Cultivation: I Have Studied Abroad in the Modern World

The figure outlined by these black and white energies resembled an ink painting. Dressed in a white Daoist robe and topped with a black hair bun, he wandered through the chaos, appearing both real and unreal.

Zheng Fa also looked at this so-called "Daoist Venerable" mentioned by the Evil Water Mother. He had actually met this person once before—when the "Yellow Court Scripture" was completed, three laws contended for the Way, and the Daoist Venerable had appeared then.

At that time, Zheng Fa found the Daoist Venerable’s actions unpredictable and was deeply impressed by him.

Now, the Daoist Venerable emerged again from the Yin Yang Jade Pendant...

To be honest, Zheng Fa felt a chill down his spine.

He had long suspected that his Jade Pendant was related to the Daoist Venerable, and his suspicion only grew stronger. After all, the concealment ability of the pendant was so powerful that it could deceive ordinary Dao Fruit cultivators, helping him out on numerous occasions.

If one added the pendant’s ability to traverse dual worlds, it indeed became his foremost magical treasure, a tool far more valuable than the Creation Jade Disc.

To Zheng Fa, the greatest benefit brought by a magical treasure came from this object.

An ordinary cultivator could not possess such a treasure, and among those he could think of were only a few like the Daoist Venerable.

Yet no matter how prepared he was, he never expected... the Daoist Venerable was actually hidden within his Jade Pendant!

The Daoist Venerable seemed too occupied to pay attention to Zheng Fa and the Evil Water Mother, two old acquaintances. He stood ethereally before Zheng Fa, glanced around as if understanding their plight, then raised his right hand and waved his large sleeve. Immediately, the Yin Yang Jade Pendant above Zheng Fa’s head began to glow intensely, then condensed into a Tai Chi Diagram.

This Tai Chi Diagram floated across the hall, suspending over the Golden Throne, while the Yin Yang Fish on the pendant slowly rotated.

Zheng Fa felt as if he had awakened, his entire body relaxed suddenly, as if breaking free from a cocoon, finally gaining the ability to fly freely.

He moved his arms, and only then, with lingering fear, cupped his hands in thanks to the Daoist Venerable. Although he didn’t know why the Daoist Venerable was hiding in the pendant, the latter had indeed saved his life.

"Three days." The Daoist Venerable finally spoke, "Only three days."

Zheng Fa paused, then quickly understood the Daoist Venerable’s meaning: "This Tai Chi Diagram can only suppress the throne for three days?"

The Daoist Venerable nodded slowly, looked at Zheng Fa once more, and explained, "This was the residence where the Emperor governed the heavens; with your current cultivation, you still can’t ignore his lingering influence."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Fa didn’t feel condescended by the Daoist Venerable. Though he was almost misled, thinking about Water Mother made him feel more balanced, didn’t it?

"So, this All Heaven Stars Formation is the Emperor’s trap? Anyone who encounters this array will be bewitched by him?"

"It’s not exactly a trap." The Daoist Venerable looked outwards, examining the All Heaven Stars Formation for a while with a hint of admiration in his eyes, "This array, or the Investiture of the Gods, is part of him, what influences you is merely his instinct to resurrect."

Hearing this, Zheng Fa felt even more frightened. So the more complete the All Heaven Stars Formation becomes, the faster the Emperor’s revival?

He really was nearly misled.

If not for the Daoist Venerable’s appearance, he might have ended up worse off than Water Mother.

But how did the Daoist Venerable know in advance... even choose to hide on him early on?

What is the Daoist Venerable’s purpose?

Sensing his confusion, the Daoist Venerable glanced at him, "You’ve been to Nine Luminaries Heaven."

"..."

Zheng Fa was a bit confused. He first obtained the Yin Yang Jade Pendant and then entered the Nine Luminaries Heaven!

But the Daoist Venerable said he placed the Yin Yang Jade Pendant on him because he entered Nine Luminaries Heaven?

"To the Saints, what you perceive as the past is not necessarily the past, nor is what they see as the future necessarily the future," the Daoist Venerable said slowly, "I can’t explain the relationship clearly."

Did a Saint see him, rather than the Daoist Venerable predicting Zheng Fa’s existence?

"So you, senior, met the Saints?"

"I inherited the Supreme Taoist’s legacy."

A trace of longing appeared on the Daoist Venerable’s face.

This matched Zheng Fa’s previous speculation somewhat. The Daoist Venerable probably meant he placed the pendant on him not for any other reason, but because he received the acknowledgment of the Six Saints in the Nine Luminaries Heaven.

Zheng Fa then asked, "Then Leiyin Temple, does it hold the Western Two Saints’ legacy?"

"I originally thought it did."

Zheng Fa was confused. What did he mean by "originally"?

But the Daoist Venerable fell silent again, seemingly unwilling to say more, only looking at himself and saying, "I don’t have much time. Do you have anything else to ask?"

Not much time?

Looking at the Daoist Venerable, Zheng Fa realized that his form was becoming increasingly ethereal, seemingly exhausted from summoning the Tai Chi Diagram from the pendant.

After thinking for a moment, he asked what he considered the most critical question:

"Where are the saints?"

Truth be told, now that it seemed the current situation in the Xuanwei Realm was likely orchestrated by those six saints.

Where they were now and what they intended to do was the key to determining everything.

"Healing."

"Healing?" Zheng Fa was slightly surprised, "Is the Emperor that strong?"

As far as Zheng Fa knew, the Six Saints disappeared after a battle with the Emperor. Now that the Six Saints were all healing, the prime suspect, of course, was the Emperor.

"He is indeed very strong." The Daoist Venerable nodded, "Most importantly, the Seven Saints were originally one; they form the foundation of the Human Clan. The Emperor’s demise dealt a great blow to the Six Saints, even destabilizing their positions, leaving them no choice but to retreat to heal."

This statement gave Zheng Fa some clarity.

The Hongmeng Purple Qi was essentially founded on the Human Clan. If the Emperor was the Human Saint, his position was extraordinarily special; his fall seemed to bring disaster to the Six Saints as well.