Chapter 188: Divine Art

Zheng Fa felt as if something had seized his entire being, pulling his soul up into the heavens.

He passed through the roof of the Five Dragon Heavenly Palace and saw Master Pang and others gazing outward from the grand hall.

Then he saw the entire Lei Chi marketplace beneath his feet; disciples there, drawn by the celestial phenomenon, all tilted their heads and stood on tiptoe, staring upward—merchants and customers alike.

Yet they seemed unable to see him.

Zheng Fa continued rising upward.

Gradually, the people on the ground shrank to the size of ants.

The Lei Chi marketplace resembled a child's pile of building blocks.

Even the vast Lei Chi itself became a mere ink dot on the earth after a cup of tea.

Soon even that dot vanished from view.

He pierced through the sea of clouds.

Slowly, he leveled with the sun and moon.

But he did not stop—the force still pulled him upward.

When he finally halted, nothing surrounded him.

His soul seemed unable to rise further, as if it had struck a thick barrier.

Zheng Fa looked up—but saw nothing before him.

Is this… what the Heaven River Master meant by the celestial shackles?

He raised his eyes higher.

The sight above stunned him further.

He saw a talisman, rotating above his head.

The talisman was so vast that Zheng Fa wondered if it dwarfed even Lei Chi.

What struck him as strange was that, as the talisman slowly turned, certain patterns within it felt familiar—the Five Element Sub-Talismans.

Zheng Fa suddenly understood:

The force pulling him upward was probably this thing.

Could Zhang Shijie's own Five Element Ring's resonance with the heavens refer to this?

He reached up toward it—but his hand met only air.

His hand passed through the talisman without resistance.

"An illusion?"

He frowned, reached out again—and noticed the talisman now bore a gap shaped like a right hand.

"A projection?"

He suddenly froze, realizing this too was merely a projection.

Zheng Fa gazed beyond the sky.

His vision met only emptiness—nothing visible at all.

The talisman's true form might lie impossibly far away, perhaps even outside this spacetime.

The moment he grasped this, the colossal talisman above him collapsed into a glowing sphere, which blazed with blinding light and slammed into him.

Zheng Fa was knocked senseless.

He felt himself plummeting at incredible speed.

The next instant, he felt himself reenter his body—and the glowing sphere, born from the talisman, shot straight into his dantian, merging with the Möbius Talisman Base within.

Zheng Fa frowned, studying it—the once-simple Five Element Sub-Talismans now held subtle changes, imperceptible to the eye, yet his mind suddenly held new knowledge.

…

"You mean… you've gained a divine art?"

In Zheng Fa's room, Zhang Shijie scrutinized him from head to toe, her pride and concern unmistakable.

"Yes…" Before her, he had nothing to hide: "This divine art seems a gift from the talisman—called the Positive-Negative Five Element Divine Light."

"Positive-Negative Five Element Divine Light—what power does it hold?"

"I've just gained it; I don't fully understand yet. But I can briefly control an opponent's magic treasure."

As he spoke, his expression grew odd.

This… he thought he'd heard something similar in his past life.

After listening, Zhang Shijie pondered a moment: "Briefly? How brief?"

"Why not test it?"

Zhang Shijie and Yuan Shijie exchanged glances, then nodded lightly, each drawing forth their life-bound magic treasures.

Yuan Shijie's life-bound treasure, unsurprisingly, was a feather fan crafted from her own feathers.

But Zhang Shijie's life-bound treasure startled Zheng Fa—she held a brush.

"This is my life-bound spiritual treasure, the Flying Immortal Brush," Zhang Shijie explained, seeing his confusion. "The handle is from the Phoenix's beak, the tip from White Tiger fur, the ferrule from Qilin horn, and the cap from the Black Tortoise shell."

Zheng Fa's jaw ached.

From envy.

Beside him, Yuan Shijie's fan seemed to shrink slightly, as if ashamed.

"Sister, the legendary Four Celestial Spirits vanished tens of thousands of years ago—how did you acquire these materials…?"

Zhang Shijie replied coldly: "I never fight a battle without guaranteed gains."

But you've fought countless battles…

Understood.

No wonder Zhang Shijie, despite her talent, had such a poor reputation in the Hundred Immortal Alliance.

Zhang Shijie hadn't drawn the brush to show off.

She asked Zheng Fa to demonstrate the Positive-Negative Five Element Divine Light on both her and Yuan Shijie.

The effect was quickly revealed.

Against Yuan Shijie, a Golden Core, Zheng Fa gained control of her treasure within an incense stick's burn.

Against Zhang Shijie, a Nascent Soul True Person, the effect was negligible.

The Positive-Negative Five Element Divine Light lasted only a single breath.

Moreover, since both treasures placed immense strain on his spiritual sense and magic power, he could barely use them—he could only disrupt Zhang Shijie and Yuan Shijie's control.

"… "

After the test, Zhang Shijie's expression toward Zheng Fa had turned strange.

"Zhang Shijie?"

"Now I finally understand how others saw me."

"… "

"They must have thought heaven was unjust—hence why they wanted to beat me."

"Sister Zhang," Zheng Fa interrupted: "Could it be… that your personality played a part in why they wanted to fight you?"

"… "

"Heaven is unjust!" Master Pang cried out in anguish.

He had just managed to send away the curious Nascent Souls and rushed to Zheng Fa's room; upon hearing of the Positive-Negative Five Element Divine Light, he smacked his thigh.

"Master Pang…"

Wait—do people in the Xuanwei Realm really have this much envy?

"That Yuan guy!" Master Pang roared: "I saw you first—he butted in!"

"Self-created Dao path, heaven and earth rejoice, innate divine art!" Master Pang's voice grew more bitter: "I will never make peace with that Yuan!"

"Master Pang, didn't you already accept this…?"

"I had no idea you'd be the next Heaven River Master!" Master Pang groaned: "If I'd known, I'd have overturned the Nine Mountains Sect rather than accept it!"

Wait—you were willing to die for the Nine Mountains Sect just two days ago.

Did you change your mind this fast?

It seems just as I resolved Master Pang's feud with Master Huang, he's now hating his own master?

… Must his mortal enemy always come from within the Nine Mountains Sect?

"By the way, speaking of the Heaven River Master," Zhang Shijie suddenly said: "The Heaven River Sect has long sought to restore the Heaven River Master's glory. Now it seems he, too, gained an extraordinary innate divine art by self-creating his life-bound treasure—hence his dominance over Xuanwei."

"That's why the Heaven River Sect can never produce another Heaven River Master."

Zhang Shijie's analysis stunned Zheng Fa—he found it deeply logical.

"This must never reach outsiders!" Master Pang immediately said: "Zhang Shijie, say you gained insight only after your Nascent Soul formation. I'll personally warn everyone else—and if needed, I'll use force."

As he spoke, his expression turned grim.

Zhang Shijie nodded, turning to Zheng Fa: "Even the Heaven River Master only perfected his life-bound treasure method after reaching Nascent Soul. You're still at Foundation Establishment—you must not draw attention."

"Thank you, Sister and Master, for your protection."

He understood their goodwill.

His displayed talent was too astonishing.

Yet his cultivation base remained far too low.

"Heh, who'd have thought the Nine Mountains Sect could produce another Heaven River Master?" Master Pang suddenly patted Zheng Fa's bed, daydreaming: "I'll hang a plaque here: 'Where Zheng Zunzhe Awakened the Dao.'"

…

"Ancestor! The Ancestor has been reborn!"

By the Lei Chi, Yan Wushuang felt that their own Sunset Sword Immortal had finally gone mad.

Han Lao, a short man, trembled beside the Lei Chi, as if one misstep could send him tumbling into it.

"Han Lao, what's wrong?"

He hurriedly asked.

Hearing this, Han Lao calmed down, as if remembering something, clamping his mouth shut and watching him warily.

"Han Lao?"

"Don't ask. This matter is not for outsiders to know."

"... ren't you also from the Tianhe Sect?"

"... es, how come I'm from the Tianhe Sect!"

Upon hearing this, Han Lao clenched his teeth in fury, his expression filled with regret.

After thinking long and hard, as if struggling to recall, he suddenly brightened and said to Yan Wushuang: "A while ago, weren't you cooperating with Zheng—uh—with the Jiushan Sect on the talisman seals?"

"Yes, but Han Lao, you didn't even care for those talisman seals."

"Who said I didn't care!" Han Lao gave him a look of offense: "If I didn't care, would I have lifted a finger?"

"But that was..."

"No buts!" Han Lao cut him off: "You need to go to the Jiushan Sect and work out a proper plan for those talisman seals."

"... es."

Watching Han Lao, so eager to offer advice, Yan Wushuang felt something was off.

"Then why aren't you going already?"

"Oh!"

Yan Wushuang scratched his head and prepared to head toward the Jiushan Sect.

Though Han Lao had always been strange, he had protected him for years and saved his life many times.

Yan Wushuang had always trusted and relied on him.

"Are you just going like this?"

Yan Wushuang glanced at his attire and found nothing amiss: "How else should I go?"

"Are you going empty-handed?"

"..." Yan Wushuang paused. What did it matter if he went empty-handed? His status allowed it.

"It makes the Tianhe Sect look uncultivated!"

"... sn't that how the Tianhe Sect always is?" Yan Wushuang retorted. "Besides, I have no money."

"Here!"

To his surprise, Han Lao rummaged in his robes and pulled out a storage bag.

"Buy some spirit materials, prepare a formal invitation, and be respectful, understand?"

Yan Wushuang held the storage bag, staring at him blankly.

He clearly didn't understand.

He even thought the old man was a bit mad.

"You... those talisman seals have great potential!" Han Lao finally, after much hesitation, came up with a reason.

"Really..." Yan Wushuang scratched his head. "Am I that perceptive?"

Han Lao sighed. "A bit blind, but lucky."