Cultivation: I Have Studied Abroad in the Modern World
Chapter 192 - 92 Heaven

Chapter 192: Chapter 92 Heaven

Several days later.

In the grand hall of the Five Dragons Heavenly Palace.

Once again, it was full of distinguished guests.

But the situation had changed somewhat.

"Congratulations to Jiushan Sect for gaining another Nascent Soul master, thriving more with each passing day!" A Nascent Soul master hadn’t even entered the door before laughing and saying this.

He showed no sign of recalling how he was the first to run away that day.

Master Pang’s face did not show any offense as he cupped his hands towards the other and replied with a light laugh, "Master Zhang’s Nascent Soul congratulations are also a joyous occasion for our Hundred Immortals Alliance, right?"

"Uh, yes! Absolutely right!"

The various Nascent Souls present exchanged looks, all thinking one thought—

Joy my foot!

Who doesn’t understand Zhang Wuyi’s temperament?

Having formed her Nascent Soul, her strength has improved who-knows-how-much.

But it’s likely her temperament hasn’t changed.

When she was at the Golden Core stage, she bullied their disciples. Now that she has formed her Nascent Soul, she can bully them directly!

Otherwise, why would they bother to come here and cozy up to her?

"May I ask where Master Zhang is?"

"She’s not in the workshop area." Master Pang replied.

"We’re all here to congratulate her, and we’ve brought gifts."

"Not being here doesn’t prevent you from giving gifts."

Master Pang’s smile was amiable, but the others felt as if they had swallowed flies—disgusted.

They also knew this was Jiushan Sect’s way of expressing dissatisfaction with their previous departure.

But...

They hadn’t managed to get rid of that surname Pang, and now Zhang Wuyi has formed her Nascent Soul.

They had to endure the disgust!

"Master Zhang is probably receiving more important visitors!" someone suddenly said.

The crowd looked enlightened—

Jiushan Sect had somehow gotten close to the Tianhe Sect!

"Right, right, right, it doesn’t delay us from being happy for Master Zhang! Nor from giving gifts!"

"Right, right, right, the Great Cultivator is more important. We’re all members of the Hundred Immortals Alliance; no need for estrangement."

"Come on now, Master Pang, I toast to you!"

Master Pang remained silent, smiling.

But his gaze could not help but drift towards Thunder Pool.

...

By the Thunder Pool, in a valley.

Zheng Fa sat on the ground alongside Elder Zhang.

Yuan was also nearby, having picked some wild fruits, sorting through them, and stuffing them into her mouth, seemingly finding one particularly sour, as she scrunched up her face making it resemble a big bun with eighteen folds.

But she didn’t spit out the fruit.

After the recent commotion, Zheng Fa felt quite languid.

He leaned against a large rock, watching the leaves above slowly sway in the wind, the birds in the forest gently preening their feathers. Occasional sounds of people carried over, like whispers from another world.

Then he looked at Elder Zhang at his side.

Having formed her Nascent Soul, she seemed to have gained an extra vibrancy compared to before.

It wasn’t apparent when she was in front of others, but it was quite distinct when just the three of them were together.

Elder Zhang seemed to notice his gaze, glanced at him, and suddenly pulled a jade flute out of her storage bag.

Zheng Fa was puzzled; he had never seen Elder Zhang play music before.

"Elder sister, do you also like this?"

Yuan asked as well.

It was clear that not just Zheng Fa was unaware of Elder Zhang’s hobby.

"Music and mathematics are deeply connected; I’ve also studied it for a while," Elder Zhang explained. "After the basics, I just got busy with other things and rarely played."

Zheng Fa nodded slightly, watching as Elder Zhang raised the jade flute to her lips.

He could not find words to describe Elder Zhang’s flute music.

He simply felt that the mountain became greener, and the breeze gentler.

Yuan was even more excited.

She transformed into her green phoenix form, circling the peak they sat on, gliding smoothly to the rhythm of Elder Zhang’s flute music.

After a while, she felt too distant to enjoy it fully and circled closer to Elder Zhang.

Not just her, but the birds in the mountain seemed attracted by the flute music, following in her wake.

When the piece ended, Yuan gently landed and transformed back into a young girl, her face still showing she was longing for more.

"Elder sister, you play so beautifully!" Yuan complimented.

Elder Zhang nodded with confidence, glanced at Zheng Fa and said:

"You’re the only one, apart from Master, who has heard me play the flute..."

She looked at Yuan, paused, and added,

"Until now."

Zheng Fa was surprised.

"The only one?"

"Mhm, from before until after."

...

"What a wonderful flute sound."

The Sunset Sword Immortal walked along the edge of Thunder Pool accompanied by Yan Wushuang.

The two had been conversing as they walked.

Then the Sunset Sword Immortal suddenly came to a halt, tilting his ear as if listening intently, his expression one of deep fascination.

He seemed to hear Elder Zhang’s words, smiled proudly, and continued to walk.

"Elder Han, you’re eavesdropping again!"

"What do you mean eavesdropping?" Sunset Sword Immortal snorted: "It’s my fault that I have good hearing?"

"..."

"Besides, this is one way for me to comprehend the Dao," Elder Han explained: "Countless voices and thoughts of people, within them lies the Great Dao."

"What did you comprehend then?"

"What did I comprehend?" Elder Han looked at him and said: "I realized a profound truth of the universe."

"What is it?"

"This Xuanwei Realm’s cultivators are all dogshit, with all their filthy hidden thoughts."

"..." Yan Wushuang was left speechless and stunned.

"The Demon Sect’s dogshit is hidden in the night, disgusting you with a step when you least expect it."

"Immortal Sect’s dogshit is like the one in a restaurant, placed on a plate, rimmed with gold, and they still force you to eat it."

"Our Tianhe Sect, we’re that oldest pile!" The old man huffed and puffed: "Others say the older the Immortal Sect gets, the stronger it becomes. I say, the older the dogshit, the stinkier it gets!"

"..." Han Elder, did you come out of seclusion to protect me, or because you couldn’t mix in the sect anymore?"

Yan Wushuang remained silent for a long while before asking.

"I refuse to be smoked to death!" Sunset Sword Immortal scoffed: "You want me to save Jiushan Sect’s that one, I see, he’s also dogshit, but there are times when it doesn’t stink—saved him just to save him."

"I-I just... saw an opportunity with that talisman."

"..." Is my single sword worth just that thing?"

"...It’s not like I have to lift a finger."

"Turns out you’re making a profit without any investment?" Elder Han said angrily.

"You don’t give me Spirit Stones." Yan Wushuang retorted, and he added another sentence: "And you’re spending mine."

"...You brat! However, this time you did make a profitable deal; I find Zhang Wuyi to be quite talented." Elder Han fell silent for a while and said: "I think, although she does not measure up to our ancestor, she has a bit of the ancestor’s spirit."

When he mentioned the word ’ancestor,’ the old man, who normally spoke of nothing but dogshit, suddenly showed a fervent respect.

In Yan Wushuang’s eyes, the old man’s reverence for the ancestor far surpassed that of his fellow senior sect members.

"Han Elder, you..."

"You don’t understand, if someone like our ancestor doesn’t emerge in this tribulation, those doomed to die must die. What difference does it make what Immortal Sect, Demon Sect, Jiushan Sect, Tianhe Sect there is? One more dogshit Nascent Soul or one less, what’s the difference?" Sunset Sword Immortal sighed.

"How about Master Zhang..."

"She doesn’t compare, our ancestor created the Lifebound Spirit Treasure Skills at the time of forming her Nascent Soul. The heavens and earth celebrated her, Zhang Wuyi has the spirit but not the ability." Having said that, the old man suddenly mentioned: "But she is still a notable figure in the Xuanwei Realm. Your saving that Master Pang, by serendipity, also counts as earning her favor."

Yan Wushuang felt somewhat proud of himself.

He thought for a moment and said: "Zheng Fa is also quite exceptional, renowned alongside Zhang Wuyi in Jiushan Sect. Han Elder, you definitely didn’t suffer a loss by taking action this time!"

"Zheng Fa? Indeed, he is exceptional."

"Right?"

"He and you are not too dissimilar."

Yan Wushuang widened his eyes: "Han Elder, you think so highly of him?"

Although he didn’t show it outright,

As the son of the Tianhe Sect Leader, how could he not have some pride in his heart?

"What I mean is, you’re formidable because you have a good father." Elder Han glanced at him and said: "He’s formidable because he has a good elder sister."

"Han Elder... It’s fine if you mock him." It took Yan Wushuang a while to say: "Why bring me into it?"

"I’m scolding you, he’s just incidental—He also has his talents; it’s not purely about being born into it."

"Then why are you scolding him?"

"I never had a good elder sister."

"What?"

"I’m jealous." Looking at the dumbfounded Yan Wushuang, Elder Han said with a sly grin: "I’m also a pile of old dogshit, terribly stinky."

...

At the place where Zheng Fa and others were, Yuan was curiously asking: "Zhang, what was your Heart Demon Tribulation like?"

The expression on her face was less of concern and more of gossip.

To be honest, Zheng Fa was also a bit curious.

He had never seen that kind of expression on Zhang, nor had he seen Zhang’s tears.

"During the Heart Demon Tribulation, it felt like I returned to Jiushan Sect," Zhang said after a moment of silence.

Zheng Fa and the other person were all ears.

"All the people of Jiushan Sect were dead." Zhang looked towards the distance, as if reminiscing: "Great Freedom Demon Sect breached our gates, the Sect Leader perished, my Master perished."

"What about me?" Yuan pointed at herself and asked.

"Dead."

"And Zheng?"

Zhang paused for a moment then said, "Dead too."

"So, Sister Zhang, is that why you cried?"

Yuan seemed to have realized.

"I didn’t cry," Zhang shook her head and said.

"I cultivated diligently, yet I couldn’t break through to Nascent Soul no matter what." Zhang spoke softly, "Later I found out, the mathematics you taught me seemed very useful; unfortunately, within the Heart Demon Tribulation everything is but an illusion, I contemplated for eight hundred years and still couldn’t fully understand it."

"...Ah?"

"And since you were dead, there was no one to teach me mathematics."

"So, Sister Zhang, you cried because you couldn’t improve your cultivation to seek revenge?" Yuan blinked, summarizing.

"No, it took me eight hundred years before I dared to think about his death for the first time."

"..."

Yuan stood there stunned, and then regretfully said: "I shouldn’t have asked!"

"So, Sister Zhang, were you..."

"I heard you giving a lecture," Zhang smiled: "Within the Heart Demon Tribulation, one can actually hear the outside world. It’s just that the Heart Demon confuses your senses, making one think it’s all whimsical thoughts."

"Then how could Sister Zhang hear..."

"What you were talking about, it couldn’t... it tried hard, but really couldn’t, it was utter nonsense... and I saw through it."

"..."

"Speaking of which, when I achieved the Nascent Soul, I made a discovery."

"Hm?"

"The Five Elements Child Talisman seems to be responding to something."

"Responding?"

"Right, this response comes from the sky." Zhang looked puzzled, "Although it was only a moment, I felt it."