Chapter 258: Easy to Talk To

The spiritual awareness of the Sun-Moon Bell has indeed sunk to an extremely low level—it seems to want to communicate with me, but the information it sends is like babbling.

For some reason, Zheng Fa suddenly felt ashamed…

The former Heavenly Sovereign poured his heart into this thing and got nothing in return; in the end, he probably thought, if I can't have it, I'll destroy it—and gave the Sun-Moon Bell a brutal blow.

But in the end, he only made it easier for someone else.

It's like… how to put it… like a world-class beauty got hit by a carriage and forgot everything.

Then you accidentally pass by her hospital room…

She calls you husband.

What can you do…

You can only smile faintly, or else if the Heavenly Sovereign wakes up, it'll be awkward.

…

Zheng Fa communicated further with the Sun-Moon Bell, finally confirming its condition—

The Heavenly Sovereign had already inflicted severe damage upon it.

After two aeons, it had long since reduced to nothing but instinct.

Or, if you view these spiritual energy circuits as a computer—the Sun-Moon Bell is essentially like a device with completely lost data, all software crashed, barely able to power on.

The Five Elements Divine Light was originally a method to temporarily establish a connection with a spiritual treasure—but… this thing seems to have had no master to begin with, and now it has instantly mistaken me for its original owner.

As Zheng Fa sensed the various messages from the Sun-Moon Bell, his smile faded slightly.

"Zheng Shixie? How is it?" Huang Shu asked beside him.

"This Sun-Moon Bell is truly incomplete; its current functions are severely limited…" Zheng Fa sighed softly.

Yuan Shijie nodded beside him, muttering, "I told you—this thing looks cheap."

But Huang Shu shook his head: "From the Lei Chi outside, this thing doesn't seem as ordinary as you say?"

Zheng Fa nodded and said:

"The Sun-Moon Bell itself retains only fragments of instinct—its Lei Chi is the most powerful."

"Also, it can alter the speed of time's passage."

Huang Shu was startled, exclaiming, "This…"

"There are limits: one is the need for vast Heavenly Merit; the other is—if you only alter time's flow around a single plant or tree, that's possible, but to change a cultivator's cultivation time requires far too much Heavenly Merit."

Zheng Fa explained.

"This is no ordinary magic treasure."

Zheng Fa nodded gently: "Otherwise, the Heavenly Sovereign could never have used this treasure to become a major power in the Divine Dao Era."

Undeniably, the Sun-Moon Bell is perfect for building a faction.

"Most importantly, I can now move the Lei Chi!"

Zheng Fa said softly.

The Sun-Moon Bell and the Heaven Stele Realm were originally two sides of the same whole; the Lei Chi was merely an overflow of the Heaven Stele Realm's rules. Now that I control the Sun-Moon Bell, I can naturally move the Lei Chi.

Huang Shu and Yuan Shijie widened their eyes, both showing signs of delight.

They had long planned—if they could move the Lei Chi, they would take the Heaven Stele to retrieve Zhang Shijie and the others…

As for whether they could block the secret realm of the Great Freedom Demon Gate…

Frankly, Jiushan Sect is small and has already endured enough.

But before returning to Jiushan Sect, he still wanted to find Xiao Yuying first.

Previously, he didn't want to find Xiao Yuying because he feared the Sun-Moon Bell's spiritual awareness might awaken.

Now he wants to find her—because he fears this thing is too stupid.

The weaker the Sun-Moon Bell's spiritual awareness, the harder it is for him to use it, and the more spiritual power it consumes.

On the other hand, he had another idea:

To inscribe his own spiritual energy circuits onto this treasure.

…

To return to Jiushan Sect, he naturally needed to first retrieve the disciples trapped in the Lei Chi.

As soon as he stepped out of the Heaven Stele, Zheng Fa noticed a group waiting outside.

Xiao Yuying was there, of course.

Yan Wushuang was also there—and more importantly, the Fallen Sun Immortal, Han Lao, had come.

This was unusual—the Lei Chi strongly suppressed high-level cultivators; generally, no cultivator above the Nascent Soul realm willingly entered the Lei Chi.

Yet Han Lao had come.

Zheng Fa sensed the way these people looked at him—it was complicated.

Like when you see your class top student, you know he has a brilliant future, you should get on his good side…

But still, when you look at him, you can't help but feel intensely jealous.

Thinking this, Zheng Fa understood why this group was waiting here.

"A few days ago, we were all expelled by the Heaven Stele and can no longer enter it."

Xiao Yuying said.

"Look at the Heaven Stele."

Zheng Fa looked up—the names on the Heaven Stele's ranking had vanished entirely, even his own name was gone.

"Yan Brother, didn't you say… the Heavenly Sovereign's name remained on the Heaven Stele?"

Zheng Fa was still confused.

"... his might be the Ancestor's personal preference…"

"..."

"I know—he's the type who likes to write his Dao title everywhere."

Nearby, Han Lao suddenly spoke.

…So it's like "Heavenly Sovereign was here" graffiti?

Zheng Fa increasingly felt the Heavenly Sovereign's character needed improvement.

…

After a few words, other cultivators surged forward, trying to curry favor with him.

Zheng Fa finally understood why this group had stayed here…

After a while, Zheng Fa had met many more cultivators.

These cultivators were quite perceptive—they saw Xiao Yuying, Yan Wushuang, and Han Lao present, clearly realizing they had private matters to discuss with Zheng Fa, and after a few words, they all took their leave.

Only Xiao Yuying and the other two remained.

Zheng Fa understood why Xiao Yuying was waiting for him.

It was simply about that deal.

But Yan Wushuang and the other two—especially Han Lao's presence—left Zheng Fa puzzled. "The Heaven Stele Realm…" Han Lao sighed, "My Tianhe Sect's Heaven Stele Realm is now ruined."

"Huh?"

Zheng Fa had never heard of this before.

"You've taken control of that so-called destiny spiritual treasure, haven't you?"

Zheng Fa nodded.

"In my Tianhe Sect's Heaven Stele Realm, the destiny spiritual treasure has long vanished… even the realm itself has been empty for ages."

"Why so…?"

Zheng Fa exclaimed in surprise.

"Heh… do you know what your Ancestor's core spiritual treasure was?"

"..."

Zheng Fa began to understand.

"Back then, they betrayed the Ancestor and tried to seize his core spiritual treasure—but the Ancestor, though betrayed, made his core spiritual treasure vanish, and no one in the Heaven Stele Realm survived."

"This is why my Tianhe Sect has always desperately sought to produce another Heavenly Sovereign."

Zheng Fa nodded.

To be honest, what surprised him was something else—

He himself had wanted to inscribe new spiritual energy circuits onto the Sun-Moon Bell, simply because he didn't trust it—he wanted to reshape it into his own.

But he never expected the Heavenly Sovereign had done the same!

And apparently succeeded!

This made him even more interested in the Tianhe Method, especially the Zhuxian Method.

He could now understand Tianhe Sect's desire—controlling a destiny spiritual treasure lets you survive one spiritual energy decline.

Of course they were desperate.

Thinking of this, Zheng Fa's heart stirred—he looked at the Heaven Stele—

Perhaps acquiring the Sun-Moon Bell is far more significant than I previously thought…

…

"And you?"

Yan Wushuang's face flushed red: "The Wushuang Society's activities are too risky… I was wondering if I could borrow your Heaven Stele Realm as a base during ordinary times."

"The Wushuang Society?"

"Oh, my new name—what do you think?"

Yan Wushuang said with great enthusiasm.

Zheng Fa couldn't help but sigh: "You have the spirit of Tianhe's Founding Master..."

Yan Wushuang wasn't truly reckless.

He knew full well what he was doing was an act of supreme treason... and naturally, he had set his sights on this Heavenly Stele Realm.

Probably, he had entertained this thought even before.

Of course, he likely woke from that dream the moment he saw Xiao Yuying.

Not to mention Zheng Fa himself.

Zheng Fa fell into thought.

This matter wasn't so simple... was the Heavenly Stele Realm truly foolproof?

At the very least, the Nine Profound Demon Ancestor would not dare to say no.

"This isn't impossible," Zheng Fa mused. He knew his own actions carried great risk too—Yan Wushuang's little trouble... would need extra payment!

"Yan Brother, you mentioned earlier that you have connections across Xuanwei?"

In Zheng Fa's view, Yan Wushuang's greatest value lay in his network—and his business acumen.

In the future, Jiushan Sect may become a thorn in some people's eyes.

But the ties to the Xuanwei Realm must not be severed—we still need certain resources.

He now found the Hundred Immortals Alliance increasingly useless...

So they needed to find other trade routes for Jiushan Sect.

Yan Wushuang froze, then immediately understood: "Zheng Brother, I'll give up my share of the talisman profits! I'll cover all the talisman paper and spirit ink myself!"

"Yan Brother, let's discuss this in detail later..."

Zheng Fa smiled and spoke.

Yan Wushuang's face paled: "How about I rename Wushuang Hui to Zheng Fa Hui?"

"No way—that's all your own hard work. How could I take it?"

"... " Yan Wushuang sighed deeply. "I'm just afraid it won't be yours much longer."

Zheng Fa wasn't worried Yan Wushuang would refuse to cooperate with Jiushan Sect—

He just wanted money.

Without a stable base, it was deadly.

Yan Wushuang wasn't stupid...

Yan Wushuang followed Han Lao away.

Only then did Zheng Fa realize—somehow, Yan Wushuang had convinced Han Lao.

Even the setting-sun Sword Immortal now guarded him closely.

Even Lei Chi was willing to enter...

Or perhaps Yan Wushuang had finally acquired a card that could sway the setting-sun Sword Immortal.

"Lady Xiao, please come in."

Zheng Fa extended his hand, and a glowing portal appeared in the air.

Xiao Yuying nodded, as if placing complete trust in Zheng Fa, and stepped through the portal.

To be honest, Zheng Fa keenly sensed a subtle shift in Xiao Yuying's attitude.

Previously... it wasn't that Xiao Yuying was unkind; on the contrary, she had always shown goodwill.

But it was the kind of condescending goodwill.

Yet after Zheng Fa took control of the Sun-Moon Bell, her attitude toward him changed—before, she would never stand silently by, saying nothing, merely watching as Zheng Fa spoke with others.

"Lady Xiao, please wait a moment—I must go fetch my fellow disciples, to avoid any mishaps," Zheng Fa apologized. "I wish to return to Jiushan Sect as soon as possible."

"Fine. I have nothing else to do—I'll cultivate here."

Xiao Yuying nodded, appearing reasonable and easygoing...

(End of Chapter)