Chapter 244: Senior Sister Advances, Divine Embodiment of the Fusang

In the Lei Chi marketplace, within Zheng Fa's courtyard.

Spiritual materials filled the entire room, lush and verdant everywhere; the quiet chamber Zheng Fa used for cultivation had been turned into a storage room.

Zheng Fa sat on the bed, staring at these spiritual materials, yet his thoughts remained on his two senior sisters.

After returning, these two senior sisters merely instructed him to cultivate diligently, then left without another word—even the best-eating Senior Sister Yuan didn't glance at the spiritual materials.

Oh, perhaps she dared not look, afraid she'd be unable to walk away.

He shook his head and stopped thinking, gesturing with his hand; a thunder vine flew into his fingers.

Zheng Fa activated spiritual power in his hand, slowly absorbing the spiritual energy from the purple lightning vine, his spiritual sense following that energy as it sank into his dantian.

Inside the dantian remained a square-shaped thunder field, upon which stood a slightly thicker Fusang tree.

The Fusang tree was entirely crimson, with faint heat radiating from its surface.

This heat spread from the dantian to his limbs, gradually strengthening his physique over time.

But this was far from enough to dispel Zheng Fa's grievances toward the Fusang tree…

Since moving into his dantian, this divine tree had consumed countless spiritual materials' energy, yet grew extremely slowly, instead hindering his cultivation progress.

Sure enough, the moment the purple lightning vine's energy merged into the thunder field, the Fusang tree swallowed it whole.

This thing still hadn't changed at all!

Zheng Fa refused to believe it—twenty thousand heavenly merits, an entire room of spiritual materials—could they not make this thing stir even a little?

…

The sun in the sky gradually sank westward, and over eight-tenths of the spiritual materials in the room had been consumed.

Even Zheng Fa felt weary, yet the Fusang tree in his dantian showed no change whatsoever.

Zheng Fa knew this thing was a divine tree of supreme quality, but being this difficult to nurture was truly excessive!

Just as he felt a flicker of despair, the Fusang tree suddenly trembled; the red hue on its trunk began to coalesce into a thread of gold.

At the top of the Fusang tree, a five-colored bud had formed.

The bud's petals tightly curled inward, as if nurturing some precious treasure.

The instant the bud appeared, Zheng Fa felt his entire body's spiritual power surge, rushing toward the bud.

His soul surged like grass and trees in the mountains encountering sweet dew, rapidly exploding in growth.

Zheng Fa's spiritual sense had long reached the peak of Foundation Establishment—capable of encompassing a hundred zhang in all directions.

Now, with this breakthrough, it surged directly into the Golden Core range.

Expanding from a hundred zhang to ten li.

Then from ten li to a hundred li.

Only when it reached roughly one hundred and ten li did the growth of his spiritual sense slowly cease.

Looking inward, the bud had fully formed, its five-colored petals gently swaying at the branch's tip.

Thunder Blossom…

This was the third realm of the Divine Thunder Sublime Method, signifying Zheng Fa had crossed the threshold into late Foundation Establishment; once he accumulated sufficient spiritual power and the fruit within the Thunder Blossom—the Golden Core—coalesced, he could instantly form his Golden Core.

He calculated: from Foundation Establishment to late Foundation Establishment, he'd taken barely half a year—hardly slower than Qi Refining!

Of course, the most crucial factor was the existence of the Heavenly Stele Realm, granting Zheng Fa spiritual material resources beyond others' reach…

As he calmed his internal spiritual power, a single droplet suddenly seeped from the bud?

A droplet?

Zheng Fa froze, gently touching the droplet with his spiritual sense; instantly, he understood its origin—this substance was called Fusang Spirit Dew, a byproduct of the Fusang tree absorbing the essence of heaven, earth, sun, and moon.

This substance held little use for Zheng Fa.

But for fire-affinity beasts, especially those with yang-dominant fire traits, it was extremely beneficial—if they consumed this Fusang Spirit Dew, they could purify their bloodline, possibly even advancing in realm.

This Fusang Spirit Dew was not limited to just this one droplet; roughly once a month, the bud would condense another.

Zheng Fa's mind shifted, and the spirit dew appeared at his fingertip.

Sunlight streaming through the window illuminated the dew, making it gleam golden.

Along with the dazzling light, a small golden crow flew into Zheng Fa's room.

"Give it to me!"

"I want to drink!"

"Just one sip!"

It went wild, stretching its neck toward Zheng Fa's fingertip, its beak elongating desperately.

But Zheng Fa coldly pinched its neck, leaving it with the agonizing sensation of being just out of reach.

Zheng Fa scrutinized the little golden crow from head to toe.

This bird… how to put it? Though it hadn't transformed into human form, its cunning was abundant.

When it first came to Zheng Fa's side, it had been utterly forthcoming.

Even helped them capture that demonic clan member.

But afterward, it refused to utter a single word…

Only pretending to be an ordinary crow, mingling in the marketplace.

Zheng Fa suspected that if not for its craving for his body, the golden crow would have fled long ago—after all, that Qiongqi-blooded demon had said Qingyun Great Saint was coming.

This little golden crow likely didn't believe in the Nine Mountains Sect and had developed other intentions.

Staying here was merely to freeload off his body!

Not a good bird at all!

And now it dares to ask for spirit dew?

We have plenty of other good birds!

"Senior Sister Yuan!"

Zheng Fa sent a mental message to the good bird playing in Zhang Shijie's courtyard.

…

Senior Sister Yuan had been eating snacks in Zhang Shijie's courtyard.

Zhang Shijie sat on a chair nearby, reading several books Zheng Fa had given her; sometimes, halfway through, she'd seem to gain insight, closing the book and pondering deeply.

When Zheng Fa sent his message, both women assumed something had happened; their spiritual senses stirred instantly, arriving before Zheng Fa's quiet chamber.

"Young Brother Zheng, what's wrong?"

Senior Sister Yuan asked anxiously.

Zheng Fa blocked the little golden crow with his hand; the crow struggled furiously, persistently lunging toward the spirit dew on his fingertip.

Fortunately, it remembered it was a guest and didn't use spiritual power.

Yet it was already at Foundation Establishment, its demonic body possessing tremendous strength.

Zheng Fa found it difficult to protect the spirit dew.

Seeing Senior Sister Yuan arrive, Zheng Fa brightened and said, "Senior Sister Yuan, open your mouth!"

"Huh?"

The little golden crow seemed to grasp Zheng Fa's intent and struggled even harder; Zheng Fa had no time to explain.

"I've got something good for you to eat!"

Saying this, Zheng Fa extended his finger toward Senior Sister Yuan.

"..." Senior Sister Yuan glanced behind her and whispered, "Young Brother Zheng, isn't this inappropriate?"

"Huh?"

"Senior Sister Zhang is right here!"

"..."

…

It was Zhang Shijie who, with a cold expression, flicked her finger; a spiritual talisman flew out, transforming into a net that wrapped around the little golden crow, immobilizing it.

Only then did Zheng Fa have the chance to explain the origin of the Fusang Spirit Dew.

"You mean this spirit dew is extremely beneficial to fire-affinity beasts?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Shijie's expression softened slightly; she turned to Senior Sister Yuan and said, "So you want to give it to her?"

Hearing this, the little golden crow protested: "I have innate bloodline inheritance within my soul! The Fusang tree has always coexisted with my Golden Crow lineage—giving me this Fusang Spirit Dew, if I cultivate the Golden Crow True Fire, I can aid the Fusang tree's growth!"

Zheng Fa had never known this.

But legends did associate Golden Crows with the Fusang tree.

This little golden crow had likely concealed much.

On the other hand, this Fusang Spirit Dew was indeed most suitable for a Golden Crow.

Hearing this, Senior Sister Yuan's expression turned conflicted and reluctant; she looked from Zheng Fa to the little golden crow and said, "Then give it to it…"

Clearly, she understood that, considering only Zheng Fa's benefits, the Golden Crow was the most fitting recipient of this dew.

After speaking, she turned her head away, as if unwilling to look at the spirit dew again.

"Senior Sister Yuan."

"Huh?"

Zheng Fa flicked his finger; the spirit dew flew into Senior Sister Yuan's slightly open mouth.

Glug!

Senior Sister Yuan involuntarily swallowed.

Then she stared blankly at Zheng Fa.

"I… swallowed it?"

Zheng Fa nodded with a smile.

"I…" Yuan Shijie stared at her belly, looking crestfallen. "You should've told me!"

"I was afraid you'd refuse."

"I didn't even taste anything…"

Zhang Shijie shook her head beside her, as if not surprised by his choice.

The little Golden Crow, however, was indignant: "Emotions cloud judgment! Lust blinds the mind!"

Zheng Fa glanced at it and said, "If Yuan Shijie had only cared about boosting her own cultivation or her own benefit, she wouldn't have given me all these spiritual materials."

Yuan Shijie, as if understanding Zheng Fa was praising her, grinned foolishly and scratched her head.

"You say you can help the Fusang Tree grow, but I only know that this Fusang Tree grew because of the spiritual materials my two senior sisters gave me."

"Hehe…"

Yuan Shijie gazed at Zheng Fa with bright eyes, then muttered, "Zheng Shidi, the more I look at you, the more handsome you seem…"

"… "

"But Shidi, don't sway like that—I'm dizzy!"

Zheng Fa and Zhang Shijie turned their heads and saw Yuan Shijie's eyes seemed unable to open.

She struggled to widen them, her face set with stubborn determination, yet her eyes grew smaller and smaller, proving her efforts futile.

Finally, Yuan Shijie's body went limp and collapsed onto the ground.

Zhang Shijie seemed to understand, waved her hand, and moved her to the courtyard.

Sure enough, the next moment, Yuan Shijie revealed her true form—a massive Azure Phoenix slumped on the ground, golden flames seeping from her wings, as if roasting herself…

At this point, the little Golden Crow likely realized it wouldn't get the spiritual dew anymore; it fell silent, only gazing hungrily at the Phoenix and said, "Bloodline evolution… this hybrid Azure Phoenix may advance further."

Zhang Shijie's eyes held a smile, as if delighted for Yuan Shijie.

"Yuan Shimei has lingered in the early Golden Core stage for so long—never expected her opportunity would come through you."

Before Zheng Fa could speak, the Golden Crow suddenly spat out a golden spiritual light that landed before him.

"What's this?"

"Spirit beast submission?" Zhang Shijie recognized it at once. She looked at the little Golden Crow, whose face was full of gloom. "Is this spiritual dew really that important to you?"

Zheng Fa instantly understood—the little Golden Crow had been holding back before; now it suddenly wanted to submit, all because of the spiritual dew.

"What can I do…" the Golden Crow sighed deeply. "Golden Crow bloodline advancement is extremely difficult now—this spiritual dew is the most suitable spiritual item for me."

"Besides… watching a hybrid Azure Phoenix gobble up the perfect spiritual herb and just… evolve? Don't you know how much pain that causes?"

"… "

"That's not like your nature…"

Zheng Fa was skeptical—the Golden Crow was clearly cautious by nature. Would it submit outright for spiritual dew?

"… What do you think I was doing in the marketplace?"

To his surprise, the Golden Crow rolled its eyes, looking almost proud of its cleverness.

"Hm?"

"Everyone in the marketplace was from Jiushan Sect. I naturally found out how you are as a person…"

Zheng Fa twitched his lips—he hadn't expected the Golden Crow to have such thoughts.

"Even Lin Bu Fan from the Great Freedom Demon Sect, captured by your Jiushan Sect, is living quite comfortably." The Golden Crow continued.

"If even a prisoner can live well, why should I fear coming to you voluntarily?"

Even birds in the Xuanwei Realm aren't stupid…

Wait—Yuan Shijie is!

"But I can't give you all of it…"

Zheng Fa thought for a moment and said.

He had long planned to reserve future spiritual dew for this foolish bird, Yuan Shijie.

"I know… this hybrid Azure Phoenix doesn't have such good digestion…" The little Golden Crow's tone was so humble it almost tugged at the heart. "There must be leftovers."

Zheng Fa glanced at Zhang Shijie; she nodded. He extended his right hand and touched the golden light.

The golden light, seemingly sentient, swiftly merged into his palm, traveled along his meridians, and settled into his dantian, forming a tiny golden crow silhouette perched atop the Fusang Tree.

The Fusang Tree trembled gently, radiating a sense of joy—it was natural, after all; the Golden Crow and the Fusang Tree complemented each other. Now that the Golden Crow had submitted, the Fusang Tree benefited greatly too.

But the exact effects couldn't be discerned yet.

He looked at the little Golden Crow beside him and felt its life and death now rested entirely in his will.

After submission, the Golden Crow's gaze toward Zheng Fa changed slightly—now it was affectionate, yet tinged with unease.

Zheng Fa waved his hand; the little Golden Crow understood at once, flying to his shoulder, its beak emitting a long, contented sigh.

"Master, you're even more alluring than that demon sect witch!"

"… "

One sentence, and Zheng Fa felt instant regret.

Zheng Fa and Zhang Shijie had been waiting for Yuan Shijie's advancement, but bloodline evolution clearly couldn't be completed in an instant.

Zhang Shijie simply waved her sleeve again, lifting Yuan Shijie into midair.

"Zhang Shijie?"

"She'll need more time. Let her stay in my courtyard."

Zhang Shijie explained.

As they stepped through the courtyard gate and placed Yuan Shijie down, a transmission talisman flew over the wall toward Zhang Shijie.

Zhang Shijie reached out, and the talisman landed in her hand.

"Letter from Pang Shu."

Zhang Shijie raised an eyebrow and told Zheng Fa.

Zheng Fa perked up, watching as Zhang Shijie read the letter.

Pang Shu had gone to seek aid from Tongming Shiren, a Soul Transformation cultivator of the Hundred Immortal Alliance, known for his good character—Pang Shu trusted him, and Zheng Fa trusted Pang Shu's judgment too.

After all, Pang Shu's earlier assessment of the Hundred Immortal Alliance's Nascent Soul cultivators had been accurate.

But Pang Shu had been gone over a month, and only now had he sent word—Zheng Fa had worried.

After reading the letter, Zhang Shijie frowned, as if puzzled.

"Zhang Shijie? What's wrong?" Zheng Fa asked quickly. "Did Pang Shu secure Tongming Shiren's help?"

"He… sort of did."

Zhang Shijie hesitated before answering.

Zheng Fa was even more confused: "Sort of?"

At that moment, Huang Yu, Zhang Shijie's master, entered and said to them, "You got the letter too?"

Zhang Shijie nodded.

"What's written here is unheard of," Huang Yu sighed, frowning. "Jiushan Sect still lacks Soul Transformation lineage."

Zheng Fa, hearing their cryptic words, grew even more bewildered.

Zhang Shijie, sensing his confusion, explained: "Since Tongming Shiren entered Soul Transformation, he rarely appears in the Hundred Immortal Alliance—even the Nascent Soul cultivators of Tongming Mountain rarely see his face."

"This time, Pang Shu personally visited and was turned away for days. Had he not insisted, he might never have met Tongming Shiren—no, he wouldn't have met Tongming Shiren himself, but only his spiritual treasure."

"Spiritual treasure?"

Zheng Fa froze, growing more confused.

"This is what Pang Shu told us," Zhang Shijie continued. "According to Tongming Shiren, after entering Soul Transformation, he can no longer act directly—he spends nearly all his time in seclusion, and even breaking out of it takes considerable time."

Zheng Fa nodded. "Like the Azure Cloud Great Saint of the demon race."

"Yes," Zhang Shijie said. "Tongming Shiren says if he breaks seclusion recklessly, it would harm himself. But if the Hundred Immortal Alliance needs aid, he won't stand idle—he'll send his spiritual treasure to support Jiushan Sect."

"Not to kill, only to block the Azure Cloud Great Saint until he emerges."

Zheng Fa still didn't fully understand.

"What exactly is this spiritual treasure? How can it block a Soul Transformation?"

In the Xuanwei Realm, there's always a distinction between magic tools and magic treasures.

Roughly speaking, magic tools are lower-tier, mostly used by those below Golden Core.

Magic treasures are far rarer; most people's magic treasure is their life-bound magic treasure.

The difference in power, material, and value between the two is immense.

Zheng Fa had heard of spiritual treasures before, but never seen one.

"A spiritual treasure… is a treasure with its own sentience. In simple terms, a magic treasure with a spirit core."

Zhang Shijie explained.

"I've heard of spiritual treasures having sentience before, but Pang Shu's letter mentioned something else that caught my attention."

"What?"

"Pang Shu said Tongming Shiren told him that after entering Soul Transformation, all immortal sect cultivators must rely on spiritual treasures as their foundation—meaning their life-bound magic treasure ascends into a life-bound spiritual treasure, which can even be seen as another self."

"That's why Tongming Shiren told Pang Shu to bring his spiritual treasure back—it can hold off the Azure Cloud Great Saint."

"Foundation?"

Zheng Fa stared, then looked at Zhang Shijie. Seeing the same realization in her eyes, he knew she had thought of the same thing—the vow signed "Jiuyou."

The vow once said: "All beings are foolish, unworthy as a foundation."

At the time, the two of them thought those words were merely an exclamation.

They never expected that in Master Pang's letter, the words "possession" appeared again—and more importantly, Master Pang said "Soul Transformation possession."

"You two are exchanging glances—what secret are you whispering?"

Master Huang, standing nearby, couldn't take it anymore—he was a Nascent Soul cultivator; how could it be acceptable that he often couldn't understand these two young people?

Zheng Fa glanced at Master Huang and didn't hide anything: "The two of us once saw a passage in the Heavenly Stele Realm."

He recited that oath aloud.

"The Nine Heavens… Demon Ancestor?"

Master Huang was stunned by the name "Nine Heavens."

She studied Zheng Fa from head to toe, then sighed: "How could a Foundation Establishment cultivator encounter such things…? I feel you're more like a Nascent Soul than I am."

Zhang Shijie shook her head: "Young brother, what's your thought?"

Zheng Fa paused briefly, then spoke: "The words of the Setting Sun Sword Immortal are likely flawed."

"Huh? You think he lied to us?" Zhang Shijie frowned. "I didn't sense any concealment from him."

"He didn't lie to us—he simply doesn't know what the new Heavenly River method truly entails," Zheng Fa said, unconsciously pacing around the courtyard as he organized his thoughts.

"He knows the Immortal Sects betrayed the Heavenly River Zunzhe, and that no one speaks of the new Heavenly River method today—so he assumes our current cultivation path is the demonic method from the last aeon."

"So you mean…" Zhang Shijie's expression cleared slightly.

Master Huang's face darkened further—he clearly didn't understand.

"But after studying the remains of that elder, we realized the new Heavenly River method must have two aspects—one is merging artifacts into the body, the other is the Zhuxianfa."

Zhang Shijie nodded.

"So what?" Master Huang couldn't help asking.

"Looking at the concept of magic treasures without relying on the Setting Sun Sword Immortal's phrasing, I suspect… the Immortal Sects never fully abandoned the path of merging artifacts into the body—they transformed it into what they now call Soul Transformation possession. What they abandoned was likely the Zhuxianfa."

"Not impossible…"

Zheng Fa held this idea mainly because of one puzzle—the cultivators of the Xuanwei Realm might be selfish, but they were certainly not foolish.

Eras always progress; though setbacks occur, good things are eventually accepted.

Thinking of this, he added: "From what we saw in the Heavenly Stele Realm, the remains of that former Heavenly River disciple, and the current Immortal Sect method, I've formed some hypotheses about the evolution of Immortal cultivation…"

"What hypotheses?"

"The divine path civilization of the Heavenly Stele Realm represents one cultivation method—I'll call it the Divine Path method."

"Then came the Nine Heavens Demon Ancestor, perhaps alongside other Demon Ancestors, who founded the Demon Sect method."

"Then came the Heavenly River Zunzhe, who founded the Heavenly River method."

"We don't understand the Divine Path method, so we'll set it aside. The current Immortal Sect method is likely neither purely the Demon Sect method nor purely the Heavenly River method—it's a fusion of both, probably dominated by the Demon Sect method."

Zhang Shijie stared blankly for a long moment before speaking: "This does align better with the nature of Xuanwei Realm cultivators… but using the Heavenly River method to improve the Demon Sect method…"

Zheng Fa fell silent.

He didn't know whether the Heavenly River Zunzhe would be angry—saying he didn't inherit it, he did; saying he did inherit it, its core changed. Not only did the core change, but it also brought its own provisions and defected to the enemy!

The group fell silent for a while, then Zhang Shijie suddenly spoke: "I just remembered something else."

"Hmm?"

"Earlier you said you used spiritual energy circuits to generate spiritual awareness, and you gave me several books—do you remember?" Zhang Shijie asked Zheng Fa.

"You mean…"

"I'm wondering—if magic treasures develop spiritual awareness, is it also by this principle?"

Zhang Shijie's words lit up Zheng Fa's eyes.

"Wait, you two—how did you end up discussing a Soul Transformation inheritance?"

Master Huang, standing nearby, gaped and muttered.

(End of Chapter)