Cultivation: I Have Studied Abroad in the Modern World
Chapter 206 - 103

Chapter 206: Chapter 103

Copper Coffin Elder after all was a Nascent Soul.

Even in the Thunder Pool, without the copper coffin protecting him, he was severely restrained by Zhang using the Heavenly Thunder within the Thunder Pool.

He was not without the power to counterattack.

Although Zhang could only wield the mana and Divine Sense of the Foundation Establishment Stage - it must be acknowledged that she possessed rich experience in battling at this stage.

Deprived of his Magical Treasure coffin in the Thunder Pool, the Copper Coffin Elder was severely restricted.

Yet, he was still able to exchange blows with Zhang for a short time.

Initially, he tried to retrieve his copper coffin.

But Zhang was guarding against this move, leaving him little opportunity to succeed.

Later, the elder gave up on the copper coffin and instead charged towards Zheng Fa and Yuan—seemingly perceiving that Zhang was subtly protecting them.

"Zheng! Step back!"

Before Zheng Fa could react, Yuan stood in front of him, waving her feather fan forward, and three blazing flames shot towards the Copper Coffin Elder.

At that moment, Yuan no longer appeared confused as usual; transformed into a green phoenix, her enormous body firmly blocked between Zheng Fa and the Copper Coffin Elder, continuously waving her Lifebound Magical Treasure fan in the air, preventing the elder from approaching.

It was evident that her intent was not to kill the enemy but to block him and protect Zheng Fa primarily.

Zhang seemed to have been agitated by the elder’s charge towards Zheng Fa, her Fei Xian Pen moved continuously in her hand, and Spirit Talismans chased after the Copper Coffin Elder.

An angry woman is troublesome enough, let alone when that woman is Zhang.

Soon, under the onslaught of Heavenly Thunder, the body of the Copper Coffin Elder turned to ashes—there was no need even for a coffin.

The Magical Treasure copper coffin seemed somewhat at a loss, floating in the Thunder Pool.

Zhang led Zheng Fa forward, gesturing with her hand, and the copper coffin floated in front of Zheng Fa.

"You take it."

"Sister?"

"Nowadays, Spiritual Mechanisms are weakening, spiritual materials are hard to find, and most cultivators can only forge one Lifebound Magical Treasure. After your Golden Core stage, you should do the same, it’s good to be prepared early—this copper coffin’s material should be Netherworld Divine Iron, considered extremely good spiritual material."

Is this... a bit too early?

And besides, isn’t there someone here who needs it more?

He glanced aside; Yuan was looking down at her Lifebound feather fan, seemingly a bit heartbroken.

She had been somewhat nervous protecting him earlier, and had used a bit too much of her slight Divine Sense when using the fan; while she was unharmed, the fan had been struck several times by the Thunder Power in the Thunder Pool and was now somewhat charred.

Listening to Zhang assigning the copper coffin to Zheng Fa, Yuan showed no signs of jealousy, only that she did not raise her head to look at the copper coffin.

Seemingly afraid that she might covet it.

"Yuan."

"Yes?"

"I don’t really like the look of this coffin," Zheng Fa quietly said: "I plan to melt it down."

Yuan blinked, not understanding why Zheng Fa was telling her this.

"Since Sister is best at fire techniques, I must ask Sister to help with this," Zheng Fa said with a smile: "I have already thought of a compensation, after melting down the Netherworld Divine Iron, I can share some with you, Yuan."

"Share... with me?" Yuan’s eyes gradually brightened, looking at Zheng Fa, joyfully exclaiming: "Zheng, are you serious?"

"Truly."

"Zhang Sister..." Yuan looked eagerly at Zhang, her eyes filled with nerves.

"... I’ve given it all to him," Zhang glanced at Zheng Fa and shook her head: "It is up to him to allocate."

Yuan giggled, staring at the copper coffin, her gaze almost wishing she could reach out and touch it.

Only the copper coffin, with a slight tremor, seemed resentful and as if complaining in a wronged tone: "When you were enticing me earlier, you didn’t act like this!"

Zheng Fa had no sympathy for this copper coffin—

A treasure that cheats has no rights to treasure!

...

Sitting in the room, Zheng Fa closed his eyes, observing the Yin Yang Jade Pendant in his Sea of Consciousness.

When he was ennobled in the Heavenly Stele Realm, he had received a silver scroll, granting him five thousand miles of land, surprising people like Yan Wushuang.

Frankly, Zheng Fa was also a bit clueless:

Not that he was unduly modest.

His cultivation was indeed a notch lower than Yan Wushuang and the others.

There was also a gap in innate talent.

Yet the Sealing God Hall had ranked him in the same category as Yan Wushuang, which must have been due to discovering something special about him:

Perhaps it was because he possessed the Innate Divine Ability of Positive and Negative Five Elements Divine Light.

Or perhaps, it was because of this Yin Yang Fish Jade Pendant.

This was why Zheng Fa became curious:

The Heavenly Stele Realm itself forms a separate realm, somewhat similar to the modern era.

Judging from the attitude of that light orb in the Sealing God Hall towards Zheng Fa’s jade pendant—it suggested there might be a "hierarchical" difference between the modern world and the Heavenly Stele Realm.

Speaking of which, Zheng Fa had not paid much attention to this jade pendant for a long time.

Actually, after Foundation Establishment, there were some changes to the jade pendant: mainly, the time difference between the two realms expanded further, allowing Zheng Fa to stay in the Xuanwei Realm for a year before entering the modern era.

However, Zheng Fa rarely delayed this long and did not pay much attention to it.

After a trip to the Heavenly Stele Realm, Zheng Fa developed a renewed interest in this jade pendant.

But the jade pendant seemed innocent, standing quietly in Zheng Fa’s Sea of Consciousness, appearing docile and sensible, lacking any imposing aura of a formidable Magical Treasure.

Zheng Fa gently shook his head, his Divine Sense descending into his Dantian.

Compared to the Qi Refinement stage, his Dantian had also undergone some changes.

The Primordial Talisman Foundation—or to put it another way, the Möbius Sub-talisman diagram—was situated right at the center of his Dantian, as other two types of Sub-talismans danced around like fine jade belts nearby.

The most significant change was in the Spiritual Power within his Dantian.

During the Qi Refinement Realm, the spiritual power inside him was like a river, slowly expanding from a small stream in the early stages to a large river in the latter stages.

Once he reached the Foundation Establishment Stage, whether it was a small stream or a large river, all had vanished.

The spiritual power inside his body had transformed from liquid to solid.

Now, the spiritual power inside him was like grains of silver sand, slowly rotating under his Primordial Talisman Foundation like the myriad stars in the sky.

According to the "Divine Sky Thunder Control True Method," from Foundation Establishment to Golden Core, the process involved gathering these silver sands into a Thunder Field and then nurturing the Thunder Fruit.

With the help of spiritual materials purchased in the workshop by Master Pang, he had also taken the first step—the quantity of these grains of sand was much greater than when he had just established his foundation, but there was still some distance before they could converge into a unified Thunder Field.

The stages of the Foundation Establishment Stage were not as detailed as the Qi Refinement Realm, but the difficulty of cultivation was incomparably greater.

Zheng Fa took out a Purple Lightning Fruit, chewed it thoroughly and swallowed, feeling a surge of spiritual power imbued with Thunder Power travel down his throat into his stomach, seeping into his meridians and finally settling as a grain of silver sand in his Dantian...

...

"Zheng, people from the Qianhe Sect are here."

While he was engrossed in his cultivation, Yuan knocked on his door and remarked at the entrance.

"I’ll be right there." Zheng Fa slowly opened his eyes and stood up from the bed. "Why did you come in person, Yuan? It would have been fine to have another disciple convey the message."

"Don’t you know?"

"Know what?"

"Master Pang has now decreed that ordinary people are not to approach your room," Yuan explained. "Only a very few can come here."

"This... there’s no need to trouble you, sister."

Zheng Fa was aware of Master Pang’s excessive caution, but felt somewhat embarrassed having Yuan, a Golden Core herself, convey messages on his behalf.

"I think Master Pang is being too unreliable, allowing those junior disciples to come! I’ve already told him, from now on if anyone is looking for you, I’ll take care of it myself!"

Hearing Yuan speak this way, Zheng Fa was at a loss for words.

Yuan seemed even more excessive than Master Pang.

"Yuan, are you worried about something happening to me, or to that coffin?" Zheng Fa paused before suddenly asking.

"Zheng, asking that kind of hurts our feelings!"

Zheng Fa paused again before asking, "So... is the problem with my question, or with your answer?"

Yuan’s eyes flickered as she coughed, "You don’t know... that envoy from the Qianhe Sect had it rough."

"Rough?"

When Zheng Fa walked into the hall, he understood why Yuan had said so.

The visitor was Master Qian from the Qianhe Sect. When Zheng Fa first cooperated with the Qianhe Sect, it was agreed upon with him.

He remembered that although Master Qian was polite, he was also dignified.

But now, Master Pang was scrutinizing this Master Qian with a merciless and persistent glint in his eyes, sizing him up from top to bottom.

Honestly, anyone being so vigilantly observed by a Nascent Soul wouldn’t dare to kneel, showing a bit of courage.

"Master Pang."

Zheng Fa entered and first bowed to Master Pang.

"Zheng Fa, did you invite him here?"

"Yes, disciple has some matters to consult with Master Qian."

Master Pang nodded, waved his hand to indicate that his inspection was complete, and Zheng Fa and the others could leave.

As they left the hall, he clearly heard Master Qian sigh with relief.

Zheng Fa turned back to see him wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, giving a dry smile:

"Your sect is so cautious... I thought I was here to see some kind of treasure of the sect."

His words weren’t finished.

Suddenly, a vigorous momentum came from behind, adding three more layers of cold sweat to his forehead.

"Did... did I say something wrong?"

Master Qian stammered.

...Saying the wrong thing wasn’t the issue.

The issue is that you said the right thing.

...

"Master Qian, it should have been me visiting you at the Qianhe Sect," said Zheng Fa, now heavily guarded by Master Pang and finding it difficult to travel far, so he could only request visits from members of the Qianhe Sect.

"No problem at all!" Master Qian laughed obsequiously, "With Master Zhang achieving Nascent Soul, I should be here to congratulate. It was only upon arriving that I learned you, Master Zheng, have also established your Foundation. Truly, double blessings have come to your sect recently."

Seeing his affectionate demeanor, Zheng Fa, who had recently seen much of it, felt no contempt in his heart.

Ever since Zhang achieved Nascent Soul, those from the Hundred Immortals Alliance who visited were all more polite—

Achieving Nascent Soul was already a tough feat.

Not to mention Zhang’s renowned reputation.

If exaggerated, it seemed that whenever Jiushan Sect’s members went out, all the peers from the Hundred Immortals Alliance they encountered were good people...

"Master Qian, I’ve actually invited you here to consult on a matter."

"I dare not presume to offer advice, but if I can be of any help to Master Zheng, I will withhold nothing and spare no effort!" Master Qian patted his chest.

"This matter concerns Spirit Plants, and I don’t have many acquainted cultivators. In the field of cultivating Spirit Plants, your sect stands unique, so I had to consult you."

"Spirit Plants? May I ask what the issue is."

Master Qian hesitated a bit.

"I’ve heard that the cultivation of Spirit Plants is highly related to the power of Heavenly Thunder?" Zheng Fa began.

"That’s true." Master Qian answered briskly, as if it wasn’t a secret.

"So, what specifically is the connection?"

"..." After pausing for a while, Master Qian finally said, "This matter, it can be considered a secret of my Qianhe Sect, I am sorry but I can’t disclose it."

Zheng Fa was somewhat surprised; this man, intimidated by Master Pang and clearly wanting to curry favor with Jiushan Sect, was still able to refuse so unequivocally?