"How did he get it?" The three stared at each other in silence for a long time before the Nine Nether Devil Ancestor asked dryly, then shook his head and said, "Never mind, this is probably his secret."
Tianhe Sect Master Yan, however, was much more excited and pressed Xie Qingxue for an answer, "Is it really the < Scarlet Firmament Jade Register >?"
Xie Qingxue's eyes darted back and forth between the two, her mind still filled with questions. She replied, " Zheng Fa said that everything from the Qi Refinement Realm to Corpse Liberation is possible."
"Good!" Sect Master Yan suddenly stood up, paced back and forth in the hall, and chuckled softly, "Alright! I'll switch with him!"
Seeing his agitation, Xie Qingxue frowned and asked directly, "Why is the Devil Ancestor here?"
Sect Master Yan was momentarily speechless. He glanced at the Devil Ancestor beside him, his eyes filled with a hint of resentment—"You're the one who popped up here. Why don't you explain yourself?"
Xie Qingxue asked again, "Master, what exactly do you want to do?"
Her face was cold, the tip of her Green Duckweed Sword still pointing at the Nine Nether Devil Ancestor: "If others find out that the Devil Ancestor is in my Tianhe Sect, how will the other Four Sects react? Master, have you thought about that?"
Sect Master Yan frowned as he looked at the slightly uneasy expression on his disciple's face, and suddenly asked, "What do you know?"
"I know nothing."
Seeing her master's calm expression, as if unconcerned by her questioning, Xie Qingxue felt only that he was stubborn and incomprehensible. She gritted her teeth and said, " Zheng Fa told me that my Tianhe Sect is doomed!"
"A calamity of collapse?" To everyone's surprise, when Sect Master Yan heard this, he was not only not shocked, angry, or fearful, but instead laughed. "Is that what he said?"
Seeing his expression, Xie Qingxue immediately understood that this matter was probably very close to being true, and might even be related to her master.
She stared at Sect Master Yan, utterly bewildered.
Sect Master Yan chuckled lightly, seemingly not intending to answer her question. He simply opened his right hand, his palm shimmering with a green light. When the light faded, a Jade Slip was revealed.
"This is the < Immortal-Trapping Sword Canon >. Take it to Zheng Fa at the Nine Mountains Sect."
"I'm not leaving!"
At this moment, Xie Qingxue only wanted to resolve her doubts. Her feet seemed to be rooted to the spot in the hall, and she looked up at her master with a stubborn gaze.
"Master, I am leaving today. I will definitely return even if there is business in Tianhe!"
"..."
" Old Han, me, and my junior brother—which of us is the type to stand by and watch Tianhe get into trouble while we ourselves try to survive?"
The Nine Nether Devil Ancestor, who was watching the two of them from the side, suddenly burst into laughter, abrupt and jarring.
Xie Qingxue and the other woman looked at him, not understanding what was wrong with him.
"You... cough... your judgment is better than that idiot Tianhe's." Nine Nether seemed to choke on his laughter, coughing as he pointed at Sect Master Yan, "Cough... much better!"
Upon hearing this, Sect Master Yan's gaze towards Xie Qingxue softened considerably.
"Master?"
You'll find out later.
Sect Master Yan suddenly spoke.
Xie Qingxue bit her lip, knowing that Sect Master Yan was unwilling to tell her the whole truth at this moment.
"If you want to come back then, I won't stop you."
Looking at the calm expression on Sect Master Yan's face, Xie Qingxue took a deep breath, stared intently at the Nine Nether Devil Ancestor, and said coldly, "Master, have you been bewitched by the Devil Ancestor?"
To everyone's surprise, upon hearing this, the Nine Nether Devil Ancestor was not angry at all. Instead, he laughed even louder as if he had heard something extremely funny.
"Bewitching?" For some reason, Sect Master Yan also laughed. He shook his head and glanced at the Nine Nether Devil Ancestor beside him. "No, it was the Devil Ancestor who woke me up."
"..."
Xie Qingxue frowned, the scene of the Six-Sect Alliance Assembly flashing through her mind again. She felt she understood something, but couldn't quite grasp the key point.
"Go."
Xie Qingxue remained silent.
Then Sect Master Yan suddenly added, "I don't care what use Zheng Fa has for this < Immortal-Trapping Sword Canon >, but... there's something you need to make clear to him."
"Um?"
"Don't practice."
"Don't practice?"
But Sect Master Yan seemed to have said all he needed to say at this moment, only telling Xie Qingxue, "Take good care of your junior brother."
"... I know."
Seeing that Sect Master Yan seemed truly unwilling to explain further, Xie Qingxue could only carry her doubts and speculations with her as she transformed into Sword-Ray and flew out of the Tianhe Sect.
Sect Master Yan watched the sword rainbow disappear into the horizon.
" The Tianhe has been destroyed?" The Nine Nether Devil Ancestor was still laughing from the side, "How could your disciple understand... You are the real culprit, cough, the one who caused this."
Sect Master Yan's eyes were dull as he stared at the < Scarlet Firmament Jade Register > left behind by Xie Qingxue, remaining silent.
The Nine Nether Devil Ancestor didn't need his reply; he simply looked at the mountains, trees, palaces, and buildings outside the sect Sect Leader's hall.
"To be able to obtain the < Scarlet Firmament Jade Register >, Zheng Fa's abilities..." Sect Master Yan suddenly looked up and asked the Nine Nether Devil Ancestor, "Is this Zheng Fa truly unrelated to the Founder?"
"..."
"Besides being the reincarnation of the Founder, no one else..."
He's dead.
The Nine Nether Devil Ancestor interrupted him directly, his tone icy, causing Sect Master Yan to glance at his profile.
"..."
The Nine Nether Devil Ancestor's gaze remained fixed on the Tianhe Sect.
Following his gaze, Sect Master Yan suddenly realized something:
"Was the scenery of the Tianhe just like this when the Founder was alive?"
The Nine Nether Devil Ancestor glanced at him, his smile slowly fading. He pointed to the main hall and said:
"Back then, there was no Sect Leader hall for the sect leader; it was just a dilapidated building."
"..."
"Me and Tianhe, and..." The Nine Nether Devil Ancestor paused, then continued, "We sit here every day, chatting, arguing, no, Dao Discussion."
"They were discussing their writings when they started fighting, and after the fight, Tianhe felt bad. That mountain..." Sect Master Yan followed his gaze; the mountain was where the Tianhe Sect's Scripture Tower was located. "There was a piece missing from the mountain, but I fixed it. You can't tell, can you?"
"..."
" Tianhe's skills are no good." The Nine Nether Devil Ancestor pointed to the foot of the mountain and said with a sneer, "There used to be a mountain there too."
Sect Master Yan gazed at the flat, fertile fields at the foot of the mountain and fell into deep thought.
"Yeah, he couldn't fix it; the more he tried, the uglier it got. Frustrated and angry, he simply razed it to the ground with a single sword stroke."
Sect Master Yan finally understood what the Nine Nether Devil Ancestor had been watching.
"You have your own desires, but I have only one thought... They don't deserve this place."
"Are you saying that my master was not in control of his own destiny?"
Xie Qingxue was stunned by Zheng Fa's words as soon as she returned to the Nine Mountains Realm.
Zheng Fa's gaze also turned serious. This matter was of utmost importance; it might be the deepest secret of the Tianhe Sect, one of the Five Sects.
How did you find out?
" Fairy Xie, Fairy Xie. After you sent back the < Immortal-Trapping Sword Canon >, we used the Nine-Chapter Calculation Formation to deduce it several times," Zheng Fa explained, pointing to Senior Sister Zhang beside him. "Originally, we wanted to find the Method Formula to control the Immortal-Trapping Sword, but unexpectedly..."
"We have discovered that anyone who cultivates the < Immortal-Trapping Sword Canon > will likely become... a furnace or cauldron."
Xie Qingxue's face was pale, as if she couldn't believe it, but she unconsciously murmured, "No wonder, no wonder Master reminded you not to cultivate the < Immortal-Trapping Sword Canon >."
Seeing her like this, Zheng Fa felt a sense of relief. "Since Sect Master Yan has realized the truth, she has probably broken free from control."
Xie Qingxue frowned. She took the Jade Slip containing the < Immortal-Trapping Sword Canon >, immersed her Divine Sense into it, and suddenly looked up and exclaimed, "This is very similar to the method of the Green Duckweed Sword!"
Why did I...?
Zheng Fa seemed to have considered this matter long ago. He exchanged a glance with Senior Sister Zhang and sighed, "Because the Patriarch Shouzhong of the Qingping Lineage, Shouzhong, has truly passed away."
Xie Qingxue was startled and immediately understood Zheng Fa's meaning. "None of the four lineage Founder are dead!"
Zheng Fa nodded slightly:
"In the past, when I cultivated the < Nine Mountains Golden Core Method >, you, Fairy Xie, were somewhat under my control..."
"This shows the Green Duckweed Sword's control over you."
"Whether in terms of cultivation level or the completeness of my Cultivation Method, I am no match for the four Founder of your Tianhe Sect."
"The consequences of cultivating the < Immortal-Trapping Sword Canon > are self-evident."
Upon hearing this, Xie Qingxue's hopes vanished. "So, all those who have wielded the Four Immortal-Slayer Swords in the Tianhe Sect throughout history have been like this?"
"The four Founder of your sect, relying on their four swords, are all at least at the Dao Fruit level. I think no one can resist them."
Looking at the silent Xie Qingxue, Zheng Fa sighed inwardly:
He had long known that the Tianhe Sect had no fundamental teachings and that its lineage differed from that of the Demonic Sect and the other Four Sects.
But after reading the " Immortal-Trapping Sword Canon," I finally understood the true nature of the Tianhe Sect.
" Yang Spirit Method, Demonic Sect Method, Celestial River Method..." He looked at the silent Xie Qingxue and shared his and Senior Sister Zhang's views on the three Spirit Transformation Method, " The Yang Spirit Method should be the origin."
"Source?"
"It should be that the Yang Spirit Method is the original method, and even the Divine Way Method may be complementary to the Yang Spirit Method."
"Not only has the Celestial River Method existed for only one era, but the Demonic Sect Method also constructs a corresponding nervous system."
Therefore, when Zheng Fa saw the Nine Luminaries Primordial Spirit, he felt that the Yang Spirit Method was the simplest—because constructing the human body inherently requires establishing a corresponding nervous system.
"This < The Immortal-Trapping Sword Canon > also contains some similar content."
Zheng Fa understood this point—whether it's the nervous system or the Spiritual Qi network, they actually correspond to the generation of consciousness, or rather, wisdom.
"The difference lies in the fact that the Yang Spirit Method uses Spiritual Qi... or rather, the Principle of heaven and earth, as the foundation of the Primordial Spirit. The Nine Luminaries Primordial Spirit, on the other hand, uses fire-elemental Spiritual Qi as its body. This is probably the origin of the name ' Spirit Transformation,' where a human who wields a Principle transforms from a human into Divine Spirits."
" The Spirit Transformation Method may even share the same origin as the Divine Way Method."
As a Nascent Spirit Transformation from the Tianhe Sect, Xie Qingxue nodded in agreement, pondering, "So, all the Nascent Spirit Transformation from the Four Sects I've encountered are like this."
"We are quite familiar with the Demonic Sect Method. It involves constructing a powerful physical body using Method Formula, making it more complex than the Yang Spirit Method, yet it possesses some unique and powerful abilities."
"Then... what about the Celestial River Method?"
" The Celestial River Method may not be perfect." Zheng Fa was silent for a moment before speaking, "The foundation of this technique is Law Treasure; in essence, it is the process of a cultivator and Law Treasure becoming one."
"During cultivation, it is necessary to maintain the power of the Law Treasure while preserving the cultivator's spiritual intelligence."
"But what if Law Treasure possesses its own sentience, like the four Founder of your sect..."
Xie Qingxue's expression grew increasingly grim.
Zheng Fa glanced at Senior Sister Zhang and then shared his thoughts. " Senior Sister Zhang's deductions suggest that the Founder of your sect's four lineages likely also sought to perfect the Celestial River Method, which is why they chose this method."
"Each generation selects the most suitable host to refine the Four Immortal-Slayer Swords, and they naturally become stronger and stronger."
"It's very similar to my Green Duckweed Sword, except that the Green Duckweed Sword is ignorant and won't affect my mind, but the four swords..." Xie Qingxue paused here, then murmured, "No wonder Master said it was the Nine Nether Founder who awakened him."
Upon hearing this, Zheng Fa remained silent for a moment before guessing, " Sect Master Yan... is seeking freedom?"
Only in this way can the various strange behaviors and choices of this Sect Master Yan be explained.
Seeing the worry still on Xie Qingxue's face, Zheng Fa comforted her again:
"Judging from the arrangements made by Sect Master Yan for Yan Wushuang alone, he is definitely not a reckless person... Moreover, there is also the Nine Nether Devil Ancestor."
Xie Qingxue was taken aback, and suddenly she wasn't so worried anymore...
The Nine Nether Devil Ancestor is probably one of the most prominent figures in the Xuanwei Realm over several eras.
She looked at the Jade Slip containing the < Immortal-Trapping Sword Canon > with a hint of disgust. "Not only is this Cultivation Method incomplete, but... I never imagined that among the three methods, my Tianhe Sect's Cultivation Method would be even more vicious than the Demonic Sect Method's."
" Of the Five Sects under heaven, the Tianhe Sword Way, and us, the disciples of the Tianhe..."
"It was a joke from the very beginning."
" Fairy Xie." Zheng Fa pointed to the doorway, where Senior Sister Zhang's face was peering inside with curious eyes. "This Cultivation Method may be worthless to others, but for my Nine Mountains Sect... it's not so."
We have a mentally challenged Founder in our family!
"I want to cultivate the < Immortal-Trapping Sword Canon >?"
Nine Mountains Patriarch held the Jade Slip, looking blankly at Zheng Fa.
"It's not the < Immortal-Trapping Sword Canon >, but rather it borrows the ideas from the < Immortal-Trapping Sword Canon > to perfect your path to Spirit Transformation, Founder."
"My path to Spirit Transformation?"
"If I had to say, she's actually more like Fairy Xie."
"Like me?" Xie Qingxue pointed to herself, not understanding either.
" Fairy Xie, you may not know this. The Founder is not the original body, but Divided Spirit of the Nine Mountains Patriarch... And the Founder attained enlightenment through an extraordinary means; his original body can actually be considered a kind of Law Treasure."
Upon hearing this, Xie Qingxue understood:
"It is somewhat similar... his true form is equivalent to the Patriarch Shouzhong."
Zheng Fa smiled and nodded.
The Celestial River Method is basically designed to turn people into Artifact Spirit.
It might not be very suitable for monks.
But for the case of Nine Mountains Patriarch, it was perfectly suited:
When the Nine Mountains Patriarch failed to break through to the Spirit Transformation, only a Divided Spirit remained in the world.
It should have been Artifact Spirit, but the problem is that it doesn't have the original authority of Artifact Spirit. Not only is it unable to cultivate on its own, but it also suffers from some mental deficiencies due to its incomplete Divine Sense...
"By using the Celestial River Method, we can completely merge the Founder with the Mountain-River Seal, thus freeing the Founder from his current predicament."
The Nine Mountains Patriarch understood what he meant, and his face lit up with joy. Holding the < Immortal-Trapping Sword Canon >, his eyes were full of excitement.
"I can Spirit Transformation?"
" Founder, you attained Dao through Spirit Vein, and your accumulated Spiritual Qi even surpasses that of Spirit Transformation," Zheng Fa nodded and said. "As long as the hidden dangers of the Divided Spirit are resolved, and the Cultivation Method is correct, Spirit Transformation... is within reach."
" Cultivation Method?" Xie Qingxue asked curiously, "The < Immortal-Trapping Sword Canon >?"
Zheng Fa shook his head and smiled:
"The < Immortal-Trapping Sword Canon > is probably not a good match for the Founder. Senior Sister Zhang created a set of Method Formula to control the Mountain-River Seal before."
"At that time, my senior sister, with Nascent Soul stage, was able to unleash the combat power of a Spirit Transformation. This shows the potential of that Method Formula."
The Nine Mountains Patriarch nodded repeatedly. "Yes, yes, that Method Formula was deciphered by Wuyi from the runes of the Mountains-and-Rivers True Form, and it suits me perfectly."
Xie Qingxue understood.
"You intend to use that Method Formula as the foundation?"
Zheng Fa glanced at Xie Qingxue and smiled, "Back then, Senior Sister was limited by her vision and cultivation level, so the Method Formula she created was only a prototype and not perfect at all."
"Now, not only do we have the three Great Dao Fruit Method Formula, especially the < Immortal-Trapping Sword Canon > as a reference, but we also have the Nine-Chapter Calculation Formation... it's naturally incomparable to what it was before."
Xie Qingxue nodded gently, and then Zheng Fa said, "We were waiting for Fairy Xie to return for this very reason."
She was taken aback, then suddenly understood:
Zheng Fa and Zhang Wuyi can only conduct research and deduction. In the current Xuanwei Realm, Xie Qingxue is probably the only one who can truly guide the Nine Mountains Patriarch to achieve the Spirit Transformation.
" Fairy Xie, perhaps the thoughts of the Four Sect Founder are unfathomable, but the cultivation method you practice, even the < Immortal-Trapping Sword Canon >, has its value... and the Tianhe Sect is by no means a joke."
Xie Qingxue was taken aback, looked up at Zheng Fa, remained silent for a long time, and then slowly nodded.
University Island.
Senior Sister Zhang sat cross-legged within the Nine-Chapter Calculation Formation.
Xie Qingxue stood to the side, talking to Zheng Fa and the Nine Mountains Patriarch about some of the problems she encountered when she was about to Spirit Transformation.
The Nine Mountains Ancestor was a little nervous, not daring to miss a single word.
Zheng Fa listened attentively.
To help the Nine Mountains Patriarch Spirit Transformation, the main force was actually him, or rather... his Great Sun True Fire.
The most distinctive feature of the Celestial River Method is its reliance on Law Treasure.
For the Nine Mountains Patriarch, the Law Treasure was his true form— the Spirit Vein, or the Mountain-River True-Form Talisman.
The problem is that the Mountain-River True-Form Talisman contains not only the current consciousness of the Nine Mountains Patriarch, but also the remnants of the original Nine Mountains Patriarch.
To use an imperfect analogy, it's like you reinstalled your operating system, but not only was the original system not completely removed, but many system parameters and even registry entries still retain settings from the previous system...
It would be strange if they weren't mentally challenged.
What Zheng Fa needs to do is to systematically clean up the Nine Mountains Patriarch according to the New Method deduced by Senior Sister Zhang, and then write it into the new system.
Within the Nine-Chapter Calculation Formation, Senior Sister Zhang suddenly opened her eyes and nodded to Zheng Fa.
"Wait!" Nine Mountains Patriarch suddenly tensed up and exclaimed, "Are you sure you can succeed?"
" Founder, didn't we agree?" Zheng Fa explained, " Senior Sister Zhang is right here. If any problems arise, she can immediately use the Nine-Chapter Calculation Formation to deduce a solution. Besides, Fairy Xie is also watching over things."
"I... I'm afraid your Method Formula are wrong and you'll make me stupid."
Zheng Fa gave him a deep look, then shook his head and said, "It's possible to die from the refining process, but to make someone stupid... Founder, considering your current situation, that's a bit too difficult."
"..."
Seeing that the Founder was still about to mutter, Zheng Fa felt helpless. He recalled that a few days ago, this Founder had been urging him every day, looking forward to it with great anticipation.
But when the time comes, they act like children again...
With a thought, the Great Sun True Fire surged from his body, the vigorous golden flames completely enveloping the Nine Mountains Patriarch.
"Huh? Wait... Ah!"
The Nine Mountains Patriarch was initially somewhat surprised and doubtful, then let out a series of screams.
The cry was extremely shrill, causing the disciples on the University Island to all look in this direction.
Senior Sister Yuan was wandering around the island with Little Golden Crow.
Upon seeing this scene, she skipped over, craning her neck and gazing curiously at the Nine Mountains Patriarch within the Great Sun True Fire... She swallowed hard.