Cultivation: I Have Studied Abroad in the Modern World
Chapter 225 - 118 Memories of Tianhe

Chapter 225: Chapter 118 Memories of Tianhe

The green phoenix flapped its wings, streaking across the sky, carrying Zheng Fa and Zhang toward the Jiushan Sect.

Its round head kept turning back to look at its own back, the look in its eyes a mix of grievance and curiosity.

Zheng Fa sat on its back, supporting his head with his hand, his brows tightly furrowed, seemingly occupied by some vexing issue.

"Zheng, what are you thinking about? Why do you look so unhappy?" Yuan’s voice was full of appeasement, as if trying to make up for her previous outburst of primal instinct: "Didn’t Fairy Xiao say your Taoist Body was formidable? Shouldn’t you be happy?"

Yuan’s voice came from the mouth of the green phoenix.

"I am thinking about what Fairy Xiao said," Zheng Fa replied, unconsciously sorting through his doubts:

"Taoist Body, it is a ticket to a path, but what exactly is that path..."

"Why can the path only accommodate a limited number of cultivators?"

"And is this method of cultivation correct?"

As Zheng Fa spoke, his expression grew more puzzled.

A hint of humanized perplexity appeared on Yuan’s bird face.

She turned to look at Zhang again, asking, "Why would it be wrong? In our Xuanwei Realm, haven’t many achieved Divinity Transformation through this cultivation method?"

A sudden thought flashed through Zheng Fa’s mind: Just because it has always been so, does it mean it’s right?

Zhang shook her head, either not understanding Zheng Fa or not wishing to explain to Yuan.

She just watched Zheng Fa, as if she did not want to disturb his contemplation.

Yet someone insisted on interrupting.

"All that Xiao Yuying said is bullshit!"

A small figure suddenly landed on Yuan’s back, it was the Sunset Sword Immortal, with a bewildered Yan Wushuang by his side.

Zheng Fa and Zhang looked at the newcomers with surprise, not knowing how they appeared so suddenly.

With two uninvited guests on her back, Yuan felt very uncomfortable, her wings flapping restlessly as if trying to throw off the two people.

Elder Han flicked a finger, and a Dan Yang Fruit, Yuan’s favorite, flew from his fingertip into Yuan’s bird mouth. She swallowed the fruit and suddenly flew even steadier and faster.

"Mr. Yan?"

Zheng Fa glanced at the two, greeting the more familiar Yan Wushuang first, his expression questioning his purpose.

"Mr. Zheng..." Yan Wushuang sighed, "I am even more baffled than you."

"It’s not this youngster’s fault; I came to find you," Elder Han spoke, "Bringing him along was just to keep him from getting killed."

The tone implied a disdain towards Yan Wushuang as a burden.

"Then... what does Master Han seek from me?"

"I fear that what Xiao Yuying has led you into a deviation!" Elder Han snorted, "You have the talent to match the ancestors, yet you take the path of those fools."

"..."

Seeing everyone present looking puzzled.

Elder Han paused, as if thinking about where to start.

"Actually, I also once embarked on the path of Divinity Transformation."

"Master Han?" Yan Wushuang exclaimed in surprise.

Zheng Fa and Zhang also widened their eyes.

This Sunset Sword Immortal is extremely famous in the Xuanwei Realm; everyone knows he is one of the strongest late Nascent Soul Great Cultivators, but this man has never advanced to Divinity Transformation. Everyone thought it was due to insufficient talent or lack of resources.

"I stepped halfway several times, but then I stepped back."

Elder Han revealed something even more surprising to Zheng Fa and the others.

Could one step back from advancing to Divinity Transformation?

Doesn’t the threshold of Divinity Transformation have any dignity, allowing you to come and go as you please?

This old man’s abilities are far beyond the rumors in the Xuanwei Realm and people’s impressions of him.

Yan Wushuang asked puzzledly, "Why is this..."

"I was afraid..."

Even Zheng Fa did not expect this man to say these three words; with his abilities, what in this world could make him afraid, even forcing him to give up advancing to Divinity Transformation?

"What are you afraid of, Elder Han?" Yan Wushuang pursued.

"I am afraid I’ll become not myself!"

When Elder Han spoke these words, his gaze sharply turned to Zheng Fa.

Zheng Fa was stunned for a moment, suddenly gaining some insight.

...

"It seems you understand a bit," Elder Han smiled faintly, "This is one reason why the Tianhe Venerable demolished mountains and temples, collecting the continent’s cultivation methods."

"Was Tianhe Venerable doing this for that reason? Not just to enhance his cultivation?"

Zheng Fa’s heart could not help but wonder; he knew the ancestor mentioned by this man could only be the Tianhe Venerable.

"Both factors played a role, but the main reason was actually this," Elder Han’s words made even Yan Wushuang, this Sect Leader’s son of the Tianhe Sect, show a surprised expression: "In his later years, the venerable actually did not practice the current Immortal Law anymore... Those classics were only for his reference and were of no great use to his cultivation."

"..."

Zheng Fa was surprised.

This was not the same Tianhe Venerable he had heard about from Zhang.

Initially, when Zheng Fa heard about what the Tianhe Venerable had done, he felt that this person had great ambitions, but he seemed also very temperamental, possessing a stance of prospering those who follow me and perishing those who oppose me.

Now it seems there were additional reasons?

"The venerable’s idea was to cut off the cultivation inheritance from the previous epoch and replace it with a new method."

"A new method? The Lifebound Spirit Treasure Skills?" Zheng Fa asked.

This Lifebound Spirit Treasure Skills was currently the premier method for Golden Core Stage breakthroughs to Nascent Soul.

"What are these minor tricks?" Elder Han scoffed coldly: "In today’s Xuanwei Realm, there’s no longer the venerable’s new method, only the old methods from the previous epoch."

"..."

Other people became even more confused as they listened.

Yan Wushuang was shocked: "Elder Han, why did the ancestor cut off the cultivation inheritance? And aren’t we, the Tianhe Sect, the descendants of the ancestor?"

Elder Han sighed and said, "If it weren’t for what these ears of mine have heard, I would not have known many secrets."

He looked to the sky, his eyes filled with murkiness.

"Since ancient times, Spiritual Energy has fluctuated, and we cultivators have been exploring the source of Spiritual Energy," Elder Han began recalling something from the distant past: "It is actually easy to guess, anyone who cultivates to the Nascent Soul will be guided from above their heads; this Spiritual Energy should come from the outside."

Zheng Fa and others nodded.

"And our current method of cultivation, although it seems that we understood it ourselves, is actually influenced by that guidance after Divinity Transformation," Elder Han continued: "It also originates from the outside."

This statement seemed quite reasonable.

"Actually, everyone has long reached a consensus on this. But the Venerable proposed another idea!" Elder Han’s tone suddenly became heavier: "This foreign method is not compatible with this world!"

"..."

Zheng Fa widened his eyes, harboring many doubts inside:

His biggest doubt was - the talismanic diagram is too complicated!

So many powerful beings had once written their own rules, which were still useful.

This thing is almost infinite!

Even for those in the Xuanwei Realm who do not understand topology, just one rune system could drive them mad.

"The reason given by the ancestor is - no one in this world has become an Immortal!"

"The ancestor even predicted that beyond Divinity Transformation lies a path not my own."

"..."

"Not my own?"

"All this, I have not achieved Divinity Transformation, nor do I understand," Elder Han shook his head: "The ancestor only left some words, saying that beyond Divinity Transformation it seems I am cultivating, but actually, it is someone else’s Dao Fruit cultivated."

"This... Is this why there is a dispute over the Dao above Divinity Transformation?"

"Exactly!" Elder Han snorted: "That is where Xiao Yuying is confused. The ancestor once said, the Dao should be infinite, how can it accommodate only a few?"

"Only those paths that do not conform to this realm of Xuanwei have such limitations!"

"It’s just because this path is artificially constructed, it inherently has limitations!"

"Therefore, the ancestor was determined to discontinue the old methods and create new methods for the Xuanwei Realm!" Elder Han’s eyes were misty, lost in thought: "The ancestor wanted to solve this problem."

Everyone was a bit silent.

The great name of Tianhe Venerable was praised by all in the world, yet this matter was almost unknown to anyone.

"Did he fail?"

"Yes," Elder Han sighed: "The ancestor was too arrogant and overconfident... He never anticipated that in the end, he would be abandoned by all, forced to wield his sword against the heavens as a last resort!"

"Elder Han? Why haven’t we heard about these things in the Tianhe Sect?"

Yan Wushuang, stunned, couldn’t help asking.

"Hehe, didn’t you hear me? In the end, the ancestor was abandoned by everyone! So let me ask you, who betrayed him?"

"I..."

"The ancestor was too naive; he thought everyone would be willing to struggle to pave a new path for future generations like he did, but not everyone wants that; some just want to survive as the Spiritual Mechanism weakens. They followed the ancestor not because they believed in his ideology, but because - the ancestor was the strongest."

"When the new method came to a standstill, everything changed."

"The teachers of the ancestor practiced the old methods, and so did the brothers of the ancestor; in the end, even the disciples of the ancestor couldn’t resist seeking out the old methods for cultivation."

"The Demon Ancestor resurrected, there was turmoil within," Elder Han softly said: "This was the situation the ancestor faced in his later years, external and internal troubles, alone, opening the heavens and the earth? Ah, I think the ancestor must have felt despair then."

"This... This..."

Yan Wushuang turned pale, seemingly struck hard.

"After the ancestor passed away, they even destroyed the texts that recorded the new methods of the ancestor, burned the casual notes left by the ancestor, and executed the disciples who still supported the ancestor."

"Now in this Xuanwei Realm, everyone knows the name of the ancestor, everyone knows the Lifebound Spirit Treasure Skills of the ancestor."

"But who knows the new method?"

"Who knows the aspirations of the ancestor?"

"Everyone in the Tianhe Sect up and down wears the ancestor’s robes, afraid that others don’t know they are the descendants of the ancestor."

"If the ancestor really came back, this group of people, hey! Not one would survive!"

Elder Han looked at Zheng Fa and suddenly laughed:

"So you see, Demon Sect is shit, Immortal Sect is shit."

"I know so much, yet I still can’t do anything, dare not do anything."

"That’s even more shit!"

...

At this point, Elder Han seemed somewhat disheartened.

"I don’t know if it’s because my lifetime is coming to an end," Elder Han sighed, appearing somewhat regretful: "Seeing you under the influence of Xiao Yuying, I couldn’t help but want to say these things..."

"Thank you Master Han for the guidance," Zheng Fa thanked him.

"No, Xiao Yuying wasn’t wrong in saying that your Taoist Body must be incredibly formidable, and you also have exceptional talent, even following the current cultivation methods of the cultivation world, you could achieve extremely high accomplishments!"

"After all, the Demon Ancestor is still alive, while the ancestor is gone."

...

Modern times.

Zheng Fa sat in the nursing home’s chair, holding a book that he had been reading for a day and a night.

"Mr. Bai, has Zheng Fa... fallen in unrequited love again?" Tang Lingwu looked at Zheng Fa’s demeanor and turned to ask Old Man Bai.

"... this time." Old Man Bai scratched his head and said: "He looks a bit like I did when I discovered I was useless in mathematics, feeling like I was on a dead-end path."