BOOK 2: CHAPTER 437: A FRUITFUL RETURN, PROFESSIONAL MAGICAL TREASURES

Vol 2 Chapter 437: A Fruitful Return, Professional Magical Treasures

After entering the Jiushan Realm, Zheng Fa felt completely relaxed from inside out.

This time, leaving the Jiushan Sect, traveling from Haori Mountain to the Heavenly River Sect, though not exactly fraught with danger, was certainly nerve-wracking. His body was not tired, but his heart was filled with exhaustion.

Only when he landed on Ziwei Yuan did he feel his entire heart settle peacefully inside his chest.

Senior Sister Zhang and her group came forward to greet him.

“Sect Leader!”

“Zheng Fa!”

“Alliance Leader!”

The crowd shouted out chaotically, their voices rising and falling, complex yet strangely pleasant to the ears.

Surrounded by everyone, Zheng Fa walked into the Heavenly Palace Hall, with smiles on all their faces—though it was unclear exactly what made them so happy.

Even Fan Zhi looked quite pleased.

Yet, besides happiness, these people carried an unshakable trace of confusion and panic.

Uncle Pang’s worried expression was the most obvious, causing Zheng Fa to glance at him twice.

Elder Yu walked behind, quietly muttering to Uncle Pang, “I don’t know why, but whether Zheng Fa is here or not, the feeling in my heart is just different.”

“How is it different? Isn’t the Heavenly Emperor body still here?”

Uncle Pang thought for a long time but couldn’t figure it out, only shaking his head, “Still not the same—it’s like suddenly, we’re not so panicked anymore.”

Elder Yu glanced at Zheng Fa, smiled gently, and nodded slightly.

The group entered the Heavenly Palace Hall in single file.

Zheng Fa sat at the head, with Senior Sister Zhang beside him.

All the trustworthy Nascent Soul cultivators of the sect, except those on missions elsewhere, gathered in the hall.

Elder Yu, Uncle Pang, and Sun Daoyu sat on the left.

Xie Qingxue, accompanied by Yan Wushuang, Elder Han, and Shi Nandang, sat on the right.

Of course, this gathering was to welcome Zheng Fa’s return, but the Jiushan Realm was not so formalistic. Their meeting here had other purposes.

Everyone glanced at one another, and finally Uncle Pang couldn’t help but ask, “With the Nine Nether Emperor establishing the Reincarnation Cycle, how will Jiushan respond?” ṙ𝘈ℕỗᛒʧ

The hall suddenly fell silent.

The previous panic among Uncle Pang and the others stemmed from this very issue: everyone understood that the rules of the Xuanyi Realm were about to change drastically, and the fierceness of the conflict would rise to a new level.

Maybe the disciples did not know, but the sect’s high-ranking members did. Jiushan Sect was vaguely standing in opposition to the Four Sects, right at the epicenter of the storm, naturally feeling unsettled.

Zheng Fa scanned their expressions, only to see anxiety, confusion, and helplessness reflected in their eyes.

Their gazes all focused on him, full of expectation.

Zheng Fa took a jade cylinder from his sleeve and placed it on the table.

Xie Qingxue spoke first, “Is this the Heavenly River Method?”

Her eyes locked tightly on the jade cylinder, as if it were made of magnetized metal.

Zheng Fa lightly tapped, and the jade cylinder floated from the table into Xie Qingxue’s arms.

“Fairy Xie, feel free to examine it.”

Xie Qingxue pursed her lips, glanced around at everyone.

Uncle Pang nodded toward her.

She silently raised her hand, grasped the jade cylinder tightly, and eagerly began to read.

No one in the hall made a sound, as if afraid to disturb her.

After two incense sticks burned down, Xie Qingxue slowly opened her eyes, her expression relaxed, eyes filled with gratitude.

She rose, crossed the wooden table, stood in the center of the hall, and silently bowed repeatedly toward Zheng Fa.

Everyone quietly watched, not even Zheng Fa stopped her.

This branch of the sect, since the beginning of the era, had endured countless years of torment and pain—unspeakable to outsiders.

This jade cylinder containing the Heavenly River Method was not just the next step in cultivation for Xie Qingxue, but the persistent obsession of generations of Patriarchs.

Its significance was difficult to express in words.

Everyone in the hall clearly understood this, which was why they let her see it first.

After Xie Qingxue finished reading, Elder Yu and the others passed around the jade cylinder.

Learning the Heavenly River Method in a short time was naturally impossible, but grasping the general concept was sufficient.

“Heavenly River Method.” Uncle Pang closed his eyes and recalled for a while, finally unable to suppress his admiration, “This Heavenly River Venerable was a person of great wisdom and courage, and even greater benevolence.”

Everyone silently nodded in agreement, as if in reverence.

“With the Heavenly River Method, Fairy Xie’s cultivation now has hope. The perfection of the Yellow Court Scripture is just around the corner,” Uncle Pang said with a gleam in his eyes, “Zheng Fa, your trip out has been very fruitful!”

Zheng Fa smiled, and a flash appeared in his palm.

The Slaying Immortal Formation Diagram and the Four Slaying Immortal Swords slowly appeared in his hand.

Uncle Pang suddenly jumped up.

Elder Yu’s hand clenched hard, tearing off the beard on his chin, yet he seemed unaware.

The hall once again fell deathly silent, everyone staring blankly at the Slaying Immortal Sword Formation.

“Th-this-this...”

Uncle Pang obviously recognized it but could hardly believe his eyes.

They knew Zheng Fa had obtained the Heavenly River Method.

When the Nine Nether Emperor gifted the sword formation, the livestream had already stopped, so these people naturally didn’t know about it.

Now Zheng Fa had pulled out the Slaying Immortal Sword Formation, and the elders and fellow disciples in the hall looked dazed, filled with a mix of bewilderment and delight—as if a huge surprise had suddenly fallen from the sky.

“Where did it come from?” Uncle Pang suddenly lowered his voice, “Does the Emperor know? You’re so powerful with the Five-Colored Divine Light now?”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you, Uncle, but the Emperor is a decent person, with great grace toward the beings of Xuanyi...”

For a moment, Zheng Fa didn’t know how to answer.

He wasn’t sure if Uncle Pang trusted his abilities too much or doubted his character entirely.

“The Emperor gifted it.”

“I knew the Emperor was a good person!” Uncle Pang sighed deeply, happily reaching out to stroke the Slaying Immortal Sword, saying, “With this, our Jiushan Realm has nothing to worry about.”

Elder Yu and the others nodded, their expressions much more relaxed.

They had seen the power of the Slaying Immortal Sword Formation on the livestream.

In the current situation, setting up the Slaying Immortal Sword Formation was almost invincible in the world.

Naturally, there was nothing to worry about.

However, Zheng Fa shook his head and poured cold water on them: “It’s invincible for now, but according to the Nine Nether Emperor, Golden Immortals will soon appear.”

“Even with the formation diagram under my control, I cannot defeat a Golden Immortal.”

Uncle Pang’s smile faltered, and after a moment of silence, he said, “So you’re saying we can’t really use this sword formation? To avoid inviting disaster?”

“You’re right, Uncle. The Nine Nether Emperor established the Reincarnation Cycle, probably offending all the Dao Fruit cultivators,” Zheng Fa agreed. “He is not afraid of retaliation now, but the Jiushan Sect can’t withstand it.”

Once the Four Slaying Immortal Swords come into play, Zheng Fa’s relationship with the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor will be fully exposed.

The Jiushan Realm probably won’t survive it.

Worry crept into the brows of Uncle Pang and the others.

“So this treasure is basically useless?” Uncle Pang muttered.

“Useless is not the word—just the last trump card,” Zheng Fa shook his head, “If pushed to the limit, we’ll act recklessly and kill wildly, then run to the Underworld afterwards. But the Hundred Immortals Alliance and the sea territory will have to be abandoned.”

Elder Yu frowned, “We’ve invested so much, how can we just give up? Besides, we don’t even know what the Underworld is like—maybe we’d have to start over if we go there.”

Zheng Fa’s thoughts went deeper.

The rules of the Underworld are probably different from Xuanyi—no telling if it’s suitable for living cultivators.

“Even if we use the formation diagram, we still can’t defeat a Golden Immortal...” Elder Yu’s brow furrowed, “That’s a real problem.”

At those words, everyone in the hall frowned heavily, sensing a storm brewing. The Jiushan Realm was like a lone boat in a sea of endless raging waves, at risk of capsizing with one misstep.

“Golden Immortal...”

Xie Qingxue let out a long sigh, with a hint of helplessness.

Uncle Pang wore a bitter smile, “If the Four Slaying Immortal Swords are useless, then with our cultivation, we’d be a burden against Dao Fruit cultivators, let alone Golden Immortals.”

His words carried the sorrow of someone old and useless.

The atmosphere in the hall was overwhelmingly oppressive.

“Uncle, didn’t you see the Myriad Immortal Formation?”

“Myriad Immortal Formation?”

Uncle Pang looked puzzled, “I just thought it was a formation technique, didn’t look closely.”

The others also nodded in confusion, clearly having overlooked the Myriad Immortal Formation Method or not yet realizing its compatibility with the Jiushan Sect.

Senior Sister Zhang finally spoke up.

She had been silent before but now said, “Brother Junior, you want to merge this method with our Jiushan Immortal Formation Method?”

She had somehow guessed part of Zheng Fa’s plan.

Uncle Pang and the others didn’t understand, so they picked up the jade cylinders and studied the Myriad Immortal Formation Method for a long time.

Only then did they roughly grasp the details.

“Using innate treasures to deploy the formation...” Uncle Pang murmured, “It’s indeed more convenient and stable than the Immortal Formation Method, naturally integrated, and can even reach Dao Fruit power?”

Elder Yu, the founder of the Immortal Formation Method, also stood up, half his beard flying happily, “This way, our Immortal Formation Method can finally transcend its limits, giving us a fighting chance against Dao Fruit cultivators!”

Obviously, after carefully studying the Immortal Formation Method, they understood its significance.

“Senior Sister Zhang!” Zheng Fa suddenly called out.

“I want to use the Immortal Formation Method to establish an army within Jiushan.”

“An army?”

Senior Sister Zhang looked puzzled, watching Zheng Fa, waiting for him to explain.

“My initial plan is two major armies,” Zheng Fa said as he refined the idea in his mind. “The sword Dao disciples will cultivate the Heavenly River’s Four Vein Sword Classic, forming the Heavenly River Army.”

“Usually divided into four divisions: Slaying Immortal, Trapping Immortal, Killing Immortal, and Absolute Immortal.”

“In the final critical moment, the four divisions unite to deploy the Slaying Immortal Sword Formation, becoming Jiushan Sect’s strongest combat force.”

Hearing the words Heavenly River Army, Xie Qingxue’s eyes grew increasingly excited.

Everyone exchanged glances, understanding Zheng Fa’s idea.

Elder Yu applauded, “Besides formation deployment, the Myriad Immortal Formation also inspires each other. If we select talented disciples to cultivate the same sword classic, it greatly benefits their cultivation progress.”

Zheng Fa had the same thought.

This open-source competitive approach of the Myriad Immortal Formation was an unsurpassed method of mutual aid for the disciples.

In his plan, the Heavenly River Army was Jiushan Realm’s ultimate trump card.

Combined with the Slaying Immortal Formation Diagram, it equaled top-tier True Immortal cultivation.

In the future, as disciples in the Heavenly River Army grow stronger, the power of the sword formation would naturally improve, eventually becoming fearless even against Golden Immortals!

This could be said to be the culmination of all the Heavenly River Sect’s various cultivation methods.

.......

“And what about the other army?”

Senior Sister Zhang thought for a moment and asked again.

“The Heavenly River Army’s methods are naturally related to the Heavenly River Venerable, so it’s not convenient to expose them publicly.” Zheng Fa explained, “Unless Jiushan Sect faces life-or-death crises or no worries about the aftermath, it’s best not to act.”

“Therefore, we need a second, overt military force—the Shenxiao Army.”

Senior Sister Zhang suddenly understood, “Thunder Method?”

“Yes. Jiushan Realm’s Thunder Method is unmatched in Xuanyi and not inferior to the Heavenly River Sword Dao.”

“Compared to the Heavenly River Army, the Shenxiao Army serves as the sect’s daily external force.”

“Thunder Method’s power is impressive, with unique advantages in transportation, invisibility, and reconnaissance.”

“Usually, they are the main combat force. Even when the Heavenly River Army acts, they assist and cooperate with the Guanhe Army.”

Jiushan Realm’s Thunder Method incorporated modern electromagnetic theory.

Its power spoke for itself, and compared to Xuanyi’s Thunder Method, it had even more practical uses.

In detection, communication, stealth, and transporting cultivators, Jiushan’s Thunder Method far surpassed other sects.

Moreover, in the Shenxiao Thunder True Method Zheng Fa studied, there was a morale-boosting innate treasure called the Thunder Drum that reduced recovery time.

So although Thunder Method seemed less powerful than sword Dao, it was superior in comprehensiveness.

If not for the Four Slaying Immortal Swords and Slaying Immortal Formation Diagram, Jiushan’s Thunder Method might even rival sword Dao’s power.

Besides, the Immortal Formation Method originally used Thunder Method, making it easier to research.

In Zheng Fa’s design, the Heavenly River Army was the trump card, and the Shenxiao Army was the daily force;

the two complemented each other.

“Uncle Pang, the innate treasures of Heavenly River Army disciples are the Four Slaying Immortal Swords,” Zheng Fa said. “What about the Shenxiao Army?”

Uncle Pang’s question hit the mark.

The Myriad Immortal Formation actually required disciples to cultivate fundamentally consistent methods, with innate treasures not differing too much.

For example, in the Myriad Swords Realm, those Heavenly River disciples all cultivated the Heavenly River Sword Dao, using Immortal Swords, so it was easy to unite as one.

“That’s what I’ve been thinking about,” Zheng Fa nodded to Uncle Pang. “I want to standardize some innate treasures.”

“Standardized innate treasures?”

Everyone understood the words separately but found the combined term novel.

“Simply put, each profession would have several innate treasures with great potential and diverse uses for disciples to choose from.”

Uncle Pang and the others exchanged confused looks, clearly not understanding why this was necessary.

“For example, for sword Dao cultivation, the Four Slaying Immortal Swords would be the template. This way, using the Immortal Formation Method, the swords crafted by our sect’s disciples would naturally become stronger, deepening their sword classic mastery.”

“For Thunder Dao, the Thunder Drum from the Shenxiao Thunder True Method is very useful, and Elder Han’s Ten Directions All-Perceiving device for reconnaissance could be standardized too.”

“Alchemy disciples would favor pill furnaces, formation disciples might use compasses, talisman disciples would find Senior Sister Zhang’s Feixian Brush ideal, and so on.”

Zheng Fa’s idea was simple: cultivation of alchemy, artifacts, formations, and talismans each had suitable innate treasures and cultivation methods.

Even reconnaissance and transportation tasks had more practical innate treasures.

He wanted to identify key items and then use the Myriad Immortal Formation Method to rapidly iterate and enhance their forging, accelerating disciples’ cultivation.

“Of course, disciples wouldn’t be restricted to these;

they could still choose their favorite innate treasures,” Zheng Fa explained softly. “But focusing research on certain innate treasures and cultivation methods would speed up disciples’ progress.”

“Besides, disciples cultivating the same methods and forging standardized innate treasures, linked together by the Myriad Immortal Formation, would greatly enhance Jiushan disciples’ collective strength.”

In short, he wanted to link innate treasures, professions, and cultivation methods into a preliminary standardized system.

On one hand, the Xuanyi situation was changing rapidly, requiring concentrated effort to tackle major issues and improve disciples’ combat and self-protection abilities, enabling mutual assistance.

On the other hand, professional innate treasures would strengthen disciples’ specialization, allowing deeper research in specific fields and better absorption of others’ results, perfecting Jiushan’s unique cultivation path.

“Hmm...” Uncle Pang pondered for a while and finally understood, “But how do we know which treasures are better?”

Zheng Fa looked at Shi Nandang, “We have to thank Master Shi for that.”

“Thank me?”

“Haori Mountain’s entire Scripture Hall was brought back by you, so of course we have to thank Master Shi.”

Shi Nandang’s expression changed for a long moment before asking Zheng Fa, “Sect Leader, did you kill Lu Mo?”

His gaze was full of expectation.