Chapter 212: The Secret of Soul Transformation

In the Five Dragon Heavenly Palace, Master Pang and Sect Master Yuan sat facing each other, as if chatting casually.

"Brother, you've been away from Jiushan Sect for quite some time now."

Master Pang asked as if idly.

"What of it?"

"Jiushan Sect cannot go a single day without a Sect Master… you should return."

"Lei Chi suits me better."

"Your position as Sect Master makes going to Lei Chi too dangerous."

"I'm not afraid."

"You'd be better off returning."

"I still need to go to the Heavenly Stele Realm!" Sect Master Yuan shook his head.

Master Pang grew anxious: "Brother, weren't you always happiest staying on the Ninth Peak? You haven't left the mountain in thousands of years."

"I don't understand—I only ever took one disciple in thousands of years, yet why are you fixated on me?"

"…"

The silence in the hall grew awkward; Master Pang's face bore the embarrassment of being caught out.

"Master, Master Pang…" Zheng Fa entered and said: "I have a matter to ask!"

Yuan Shijie's gaze grew increasingly brazen, making Zheng Fa fear she might lose control.

As soon as he returned to the marketplace, he came to consult these two Nascent Soul elders.

"Oh, tell me!"

Sect Master Yuan hadn't even spoken yet, yet Master Pang had already answered—he let out a soft hum of annoyance.

"Master Pang, I think there's something wrong with my cultivation of the Divine Thunder Subduing True Law."

"What kind of problem?"

Master Pang grew slightly tense—this was no trivial matter; the Divine Thunder Subduing True Law had already become Zheng Fa's foundational scripture.

If a foundational scripture malfunctions, it severely impacts future development.

"This Divine Thunder Subduing True Law… your Master knows it better." Master Pang thought for a moment, still unwilling to delay Zheng Fa, and pointed to the Sect Master.

The Sect Master smiled smugly at Master Pang.

"Disciple, ask me anything you don't understand!"

His tone lingered heavily on the word "disciple," as if emphasizing something.

Zheng Fa didn't catch the subtext between them—he was bewildered by the strange changes in his own dantian, and told them how he had opened the Thunder Field, how the Qingyang Dao Body had acted up, and how a tender sprout had grown.

"Hmm…"

Sect Master Yuan fell into thought, as if pondering.

"Master, is this normal for me?"

Zheng Fa asked, hopeful.

This Divine Thunder Subduing True Law was passed down by this old man, and more importantly, the anomaly arose during his cultivation of this secret method—according to his Master's words, only he had ever practiced it in all of Jiushan Sect.

Could it be that the sprout growing in his dantian was due to this secret method?

"Brother, what do you think?" the Sect Master suddenly asked Master Pang.

"…" Master Pang paused: "I've never practiced the Divine Thunder Subduing True Law—how could I know?"

"I've practiced this scripture too, but I've never encountered such a case…"

"Wait." Master Pang suddenly frowned, summarizing: "So you passed a secret method to your nephew, he practiced it, and now he's grown something unknown—and you have no idea?"

"Brother, I just remembered—I still have some matters to attend to at Jiushan Sect. I must hurry back…"

"Go to hell!" Master Pang exploded: "If you've ruined Zheng Fa, you'll have to answer to the ancestral masters of Jiushan Sect!"

"…"

"Right—the ancestral masters!" Sect Master Yuan suddenly recalled: "Zheng Fa's Qingyang Dao Body came from the Qingyang Qi the ancestral masters bestowed—why not ask them directly?"

Hearing this, even Master Pang nodded.

Zheng Fa also thought it made sense.

Wasn't the Qingyang Qi the ancestral masters had awarded him?

Soon, they decided Zheng Fa and Zhang Shijie would return to Jiushan Sect, while the Sect Master and Master Pang would remain to guard the Lei Chi marketplace—as the Sect Master himself had said, as Jiushan Sect's strongest Thunder cultivator, Lei Chi truly suited him best.

Zhang Shijie, newly entered into the Nascent Soul realm, also needed to return to Jiushan Sect's spiritually rich environment to consolidate her cultivation base.

She had stayed at the Lei Chi marketplace mainly out of concern for Zheng Fa's safety.

But since both Zheng Fa and Zhang Shijie were leaving, the marketplace affairs needed arranging—they'd have to wait several more days.

…

Several days later.

Zheng Fa sat in his room, frowning deeply.

His spiritual sense stared at the sprout, his heart heavier than before…

These past two days he had continued cultivating the Divine Thunder Subduing True Law, and the spirit materials Master Pang had given him remained plentiful.

But his progress had been extremely slow.

Slowness wasn't the issue—he'd advanced from early Foundation Establishment to mid-Foundation Establishment, so slower progress was normal.

But it was too slow!

After these days of cultivation, the spiritual sprout showed not a single sign of growth.

According to the Divine Thunder Subduing True Law, the Thunder Seed should slowly grow until it bore a spiritual fruit…

Yet this thing had consumed so much spiritual power and remained unchanged.

He opened his eyes, his expression troubled:

This thing either didn't harmonize with the Divine Thunder Subduing True Law…

Or it was hungrier than any ordinary Thunder Seed…

Both possibilities gave him a headache.

"Zheng Fa! Lady Lingye is here to visit!"

Yuan Shijie called out from outside, not entering, speaking through the door.

"Sister?"

"Zhang Shijie is stingy!" Yuan Shijie had already run off: "She won't let me near you! Oh right, Lady Lingye is waiting for you at Zhang Shijie's courtyard!"

When he reached Zhang Shijie's courtyard, he found not only Zhang Shijie but also his own Master receiving Lady Lingye.

The group sipped tea and chatted.

But Lady Lingye had been watching the doorway all along—when Zheng Fa stepped up, she turned to him with a smile: "Friend Zheng, we meet again."

Zheng Fa felt something odd.

Why did this woman seem so familiar with him?

Zhang Shijie glanced at him—Zheng Fa suddenly felt guilty…

Wait, why am I feeling guilty?

"Lady Lingye."

"Call me Xiao Yuying."… Zhang Shijie's gaze sharpened further; Zheng Fa felt even more guilty.

"You've come to Jiushan Sect today…"

"Oh, I have no interest in Jiushan Sect—I came for you."

…Lady Xiao, you say things like that and people will misunderstand!

"For me?"

Zheng Fa looked at Xiao Yuying in confusion.

"This matter may concern your secret…" Xiao Yuying glanced at Zhang Shijie and Sect Master Yuan.

"Sister… oh, and Master—they're both people I'd trust with my life! Lady Xiao, speak freely!" Zheng Fa said at once.

Indeed, Zhang Shijie's gaze softened considerably…

Xiao Yuying paused, looked at Zhang Shijie, then bowed slightly: "Zhang Wuyi… your reputation is truly deserved."

Her tone carried a hint of awe.

Zheng Fa watched her, unsure what she was awed by.

Xiao Yuying seemed to sense his confusion and smiled: "Don't you think I've changed? Usually I'm never polite—today I'm acting differently?"

Zheng Fa gave an awkward smile, and she explained: "I'm only polite to those whose talent equals or surpasses mine."

"Huh?"

That was bluntly mercenary.

"Because only those with talent better than mine won't envy me."

"…"

Hearing this, the others' expressions grew more complex.

"You know my Dao Body is unusual," Xiao Yuying explained. "When I first established my Foundation, I traveled the world—I used to enjoy making friends… many Dao friends."

"Until one day, I encountered a celestial sword's emergence."

"…"

She said nothing else, only smiled: "After that, I realized—no matter how warmly or politely I treated others after acquiring a treasure, they always envied me."

"If I gave away the treasure, even if I cursed them for three days and nights, they'd still smile at me."

"Those who escape jealousy are mediocrities."

"So," Xiao Yuying said matter-of-factly, "why should I be polite?"

Zheng Fa shook his head and said nothing.

Forget about what Xiao Yuying is like—she's doing fine.

"So I say, you trust your senior sister so completely," Xiao Yuying continued. "She must never have been jealous of you."

"No," Zheng Fa said suddenly. "Senior sister isn't unjealous of me—she's been exceptionally kind to me."

"Exceptionally kind, exceptionally kind."

He felt Zhang Shijie's gaze warm slightly again.

Zheng Fa let out a quiet breath inside.

"Then I'll speak plainly—your Dao body is unusual, isn't it?"

"Hm?"

Zheng Fa froze, thinking of the sprout, his expression turning grave.

"I knew it," Xiao Yuying said, her face filled with understanding. "Otherwise, such a scene—gods bowing—would never have occurred in Tiangong."

Zheng Fa asked in confusion, only then learning that such a spectacle had taken place outside when he formed that sprout.

"Miss Xiao, you're saying this is connected to my Dao body?"

"What do you think a Dao body is?" Xiao Yuying asked.

"A cultivation aptitude?"

"Dao bodies differ from one another—each corresponds to a specific Dao path," Xiao Yuying said slowly. "Some Dao paths stand above others."

"Like you."

"Like me."

"This…"

Xiao Yuying continued: "You haven't felt it yet, but when you reach Nascent Soul, you'll understand—some Dao bodies are, in fact, tickets to the Soul Transformation path."

"This…" Yuan Sect Master couldn't hold back: "Why have we never heard of this?"

"You…"

Xiao Yuying was about to speak, but glanced at Zheng Fa and fell silent.

Yuan Sect Master blinked, suddenly understanding her expression—

His talent wasn't qualified to know such things…

How can someone hurt you without even speaking!

…

As the group fell silent, Zheng Fa suddenly grew serious: "Miss Xiao, I have a question I'd like to ask."

"Go on."

"At the end of those Dao paths… are there people?"

Xiao Yuying looked at Zheng Fa, her gaze blazing like fire: "Zheng Fa, you truly are extraordinary… Those beings may have existed once, but they certainly do not exist in today's Xuanwei Realm."

Zheng Fa nodded, as if he understood her words.

"From Soul Transformation onward," Xiao Yuying sighed, "it becomes a struggle for the Dao—some paths are narrow, capable of holding only a few cultivators, and they are nearly mortal enemies. Others are vast, able to accommodate many."

"Yet in the end, all must still compete."

"What about the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor?"

"Them?" Xiao Yuying smiled. "The greatest enemy of the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor is another Demon Ancestor."

"Oh right, there's something you might not know—the Great Freedom Demon Cult seems to have made contact with the demon race."

"Demon race?" The term sounded unfamiliar—mainly because in the Xuanwei Realm, the immortal sects ruled, and the demon race was insignificant, either hiding in remote mountains and forests or serving as spirit beasts within the sects.

Yuling Sect…

Zheng Fa recalled something: the Xuan Gui Elder of Yuling Sect had been a spy for the Great Freedom Demon Cult—he'd assumed it was merely the man's personal act.

If it's connected to the demon race…

Then what of the spirit beasts?

Hm?

What about the Yuan Senior Sister who wanted to eat me?

(End of Chapter)