Cultivation: I Have Studied Abroad in the Modern World
Chapter 242 - 135: It’s Hard to Guard Against a Thief Within the Family

Chapter 242: Chapter 135: It’s Hard to Guard Against a Thief Within the Family

Zheng Fa had previously wondered what the grand hall might look like—

Perhaps majestic and splendid like an imperial palace, with a throne placed upon it.

Or perhaps like the side halls with towering statues of gods, possibly the chief deity of some sort.

Or it could simply be empty.

But he never imagined that within such a magnificent hall, there would actually stand a tombstone.

He took a couple of steps forward and looked at the inscription on the tombstone.

The darkness in the hall was so dense it seemed impenetrable, and even the light emitting from the copper seal could not fully illuminate the tombstone.

Zheng Fa could only make out a few words:

"...Burial place of the Heavenly Venerate"

The part that probably originally stated the name of this Heavenly Venerate seemed to have been later scratched out, for some unknown reason.

Zheng Fa was even more puzzled.

The person who erected this tombstone clearly held the buried individual in high regard, not only erecting a stone and inscribing it but also reverently addressing them as a Heavenly Venerate.

But they deliberately obscured this person’s name.

The reason for this was unknown.

What puzzled Zheng Fa even more was—the grand hall was empty except for the tombstone; there was no coffin nor casket.

If this is a burial place, where are the bones...

He looked out towards the hall’s exit.

The unoccupied Heavenly Palace was dead silent.

The faceless statues in the side halls, standing there perhaps for hundreds of thousands of years, guarded this tombstone in silence.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to Zheng Fa—

The Heavenly Palace above, the mundane world below...

Inside the Heavenly Palace’s grand hall stood a tombstone.

Could it be that the burial place referred to the Heavenly Stele Realm’s mundane world?

Was the Heavenly Stele Realm... in fact, a massive tomb?

...

The light from the copper seal gradually converged; it seemed to have completed its evolution and flew towards Zheng Fa.

Zheng Fa reached out and took the copper seal.

The entire seal was tinged red, with a humanoid figure carved on it, though its face remained indistinct.

Zheng Fa inexplicably felt a sense of compassion emanating from the faceless statue.

As his fingers just touched the seal, a profound stream of information shot directly into his Sea of Consciousness from his arm.

Upon contact with the information, Zheng Fa immediately realized—the instruction manual had been updated again.

After reading the new instructions, the corners of his mouth revealed a big smile.

After the Sealing God Book turned into the copper seal, his domain remained unchanged—this further confirmed his hunch about the not-so-vast Heavenly Stele Realm.

Of course, if Zheng Fa’s guess that equated the Heavenly Stele Realm to a grand tomb was indeed true...

To call it a world, the Heavenly Stele Realm seemed rather small.

To call it a tomb... it was terrifyingly large.

The other functionalities hadn’t changed much from before.

What made Zheng Fa unable to hide his smile was—

The Heavenly Stele Realm could now bring people inside!

According to the copper seal, he had two additional subordinate god quotas.

Xiao Yuying’s warning during their previous encounter was still fresh in his memory.

At the very least, Zheng Fa could now bring Sister Zhang into the Heavenly Stele Realm—at worst, they could ensure their safety within.

And, just like Xiao Yuying said, with both of them present, perhaps the Demon Race and the Demon Sect would not dare to pursue them relentlessly.

...

Thinking of Xiao Yuying’s warning, the moment he left the Heavenly Stele, he ran into Xiao Yuying.

Yan Wushuang was also there.

What Zheng Fa found a bit incomprehensible was—the atmosphere between these two was somewhat odd.

It seemed like there had been a conflict, but it didn’t seem too severe; rather, it was as if they were competing for some treasure.

No clue what it might be.

What could make Yan Wushuang dare to compete back and forth with Xiao Yuying.

"Fairy Xiao? Mr. Yan? What’s going on..."

"It’s nothing, I was waiting for you."

Upon seeing Zheng Fa, Yan Wushuang quickly grabbed his left arm and walked towards the outskirts of the Thunder Pool.

Xiao Yuying didn’t speak, simply silently following them.

Zheng Fa was pulled forward by Yan Wushuang, his mind full of confusion.

Xiao Yuying looked at Yan Wushuang’s hurried manner and curved her mouth slightly in a smile, not in a hurry at all.

Although Yan Wushuang was the Sect Leader of the Tianhe Sect, she wasn’t without her own resources.

Besides, when it came to wealth in the Xuanwei Realm, she wasn’t afraid of anyone!

What Yan Wushuang could offer to Zheng Fa, she was confident she could provide tenfold, a hundredfold!

She really wanted to see what move Yan Wushuang would make!

Before long, they encountered Yuan, who had come to meet Zheng Fa.

Yuan looked at Zheng Fa with a puzzled expression; as Zheng Fa himself was unclear on the situation, he could only shake his head at Yuan.

After some distance, Yan Wushuang glanced back; Xiao Yuying was still following at her own pace, showing no signs of leaving.

And Yuan was even less likely to leave.

Steeling himself, Yan Wushuang straightforwardly asked Zheng Fa:

"Mr. Zheng, do you have someone you admire?"

"..."

Zheng Fa looked back at him, a bit bewildered.

Unsure why he suddenly posed this question.

"There are many sister disciples in the Tianhe Sect with outstanding looks and gentle temperaments, suitable to be a good match..."

Zheng Fa’s expression gradually turned strange.

Yan Wushuang’s tone seemed quite serious!

Behind him, Xiao Yuying pursed her lips and began to contemplate; she really hadn’t expected Yan Wushuang to take such an unexpectedly different tack!

The problem was, she was a lone ranger and the type whose friendship could capsize in a split second.

"I really can’t find ten times the fairy for Zheng Fa..."

Yuan, standing beside him, had her eyes wide open, looking left and right.

"This..." Zheng Fa didn’t even think before he rejected, "The fairies of the Tianhe Sect are naturally excellent, but I really have no interest..."

"The fairies of the Immortal Sect are not good enough..." Yan Wushuang stroked his chin, not waiting for Zheng Fa to finish before he began to ponder, "No problem, I have some influence in the Xuan Nu Sect as well, Mr. Zheng, if you come with me, even the True Inheritor of the Xuan Nu Sect’s Holy Maiden, you would have the chance to meet..."

...

How to describe the Xuan Nu Sect? It’s like the largest chain of foot wash cities in the Xuanwei Realm, with every younger sister inside skilled and valuable.

In their presence, the Su Nu Sect, which used to run brothels in the Jiushan Market, seemed like country girls from the Hundred Immortals Alliance.

Moreover, Xuan Nu Sect is both righteous and evil, rumored to be some branch of the Demon Sect, yet no one can find the evidence, indicating their mystery and strength.

Yan Wushuang’s connections are indeed widespread!

This time, Zheng Fa hesitated a little longer, glanced at Yuan, and then said: "This... I’m also not interested."

Xiao Yuying, standing behind him, quietly breathed a sigh of relief. Yan Wushuang’s methods were a bit too wild...

"Mr. Zheng, you’re not interested in the fairies of the Immortal Sect, nor in the Holy Maiden of the Demon Sect..." Yan Wushuang frowned, looking at Zheng Fa.

He fell into deep thought.

"Mr. Yan?"

"Zheng, a good man of our Immortal Sect, I know a few of them..." Yan Wushuang suddenly said, "They’re all the talents of our Immortal Sect! I can’t say I am the first when it comes to finding female cultivators, but if you are looking for good people in this regard, there is absolutely no one in this world who can beat me!"

...

No, your so-called alliance of peculiar enthusiasts really has all sorts of members!

Behind him, Xiao Yuying’s face showed surprise, but at this moment, she didn’t feel disappointed.

She felt that she had broadened her horizons greatly, deeply shocked and had a significant insight into the full strength of Yan Wushuang’s efforts.

"Mr. Yan!" Seeing Yan saying more and more outrageous things, even Yuan’s expression became awkward, Zheng Fa quickly waved his hands and said, "I’m even less interested!"

"This... I really don’t have contacts in the Demon Race in this regard... However, I know a few cultivators who fancy this direction, I can introduce them to you! You can exchange views together!"

"..."

Yuan, listening by the side, gradually relaxed her frown, and wisdom’s light twinkled in her round eyes.

Seeing his peculiar level of comprehension, Zheng Fa did not continue the conversation. He simply cupped his hands towards the other party, and taking Yuan with him, they ran off—If the conversation continued, his reputation would be ruined!

...

As soon as they returned to their residence, she left Zheng Fa behind and rushed to Zhang’s courtyard.

"Sister Zhang! Sister Zhang! Something terrible has happened! Brother Zheng..."

Zhang’s figure appeared in the courtyard, looking at Yuan, a slight frown between her brows: "What about Brother Zheng?"

"He’s going to be snatched away by a man!"

"..."

Sister Zhang looked up and down at Yuan, shaking her head as if she thought Yuan was talking nonsense.

"It’s true! It’s that Yan Wushuang!"

"..."

Sister Zhang smiled and shook her head, seemingly unconvinced.

"He said he would introduce the sisters of Tianhe Sect to Zheng Fa!"

Sister Zhang’s brow furrowed slightly.

"But Brother Zheng refused!"

Sister Zhang nodded gently.

"Then Yan Wushuang wanted to introduce the enchantresses of the Xuan Nu Sect to Zheng Fa!"

Sister Zhang’s face grew colder, murmuring softly, "Yan Wushuang..."

"Brother Zheng refused that as well!"

A satisfied smile appeared on Sister Zhang’s face.

"Then Yan Wushuang was going to introduce men to Zheng Fa!"

"Brother Zheng wouldn’t agree."

This time, before Yuan could report Zheng Fa’s response, Sister Zhang directly spoke.

"Eh? Sister, how do you know?"

"The way he looks at me and you, does he look like someone who likes men?" Sister Zhang curled her lips.

"..."

Yuan glanced at Sister Zhang, then lowered her head in sudden realization.

"But... I think Xiao Yuying is not right!"

Yuan seemed to be still uneasy.

"Xiao Yuying?"

Sister Zhang felt a jolt.

Xiao Yuying was naturally beautiful, with incredibly long legs.

What’s more, her cultivation talent and wealth were nothing less than her own.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because when Xiao Yuying heard Yan Wushuang speak, Brother Zheng’s reaction to rejecting was exactly the same as yours!"

"..."

Sister Zhang frowned slightly, recalling the praise Xiao Yuying had for Zheng Fa before—such praise that she herself couldn’t even utter!

The more she thought about it, the more she felt Xiao Yuying was deceitful, already harboring intentions.

Brother Zheng said that she was interested in his Thunder Skill talent, and upon reflection, Sister Zhang felt that it would also make sense to omit the words ’Thunder Skill talent’!

Sister Zhang felt slightly restless in her heart.

Looking up, she saw Yuan sitting beside her, pondering something, with a silly, happy smile on her face.

"What are you thinking about, smiling so happily?"

Immersed in her thoughts, Yuan naturally responded, "That Yan Wushuang was thinking of introducing members of the Demon Race to Brother Zheng, but Brother Zheng didn’t refuse..."

"..."

Yuan covered her mouth, seeming to realize she had misspoken.

"That... Sister, I didn’t mean to keep it from you..."

Sister Zhang looked at her with a cold face.

She really didn’t expect to have a ’thief in the family!

"Sister, I have no intention to compete with you!" Yuan nearly swore to the heavens, "But if that Xiao Yuying snatches Brother Zheng away, then I will not be polite!"

"..."

When Zheng Fa entered Sister Zhang’s courtyard, he felt something was off about the way Sister Zhang looked at him—

As if she was looking at some kind of pervert.