Chapter 186

A few days later.

Inside the Great Hall of the Five Dragon Heavenly Palace.

It was once again filled with distinguished guests.

But the situation now was different.

"Congratulations to the Jiushan Sect on gaining another Nascent Soul True Person; may your prosperity continue to rise!" A True Person had not yet entered the door when he spoke with a smile.

His demeanor showed no sign that he had been the fastest to flee that day.

Uncle Pang's face seemed unoffended; he clasped his hands toward the other and smiled lightly: "Shijie Zhang's formation of the Golden Core is also a joyous occasion for our Baixian Alliance, is it not?"

"Uh, yes! Yes, yes!"

The True Persons of Nascent Soul within the hall exchanged glances, and a single thought arose in their minds—

Joyous my foot!

Who doesn't understand Zhang Wuyi's nature?

Now that she has formed the Golden Core, her strength has increased by an unknown amount.

But her nature has probably not changed.

When that person was at the Jin Dan stage, she bullied their disciples; now that she has formed the Golden Core, she can bully them!

Otherwise, why would they have hurriedly come to their door to curry favor?

"May I ask where True Person Zhang is?"

"She is not in the market district," Uncle Pang replied.

"We have all come to congratulate her, and we have brought our gifts."

"Even if she is not here, it does not hinder any of you from presenting your gifts."

Uncle Pang smiled kindly, but the others felt even more nauseated, as if they had swallowed a fly.

They also knew this was the Jiushan Sect's subtle expression of dissatisfaction with their flight.

But...

If they hadn't been able to trap and kill this surname Pang, then Zhang Wuyi had formed the Golden Core.

They had to endure the nausea!

"True Person Zhang is probably receiving someone more important!" someone suddenly said.

Everyone present wore expressions of sudden realization—

The Jiushan Sect had somehow attached itself to the thigh of the Tianhe Sect!

"Yes, yes, yes, it doesn't hinder us from making True Person Zhang happy! Nor does it hinder us from giving gifts!"

"Yes, yes, yes, that great cultivator is more important; we are all people of the Baixian Alliance, so there is no need to be formal."

"Come, come, come, True Person Pang, I toast you!"

Uncle Pang smiled without speaking.

His gaze, however, could not help but turn toward the direction of the Lei Chi.

By the Lei Chi, in a valley.

Zheng Fa was sitting on the ground beside Shijie Zhang.

Shijie Yuan was also nearby; she had picked some wild fruits from somewhere, sorting through them as she stuffed them into her mouth. It seemed this particular one was especially sour, for she could not help but frown, her face turning into a big meat bun with eighteen folds.

Yet she did not spit the fruit out.

After the storm had passed, Zheng Fa felt somewhat lethargic.

He leaned against a large rock, watching the leaves above sway slowly in the wind, while the birds in the forest slowly cleaned their feathers; occasionally, human voices drifted over, sounding as distant as if they belonged to another world.

Then he looked at Shijie Zhang beside him.

She, having formed the Golden Core, seemed to possess a bit more vitality than usual.

It was not noticeable in front of others, but when the three were alone, it was very obvious.

Shijie Zhang seemed to notice his gaze; she looked at him and suddenly took a jade flute out of her storage bag.

Zheng Fa felt puzzled; he had never seen Shijie Zhang play music before.

"Shijie? You also like this?"

Shijie Yuan also asked.

It was clear that not only did Zheng Fa not know of this hobby of Shijie Zhang's.

"Music and mathematics are deeply connected; I also studied it for a time," Shijie Zhang explained. "But after entering the path, with all matters becoming complicated, I played it less."

Zheng Fa nodded lightly, watching as Shijie Zhang raised the jade flute to her lips.

Zheng Fa could find no words to describe the sound of Shijie Zhang's flute.

He simply felt that the mountain was greener and the breeze much gentler.

Shijie Yuan was even more excited than he.

She transformed into the form of a Green Luan and slowly soared around the mountain peak where they were, following the sound of Shijie Zhang's flute.

After a while, she seemed to feel that being too far away made it unsatisfying to listen.

She circled around Shijie Zhang again.

Not only her, but the birds in the mountains seemed attracted by the flute sound, flying and dancing behind her.

When the song ended, Shijie Yuan slowly landed on the ground and transformed back into a young girl, her face still showing a hint of lingering desire.

"Shijie, you play so beautifully!" Shijie Yuan praised.

Shijie Zhang nodded, looking very confident; she glanced at Zheng Fa and said:

"You are the only one, besides Master, who has listened to me play the flute..."

She glanced at Yuan Shijie again, paused, and said:

"person."

Zheng Fa was somewhat surprised.

"The only one?"

"Yes, from the past to the future."

"What beautiful flute music."

Canyang Sword Immortal led Yan Wushuang along the edge of Lei Chi.

The two had been walking and talking as they went.

Later, he suddenly stopped in place, tilted his ear as if listening to something, his expression somewhat entranced.

Then, as if hearing Zhang Shijie's words, he smiled proudly and continued walking forward.

"Han Lao, you're eavesdropping again!"

"What do you mean eavesdropping?" Canyang Sword Immortal snorted: "My ears are good, is that my fault?"

"..."

"Besides, this is my way of comprehending the Dao," Han Lao explained: "Ten thousand voices, ten thousand thoughts; within them lies the Great Dao."

"Then what have you comprehended?"

"What have I comprehended?" Han Lao glanced at him and said: "I have understood a supreme truth of heaven and earth."

"What?"

"All cultivators in the Xuanwei Realm are just shit; each one's hidden thoughts are who knows how filthy."

"..." Yan Wushuang stood with his mouth agape.

"The Demon Sect's shit at night hides itself, occasionally making you step in it and feel disgusted."

"The Immortal Sect's shit is like the shit in a restaurant; it's placed on a plate, rimmed with gold, and they force you to eat it."

"My Tianhe Sect is the oldest pile of all!" the old man grumbled: "Others say the older an Immortal Sect, the stronger it is; I say, the older the shit, the stinkier it gets!"

"... Han Lao, did you come out of the mountain to protect me, or because you couldn't survive within the sect anymore?"

Yan Wushuang asked after a long silence.

"I didn't want to be suffocated by the stench!" Canyang Sword Immortal sneered: "You want me to save whoever from the Jiushan Sect; I think he's shit too, though sometimes he doesn't stink—so I saved him, that's all."

"Isn't this... because I saw profit in that talisman seal?"

"... Is my single sword strike worth just that thing?"

"... I don't even have to throw a strike."

"So you're running a no-capital business?" Han Lao fumed.

"You old man never give me spirit stones," Yan Wushuang retorted, adding: "And you spent mine."

"... You brat! This time you actually made a profitable deal; I think Zhang Wuyi is quite talented." Han Lao fell silent for a moment before saying: "I think, though she can't compare to the Ancestral Master, she possesses two-tenths of the Ancestral Master's spirit."

When mentioning the words "Ancestral Master," the old man's face, usually full of shit-talk, suddenly showed frantic reverence.

In Yan Wushuang's eyes, this old man's fervor toward the Ancestral Master far exceeded that of the senior elders of the same sect.

"Han Lao, you..."

"You don't understand; if a figure like the Ancestral Master does not emerge during this tribulation, those destined to die will die. What difference does it make whether it's an Immortal Sect or a Demon Sect, whether it's the Jiushan Sect or the Tianhe Sect, whether there's one more shit Nascent Soul or one less shit Nascent Soul?" Canyang Sword Immortal sighed.

"Then Zhang True Person..."

"She cannot compare; when the Ancestral Master formed her Nascent Soul, she uniquely created the method of the Innate Spirit Treasure, and heaven and earth rejoiced. Zhang Wuyi, though spirited, lacks that capability." After saying this, the old man suddenly added: "However, she is still a figure in the Xuanwei Realm; you saved that surname Pang fellow, and by accident, you have established a good relationship with her."

These words made Yan Wushuang feel somewhat proud.

He thought for a moment and said again: "That Zheng Fa is also quite extraordinary; he is as famous as Zhang Wuyi within the Jiushan Sect. Han Lao, your intervention this time is absolutely not a loss!"

"Zheng Fa? He is indeed extraordinary."

"Right."

"He is very much like you."

Yan Wushuang widened his eyes: "Han Lao, do you hold him in such high regard?"

Although he did not show it.

But as the son of the Tianhe Sect's Sect Master, how could his heart not hold a bit of pride?

"I mean, you are powerful because you have a good father," Han Lao glanced at him and said: "He is powerful because he has a good Shijie."

"Han Lao... just scold him," Yan Wushuang said after a long while: "Why drag me into it?"

"I am scolding you; he is just incidental—people like him also need talent; they don't rely purely on their birth."

"Then why scold him?"

"I never had a good Shijie."

"Ah?"

"I was jealous." Looking at the stunned Yan Wushuang, Han Lao said with a smile: "I am also a piece of old shit, very stinky."

At Zheng Fa's location, Yuan Shijie curiously asked: "Zhang Shijie, what was your Heart Demon Tribulation like?"

The expression on her face was less concern and more gossip.

To be honest, Zheng Fa was also somewhat curious in his heart.

He had never seen that expression on Zhang Shijie's face, nor had he ever seen Zhang Shijie's tears.

"In the Heart Demon Tribulation, I felt as if I had returned to the Jiushan Sect," Zhang Shijie said after a moment of silence.

Both Zheng Fa and the other listened.

"Everyone from Jiushan Sect is dead." Zhang Shijie looked into the distance, as if recalling something: "The Zizaimo Sect attacked the mountain gate. The Sect Master is dead. My Master is dead."

"What about me?" Yuan Shijie pointed at herself and asked.

"Dead."

"What about Junior Brother Zheng?"

Zhang Shijie fell silent for a moment, then said: "He is dead too."

"So, Senior Sister, you are crying?"

Yuan Shijie said, suddenly realizing.

"I am not crying." Zhang Shijie shook her head and said.

"I cultivated hard, yet I could not break through to Nascent Soul no matter what." Zhang Shijie said softly: "Later I discovered that the mathematics you taught me seemed to have great use. Unfortunately, within the Heart Demon Tribulation, it was ultimately illusory. I meditated for eight hundred years but still could not fully comprehend it."

"... Ah?"

"Moreover, since you died, no one is left to teach me mathematics."

"So, Senior Sister Zhang, you are crying because your cultivation has not advanced an inch and you cannot take revenge?" Yuan Shijie blinked her eyes and summarized.

"No. It has been eight hundred years, and only now do I dare to think of that fact for the first time: that he is dead."

"..."

Yuan Shijie was stunned for a moment, then suddenly felt regretful: "I shouldn't have asked!"

"Then, Senior Sister, you are..."

"I heard your lecture." Zhang Shijie smiled: "Within the Heart Demon Tribulation, a person can actually hear sounds from the outside world. It is just that the Heart Demon confuses your senses, making you think it is your own wild thoughts."

"Then how did Senior Sister hear it?"

"The things you taught... it wouldn't... it tried very hard, but it really couldn't. It was truly nonsense... I saw through it."

"..."

"Speaking of which, upon achieving Nascent Soul this time, I made a discovery."

"Hmm?"

"The Five Elements Talismans seem to be resonating with something."

"Resonating?"

"Yes, this resonance comes from the sky." Zhang Shijie's eyes were also confused: "Although it lasted only an instant, I felt it."