Temporal-Spatial Research, Yuying Calls for Help

Soon, Zheng Fa had a pretty good idea of the new function of the Void-Piercing Spirit Eye:

Perspective is perspective.

But it's not just about perspective.

Zheng Fa stood in the courtyard, gazing at the sky above the Nine Mountains Realm that shrouded the Purple Tenuity Enclosure. His golden pupils seemed to be focusing, sometimes large and sometimes small.

Uncle-Master Pang stood to the side, scratching his head and grinning anxiously as the pupils changed size.

The strange phenomenon in Zheng Fa's eyes disappeared.

"How?"

"This Void-Piercing Spirit Eye seems to be able to see through the void."

Before Uncle-Master Pang could speak, Xie Qingxue's face showed some surprise. "You've broken through the void?"

His reaction showed that these four words were not simple in the Xuanwei Realm.

"Uncle-Master, where did you get this Void-Piercing Spirit Eye?"

"How else could it be? I picked it up years ago." Uncle-Master Pang understood something but didn't quite grasp it. "Is this something special?"

Very impressive.

Based on Zheng Fa's initial perception, the Void-Piercing Spirit Eye could penetrate the Nine Mountains Realm and see into the Xuanwei Realm.

Although the image he saw was extremely distorted and unrealistic, with incorrect colors and shapes, and even somewhat abstract in style.

He had no idea what he was seeing, nor what these images represented.

It might seem outrageous just by looking at it.

Uncle-Master Pang is a man with quite a lot of good fortune.

Zheng Fa pointed to the stone benches in the courtyard, led the group to the stone table and sat down, then asked:

"Fairy Xie, does the Tianhe Sect have any records about the Xuanwei Grotto-Heaven or any Xuanwei Realm?"

Xie Qingxue frowned and shook her head. "Yes, but they're all just Xuanwei knowledge; there's not much worth mentioning."

Zheng Fa guessed, "It seems to be another secret that's been deliberately covered up."

Xie Qingxue's expression darkened.

Senior Sister Zhang seemed to want to change the subject, interjecting, "Didn't we already guess that the structure of the Xuanwei Realm, especially the starry sky, has some problems? We just couldn't verify it."

"At that time, this Void-Piercing Spirit Eye might be of some help to us."

Everyone then looked at Zheng Fa.

"Yes." Zheng Fa hesitated for a moment, not entirely sure. "This Void-Piercing Spirit Eye can penetrate the barriers of the Nine Mountains Realm, but I don't know if it can uncover the secrets of other grotto-heavens, or even the world itself."

For example, the Modern World.

On the other hand, Zheng Fa now regards Spiritual Qi as a physical Principle, as something external.

The so-called "outside" naturally has its origins, such as other worlds.

Moreover, the Heaven-and-Earth Fetal Membrane in the Xuanwei Realm was even more perplexing to Zheng Fa.

Therefore, he had long understood that in order to understand the essence of Spiritual Qi and pursue the Great Dao, he had to study the spacetime nature of the Xuanwei Realm.

This advancement in the Void-Piercing Spirit Eye may provide a relatively reliable observation tool for research in this area.

Thinking of this, he spoke again, "Senior Sister, I think that after the Yang Spirit, and even the cultivation of Dao Fruit cultivators, will probably be related to space and time. The main research projects of the Nine Mountains Realm in the future should also lean towards this direction."

Senior Sister Zhang and Uncle-Master Pang exchanged a glance and understood Zheng Fa's ambition. She shook her head and said, "Time and Space... isn't this project a bit too big?"

To put it bluntly, the Void-Piercing Spirit Eye only allows Zheng Fa to "see".

But how to interpret it, and how to extract knowledge from what we see, is another matter entirely.

To put it another way, everyone can see light, but to understand light requires a whole set of Electromagnetism theories.

"Isn't just having the Void-Piercing Spirit Eye enough?" Uncle-Master Pang himself began to lose confidence. "This is just a Spirit Eye Method that even a Nascent Soul can practice."

Zheng Fa understood that what Senior Sister Zhang and the other woman said was actually the wisdom of an experienced person.

Hoping that advancing his Void-Piercing Spirit Eye would allow him to uncover the great secrets of the Xuanwei Spacetime is wishful thinking, since the Spirit Eye Method is not uncommon in the Profound Xuanwei.

He did not refute, but simply reached into his robes and pulled out a magical Law Artifact that was most common in the Xuanwei Realm, even more popular than the Comprehensive Mirror.

"Storage Bag?"

All three of them were taken aback for a moment, but Senior Sister Zhang suddenly had a flash of inspiration. "You want to start researching spacetime from the Storage Bag?"

"Yes," Zheng Fa nodded. "We simply don't have the corresponding concept of spacetime. The Void-Piercing Spirit Eye is naturally not enough. In fact, it would be very difficult to even study the Nine Mountains Realm using the Void-Piercing Spirit Eye."

He's not stupid.

Even with further advancements in the Void-Piercing Spirit Eye, it is not omnipotent.

To start by researching grottoes or even the world is pure fantasy.

"Storage Bag are the most basic and cheapest spatial Law Artifact in Xuanwei. I thought, why not start my research with them?"

Ever since he saw the Storage Bag, Zheng Fa had become very interested in it.

A relatively inexpensive Law Artifact can grant a cultivator a personal space—in modern times, this is far more technologically advanced than Thunder Method.

Moreover, Storage Bag are quite special; the crafting process itself isn't difficult, but the raw materials are.

Zheng Fa picked up the Storage Bag in his hand, and saw that it was embroidered with dense runes.

Storage Bag are made by almost any sect.

However, the fabric used to make these Storage Bag all comes from the Four Sects. To be precise, Zheng Fa and his group now rely mostly on imported Supreme Dao materials for their Storage Bag.

In other words, the technological sophistication of Storage Bag lies entirely in the fabric; one could even say it's a business with Four Sects monopolies.

The Heavenly Crafts Pavilion simply has no way to crack it.

"Storage Bag is essentially a small space without time." Zheng Fa's eyes gleamed with golden light as he looked at the Storage Bag and said, "I don't know if this thing is composed of the same thing as a grotto-heaven or a world, but on the other hand, if we want to study spacetime, this is probably the simplest and easiest sample to understand."

"That's true. Storage Bag have small spaces, are almost static, and no living beings inhabit them..." Senior Sister Zhang's eyes brightened as she summarized the advantages of Storage Bag, "The research difficulty is much lower than that of cave heavens."

To put it bluntly, what Zheng Fa wants to do is first establish a very simple and basic concept of space and time.

We will then use this concept of spacetime to explain the Xuanwei spacetime and refine the theory.

The Storage Bag is far from being a true space-time continuum.

There is no time, no life, not even Spiritual Qi.

To other cultivators, it might not be of much value, but to Zheng Fa, it was the perfect experimental subject.

Starting to study the Xuanwei spacetime from the Storage Bag is somewhat like starting to study life forms from single-celled organisms; the difficulty level drops dramatically.

The Senior Sister Zhang looked at each other for a long time before Uncle-Master Pang sighed, "How could I not have thought of this?"

Senior Sister Zhang chimed in, "It's darkest under the lamp."

Zheng Fa glanced at Xie Qingxue again and said, "Speaking of which, besides allowing us to study the secrets of space and time, this Spirit Eye should also be very useful for us in searching for the ruins of Venerable Tianhe."

Xie Qingxue was taken aback, not expecting Zheng Fa to be thinking about this. Her heart warmed slightly. Of course, she knew that Zheng Fa wanted to find the Tianhe Ruins. On the one hand, it was to improve the Yellow Court Scripture, and on the other hand, it was also to enhance her strength. She was cultivating the Celestial River Method and it was not easy for her to switch to the Yellow Court Scripture now.

Uncle-Master Pang and his companion were also invigorated.

It's not that they're short-sighted, but spacetime research is ultimately not as urgent as perfecting the Celestial River Method.

They both knew, of course, that the secrets of the Xuanwei spacetime might point directly to the Great Dao.

However, the Celestial River Method is crucial to the advancement of cultivators in the Nine Mountains Realm. If this problem is not resolved, the Nine Mountains Realm may be doomed.

"Are you planning to have Xiao Yuying and the others cultivate the Void-Piercing Spirit Eye?"

Zheng Fa nodded and said, "After they cultivate, they can better search for the Tianhe Ruins."

Uncle-Master Pang looked at the remaining dozens of bottles of Hundred-Flower Spirit Dew, his expression somewhat disappointed, but he still nodded and said, "Let's prioritize them first."

Zheng Fa glanced at his martial uncle and reassured him, "The Hundred-Flower Spirit Dew from Jade Pool is so useful, we should import more of it."

He thought for a moment, then said to Senior Sister Zhang, "Senior Sister, we are not very familiar with the Sea Region, and it is quite far away. In the future, this trade route will need cultivators above the Nascent Soul stage from our sect to patrol in shifts. You and I will take turns overseeing it."

Profits, strategic value, now include Hundred-Flower Spirit Dew).

This East-West Continent Trade Route is now of great significance to the Nine Mountains Sect.

Zheng Fa had poured a lot of effort into this, so naturally he didn't want anything to go wrong. He was even worried about sending someone to the Spirit Transformation stage and wanted to personally oversee things with Senior Sister Zhang.

He himself, of course, didn't need to say it.

Senior Sister Zhang, holding the Pure Tranquility Bamboo and relying on the Primordial Eight Trigrams, could not be said to be able to defeat Loose Immortal, but she could hold out for a while and wait for Zheng Fa's rescue.

I'll go too.

Unexpectedly, Xie Qingxue suddenly spoke up.

"Um?"

Xie Qingxue patted the Green Duckweed Sword at her waist. "As long as I am in the Nine Mountains Sect, I am a member of the Nine Mountains Sect. Otherwise, you two would be too busy."

Zheng Fa was taken aback. Xie Qingxue, wielding the Green Duckweed Sword, might not necessarily be weaker than Senior Sister Zhang.

With three people working in shifts, it's naturally easier than with two.

The search for the Tianhe Ruins was unsuccessful.

Xiao Yuying led her archaeological team to search the entire Hundred Immortals Alliance, but they found no useful clues.

She stood in the Heavenly Palace Hall, her tone dejected:

"Although we encountered more than ten Secret Realm and cave abode, we found very little information about Venerable Tianhe."

"It's all garbage."

After saying that, Xiao Yuying's storage jade bracelet flashed.

The Law Artifact Law Treasure cascaded down like a waterfall, piling up into a small mountain half a person's height in front of Zheng Fa. The precious light reflected on Zheng Fa's face, creating a dazzling display of colors.

"..."

For a moment, Zheng Fa didn't know whether he should laugh or not.

To be honest, he seemed to see about ten magical Law Treasure in this pile of "garbage"!

It's naturally of little use to him now.

But these things are still quite valuable!

As the head of the Nine Mountains Sect, Zheng Fa knew that the more the Nine Mountains Sect earned, the more it spent. After decades of hard work, they found that the accounts were empty.

But when Zheng Fa saw Xiao Yuying's disdainful look, he lost his desire to laugh.

"Have you finished investigating the Hundred Immortals Alliance?"

"There's practically no place we've missed," Xiao Yuying said helplessly. "With my Magnetic Rail Body and the Void-Piercing Spirit Eye, if there are still Secret Realm we've missed, then they're beyond our ability to find."

That's quite true.

Zheng Fa was also getting a little anxious.

He really had no clue about the Celestial River Method, and there probably wasn't much of a lineage for it even in the Xuanwei Realm.

If I really had to do the research myself... just like Xie Qingxue said, I don't know when it would take.

Seeing Xiao Yuying's somewhat dejected face, Zheng Fa didn't voice his anxiety. Instead, he comforted her, saying, "Xiao Fairy, you've done your best."

Xiao Yuying nodded slightly, but her expression didn't improve. She simply said in a low voice, "I just feel that my archaeological team hasn't been of much help, and it's somewhat undeserving of its name."

"Moreover, the sect always grants our requests, Hundred-Flower Spirit Dew is supplied almost without limit. We've spent so much, yet gained almost nothing, wasting a lot of resources."

This Xiao Fairy has far too high expectations of herself!

But Zheng Fa thought about it and understood. This Xiao Fairy was blessed with good fortune and a strong background. She had a smooth life, so it was natural that she was feeling a little upset now that she was encountering difficulties.

These kinds of people are most prone to getting stuck on minor details.

Advice is probably useless; it's better to offer some suggestions.

He thought for a moment, then said, "The Hundred Immortals Alliance doesn't have it, so why doesn't Xiao Fairy go to the Sea Region? The Sea Region is vast, and it happens to be the territory of our Hundred Immortals Alliance..."

The more he talked, the better he felt about the idea, but Xiao Yuying frowned, looking somewhat troubled. "The Sea Region?"

"Hmm, is there any difficulty?"

"... No." Xiao Yuying was silent for a moment, but didn't say anything coherent. She simply said slowly, "Let me make some plans."

Sea Region.

In an inn on an island, Senior Sister Zhang used her Flying Immortal Brush to draw out the Primordial Eight Trigrams, seemingly calculating something.

Suddenly, she looked startled and turned to the west.

"Zhang Taishang?"

Knowing that she wasn't one to be easily startled, the Nine Mountains Nascent Soul guarding the post station quickly asked.

"Order all disciples at the trade route's post stations to depart immediately and proceed to the backup island!"

Senior Sister Zhang's expression was solemn as she quickly gave the order.

The Nascent Soul cultivator knew things were going badly and quickly replied, "Yes!"

"The messenger reports that cultivators from the Thunderclap Temple seem to be attacking Red Sand Island, and their cultivation... may even surpass the Dao Fruit!"

Upon hearing this, the Nine Mountains Nascent Soul's expression changed drastically, but he remained calm and simply nodded.

Senior Sister Zhang had already taken flight and headed west, saying, "I've already gone to Red Sand Island to provide aid!"

The Nine Mountains Nascent Soul watched her leave, and after a moment's thought, it suddenly occurred to him— Red Sand Island was the most important stop at the end of the trade route, and it was currently the residence of Grandmaster Huang, the master of Zhang Taishang Elder Huang!

Thinking of this, his face grew even more terrified, and he quickly sent a message into the doorway.

Red Sand Island is not far from Senior Sister Zhang; it only takes about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn before the island comes into view.

The island's beaches are all red, hence the name; it looks like a red mole on a blue-green sea.

She wouldn't have thought much of it in the past, but now, she felt the island's crimson color was dazzling, and her movements became even faster.

Fortunately, the cultivators of the Nine Mountains on the island seemed to have received the news and were already using their Law Treasure to escape.

Having probably spotted Senior Sister Zhang, they all turned their magical lights and flew towards this direction.

"Huh?"

A soft exclamation rang out, Senior Sister Zhang stopped in her tracks, her right hand gripping the Pure Tranquility Bamboo tightly.

A Golden Lotus crossed the sea as the Buddha's light shone from the west.

The one who let out a soft exclamation was an old monk sitting atop the Golden Lotus.

The old monk had an astonishingly long pair of yellow eyebrows that drooped down to his shoulders.

Beside Golden Lotus stood more than fifty monks from Thunderclap Temple.

Senior Sister Zhang's heart tightened, Innate Eight-Trigrams Diagram in front of her spun rapidly, immediately confirming the cultivation level of the person in front of her— True Immortal!

She had even guessed the group's original purpose:

They must be the Thunderclap Temple monks who went to the Tianhe Sect to set up the formation.

The long-browed old monk glanced at the fleeing cultivators of the Nine Mountains Sect, seemingly unconcerned, and then addressed Senior Sister Zhang: "This lady, I presume, is Benefactor Zhang from the Nine Mountains Sect?"

"Yes, may I ask who you are, Master?"

"This humble monk's Dharma Hui Tong. I greet Benefactor Zhang." The old monk clasped his hands in a respectful bow, and then said, "I wonder why Benefactor Zhang seems to have known we were coming?"

His cloudy gaze fell on Senior Sister Zhang.

Senior Sister Zhang felt a sudden heaviness all over her body, and she felt as if she was about to fall into the sea. Fortunately, the Pure Tranquility Bamboo in her hand flashed with a blue-gold light and protected her body.

"Pure Tranquility Bamboo..."

The old monk Hui Tong's gaze fell again on the Pure Tranquility Bamboo.

Senior Sister Zhang knew things were going badly. The Thunderclap Temple had come with ill intentions, and what's more, they had always coveted the Pure Tranquility Bamboo.

No matter what, I am no match for a True Immortal.

However, she didn't show any fear on her face. She just frowned and said, "This Red Sand Island is the territory of our Hundred Immortals Alliance. May I ask what brings you here, Master?"

The Old Monk Zhitong chuckled and said, "There's nothing else, but my Thunderclap Temple received news that there seem to be traces of the Demonic Sect on Red Sand Island, so we came to investigate."

Aunt-Master Huang had already led his men to fly behind Senior Sister Zhang. Upon hearing these words, his expression turned angry, as if he were about to retort.

But Senior Sister Zhang waved her hand, stopping her from speaking, and instead said, "This is a serious matter; Master, why don't you go and investigate?"

Aunt-Master Huang was taken aback, but then he heard the old monk say, "No rush. The matter of the Demonic Sect is of utmost importance, but this old monk has another request."

Senior Sister Zhang narrowed her eyes.

"This Pure Tranquility Bamboo is a treasure left behind by the sages of my Thunderclap Temple. I wonder if Benefactor Zhang would be willing to return it?"

The waves on the sea surface immediately calmed down.

Zheng Fa received the summons very early; he was originally in his own courtyard in the Purple Tenuity Enclosure.

Xiao Yuying and Uncle-Master Pang were also there; the three of them were discussing their organization and preparing to go to the Sea Region to search for the Tianhe Ruins.

Upon hearing the warning, Zheng Fa immediately became anxious.

Seeing that his expression was off, Uncle-Master Pang asked, "What's wrong?"

"Senior Sister Zhang deduced that Thunderclap Temple is going to attack Red Sand Island."

"..."

Uncle-Master Pang and his companion were startled, realizing the urgency of the situation, but they still asked, "How is she?"

"Aunt-Master Huang is on Red Sand Island; Senior Sister Zhang has gone to rescue him."

Zheng Fa took a deep breath, suppressing his anger, and frowned, saying, "We expected the trade route association to incur the wrath of Thunderclap Temple, but to take such drastic action now, does Thunderclap Temple really have no scruples left?"

Uncle-Master Pang's face was also gloomy.

The value of the East-West Continent Trade Route was clear to Nishang Yuanjun, and Thunderclap Temple was certainly not a fool either.

The problem is, the Nine Mountains Sect didn't expect them to react so strongly.

Didn't the Supreme Dao warn them?

"... No, that's not right." Uncle-Master Pang suddenly spoke up, "The Supreme Dao then that they were not allowed to attack you?"

Zheng Fa was taken aback, then suddenly remembered that it was indeed so.

From the very beginning, Supreme Dao only cared about himself.

Generally speaking, cultivators at the Dao Fruit level tend to maintain a certain level of dignity and will not deliberately attack those with lower cultivation levels.

Apart from Zheng Fa, the others from the Nine Mountains Sect don't seem to pose much of a threat to Thunderclap Temple.

However, this idea clearly underestimates the shamelessness, or rather, the obsession, of Thunderclap Temple.

"I'm going to rescue Senior Sister Zhang," he said to Uncle-Master Pang.

Uncle-Master Pang frowned. "I'm afraid it's too late."

Red Sand Island is close to the Western Continent, but extremely far from the Nine Mountains Realm. Even the Rainbow Transformation Method takes a long time.

Beside her, Xiao Yuying paused for a moment, then reached into her chest and pulled out a precious pearl.

My master should be able to make it in time.

(End of this chapter)