BOOK 2: CHAPTER 423: SPIRIT LINGWU’S PLAN, HACKER COMPETITION

Vol 2 Chapter 423 Spirit Lingwu’s Plan, Hacker Competition

The night sky was like velvet, with a gentle sea breeze blowing.

Old Man Bai brought Tang Lingwu to visit, and Zheng Fa simply took both of them straight to a deserted beach.

The three of them sat on the fine sand like ordinary mortals with no cultivation.

On the road behind them, vehicles were sparse.

The sound of waves crashing on the shore deepened the silence among the three.

Zheng Fa actually felt much more relaxed inside:

If the modern world was his sanctuary, then these two people in front of him were his best therapists.

Even just talking a little, venting some troubles to them, could bring a lot of comfort.

But Old Man Bai and the others couldn’t relax.

Old Man Bai looked blankly at the distant black coastline, and Tang Lingwu lowered her head as if counting the grains of sand at her feet.

Finally, it was Old Man Bai who broke the silence: “You’re saying there’s deadly danger over there?”

Zheng Fa nodded slowly.

He hadn’t planned to tell Old Man Bai and the others everything before.

The reason was simple: their cultivation strength was still far behind, and telling them would only add unnecessary worries.

Not just for the two of them.

Since the appearance of the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor, he had been just a bystander, only able to watch.

The Nine Nether Demon Ancestor and Lu Mo were almost at the level of Golden Immortal rivalry.

“The Life and Death Register, the Slaying Immortal Sword Formation...”

Old Man Bai’s expression also stiffened.

He didn’t know how strong a Golden Immortal was, but these two treasures were legendary.

Even if they might not be authentic, they were terrifying enough.

After a while, Tang Lingwu lifted her head and looked at Zheng Fa.

“Hm?”

“Will you... die?”

Even Zheng Fa hadn’t expected Tang Lingwu to be so direct.

Old Man Bai opened his mouth to say something, but when he met Tang Lingwu’s gaze, the words in his throat turned into a long sigh that vanished silently with the wind. ℝÄΝÖꞖË𝘚

Tang Lingwu’s figure sitting on the beach looked extremely fragile.

It seemed like if the waves were just a bit stronger, they could knock her down.

She reached out her hand and grabbed Zheng Fa’s arm, her knuckles distinct and gripping tightly.

“Not likely. After all, I’m so afraid of dying that I’ll do everything I can to survive.”

Zheng Fa said softly.

“Besides, I have more trump cards than others.”

“I have Fusang Wood, and I can come to this world...”

“I even have means of resurrection.”

Zheng Fa comforted without limit.

Tang Lingwu seemed not to hear and only asked,

“You definitely won’t be in trouble?”

Zheng Fa fell silent.

Tang Lingwu looked at his tightly closed lips, waiting for his assurance,

But Zheng Fa couldn’t guarantee it.

The expression on Tang Lingwu’s face made Old Man Bai turn his head, unwilling to look closely.

Seeing that the two said nothing, Zheng Fa didn’t know what to say either, so he started talking about the Heavenly River Venerable.

Before, Old Man Bai and the others only knew Zheng Fa had some foundation but didn’t have much deeper understanding.

As for the Heavenly River Venerable’s experience and the origin of the Heavenly River upheaval, they knew little.

Zheng Fa started from the Demon Ancestor era’s Xuanwei pattern, talked about the rise of the Heavenly River Venerable, then about his mysterious demise, the Heavenly River upheaval, the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor’s revenge, and Lu Mo’s backup plan.

This history was too long and complicated.

Tang Lingwu and the others listened intently, forgetting their earlier panic.

“So, the greatest danger is actually Lu Mo’s attainment of the Dao?”

Zheng Fa pondered for a moment and added, “As for the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor... I can’t grasp his thoughts either.”

This matter was quite troublesome.

Lu Mo was certainly a major threat.

But the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor was no pushover.

He naturally sympathized with the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor, but that person had endured so much suffering and accumulated so much hatred that his intentions were hard to predict.

For example, Zheng Fa could understand the plan to overturn the entire immortal sect, but for the Jiushan Realm, it was an apocalyptic disaster.

Moreover, this person also knew about the Yin-Yang Fish jade pendant.

For Zheng Fa, the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor was a ticking bomb, ready to explode on contact.

Old Man Bai scratched his head and said:

“This is too passive. Can we only rely on luck?”

Old Man Bai’s words were to the point, revealing the root cause of Zheng Fa’s unease.

In the struggle between the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor and Lu Mo, Zheng Fa’s only option was to get lucky.

In other words, it was a gamble.

He gambled that the Heavenly River Venerable had backup plans.

He gambled that he could escape the death tribulation.

He gambled that he could sever the link between the modern world and the Xuanwei Realm.

Knowing Zheng Fa’s personality, this was almost no different than waiting to die...

“Since the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor set up the sword formation, I have lost control of the situation,” Zheng Fa shook his head. “He has the Slaying Immortal Formation Diagram and the Life and Death Register;

I can’t contend with that.”

“Lu Mo is even worse.”

“Looking back now, it’s fortunate I went to the Heavenly River Sect;

otherwise, I wouldn’t even have had a chance to get lucky.”

Hearing this, Old Man Bai didn’t know what to say.

As a cultivator himself, he naturally understood that in the end, cultivators rely on strength.

The gap in strength between Zheng Fa, the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor, and Lu Mo meant he could only be a spectator.

Even the combined brains of the modern world couldn’t do much about it.

Sometimes, wisdom was not true strength.

...

“Control...” Just as Old Man Bai felt helpless, the always silent Tang Lingwu suddenly spoke, “Can we try to control the Slaying Immortal Formation Diagram?”

“Hm?”

Tang Lingwu spoke slowly, as if organizing the sudden insight:

“You said just now the Slaying Immortal Sword Formation is somewhat like a maze game, a kind of programming targeting cosmic space and physical rules.”

“Mm.”

“I don’t know if the Slaying Immortal Sword Formation is perfect, but if we can crack the talismanic diagram’s structure, wouldn’t that mean we can gain higher privileges than others?”

Zheng Fa listened, his eyes brightening.

Old Man Bai seemed to understand too: “A game cheat?”

“More or less,” Tang Lingwu nodded, “And Zheng Fa, you also have the Trapping Immortal Sword, which naturally grants you some privileges.”

“It’s also a natural loophole in the Slaying Immortal Formation.”

“Even if the formation is flawless, we still have room to work.”

Zheng Fa was stunned.

Tang Lingwu’s idea was, simply put, to exploit system loopholes to develop a game cheat.

On one hand, she was thinking about the problem entirely from a programming perspective.

On the other hand, she gave Zheng Fa the possibility of regaining the initiative.

Old Man Bai slapped his thigh: “If you can control the Slaying Immortal Formation, Zheng Fa, doesn’t that mean you have Golden Immortal-level strength?”

Zheng Fa suddenly stood up from the beach, heart soaring: “No need for Golden Immortal level. The four swords combined in the Slaying Immortal Formation are far stronger than an ordinary True Immortal...”

“Lu Mo sneaking into the underworld probably also fears the Slaying Immortal Formation.”

“He’s not yet attained Golden Immortal, but he’s definitely stronger than other True Immortals. As for Golden Immortal... maybe not.”

“If the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor weren’t restricted by the Life and Death Register and controlled the Slaying Immortal Formation, he wouldn’t be so passive.”

The Nine Nether Demon Ancestor was probably a watered-down Golden Immortal, since the Life and Death Register was still incomplete.

But that didn’t mean Lu Mo was necessarily very strong.

After all, he hadn’t truly attained Golden Immortal.

The reason the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor fell behind was largely because Lu Mo used Zhizhong’s sacrifice to target the Life and Death Register, preventing it from unleashing its full power.

No need to mention the Life and Death Register, even the Slaying Immortal Formation seemed beyond the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor’s control.

This was the biggest flaw of the Heavenly River Method.

It was also why Lu Mo went through such trouble to infiltrate the underworld.

In the Xuanwei Realm, the combat power of treasures greatly affects one’s strength.

For example, Xie Qingxue, with the Qingping Sword, was the top below Dao Fruit.

The Nine Nether Demon Ancestor, wielding the Life and Death Register, claimed to be a Golden Immortal.

Zheng Fa needed no mention;

Fusang Wood had allowed him to enter Xuanwei’s upper society early, chatting easily with various Dao Fruit cultivators.

If he could control the Slaying Immortal Formation...

Then Zheng Fa would truly have the trump card to influence the battle’s outcome.

At that time, even if the Heavenly River Venerable left nothing behind, he would never have to sit idly watching the situation change.

Although it was only a possibility, it was a very worthwhile direction to strive for—

For Zheng Fa, this direction was extremely important, almost a lifeline.

The more he thought about it, the more excited he became. He walked to Tang Lingwu, passed his hands under her armpits, lifted her up, and raised her over his head.

The moonlight was gentle, merging their shadows on the beach into one.

“There’s someone here!”

Old Man Bai grunted.

Zheng Fa put down the blushing Tang Lingwu and smiled lightly at Old Man Bai: “If Lingwu’s idea works, it will truly save the world.”

Not just one world.

“I understand, but a lonely old man like me coming out with you in the middle of the night isn’t just for eating dog food.”

“Grandpa Bai!” Tang Lingwu scolded, “Then why don’t you go back first?”

Her voice was small but shocked Old Man Bai greatly.

“...What speed does Zheng Fa have, and what speed do I have? If I go back, how long will I have to fly?”

“Just the right chance to practice flying technique...”

Old Man Bai was silent for a very long time, as if not recognizing Tang Lingwu. After a long while, he sighed deeply: “Luckily there’s the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor.”

“...The Nine Nether Demon Ancestor?”

“I only lost my dear Xiao Lingwu;

he has many things I don’t.”

“The Heavenly River Sect is gone, and now it looks like the Life and Death Register will be lost too.” Old Man Bai counted on his fingers, “This is bad, the Slaying Immortal Formation will be lost as well.”

Thinking like this, Zheng Fa felt a bit embarrassed.

Actually, if he wanted to seize the Formation Diagram, he might have to thank Lu Mo?

If Lu Mo hadn’t been seizing the Life and Death Register and restraining the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor, trying to seize control of the Formation Diagram would have been at least ten times harder.

Tang Lingwu pondered for a long time and muttered, “I guess the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor should be used to this by now?”

“...

“You’re definitely not my Xiao Lingwu!”

...

“The Federation Hacker Competition?”

“Open to all nationalities, can participate online? Only one question?”

“Can freely form teams? Even communicate with each other?”

The Immortal Dao Federation had been established for several years.

Although Zheng Fa was not in charge, the order of the entire modern world had fundamentally changed.

The most obvious was:

Almost no wars had occurred, not even small-scale conflicts.

This was also due to Zheng Fa’s personality.

As the saying goes, “What the ruler likes, the people emulate.” Although Zheng Fa rarely revealed his attitude, just like Team Leader Yang used to analyze his resume repeatedly,

Think tanks of various countries never stopped analyzing him.

His preferences, his views, even his opinions on world affairs were not secrets to many.

Zheng Fa didn’t care about these;

his control over the modern world made him indifferent.

Moreover, most disputes in the past were about resources and markets.

Now...

The most valuable resources were spirit materials and spirit veins, controlled by the Federation Research Institute.

The biggest market was the Federation.

If you talked about energy, a single Golden Core was almost infinite energy—the most critical project of Rainbow Mountain now was using newly born spirit materials and spirit veins to produce external pills.

In a sense, the world’s rules had completely changed.

If there was one thing most worth fighting for, it was:

A quota at the Federation Research Institute.

This strange hacker competition now offered such a reward!

One could imagine the competition’s appeal.

Zheng Fa led Tang Lingwu into a conference room packed with people.

Team Leader Yang quickly stepped forward and explained: “I’ve invited experts and scholars in computer science and mathematics.”

Zheng Fa glanced roughly and felt the room was filled with shining reflections, bright and clean, immediately trusting their professionalism.

Team Leader Yang continued: “The talismanic diagrams you provided, Director, are far more complex than ordinary programs.”

“Some seem to be new algorithms that have never appeared before. Fortunately, Director, you confirmed their functions.”

This had to be credited to Senior Sister Zhang.

She worked day and night, analyzing every talismanic diagram Zheng Fa recorded in the sword formation without missing a single one.

With this data as a foundation, modern experts could analyze the program’s logic.

Zheng Fa nodded at Team Leader Yang and looked at a somewhat familiar face in the conference room—a mathematics scholar from the institute who was also proficient in computers, considered a leader among these scholars.

He stood and explained: “From analyzing these talismanic diagrams alone, we found seventy-eight possible loopholes.”

“There’s only one problem: these diagrams aren’t complete.”

“Some loopholes may not be real loopholes or might not work.”

It wasn’t that these people were incompetent.

It was because Zheng Fa didn’t have the complete formation diagram.

So naturally, much of the analysis involved speculation.

Even of these seventy-eight loopholes, it was uncertain if any could actually be used.

One reason he organized this hacker competition was:

It wasn’t that programmers were all masters in the community, but many skilled programmers stayed in the industry and, due to personality or profession, didn’t show themselves publicly, only having some fame in small circles.

On the other hand, he wasn’t looking for a standard answer:

Because the talismanic diagrams were incomplete, Zheng Fa needed to find more loopholes and prepare more possible solutions to try one by one back at the Heavenly River Sect.

The hacker competition format was also suggested by these scholars.

There were many similar competitions in academia and industry, and they worked well, gaining more feasible ideas and higher efficiency.

Tang Lingwu said beside him: “Actually, if we add the Trapping Immortal Sword’s privileges, maybe it’s not as difficult as we think.”

Zheng Fa nodded: “I’ve thought about it. I don’t need privileges higher than the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor, just higher than others.”

Of course, he wanted to snatch the Slaying Immortal Formation from the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor.

But that was difficult;

after all, it had been in the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor’s hands for an era.

Fortunately, the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor was restrained by Lu Mo and couldn’t focus, so his control of the sword formation was not as strong as before.

This made the difficulty much smaller.

That being said, if he really could seize the Slaying Immortal Formation, Lu Mo deserved a banner.