I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times-Chapter 328Book 2: : The Method of Transformation, Zhongxuan Sect’s Naked Boldness

Book 2: Chapter 328: The Method of Transformation, Zhongxuan Sect's Naked Boldness

Vol 2 Chapter 328: The Method of Transformation, Zhongxuan Sect's Naked Boldness

When she saw Zheng Fa again, Xiao Yuying’s expression was a little complicated.

From the bottom of her heart, she wasn’t surprised that Zheng Fa would go to great lengths to rescue her.

Xiao Yuying had always been quite confident—she believed she was of real value to the Jiushan Realm.

But Zheng Fa’s display this time was a little intimidating—

With the Sun-Moon Bell hovering over his head, Senior Sister Zhang wielding the Tranquility Bamboo, and Jiao Wuji standing behind holding the Ten-Thousand-Beast Banner...

He had practically brought the whole clan, as if ready to wipe out the Zhongxuan Sect in one go.

If you threw Xie Qingxue into the mix, this lineup could go toe-to-toe with any of the Five Sects.

Even as confident—and at times proud—as Xiao Yuying was, she couldn’t help but ask herself: Am I really worth all this?

Seeing that Xiao Yuying was safe, the sharp glint in Zheng Fa’s eyes vanished like weapons returned to the armory, and his expression returned to its usual warmth.

He had assembled such a big force because he was preparing for the worst—not just for Xiao Yuying’s sake, but... he felt better with more people.

He nodded gently at Xiao Yuying, then turned to the three members of Tianhe Sect and clasped his hands in greeting:

"Fairy Xie, Brother Yan—it’s been a while. Elder Han, you came too?"

He hadn’t seen the setting sun Sword Immortal in quite a while—turns out Xie Qingxue had brought him along this time.

Elder Han looked at Zheng Fa, eyes full of emotion.

Don’t be fooled by Zheng Fa acting like they hadn’t met in years—Elder Han clearly remembered that when he first met Zheng Fa, the kid was still at the Foundation Establishment stage.

And now, Zheng Fa was already a Nascent Soul cultivator.

Time really flies.

Yan Wushuang was happy to see Zheng Fa as well and chuckled, "Elder Han had been avoiding you because he didn’t want my dad to find out about their connection."

This was Yan Wushuang’s fault—he had no concept of secrecy and probably tipped off Sect Master Yan ages ago.

He was the son, so it was fine.

But Elder Han wasn’t Sect Master Yan’s father, so he had to keep his distance. He didn’t dare go to Jiushan Realm for fear of angering the sect master, nor return to Tianhe Sect. He ended up managing the Wushuang Society from the outside for Zheng Fa.

"But now, coming to the Hundred Immortals Alliance was my father’s idea!" 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

"Elder Han’s got nothing to worry about anymore!"

Understood.

Elder Han used to be a traitor.

Now, thanks to Zheng Fa’s rise in power, he had become an old friend of the Hundred Immortals Alliance—a diplomat of the Tianhe Sect.

His status had soared!

Even Elder Han couldn’t hide his joy. Clearly, being sent here in an official capacity was a moment of pride for him.

But Xie Qingxue didn’t share their cheerfulness. She frowned and said to Zheng Fa:

"The Zhongxuan Sect is... not simple."

Seeing her solemn expression, Zheng Fa’s smile faded. "What do you mean, Fairy Xie?"

Zheng Fa and Senior Sister Zhang had long suspected something was off with the Zhongxuan Sect.

But at the time, Zheng Fa was busy uniting the Hundred Immortals Alliance factions that leaned toward Jiushan Sect.

Plus, he was focused on advancing his cultivation, so he shelved the Zhongxuan matter for later.

Out of caution, he hadn’t sent Uncle Pang or anyone to investigate.

So their understanding of the sect’s current state was shallow.

Xiao Yuying had helped scout it out partly because she knew Zheng Fa lacked reliable intel.

"When I went to the Zhongxuan Sect to retrieve her..." Xie Qingxue glanced at everyone, her expression tight. "The Qingping Sword actually gave a warning."

Even though he had expected it, Zheng Fa was still surprised.

A warning from Qingping Sword was no small matter—this wasn’t just any Dao Fruit artifact.

It had once belonged to the Tianhe Venerable himself and had been refined over generations by Xie Qingxue’s lineage.

After his heart demon tribulation, Zheng Fa had a deeper appreciation of the Tianhe Venerable’s strength.

In his eyes, he had never truly brought out the Qingping Sword’s full power. Even his Sun-Moon Bell and Ten-Thousand-Beast Banner fell short in comparison.

For a seemingly ordinary Nascent Soul sect like the Zhongxuan Sect to have something that made the Qingping Sword wary?

Xiao Yuying spoke up: "I also sensed something before... I thought it was just some Soul Formation trick—but a Dao Fruit?"

Senior Sister Zhang frowned and turned to Zheng Fa, suggesting, "So... Junior Brother?"

Just from her gaze, Zheng Fa understood—

With himself, Senior Sister Zhang, and Xie Qingxue present, they might actually stand a chance even against a Dao Fruit-level opponent.

At least they wouldn’t suffer a total loss.

From Senior Sister Zhang’s tone, it was clear—she wanted to strike the Zhongxuan Sect directly.

Zheng Fa nodded slowly.

Though cautious by nature, now that the Hundred Immortals Alliance had stabilized and he had reached Nascent Soul, the Zhongxuan Sect had become an internal threat that could no longer be ignored.

Even if they didn’t wipe it out completely, they had to figure out what was going on.

After some discussion, Xie Qingxue had no objections, and the group headed for the Zhongxuan Sect.

"Huh?"

Before they even reached the mountain gate, Senior Sister Zhang let out a puzzled noise.

"Senior Sister?"

"This mountain is called Divine Fire Mountain. The Zhongxuan Sect wasn’t originally located here—it should be three hundred miles further east."

She pointed at a tall peak ahead.

Zheng Fa followed her finger. The mountain that now housed the sect had sheer red cliffs, devoid of vegetation, radiating intense heat. It looked like a molten red dagger piercing the sky.

From the base to mid-mountain, there were no buildings—just caves.

Some of them even had light coming from within.

Zheng Fa’s eyes flashed silver as he examined the area and found that the fire-element spiritual energy was overwhelming.

The surrounding air was so dry from the heat that all moisture had condensed at the summit into a hazy mist that obscured the peak.

Elder Han stroked his chin and mused, "This mountain must sit atop a prime Earth Fire vein. Those caves—they likely carved them out to refine artifacts using the geothermal energy."

Then he frowned and shook his head. "But such a location may be good for forging, but it’s a terrible place to live."

Senior Sister Zhang nodded in agreement. "The disciples of the Zhongxuan Sect never liked living on this Divine Fire Mountain before—and there weren’t this many caves back then..."

…

Zheng Fa used his Void-Gazing Spirit Eyes to examine the mountain more carefully.

He discovered something troubling:

The mist wasn’t normal vapor—it could block spiritual senses and divine consciousness.

Most of the cave entrances near the foot of the mountain showed signs of recent excavation, clearly newly built. Some even had cultivators moving around inside.

Just as Senior Sister Zhang said, it seemed the Zhongxuan Sect had only recently moved here.

What concerned him even more was that something at the summit was causing a faint disturbance in his Nascent Soul.

He focused—and found the Yin-Yang Fish Jade Pendant in his sea of consciousness beginning to ripple.

Clearly, something atop Divine Fire Mountain was so threatening that even the jade pendant was wary.

"Could it be that, after the Great Freedom Demon Calamity, the Zhongxuan Sect got scared and moved uphill for safety?"

Xiao Yuying speculated.

"That’s possible..." Zheng Fa murmured, but his frown deepened as he looked toward the mist that disturbed even his divine sense. "But why is the Zhongxuan Sect acting like it has nothing to fear?"

To be honest, this bothered him.

After Zheng Fa had displayed Dao Fruit-level strength, even the Five Sects had backed off—so why would the Zhongxuan Sect dare act so blatantly defiant?

Could Haori Mountain have sent a Dao Fruit cultivator to support them?

Not likely.

One, the Six Sect Alliance pact still had binding force—Dao Fruit cultivators weren’t allowed to battle each other.

Two, if Haori Mountain really wanted to disregard the alliance, why bother being so sneaky?

Now looking at this strange mountain gate, Zheng Fa had an even worse feeling.

Even more oddly, despite their group making no effort to hide, the sect showed no reaction whatsoever...

Which was weirder still.

At his current Nascent Soul stage, with no concealment techniques active, even a Soul Formation Zhenren should have sensed their presence—let alone a Dao Fruit cultivator from Haori Mountain.

Yet not a peep from the mountain.

After hearing Zheng Fa’s concerns, everyone looked at each other uneasily. Senior Sister Zhang frowned and said, "Junior Brother, you’re thinking... they’re waiting for us to barge in?"

"That’s exactly what it feels like."

From the start, the Zhongxuan Sect had been acting suspiciously—and overly blatant about it.

Even Xie Qingxue frowned now. This was becoming troublesome.

Not attacking would leave them anxious.

But if they did attack... what if it was a trap?

Zheng Fa thought for a moment and then said to the group, "I have an idea..."

Everyone looked at him.

Zheng Fa secretly transmitted his plan to them through sound transmission.

"You want to sneak into the Zhongxuan Sect? Absolutely not!"

Senior Sister Zhang was the first to object, which was rare.

Even Xie Qingxue and the others had expressions of disapproval.

Clearly, in their eyes, Zheng Fa was being reckless.

Truth be told, he had hesitated too.

But right now, he couldn’t think of a better plan. Besides...

"Senior Sister, I have Heavenly Gang and Earth Fiend Transformations—ever-shifting and unpredictable—and I also have the Five-Colored Divine Light. Even without the Fusang Tree, I should be able to escape safely."

He spoke in a low voice.

If he didn’t have Heavenly Gang and Earth Fiend Transformations, he wouldn’t have even considered this. But now, having used it to mimic the Great Freedom True Technique—and even fooled Ancestor of the Blood River—he had reason to be confident.

Still, Senior Sister Zhang shook her head, the gentle warmth from before gone: "I’d rather charge straight into the Zhongxuan Sect than let you pull something like this."

She stared at him coldly, clearly upset.

Zheng Fa understood her concern. But the aura atop Divine Fire Mountain gnawed at his mind.

Just then, Xiao Yuying spoke up: "If you want to make it foolproof—I have a way."

"Hmm?"

Xiao Yuying hesitated slightly, but gritted her teeth, then reached to her neck and removed a blue jade bead, handing it to Zheng Fa.

"This is..."

“This is the Canghai Pearl. If you're in danger, you can…”

Xiao Yuying transmitted the method for using the pearl to Zheng Fa through sound transmission. Then she added, “At that time, someone will come to help you escape. Even if you're within the Five Sects, you'll still have a chance at survival.”

Zheng Fa’s eyes widened.

How could he not understand—this was Xiao Yuying’s ultimate life-saving trump card.

The Summon-Someone-To-Rescue-Me technique!

And judging from what Xiao Yuying said, her Master’s emergency response skills were top-notch.

Xiao Yuying added a reminder: “My Master is still recovering. Unless it’s truly a life-or-death moment…”

She paused, then suddenly changed her mind:

“Forget it. If you think the situation calls for it, don’t hesitate to use it.”

“I’ll explain things to my Master myself.”

Zheng Fa was genuinely touched.

Xiao Yuying wasn’t just offering him a life-saving item—she was truly giving it to him without reservation.

As if reading his expression, Xiao Yuying gave a soft laugh:

“Can’t let your ‘worth it’ go to waste, right?”

…

Seven days later, Zheng Fa strolled boldly into the Zhongxuan Sect wearing the simple, honest face of a down-to-earth man, with the Canghai Pearl hanging from his chest.

Though the Zhongxuan Sect had retreated to Divine Fire Mountain, the lower-level disciples still needed to eat and drink.

This barren mountain couldn’t grow anything, so naturally someone had to be sent down to buy supplies.

They had captured one such errand-running disciple.

The disciple's name was Li Hao, a Golden Core cultivator. More importantly, he was the fourth disciple of the Zhongxuan Sect’s Second Elder, though not a favored one.

He didn’t hold much status within the sect and wasn’t particularly eye-catching, yet he had access to some inside knowledge.

Zheng Fa had extracted all of Li Hao’s techniques and memories with perfect clarity.

The aura he now carried was unmistakably from the Zhongxuan Sect’s core cultivation method: Burning Heaven Grand Technique.

Changing appearance was the easy part, but altering one’s soul aura required one of the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor’s secret arts.

Back when Chen Ting disguised himself as Senior Sister Zhang, even Zheng Fa had been fooled for a time. Now Zheng Fa, using Heavenly Gang and Earth Fiend Transformations to perform the same secret art, achieved similar results—

At the very least, Ancestor of the Blood River believed even a Soul Formation cultivator wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.

In this way, Zheng Fa had transformed, inside and out, into a bona fide Zhongxuan Sect Golden Core disciple.

As soon as he stepped onto Divine Fire Mountain, he felt the Yin-Yang Fish Jade Pendant in his soul space tremble slightly—someone was scanning him.

Moments later, the pendant calmed.

That meant he had passed the first security check.

Zheng Fa’s expression didn’t change as he climbed the mountain path.

The road looked recently widened, with fresh earthy scent still lingering in the soil along the sides.

Along the way, many Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining disciples bowed to him in greeting.

From Li Hao’s memories, Zheng Fa understood that the structure of the Zhongxuan Sect wasn’t too different from the Jiushan Sect before his reforms:

Qi Refining disciples made up 90%.

There were only about twenty Golden Core cultivators.

Li Hao’s identity used to count as one of the sect’s backbones...

But not anymore.

According to Li Hao’s memories, the sect had suddenly gained seven new elders in recent days—

All of them Soul Formation level or higher!

The original Grand Elder—Madam Xuanhua’s old enemy—had been demoted to the eighth elder.

Once a cornerstone of the sect, he was now just part of the support crew.

These new Soul Formation elders naturally brought a few disciples of their own. Although not many, their presence had doubled the number of Golden Core cultivators in the sect.

And because their masters were stronger, they held more sway and claimed most of the lucrative positions.

That was why Li Hao, a supposed Golden Core inner disciple, had been reduced to errand-boy status.

Zheng Fa carried the purchased supplies into a newly dug cave.

This cave was large, with three chambers.

On the stone wall at the entrance were three words formed with embedded greenstone: Administration Cave.

This was the Zhongxuan Sect’s equivalent of the Affairs Hall—used to assign missions and distribute rewards to disciples.

Inside the first room sat a lean, middle-aged Golden Core cultivator, eyes closed in meditation.

Zheng Fa said nothing and handed over the storage bag full of supplies.

The cultivator opened his eyes, waved his hand to open the bag, and began fiddling with the pills and spiritual herbs inside—clearly waiting for something.

Zheng Fa didn’t immediately react.

The man’s face darkened, and he hissed, “Junior Brother Li, these Azure Cloud Pills... their quality looks a little lacking.”

Zheng Fa blinked and looked at the pills. To be honest, these had been personally supplied by Master Song—top-notch.

He looked slightly confused, then after a moment, seemed to realize something. He pulled three spirit stones from his sleeve and handed them over quietly.

“Prices dropped on pills these past few days... I’ve still got some extra spirit stones.”

Upon seeing the spirit stones, the man’s expression cleared, and he nodded slightly, though he still snorted coldly: “Junior Brother Li should be more observant in the future.”

Once outside the Administration Cave, Zheng Fa chuckled and shook his head.

He had already cleaned up the Jiushan Realm so thoroughly that he wasn’t used to dealing with this kind of petty corruption anymore.

The Zhongxuan Sect hadn’t always been so blatant, but the new disciples under those seven Soul Formation elders...

Well, “mixed quality” would be too kind—it was more like uniformly corrupt.

The sect’s culture had always lagged behind Jiushan Realm’s. Now it had fallen even lower.

Thinking of that made Zheng Fa a little homesick.

He looked up the mountain road toward the mist-shrouded summit.

In Li Hao’s memories, that fog concealed the quarters of the seven new elders. Not just any disciple— not even the original Sect Master or the two remaining elders—could go up there without a major reason.

Zheng Fa didn’t act recklessly. He returned to his cave first to observe and plan.

…

After two days of probing around Divine Fire Mountain, Zheng Fa discovered that most of the Zhongxuan Sect’s disciples had no idea what was on the mountain summit.

Only the disciples of those Soul Formation elders had some knowledge.

Since they weren’t from the same faction as Li Hao, they were in competition—and thus unwilling to share information.

Which meant he’d gained almost nothing so far, proof of how cautious the sect really was.

Zheng Fa stood at the mouth of his cave, frowning as he looked up at the summit, trying to figure out how to uncover the truth.

Just then, a disciple approached and cupped his hands:

“Eld—Ninth Elder summons you for a meeting.”

The Ninth Elder was formerly the Zhongxuan Sect’s Second Elder—Li Hao’s master.

Zheng Fa’s eyes lit up.

If the Golden Core disciples didn’t know the truth, surely a Nascent Soul elder would know more.

He didn’t delay and immediately headed toward his “Master’s” cave.

Just as he reached the entrance, he saw a few “familiar” Golden Core disciples—Li Hao’s three senior brothers and one junior sister.

As the fourth disciple, they all called him Fourth Junior Brother or Fourth Senior Brother.

Zheng Fa greeted them briefly.

Li Hao wasn’t talkative by nature, wasn’t favored by the elder, and had distant relationships with his fellow disciples. He rarely socialized.

The four merely returned the courtesy out of politeness.

The five stood in silence until a voice from inside called: “Come in, all of you.”

Zheng Fa walked in last.

Compared to his own barren cave, this elder’s quarters were extravagant—

A three-chamber cave mansion with its own courtyard and even a small pond.

They walked past the pond and into the largest chamber, bowing in unison:

“Greetings, Master.”