Chapter 80: True Form Talisman

In Zhang Shijie's small courtyard.

"A small reward?" Sun Daoyu looked at Zhang Shijie, murmuring heavily as he repeated the words "small reward": "Shijie, your Talisman Dao Foundation Establishment method is hailed as the fastest in the entire Baixian Alliance; can this really be called just a small reward?"

Zhang Shijie glanced at him and said, "This Ancestor is capricious yet holds a unique status; even a Nascent Soul True Person must coax him. If he is unhappy, you might not even get to see the true treasures of the Ninth Mountain. What is one Foundation Establishment method compared to that?"

"But Junior Brother Zheng..."

"I think he is not a good person."

"Hmm?"

"The Jiushan Ancestor likes this kind of person the most."

"..."

"Too simple?" Upon hearing Zheng Fa say this, the Jiushan Ancestor's eyes immediately filled with indignation.

Zheng Fa had never imagined that Zhang Shijie's face could display such an expression, as if she were about to jump up in frustration.

"Do you have any idea that this was something I poured my heart and blood into, spending a thousand years to conceive!" he shouted angrily: "And you say it's too simple?"

He spoke as if Zheng Fa had insulted him personally.

"I am not saying this plank road lacks creativity, but rather... there is still room for improvement," Zheng Fa said unhurriedly.

"... Oh? Do elaborate?" The Jiushan Ancestor looked at Zheng Fa suspiciously, seemingly unconvinced that he could offer any good suggestions.

"Ancestor, may I ask what the 'small reward' was that the disciple from back then received?"

Zheng Fa decided to check the price of his own conscience.

"Her? She did have some ambition; she asked for a Talisman Dao Foundation Establishment method." Recalling Zhang Shijie, a trace of appreciation appeared on the Jiushan Ancestor's face: "That Foundation Establishment method was originally created by me, Xuehe Laozu, in my early years, but it was not yet perfect."

Zheng Fa trusted Zhang Shijie's judgment; any Foundation Establishment method she took a liking to was definitely no ordinary item.

Zheng Fa quickly sold out his conscience: "I feel that this plank road is still too stable!"

"Stable?" The Jiushan Ancestor looked doubtfully at the plank road behind Zheng Fa; a mountain breeze blew, and the plank road was still swaying.

"What I mean is—why can't it move?"

"Move?"

"It should move on its own, for instance, vibrating up and down or swaying left and right from time to time; hmm, it would be best to add a countdown timer to remind these disciples how much time they have before the plank road beneath their feet disappears."

Playing mind games—who doesn't know how to do that!

"Hmm, there is some logic to that; anything else?" The Jiushan Ancestor began to ponder.

"This disciple feels that the mountain wind is far too monotonous. Adding some rain, some thunder, some snowflakes and hail, or even something like a mountain collapse and earth rupture, would also align well with the principles of nature, wouldn't it?"

"..." The Jiushan Ancestor glanced at him, said nothing, and merely asked: "Anything else?"

Seeing his indifferent demeanor, Zheng Fa gritted his teeth and sincerely whispered an apology to all future generations: "I feel that the biggest problem with this plank road is that it is not realistic enough!"

"Realistic?"

"Where does the greatest danger for sect disciples come from?"

"What?"

"People!" Zheng Fa pointed at the plank road behind him: "Why must each plank road be separate? It would be better to have several plank roads intersect."

"Let them fight over it?"

Xuehe Laozu's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly urged: "Explain in detail, elaborate further."

Zheng Fa remained silent, pressing his lips tightly together as if he had a cramp.

The Jiushan Ancestor was clearly a sensible person; he took out a jade slip and placed it before Zheng Fa: "A Talisman Dao Foundation Establishment method!"

Zheng Fa's mouth ailment was instantly cured: "For example, make it so that two disciples are searching for the same talisman diagram, but there is only one plank road before them."

"Continue, continue!"

"It would be best to designate a specific area, draw a circle or something; if they fail to reach inside the circle within the specified time, they are all eliminated."

"This is good! This is excellent! They won't dare not to fight; if they don't fight, it will be too late!" The Jiushan Ancestor clapped his hands, clearly feeling that this model suited his tastes perfectly: "You are truly a bad person; I like you!"

"..." That sounded a bit strange.

As the Jiushan Ancestor laughed, he suddenly transformed into Zheng Fa's appearance.

"?"

"That female disciple previously told me that the plank road should be made transparent, and I felt she was a talent!" the Jiushan Ancestor praised: "I transformed into her likeness so that future generations would know it was her clever idea that perfected this plank road. Now, I feel this opportunity for eternal fame should belong to you!"

Wait, you're stealing her likeness; does Zhang Shijie know about this?

Eternal fame?

Letting future generations know that all these malicious ideas came from him?

What infamy for ten thousand years!

Zheng Fa hurriedly waved his hands: "These were just a few tiny suggestions; I dare not claim the credit! I dare not claim the credit!"

The Jiushan Ancestor looked deeply at him and suddenly said, "With your nature, you ought to be a member of my Jiushan Sect!"

"?" Zheng Fa felt a sense of foreboding: "Are there many people like me in the Jiushan Sect?"

If so, can one even survive in this sect?

"Not many; most of them were beaten to death," the Jiushan Ancestor said enthusiastically: "Come, come, let me show you something good."

Zheng Fa followed the Jiushan Ancestor up the mountain, curious about their destination, but the two did not walk far before stopping on the slope of the Ninth Peak, on the side facing away from the crowd.

"Look up."

Seeing Zheng Fa's confused expression, the Jiushan Ancestor pointed to the mountain peak above.

The peak was covered in white snow, shimmering with golden light under the sun.

Hmm? Golden light?

Zheng Fa raised his head to look closely and discovered four patterns on the peak that looked like characters but were not, resembling talisman diagrams yet not quite.

"This is..."

"This is my original true form!" Grandmaster Jiushan said: "The Shanhe True Form Talisman!"

"Can talismans also form a Dao?"

This truly exceeded Zheng Fa's understanding.

"Do you know the origin of the Jiushan Sect?" Unexpectedly, Grandmaster Jiushan suddenly brought up another matter.

"Jiushan... does it mean nine mountains?"

"Yes and no. I was originally a spiritual vein, but by natural creation, the flow trajectory of spiritual energy within that vein unexpectedly formed a mysterious and profound talisman, which is this Shanhe True Form Talisman."

"As time passed, relying on this talisman, I actually generated some spiritual consciousness; later, I further comprehended the Shanhe True Form from it, transforming into nine spiritual mountains—thus, the 'Jiushan' of the Jiushan Sect refers both to those nine mountains and to me."

"I do not even know what I originally was—a spiritual vein, this talisman, or those nine mountains." Grandmaster Jiushan shook his head and said: "All I know is that this talisman hides the supreme principles of heaven and earth; otherwise, I fear I would have remained an ordinary spiritual vein for my entire life."

Zheng Fa looked at the four mysterious patterns above his head, his heart also filled with awe.

He had long realized the marvels of the Xuanwei Realm, but that a single talisman could cause a spiritual vein to generate spiritual consciousness, and furthermore enable it to establish a Nascent Soul sect, still surpassed his imagination.

"Throughout my entire life, I relied only on instinct to apply the Shanhe True Form Talisman; it was like my innate spiritual treasure, and even until my sitting in meditation and death, I likely never comprehended even one-tenth of its mysteries."

"Then, Grandmaster, who are you?"

"Me? As I said, I am Jiushan, I am the spiritual vein, only I am no longer this Shanhe True Form Talisman." Grandmaster Jiushan spoke words Zheng Fa could not understand, then opened his mouth and said: "That old man... has gone mad."

"Hmm?"

Grandmaster Jiushan waved his hand, pointing at the Shanhe True Form Talisman, and said: "His lifespan was nearing its end; unwilling to simply sit in meditation and die thus, he split himself in two. A small half became me, which is also the Jiushan and the spiritual vein, while the other, larger half sleeps within this Shanhe True Form Talisman, absorbing the future Jiushan Sect disciples' comprehension of this True Form Talisman, aiming to fully merge himself with this True Form Talisman—he felt that compared to this mysterious and profound True Form Talisman, the Jiushan and the spiritual vein were burdens; now, having discarded me, he only wishes to rely on this Shanhe True Form Talisman to reshape his foundation and gain new life."

"This..."

"Within this True Form Talisman hides that old man's treasures; his divine abilities, even himself, are concealed there—as long as you can gain some realization, you will obtain them."