I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times

Vol 2 Chapter 153 – The Great Sage Qingyun Blocks the Way

No need to kneel—maybe it was just luck, but over the next half month, Zheng Fa and the team detected six more types of special electromagnetic waves.

Adding those to the two they’d found before, Zheng Fa now knew eight unique waveforms—in other words, he had grasped eight possible versions of the Spirit Wood Thunder.

“The Spirit Wood Thunder we researched earlier aligns with the special electromagnetic wave of the solar term Dashu…” Old Bai said with a touch of relief. “So that kind of verifies your theory, Zheng Fa.”

A smile crept onto Zheng Fa’s face too.

Exactly—the fact that Dashu’s special wave turned out to be a Spirit Wood Thunder meant it was highly likely the other twenty-three solar terms had their own corresponding Spirit Wood Thunder.

“Too bad we can’t verify them for now…”

Teacher Tian sighed from the side.

Yeah… Zheng Fa had no solution either.

Based on Zheng Fa’s theory, if spiritual plants formed through passive cultivation—then yeah, it probably takes a specific amount of time and the right conditions.

Modern times probably fall short on both fronts:

First, maybe not enough time has passed.

Second, the spiritual energy concentration just isn’t high enough.

Not to mention, who knows how many of today’s plants can even become spiritual plants in the first place.

If they wanted to truly verify this, they’d probably have to go to the Xuanyi Realm—or more accurately, the Heavenly Monument Realm would be better.

Truth is, Zheng Fa already had an idea for a test—he’d use the medicine garden in the Heavenly Monument Realm.

That garden experienced twenty-four bursts of spiritual energy throughout the growth cycle of its plants—Zheng Fa strongly suspected those were linked to Spirit Wood Thunder.

And honestly, verifying it would be pretty simple:

Zheng Fa could just use the Spirit Wood Thunder they’d just experimented with and compare its generated electromagnetic field with the field fluctuations in that medicine garden. If they matched, then boom—proof.

The problem was… how the hell do you measure such tiny electromagnetic fluctuations in the Heavenly Monument Realm…?

A certain long-legged fairy flashed through his mind.

...

Outside the Hundred Treasures Hall in the Heavenly Monument Realm.

Senior Sister Yuan was still in the middle of her advancement, so it was just Zheng Fa and Senior Sister Zhang who entered the realm this time. They still managed to earn a lot of Heavenly Merits—over twenty thousand.

Zheng Fa had just exchanged for some spiritual materials and stepped out of the Hundred Treasures Hall when he ran into none other than the very person he’d been thinking about—Xiao Yuying. Looked like she was waiting for him.

“Fairy Xiao?”

He looked at Xiao Yuying, a little confused.

“I came to say goodbye,” Xiao Yuying said with a smile.

“Goodbye?”

“I don’t think I can compete for the Heavenly Monument anymore,” she admitted frankly. “Staying here would just be a waste of time.”

Zheng Fa was stunned—he hadn’t expected her to give up so decisively.

Maybe she saw the look of confusion on his face, because Xiao Yuying smiled and said, “Honestly, everyone gets it. Your name keeps climbing the rankings on the monument—those outside can’t even keep their bets going anymore… The others are still here just to trade for more spiritual materials in the Hundred Treasures Hall.”

“……”

“I don’t need that stuff. If I had a shot at the Heavenly Monument, I’d definitely stay and fight… but just now—”

She shook her head, clearly referencing the scene where Zheng Fa had been wildly exchanging for materials.

Zheng Fa chuckled awkwardly.

Then Xiao Yuying said, “I’m planning to explore other areas—maybe I’ll stumble across some other treasure.”

“……”

Okay, with that phrasing, he didn’t feel so awkward anymore…

She’s way richer than he is anyway!

Zheng Fa thought it over—sure, the Heavenly Monument was valuable, but for someone like Xiao Yuying, there really wasn’t much else here to interest her.

But…

Zheng Fa was still totally into her!

Xiao Yuying handed him a jade pendant and said, “I told you before, if anything happens with the Jiushan Sect, you can come find me…”

Zheng Fa glanced at Senior Sister Zhang. She didn’t say anything, but her expression looked a little frosty.

Xiao Yuying acted like she didn’t notice at all. She placed the jade pendant in Zheng Fa’s hand and said, “That offer still stands. If you want to reach me, just pour your spiritual power into this pendant. No matter how far, I’ll sense it.”

Zheng Fa blinked, staring at the pendant—

This thing sounded like a pretty valuable magic tool…

Xiao Yuying had apparently just come to say that one thing. After that, she waved and strolled right out of the Heavenly Monument Realm—her departing figure oozed carefree confidence.

But Zheng Fa’s eyes stayed fixed on her back.

“What?”

Senior Sister Zhang asked softly beside him, her eyes flicking toward Zheng Fa.

“Senior Sister… what do you think Fairy Xiao likes?”

“……”

Her gaze turned even colder.

“I was going to invite her to research Spirit Wood Thunder together, but now she’s gone?”

He’d been going over this in his head for a long time—Xiao Yuying was just hard to win over.

She had too much. Great background, wealthy beyond belief. It wasn’t that she didn’t have desires—

It’s just that the things she wanted, Zheng Fa had no way of giving her…

After hearing all this, Senior Sister Zhang’s expression turned thoughtful too, and she glanced toward the direction Xiao Yuying had left.

...

As soon as they got back to base, Martial Uncle Huang rushed over, looking serious.

Zheng Fa and Senior Sister Zhang exchanged glances—something bad was probably coming.

“Your Martial Uncle Pang sent word.”

Martial Uncle Huang didn’t say much more. He pointed into the air, and a watery screen appeared before them.

Inside the screen was Martial Uncle Pang, standing beside a tall, kind-looking elder.

The two of them were inside the main hall of the Five Dragons Palace, flying in the direction of the Jiushan Sect.

From the image, they could hear the conversation between Martial Uncle Pang and the elder.

Martial Uncle Pang respectfully said, “Senior, my martial nephew sent word that the Qianhe Sect was wiped out, and the Spirit Beast Sect is in turmoil…”

That elder seemed to be Zhenren Tongming—or perhaps Tongming’s spirit treasure.

His tone was a bit mechanical, but emotion still bled through as he sighed, “The Hundred Immortals Alliance was always a loose patchwork. I’m the only one at Soul Formation… If there weren’t some major external force stirring things up, it wouldn’t be so bad. But if there is…”

Martial Uncle Pang went quiet for a moment, then asked, “Then what are your intentions, Senior?”

Zhenren Tongming paused for a while and then said:

“Spirit Beast Sect is like rotten flesh—just cut it off. It’s actually good that those with ulterior motives have revealed themselves. Whatever conspiracy’s behind this, it’s not the real threat—the most important thing is Great Sage Qingyun. Your Jiushan Sect must not fall into chaos. If you do, and the Great Freedom Demonic Sect rises, that would be the true death blow for our Hundred Immortals Alliance.”

Zheng Fa listened and silently nodded. This Zhenren Tongming really saw things clearly.

After all, the Xuanyi Realm was a place where individual power reigned supreme.

In the end, without Great Sage Qingyun, the Spirit Beast Sect’s situation might still be manageable for a Soul Formation cultivator.

The demon race and the Great Freedom Demonic Sect were just stirring up trouble to drive Zheng Fa and the others away from their post.

With Zhenren Tongming saying this, Martial Uncle Pang seemed to relax a little.

“Then what are you planning, Senior?”

“The one on Mount Tongming who leaked to the Great Freedom Demonic Sect has already been dealt with,” Zhenren Tongming’s tone turned cold. “As for Great Sage Qingyun, it seems he’s forgotten why the Immortal Sects have ruled the world for hundreds of thousands of years…”

The way he said that—Zheng Fa could feel the confidence in his words.

But when he glanced at Martial Uncle Huang’s uneasy expression, he knew things weren’t going to be that simple.

In the watery screen, the Five Dragons Palace was gradually approaching the Jiushan Sect.

The evening sky was tinged with crimson, and waves of demonic aura surged on the ground below.

There weren’t many beasts near Jiushan Sect, only about a hundred or so that Martial Uncle Pang and the others encountered—but each one had a high cultivation level.

“Eight Nascent Soul beast kings…”

Senior Sister Zhang murmured softly, her tone heavy.

“More than that.”

Martial Uncle Huang cut in.

It seemed Martial Uncle Pang didn’t want to provoke the big demons, instead choosing to head straight for Jiushan Sect to join up with Sect Master Yuan. The Five Dragons Palace gradually faded into the clouds, concealing both their figures.

But half an hour later…

A loud, clear laugh echoed from the ground:

“Could that be Zhenren Tongming up there?”

The Five Dragons Palace froze in mid-air, as if someone had forcibly stopped it in its tracks.

“Great Sage Qingyun?”

Zhenren Tongming spoke softly, though his tone was filled with certainty.

Atop a tall green peak stood a middle-aged man, smiling up at the Five Dragons Palace floating above.

He wore a green scholar’s robe, tall and slender, looking more like a refined academic—but if one looked closely at those golden irises of his, they’d feel the coldness and ruthlessness within.

“Qingyunzi. I’ve long admired Zhenren Tongming’s reputation.”

He cupped his hands in greeting.

Zhenren Tongming was silent for a while, then with a wave of his sleeve, he and Martial Uncle Pang landed atop the peak.

“The Demonic Sect has been hiding in secret realms for hundreds of thousands of years, crushed by our Immortal Sects,” Zhenren Tongming said coldly. “And now your demon race wants to fish in troubled waters for their benefit?”

That was something even Zheng Fa had been wondering about—

As far as this era went, the Immortal Sects were still in control.

Why would the demon race throw themselves out front like this?

Great Sage Qingyun smiled and replied, “Zhenren Tongming, do you have any idea what kind of lives we of the demon race have lived for hundreds of thousands of years?”

Zhenren Tongming seemed to realize something and fell silent.

“Life-bound treasures… heh, life-bound treasures…” Great Sage Qingyun’s face twisted into a sneer. “Aren’t they just our lives? Aren’t they made from the souls of our demon Nascent Souls?”

“……”

Zheng Fa and Senior Sister Zhang exchanged glances, both shocked.

They hadn’t known life-bound treasures had anything to do with the demon race.

But thinking about it now—it made sense. Spiritual materials in the Xuanyi Realm had become increasingly scarce. The demon race naturally became a prime source of such materials.

More importantly, it seemed crafting life-bound treasures was heavily tied to Nascent Soul-level demons—if the Immortal Sects were now relying on life-bound treasures, then the demon race must’ve been living through hell.

Zhenren Tongming remained silent, as if unable to refute it.

After a long pause, he finally said, “Just because of this, you’re willing to go all-in for the Great Freedom Demonic Sect?”

“All-in?” Great Sage Qingyun chuckled, then said to Zhenren Tongming, “I just want to block your way. As long as you stop here, I’ll personally treat you to fine spirit wine and delicacies—no need to talk about going all-in.”

“Block me?”

Zhenren Tongming blinked, then suddenly looked toward Jiushan Sect.

Martial Uncle Pang’s face turned pale in shock. The Five Dragons Palace looked like it wanted to burst into the sky, but was being forcefully held in place by Great Sage Qingyun’s pressure.

“Sharp eyes, Zhenren…” Great Sage Qingyun smiled. “The demon race and the Demonic Sect have endured in silence for hundreds of thousands of years. If we’re coming out now and all you send is one Soul Formation cultivator—doesn’t that feel a bit… petty?”

Zheng Fa’s heart jolted, and he turned to Martial Uncle Huang.

Now he finally understood why Martial Uncle Huang had seemed so tense and grim.