Cultivation: I Have Studied Abroad in the Modern World
Chapter 167 - 67: Chasing

Chapter 167: Chapter 67: Chasing

Standing before the window, Zheng Fa’s gaze was met with the crystal-clear, brilliant blue sky.

Looking down, he saw the vast, boundless sea of snow-white clouds.

The clouds were swiftly streaming beneath his feet, like the tumultuous waves beneath a typhoon, racing onward relentlessly.

It wasn’t that the clouds were too fast, rather, he was moving too quickly.

Zheng Fa had never realized that the palace Master Pang summoned his disciples to every day was in fact one of his magic artifacts.

...

Zheng Fa stepped out of his own room and headed towards the main hall.

Ever since Junior Master Huang had brought news of the Heavenly Stele.

The nature of Taiyang County had changed—

Apart from the matter of Zhang’s disappearance.

The matter of the Heavenly Stele was actually even more significant.

A tremendous opportunity for the Jiushan Sect also posed a monumental challenge.

Originally, the Sect Leader had planned to send Sun Daoyu with some disciples to the Thunder Pool first.

But now Master Pang had no choice but to step in personally.

He took quite a few disciples:

Some were part of the original plan to search for Zhang.

Some were going to attempt to comprehend the Heavenly Stele.

The last group was, based on Zheng Fa’s suggestion, preparing to establish a new workshop near the Thunder Pool.

Master Pang was sitting in the main hall discussing something with Sun Daoyu and a few others beside him.

When he saw Zheng Fa approaching, he beckoned him over.

"Junior Master."

"What do you think of my Five Dragons Heavenly Palace?" Master Pang gestured towards the door of the hall.

Zheng Fa turned his head and from this angle, he could clearly see that the sprawling palace complex was actually floating upon a sea of golden clouds.

At the forefront of the cloud sea were five dragons, riding the mists, pulling the entire palace complex forward.

Upon a closer look, one could see that these five dragons were not physical entities, yet they seemed lifelike, with long whiskers on their heads fluttering in the wind and shimmering golden scales on their bodies.

More importantly, Zheng Fa could clearly feel—that these five dragons were not just some intimidating decoration.

Every time they turned their heads to look at Zheng Fa, the golden glow in their dragon eyes gave him a thrill of apprehension.

"Junior Master’s magical treasure has truly broadened my horizons."

Master Pang’s mouth twitched as if he wanted to laugh but held back, simply waving his hand and saying, "This Five Dragons Heavenly Palace was created after I achieved my Nascent Soul, by killing five serpents on the verge of turning into Jiaolongs, refining their essence, and having someone craft it for me."

"... Junior Master, your might is godly."

The cultivation of serpents about to become Jiaolongs was generally not weak. According to Zheng Fa’s understanding, even the weaker ones would have developed a Demon Core, and the stronger ones might even compare to a Nascent Soul.

The fact that Master Pang had such an achievement right upon entering Nascent Soul truly made Zheng Fa reassess his abilities.

"If I didn’t have this capability, how could my senior brother persuade Huang to return and send me to Taiyang County in his stead?"

Upon mentioning Junior Master Huang, Master Pang’s pride was evident.

Hearing this, Zheng Fa thought it made sense.

When Master Pang left, the Sect Leader had called Junior Master Huang back—according to him, unless absolutely necessary, the Jiushan Sect must have two Nascent Soul fighters stationed at all times.

Could it be that Master Pang was the more superior in strength, giving my Master more peace of mind?

...

"Junior Master, how far can this Five Dragons Heavenly Palace fly in a day?" Zheng Fa asked with a bit of curiosity.

"About eight thousand li a day," Master Pang replied, seemingly worried that Zheng Fa would underestimate his magical treasure. "It can actually move faster, but with the Demon Sect lurking in the shadows, it’s better to be cautious."

Zheng Fa nodded.

After some thought, he said, "So it would take roughly three days to reach Taiyang County?"

The Xuanwei Realm was much more vast than the modern world. Although Taiyang County was governed by the Jiushan Sect, it was still thirty thousand li away from the Sect.

Of course, this was also considered a remote area under the Jiushan Sect’s control.

That’s why in the past the Jiushan Sect had entrusted the Chang Chun Sect to manage this territory, as aside from a Nascent Soul real person like Master Pang, it would take Jiushan Sect disciples more than a month to travel there and back, which was highly inconvenient.

"Three days is not possible."

"Hmm?"

"We took a detour."

"A detour?" Zheng Fa thought for a moment, "So five days to get there?"

"At least half a month."

...If you don’t use a meter, why go such a long way around?

Seeing his puzzled expression, Master Pang seemed somewhat embarrassed: "Now with the Demon Sect disciples hiding in the dark, who knows what schemes they might have? If we went straight there, we might fall into an ambush."

"...So how did we detour?"

Master Pang took out a rough map and drew a convoluted route for Zheng Fa—had Master Pang not explained, Zheng Fa would have thought he was drawing a talisman on the map.

"..."

"This route will take us past many sects of the Hundred Immortals Alliance. If anything happens, it’ll be easy to call for help."

Master Pang explained his thinking.

"Moreover, if the Demon Sect has any hidden ambushes, they would certainly never expect me to choose this route!"

"More than just the Demon Sect would be surprised..." Looking at the map, Zheng Fa sighed softly: "No one with common sense would expect it."

...

Zheng Fa now understood why his Master had called Junior Master Huang back to Jiushan Sect and sent Master Pang with them to Taiyang County—

Master Pang was truly a careful man!

...

"... Cough, I reckon, there should be quite a few fellow travelers going along this time," Master Pang said, as if he also felt it was a bit of an exaggeration, and offered further explanation.

"Fellow travelers?"

"The matter of the Heavenly Stele is so significant, which house of the Hundred Immortals Alliance wouldn’t be interested? I chose this route also to have some exchanges with these fellow travelers first, especially regarding the workshop matters."

Zheng Fa nodded.

It was indeed a matter of course.

Sure enough, quite a few people followed along the way, but probably because the Five Dragons Heavenly Palace was so formidable, none of them were Nascent Souls. They merely paid a visit to Master Pang, then rode their Magic Artifacts and followed behind the Five Dragons Heavenly Palace.

It seemed they also wanted to ask for peace and safety.

Until the eighth day of travel, when they were about halfway to Taiyang County, Zheng Fa suddenly noticed that Master Pang’s expression had become serious.

"Everyone, follow me."

Master Pang said to them, leading everyone to the entrance of the hall. With a wave of his hand, the five golden dragons came to a stop.

Zheng Fa stood by his side and looked outside.

An oval shadow appeared beneath the clouds; gradually, the shadow broke through the cloud sea, and Zheng Fa realized it was a Mystic Turtle.

The size of the Mystic Turtle was staggering. Zheng Fa estimated that the palatial area they were in could only occupy half of the space on the creature’s back.

There were no buildings on top of the Mystic Turtle, but it was also densely packed with people.

"May I know which Master from the Spirit Manipulation Sect has graced us with their presence?"

Master Pang greeted the opposite side with a cupped fist salute.

Zheng Fa was stunned. The Spirit Manipulation Sect was also one of the Sects within the Hundred Immortals Alliance.

Inside it, too, sat a Nascent Soul, making it one of the top nine Sects within the alliance.

Most importantly, the Spirit Manipulation Sect was famous for raising spirit beasts. Previously, Li Nuo had been swindled out of many Spirit Stones by them.

"I am Ling Chengfeng. Is Master Pang here?"

A middle-aged man at the forefront said. He had a robust build and his hair and beard even had a hint of yellow.

"It’s really Master Ling Chengfeng from the Mystic Turtle! I have long admired your name!" Master Pang’s tone was enthusiastic: "I’ve heard of Master Ling’s fame before, but unfortunately, I never had the chance to meet you. Encountering you today is truly a great fortune."

He spoke with such sincere tone and expressions that the middle-aged man on the opposite side was taken aback, seemingly not used to this enthusiasm.

Master Pang gave a covert glance to the side.

Zheng Fa was still confused when a brother from Master Pang’s line directly called out:

"We’ve seen the Mystic Turtle Master, wishing the Master great progress in his Dao and a life as enduring as the heavens."

Standing on the side, Zheng Fa felt somewhat out of place—

Wait, did you all have collective training?

You didn’t include me?

All this made Master Ling Chengfeng show a genuine smile.

He brought his Disciples and also paid their respects to Master Pang.

They even agreed to come to the hall for a banquet later.

Once the Mystic Turtle had moved a bit further away, Zheng Fa couldn’t help asking Master Pang who was beside him: "Is this person very powerful?"

"Powerful?" Master Pang frowned and shook his head: "Although he is a Nascent Soul, his strength relies on that Mystic Turtle, and his foundation is unstable, so he’s not very powerful."

"Is this person... well-known?"

"He doesn’t have much reputation either. The Spirit Manipulation Sect is still led by their Sect Master, and he doesn’t have any notable achievements."

"Then why did you, Master Uncle..."

"You don’t understand... Isn’t the cultivation world all about personal connections and being worldly-wise?"

"..."

"Isn’t there a saying ’One does not strike a smiling face’?" Master Pang persuasively said: "If I flatter him today, he will have a hard time causing trouble for our Jiushan Sect in the future, won’t he?"

"..."

Zheng Fa then understood even better why his Master had sent Master Pang to take charge of the Thunder Pool matter.

This Master Uncle is the Jiushan Sect’s social butterfly!

...

Later, Mystic Turtle Master Ling Chengfeng came with a few Disciples for the banquet.

Master Pang also brought some of his Direct Disciples to receive them.

Because Master Pang was occasionally lavishing praises, the atmosphere at the banquet was increasingly good.

Master Ling couldn’t help but drink a few extra cups, seemingly getting drunk.

"I heard that Zhang Wuyi of your Jiushan Sect has fallen into the Thunder Pool?"

He asked while laughing.

Master Pang’s cup paused, yet his face showed no unusual expression, merely nodding gently.

"I also heard that she always opposes you in the Sect?"

"There’s no such thing." Master Pang put down his cup and said: "Nephew Zhang just has some different opinions than me, how could you say she opposes me at every turn?"

Master Ling raised his cup and pointed at him, with an expression that seemed to see through but did not say anything.

"I’ve known for a long time; with Zhang Wuyi’s personality, she was bound to get into trouble." He said again.

"..."

"She may be talented, but what use is it if she offends so many of her peers? She even dared to bully my Direct Disciple..." He stopped talking, but Master Ling kept babbling: "Now that she’s in trouble, it’s her fate."

"You’ve had too much to drink," said Master Pang.

The smile on Master Pang’s face slowly faded, and his fingers gently pinched the wine cup as if restraining himself.

"Drunk?" Master Ling shook his head, as if unwilling to let it go: "Zhang Wuyi’s misfortune is truly regrettable for me. In a hundred years, Disciples from my Spirit Manipulation Sect will seek vengeance."

He pointed to a young man behind him and said: "This Disciple of mine has cultivated for only nine months since the Immortal Item meeting, and is already at the seventh layer of Qi Cultivation."

"..."

"He’s not slower than Zhang Wuyi’s so-called fastest to Foundation Establishment, right? Moreover, I’ve heard that Zhang Wuyi’s Golden Core is flawed." Master Ling chuckled lightly: "In the future, when my Disciple catches up to her, I’ll see how this so-called genius can still hold her head up in pride."

"..."

At this moment, a wave of Spiritual Energy fluctuation came from a side hall.

"Eh? Someone advanced to the eighth layer of Qi Cultivation?"

Master Ling was after all a Nascent Soul and reacted in an instant.

Master Pang picked up his wine cup, took a light sip, and suddenly said: "This Disciple is also one who joined the Sect from the Immortal Item meeting."

"..."

"He was personally recruited by Nephew Zhang."

Master Ling’s smile gradually faded away.

"It seems your Disciple has to catch up to him first."