Chapter 177: A Feeling in the Heart

Shijie Zhang, after all, was a self-possessed person; a certain emotion flickered across her face and vanished instantly. She merely shook her head and said to Zheng Fa and the other:

"This Xuanguan Mirror is an item from my master's past; no one may leave unless they have formed a Nascent Soul."

"Nascent Soul..." Shijie Yuan blurted out, "How difficult a Nascent Soul is..."

Seeing Shijie Zhang fall silent, she seemed to feel she had said the wrong thing and added another sentence:

"Fortunately, Shijie Zhang, your talent is extraordinary! What is difficult for others must surely be easy for you!"

"No, I find it even harder than others," Shijie Zhang said softly. "In my early years, I cultivated too quickly, and now I must pay the price."

Even Zheng Fa could not help but nod at these words.

He had heard of Shijie Zhang's experiences:

While a single spiritual root Foundation Establishment usually took at least two or three years, Shijie Zhang took less than a year, advancing straight to Foundation Establishment.

When she achieved the Jin Dan, she had only been on the Dao for ten years.

Thus, her reputation shook the world, and she was regarded as the number one person beneath the Nascent Soul of the Baixian Alliance.

But for the following eighty or ninety years, she remained stuck in the Golden Core Stage, unable to advance a single inch.

She hid within the Xuanguan Mirror; although she escaped the pursuit of the Nascent Souls from the Zizaimo Sect, she had also forced herself into a desperate situation where she could not leave without proving the Nascent Soul.

"Zheng Fa, you must remember... Foundation Establishment requires caution." Although she was in a predicament, Shijie Zhang instead admonished Zheng Fa: "I had no experience back then and walked a path no one had walked before. I did not understand many things, and I was young then, my head turned by the title of 'Number One Genius of the Baixian Alliance'."

"Later, when I realized the Talisman Dao Foundation Establishment Method was incomplete, I consulted ancient texts and learned that if one truly creates a perfected path, the heavens and earth should manifest strange phenomena."

"... Strange phenomena?"

Hearing these words, Zheng Fa could not help but feel somewhat puzzled.

"Few people know of this matter," Shijie Zhang explained. "Spiritual Qi has declined at least five times; the origins of cultivation methods are unknown to anyone. They may have been perfected even before the previous previous calamity, so creators of paths are extremely rare. In these two calamities, only one person truly created a cultivation method from scratch—"

Zheng Fa twitched the corner of his mouth.

He already knew who it was.

"Ancient texts record that after Tianhe Zunzhe formed his Jin Dan, he created the method of forming a Native Spiritual Treasure. It has now become the number one method for forming a Nascent Soul in the Xuanwei Realm. At that time, the Heavenly Dao reacted, and strange phenomena appeared throughout the entire Xuanwei Realm. Tianhe Zunzhe then spoke the words: 'When a path is born, strange phenomena appear.'"

As expected, you are everywhere, Tianhe Zunzhe!

"When I condensed my Dao Foundation using the Talisman Dao Foundation Establishment Method, there were no strange phenomena—perhaps because the Talisman Dao Foundation Establishment Method is merely a Foundation Establishment technique."

"But it is also possible that the Yuan Fu Dao Foundation I condensed was inherently flawed and could not be counted as a perfected path." Shijie Zhang sighed softly, "It is a pity I only understand this now."

"Cultivation is always a case of one mistake leading to many mistakes." Shijie Zhang continued to admonish Zheng Fa, "I have not yet seen a path to condense a Nascent Soul. Even if I do condense a Nascent Soul, there will likely be difficulties in the future. Zheng Fa, if you do not wish to be like me, you must be three parts more cautious during Foundation Establishment."

Seeing that even now, she was still admonishing him.

Zheng Fa could not help but interrupt her, saying, "Shijie, do you have confidence in forming a Nascent Soul?"

"..." Shijie Zhang fell silent for a moment before saying, "A Jin Dan lives for a thousand years; I still have nine hundred years. There is no rush."

"..."

These words seemed confident.

In reality, they showed far too little confidence.

In the Xuanwei Realm, the lifespan of Qi Refining cultivators is not much different from ordinary people, only about a hundred years.

After Foundation Establishment, one can live to three hundred years.

A Jin Dan lives for a thousand years.

Nascent Soul is a great leap; it is heard that the Sect Master is around ten thousand years old.

But... these are all ideal lifespans.

As far as Zheng Fa knew, very few cultivators could die of old age in their beds.

Shijie Zhang is currently relying on the Lei Chi to protect her life. Now that the Heavenly Stele has appeared, the Lei Chi might undergo some changes. With the Zizaimo Sect nearby, if the Lei Chi can no longer protect Shijie Zhang, whether she can live another nine hundred years becomes a question mark.

Even if she can live—a flawed Jin Dan cannot be solved merely by the passage of years.

Given Shijie Zhang's personality, if she truly had confidence, she would not have answered so evasively.

"Shijie Zhang, I have a hypothesis regarding the Yin Yang Yuan Fu..."

At this moment, one could only hope that the Yin Yang Yuan Fu could bring some inspiration to Shijie Zhang.

Shijie Zhang could not help but perk up, her face showing expectation as she listened intently to Zheng Fa's explanation.

"Chirality?"

"Mirror image?"

After Zheng Fa finished speaking, Shijie Zhang closed her eyes and thought for a while, seemingly simulating it within her body.

After a long time, she nodded slightly and then shook her head, a hint of disappointment appearing amidst the calm on her face.

"I understand chirality," Shijie Zhang said to Zheng Fa. "The Yin Yang Talisman Diagram indeed corresponds to the right hand and the left hand."

"But the mirror image... is not quite accurate."

Zheng Fa nodded slightly; he had realized this point that day as well:

"Considering only the Five Elements Sub-Talismans, the Yin Yang Talisman Diagrams are mirror images of each other, but the Talisman Diagrams are divided into three Sub-Talismans."

"The other two types of Sub-Talismans differ in the Yin Yang Talisman Diagrams and cannot be regarded as mirror images."

For example, among the Yuan Fu condensed by Zheng Fa, the Yin Earth Sub-Talisman talisman is the Upright Shadowless Talisman, while the Yang Earth Sub-Talisman talisman is the Spirit-Opening Talisman.

The only identical structure between these two is the Earth Sub-Talisman.

The other two types of Sub-Talismans are completely different.

Regarding them as mirror images is very forced.

Shijie Zhang nodded slightly. Seeing the somewhat dejected look on Zheng Fa's face, she suddenly smiled, "The theory of mirror images is not necessarily wrong."

"Hmm, it just didn't help Shijie."

Zheng Fa said softly.

Last time, when the theory of Five Elements Sub-Talismans was first proposed, Shijie Zhang had already made progress.

Now, however, he seemed to have gained no inspiration.

"No, you are very good," Zhang Shijie suddenly said. "Zheng Fa, do you know what I thought of when I sealed myself into the Xuanguan Jian?"

"What?"

"Relief," Zhang Shijie said softly. "Relief that I went to the Zhao Manor that time."

"Relief that I brought you into the Jiushan Sect."

"Relief that I passed the 'Foundation Establishment Method of the Talisman Dao' to you."

Zheng Fa was stunned, hearing Zhang Shijie continue:

"So I met you, so the Jiushan Sect has the most suitable future sect master, so the 'Foundation Establishment Method of the Talisman Dao' has the best successor."

Today, Zhang Shijie spoke more than usual.

Zheng Fa felt a bit stifled in his heart, yet did not know what to say.

"Zheng Fa, even Tianhe Zunzhe perished with body and soul extinguished; how could I escape? But if you truly perfect the 'Foundation Establishment Method of the Talisman Dao' in the future, the world will know—this Xuanwei Realm once had a Zhang Wuyi," Zhang Shijie said softly.

"Lei Chi is dangerous; you two should return first." Seeing the two silent, Zhang Shijie sighed lightly and said, "I am safe in this Xuanguan Jian for now. Zheng Fa, you might as well go check the Tian Bei first; no need to come here every day."

"Besides, I must cultivate."

As she spoke these words, her face was unusually calm.

Hearing her say so, Zheng Fa and the other could only exchange a glance and take their leave.

The next day.

Zhang Shijie sat cross-legged cultivating beneath the Xuanguan Jian, and from afar saw the figures of Zheng Fa and Yuan Shijie again.

"Didn't I tell you two to come less often?"

A faint smile flickered at the corner of Zhang Shijie's lips as she asked again.

"I came to keep you company!" Yuan Shijie said in a clingy tone, adding, "Besides, I don't cultivate the Thunder Method; what does the Tian Bei have to do with me!"

Yuan Shijie's thoughts were always simple; perhaps because of this, her cultivation was actually not slow.

Zhang Shijie shook her head and looked at Zheng Fa beside her.

Zheng Fa, however, took several thick books out of his storage bag.

The covers of the books bore titles that even Zhang Shijie could not understand.

"High School Mathematics Volume," "Mathematical Analysis," "Topology"...

Seeing her somewhat puzzled look, Zheng Fa opened his mouth and said, "Shijie, these are some research methods that might relate to talisman diagrams; I thought they might be of some help to you."

Topology is certainly the most helpful for researching talisman diagrams.

But topology itself requires some prerequisite knowledge.

For instance, the most basic point-set topology requires a foundation in mathematical analysis—although mathematical analysis is an introductory course for university mathematics departments and seems to require no foundation.

In reality, one must understand some basic knowledge of functions and set theory.

Zheng Fa's "High School Mathematics Volume" wrote about some of these related prerequisite knowledge.

Zhang Shijie's eyes shone brightly, and a smile involuntarily appeared on her face.

"Is this similar to those secret techniques of yours before?"

"These are more essential contents." Zheng Fa opened the book and said, "Those before could only be called methods; now these are the foundation that produces those methods."

Zhang Shijie nodded lightly, appearing on her face with great interest.

Even Yuan Shijie came over, her face showing some curiosity.

"First, we must understand the classification of numbers..."

Zheng Fa opened the book and explained slowly.

Two hours later, Zheng Fa had just entered the high school function section—Yuan Shijie could no longer bear it.

She looked at Zheng Fa's opening and closing mouth with a dazed expression; resistance slowly surged on her face, as if her brain had produced an instinct of self-protection.

"I..." She suddenly opened her mouth and said, "I'll go check the Tian Bei!"

"..."

Zheng Fa and the other turned their heads to look at her; she said in a small voice, "I suddenly felt something in my heart; that Tian Bei has a fate with me!"

"Didn't Shijie say you don't cultivate the Thunder Method?" Zheng Fa asked.

"Who can explain the interaction between Heaven and Man?" Yuan Shijie shouted while running, "Zhang Shijie, I'll come keep you company again after Zheng Shidi finishes!"

Watching her fleeing figure, Zheng Fa and Zhang Shijie exchanged a glance and could not help but shake their heads and smile lightly.

"Yuan Shimei indeed has less aptitude in this aspect; you continue explaining!"

Zhang Shijie said with bright eyes, as if the content Zheng Fa explained not only did not stump her but instead made her find it exceptionally interesting.

"Good, let's first look at several basic functions..."

One explained, one listened.

The two were after all cultivators; once truly absorbed, they forgot time.

Zheng Fa finished explaining "High School Mathematics" and then moved on to the second half of "Mathematical Analysis."

He was somewhat fascinated; he had learned this before under Old Man Bai, but this was his first attempt to output and explain this knowledge himself.

It even brought some different insights.

"Zheng Shidi?" Zhang Shijie suddenly said.

"Hmm?"

"Do you want to go check the Tian Bei as well?"

"... Ah?"

"I suddenly felt a stirring in my heart; this Heaven Stele must be fated for you." Zhang Shijie pinched her brow, seeming to have a headache, yet her face was full of sincerity.

I have a fate with that thing, and you sensed it?

This sounds even more absurd than the reason Senior Sister Yuan gave for running away.

Seeing the look of fear in Zhang Shijie's eyes as she gazed at the book in Zheng Fa's hand, Zheng Fa understood:

The transmission of knowledge cannot be too much at once; it must be restrained.

For instance, Zhang Shijie had been filled to the brim...