warning, even a Soul Formation cultivator can be caught off guard.”

Zheng Fa understood now:

He didn’t know if the eight-serpent giant really saw Rakshasa as a comrade—

But Rakshasa clearly didn’t see the giant as a person...

Zheng Fa rapidly urged the Sun and Moon Bell. Thunder and lightning twisted into dragon-serpents, binding the Rakshasa to slow his escape.

Senior Sister Zhang wasn’t idle either—the Nine Mountains rose again and smashed down toward the Rakshasa.

But the Rakshasa, desperate to survive, no longer held back.

His body split in two—one male, one female.

The man was monstrous and fierce, the woman seductive and stunning.

The man roared with rage, body swelling to giant size, forcibly tearing apart the thunder shackles.

Seeing the Nine Mountains approaching, he held out a palm and caught them, like toys.

But his face was shrouded in black smoke—he too was clearly at his limit.

The woman used the chance to flee.

Yin-Yang Rakshasa’s fierce power shocked Zheng Fa and Senior Sister Zhang—he was already vanishing into the dark, escaping for real.

“May you find peace, fellow Daoist.”

Zhenren Chengkong finally acted. With a soft chant, the Tranquility Bamboo tilted gently, scattering golden light like falling sand.

The poisonous smoke from the serpents’ mouths suddenly stopped.

The eight-serpent giant’s expression went calm.

Even the surrounding darkness began to dissipate!

So effective?

“Tranquility Bamboo... is the greatest bane of the Great Freedom Holy Sect,” the Blood River Ancestor explained beside him. “We disturb the mind—it calms it.”

“We use poison, blood, and miasma—it clears it all.”

“In our sect’s records, the Tranquility Bamboo is the Holy Ancestor’s most feared relic.” Thɪs chapter is updated by novel⸺fire.net

Zheng Fa glanced at the ever-helpful Blood River Ancestor, then looked back to the battlefield.

The eight-serpent giant had calmed down—but it was too late!

The thunder god formed by the immortal formation thrust a spear through his chest. The giant screamed. One of the serpent heads snapped off.

But the gaping hole in his chest... slowly began to close.

“...The Xiangliu Law Body has eight lives—one for each serpent.”

Zheng Fa didn’t need to turn around to know who explained it.

Sure enough, the giant looked unharmed, simply retreating with seven serpent heads left.

Clearly, now that he was rational, he had no desire to keep fighting.

“Their Dao has been damaged by this battle. But if two Law Bodies want to escape no matter the cost... it’s very hard to stop them.”

The Blood River Ancestor sighed, his tone slightly dim. Zheng Fa glanced at him, hearing his explanation: “Law Bodies are extremely difficult to kill...”

But Xie Qingxue and Wuzhi didn’t plan to let them go.

They seemed well-prepared for such a scenario.

Ignoring the fleeing Rakshasa, they surrounded the eight—no, seven-serpent giant.

Chengkong joined them. In moments, the three of them skillfully lopped off three more serpent heads—halving his count.

The Rakshasa’s male and female halves recombined, then vanished into the shadows.

The darkness seemed imbued with mystery—his aura was utterly undetectable.

As the dust of battle settled, Zheng Fa relaxed, gazing at the Blood River Ancestor with a half-smile.

This guy, from silent resistance to nonstop chatter—really knew how to adapt.

But the Blood River Ancestor’s face was solemn, as if he didn’t understand Zheng Fa’s expression.

“Planning to switch sides now that the Demon Ancestor probably won’t be revived?”

Zheng Fa couldn’t help but ask.

“Of course not!” the Blood River Ancestor declared righteously. “I haven’t betrayed the Holy Ancestor!”

“...”

“If the Holy Ancestor revives, I’ll wait for him to rescue me. If not... then I’ll have no choice but to follow the Immortal Sects...”

Zheng Fa nodded inwardly—this guy was pragmatic.

Now trapped in his life-bound sword, sealed inside the Jiushan Realm, he had hoped the Demon Ancestor would come save him.

But now that things looked bleak, who knew how many years he’d remain trapped—or if he’d ever be free again?

Naturally, he was ready to cooperate.

“Sign here.”

Zheng Fa pulled out a thick stack of contracts and handed them over with a smile.

“Confidential Agreement for Spirit Treasure Research.”

“Demonic Sect Technique Cooperation Agreement.”

“Teaching Contract for Demonic Defense Course.”

“Confidentiality Clause...”

“Voluntary Surrender of Personal Autonomy Agreement...”

...

The more he read, the darker the Blood River Ancestor’s face became. Finally, he couldn’t help but say, “This isn’t what you said before...”

If he signed all of this—

He’d be restricted in every corner of Jiushan.

He’d have to teach disciples how to fight Demonic Sect members.

Occasionally offer up his own... body—well, his life-bound Immortal Sword—for Zheng Fa’s research...

This was a full-body exploitation plan!

“The price for surrendering earlier and surrendering now—how could it be the same?”

Zheng Fa said lightly.

The Blood River Ancestor gritted his teeth, unwilling to sign what amounted to a complete sellout.

But...

“If you wait any longer, the price goes up again...”

Zheng Fa’s words made his face twist in agony.

But Zheng Fa ignored him and looked back up at the light screen—

In it, the eight-serpent giant had become a regular headless giant...

The three elite disciples of the Five Sects had executed their decapitation procedure with speed and precision.

Just not much mercy for the patient.

Zheng Fa even thought the three of them had energy to spare.

“Signed!”

As the headless giant collapsed, the Blood River Ancestor also seemed to fully accept reality.

Without further hesitation, he stamped his soul onto every contract.

Zheng Fa had to respect that—this choice was difficult.

He could either be sealed away indefinitely, awaiting either the Demon Ancestor’s return or Zheng Fa’s downfall...

Or work for Zheng Fa and regain some freedom and opportunity.

Clearly, the Blood River Ancestor wasn’t one to sit around waiting for fate.

In fact, Zheng Fa could faintly read a thought on his face:

Guess I’ll just treat him like another Holy Ancestor...

Honestly, that bit of self-comfort... wasn’t bad at all.

Zheng Fa gave a small nod and asked directly, “Will that no-snake giant revive?”

“Yes—but it’ll take a long time... The Holy Ancestor himself hasn’t even revived. For them to come back... who knows how long it’ll take.”

“So you wouldn’t want to either?”

“No one wants to…” Blood River Ancestor shook his head. “They say with the Sea of Blood, we’re essentially immortal. But staying in the blood sea too long—your mind is tormented. And there are plenty of Soul Formation cultivators ahead of me in the queue.”

“Hm?”

“Tianhe Venerable killed some—uh, killed quite a few.”

“…No wonder that Yin-Yang Rakshasa ran so fast.”

“Yin-Yang Rakshasa is indeed the best at preserving his life among our Demonic Sect…” Blood River Ancestor even spoke with admiration. Clearly, he envied how Rakshasa not only survived but even remained free.

Zheng Fa also looked toward the receding darkness—Rakshasa’s figure was long gone.

But his voice echoed out from the darkness!

“Netherworld Immortal, you came too?”

“Qin Mu! What are you doing!”

“You betrayed the Holy Ancestor?”

Even Blood River Ancestor was stunned.

Rakshasa had just betrayed his teammate, only to be betrayed by his own comrade?

From the darkness, footsteps emerged—not hurried, not slow, calm and unflustered.

A figure walked slowly into the light.

As he approached, Zheng Fa saw that this man had gentle eyes, wore a plain robe unstained by dust, and exuded a serene, transcendent aura.

If not for the blood-colored, fiendish banner in his hand, he would’ve looked more like an immortal than anyone else present.

“Netherworld Immortal…”

Beside him, Blood River Ancestor—even across realms—lowered his voice.

“Who is he?”

“A true disciple of Taishang Dao. No one knows why he betrayed them and joined our Holy Sect. But once he did, not only was he brilliant, he also earned the Holy Ancestor’s favor… We can hardly communicate with the Ancestor anymore, but he still can.”

“Senior Sister Zhang, retreat! This one is dangerous!”

Zheng Fa immediately called out.

Even though Xuanyi didn’t have the concept of “turning evil boosts power,” someone who had defected from the elite of Taishang Dao and now thrived in the Demonic Sect…

Better let Zhenren Chengkong handle this!

Senior Sister Zhang and Martial Uncle Pang swiftly retreated, but the Netherworld Immortal didn’t even glance at them—he just smiled at Zhenren Chengkong.

“You refined Yin-Yang Rakshasa?”

Before he could respond, Chengkong was already glaring at the blood banner, his eyes filled with shock and fury.

Zheng Fa now realized—the blood and resentment swirling in that flag… came from Rakshasa!

“He didn’t trust me and was incompetent—unable to gather enough essence blood for the Holy Ancestor…” The Netherworld Immortal stroked the flagpole casually. “So why not offer his own? Help the Holy Ancestor revive.”

“His Soul Formation blood was enough.”

Zheng Fa heard buzzing nearby. He turned to see the Blood River Ancestor’s flying sword trembling.

“?”

“If you enter a Blood Fiend Banner—you don’t come back.”

Zheng Fa silently sighed. Exorcising demons? Sometimes, the demons do it themselves!

Chengkong gritted his teeth. “Not only did you betray Taishang Dao, now you betray the Demonic Sect?”

“Betray?” The Netherworld Immortal chuckled lightly. “I’ve only been doing my utmost for the Holy Ancestor’s resurrection.”

Chengkong’s grip tightened on the Tranquility Bamboo, which swayed as if ready to strike.

But the Netherworld Immortal wasn’t afraid—he just looked at the bamboo and smiled, shaking his head:

“This Tranquility Bamboo—how many uses does it have left?”

“It already had issues when I left. At most, five uses remain.”

“Blood River used one.”

“You broke my Five-Point Blood Fiend Formation—another.”

“Against four Soul Formation foes—how many times? Two? Three?”

He counted on his fingers, like he knew the bamboo well.

Chengkong’s face grew darker. Zheng Fa now understood—the Tranquility Bamboo was nearly withered.

“You calculated all this? Sent them to die?… Wait, how did you know?”

“No—I didn’t choose. But Junior Nephew Jiang… don’t you know who last wielded the Tranquility Bamboo?”

“You?”

“Ah, so your master didn’t tell you. Maybe he didn’t know—the bamboo? I tampered with it.”

“……”

“How else do you think a Taishang Dao traitor earned the Holy Ancestor’s favor?”

“……”

Zheng Fa grew more convinced—this guy was totally insane.

He subtly backed away, pulling the Sun and Moon Bell and Senior Sister Zhang along.

“Why would you do this!” Chengkong roared. “You were highly regarded, chosen to lead the next generation. Your master nearly died in the Heart Demon Tribulation because of your betrayal!”

“Why?” The Netherworld Immortal smiled more deeply, as if hearing a hilarious joke. “My master asked me the same thing back then.”

“I guess he never told you my answer.”

Chengkong paused, stunned, filled with confusion.

Everyone looked at the Netherworld Immortal. His gaze turned distant, as if remembering something. He softly spoke:

“He taught me.”

“…Your master taught you to betray your sect, join the Demonic Sect, serve the Demon Ancestor?”

“You really don’t understand me.” He smiled coldly. “Taishang Dao’s methods are flawed. I sought Demonic techniques to complement them. Cooperation with the Demonic Sect was a price for achieving the Dao.”

“What he taught me—no, what Taishang Dao teaches us—is to reach the Dao. If that means cooperating with the Demon Ancestor—so be it.”

“Like dealing with that Venerable, right?” he added, eyes gleaming with mockery.

Zheng Fa glanced over and saw the Blood River Ancestor looking lost.

But the three disciples from the Five Sects… were silent.

Clearly—they knew something.

Their silence made the Netherworld Immortal even happier. Radiant light burst from him as he transformed into a golden god, standing tall before them.

“Junior Nephew Jiang—how does my Pure Yang Primordial Spirit compare to yours?”

Even Zheng Fa was speechless.

What’s the point in comparing?

These were two completely different wattage bulbs!

Chengkong’s Primordial Spirit had once looked divine and majestic.

But beside this… it now looked dim and cheap—

Granted, he’d burned a lot of energy.

But this traitor’s cultivation in Yang Spirit was far too refined.

How did he escape Taishang Dao yet still master its core arts so well?

He practiced them even better than Chengkong… making all his earlier words cut even deeper.

“You came here just to tell me this?” Chengkong lifted the Tranquility Bamboo, unable to bear it anymore.

“No. The five Blood Fiend Banners are complete…”

Zheng Fa froze, turning slowly toward Blood River Ancestor.

The latter looked worse than when Martial Uncle Pang stomped on his face.

Understandably so—he’d already surrendered, and now the Netherworld Immortal tells him he could’ve waited it out?

Too late now!

“I’m not here for you, Junior Nephew.” The Netherworld Immortal turned toward someone else. He raised one finger and smiled:

“Tranquility Bamboo—the fabled treasure that helped the Buddha ascend—can be used… only once more.”

“After that—it’s gone.”

“You still not going to act?”

That finger was pointed—

Straight at Master Wuzhi of Leiyin Temple.

“Zhenren Chengkong, forgive this monk!”