I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times

Vol 2 Chapter 250: Makes Sense, Time to Distribute Rewards

Inside the Blood Fiend Formation, you could hear a pin drop.

The three people still fighting—the Netherworld Immortal and the others—were frozen like statues.

The Buddha behind Wuzhi held the Vajra Pestle high, turned back to look in the direction of the Sun and Moon Bell, motionless, even looking like he wanted to scratch his head in confusion.

As for the Netherworld Immortal, even more so.

He stared blankly at the gap in the Five-Point Blood Fiend Formation—there should’ve been a Blood Fiend Banner there.

He had gone through all kinds of effort, even killed the Yin-Yang Rakshasa, just to refine that Blood Fiend Banner!

He had even lost his Yang Spirit over it—the cost couldn’t have been higher.

And yet, with just a single streak of rainbow light, the Blood Fiend Banner vanished without a trace. All he saw was the tail end of that rainbow light, and he even felt like that tail was mocking all the effort he’d poured in.

…… The Jiushan Realm was equally quiet.

Zheng Fa’s face was a little pale—he’d used three innate divine arts in a row, and it had all happened right in front of these unfathomably powerful Soul Formation cultivators. The pressure was immense. He’d gone all in, and his soul and spiritual energy had taken a hit.

But looking at the Blood Fiend Banner in his hands, he felt quite satisfied—

From the beginning, Zheng Fa had gotten involved just to stop the resurrection of the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor.

As for what happened to the Five Sects of Xuanyi, or even the Demonic Sect versus the Immortal Sect, that had nothing to do with him.

Now that he’d snatched one Blood Fiend Banner, he’d more or less achieved his primary goal.

As he mentally tallied the gains and losses, he noticed an odd stillness around him. Looking up, he saw Senior Sister Zhang, Martial Uncle Pang, and even the Ancestor of the Blood River all staring at the Blood Fiend Banner in his hand, eyes somewhat dazed.

“What’s wrong?”

Everyone shook their heads, as if their emotions were too complicated to put into words.

Only Senior Sister Zhang had a faint smile in her eyes: “Junior Brother, your timing was perfect. Struck right at the foundation.”

Zheng Fa couldn’t help feeling a little proud—it really had been a sudden flash of inspiration—

The Netherworld Immortal might’ve looked fierce just now, but he was definitely injured. Even if he had trump cards left, most of his focus had to be on Zhenren Chengkong and Wuzhi.

The chance he’d be guarding against Zheng Fa was low.

It had been risky—well, at least for someone like Zheng Fa, this counted as a big gamble—but still better than letting the Netherworld Immortal kill Zhenren Chengkong and revive the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor. 𝙧ÁℕȰꞖЁȿ

If that guy came back to life—with his interest in Jiushan Realm and Zheng Fa—that’d be a way bigger headache.

Compared to that ending, this bit of danger didn’t seem like much at all.

Zheng Fa glanced at the Blood Fiend Banner in his hand, then couldn’t help but turn to look at the Ancestor of the Blood River, a strange expression on his face.

And the Ancestor of the Blood River seemed to read his thoughts perfectly—Don’t worry, I’m your only old man!

For some reason, a warm but absurd feeling bloomed in the Ancestor’s heart…

At the side, Martial Uncle Pang’s eyes rolled once, then he suddenly chuckled: “Say, what are those three still fighting for out there?”

……

The three outside—Netherworld Immortal and the others—were thinking the same thing—

What were they fighting for?

Wuzhi had already quietly stepped back two paces. Clearly, he didn’t want to fight anymore. And it made sense—he had only attacked the Netherworld Immortal out of fear the Demon Ancestor would resurrect. Now that a Blood Fiend Banner had been stolen, that fear was mostly gone.

He wasn’t friends with either side—in fact, he’d offended both. So of course, he wanted to preserve his strength.

If he wasn’t going to fight, then Zhenren Chengkong naturally couldn’t fight either—because he couldn’t win.

Earlier, the two had worked together. They weren’t exactly in sync, but two against one at least balanced things out.

Now that Wuzhi had withdrawn, he was back to taking hits.

But the Netherworld Immortal wanted to fight!

His Law Body already had a vicious expression. Now, even angrier, the golden-red taiji diagram above his head—which had looked dim just a moment ago, due to his injuries—flared up with renewed fury, unleashing boundless power and smashing down on Zhenren Chengkong.

Zheng Fa was annoyed. Like, go ahead and beat up Zhenren Chengkong, but why are you glaring at me?

Zhenren Chengkong, though, seemed to be handling it just fine. He waved his whisk, summoning gentle breezes that somehow used softness to overcome strength, leaving no openings. He even looked quite composed.

In other words, he was taking those hits very well.

As the stalemate continued, Zheng Fa saw Xie Qingxue slowly stand up. She didn’t make any moves, but even that made the Netherworld Immortal stiffen. Clearly, he was quite wary of her.

Xie Qingxue glanced at Wuzhi first. Then Wuzhi said, “This humble monk came only for the Tranquility Bamboo, with no intent to collude with the Demonic Sect.”

That was the matter between the Taishang Dao and Leiyin Temple.

Xie Qingxue clearly didn’t care, and didn’t want to get involved. She turned and looked toward the Jiushan Realm, then turned back, fixing her gaze on the Netherworld Immortal, as if waiting for an opening.

The Netherworld Immortal looked even more cautious now. The golden-red taiji no longer left his body, constantly shielding him. Eight-tenths of his attention was focused on guarding against Xie Qingxue.

Zheng Fa’s heart stirred. He glanced at the lone Blood Fiend Banner by his side and had a wicked thought—it didn’t even look that impressive. Besides, the banners could be refined again. Maybe grabbing one or two more would be safest.

By now, his spiritual energy and divine soul had recovered quite a bit. With that thought, he flew out of the Jiushan Realm.

But before he even moved—

The Netherworld Immortal suddenly calmed down. With a sweep of his sleeve, the remaining four Blood Fiend Banners turned into profound light—and he ran!

Ran like hell.

Zhenren Chengkong stared after him, then cast a complicated glance toward Zheng Fa.

Just moments ago, when Xie Qingxue had drawn the Greenpeace Sword and destroyed the Netherworld Immortal’s Yang Spirit, he had only been a little cautious.

But as soon as Zheng Fa showed up… he ran.

Just went to show how deeply that earlier streak of escape-light had scarred him.

Zheng Fa figured the Netherworld Immortal probably knew Xie Qingxue’s “startup time” was a little long—so he had time to evaluate the situation.

But Zheng Fa’s light… wasn’t negotiable.

The guy was sharp, at least.

But then—why did Xie Qingxue just watch him run off?

Zheng Fa turned to her and asked, “Fairy Xie? Why didn’t you take him down?”

“To scare him.” Xie Qingxue shook her head. “If I made another move, it’d be a life-or-death gamble.”

Zheng Fa nodded. “Life-or-death,” meaning she could have stopped him—but it wasn’t worth it.

If the Five-Point Blood Fiend Formation was still complete, and the Demon Ancestor was about to revive, maybe she’d take that risk. But… Zheng Fa had kind of swiped a banner, hadn’t he?

Zhenren Chengkong didn’t seem interested in their conversation. He was staring at Wuzhi, eyes itching to strike.

“Daoist Chengkong… you know about the Levitating Step Technique,” Wuzhi said, looking quite confident—clearly relying on his escape method. But still, why wasn’t he leaving?

Zheng Fa found out soon enough.

“Daoist Zheng, a pleasure.” Wuzhi ignored the glaring Zhenren Chengkong and instead bowed to Zheng Fa. “Today you prevented the resurrection of the Demon Ancestor—this is a great merit to Xuanyi. I am impressed.”

Zheng Fa suddenly had a feeling.

This guy had stayed… just to talk to him?

That made him wary.

Xie Qingxue glanced at Wuzhi, then quietly stepped between him and Zheng Fa—no longer looking like someone who didn’t care.

Wuzhi smiled and shook his head. “Fairy Xie, the Tranquility Bamboo is the property of my Leiyin Temple. Wanting it back is no crime. I’ve long heard of Daoist Zheng’s reputation, but I bear no ill intent.”

Zheng Fa silently analyzed Wuzhi’s words. No crime at all?

Wuzhi’s tone was so firm—it gave him the feeling that… to Wuzhi, the resurrection of the Demon Ancestor would be bad, sure, but not that big a deal. At least not compared to the Tranquility Bamboo.

Xie Qingxue said nothing, but didn’t move either. Clearly, she didn’t believe him.

Zheng Fa looked at Wuzhi. This guy kept flip-flopping sides and was full of secrets—impossible to read. So Zheng Fa didn’t say anything. He just looked down and started searching around.

Everyone watched him, wondering what he was looking for.

Then Zheng Fa picked up a few dead, dried branches of the Tranquility Bamboo from the ground, and smiled in satisfaction.

He really had to hurry—those people had fought so fiercely earlier that most of the bamboo branches had turned to ash. They weren’t easy to find anymore.

If I’m not quick, this stuff will be gone!

Zhenren Chengkong and the other two looked up at his satisfied grin, then stared down at those dead branches for a long time, expressions full of confusion—those dry branches were still useful?

Didn’t they see that even Wuzhi didn’t fight over that dying piece of Tranquility Bamboo earlier?

But… thinking of that escape light from before, Zheng Fa probably had his reasons!

Zhenren Chengkong flicked his whisk, sweeping up a few intact dead branches.

Wuzhi… looked a little regretful. He glanced at the Buddha behind him—beneath the Buddha’s feet was a pile of shattered Tranquility Bamboo remnants, crumbling into dust that scattered with the wind.

Only Xie Qingxue didn’t move.

Seeing that Zheng Fa ignored him, Wuzhi wasn’t in a rush. He simply pressed his palms together and bowed to everyone, turning into a beam of Buddhist light and fleeing into the sky.

Seeing him leave, Zhenren Chengkong didn’t pursue. Instead, he turned to Zheng Fa and the others and said, “Though the Five-Point Blood Fiend Formation has been broken, the Netherworld Immortal is still out there—we must remain vigilant.”

Zheng Fa gave a light nod and heard Zhenren Chengkong continue:

“Now that Fairy Xie and I are both injured, why don’t we return to Mount Tongming to recover first, and then plan the next steps?”

Zheng Fa looked at Xie Qingxue’s face—sure enough, she didn’t look good. Thinking of how she had just subtly backed him earlier, he couldn’t help but express his thanks: “Thank you…”

“You saved our lives.”

Xie Qingxue shook her head. Her meaning was clear—she wasn’t in good shape, and if the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor had come back to life, she definitely wouldn’t have made it out.

“That’s not how it is. If it weren’t for your sword strike, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity either.” Zheng Fa didn’t take all the credit and added, “Fairy Xie, this thanks—I must still… uh…”

Zhenren Chengkong chuckled softly and turned to leave first.

Zheng Fa noticed Xie Qingxue looking a bit annoyed, like she didn’t enjoy having someone babbling beside her, so he quickly led the Jiushan Realm cultivators away with him.

Only Xie Qingxue remained. She glanced left and right, then gently moved her right foot, which hadn’t shifted at all until now.

Beneath her foot was a somewhat intact offshoot of the Tranquility Bamboo. Xie Qingxue picked it up and examined it closely, her expression confused.

……

Mount Tongming.

When Zheng Fa stepped into the main hall of Mount Tongming again, he immediately felt a difference.

Compared to last time, the main hall was more lively. All the cultivators above the Nascent Soul stage were gathered, the air filled with laughter and clinking cups.

Dozens of Golden Core female cultivators wove through the crowd, holding trays and raising wine cups, their steps light and cheerful.

At the entrance to the grand hall stood a particularly beautiful female cultivator—someone Zheng Fa had actually heard of—the most outstanding disciple of Sunu Pavilion, the largest establishment in the Hundred Immortals Alliance.

He hadn’t expected anyone from that sect to have survived, much less so well.

As soon as this Golden Core cultivator saw Zheng Fa, her eyes lit up. She stepped forward with a smile before she even spoke: “Zhenren Zheng, please take your seat!”

She led Zheng Fa and his companion inward, the three passing by dozens of Nascent Soul cultivators.

As Zheng Fa walked in, those Nascent Souls all set down their wine cups, swallowing their laughter and watching solemnly as Zheng Fa and Senior Sister Zhang passed through the banquet.

Last time he came, there had been ten seats for Soul Formation cultivators at the upper end.

Now only nine remained—the missing one was Wuzhi’s from Leiyin Temple.

Oddly enough, the Soul Formation cultivator from Yaochi who had accompanied Wuzhi was still seated among them, calm and composed.

Zheng Fa had arrived fairly early this time—four of the Soul Formation cultivators hadn’t yet arrived, Xie Qingxue among them.

As he approached the head of the hall, Zheng Fa noticed something strange—the top two seats were empty.

The position where Zhenren Chengkong should have sat was now occupied by him on the second seat from the left.

Last time, Zheng Fa had realized the seating arrangement had unspoken rules.

Made sense—cultivators in the Xuanyi Realm lived long lives.

Thinking back to where he had sat before, he moved toward the third seat on the left. Last time, he’d already been seated just below the leaders of the Five Sects. Now that Wuzhi was gone, he figured they might move him up to fifth.

To his surprise, the Golden Core cultivator from Sunu Pavilion glanced at him and led him instead to the first seat on the right, gesturing that this was his place.

Zheng Fa paused, then saw Zhenren Chengkong smile and nod at him, seemingly offering confirmation.

Everyone in the hall watched this happen—but no one showed the slightest surprise.

Zheng Fa began to understand. He brought Senior Sister Zhang with him to sit at the desk behind the seat, looking down at the Soul Formation and Nascent Soul cultivators gathered in the hall.

“So… am I benefiting from your glow here?”

A voice came from beside him—Senior Sister Zhang, via voice transmission.

She clearly understood too. This seating change likely stemmed from Zheng Fa stealing the Blood Fiend Banner and breaking the Five-Point Blood Fiend Formation.

If we’re talking merit, he was second only to Xie Qingxue and her single-sword strike.

Sure enough, when Xie Qingxue entered the hall, she was led to the first seat on the left.

She glanced at Zheng Fa, unsurprised, and nodded with a smile.

Soon, all the Soul Formation and Nascent Soul cultivators involved in this battle had arrived.

As always, it was Zhenren Tongming who hosted. He stood up, his voice so loud it could be heard from the foot of Mount Tongming:

“This campaign against the Great Freedom Demonic Sect has allowed us to reclaim seven states and twenty-three counties of the Hundred Immortals Alliance!”

“The four Soul Formation cultivators of the Demonic Sect have all perished!”

“As for cultivators below the Nascent Soul stage killed—too many to count!”

“After this battle, the demonic crisis of our Hundred Immortals Alliance is resolved! All major sects may return to their ancestral lands and restore our lands and rivers!” Chapters fırst released on nοvelfire.net

At these words, everyone’s faces lit up with joy.

Though the main strike on Chen Prefecture had come from six Soul Formation cultivators, Zhenren Tongming hadn’t been idle either.

He had led the disciples of Mount Tongming to sweep clean the former lands of the Hundred Immortals Alliance that had been taken over by the Demonic Sect—

Partly because Zhenren Chengkong was wary of the sect’s secret hiding places.

Partly because the Great Freedom Demonic Sect’s Soul Formation cultivators were all being held up by Zheng Fa and the others—perfect timing.

And from the looks of it now, it had worked beautifully.

Outside the hall, faint cheers of sect disciples could be heard.

“For such success, our Hundred Immortals Alliance must thank two Daoists in particular.”

He raised his cup, seemingly about to say more.

But his lips—trained by political rhetoric—moved slightly, and he ended up saying nothing else. He simply raised his wine cup toward Xie Qingxue:

“To Fairy Xie!”

“To Fairy Xie!”

All the Nascent Soul cultivators inside the hall and disciples outside echoed together.

Xie Qingxue solemnly rose and returned the gesture.

Zhenren Tongming finished his cup, motioned for the Golden Core female cultivator to refill it, and turned to Zheng Fa.

His gaze was a little more complicated than before, but he said nothing more.

“To Sect Master Zheng!”

“To Sect Master Zheng!”

Zheng Fa stood, picked up his wine cup, and suddenly noticed the space beside him felt a little… empty. He turned and saw Senior Sister Zhang had shifted away slightly, as if giving him space.

He reached out gently, pulled her back over, and handed her another cup of wine from the table.

Senior Sister Zhang froze for a second. She glanced at Zheng Fa, eyes lowering slightly so her expression couldn’t be seen clearly, but she accepted the cup.

Zheng Fa turned again, looking toward Old Yuan, Martial Uncle Pang, Xiao Yuying, and the others down below, grinning dumbly.

He raised his wine cup to them, then drank it down in one proud, honored gulp with Senior Sister Zhang.

From a distance, Senior Sister Zhang met Martial Uncle Pang’s eyes. She suddenly smiled, understanding perfectly what Zheng Fa meant—

Today’s glory, shouted by tens of thousands, belonged to Zheng Fa.

But it also came from her, swinging the Mountains and Rivers Seal again and again.

From Old Yuan and the others, who had painstakingly researched the Immortal Formation.

Truthfully, Zheng Fa had been quite safe in the Jiushan Realm.

It was Senior Sister Zhang and the others who had fought for their lives—any slip, and they’d be dead.

Maybe others would forget. Maybe others only saw Zheng Fa’s final moment of triumph when he snatched the banner.

But Zheng Fa hadn’t forgotten.

At the side, Xie Qingxue saw this scene, tilted her head slightly, and sighed quietly at the sky, as if she had remembered something.

After Zheng Fa sat down again, she raised her own wine cup and offered a toast to him.

Zheng Fa blinked. Judging from Fairy Xie’s expression—why did it feel like this toast was for him pulling Senior Sister Zhang back just now?

……

After Zhenren Tongming sat back down, Zhenren Chengkong lightly cleared his throat and said, “Though the Great Freedom Demonic Sect has been defeated, the Netherworld Immortal still remains—we must stay alert.”

Everyone nodded, their faces grave.

What the Netherworld Immortal had done in Chen Prefecture had already spread. His vicious schemes were truly terrifying.

“But there’s no need to be overly afraid,” Zhenren Chengkong smiled again. “I’ve sent word back to my sect. A senior will come to deal with him. And thanks to Fairy Xie, he was gravely injured and should need time to recover.”

“For now, the most important task before us is clearing out the rest of the states. I’ll be counting on all of you.”

Everyone perked up—Zhenren Chengkong’s meaning was clear.

It was time to distribute rewards—or in other words, divvy up territory.

The Hundred Immortals Alliance had been devastated. At least thirty percent of the sects had been wiped out, and the rest were severely weakened.

Now that the Great Freedom Demonic Sect had been purged, the alliance couldn’t hold so much land anymore.

More importantly, the Five Sects of Xuanyi had gathered so many sects—now that it was over, they had to hand out rewards.

Those rewards… were, naturally, the resources spread across the Hundred Immortals Alliance’s territory.

Zhenren Chengkong looked around at everyone’s eager eyes and smiled faintly. With a wave of his whisk, a map slowly unfurled.

“The Hundred Immortals Alliance once held seven states and twenty-three counties. Mount Tongming is willing to yield four states and thirteen counties.”

Everyone stared at the four-state map. Two of the states had been shaded in a certain color.

“I wonder, Sect Master Zheng, would you be willing to shoulder the burden and let Jiushan Sect oversee the two states of Tailiang?”

Silence.

—Burden your a**!

—Please, let us shoulder some too!