Chapter 230: House Thieves Are Hard to Guard Against

Zheng Fa had previously wondered what this great hall would look like—

Majestic and magnificent like an imperial palace, with a chair placed upon it.

Or perhaps like the side halls, with towering divine statues, maybe of a principal deity or something.

Or simply empty and desolate.

But he never in a million years expected that within such a grand hall, there stood a tombstone.

He took two steps forward and looked toward the tombstone.

The darkness within the hall was so thick it seemed undissolvable; even the light emitted by the bronze seal could not fully illuminate the tombstone.

The only things Zheng Fa could make out were a few characters:

"... The Burial Place of the Heavenly Venerable"

The name of this Heavenly Venerable was probably written before, but for some unknown reason, it seemed to have been scratched out later.

Zheng Fa was even more puzzled.

The one who erected this stele clearly held respect for the person buried here; not only did they erect a stele and carve characters, but they also respectfully addressed him as Heavenly Venerable.

Yet, strangely, they deliberately obscured this person's name.

Who knows the reason.

What puzzled Zheng Fa even more was—this great hall was empty, containing only the tombstone, with no coffin.

A place for burying bones, but where are the bones...

He looked out toward the hall's entrance.

The empty heavenly palace was deathly silent.

The faceless divine statues in the side halls stood silently, having stood for hundreds of thousands of years, guarding this tombstone.

Zheng Fa suddenly had a thought—

The heavenly palace is above, the mortal lands below...

Within the great hall of the heavenly palace stands a tombstone.

A place for burying bones; could it be the mortal lands of the Heavenly Stele Realm?

This Heavenly Stele Realm... is it a great tomb?

The light of the bronze seal gradually gathered; this thing seemed to have completed its evolution and flew to Zheng Fa's front.

Zheng Fa reached out and took the bronze seal.

The bronze seal was reddish throughout, carved into a human figure on its body, though the face remained blurred.

For some reason, Zheng Fa felt a sense of compassion on this faceless divine statue.

The moment his fingers touched the seal's body, a profound piece of information flowed directly into his sea of consciousness along his arm.

The moment Zheng Fa touched that information, he immediately understood: the instruction manual had been updated again.

After reading the new instruction manual, a wide smile appeared on the corners of his mouth.

After the Canon of Deification became the bronze seal, his fiefdom remained unchanged—this further confirmed his judgment that the Heavenly Stele Realm was not large.

Of course, if Zheng Fa's judgment that the Heavenly Stele Realm is equivalent to a great tomb is also true...

Called a world, the Heavenly Stele Realm seems a bit small.

Called a tomb... it is terrifyingly large.

The other functions actually haven't changed much from before.

What made Zheng Fa unable to hide his smile was—

The Heavenly Stele Realm can now bring people in!

According to the bronze seal, he had gained two additional slots for subordinate deities.

The reminder he received when he met Xiao Yuying was still vivid in his mind.

At the very least now, Zheng Fa could bring Zhang Shijie into the Heavenly Stele Realm—in the worst case, they could ensure their own safety within the Heavenly Stele Realm.

And even as Xiao Yuying said, with the two of them present, perhaps the Demon Sects and the Demon Path would not dare to pursue them to the point of extermination.

Thinking of Xiao Yuying's reminder, as soon as he left the Heavenly Stele, he ran into Xiao Yuying.

Yan Wushuang was also there.

What Zheng Fa found somewhat hard to understand was—the atmosphere between these two was a bit strange.

It seemed like a conflict had arisen, but perhaps not to that extent; rather, it looked like they were competing for some treasure.

Who knows what thing it was.

Something that would make Yan Wushuang dare to compete back and forth with Xiao Yuying.

"Xiao Xianzi? Brother Yan? You..."

"Nothing, I am waiting for you."

Upon seeing Zheng Fa, Yan Wushuang grabbed his left arm and walked toward the outside of Lei Chi.

Xiao Yuying said nothing, merely following silently behind.

Zheng Fa, being pulled forward by Yan Wushuang, was completely at a loss in his mind.

Watching Yan Wushuang's hurried appearance, the corners of Xiao Yuying's mouth curled up; she was not in the least bit anxious.

Although Yan Wushuang is the Sect Master of the Tianhe Sect, she is not without her own background.

Moreover, when it comes to wealth, she has never feared anyone in the Xuanwei Realm!

Whatever Yan Wushuang could offer Zheng Fa, she was confident she could offer ten times or a hundred times more!

She just wanted to see what tricks Yan Wushuang had up her sleeve!

Not long after they set out, they met Senior Sister Yuan, who had come to fetch Zheng Fa.

Senior Sister Yuan cast a puzzled glance at Zheng Fa; since Zheng Fa himself hadn't yet figured out the situation, he could only shake his head at Senior Sister Yuan.

After walking a while, Yan Wushuang looked back; Xiao Yuying still followed them at a leisurely pace, with no intention of leaving.

And Senior Sister Yuan was even less likely to leave.

He gritted his teeth and bluntly asked Zheng Fa:

"Brother Zheng, might I ask if you have someone you favor?"

"..."

Zheng Fa looked at him, somewhat bewildered.

He didn't know why he suddenly asked this.

"Our Tianhe Sect has many senior and junior sisters, all of surpassing beauty and gentle temperaments, quite suitable as good matches..."

Zheng Fa's expression gradually grew strange.

Yan Wushuang's tone sounded quite serious!

Behind them, Xiao Yuying pressed her lips together and began to ponder deeply; she truly hadn't expected that Yan Wushuang would take such an unconventional approach!

The problem was, she was a lone operator, the kind whose friendship boat capsized at the slightest provocation.

She truly couldn't find a Xiao Xianzi ten times his worth to match with Zheng Fa...

Beside them, Senior Sister Yuan's eyes widened, looking left and right.

"This..." Zheng Fa refused without a second thought, "The Xiao Xianzi of the Tianhe Sect are naturally excellent, but I truly have no interest..."

"Xian Sect Xiao Xianzi aren't good..." Yan Wushuang stroked his chin, beginning to think before Zheng Fa could finish, "It doesn't matter; I have some standing in the Xuan Nu Sect. If Brother Zheng goes with me, you will even be able to meet the Holy Maiden's direct disciple of the Xuan Nu Sect..."

The Xuan Nu Sect, how to describe it? The largest chain of foot-bath cities in the Xuanwei Realm, where every young maid possesses extraordinary skills and commands a high price.

Previously, the Sunu Sect, which ran a brothel in the Jiushan Market, was like a country girl from the Baixian Alliance compared to them.

Moreover, the Xuan Nu Sect straddled the line between righteous and unorthodox; rumors claimed it was a branch of a demonic sect, yet no one could find evidence, attesting to its mystery and strength.

Yan Wushuang's connections were truly quite extensive!

This time, Zheng Fa hesitated slightly, glanced at Senior Sister Yuan, then said, "This... I also have no interest."

Behind them, Xiao Yuying quietly breathed a sigh of relief; Yan Wushuang's methods were a bit too wild...

"You dislike Xian Sect female cultivators, and you have no interest in the demonic sect's Holy Maiden either..." Yan Wushuang frowned, looking at Zheng Fa.

He fell into deep thought.

"Brother Yan?"

"Junior Brother Zheng, I also know a few men who favor men... all are talents of our Xian Sect!" Yan Wushuang suddenly said, "If you seek women, I dare not claim to be first; but if you seek men in this regard, there is no one in the world who can compare to me!"

No, your perverted support group truly has all sorts of people!

Behind them, Xiao Yuying's face froze; at this moment, she was no longer disappointed.

She simply felt her eyes had been opened wide, deeply shocked, and had witnessed the full force of Yan Wushuang's efforts.

"Brother Yan!" Zheng Fa, seeing him speak ever more absurdly and noticing that even Senior Sister Yuan's expression toward him had turned wrong, hurriedly waved his hands and said, "I have even less interest!"

"This... I truly have no connections in this regard among the demon clans... but I know a few cultivators who share this interest; I can introduce you to them! You can exchange ideas together!"

"..."

Beside them, Senior Sister Yuan listened, and her brows gradually relaxed; a gleam of wisdom sparkled in her round eyes.

Seeing his understanding so peculiar, Zheng Fa didn't even reply, directly bowed to the other party, and fled with Senior Sister Yuan—if they continued, his reputation would be ruined!

Upon returning to the encampment, she dropped Zheng Fa and rushed straight to Senior Sister Zhang's courtyard.

"Senior Sister Zhang! Senior Sister Zhang! Something's wrong! Junior Brother Zheng..."

Senior Sister Zhang's figure appeared in the courtyard; looking at Senior Sister Yuan, she furrowed her brow between her eyebrows: "What has happened to Junior Brother Zheng?"

"He is about to be snatched away by a man!"

"..."

Senior Sister Zhang scrutinized Senior Sister Yuan from head to toe, shook her head, seemingly thinking she was talking nonsense.

"Really! It's that Yan Wushuang!"

"..."

Senior Sister Zhang smiled and shook her head, seeming not to believe it much.

"He said he would introduce senior and junior sisters from the Tianhe Sect to Zheng Fa!"

Senior Sister Zhang's brows furrowed slightly.

"But Junior Brother Zheng refused!"

Senior Sister Zhang nodded lightly.

"Then Yan Wushuang wanted to introduce a demoness from the Xuan Nu Sect to Zheng Fa!"

Senior Sister Zhang's expression grew somewhat cold; she murmured softly, "Yan Wushuang..."

"Junior Brother Zheng also refused!"

A satisfied smile appeared on Senior Sister Zhang's face.

"Then Yan Wushuang was preparing to introduce a man to Zheng Fa!"

"Junior Brother Zheng would never agree to that."

This time, Senior Sister Yuan hadn't even mentioned Zheng Fa's reaction; Senior Sister Zhang stated it directly.

"Eh? How does Senior Sister know?"

"Look at the way he looked at me and you—does that look like a man who likes men?" Sister Zhang said, pouting.

"..."

Sister Yuan looked at Sister Zhang, then lowered her head again, suddenly realizing the truth.

"But... I think that Xiao Yuying is suspicious!"

Sister Yuan did not seem reassured.

"Xiao Yuying?"

Sister Zhang felt a sudden jolt.

Xiao Yuying was naturally beautiful, with legs that were ridiculously long.

More importantly, her cultivation talent and even her wealth were by no means inferior to her own.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because when Xiao Yuying heard Yan Wushuang speak, her reaction to Zheng Shidi's refusal was exactly the same as yours, Sister!"

"..."

Sister Zhang frowned slightly, recalling the words Xiao Yuying had used to praise Zheng Fa last time—words even she herself could not bring herself to say!

The more she thought about it, the more she felt that Xiao Yuying had ulterior motives and had been scheming for a long time.

Zheng Shidi said this person was interested in his Thunder Law talent; Sister Zhang thought about it and felt that even removing the words "Thunder Law talent" made perfect sense!

Sister Zhang felt a slight disturbance in her heart.

Looking up, she saw Sister Yuan sitting nearby, lost in thought, grinning foolishly.

"What are you thinking about? Why are you smiling so happily?"

Lost in her thoughts, Sister Yuan answered naturally: "Yan Wushuang wanted to introduce a demon to Zheng Shidi, and Zheng Shidi didn't refuse..."

"..."

Sister Yuan covered her mouth, as if realizing she had let something slip.

"Um... Sister, I didn't mean to hide it from you..."

Sister Zhang looked at her with a cold face.

She truly never expected there to be a traitor right beside her!

"Sister, I don't intend to compete with you!" Sister Yuan was on the verge of swearing on the heavens, "But if that Xiao Yuying snatches Zheng Shidi away, then I won't hold back!"

"..."

As soon as Zheng Fa stepped into Sister Zhang's courtyard, he felt that the way she looked at him was a bit off—

As if she were looking at some pervert.