Chapter 242: The Heaven Lord

Half a month later.

"Is half a day each day enough for those children?"

Watching the children leave, bewildered, Yuan Shijie asked.

According to Zheng Fa's rules, these children came to the temple in the morning and returned home before lunch, totaling only two hours per day.

Zheng Fa fell silent for a moment, then said: "Sister Yuan, the people of Banshan City have short lifespans to begin with. A five-year-old is negligible, but a ten-year-old is already considered a strong laborer… If they spent all day at the temple, their families wouldn't manage."

Zheng Fa, raised on a farm, understood well—full-time study was an extreme luxury.

Even when his father was alive, Zheng Fa helped with chores every day.

Not to mention that Banshan City's conditions were still worse than Zhao Family's farm.

Given Banshan City's average lifespan of just over thirty, even ten-year-olds could be considered youths…

Most children in Banshan City either helped cook at home or went up the mountains and down the rivers.

But Zhang Shijie understood worldly matters better than Yuan Shijie; she spoke up: "It's just that there's too little food."

Zheng Fa agreed inwardly.

To free even some people from labor, what was truly needed was sufficient food.

Although the yield of edible mushrooms exceeded Zheng Fa's expectations, it was still limited—and not a staple.

Any development plan must be built on the foundation of having enough to eat—

And that, again, depended on domesticating crops and cultivating spiritual plants.

Zheng Fa took it calmly: "Take it slow. As the saying goes, it takes ten years to grow trees, a hundred years to nurture people. Education and farming are not things to rush."

Beside him, Yuan Shijie's tone held a hint of disdain: "These children are so foolish…"

Even Zheng Fa had to shake his head at that.

He didn't expect any geniuses among these hundreds of children…

But honestly, calling Xiao Qing a genius because of them was going too far.

But Zhang Shijie was more understanding:

"It's not their fault. First, they've never studied."

"Second, they don't understand the benefits of reading."

"Without foundation or purpose, progress is naturally hard," Zhang Shijie paused, then looked toward Xiao Qing outside the temple, "But this girl—though her foundation is poor, she makes up for it with diligence."

Xiao Qing held a book in one hand and a branch in the other, writing and drawing on the muddy ground before the temple.

Among all the "students," she was by far the most hardworking.

In fact, she was the only one who reviewed lessons after class.

Her brow was furrowed in deep thought, clearly struggling with something.

Unable to grasp it, she tossed aside the dry branch, pouted, squatted on the ground, and stared blankly—almost giving up.

Zheng Fa thought for a moment, then said:

"Xiao Qing."

"Huh?"

"Have you finished planting those beans?"

Zheng Fa asked.

He had previously developed a spiritual wood thunder in the modern world, which in the Tianbei Realm could stimulate a kind of bean.

Zheng Fa had previously instructed Xiao Qing to set aside a plot specifically for planting them.

"Done!"

"From now on, these beans will serve as rewards."

Xiao Qing asked, puzzled: "Rewards?"

Zheng Fa explained: "Rewards for children who study well."

In essence, it was just a tangible scholarship.

Zheng Fa wouldn't distribute ordinary crops—they were the basic necessities for most people's survival.

But spiritual plants were scarce; not everyone could have them.

When Zhang Shijie said these children had no desire to study, he thought of this.

Xiao Qing clearly understood.

"Then…"

She hesitated.

"Hmm?"

"Do I get any?"

"Of course!"

Hearing this, Xiao Qing eagerly picked up the branch again.

Watching her bright enthusiasm, Zhang Shijie's tone turned curious: "Zheng Shidi, you always have strange but useful ideas."

This time, Zheng Fa didn't take credit; he only smiled: "It's not that others can't think of it—it's that no one in the Xuanwei Realm is willing to invest so deeply in education."

Zhang Shijie fell silent.

This was obvious: even Jiushan Sect's own spiritual plants weren't enough to feed their own, let alone give to this group of children with no cultivation base?

Yuan Shijie, hearing this, seemed to realize something, and suddenly spoke up:

"Zheng Shidi, I actually love studying too!"

"Sister…" Zheng Fa was speechless, "At least find someone who can read to compete with…"

"Obviously—I have to be able to beat them first…"

…

Zheng Fa led the two Shijies toward the Baibao Hall.

Inside, five or six cultivators had been exchanging spirit materials, their faces lively, chatting excitedly.

But as Zheng Fa stepped inside, they exchanged glances—and without a word, all turned and walked toward the exit. As they passed Zheng Fa, their smiles were polite yet distant, even tinged with fear.

They seemed unwilling to stay in the Baibao Hall at all.

Yuan Shijie asked curiously: "Zheng Shidi, are they afraid of you?"

"Sister Yuan, if you had a hundred dan of Huangya rice, would you be happy?"

"Of course!"

"But what if you suddenly met someone who had ten thousand dan—would you still be that happy?"

Yuan Shijie froze, then suddenly understood: "Out of sight, out of mind!"

Zheng Fa nodded, feeling a quiet admiration—these people had left far too wisely; otherwise, he feared their spiritual cores might collapse…

On previous visits to the Tianbei, Zheng Fa could claim he earned his own keep.

This time was different—he'd brought two Shijies with him!

The twenty thousand Tian Gong in his bronze seal was the finest tribute to the two Shijies!

He'd previously earned barely over ten thousand Tian Gong; the two Shijies, with just a little effort, had doubled it—no, quadrupled it…

Of course, this was partly because he had developed the Heavenly Tribulation Thunder and Cloud Rain Thunder techniques, but Zheng Fa saw clearly the dedication and hard work of the two Shijies.

"Sisters, what do you want?" Zheng Fa asked, slightly embarrassed, turning back.

According to Zheng Fa's estimate, about twenty thousand Tian Gong came from Zhang Shijie's efforts; Yuan Shijie's share was barely a fraction, and as for Zheng Fa…

He was probably a fraction of a fraction.

Mostly because he'd devoted most of his energy to teaching children; the only Tian Gong he might have earned came from the spiritual beans spawned by the Wood Thunder.

Zhang Shijie shook her head: "These spirit materials are useless to me."

Zheng Fa pursed his lips—how could anyone in the Xuanwei Realm ever have too many spirit materials?

But Yuan Shijie showed no intention of being polite; she eagerly traced her fingers across the jade tablet, pausing every time she spotted a rare spirit fruit, even swallowing saliva…

She didn't just glance once—she kept flipping back and forth.

She seemed torn.

Zheng Fa waited patiently beside her.

After a while, Yuan Shijie lowered her finger and said: "I've decided!"

"Hmm? Which ones will you choose?"

"I'm not choosing anything."

"I just want to take a look! As long as I've seen it, that's enough!" Yuan Shijie said with perfect confidence. "I've never been here before—I'm curious, just having some fun!"

"I just wanted to look! Seeing it is enough!" Yuan Shijie declared confidently, "I've never been here before—I was just curious, playing around!"

Zheng Fa stared at the dimmed jade stele, as if hearing it scold Yuan Shijie as a scoundrel.

Zheng Fa looked at the dimming jade tablet, as if hearing it scold Yuan Shijie for being a cheat.

Watching the two Shijies refuse to spend a single Tian Gong, Zheng Fa fell silent for a moment, then selected items on the jade tablet.

Twenty thousand Tian Gong was a lot—even Zheng Fa took a long time to choose.

What puzzled him was—after the jade tablet flashed several times, it didn't grant any spirit materials!

"What's going on?" Yuan Shijie scratched her head. "Did I break it? Is it mad?"

Zheng Fa was puzzled too—but the next moment, he saw a silver-white glow suddenly burst from his bronze seal, and he suddenly understood—this thing was about to upgrade!

Indeed, the silver glow pulled the three of them toward the main hall, where the doors opened without wind and closed slowly behind them.

This time, the hall was brilliantly lit.

【101】 The hall was vast; after nine tiers of golden jade steps stood a raised platform, upon which rested the tombstone Zheng Fa had seen last time.

Below the steps, Zheng Fa had never noticed before—twenty-four low tables, paired face-to-face, each with a cushion behind it.

"Are these the seats for the twenty-four statues in the side hall?"

After scanning the room, Zhang Shijie spoke thoughtfully.

Zheng Fa nodded and added, "Clearly, the master of this hall, though superior to these twenty-four, treated them with great respect."

"So they're the ones who withheld our heavenly merit?"

Yuan Shijie spoke up.

Zheng Fa shook his head, his gaze fixed on the bronze seal still blazing with light.

A streak of silver spread like ink in water, gradually overtaking the dimmer copper hue.

When the seal became entirely silver, a voice echoed through the main hall:

"After the End Dharma Cataclysm, the Heavenly Court fell into dust; the Immortal Emperor lost his throne, and all Dao collapsed."

"Now, Lei Shen Zheng Fa, with three ten thousand heavenly merits, is granted a silver seal and the right to walk the Heavenly Palace. May you assist the Heavenly Lord, rebuild the Heavenly Court, and restore the Heavenly Dao."

Zheng Fa glanced at Zhang Shijie—this message held too much information…

As the words faded, the evolved silver seal struck Zheng Fa, and the three were involuntarily flung out of the hall.

"This is…"

Standing outside the hall, he looked around.

The Heavenly Palace in the Heavenly Stele Realm had always consisted of only three great halls; beyond them lay empty void, shrouded in white mist, invisible to the eye.

Some had curiosity-drivenly explored it—walk three zhang into the mist, and you'd unknowingly return to your starting point, unable to penetrate further.

Now, it had changed.

The three great halls where Zheng Fa stood remained an island in the mist, but the mist was no longer empty—several other islands now loomed faintly within the fog.

"Is this what 'walking the Heavenly Palace' means?"

Just as he began to understand, the silver seal flickered again, as if inviting him.

Zheng Fa tapped his finger against the seal's surface and felt a gentle breeze rise beneath his feet.

The wind lifted him, carrying him toward one of the "islands."

He was caught off guard, turned his head, and saw Zhang Shijie and the others behind him—only then did he feel slightly reassured.

Before long, they landed on the nearest island.

"This is…" Yuan Shijie widened her eyes, as if witnessing something beyond imagination.

Zhang Shijie said, "Looks like a spirit herb garden."

At the island's center stood a bare, low hill; around it grew countless spirit herbs.

No—not just herbs. Zheng Fa also saw many spirit beasts moving within.

Every spirit material he had seen on the jade stele grew here.

"So the spirit materials Zheng Shidi wants to exchange all grow here?" Yuan Shijie scratched her head. "But these are all seedlings…"

Zheng Fa was equally puzzled.

Though this herb garden was vast and contained many spirit materials, one thing stood out—whether herb or beast, all were young, far from the century- or even ten-thousand-year maturity levels shown on the jade stele.

As the three puzzled over this,

the silver seal before Zheng Fa suddenly rose into the air above the garden and emitted a chorus of human voices:

"The Immortal Mushroom bestowed by Lei Shen Master is delicious!"

"Thanks to Lei Shen Master's blessing, we caught another fish today…"

"Another sunny day—feels so much better on the skin…"

"Tomorrow, I'll visit Lei Shen Master's temple again…"

"Good and evil bring their due—don't do evil…"

"…"

The voices brimmed with gratitude, reverence, or fear toward Zheng Fa—and what startled the three even more was that as these voices sounded, the unremarkable hill trembled slightly and began to rise.

Stones and soil peeled away from its surface, revealing glimmers of gold beneath.

Only then did they realize—the hill was a giant golden bell, its surface engraved with patterns of sun, moon, and stars.

The bell rose higher and grew larger until it enveloped the entire island.

The human voices from the silver seal seemed to resonate with the bell, causing it to tremble gently in the void.

Dong!

Dong!

Dong!

The bell's tolls reverberated across all directions.

With each toll, the sun, moon, and stars on the bell's surface came alive, circling around it.

One toll marked sunset and moonrise, stars turning in their course.

Each full cycle caused certain plants and spirit beasts in the garden to age one year.

Not just Zheng Fa—even Zhang Shijie beside him stared, stunned.

"So that's how they grow…" Yuan Shijie murmured, as if understanding.

The so-called exchange of heavenly merit was, in truth, using these "voices" within the silver seal as fuel to activate the bell, thereby accelerating the growth of spirit plants and beasts.

Zheng Fa fell silent.

At first, he had always felt this "heavenly merit" and "exchange" were too abstract, even giving him the sense of playing a game.

Now he finally understood the source of this exchange.

Heavenly merit…

He recalled the various texts and records he'd seen in the modern world—could this be what they called incense worship?

He glanced at Zhang Shijie beside him; she, too, frowned deeply, as if pondering something.

"Sister?"

Zhang Shijie paused, then suddenly spoke: "You should still remember—I told you at our first meeting that the Xuanwei Realm has endured at least five spiritual energy declines…"

Zheng Fa suddenly froze, grasping Zhang Shijie's unspoken implication.

The claim of five spiritual energy declines was something Zhang Shijie had mentioned when they first met; she had said the last two had historical records—

The fourth ended with the demonic sects' destruction of the world.

The fifth concluded with the Heavenly River Lord raising his sword to cleave open heaven.

But the first three were unrecorded.

"Sister, are you suggesting this is a remnant from one of the first three declines?"

Zhang Shijie nodded: "If there were only five, then from the phrase 'End Dharma Cataclysm' in that previous hall, it must be either the second or third…"

Zheng Fa nodded and said:

"Though the language here has some accent, its grammar closely resembles that of the Xuanwei Realm—likely sharing the same origin."

"Whether second or third…" Zheng Fa gazed at the celestial bell above, and now understood why Zhang Shijie looked so troubled.

This artifact could interfere with the flow of time—in the Xuanwei Realm, Zheng Fa had never heard of such a supreme treasure…

Thus, the power of the so-called Heavenly Lord must have been immense.

But the problem was…

That tombstone, those twenty-four empty chairs—clearly told them: they, too, had failed.

(End of Chapter)