[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-cultivation-i-studied-abroad-in-the-modern-world":3,"chapter-cultivation-i-studied-abroad-in-the-modern-world-cultivation-i-studied-abroad-in-the-modern-world-chapter-162":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Cultivation: I Studied Abroad in the Modern World",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2263888,4418,"Chapter 162: Map","cultivation-i-studied-abroad-in-the-modern-world-chapter-162",162,"\u003Cp>“From now on, be cautious with the Spirit Subduing Sect.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The day after True Person Ling left, Zheng Fa heard this from his Senior Uncle Pang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked up and saw Senior Uncle Pang staring at him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Senior Uncle?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Hundred Immortal Alliance… is far from united,” Senior Uncle Pang said simply: “Each of the Nine Great Sects has its own agenda; I’ve long suspected several of them are backed by other powers.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Understood.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa understood the unspoken meaning behind Senior Uncle Pang’s words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The very structure of the Hundred Immortal Alliance carries an inherent tendency toward disunity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“When the Turtle Elder accused Senior Sister Zhang of bullying his disciples, it was merely an excuse,” Senior Uncle Pang continued: “Within the Hundred Immortal Alliance, many simply don’t want to see another Senior Sister Zhang emerge.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“… ”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m telling you this because you must be wary not only of the demonic sect disciples in Lei Chi, but also of some of your own brethren.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Disciple understands.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“When necessary, strike first.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“… ”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Maintain a friendly facade, but strike subtly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“… ”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If you can act covertly, don’t act openly. If you can get someone else to act, don’t act yourself—do you understand?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“… ”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa looked at Senior Uncle Pang’s calm, patient face, then recalled how warmly he had treated True Person Ling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He couldn’t help but sigh again—his own Master had chosen Senior Uncle Pang with remarkable insight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As more immortal sects passed by,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the procession trailing behind the Five Dragon Celestial Palace grew ever larger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At night, the streams of light streaking across the sky looked like a magnificent, vast meteor shower.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By day, the combined glow of hundreds upon hundreds of magic treasures was so brilliant it rivaled sunlight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This revealed just how many cultivators were converging on Lei Chi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Four additional Nascent Soul True Persons joined the journey; whether familiar or not, Senior Uncle Pang always showed them due respect—even when encountering True Person Ling, his tone remained courteous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It perfectly matched the lessons he had given Zheng Fa.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“These few Nascent Soul True Persons represent half the upper sects of the Hundred Immortal Alliance. They’ve all agreed to your proposal for a private marketplace.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One day, after a Nascent Soul banquet, Senior Uncle Pang returned and smiled at Zheng Fa.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Senior Uncle truly excels at diplomacy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This matter, however, is mainly because they don’t care much,” Senior Uncle Pang waved his hand: “This is our territory—we let them come to study, so they owe us a favor.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa nodded slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But to get them to commit to jointly protecting the marketplace, we must reserve shop space for them—otherwise they won’t lift a finger.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s only fair.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the time Zheng Fa and the others arrived at Taiyang County, half a month had passed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We’ve reached Lei Chi!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One of the senior disciples in the hall cried out in delight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa also turned to look outside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even from the sky, Lei Chi stretched boundlessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At a glance, he could not see its edge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What surprised him more was that it truly was a pond.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Or rather, a vast, endless, seemingly bottomless pit—its depths churned with surging purple-blue energy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like an ocean filled with ink.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon closer inspection, he realized the purple-blue was not water, but rolling, entwined lightning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Five Dragon Celestial Palace slowly descended onto the shore of Lei Chi, where many were already waiting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leading them was True Person Huang, accompanied by some of the marketplace disciples who had previously come with Senior Sister Zhang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though she had been recalled by the Sect Master,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>these marketplace disciples would not return—they were familiar with Taiyang County and with the marketplace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were perfectly suited to assist in establishing the new marketplace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So for these past days, True Person Huang had waited here, ready to hand over responsibilities to Senior Uncle Pang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking of Senior Uncle Pang’s teachings,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>then recalling the relationship between these two,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>and seeing True Person Huang’s clearly impatient expression,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa reasonably suspected—Senior Uncle Pang’s detour had a third reason.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa carefully observed these disciples; though they bore no visible wounds, their expressions were listless, and their numbers had clearly dwindled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What puzzled Zheng Fa was the faint resentment in True Person Huang’s gaze toward him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wait—shouldn’t you be glaring at Senior Uncle Pang?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because they needed to plan the new marketplace, Zheng Fa accompanied the earlier-arrived Senior Brother Yang to wander near Lei Chi, preparing to familiarize himself with the terrain and find a suitable location.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Senior Brother Yang was a former marketplace enforcement disciple and somewhat familiar with Zheng Fa.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Senior Brother Yang, where are the other senior brothers?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Some are recovering from injuries; others…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t finish, so Zheng Fa didn’t ask.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two walked along the shore of Lei Chi, listening to the endless thunder, falling into silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Until they came upon a mortal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knelt by the edge of Lei Chi, staring blankly into its depths, lost in thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Senior Brother Yang, who is this…?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A mortal who used to live inside.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Lived inside?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Senior Brother Zheng, do you know what a spiritual vein eruption looks like?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Senior Brother Yang suddenly asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I humbly ask for your guidance.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This Lei Chi spans at least a thousand li in diameter… originally, it was a flat plain, even home to a county town.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa was startled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“One night, the ground collapsed. One moment you’re asleep, the next—lightning fills the sky,” Senior Brother Yang described briefly: “He was lucky.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“… ”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“At least he survived.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then why…?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa glanced again at the man.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“His home was gone, his fields gone, his family gone—he had nowhere to go.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the distance, more streaks of light flew in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More cultivators had arrived.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a short time, over a thousand cultivators had gathered here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All drawn by rumors of the Heavenly Stele, seeking opportunity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They walked up beside the mortal and gazed into Lei Chi as well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the mortal’s eyes saw an endless hell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While their faces shone with longing and excitement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa felt no clear emotion, yet unconsciously recalled the Senior Brother Zhuang he had met upon entering the sect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Senior Brother, what happened to Senior Brother Zhuang from the Rune Hall?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do you know him?” Senior Brother Yang paused, recalling: “He’s probably dead.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Dead.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes—he never emerged from Lei Chi… and no one went to look for him.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“… ”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Besides Senior Sister Zhang, he had little contact with anyone else. And Senior Sister Zhang was gone…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Senior Brother Yang explained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“… ”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa returned to the Five Dragon Celestial Palace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sat at the desk, holding a brush, slowly writing on the paper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He began with the patterns of the old white man’s talisman diagrams.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wrote all the way to the Three-Character Talisman Law.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He even completed Tang Lingwumin’s conjectures.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He went on to write many of his own thoughts on talisman arts and cultivation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In short, he wrote down everything he had learned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had always been clear: if he revealed certain things at his current cultivation level, he couldn’t protect them—he needed greater strength and higher status.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The resistance he’d faced in talisman research showed how dangerous it was to introduce new ideas too soon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet now he had written them all down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On one hand, without Zhang Shijie, he had no one to discuss with; much of it could only be pondered alone, and writing it down was, in a way, a form of summary and self-study.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the main reason was that today’s scene had shaken him, making him feel the fragility of life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He suddenly had an idea—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though he had already begun cultivation, the Xuanwei Realm’s situation was growing worse by the day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he truly met with misfortune, he wanted to leave something behind for the Xuanwei Realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking of this, he paused his brush gently and gave a self-deprecating smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wasn’t this the same mindset as the old white man writing that textbook?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That old man had chattered so much he’d almost brainwashed him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Zheng Shizhi, what are you writing?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Master Pang suddenly walked in, curious at the sight of him lost in thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Nothing,” Zheng Fa shook his head, placing the papers on the desk into his storage pouch—he’d kept this pouch inside the Five Dragon Heavenly Palace lately, holding all his possessions and secret scriptures, never taking it outside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mainly to avoid being looted after death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Five Dragon Heavenly Palace had protective seals; apart from Master Pang, few could enter Zheng Fa’s room without being noticed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for Master Pang…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Well, Zheng Fa trusted his character.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Master Pang stared at him for a long time, suspicious, yet also curious, as if wanting to look.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Won’t let me see?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If I die and Zhang Shijie doesn’t return, I entrust these to you, Master.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Die?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Master Pang’s brow furrowed, his expression shifting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That night, Zheng Fa was meditating on the Thundering Stone, practicing the Five Thunder Body Scripture.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>True Person Huang suddenly arrived.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She didn’t disturb him, merely standing outside his door, waiting patiently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the time Zheng Fa noticed her at the doorway, night was deep.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Master Huang?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>True Person Huang glanced at him twice, then tossed him a jade cylinder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa caught it instinctively.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What’s this?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s the Lei Chi map my disciple left for you,” True Person Huang snorted. “She’s so thoughtful—leaves me nothing, yet specifically arranges this for you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now Zheng Fa understood why True Person Huang had always seemed to dislike him before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jealousy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What are these maps for?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My disciple knew you needed heavenly thunder to refine your Five Thunder Body, so she found several suitable locations for you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa tightened his grip on the jade cylinder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Zhang Shijie…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“She’s probably fine,” True Person Huang pulled from her sleeve a jade pendant—no, half a jade pendant, glowing faintly with a silver light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If she truly dies, the light will fade and the pendant will darken.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No wonder True Person Huang’s emotions remained stable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>True Person Huang tossed the pendant to Zheng Fa too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Look at this pendant—you’ll know she’s alive. Don’t be impulsive. Don’t do anything foolish.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...Foolish?” Zheng Fa looked utterly confused.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Burn that will of yours.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa slowly turned his head, gazing at the storage pouch on the bed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“She once told me about you—considered giving you her Nascent Soul resources.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I didn’t agree.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Master, you did right.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa whispered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Now, if… she’s truly gone, those resources should be yours,” True Person Huang suddenly said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Huh?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I approve of the two of you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa slowly widened his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>",1790,"2026-06-19T19:16:02.864Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","b5164133e3ac7ebe5e5a05724b784166a5d02a01f4de92f4107d55a25d2f6240","cultivation-i-studied-abroad-in-the-modern-world-chapter-163","cultivation-i-studied-abroad-in-the-modern-world-chapter-161",487,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fcultivation-i-studied-abroad-in-the-modern-world-cover.jpg"]