Chapter 103: Taking a Disciple

Zhou Gan was walking toward Zheng Fa’s home; for the past month, he had come frequently to discuss talisman arts with Zheng Fa.

In truth, he had gained little.

He knew it was because his own talisman arts were insufficient.

He had only just begun studying his Master’s talisman Dao, and there were few things he could discuss with Zheng Fa.

Likewise, he had come to understand Zheng Fa’s nature—he was a man who wouldn’t act until he saw the rabbit.

In their exchanges, Zheng Fa clearly held back.

Yet even so, Zheng Fa’s ideas still impressed him; sometimes Zheng Fa’s words left him feeling enlightened, as if his mind had been suddenly opened.

Had he not feared rudeness, he would have visited Zheng Fa’s home daily.

Today, he was not alone.

“Younger Brother Zhou, if you have questions, just ask us senior brothers—we won’t refuse to teach you,” said Sun Daoyu beside him, his tone weary: “Why do you keep running over to Zheng Fa’s?”

“Senior Brother, our Master approved it.”

“Yes, our Master has a broad mind,” Sun Daoyu nodded. “But not everyone has such tolerance. Your actions may hurt the feelings of our senior and junior brothers.”

“...”

Zhou Gan fell silent.

Sun Daoyu sighed: “I know in our Master’s eyes, the rivalry between our two branches is just childish squabbling—but after decades of grudges, can one dismiss it as mere play?”

“Senior Brother, I don’t wish to get involved in these matters...”

Zhou Gan’s voice carried a hint of weariness.

“I know, I know you’re devoted to the Dao, and I hope you’ll one day become the pillar of our branch...” Sun Daoyu grinned bitterly: “But not everyone understands you. Do you know our senior brothers already resent you?”

“...What do they say?”

“They say you’re betraying us—taking our Master’s talisman Dao to curry favor with Sister Zhang. If our Master didn’t value you, they’d have already come after you.”

“Do you think so too?”

“I guided you into the sect—do you think I don’t know you?” Sun Daoyu slapped him hard: “But you can’t act solely on your own whim. If you don’t want to alienate your senior brothers, think carefully.”

“I’ve already thought it through,” Zhou Gan looked up at his senior brother: “I was trained by our Master, and you’ve always looked after me... As long as you two don’t stop me, I don’t care what others think.”

“Younger Brother...”

“Senior Brother, I don’t cultivate for power, nor for them.”

“...” Sun Daoyu fell silent for a moment, then spoke: “I’ll go speak to the other senior brothers again. It’s bad enough we’re from the same branch. And let me warn you one last time: no matter how powerful you think Zheng Fa’s talisman arts are, you must not pass on our Master’s secret teachings! If you do, I won’t be able to defend you.”

“I’ve already asked our Master—he said the ‘Dongxu Lingyan’ can be passed to him too.”

“This... Our Master is comparing him to Sister Zhang?” Sun Daoyu frowned: “Yes, Zheng Fa is the greatest talisman artist in ten thousand years—I admit his skill! But ‘Dongxu Lingyan’ is our Master’s secret transmission. He’s barely twenty, been in the sect for two months, and he’s a dual-element cultivator... How could our Master possibly consider him?”

He himself had once passed ‘Dongxu Lingyan’ to Sister Zhang—he knew exactly what it meant when the Master gave it to Zheng Fa: Call me Master, will you?

Zhou Gan looked at Sun Daoyu and knew the man thought Zheng Fa’s talent was low—only refraining from saying so because of the Master.

Zheng Fa’s home.

The Ningyuan Pill dissolved the moment it touched his tongue, becoming a warm stream flowing down his throat to his abdomen.

Zheng Fa’s spiritual sense settled on his dantian, attempting to control his spiritual power and form the upright invisible talisman.

He was nervous.

According to the ‘Talisman Foundation Method,’ this step was the hardest part of forming the talisman diagram.

Qi Refining cultivators had weak spiritual senses and poor control over spiritual power.

Drawing a diagram inside the dantian was extremely difficult for them.

Even a genius like Sister Zhang had recorded her frustration—she once exhausted her spiritual sense, failed to form the diagram, and suffered a complete collapse.

If this step failed, the Ningyuan Pill would be wasted.

That was twenty spirit stones!

But when Zheng Fa tried—heh? That’s it?

He stared at the nearly perfect upright invisible talisman inside his dantian.

He felt his spiritual sense still fully intact.

He couldn’t help but feel proud—hmm, why am I not considered a genius?

Once the upright invisible talisman formed, it settled automatically into his dantian.

His dantian was now quite lively.

Not to mention the spiritual power.

Previously, a mass of Qingyang Qi had lingered there.

Now, there was also the upright invisible talisman.

Qingyang Qi had always been aloof and now ignored the other two entirely.

But the upright invisible talisman, sharing the same origin as spiritual power, clung closely to it.

According to the ‘Talisman Foundation Method,’ the upright invisible talisman he had just formed was unstable.

If he now drew talismans without paper, he would consume not only spiritual power but also the talisman diagram itself.

After three uses, it would vanish—but there was a remedy: if he used it no more than three times and allowed the partially dissipated diagram to absorb spiritual energy during cultivation, it could repair itself.

To draw talismans without paper without limit, like Sister Zhang, he must forge the Yuanfu Dao Base.

After forming the upright invisible talisman, Zheng Fa felt the power of the ‘Talisman Foundation Method’—

During cultivation, a cultivator’s soul naturally radiated outward, and Zheng Fa was no exception.

This was normally harmless, but now the upright invisible talisman was absorbing corresponding talisman diagrams within his spiritual sense’s range.

These diagrams entered his dantian and transformed into spiritual energy.

Zheng Fa estimated his cultivation speed had increased by nearly ten percent!

If he forged the Yuanfu Dao Base, wouldn’t his speed double?

Zheng Fa finally understood why Sister Zhang was called the fastest Foundation Establishment cultivator in the Hundred Immortal Alliance—she was cheating.

At that moment, Zheng Fa felt his spiritual power tremble slightly.

His body became a funnel, drawing in external spiritual energy, forming a small vortex above the room.

Outside the courtyard, not far away, Zhou Gan and Sun Daoyu looked up at the fleeting spiritual vortex in the sky and halted.

“Senior Brother... what’s this?” Zhou Gan had a suspicion but wasn’t certain.

“He broke through.” Sun Daoyu fell silent, then asked: “Wasn’t he Qi Refining Level One before?”

“Yes.”

“He’s been in the sect less than two months, right?” Sun Daoyu thought hard: “Dual-element, broke through to Qi Refining Level Two in under two months? Younger Brother, how long did it take you?”

“Me?” Zhou Gan frowned: “Don’t you know? I broke through half a month ago.”

“You’re a Gold Element with a Gengjin Dao Body—your elements reinforce each other, so you advanced fast...” Sun Daoyu shook his head lightly: “Zheng Fa’s speed isn’t much slower than an average single-element cultivator.”

Zhou Gan watched his senior brother’s face shift through various expressions, as if deep in thought.

As the spiritual energy above the Zheng household gradually calmed, Zhou Gan knew Zheng Fa had ended his cultivation.

He walked to the courtyard gate and knocked.

“Younger Brother Zhou, you’re here,” Zheng Fa showed no surprise at seeing Zhou Gan, but greeted Sun Daoyu behind him with mild astonishment: “Senior Brother Sun?”

“We happened to be outside and saw your breakthrough—came to offer our congratulations,” Sun Daoyu bowed, smiling warmly at Zheng Fa.

His smile was far more sincere than the last time he’d seen Zheng Fa.

“Thank you, Senior Brother,” Zheng Fa invited them inside, looking at Zhou Gan.

Zhou Gan glanced at Zheng Fa, then at Sun Daoyu.

He hesitated inside—he wanted to speak about ‘Dongxu Lingyan,’ but he knew Sun Daoyu opposed it.

In front of Senior Brother Sun, he didn’t know how to begin.

“Younger Brother Zhou?”

Zheng Fa asked softly.

“Cough!” Sun Daoyu cleared his throat and suddenly interrupted: “Younger Brother Zhou is tongue-tied—he can’t speak well... I’ll say it for him. Younger Brother Zheng, our Master intends to take you as a disciple!”

Zhou Gan slowly turned to look at his senior brother: “?”

Since when do you steal my lines?

Don’t you know why I hesitated?

“Master Pang?” Zheng Fa was startled.

Zhou Gan explained: “Yes, Younger Brother Zheng. After our talisman discussions, I mentioned your insights to our Master several times... He greatly admires your talisman arts and wishes to take you as his disciple.”

Zheng Fa nodded.

He didn’t seem surprised.

At that moment, Sun Daoyu spoke again: “Younger Brother Zheng, do you know our Master has already granted you ‘Dongxu Lingyan’—his secret transmission?”

Zheng Fa fell silent for a moment, then asked:

“Does Master Pang intend to take me as his disciple?”

“Yes!”

“Then may I ask—if Sister Zhang flies into a rage, what should I do? Can you protect me?”

“Sister Zhang... she has restraint, right?” Sun Daoyu stammered.

“...Then are all of Master Pang’s disciples as valued as Younger Brother Zhou?”

"...Cough, Zhou Qianyuan is truly gifted."

"...Then I suppose I have no chance with this 'Void-Spirit Eyes' technique."

After stepping out the door, Zhou Qianyuan still frowned at Sun Daoyu.

"Senior Brother, how did you change so quickly?"

"Zheng Fa has decent talent—he reached Qi Refining Second Layer in less than two months."

"Do you have a fondness for talent?"

"Fondness for talent?" Sun Daoyu smiled faintly, looking at Zhou Qianyuan: "Zhou younger brother, you... I simply don’t want another capable disciple added to Zhang Shijie’s line. Younger brother, our Master’s favor is never everything—besides, how much he truly favors Zheng Fa is still uncertain."

"..."

"Pity—he’s a clever man."

Zhang Shijie’s courtyard.

"You refused True Person Pang?" Zhang Shijie asked Zheng Fa.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"How easy is it to be a traitor?"

Zheng Fa answered honestly.

If not for sect rules, these two branches could have come to blows.

True Person Pang already has Zhou Qianyuan as his favorite disciple—how much attention could he possibly spare for me?

Zhang Shijie has protected me in full view of the entire Jiushan Sect; if I became True Person Pang’s disciple, Zhang Shijie’s branch would surely despise me, and True Person Pang’s branch would likely see me as ungrateful.

In the end, I’d be hated by both sides.

"The 'Void-Spirit Eyes' technique is well-known even within the Hundred Immortal Alliance."

"..."

"Don’t want it?"

"No."

"Oh, then I won’t give it to you."

Zheng Fa froze, looked up, and saw Zhang Shijie holding a jade cylinder, a faint smile on her lips, watching him.