Chapter 111: Chen Zheng Definitely Has a Celestial Artifact!

Chen Zheng left a voice message for Fang Han, and amid the send‑off of hundreds of thousands of disciples he floated away from the Mountain River Courtyard, returning to Righteous Qi Peak.

On Righteous Qi Peak everything remained the same; over a hundred Fang household servants were busy on the mountain.

Since receiving the artifact bestowed by Chen Zheng, they have become more motivated than before.

Xiao Hezi secretly hid in the side hall's alchemy room, drooling, and ate the wild meat roasted on the spirit alchemy furnace arranged by the Celestial Craft Institute.

Chen Zheng was too lazy to bother with the gluttonous foolish crane; since the alchemy room isn't needed, he let it be.

The Golden Stone Platform stood amid the swirling snow, guarding the inevitable path at the foot of the mountain like a gate deity.

Yesterday he not only stopped Fang Qingwei, but in the middle of the night he also blocked dozens of female disciples who harbored ill intent toward Chen Zheng and tried to sneak up the mountain by any means.

Those female disciples all hoped to have a beautiful encounter with Chen Zheng in the heavy snow, perhaps even something more.

There was no choice; Chen Zheng is now a rising new star within the Feather Ascension Sect.

And the sect has over a hundred thousand female disciples; with such a large base, there will always be some who refuse to work hard and seek shortcuts to climb the higher branches.

As the saying goes, a clever housewife cannot cook without rice; when there is rice, a clever housewife will appear.

That is the principle.

It must also be said that the Golden Stone Platform contributed two parts of the credit.

If one can persist, in the near future one might receive Chen Zheng's reward, thereby defying fate, and surpassing Hua Tian Du is not impossible.

"Senior Brother Chen."

While Chen Zheng stood in the hall with his hands clasped, admiring the snow outside the window, Fang Han descended onto the summit of Righteous Qi Peak, exchanged greetings, and entered from the hall's entrance.

"Junior Brother Fang, what are you giving me?" Chen Zheng looked at Fang Han and asked, curiosity in his eyes.

As far as he knew, aside from the partially restored Jiao Fu Yellow Spring Diagram on Fang Han's body, there seemed to be nothing else valuable.

Could it be that Fang Han intends to give him the Yellow Spring Holy Water contained in the diagram?

That would indeed be a good thing.

Unfortunately, back then the Yellow Spring Emperor seized the entire river from underground and spent three thousand years refining it into the Jiao Fu Yellow Spring Diagram, which has since vanished from the mortal world, leaving countless cultivators sighing in regret.

This water has many marvelous uses: it can cleanse impurities in a cultivator's mana, improve the quality of one's destiny talisman and Golden Core, and also suppress techniques such as Heavenly Demon Disintegration Method and Golden Core self‑detonation.

If Chen Zheng possessed the Yellow Spring Holy Water, killing Wanluo would be far simpler; he could just charge forward in the Heavenly Doom Shark Boat.

For Wanluo to self‑detonate his original Golden Core, he only needs to sprinkle the Yellow Spring Holy Water on his Golden Core; it will be unable to explode.

However, Chen Zheng guessed wrong; Fang Han was not offering Yellow Spring Holy Water but instead produced a jade box and apologetically said, "Senior Brother Chen, you gave me the Great Cutting Technique and the Yin‑Yang Longevity Pill; I feel indebted. I obtained a pill of this kind at the Mountain River Ranking competition, and I'm returning it to you."

"..."

The Yin‑Yang Longevity Pill is merely bottom‑tier stock in the Celestial Realm and is useless to Chen Zheng.

It increases lifespan essence, which he does not currently need.

He did not take the jade box, pondered briefly, and softly said, "Forget the pill; Junior Brother Fang, why not give me some Yellow Spring Holy Water instead."

Fang Han was startled by the words, then shock flashed in his eyes and his hair stood on end.

Chen Zheng actually knew he had Yellow Spring Holy Water!

Could it be that he knew Fang Han possessed the Jiao Fu Yellow Spring Diagram?

How could that be possible?

Earlier, after receiving the first‑place reward from the Mountain River Ranking, he went to the True Transmission Palace in the Feather Ascension Heavenly Palace and, after inspection by Elder of Heavenly Punishment, was promoted to True Transmission.

Since Elder of Heavenly Punishment did not detect the Jiao Fu Yellow Spring Diagram on him, how could Chen Zheng know?

In an instant, Fang Han's mind became a tangled mess.

He was simultaneously worried that Chen Zheng might act against him, yet also trusted his character, believing the senior brother he revered would not do such a thing.

And Yan inside the Jiao Fu Yellow Spring Diagram was also severely shocked by Chen Zheng's words, roaring in Fang Han's mind, "Your expression just now fully exposed you; this Chen Zheng must have evil intent, trying to seize the Yellow Spring Diagram. Escape the Feather Ascension Sect as far as you can…"

"Junior Brother Fang, don't panic. The Jiao Fu Yellow Spring Diagram is your destiny; as your senior brother I would never seize it. Moreover, I never take others' destinies; I only need some Yellow Spring Holy Water for self‑defense."

Chen Zheng's gentle voice rose like a soft breeze, cutting off Yan's roar and calming Fang Han.

Indeed.

If Chen Zheng truly intended to seize the Yellow Spring Diagram, there'd be no need for idle talk; he could just act.

Fang Han, both embarrassed and ashamed, said, "Senior Brother Chen, your noble conduct is beyond reproach; I was mistaken. I'll now fetch the Yellow Spring Holy Water for you."

He immediately used his spirit to communicate with Yan inside the Yellow Spring Diagram, asking him to draw the water.

"Strange, Chen Zheng isn't even interested in the Yellow Spring Diagram, yet he's so powerful—could he possess a celestial artifact? It must be so."

Yan regained his composure, muttering, and with a paw shaped like a ladle scooped a large handful of Yellow Spring Holy Water from the Yellow Spring River, which flew out from the Yellow Spring Diagram clinging to Fang Han's body like a tattoo.

Chen Zheng waved his hand, collected the incoming Yellow Spring Holy Water, and laughed, "I'm not taking Junior Brother Fang's items for free. This Seven‑Devil Gourd I obtained by slaying a demon on the roadside; later, a kind fellow cultivator overseas helped me assemble the Seven Killing Sword Formation inside it using seven treasures, making it perfect for you."

The Seven‑Devil Gourd flew out of his body, heading toward Fang Han together with a jade register.

"This… I only gave Senior Brother Chen a bit of Yellow Spring Holy Water, and he rewarded me with such a powerful mid‑grade treasure? He's being way too kind to me."

Fang Han couldn't put down the Seven‑Devil Gourd, feeling both joy and gratitude.

With this treasure, his combat power doubled.

When he opened the jade register and saw the Panwu Great Strength Divine Art recorded inside, he was even more moved.

Yan also saw the jade register, became so excited that he roared again, nearly leaping out of the Yellow Spring Diagram.

"Senior Brother Chen…"

Fang Han clasped the jade register, about to thank Chen Zheng, but where was his figure now?

Only a laugh echoed in the hall, "Junior Brother Fang, I've gone out to train; I hope when we meet again you'll be able to stand on your own."

"Senior Brother Chen, I won't disappoint you!" Fang Han nodded gravely.

On Jialan Peak.

Jialan's wound torn by Chen Zheng had already healed. She sat upright on the bed, examining the source of her mana in her mind, eyes filled with shock as if she had witnessed something terribly terrifying.

All because Chen Zheng implanted the character "Da" on her forehead, doubling the magnitude of her mana source.

This is too unbelievable.

She has heard of cultivating techniques such as the Great Strength Divine Art of Panwu, which can enlarge one's own mana source.

But the method Chen Zheng uses to enlarge another's mana source with a flick of his finger is unheard of.

Chen Zheng's image in her mind became even more mysterious and towering.

He is undoubtedly a reincarnation of a being from the Demonic Path realm.

He might even be a legendary Great Luo‑level entity.

Swish!

A dark‑gold token suddenly drifted into her chambers, and Chen Zheng's voice emanated from it: "Jia Lan, keep an eye on the two true‑disciple masters named True Immortal Xuan Tie and Meng Shaobai; there are rumors of Five Elements Spiritual Roots on them, which would be of great use for my ascension to the Unification Realm. If either of them returns to the sect, send this token to inform me."

"Rumors of the Five Elements Spiritual Root?"

Jia Lan quickly restrained her shock, rose to catch the token, and infused it with her divine thought: "I'll dispatch people right away to investigate those two."

Reading the original!

The secret of the Five Elements Spiritual Root on Meng Shaobai is known to only a few in the sect, and she is one of them.

It is said that this person obtained the Five Elements Spiritual Root, enabling her at the mere age of twelve to unify the Five Elements Divine Arts, condense the Life‑Bound Talisman, and step into the Sixth Level Unification Realm of Divine Art.

However, before Chen Zheng even entered the sect, Meng Shaobai had already gone traveling and even uttered that he would never return to the sect unless he attained the Golden Core Realm.

As for True Immortal Xuan Tie, he won over Meng Shaobai and thus obtained the information about the Five Elements Spiritual Root.

……

The Great Li Dynasty and the Great Virtue Dynasty border each other, frequently clash, wage war, and vie for land and populace; such petty matters are ignored by the Feather Ascension Sect.

At this moment, along the border passes stretching hundreds of miles, smoke and beacon fires blaze everywhere, war drums roar like thunder, and wave after wave of soldiers from the two nations mass like ants, fighting in blood‑soaked fury.

Arrows fly across the battlefield like swarming locusts, soldiers fall constantly, while others shout and surge forward in succession.

Amid the soldiers' mutual slaughter arise strong currents of resentment, anger, despair, and the war‑born killing aura that spreads in all directions.

If a cultivator versed in Demonic Path divine arts were present, they could gather the various negative energies here for cultivation.

Above the battlefield.

Chen Zheng stood atop the clouds, surrounded by vortices of mana that absorbed the endless flow of killing aura rising from below.

He was cultivating the Great Strength Divine Art of Panwu.

The technique is vast and profound, encompassing numerous powerful moves, and can also forge various mighty physiques such as the Ancient Martial Saint Body, the Shaking Heaven Saint Body, the Great Wilderness Saint Body, and the supreme Panwu Saint Body.

However, what Chen Zheng was actually cultivating was not any of the above, but the opening of a second mana source using the killing aura.

Buzz!

Following his cultivation path, he compressed the killing aura flooding his mind one by one, condensing it into an invisible tiny sphere that floated unstably within his thoughts.

Inside the sphere seemed to be a vast battlefield, with countless soldiers' faces turning, their battle cries and drumbeats echoing within.

As more battlefield killing aura was drawn in, the tiny sphere grew larger and became clearer.

The sphere is called a War Soul Relic.

Chen Zheng must forge one hundred and eight War Soul Relics to form the Heavenly Gang and Earthly Sha, then burn them with his own vital energy to open a second mind.

Time passed slowly.

Until night fell, the war at the border passes below finally ceased, and the two nations sounded the retreat.

The surging killing aura also dissipated.

"Just a little more, and I could have refined a War Soul Relic to perfection, but the killing aura is gone and far too scant."

Chen Zheng halted his cultivation and let out a light sigh.

After absorbing killing aura for several hours, not a single War Soul Relic reached completion.

To forge one hundred and eight, and to open the first mana source, would that not take hundreds of days?

Too slow.

He doesn't have that much time to waste on this.

"Fine, later I'll purchase killing aura from those Great Trade Guilds, or commission pills and have someone gather it for me, okay?"

Chen Zheng shook his head, prepared to leave, but his expression suddenly shifted as he looked toward the distance.

At the far end of the sky below, eighteen figures darted through the night, heading this way.

All eighteen wore blood‑red robes stamped with skull symbols, exuding a chilling aura, clearly members of the Blood Shadow Demon Sect.

Moreover, each bore a jet‑black gourd at the waist, its surface also engraved with skulls, bone‑white and seeming ready to bite.

"Huh, what's going on? Where did the killing aura here go? Without enough killing aura, how can we fulfill the Young Master's task?"

"Damn it, which damned thing sucked all the killing aura out of here?"

The eighteen halted mid‑air, removed their black gourds, pulled the stoppers, and inhaled from the battlefield below left and right, yet could not draw a single trace of killing aura, their faces darkening one after another.

They had been collecting killing aura here for a long time.

To avoid detection by the Feather Ascension Sect, they only operated at night.

It had always gone smoothly before; today, for some unknown reason, they gathered nothing, and their frustration was obvious.

If they discovered who was behind this, they would have to cripple and skin them, wiping out their entire clan.

"So it's you demons who prevented me from successfully refining the War Soul Relic."

(End of Chapter)