BOOK 2: CHAPTER 461: THE THREE QUESTIONS OF DAO FRUIT, ZHENG FA CONTEMPLATES THE MULBERRY

Vol 2 Chapter 461: The Three Questions of Dao Fruit, Zheng Fa Contemplates the Mulberry

"Dao Fruit?" Lord Shuyu Dragon's expression showed sudden realization. "Is this what you're after?"

Zheng Fa smiled. "Lord Dragon, I too have my selfish motives."

"What selfishness is this?" Lord Shuyu Dragon chuckled. "At your level, it's only natural to consider Dao Fruit matters."

The most important reason for giving the Yellow Court Scripture to the Dragon Lord was that Zheng Fa needed a genuine Dao Fruit expert to guide his next steps.

This candidate was hard to find.

In Xuanwei, there were actually very few Dao Fruit experts Zheng Fa could trust.

One was the Nine Nether Emperor, another was Lord Shuyu Dragon. Zheng Fa's choice was... to have both.

The Nine Nether Emperor had always paid him little attention, often appearing and disappearing mysteriously, seemingly very busy and unable to provide constant guidance.

Lord Shuyu Dragon, on the other hand, had been idle for hundreds of thousands of years.

As for the Yellow Court Scripture... to put it bluntly, how could someone guide you without seeing the cultivation method?

Even hiring a tutor requires an assessment test.

"Lord Dragon knows that although our Jiushan Sect now has some trump cards, in terms of cultivation, we're still lacking," Zheng Fa said frankly. "Achieving Dao Fruit sooner would bring peace of mind."

"I know. Weren't you even looking down on Golden Immortals before?" Lord Shuyu Dragon laughed. "I don't know why I actually believed you back then."

"Does Lord Dragon not believe me now?"

Lord Shuyu Dragon lowered her head, looking at the Yellow Court Scripture in her hands, shaking her head helplessly. "I believe you even more now."

"Lord Dragon, as our sect's Supreme Elder now, there are some thoughts you have the right to know."

"What?"

"Our Jiushan Sect won't place all our hopes on me alone."

Lord Shuyu Dragon's expression froze momentarily, then she looked thoughtfully at Zheng Fa.

"Given the current situation in Xuanwei, of course I hope my cultivation can advance rapidly to protect Jiushan," Zheng Fa spoke especially bluntly. "But people's fortunes and talents differ—no one can say for sure. I won't place all bets on one person, even if that person is me."

"You mean..."

Zheng Fa nodded:

"Both Senior Sister Zhang and I have the potential to reach Dao Fruit."

"And if Lord Dragon's cultivation advances further, that too can provide protection for our Jiushan Sect."

"Then there's the Profound Earth Primordial Magnetism Array, the Slaying Immortal Sword Formation..."

"These are our Jiushan Sect's recent hopes. Yes, I, Lord Dragon, and Senior Sister Zhang are all different."

"But against external enemies, there's no distinction between you and me."

Lord Shuyu Dragon slowly nodded, beginning to understand what Zheng Fa meant.

"So Lord Dragon, I only hope you can grow stronger."

"I understand." Lord Shuyu Dragon exhaled softly, making up her mind. "I'll impart the complete Dragon Ancestor's legacy to you. With the Heavenly and Earthly Fiend Transformations, you might be able to use it to achieve Scattered Immortal." ℞Ά₦ŏ𝐁Ě𝙎

Zheng Fa was stunned. After exchanging glances with Uncle Pang and others, he smiled. "Lord Dragon must have misunderstood."

"Misunderstood?"

"Our Jiushan Sect isn't lacking in Dao Fruit cultivation methods."

Lord Shuyu Dragon looked even more puzzled.

"We have the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor's Great Freedom True Technique and Fang Demon True Explanation. At the very least, we know how to cultivate to Scattered Immortal."

"The Great Freedom Demon Ancestor." Lord Shuyu Dragon's face showed understanding, but she added, "But the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor's cultivation was far inferior to the Dragon Ancestor's. How can his techniques compare to our Dragon Ancestor's legacy?"

"That's true." Zheng Fa thought for a moment, then said, "We have other Dao Fruit techniques too."

"Others?"

Zheng Fa took out three jade cylinders and handed them to Lord Shuyu Dragon.

Taking them, Lord Shuyu Dragon skimmed through them and immediately couldn't maintain her composure: "These are... Haori Mountain's fundamental techniques?"

"Lord Dragon is indeed knowledgeable."

"I've never seen Haori Mountain's techniques before—only heard of them."

The Dragon Lord's expression suddenly seemed relieved, as if some burden had lifted.

Seeing this, Zheng Fa was initially puzzled, but then inspiration struck—he suddenly understood her thoughts:

This Dragon Lord, having submitted to Jiushan Sect and prepared to offer the Dragon Ancestor's legacy, probably still carried some guilt about being an unfilial descendant.

But seeing these three fundamental techniques from Haori Mountain, she suddenly perked up—no matter how unfilial she was, it couldn't compare to Haori Mountain having their entire legacy taken.

"But since you already have so many Dao Fruit techniques, what can I do?"

Zheng Fa also understood Lord Shuyu Dragon's confusion.

The Great Freedom Demon Ancestor's legacy truly couldn't compare to the Dragon Ancestor's.

But Haori Mountain was in a completely different league.

Although Haori Mountain's situation was special, Lu Mo was no ordinary person—the Dragon Ancestor probably couldn't compare to him.

"I still need to reference the Dragon Ancestor's techniques." Zheng Fa pointed to the three jade cylinders before Lord Shuyu Dragon. "These three techniques, including the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor's legacy, I'll reference them all."

"But what I want to know is the principles."

"Principles?" Lord Shuyu Dragon looked even more confused.

"What is a Scattered Immortal? How does one prove the Scattered Immortal stage? Why must it be done this way?"

"......"

Lord Shuyu Dragon's mouth opened and closed as if dumbfounded. Then, seemingly because of these three questions, she fell into deep thought.

Zheng Fa waited quietly.

In terms of cultivation methods, they truly weren't lacking. Besides the fundamental techniques mentioned earlier, he'd also obtained Tianhe Venerable's legacy.

Following the steps to cultivate would actually be feasible.

But neither Zheng Fa nor the Jiushan Sect members wanted to stop there. They wanted to perfect the Yellow Court Scripture, pushing it to Dao Fruit level.

Thus, Zheng Fa's three questions were key.

These were things even those cultivation methods couldn't answer—only a genuine Dao Fruit expert like Lord Shuyu Dragon could shed some light.

After long contemplation, Lord Shuyu Dragon shook her head with a self-deprecating smile. "To be honest, Sect Leader, although I achieved Scattered Immortal long ago, I've never deeply considered these three questions."

"Does Lord Dragon have answers?"

"I don't know if what I say can answer these questions. In fact, if I were still at Scattered Immortal stage, I probably couldn't answer any."

The Heavenly Palace members listened quietly.

A True Immortal dragon lecturing them on the essence of Dao Fruit—this was something the Jiushan Sect members wouldn't have dared dream of before.

"Sect Leader, what do you think Dao Fruit is?"

After thinking, Zheng Fa gave the definition he felt most confident about: "Dao Fruit is method—a method capable of propagation and growth. The goal of Dao Fruit growth is heaven and earth, is the Great Dao. Dao Fruit cultivation is the process of method growing into the Great Dao."

Lord Shuyu Dragon looked deeply at Zheng Fa and sighed. "There's nothing I can teach you."

"Lord Dragon doesn't know—this was Tianhe Venerable's teaching."

"Tianhe Venerable... truly extraordinary." Lord Shuyu Dragon nodded lightly. "Then let's discuss how to prove Scattered Immortal. In my view, achieving Scattered Immortal boils down to two words—choice and sacrifice."

"Choice and sacrifice?"

Lord Shuyu Dragon explained: "Sect Leader, you should know that our dragon clan's techniques share similarities with the Demon Sect's. The final realm before Dao Fruit is True Spirit for both."

"Yes."

"If there's True Spirit, there must be 'False Spirit.' What do you think False Spirit is?"

Zheng Fa froze momentarily. The two techniques from the Great Freedom Demon Sect flashed through his mind, and he suddenly understood. "The original soul?"

"Exactly." Lord Shuyu Dragon nodded. "When we cultivate Dharmakaya, the Dharmakaya gives birth to True Spirit, while the original soul perishes. The Dharmakaya and True Spirit merging as one—that's the Demon Sect's Scattered Immortal."

Zheng Fa understood. "So Corpse Liberation is the same—condensing Yang Spirit, with Yang Spirit becoming the Dao body, while the original flesh body undergoes Corpse Liberation."

As the Dragon Lord said, this seemed like a process of choice and sacrifice.

Immortal sects valued soul over body, while demon sects did the opposite. As for Tianhe Venerable... he probably discarded both.

Senior Sister Zhang frowned. "Purity?"

"Exactly, purity. At the Scattered Immortal stage, one discards all but method—even to the point where 'throughout the heavens, only I exist,' transcending all realms."

Zheng Fa understood the phrase "throughout the heavens, only I exist."

He'd known before that inner demons might be parallel versions of oneself.

But "discarding all but method" posed some trouble.

"If we pursue absolute purity..." Zheng Fa tapped the table lightly, his face worried. "Then the Yellow Court Scripture might be more difficult than other techniques."

The Yellow Court Scripture's path was broad—fundamentally conflicting with this concept.

Immortal sects sought only Yang Spirit, demon sects only Dharmakaya, while the Yellow Court Scripture wanted it all—Dharmakaya, Yang Spirit, and innate treasure.

"The key lies in merging them into one."

Everyone exchanged glances, frowning. No ideas came to mind immediately.

Seeing the somber atmosphere, Zheng Fa smiled lightly. "At least we have a direction, no? The Yellow Court Scripture is newly created—encountering problems is normal."

"With a direction, we can work on it later."

Uncle Pang and others nodded slightly, their worried expressions easing somewhat.

But Senior Sister Zhang's frown deepened, as if she'd thought of something troubling.

"Senior Sister?"

"Besides the Yellow Court Scripture, there's you."

"Me?"

Zheng Fa was dumbfounded. What did she mean by "there's you"?

"Your Dharmakaya is Fusang Wood."

Senior Sister Zhang's words instantly enlightened everyone.

Zheng Fa's situation was more complex than other Jiushan Sect members.

"If we say 'throughout the heavens, only I exist,' then is the Fusang Wood you?" Senior Sister Zhang's tone was grave. "If the Fusang Wood isn't one with you, how can your Dharmakaya merge with Yang Spirit?"

"This..." Elder Yu rubbed his chin distractedly, his face bitter. "So the Fusang Wood is a big problem?"

Senior Sister Zhang shook her head. "I'm not certain, but likely."

The atmosphere in the hall grew even heavier.

"Without the Fusang Wood, both I and Jiushan Sect would have perished long ago," Zheng Fa, the person involved, said calmly. "How can you call it a problem?"

Despite this, Elder Yu and others' expressions didn't lighten.

Clearly, even with other hopes, they still wished for Zheng Fa's cultivation to advance rapidly.

"Sect Leader."

Lord Shuyu Dragon suddenly spoke.

"What is it, Lord Dragon?"

"Might I examine your Dharmakaya form?"

Zheng Fa paused, looking at Lord Shuyu Dragon. Then three flowers bloomed above his head as a Fusang Wood manifested from the void, standing in the hall.

Lord Shuyu Dragon stepped forward, her blue pupils glowing as she observed this spiritual root.

Zheng Fa and the others waited, unsure what she was examining.

After a long while, Lord Shuyu Dragon finally nodded slightly, seeming to have gained some insight.

Turning back and seeing Zheng Fa and the others watching expectantly, she appeared somewhat embarrassed. "Actually, I can't solve the problem you mentioned."

Elder Yu couldn't hide his disappointment.

"But having cultivated Dharmakaya myself, I can discern some clues."

"What?"

"This Fusang Wood is incomplete."

"Incomplete?"

Zheng Fa was stunned. This Fusang Wood was born from combining the Green Sun Dao Body with Haori Mulberry.

When it first appeared, all Haori Mulberry trees on Haori Mountain spontaneously combusted into ashes—such was its uniqueness.

Not to mention its immense power—it had always been his and Jiushan Sect's trump card.

And now you're saying it's incomplete?

As if sensing Zheng Fa's confusion, Lord Shuyu Dragon explained, "As I said earlier, for Dharmakaya to achieve Dao Fruit, there must be True Spirit. But this Fusang Wood lacks True Spirit."

"Even with its tremendous power, without True Spirit, it's incomplete."

This... was probably Tianhe Venerable's doing again.

"Except, if its True Spirit still existed, Sect Leader, you would have probably..."

Lord Shuyu Dragon didn't finish, but Zheng Fa understood.

He'd taken advantage precisely because the Fusang Wood was simple-minded. If it weren't, he wouldn't dare use it.

Looking at the Fusang Wood in the hall, he began forming plans:

The Fusang Wood's issues weren't new—it's just that before, neither he nor Jiushan Sect could do without this spiritual root, nor had any solutions.

But now it concerned his Dao Fruit achievement, and Jiushan Sect had trump cards like the Slaying Immortal Sword Formation. The situation differed from before.

"So it seems I only have two choices."

"First, completely merge the Fusang Wood with myself, making us inseparable."

"Second, if that proves impossible, I may have to abandon this Dharmakaya."

Everyone looked regretful but nodded.

However precious the Fusang Wood was, compared to achieving Dao Fruit, it became less important.

"Lord Dragon is right. The path to Dao Fruit requires choice and sacrifice." Zheng Fa shook his head. "I can't afford to be reluctant."

But Lord Shuyu Dragon seemed to have a different opinion now: "Better to keep it."

Everyone turned to her as she continued, "This Fusang Wood... its rank is extremely high. I even feel it surpasses the Dragon Ancestor in the Fanghai Seal."

"Lord Dragon means?"

"You've said before your ambitions extend far beyond Golden Immortal."

"I have."

"I've always doubted—not because of your talent, but because after achieving Dao Fruit, advancing further becomes exponentially difficult for anyone."

Zheng Fa understood. "Lord Dragon, you mean using the Fusang Wood to accelerate my cultivation advancement?"

"Exactly. It might slow your Dao Fruit achievement slightly, but if you can utilize the Fusang Wood's foundation, the future benefits would be tremendous."

Zheng Fa listened, falling into deep thought.

"Only then could you, Sect Leader, advance to Golden Immortal—even beyond—in a fraction of the time others would take. By then, it's hard to say who would progress faster."

Modern times, in the nursing home.

Elder Yu and Tang Lingwu huddled together, watching Zheng Fa in the front yard and whispering:

"What's Zheng Fa doing, staring at that Fusang Wood?"

"Don't know."

Seeing Tang Lingwu shake her head, Old Man Bai suddenly remembered something. "I know—contemplating the mulberry!"

"Contemplating... mulberry flowers?"

"Not that kind. Like Yangming contemplating bamboo—Zheng Fa contemplating mulberry."

Watching Zheng Fa shake his head and stand up, Old Man Bai sighed. "And he's figured out nothing."