I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times-Chapter 335Book 2: : Countermeasures, Firepower Support

Vol 2 Chapter 335: Countermeasures, Firepower Support

It wasn’t that Sect Master Zheng didn’t love the Jiushan Sect—it was just that Haori Mountain was offering way too much!

Zheng Fa ran a quick mental calculation. Just by cost comparison, if he stole some artifacts and pills from Jiushan and turned them over to Haori Mountain, the profit margin would be nearly 300%.

What’s more, Haori Mountain controlled many rare spiritual materials that weren’t even available within the Hundred Immortals Alliance.

So for Jiushan, it wasn’t just about profit anymore...

Haori Mountain—despite being inhumane—was doing very strategic things!

“These bounties seem a little high, don’t they?”

Hearing his comment, the Ninth Elder gave a faint smile:

“Zheng Fa of Jiushan is terrifyingly powerful. If the reward wasn’t this generous, who would risk their life?”

“Besides, it might seem high to us, but for Haori Mountain, it’s probably nothing.”

She sighed, “Haori Mountain is dead set on being our enemy. I fear the Zhongxuan Sect has no road back now.”

That... was true.

Haori Mountain had thrown everything at this—everything except a Dao Fruit.

And Zheng Fa understood the reason clearly.

First, they coveted the Fusang Wood.

Second, deep down, the Five Sects didn’t want another competitor rising.

So even if Haori Mountain declared open hostility toward Jiushan, as long as it didn’t violate that extremely vague treaty, the other four sects would probably be happy to look the other way.

In the Xuanyi Realm, "justice" had always been built on cultivation power.

Zheng Fa quietly considered possible countermeasures, his mind drifting to the Trapping Immortal Sword. He asked, “Master, what did Zhenren Shi say…”

But the Ninth Elder suddenly fixed him with a penetrating gaze—cold as lightning, as if trying to see right through him.

Zheng Fa wasn’t afraid, only puzzled. “Master?”

“Zhenren Shi… refused.”

That wasn’t good.

The trade routes were a small issue. The Trapping Immortal Sword was the real problem.

“Why?”

“That Immortal Sword atop the mountain... it’s too important.” The Ninth Elder was silent for a moment. “Last time, when you forged the Flying Cloud Sword, it triggered a sword reaction. It almost caused a major disaster.”

“We still don’t understand why, and Zhenren Shi doesn’t want to risk another incident.”

“To make an exception for you—definitely not happening.”

Zheng Fa immediately felt the headache.

He hadn’t expected Shi Nandang to be this cautious… but then again, it made sense. If something went wrong with the Trapping Immortal Sword, not even a Soul Formation true disciple like him could handle the fallout.

And controlling a treasure like that with just seven Soul Formation cultivators?

Anyone would tread carefully.

Not to mention, he was still just a Golden Core.

Why take the risk?

Seeing Zheng Fa frowning, the Ninth Elder chuckled lightly and said:

“Zhenren Shi has decided, and I can’t change that. Just focus on cultivating. In time, I’ll look for another chance to speak for you.”

Zheng Fa cupped his hands and walked out of the Ninth Elder’s cave.

Behind him, the Ninth Elder’s eyes darkened slightly. This disciple...

She remembered what the Eighth Elder had said:

“Li Hao’s Flying Cloud Sword is definitely suspicious! And that kid was utterly unremarkable before—now he’s skyrocketing. Isn't that worth questioning? Zhenren Shi is probably already wary!”

“Bixia, you’d better think hard about how not to get dragged down by your dear disciple!”

The more she thought about it, the more her brow furrowed.

This disciple's soul and spiritual energy showed no abnormalities.

But his temperament… it really was different.

Yet this kind of talent...

…

His dear master was starting to suspect him.

Zheng Fa’s spiritual sense was even sharper than the Ninth Elder’s—he saw her gaze clearly as he left.

She hadn’t acted yet, probably because she wasn’t sure, and because his current “genius” status made her hesitate.

He wasn’t afraid of the Zhongxuan Sect—but the Trapping Immortal Sword was still at the top of Shenhuo Mountain…

Thinking about what to do next, he headed toward his own cave.

“Fourth Senior Brother!”

A sweet voice called out from his right. Zheng Fa turned to see his “little junior sister” standing about ten feet away, smiling warmly at him.

Her demeanor was unusually close.

“Junior Sister Ye?”

“Fourth Senior Brother, have you seen Haori Mountain’s bounty list?”

With that, Zheng Fa instantly understood why she had come.

“You’re interested, Junior Sister?”

Junior Sister Ye glanced around, then looked toward the entrance of Zheng Fa’s cave.

“My apologies, Junior Sister—please, come in and have a seat.”

Zheng Fa played along and invited her in. Once inside, he asked again about her intentions.

“Fourth Senior Brother, you can see for yourself—there’s barely room left for us on this mountain,” said Junior Sister Ye. “The disciples of those Soul Formation elders are getting more and more outrageous.”

Zheng Fa nodded in agreement. Lately, he’d been managing the purchasing operations, which looked lucrative, but profits were actually slim…

Because the Golden Core disciples running the administrative caves were demanding more and more each time.

At this point, he was barely making enough to cover the effort.

Of course, he didn’t care—what he valued was the freedom the purchasing job gave him.

But for other Zhongxuan Sect disciples, life was tough.

Seeing him nod, Junior Sister Ye seemed encouraged and bit her lip before continuing:

“We’re the true disciples of the Zhongxuan Sect, yet we have to stand by and watch them do as they please.”

“And worse still, no one knows what the future of our sect will look like. If we don’t improve our cultivation now, we might as well be dead later.”

Zheng Fa saw the fear in her eyes—clearly, the Zhongxuan disciples had begun to understand how dangerous the situation was.

For them, not taking risks now could mean dying later.

“So… you all plan to raid Jiushan for more resources?”

Junior Sister Ye nodded, then added:

“Not just us. Even some disciples of the Soul Formation elders are tempted to go down the mountain.”

“There are lots of rogue cultivators near us now—and even some Nascent Soul cultivators!”

Zheng Fa frowned slightly. “Nascent Souls, too?”

“I heard Haori Mountain was too domineering. Their sects were destroyed, and they can’t survive there anymore.”

“…”

He hadn’t expected that. Haori Mountain was redirecting their problems—spreading the chaos outward.

Junior Sister Ye’s information made Zheng Fa more alert than ever.

After a moment of thought, he asked her again, “So, Junior Sister, why did you come to me?”

“Fourth Senior Brother… if you’re interested in the bounty, I—I’m willing to follow your lead.”

Zheng Fa blinked, seeing the expectation in her eyes.

He immediately understood her real motive... These past few days, the Ninth Elder had been summoning him frequently.

Junior Sister Ye must have noticed and decided to latch onto a big leg?

He hesitated—after all, he had another identity, and dragging around a sidekick could be inconvenient.

But remembering her earlier intelligence, he reconsidered: 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

“You’re quite thoughtful. Got good relations within the sect?”

“I know everyone in the Zhongxuan Sect.” Junior Sister Ye looked proud, then added, “Fourth Senior Brother, I’ll tell you a secret… The Eighth Elder wants to become the Third Elder’s disciple…”

Zheng Fa took a moment to digest that…

The former Grand Elder of the sect was not only demoted in rank—now he wanted to super-downgrade into a disciple?!

“And now, if us former Zhongxuan disciples don’t stick together, what kind of future do we have?”

Hearing that, Zheng Fa changed his mind again.

“In that case, next time I raid Jiushan Sect, I’ll be sure to let you know.”

Junior Sister Ye was thrilled. After a few more words to build rapport, she finally left.

A few days later, Zheng Fa found an excuse to return to Jiushan Realm.

“So you’re saying… you, the Sect Master of Jiushan Sect, plan to raid Jiushan Sect?”

Inside the Heavenly Palace Hall, upon hearing Zheng Fa’s plan, Grandpa Han and the others looked utterly dumbfounded.

What kind of brain comes up with this?

Senior Sister Zhang examined the bounty list Zheng Fa had copied, did some mental math, and slowly nodded: “From a profit perspective, delivering these goods to Haori Mountain actually earns about double what we’d get selling them in the Alliance. It’s feasible.”

Zheng Fa smiled, then added, “This way, I can also dispel any suspicion from those Nascent Soul cultivators in the Zhongxuan Sect.”

Everyone blinked—then suddenly realized what he meant.

If Zheng Fa was working so “loyally” for Haori Mountain, and Shi Nandang still didn’t trust him, wouldn’t that demoralize everyone?

Seeing that they understood, Zheng Fa’s tone shifted:

“But as for the other Zhongxuan disciples and rogue cultivators—we must not let our guard down.”

His face grew serious, and the others also sobered up.

“I have three plans…”

“First, through Tongjian, we establish an early-warning system. Depending on the threat level, we issue tiered alerts. I, Senior Sister Zhang, Fairy Xie, Ancestor of the Blood River, and Jiao Wuji will take shifts, ready to provide fire support.”

The four stood and cupped their hands in acknowledgment.

“Second, Han Qi and the others need an operations manual.”

“Two key points: One, no splitting forces—always be ready to support each other. Two, if there’s danger, prioritize lives over cargo.”

Right now, Han Qi’s fleet had over thirty Shenxiao warships. As long as the threat didn’t exceed the Golden Core level, they could handle it.

If things got too intense, they just had to hold out long enough for backup.

Having laid out the two direct responses, Zheng Fa looked at Grandpa Han and said:

“Grandpa Han, there’s something I want to ask of you.”

“Me?”

“I want to consolidate Wushuang Society’s resources and train a group of Jiushan disciples for intelligence work. In short, I want to create a department that reports directly to me—an Intelligence Bureau.”

“…”

Realization flashed across Grandpa Han’s face.

Everyone could tell that Zheng Fa valued Grandpa Han’s Spirit-Ear Technique—but more than that, it was his intelligence-gathering ability and experience that he needed most.

Grandpa Han glanced at Yan Wushuang, stayed silent for a moment, then asked,

“What do you want me to do?”

“Our current target is the rogue Nascent Soul cultivators coming from Haori Mountain,” Zheng Fa said. “They have no attachments, they’re like desperadoes—and they’re the biggest threat to our Jiushan Sect disciples.”

Even with Shenxiao Warships, Han Qi’s team would be in serious danger against Nascent Soul cultivators. The best countermeasure was to monitor them.

“Our long-term goal is to build an intelligence network within Haori Mountain’s territory…” Zheng Fa’s voice turned cold.

All the chaos Haori Mountain had caused—Jiushan Sect remembered it all.

“For internal affairs, find promising candidates. Eventually, when they’ve cultivated the Heavenly Gang Earth Fiend Transformation…”

At that, Grandpa Han’s face changed dramatically. Even his scalp tingled.

Everyone could see how powerful that technique was for espionage—Zheng Fa was the proof.

The problem now was: Jiushan didn’t yet have enough Nascent Soul cultivators who could use the technique.

But if the First Fifty-Year Plan worked, and they reached 500 Nascent Souls in 50 years…

That’s just 50 years. What about 100? 500?

Someday, even Haori Mountain might be called a Jiushan branch office.

After listing his three plans, Zheng Fa looked at Senior Sister Zhang and the others.

“Anything else to add?”

Senior Sister Zhang thought for a moment, then said,

“This handles symptoms, not the root cause. Madam Xuanhua previously mentioned combining immortal formations with Shenxiao Warships—I think there’s potential.”

Zheng Fa shook his head and sighed.

“That depends on formation expertise… Immortal Formation Techniques differ from traditional ones.”

“Our accumulation in formation theory just isn’t enough yet to pull this off.”

He couldn’t help glancing at Xie Qingxue.

With the Immortal-Slaying Four Swords, he’d assumed Tianhe Sect must also excel at formations.

But apparently not. Either Tianhe Sect had no major formation legacy—or like the Nine-Turn Golden Core Technique, it was a forbidden subject.

At least, Xie Qingxue didn’t know anything.

It was a shame. Zheng Fa thought for a while and then said to Grandpa Han,

“I can keep scouting while in the Zhongxuan Sect... at the very least, I can monitor the Soul Formation elders on the mountain.”

Truthfully, Zheng Fa hoped one of them would descend the mountain—if he could capture one, maybe he could finally uncover the truth behind the Trapping Immortal Sword.

...

The Soul Formation elders of Zhongxuan stayed still—but their disciples? Plenty of them had already gone down the mountain.

“Fourth Senior Brother, so many disciples have already left…”

Junior Sister Ye was now showing up at Zheng Fa’s cave daily, looking increasingly anxious.

“If they eat the meat first, we won’t even get the soup…”

Zheng Fa looked at her.

“What, you getting impatient?”

“Senior Brother, what if Jiushan is already prepared…”

Zheng Fa’s face darkened. His eyes went cold.

“You told me you’d follow my lead. And now you’re here pressuring me?”

His spiritual pressure flared.

Junior Sister Ye turned pale, stunned by his imposing aura.

“S-senior Brother…”

“If you don’t want to follow me…”

“I do! I do!” Junior Sister Ye’s fear vanished, replaced by a feverish devotion.

“I’ll listen to everything you say!”

Zheng Fa slowly nodded.

“Then tell me—which disciples have gone down the mountain, and where?”

Junior Sister Ye hesitated but didn’t dare argue. She told him what she knew.

After she left, Zheng Fa sent a message to Senior Sister Zhang and the others through the Creation Jade Talisman:

“Senior Sister, these individuals left Shenhuo Mountain three days ago…”

...

In one of the markets within the Hundred Immortals Alliance, five Golden Core disciples from the Zhongxuan Sect were spying on the entrance, whispering to each other:

“Senior Brother, when will the Jiushan group arrive?”

“Tomorrow!”

“What’s their cultivation?”

The lead Golden Core laughed.

“Most likely just Foundation Establishment at best.”

Hearing that, the others relaxed.

One of them said,

“Not counting their cargo—just one Foundation disciple from Jiushan is worth nearly 200 spirit stones in bounties…”

The lead disciple sneered.

“What do you mean not counting the cargo? You have no idea how rich Jiushan is. Every time they visit this market, they bring pills, magic items, talismans—handing them over to Haori Mountain could make us rich!”

“Just two or three successful raids, and we’ll have enough for Nascent Soul resources!”

Their breathing grew heavier.

They waited a day.

“There they are!”

A strange-looking airship slowly approached from the sky.

At the market gate, two Foundation disciples disembarked, followed by ten Qi Refining disciples, all bearing the Jiushan Sect emblem, each with a storage pouch at their waist.

“Now!”

Unable to hold back, the five Golden Core cultivators launched their magical treasures at once.

The marketplace erupted in chaos.

They thought—with only two Foundation Establishment disciples, they could easily overwhelm the group.

But they didn’t expect—

Three figures suddenly appeared on the strange airship, forming hand seals.

From the bow of the Shenxiao Warship burst a blue-violet light that spilled into the air and enveloped the Jiushan disciples, teleporting them back onto the ship.

“External Core!”

A shout of surprise rang out in the marketplace.

The five Golden Core cultivators froze.

Until now, no one had dared openly attack Jiushan convoys in the Hundred Immortals Alliance. The true power of the Shenxiao Warships had never been revealed.

Only now did they realize—this strange ship possessed External Core power!

Staring at the three Foundation disciples on the bow, the other cultivators in the market were baffled—

Why don’t I have that kind of gear at Foundation level?

“One External Core isn’t scary!”

The lead Zhongxuan disciple didn’t retreat—instead, he gritted his teeth and shouted.

Though visibly tense, the other four weren’t afraid either.

After all, External Cores were weaker than real Golden Cores.

They had five on their side—clearly outnumbering the enemy.

“I heard Jiushan’s External Cores are worth a fortune. Haori Mountain has bounties for them too…” he muttered.

“Looks like we’re getting rich today!”

The others lit up at those words.

And then... their faces literally lit up.

Thirty Shenxiao Warships slowly rose from the horizon, glowing violet-blue, casting light on their dumbfounded expressions.

Half the sky lit up.

The massive shadows of thirty warships loomed over the marketplace.

The once-chaotic crowd fell into eerie silence.

For the first time, Zheng Fa’s Shenxiao Warships bared their fangs before the cultivators of Xuanyi.

External Cores were rare treasures.

Thirty warships—thirty External Cores…

The cultivators had no idea of Jiushan Realm’s production capabilities. Even less did they know that, back home, Shenxiao Warships were being manufactured like dumplings in a pot.

To them, Jiushan transporting goods with this kind of firepower felt absurdly extravagant.

One Zhongxuan disciple gulped.

“Maybe… this payday is a bit too big…”

The lead Golden Core stared at the glowing sky, despair on his face—

What kind of Foundation-level team travels with more than thirty External Cores?!

...

“Senior Brother!”

Junior Sister Ye came running into Zheng Fa’s cave in a panic.

“Senior Brother, those disciples—they’re all gone!”

“All ten-plus Golden Core disciples—none came back!”

“Jiushan’s trading fleet… they’re all External Core warships!”

She looked at Zheng Fa with awe.

“Did you... already anticipate this?”

He had indeed.

But truthfully, without her intel, it wouldn’t have gone this smoothly!

“Now even the Golden Core senior brothers in our sect don’t dare leave the mountain…”

Junior Sister Ye’s voice trembled with hesitation. She looked at Zheng Fa.

“Then... what about us?”

“Come down the mountain with me.”