Cultivation: I Have Studied Abroad in the Modern World
Chapter 193 - 93 Talisman Base

Chapter 193: Chapter 93 Talisman Base

"In the heavens?"

Zheng Fa looked up, noticing the Golden Crow sinking in the west and the deepening tranquility of the mountains. The sky didn’t seem any different from any other day.

But at this moment, the vast and ordinary dome above seemed to be shrouded in a layer of mystical veil.

"Zhang...," he pondered for a moment before asking, "Does the records of the Xuanwei Realm describe what lies beyond the heavens?"

"No," Zhang shook her head gently, "At least I haven’t read about it. No one knows how many layers the sky has, nor what is up there."

"That’s not right... There’s someone who might know." Zheng Fa suddenly remembered something, "The Tianhe Venerable once attempted to break free from the shackles of heaven and earth."

Zheng Fa had seen a person flying towards the sky when he first discovered the Jade Pendant in his Sea of Consciousness, never to return, leaving behind only a jade pendant.

He had always suspected that this person was the Tianhe Venerable.

Zhang nodded slightly, seemingly in agreement with Zheng Fa’s assessment.

"This..." Zheng Fa frowned and shook his head, "It means that there might be secrets above the sky, but these secrets caused even the Tianhe Venerable to lose his life."

Zhang’s expression turned somber.

Zheng Fa couldn’t help feeling a sense of weight in his heart.

Shackles of the heavens and earth...

What exactly did the Tianhe Venerable understand at the time?

Did he really have no other path to take, which is why he wanted to break open the heavens?

"You are just at the stage of Qi Cultivation, and I have only just advanced to Nascent Soul," Zhang saw his puzzled look and shook her head, "The problem that even the Tianhe Venerable couldn’t solve, neither can we."

Hearing this, Zheng Fa put aside the puzzles in his mind and turned to ask Zhang, "Sister, you mentioned that the Five Elements Child Talisman corresponds with the heavens, what’s that all about?"

Zhang frowned, as if recalling the feeling at that time.

"That feeling, I can’t quite describe it... You saw the Heavenly Tribulation Eyes during my Nascent Soul Formation, right?"

"Yes."

"At that moment, I felt that it glanced at the Five Elements Child Talisman on top of my Nascent Soul. The Five Elements Child Talisman even seemed to detach from my Nascent Soul for a moment... but then it calmed down again."

After listening to Zhang’s description, Zheng Fa pondered thoughtfully.

Seeing his still puzzled look, Zhang comforted him, "At least I’ve proven that there’s no worry about forming a Nascent Soul with the Talisman Dao Foundation Establishment Method now."

"Right..."

The two chatted earnestly while Yuan, who was nearby, had already finished eating her wild fruits and was now fidgeting with the small grass beside her. She seemed to be lost in thought, with a contemplative expression.

This was an unusual look for her, making Zheng Fa curious:

"Yuan, do you have any ideas?"

"Ideas?" Yuan glanced at them blankly, blinking, "I don’t have any ideas, I don’t understand what you’re talking about."

"...Then what were you thinking about just now?"

"I was thinking about the affairs of the Heavenly Stele." Her eyes lit up as she spoke, "The Heavenly Stele is so much fun."

"Fun?"

Zheng Fa exchanged glances with Zhang. He had been preoccupied with Zhang’s troubles and hadn’t paid much attention to the Heavenly Stele.

But in fact, for most people, the most significant issue in the Thunder Pool was the Heavenly Stele.

"Yes, now the Heavenly Stele is called the Sealing God Tablet!" Yuan said.

"Sealing God?"

Zheng Fa was stunned.

The Xuanwei Realm is godless.

He had only heard that term in the modern era.

"Right, that’s what they call it," Yuan explained, "It seems that there is a small world within the Heavenly Stele, and the powerful beings within that small world seem to be called gods. Everyone who enters the Heavenly Stele—seems to be granted a Divine Position."

"Granted?" Zhang’s brow furrowed, "Like how mortal emperors bestow titles upon their subjects? Can these so-called gods also be granted titles?"

"I don’t understand either, that’s what they say," Yuan shook her head, "I heard there’s a hierarchy to these Divine Positions, each person entering the Heavenly Stele starts at a different position, which can change after entering the Stele—what’s even more interesting is that the rankings of these positions are displayed on the Heavenly Stele for all to see."

"..."

Zheng Fa could now understand why Yuan said this thing was so much fun.

A leaderboard!

In the modern world, the rich lists always make big headlines every day.

"I go to the Heavenly Stele every day to watch the fun, and some even bet on the rankings," Yuan said with particular excitement, "Right now, Yan Wushuang is temporarily in first place, but it’s not stable."

...

In the Five Dragons Heavenly Palace.

Master Pang’s feast had not yet finished, and the great hall was still boisterous.

However, Zheng Fa did not join in the festivities.

He sat in his room, eyes closed, his Divine Sense focused on the Yin Yang Jade Pendant within his Sea of Consciousness.

The conversation with Zhang and Yuan today had given him much to think about.

Zhang said she didn’t know what was beyond the heavens.

Yet Zheng Fa knew that the Tianhe Venerable went beyond the heavens, leaving behind such a jade pendant.

And this Jade Pendant allowed him to travel back and forth between worlds.

Therefore... it’s very likely that things from beyond the heavens are highly related to the modern world.

Particularly the term "Sealing God" that came out of Yuan’s mouth.

This had a significant impact on Zheng Fa—

In the modern age, Immortal Gods are synonyms in legends.

But in the Xuanwei Realm, there are only Immortal Sect traditions, and the term god had never been heard.

The term is even more linked to the modern era than to the Xuanwei Realm.

He reflected for a while, then laughed and withdrew his thoughts. Zhang had a point—the issues that even the Tianhe Venerable couldn’t fully solve were not going to be understood by mere speculation.

He immersed his Divine Sense into his Dantian, watching the Primordial Talismanic Foundation floating above.

In fact, he had some thoughts on what Zhang said—

Chiral objects in three-dimensional space cannot be inverted.

But in higher dimensions, it’s different—because each additional dimension mathematically provides an extra degree of freedom, so three-dimensional chirality can be inverted in higher-dimensional spaces.

If the mysterious sky is regarded as a higher-dimensional space.

Zheng Fa’s heart is stirred, his talisman base begins to transform.

The ring formed by the Five Elements Child Talisman separates from the lotus pedestal, falling into the center of the pedestal.

"What is a mirror..." Zheng Fa furrows his brow in thought, pondering over Old Man Bai’s question, and begins to fiddle with the ring.

Mirror...

A reflection... After all, it’s a kind of shadow...

A shadow... A projection?

Could the chirality of the talismanic diagram actually be the projection of some high-dimensional object from different angles?

Is his talisman base... inherently a mirror?

Zheng Fa suddenly looks up, as if he could see the boundless night sky through the roof.

With this thought of his.

The spiritual energy surrounding the Five Elements Child Talisman slowly condenses, turning into a jelly-like substance, and as it slowly deforms and hardens, it actually becomes mirror-like, or rather, a ring-shaped double-sided mirror.

Now, the Child Charm Ring looks like a bracelet with mirrors inlaid on both the inside and outside, with the Child Talisman moving within the mirrors, turning into a phantom.

A double-sided mirror—one side Yin, the other Yang?

The idea inevitably pops into Zheng Fa’s mind.

But the essence of Yin Yang Union might just be because they are the same high-dimensional object.

But why is this phenomenon also present in the Dantian...

Moreover, these two "mirrors" don’t intersect with each other at all.

Intersect?

His heart stirs, and the "bracelet double mirror" suddenly breaks apart in the middle, his body twists a bit, and then rejoins together.

A Mobius strip...

The inner and outer mirrors, through this structure, just happen to adhere perfectly, as if to say.

Zheng Fa scrunches his brows.

If it’s said that talismanic diagrams have different projections because they are reflected by "mirrors" from different angles—then indeed, the inner and outer mirrors are indiscriminate through this structure, even to the point of embodying the oneness of Yin and Yang.

But... Is this contraption really correct?

Zheng Fa feels like scratching his head, feeling that his doubts have not lessened much.

It’s like a program has started running on its own, and he’s cluelessly confused.

The next moment, he feels a jolt from the "Mobius Double Mirror".

Spiritual energy from the void rushes towards his Dantian in a frenzy.

"Foundation Establishment?" Zheng Fa’s eyes widen in surprise, suddenly feeling his Divine Soul being pulled by something, yanking it straight out of his body, even breaking through the roof of the Five Dragons Heavenly Palace, and flying into the firmament.

It’s already late in the sky at this moment.

The sun has long since set.

But the sky is still bright—

In Zheng Fa’s "vision," a vast expanse of purple Qi streaks thousands of miles, concealing the dimly lit stars and blocking the moon’s luster.

This commotion... is a bit grand.

...

In the great hall, Master Pang and a few others were drinking.

"Pang, how did you discover that Mystic Turtle Master was from the Great Freedom Demon Sect?" someone asks: "You seemed quite close to him initially."

"You’re underestimating Master Pang," another chuckles: "Master Pang has always been profoundly strategic, probably saw right through that person harboring ill intentions, just playing along with his ploy."

"Indeed, indeed! Otherwise, how could he have eradicated that traitor in one fell swoop!"

"Master Pang truly holds wisdom like a pearl, never showing off his edge..."

Master Pang listens to their flatteries, holding his cup of wine, and smiles without a word.

Those speakers exchange glances, thinking to themselves—this man truly harbors deceit within and hides malice behind a smile!

Despite this, their faces show rising respect for Master Pang, even a hint of awe.

Master Pang watches with a cold eye, his face becoming increasingly affable, a tinge of pride in his heart.

At this moment, a strange phenomenon appears in the sky, drawing the attention of these Nascent Soul True People.

"Purple Qi stretching three thousand miles... What sort of omen is this?"

Although each of these Nascent Soul True People is well-experienced, at this moment they look at each other, not knowing what exactly has happened.

"No, wait! Look!"

Someone points towards the sky.

To the east, a great sun rises.

On the western side, a crescent moon emerges.

"The sun and moon shining together..."

Now, this group of Nascent Soul individuals can’t stay seated any longer.

They crowd at the entrance of the hall, gazing into the sky, their faces a blend of bewilderment and shock.

Clearly, even for Nascent Soul True People, this celestial event is still astonishing.

"Is someone undergoing Divinity Transformation?"

"Even Transformation has its tribulations, let alone, it wouldn’t manifest like this."

"Not right, I just felt a disturbance in the spiritual energy." A Nascent Soul True Person suddenly speaks: "That disturbance, seems to be originating inside the Five Dragons Heavenly Palace."

Upon hearing this, they all recall the recent commotion.

The scale of spiritual energy was small, it didn’t concern them much.

But now, with these disturbances and omens appearing in succession, it sparks their imagination.

They all look towards the host, Master Pang, who wears a smile on his face.

Under their curious gaze.

His smile grows brighter, but he doesn’t utter a word, his expression as if to say this secret belongs to the Sect alone.

What are you looking at, I haven’t got a clue!

Zheng Fa, why is there such a huge fuss about your Foundation Establishment!