Chapter 197

The Old Man of the Bronze Coffin was, after all, a Nascent Soul cultivator.

Even within the Lei Chi, without that bronze coffin to protect him, he was thoroughly suppressed by Zhang Shijie, who harnessed the heavenly thunder within the Lei Chi.

He was not without means to fight back.

Although Zhang Shijie could only wield magic power and divine sense at the Foundation Establishment realm—yet it must be admitted, she possessed rich combat experience at this realm.

And that Old Man of the Bronze Coffin, separated from his treasure coffin, was restricted everywhere within the Lei Chi.

Yet this person still managed to fight Zhang Shijie to a standstill for a short time.

At the beginning, he still wanted to retrieve his bronze coffin.

But Zhang Shijie had guarded against this move of his, leaving him with few opportunities.

Later, the old man abandoned the bronze coffin and charged toward Zheng Fa and the other two—he also seemed to have realized that Zhang Shijie had been subtly protecting Zheng Fa and the others.

"Zheng Shidi! Retreat!"

Before Zheng Fa could react, Yuan Shijie was already standing before him; the feather fan in her hand swept forward, and three flames of fire shot toward the Old Man of the Bronze Coffin.

At this moment, Yuan Shijie no longer displayed her usual dazed demeanor; she transformed into a Green Luan, her massive body firmly blocking the space between Zheng Fa and the Old Man of the Bronze Coffin. Her innate treasure, the feather fan, waved continuously in the air, preventing the Old Man of the Bronze Coffin from approaching.

It was clear she was not aiming to kill the enemy, but rather to obstruct this person and protect Zheng Fa as her primary goal.

Zhang Shijie also seemed angered by this person's charge toward Zheng Fa; the Immortal-Ascending Brush in her hand danced continuously, and one after another spiritual talismans pursued the Old Man of the Bronze Coffin.

An angry woman was already formidable to deal with, let alone when that woman was Zhang Shijie.

Soon, the body of the Old Man of the Bronze Coffin turned to ash under the heavenly thunder; he truly didn't even need the coffin anymore.

That treasure bronze coffin floated helplessly in the Lei Chi.

Zhang Shijie, carrying Zheng Fa and the other two, flew forward; with a wave of her hand, the bronze coffin floated before Zheng Fa.

"You take it."

"Shijie?"

"Now that spiritual energy is in decline and spiritual materials are hard to find, most cultivators can only forge one innate treasure. After you form your Jin Dan, you should do the same; it is best to prepare early—this bronze coffin's material should be Nether Divine Iron, which counts as an excellent spiritual material."

This... isn't it a bit too early?

Moreover, isn't there someone nearby who needs it more...

He glanced to his side; Yuan Shijie had her head lowered, looking at her innate feather fan, seeming somewhat heartbroken.

Just now, to protect herself, she was probably a bit nervous and used a bit more divine sense when wielding this feather fan; she herself was unharmed, but the feather fan had been struck several times by the Lei Ting within the Lei Chi and was now somewhat scorched black.

Hearing Zhang Shijie give this bronze coffin to Zheng Fa, she showed no expression of jealousy, yet she did not raise her head to look at the bronze coffin either.

It seemed she feared her own greed.

"Yuan Shijie."

"Hmm?"

"I don't quite like the appearance of this coffin," Zheng Fa said softly. "I plan to melt it down."

Yuan Shijie blinked her eyes, not understanding why Zheng Fa was saying this to her.

"Shijie is most skilled in fire techniques; this matter must be entrusted to Shijie." Zheng Fa said with a smile. "I have already thought of the reward: after it is melted down, I can share some of the Nether Divine Iron with you, Yuan Shijie."

"Share... with me?" Yuan Shijie's eyes gradually brightened; looking at Zheng Fa, she cried out happily. "Zheng Shidi, are you serious?"

"Serious."

"Zhang Shijie..." Yuan Shijie looked at Zhang Shijie with a pleading gaze, her eyes full of anxiety.

"... I have already given it to him." Zhang Shijie glanced at Zheng Fa and shook her head. "Let him distribute it."

Yuan Shijie smiled foolishly, staring at the bronze coffin; that look made it seem as if she couldn't wait to reach out and touch it a couple of times.

Only the bronze coffin trembled slightly, as if indignant, or perhaps accusingly complaining: When you were seducing me just now, you didn't treat me like this!

Zheng Fa felt no sympathy for this bronze coffin—

A treasure that commits infidelity has no treasure rights!

Sitting in the room, Zheng Fa closed his eyes, gazing at the Yin-Yang Fish Jade Pendant within his sea of consciousness.

When he was enfeoffed in the Heavenly Stele Realm, he received a silver certificate and was granted five thousand li of land, which surprised Yan Wushuang and the others.

To speak honestly, Zheng Fa himself was also somewhat puzzled:

It was not that he belittled himself.

His cultivation was clearly a notch below Yan Wushuang and the others.

There was also a gap in talent.

Yet the Divine Sealing Hall had placed him in the same tier as Yan Wushuang; it must have discovered something more special about him:

Perhaps it was because he possessed the Heaven-Sent Technique of the Positive and Negative Five Elements Divine Light.

Or perhaps it was because of this Yin-Yang Fish Jade Pendant.

The reason Zheng Fa suspected this was that, at that time, the light sphere seemed to avoid this Yin-Yang Fish Jade Pendant...

This made Zheng Fa somewhat curious:

The Heavenly Stele contained a realm of its own, quite similar to the modern world in several aspects.

And judging from the attitude of the light sphere in the Divine Sealing Hall toward Zheng Fa's jade pendant—was there a "level" difference between the modern world and the Heavenly Stele Realm?

Come to think of it, Zheng Fa had not paid much attention to this jade pendant for a long time.

Actually, after Foundation Establishment, the jade pendant had undergone some changes: mainly, the time difference between the two realms had expanded further; now, Zheng Fa could even stay in the Xuanwei Realm for a year before entering the modern world.

However, Zheng Fa rarely dragged things out for so long, so he didn't care much about it.

After entering the Heavenly Stele Realm, Zheng Fa actually developed a different kind of interest in this jade pendant.

But this jade pendant seemed very innocent, standing quietly in Zheng Fa's sea of consciousness; it looked obedient and sensible, with none of the imposing aura of a powerful treasure.

Zheng Fa shook his head slightly, shifted his divine sense downward, and entered his dantian.

Compared to the Qi Condensation stage, his dantian has also undergone some slight changes.

The Yuanfu Dao Foundation—or rather, the Mobius Sub-Symbol Diagram—sits right in the center of his dantian, while the other two types of sub-symbols dance nearby like delicate jade belts.

The most significant change is the spiritual energy within his dantian.

During the Qi Condensation stage, the spiritual energy in his body was like a river; progressing from the early to the late stage of Qi Condensation was the process of this river slowly expanding from a stream into a great river.

Upon reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, whether stream or great river, both had vanished.

The spiritual energy within his body had transformed from liquid into solid.

Now, the spiritual energy in his body resembles grains of silver sand; like stars scattered across the sky, they slowly rotate beneath his Yuanfu Dao Foundation.

According to the "Shen Xiao Yu Lei Zhenfa," the journey from Foundation Establishment to Jin Dan is the process of gathering this silver sand into a Lei Tian, and then nurturing the Lei Shi.

With the help of the spiritual materials purchased by Senior Uncle Pang in the market, he has now taken the first step—the number of these sand grains is far greater than when he first established his foundation, yet there is still a distance before they can gather into a single mass to form a Lei Tian.

The realms within the Foundation Establishment stage are not as finely divided as those in the Qi Condensation stage, but the difficulty of cultivation is incomparable.

Zheng Fa took out a Purple Lightning Fruit, placed it in his mouth, chewed it into a pulp, and swallowed it. He felt a surge of spiritual energy carrying the power of Lei Ting flow down his throat into his abdomen, then seep from his abdomen into his meridians, finally falling into his dantian to condense into a grain of silver sand...

"Zheng Shidi, people from Qianhe Sect have arrived."

Just as he was immersed in cultivation, Senior Sister Yuan knocked on his door and reminded him from the entrance.

"I am coming right away." Zheng Fa slowly opened his eyes and stood up from the bed: "Why did Senior Sister Yuan come in person? You could have just asked another senior brother to deliver the message."

"You don't know?"

"Know what?"

"Senior Uncle Pang has issued an order that ordinary people are not allowed to approach your room," Senior Sister Yuan explained. "Only a handful of people are permitted to come."

"This... there was no need to trouble Senior Sister you." Zheng Fa also knew that Senior Uncle Pang was being excessively cautious, but he felt a bit embarrassed that a Jin Dan like Senior Sister Yuan had to deliver a message for him.

"I actually think Senior Uncle Pang is too unreliable; how could he let those junior brothers come! I have already told Senior Uncle Pang that from now on, if anything concerns you, I will handle it myself!"

Hearing Senior Sister Yuan speak thus, Zheng Fa was left speechless.

This Senior Sister Yuan seemed even more excessive than Senior Uncle Pang.

"Senior Sister Yuan, are you afraid I will come to harm, or that the coffin will?" Zheng Fa fell silent for a moment, then suddenly asked.

"Zheng Shidi, asking such a question hurts the feelings between us!"

Zheng Fa fell silent again and asked: "Then... is what hurts the feelings my question, or Senior Sister your answer?"

Senior Sister Yuan's gaze wandered as she said, "Ahem, you don't know... that envoy from Qianhe Sect was in a wretched state."

"Wretched?"

When Zheng Fa walked into the main hall, he understood why Senior Sister Yuan had said that.

The visitor was True Person Qian of Qianhe Sect; when Zheng Fa first cooperated with Qianhe Sect, it was with this person that the arrangements were made.

He still remembered that at the time, although True Person Qian's conduct was polite, he was neither humble nor arrogant.

But now, as Senior Uncle Pang looked at this person, the silver light in his eyes was ruthless and persistent, scrutinizing True Person Qian from head to toe.

To speak reasonably, anyone watched so vigilantly by a Nascent Soul True Person would already show some courage just by not kneeling.

"Senior Uncle Pang."

Zheng Fa entered the room and first bowed to Senior Uncle Pang.

"Zheng Fa, he said he was invited by you?"

"Yes, this disciple wishes to consult with True Person Qian on some matters."

Senior Uncle Pang nodded and waved his hand, indicating his inspection was complete and that Zheng Fa and the other could leave.

Once they stepped out of the hall door, he clearly heard True Person Qian let out a long sigh of relief.

Zheng Fa turned to look at this person and saw him wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, offering a dry smile:

"Your sect is so cautious... I thought I had come to inspect some treasure of the sect."

Before he could finish speaking.

He felt a surging momentum emanate from behind him, causing three more layers of cold sweat to form on his forehead.

"I... did I say something wrong?"

True Person Qian stammered.

... Saying the wrong thing was not the problem.

The problem is that you said the right thing.

"True Person Qian, since you traveled all the way from Qianhe Sect, it should have been me who came to visit." Zheng Fa was now closely guarded by Senior Uncle Pang, making it difficult even to travel far, so he could only invite people from Qianhe Sect to come.

"No trouble, no trouble!" True Person Qian actually smiled with extreme obsequiousness: "Since True Person Zhang of your sect has achieved Nascent Soul, I should have come to offer congratulations. Upon arriving, I learned that True Person Zheng you have also established your foundation; your sect has truly had double joy recently."

Zheng Fa had seen this kind of affectionate demeanor often enough recently and felt no contempt in his heart.

Ever since Senior Sister Zhang achieved Nascent Soul, everyone from the Baixian Alliance who came to the door was three times more polite—

Achieving Nascent Soul is difficult in itself nowadays.

Moreover, Senior Sister Zhang's fame is widespread.

To describe it hyperbolically, nowadays, when people from Jiushan Sect go out, every fellow disciple of the Baixian Alliance they meet is a good person...

"True Person Qian, I invited you here actually to consult on one matter."

"Consult? I dare not; if I can help True Person Zheng, I will speak without holding anything back!" True Person Qian said, patting his chest.

"This matter concerns spiritual plants; I do not have many familiar cultivators. Within the Baixian Alliance, your sect stands alone in the cultivation of spiritual plants, so I must consult with you, True Person."

"Spiritual plants? May I ask what the problem is?"

True Person Qian's expression became somewhat hesitant.

"I have heard that the cultivation of spiritual plants is extremely related to the power of Heavenly Thunder?" Zheng Fa spoke.

"That is indeed correct." True Person Qian answered this question extremely readily, as if it were no secret at all.

"Then what exactly are the specific connections?"

"..." Unexpectedly, True Person Qian fell silent for a moment before saying, "This matter already counts as a secret of my Qianhe Sect; I must beg your pardon, but I cannot disclose it."

Zheng Fa was somewhat surprised; this man had been frightened by Senior Uncle Pang and clearly wished to curry favor with the Jiushan Sect.

Yet he could still refuse so without hesitation?

(End of Chapter)