Chapter 151: Disconnected

Lin Bufan was fairly satisfied with his days at Jiushan Sect.

No fighting, no hiding, and he could eat cheap yellow sprout rice—far more peaceful than his previous life.

Early in the morning, he left Zheng Fa's old courtyard and headed into the valley.

His newly acknowledged young master, Zheng Fa, now lived in Zhang Shijie's home.

But Lin Bufan, having come from a demonic sect, staying at Zhang Shijie's would invite gossip, so Zheng Fa had placed him in this courtyard.

He thought it was fine—living alone in a courtyard was more comfortable.

On the way, he encountered the patrol disciples who had once chased him; their gazes at him were strange—subtly wary, yet also filled with caution.

Wariness was understandable.

He had once been a member of the Da Zizai Demon Cult.

But caution…

Lin Bufan couldn't help glancing toward Zhang Shijie's courtyard—it was all because of his new master.

The longer he stayed at Jiushan Sect, the more he understood the influence of the name Zheng Fa within the sect.

He really had grasped a powerful leg to hold onto—at least no one dared openly bully him here.

For him, that was enough—he was a captive, had surrendered his soul seal, and his life and death were no longer his own; what more could he expect?

Lin Bufan's most luxurious dream now was merely to live well, cultivate diligently, and seize any chance to avenge his uncle.

As for other things…

Since his uncle died…

And after he realized Jiushan Sect was no paradise…

Lin Bufan felt he shouldn't expect too much.

Especially from Zheng Fa…

When Lin Bufan arrived at Zhang Shijie's home, Zheng Fa was in her study, sketching on paper with a brush.

On the table sat a small, shallow round dish.

The dish held blood.

Zheng Fa's eyes glowed silver, lost in the blood within the dish.

Lin Bufan's emotions were complicated.

After all, the blood in that dish was his own…

That was also why he felt he shouldn't expect more from Zheng Fa—the man was more like a demonic sect disciple than he was.

Lin Bufan stood silently in the corner of the study, saying nothing.

After a long while, Zheng Fa slowly lifted his head, looked at Lin Bufan, and nodded: "You're here? I was busy while you were healing, so I didn't ask. What's the situation with the Da Zizai Demon Cult?"

Lin Bufan fell silent for a moment before speaking: "Actually, I can't explain it well."

"Hmm?"

"I grew up in a village, where everyone was surnamed Lin…" Lin Bufan had no intention of hiding anything—he had already pledged himself to Zheng Fa, and hiding would serve no purpose: "I didn't even know what the Da Zizai Demon Cult was back then."

"So you joined the Da Zizai Demon Cult later?"

"Yes. After I reached Foundation Establishment, someone came to the village and took me and my uncle to serve Lord… Lin Yangtian. Only then did I learn how we were regarded in the Xuanwei Realm."

Zheng Fa nodded.

"So you don't know where you grew up?"

"Yes. When I left, I had no awareness. Later, I heard the place I grew up in was our clan's secret ground."

"... hen what about the strength of the Da Zizai Demon Cult?"

Lin Bufan shook his head again. "My cultivation base is too low to understand the sect's true strength—I've never even been to the true Da Zizai Demon Cult. But Lin Yangtian once said that only when one reaches Golden Core does one become a proper disciple of the Holy Cult."

Zheng Fa nodded, his tone tinged with speculation: "Then what cultivation art do you practice?"

"My main art is the Xuanming Art, a water-element technique," Lin Bufan explained. "We also cultivate a secret sect scripture called the Zizai Jing."

Zheng Fa looked at the paper covered in talismanic diagrams: "So the Zizai Jing is the foundational scripture of the Da Zizai Demon Cult?"

"Yes," Lin Bufan nodded. "Legend says the Zizai Jing can commune with the Holy Ancestor and aid our cultivation. The deeper one's bloodline, the more miraculous the Zizai Jing becomes—and it contains many secret techniques, such as the Heavenly Demon's Absolute Shadow."

Zheng Fa pursed his lips, staring at the talismanic diagrams on the desk, lost in thought.

"Can I read the Zizai Jing?" Zheng Fa asked.

"Of course. But I only have the portion for Foundation Establishment and below."

Lin Bufan spoke respectfully.

"Young Master!"

A voice interrupted Zheng Fa's thoughts—he looked up to see Han Qi and the other two approaching.

Zheng Fa glanced at the three newcomers, then turned to Lin Bufan: "The spirit talismans in this blood have faded. Give me some more later."

"... es."

Lin Bufan twitched his lips and lowered his head.

As always—he had already surrendered his soul seal.

What more could he expect?

Just to live.

Han Qi stepped into the study and said to Zheng Fa: "Young Master, we've brought your monthly spirit stones—twenty-five in total!"

Lin Bufan noticed all three men glanced at him as they approached.

There was a faint sense of rejection.

These three were the ones at Jiushan Sect who disliked him the most.

Lin Bufan snorted inwardly—if it weren't for survival, who would want to pledge himself to Zheng Fa?

Zheng Fa nodded and took the spirit stones from Han Qi.

He thought for a moment, then pulled out three spirit stones and handed them to Han Qi and the others: "You've worked hard."

Han Qi and the others smiled as they accepted the stones, clearly used to it.

Lin Bufan stood silently to the side, head bowed.

"By the way," he suddenly heard Zheng Fa say, "take this."

"?"

Lin Bufan stared at the two spirit stones Zheng Fa offered, stunned.

"Selling blood… no, nutrition…" Zheng Fa paused, then switched phrasing: "Consider it your monthly stipend."

Lin Bufan looked up at Zheng Fa, his eyes touched.

He didn't reach out.

As if afraid, or unaccustomed.

"What? Never received a stipend before?"

"... o," Lin Bufan murmured. "In the village, we farmed, gathered spirit plants, or mined—and still had to pay tribute upward. When I served Lin Yangtian, I only fought and died for him; resources… we had to seize them from other cultivators."

"Now you have some. And in Jiushan Sect, killing to seize treasures… I won't tolerate it."

Hearing Zheng Fa's words, Lin Bufan lowered his head, took the two spirit stones, clutched them tightly, and finally began to understand Han Qi and the others' rejection.

As his heart churned with mixed emotions, a transmission light flashed from afar and landed before Zheng Fa.

Lin Bufan knew it was Zhang Wuyi's transmission talisman.

The young master communicated with her every day—he couldn't fathom what they had to talk about.

Zheng Fa took the talisman, closed his eyes gently, then suddenly opened them and walked out of the study.

"Young Master?"

Behind him, Lin Bufan and Han Qi's trio exchanged glances and hurried after him.

Zheng Fa moved quickly, as if time were running out, continuously slapping Jia Ma talismans onto his body.

The four behind him struggled to keep up, fearing something had happened.

Lin Bufan and the others followed Zheng Fa into the marketplace, watched him rush into a small building, and hurried inside after him.

"You all wait outside."

Zheng Fa told the market disciples inside.

The senior disciples exchanged glances, confused, but left one by one.

Only Zheng Fa, Yuan Shijie, and Lin Bufan's group remained inside.

"Young brother, what's wrong?"

Yuan Shijie noticed Zheng Fa's unusual expression and asked urgently.

Zheng Fa said nothing, merely scattered several illusion talismans and silence talismans around the room to mask its activity.

"Sister, has Zhang Shijie contacted the marketplace?"

"Yes. Every three days, I send her market updates, and she replies."

"Show me them."

Yuan Shijie, puzzled, pulled out several transmission talismans. Zheng Fa examined them carefully, then took out a bundle from his robes and compared their contents side by side.

The more he looked, the tighter his brow furrowed.

"Young brother?"

Yuan Shijie was even more confused.

"Zhang Shijie is in trouble."

Zheng Fa spoke suddenly.

"Huh?"

Hearing this, even Lin BuFan was startled—

He understood, even when he first arrived at Jiushan Sect, how vital Zhang WuYi was to it.

"How do you know?"

"I communicate with Sister Zhang every day."

"Wait a minute! Every day?"

Yuan Shijie suddenly raised her palm.

"Yes."

"I sent her a message before, but she ignored me... said she was busy and told me not to bother her without reason?"

Yuan Shijie stared at Zheng Fa, her expression puzzled.

"..."

The building fell instantly silent.

"Cough." Zheng Fa cleared his throat and said: "Shall we return to the matter of Sister Zhang's incident?"

"Serves you right!" Yuan Shijie snapped. "Go on!"

"In our messages, Sister Zhang likes me to give her a math problem; the next day, she sends me the answer."

"..."

The building fell silent again.

"Continue..." After a long pause, Yuan Shijie said dryly.

"In the messages from Sister Zhang these past two days, both problems had issues."

"What kind of issues? Did she get the answers wrong?"

"No, the answers were correct," Zheng Fa said firmly. "But the methods were too clumsy... not up to Sister Zhang's level."

"..."

"Someone must be impersonating her."

Yuan Shijie suddenly sighed and said: "Having to deal with you two, this person must be exhausted."

Beside them, Lin BuFan and Han Qi nodded silently.

"I noticed this problem two days ago," Zheng Fa frowned. "Yesterday, I gave her another problem."

"Did he use the clumsy method again?"

"No, this time he seemed to have improved a bit—he answered very carefully," Zheng Fa shook his head. "But... I've given this exact problem to Sister Zhang before. She'd usually refuse to answer, and even scold me in her reply."

Beside him, Lin BuFan looked utterly confused.

He glanced at Han Qi beside him.

Han Qi sighed: "Don't look at me. Most Jiushan Sect disciples—no, most immortal sect disciples—don't have such a twisted hobby."

"If the Sister Zhang sending messages is fake, then when she talks to me about the marketplace or the General Affairs Pavilion..." Yuan Shijie looked puzzled. "There's no flaw at all."

"That's exactly the problem," Zheng Fa said gravely. "This person knows Jiushan Sect too well."

Yuan Shijie's expression darkened suddenly.

"Are you saying there's a traitor in our Jiushan Sect?"