Cultivation: I Have Studied Abroad in the Modern World
Chapter 273 - 161: A True Friend is Hard to Find, Did You Make a Mistake?

Chapter 273: Chapter 161: A True Friend is Hard to Find, Did You Make a Mistake?

Yuan’s elder martial sister was right—though Junior Master Huang is a Nascent Soul, in all honesty, she is a very traditional Xuanwei Realm cultivator, or rather, an intuitive type of cultivator.

Cultivation depends entirely on enlightenment.

Thus, Zheng Fa’s interactions with her were naturally not as delightful as those with Zhang...

Thinking of this, Zheng Fa suddenly became stunned, yet his mind suddenly understood—

In the boundless Xuanwei, amongst the countless multitudes of beings, only Zhang could understand what he was saying and comprehend what he wanted.

However...

That was enough.

"Sister, look."

Zheng Fa pointed with his finger, and a water curtain appeared before several people; within the water curtain was that Sun and Moon Clock.

However, what was different was that beside the Sun and Moon Clock, there were dozens of figures. They sat in meditation around the clock, seemingly contemplating the Sun and Moon Clock, or perhaps cultivating under its influence.

"What is this?"

"This is a scene I saw in the legacy left by the previous master of this Heavenly Stele," explains Zheng Fa, "It also contains some information, quite chaotic..."

Zhang nodded her head, signaling Zheng Fa to continue.

"The former master of the Heavenly Stele, I provisionally call him Heavenly Venerate," Zheng Fa organized his words—the Heavenly Venerate had died who knows how long ago, much of the information required guessing, "He appears to be a cultivator who had endured a decline of Spiritual Energy or what is called a great calamity of heaven and earth, possessing considerable cultivation."

"But his rise, was actually after obtaining this Sun and Moon Clock."

"Or rather, as we say in the era of Divine Dao—many major forces did the same, they obtained the spiritual treasures left by their predecessors."

As he spoke, Zheng Fa tapped on the water curtain, and the Sun and Moon Clock within it suddenly became transparent, like it was made of golden colored glass.

What surprised Zhang even more—

On the body of the clock, there were complicated patterns that looked very familiar.

"Is this... a compound talisman like the Mountain and River True Form Talisman?"

Zhang knew why Zheng Fa had brought this up to her first; she frowned and muttered to herself: "If, according to what we discussed earlier, these compound talismans are actually a manifestation of spiritual wisdom—then..."

"Then this Sun and Moon Clock is probably alive," Zheng Fa declared in a heavy tone.

Beside him, Junior Master Huang opened his mouth in astonishment.

"I even feel that the Lifebound Spirit Treasure Skills of the Tianhe Venerable," said Zheng Fa, "were based on these kinds of Pocket World Spiritual Treasures."

"According to what Xiao Yuying said, by possessing a portion of Pocket World Spiritual Treasure, one could evade the decline of Spiritual Energy..."

"Perhaps, Tianhe Venerable developed the Lifebound Spirit Treasure Skills precisely because of this."

Zheng Fa methodically sorted through the three epochs of cultivation methods in the Xuanwei Realm—Tianhe Venerable was a natural genius, but it was impossible for him to develop a cultivation method that directly reached the Dao by himself.

Moreover, the Tianhe Sect also had a Heavenly Stele Realm.

After all, in the Xuanwei Realm, there was real—scientific research was based on archaeology.

...

"What is this?"

Zhang pointed at the dozens of people in the image.

"This is—the flaw of the Divine Dao’s method,"

Zheng Fa sighed gently, opening his mouth.

"I’ve always been puzzled why the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor, upon entering this Heavenly Stele Realm, didn’t take away this Sun and Moon Clock."

"There’s a problem with this object?"

"The Divine Dao method... it’s not the Heavenly Venerate who was cultivating, but this Sun and Moon Clock that was cultivating," Zheng Fa sighed.

"At first, I wondered why the Heavenly Stele Realm needed us to nourish the populace to perfect the Thunder Skill."

"The Sun and Moon Clock?"

"Yes, the Sun and Moon Clock needs the Power of Incense, so the population of the Heavenly Stele Realm is extremely important."

"It needs to perfect its own Daoist Skill, so us perfecting the Thunder Skill is also very beneficial for it."

"In that era, spiritual treasures like the Sun and Moon Clock had a special name—" Zheng Fa said, pausing momentarily as if he recalled something.

"Uh?"

"Treasures that suppress fate."

Zhang listened somewhat bewildered, not quite understanding the implications.

"Those cultivators practicing the Divine Dao method, their strength depends on the power of the Pocket World Spiritual Treasure, which in turn is influenced by the quantity of incense, the three are interconnected—thus during the era of Divine Dao, the major forces often battled each other, plundering populations, essentially to enhance the Pocket World Spiritual Treasure."

"But the problem is, the growth of the spiritual treasures made Heavenly Venerate realize an issue—the more they cultivated the methods understood from the Sun and Moon Clock, the more they were awakening the original spirit of the Sun and Moon Clock, and possibly even its former master."

"By the time he realized this, it was already too late, he himself had already been controlled by the Sun and Moon Clock."

"The cultivators of the entire Heavenly Stele Realm, were in fact just nutrients for the Sun and Moon Clock."

Zhang slowly furrowed her brow, speaking:

"Then your obtaining this Heavenly Stele Realm, it’s hard to say if it’s good or bad..."

Zheng Fa shook his head: "For this matter... I still have to thank the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor."

"Uh?"

"He invaded the Heavenly Stele Realm and fought a great battle with the Heavenly Venerate, unexpectedly awakening the Venerate’s true consciousness. At the cost of himself, he obliterated the spiritual circuit on this Sun and Moon Clock—oh, they call it Heavenly Dao Rules."

"So the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor erected a monument for the Heavenly Venerate, as a sign of respect."

"Therefore, I surmise that the current state of the Sun and Moon Clock is somewhat like that of an old ancestor; even if it possesses spiritual wisdom, it is in slumber, only with some instincts—its emergence might even be a kind of self-rescue method."

...

"What do you plan to do?"

Zhang asked.

Zheng Fa’s implication was clear—the Sun and Moon Clock was almost like a Great Cultivator in a slumber.

Even the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor was somewhat wary of this thing.

"I think we need to refer to the new Tianhe method."

"..."

Zhang was startled, then suddenly realized and said, "Execution of Immortals?"

Zheng Fa nodded and said, "The Tianhe Venerable also has a Heavenly Stele, on the other hand, he seems to be unaffected by this Pocket World Spiritual Treasure..."

He even had a suspicion—

The Tianhe Venerable, probably freeloads.

Even freeloads on spiritual energy, let alone this Pocket World Spiritual Treasure, he might have freeloaded it as well.

Zheng Fa’s current situation indeed has a bit of the same flavor as the Tianhe Venerable, which just means he should explore more about this stone.

The cultivators from the Xuanwei Realm are really in a bit of a sad state.

Finding a remarkable Spiritual Treasure only to discover its pitfalls.

Actually, he feels now that even the Demon Sect’s Skills might have methods to counter this thing—in this regard, the cultivators of the Xuanwei Realm have probably been seeking solutions, and the Demon Ancestor also clearly dreads this thing.

But... who would have thought the spiritual energy itself had pitfalls.

Perhaps various Demon Ancestors fell exactly here.

"The Execution of Immortals Skills, I’m afraid they are not so easy to acquire..."

Zhang reminded.

"This matter can only be discussed later," Zheng Fa shook his head and said, "Zhang, I do feel this thing holds considerable reference value."

Zhang realized it, nodded, and said, "It helps us understand the state of our ancestral master."

Zheng Fa then slowly narrated to Zhang the books he had read in modern times.

He is not very familiar with this aspect, but after all, having read many books and as he spoke, he even felt some personal realizations.

Not to mention Zhang.

But nearby, Junior Master Huang and Elder Sister Yuan, while listening, couldn’t help but lean on each other.

"Was this the kind of life you lived before?"

"..." Elder Sister Yuan nodded.

"I’m sorry you had to endure that."

...

After finishing the conversation with Zhang, Zheng Fa woke up a drowsy Junior Master Huang and Elder Sister Yuan and walked out of the main hall before seeing—

The Heavenly Stele Realm was already empty.

Zheng Fa suddenly had a realization—with the Jade Seal now in his possession, unless he allowed it, it had become difficult for others to enter the Heavenly Stele Realm.

Junior Master Huang seemed to realize this too, his eyes showing delight.

Regardless of the Sun and Moon Clock, the Jiushan Sect disciples in the Thunder Pool now had a safe logistical base.

He led the two straight to that Medicine Garden.

The Sun and Moon Clock, still like a small mountain, stood in the center of the Medicine Garden.

After listening to Zheng Fa’s speculations on the Divine Tao method, Elder Sister Yuan looked at the Sun and Moon Clock with some dread in her eyes.

"Younger brother, is it really alive?"

"Right now, it probably has little spiritual wisdom."

Zheng Fa softly said.

"That still looks a bit scary..." Elder Sister Yuan muttered.

After speaking, he touched his own Jade Seal, and indeed, the various Spirit Plants he had previously selected rapidly matured and landed in front of Zheng Fa.

Zheng Fa looked at the Medicine Garden, hesitant—

He was considering whether or not to ask Xiao Yuying to help him study the Spirit Tree Thunder.

Now, Zheng Fa understood the importance of Thunder Skill to the Sun and Moon Clock—years ago, the Heavenly Venerate personally erased the spiritual energy circuits on this clock, causing it to lose much of its power.

And this Spiritual Treasure had an instinct to perfect itself.

Therefore—the improvement of the Spirit Tree Thunder was a kind of awakening process for the Sun and Moon Clock.

Zheng Fa had to be cautious.

Honestly, the information left by the Heavenly Venerate was too scant, many things were merely speculative.

Zheng Fa thought for a moment, then suddenly stretched out his hand, a Positive and Negative Five Elements Divine Light brushing onto the body of the clock.

The Sun and Moon Clock vibrated, as if suddenly awakened, it leaped into the sky.

"Younger brother?"

Elder Sister Yuan and Junior Master Huang were both anxious.

The Sun and Moon Clock seemed to recognize Zheng Fa, flying towards him and stopping in front of him, buzzing.

"Hm?" Zhang suddenly scratched her head and said, "This scene, why does it feel so familiar?"

Zheng Fa released another Positive and Negative Five Elements Divine Light.

The Sun and Moon Clock trembled, suddenly leaned over, and fell on Zheng Fa’s shoulder, appearing to want to nuzzle back and forth.

...