I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times-Chapter 339Book 2: : Playing Poor Generously — The Elders’ Intentions

Book 2: Chapter 339: Playing Poor Generously — The Elders' Intentions

Vol 2 Chapter 339: Playing Poor Generously — The Elders' Intentions

When Zhenren Tongming arrived at Jiushan Sect, he had expected the Hundred Immortals Alliance to be struggling.

But the scene in the Jiushan Realm still surprised him.

“Zhenren Zhang, what happened to this marketplace?”

Zhenren Tongming followed Senior Sister Zhang, gesturing toward the Jiushan marketplace.

He remembered this place vividly—

In the past, it had been bustling with lights and crowds, the air thick with the aroma of food and the sound of laughter. It was lively, chaotic, and vibrant.

Now, however, eight or nine out of ten shops had their doors shut. Only a few disciples wandered listlessly through the streets on patrol, and even the wind howling down the roads carried a somber chill.

Senior Sister Zhang paused briefly, as if reluctant to speak.

Zhenren Tongming understood.

Haori Mountain’s suppression had hit Jiushan Sect much harder than they’d let on.

And thinking about it, it made sense.

Haori Mountain’s foundation far exceeded Jiushan’s, who had risen to prominence more recently.

That Jiushan Sect had even held out this long under pressure was already more than many had expected.

Zhenren Tongming studied the Jiushan disciples along the way. Their spiritual energy was pure, their clothes weren’t shabby, but they all moved with urgency and visible anxiety.

When they reached the herb garden, Zhenren Tongming was even more shocked.

The Jiushan Realm’s herb garden had a great reputation even among the Five Great Sects—

They could cultivate even Tranquility Bamboo and the Fusang Tree. Their agricultural mastery was arguably the best in the Xuanyi Realm.

But now, large plots lay fallow. The few medicinal herbs that remained were sparse and listless, with some even turning yellow and wilting.

Zhenren Qian stood in the fields with his disciples, his eyes vacant.

Zhenren Tongming fell silent.

Jiushan Sect’s current predicament… far exceeded what he had imagined.

Back in his guest room, Zhenren Tongming gazed out the window and let out a long sigh.

His disciples exchanged glances, understanding what he was thinking. One said, “Good thing we went with Taishang Dao…”

This time, Zhenren Tongming didn’t scold them. He simply nodded lightly and sighed,

“Jiushan’s foundation is still too shallow. That they’ve lasted this long under Haori Mountain’s pressure is already impressive.”

“Then, Master, should we…”

Zhenren Tongming thought for a moment. “I’ll send a message to the sect. Let’s see what Head Seat Xuande thinks.”

...

“Wuyi, what is Zheng Fa thinking?”

Martial Uncle Pang arrived in a rush, with Xiao Yuying and Zhenren Qian by his side.

“Shutting down the market, harvesting the herbs early—are we pretending to be poor?” Martial Uncle Pang frowned, visibly unhappy. “Won’t Taishang Dao look down on Jiushan Sect?” ℝâΝȯ𐌱Ёs

Senior Sister Zhang shook her head and explained, “It’s not about pretending to be poor. He doesn’t trust Taishang Dao.”

“Hm?”

“If Zhenren Tongming came here and found us thriving, untouched by Haori Mountain’s schemes… sure, our face would be saved, but it would also expose Haori Mountain’s methods as ineffective.”

Martial Uncle Pang suddenly understood. “You mean, there’s concern someone in Taishang Dao might leak intel to Haori Mountain?”

Senior Sister Zhang nodded. “Haori Mountain’s strength still surpasses ours. If one plan fails, they’ll come up with another. We’ll be exhausted just keeping up. Better to feign weakness.”

“Zheng Fa said, Jiushan’s reputation now exceeds its reality. We can’t afford to look too high-profile anymore.”

“He also said something about ‘build high walls, stockpile grain, and wait to declare kingship.’ Sounded weird.”

Xiao Yuying nodded, seemingly in agreement, then sighed, “Many understand this logic, but few cultivators can truly set aside pride and gain. The more talented they are, the more they care about face.”

Senior Sister Zhang smiled, “Zheng Fa always thinks differently from others.”

Martial Uncle Pang thought for a while, then nodded slowly. Suddenly he said, “How about… I go drink with Zhenren Tongming?”

“?”

“Have a little cry?”

“…”

“No one’s better at shameless crying than me!”

...

“Zhenren Zhang, Head Seat Mingde says our sect is willing to make most of our pills available to Jiushan Sect, and spiritual materials can also be negotiated.”

Senior Sister Zhang’s eyes lit up. Then Zhenren Tongming added,

“But the trade route between Taishang Dao and your sect is being blocked by Zhongxuan Sect. It’s difficult for cultivators below Nascent Soul to reach you. So getting our pills to Jiushan will be hard.”

Of course, Zhongxuan couldn’t block every cultivator—

But having Soul Formation elders do delivery? That was too costly.

This was indeed a real problem.

“If your sect can meet us at the border of Taishang Dao’s territory, that would be ideal.”

Senior Sister Zhang frowned. That wasn’t going to be easy.

Zhongxuan’s domain now swarmed not just with their disciples, but with rogue cultivators from Haori Mountain—chaotic and lawless.

Seeing her difficulty, Zhenren Tongming added, “Of course, given your sect’s current situation… Head Seat Xuande understands. I’ll make a trip to the Hundred Immortals Alliance every six months. When I do, I’ll bring some pills and spiritual materials for trade.”

“Your sect’s agricultural techniques are renowned, even in our Taishang Dao.”

Hearing this, Senior Sister Zhang immediately smiled.

“This would be best.”

She knew full well that Taishang Dao didn’t have pure intentions—they didn’t get along with Haori Mountain either.

Their cooperation wasn’t charity.

But as Zheng Fa had said—so long as they offered some goodwill, Jiushan was willing to negotiate.

“One more thing: I believe our two sects should exchange information more frequently in the future.”

Senior Sister Zhang smiled even more brightly. “If we can share intel, that would be ideal. May I ask what Taishang Dao would want in return?”

Like Zheng Fa, she was more wary of Taishang Dao than trusting.

Their friendliness was excessive—even if they wanted to screw over Haori Mountain, they were overdoing it.

Zhenren Tongming looked a little puzzled too.

“Head Seat said, a Zhenxian in the sect sent word…”

“Mm?”

“Leiyin Temple has overstepped.”

Leiyin Temple?

What does this have to do with Leiyin Temple?

But from Zhenren Tongming’s expression, he clearly had no idea either.

Senior Sister Zhang merely filed the name away in her mind.

...

“Leiyin Temple?”

Zheng Fa sat in his cave dwelling on Divine Fire Mountain, reading the message Senior Sister Zhang had sent through the Tongjian.

He was confused too.

Trading with Tianhe Sect would be great, but Zhongxuan was in the way—an annoying obstacle.

However, it was the shared intelligence with Tianhe Sect that Zheng Fa cared about the most.

Jiushan and Haori Mountain were now sworn enemies, but they still knew very little about the latter—not even how many Dao Fruit cultivators they had.

He just hadn’t expected Taishang Dao’s motivation to be Leiyin Temple, not Haori Mountain.

Zheng Fa sensed that this web of alliances and rivalries was far more complicated than it looked.

He stowed the Creation Jade Slip into his dantian and walked out of the cave.

“Senior Brother Li!”

“Senior Brother!”

“Greetings, Senior Brother Li!”

Along the mountain path, many Zhongxuan disciples greeted him with admiration and respect.

Further ahead, a group of Golden Core disciples were marching in with great pomp.

Others gave them a wide berth—the path was entirely blocked.

Zheng Fa recognized them—they were descendants of Soul Formation elders.

Arrogant and dominant, they now had immense clout in Zhongxuan Sect.

Zheng Fa glanced at them but didn’t bother. He just kept walking up the mountain.

Those Golden Core disciples frowned at Zheng Fa, eyes filled with caution—and some unwillingness.

As he drew closer without slowing, ignoring them completely, their expressions darkened.

But after glancing at the summit, they held back their anger, stepped aside, and let him pass.

Only when he was gone did one of them quietly snort in disdain.

Meanwhile, some disciples nearby quietly gasped, even sounding faintly delighted.

Zheng Fa could feel the eyes on his back but kept thinking—

The divide within Zhongxuan Sect was growing sharper.

Of course, this was partly because Shi Nandang didn’t care about these disciples and left them unchecked.

“Senior Brother!”

“Junior Sister Ye.”

“Senior Brother, are you going up the mountain again to hear the Zhenren’s teachings?” Junior Sister Ye asked with a bit of envy.

Zheng Fa nodded slightly.

She continued, “Senior Brother, do you know? Many disciples in the sect admire you greatly…”

Zheng Fa scanned the area with his divine sense. She wasn’t lying.

In the past, when old and new disciples clashed, the original Zhongxuan disciples were clearly disadvantaged—even their own Grand Elder had knelt.

But now, “Li Hao” had risen unexpectedly.

Gaining Shi Nandang’s favor and rising in status, he had become a beacon of hope for those disciples.

Even the arrogant pupils of Soul Formation elders now had to rein in their pride in his presence.

So the admiration from the older disciples was natural.

Zheng Fa didn’t care much about any of this. His friendliness with Junior Sister Ye was mostly to gather intel on Zhongxuan and Haori Mountain.

As for the other disciples—their cultivation was too low to matter.

“Senior Brother…”

Junior Sister Ye hesitated.

“Mm?”

“You told me to gather more sect intel, so I used your name to recruit some disciples.”

“…”

Zheng Fa stared at this “cheap” junior sister, not expecting her to be this proactive.

“This is the roster!”

She handed over a jade tube.

Zheng Fa opened it—and almost swore out loud.

Over fifty names inside.

Mostly Foundation Establishment disciples, plus three Golden Cores and more than ten Qi Refining cultivators.

Each name was followed by cultivation level, teacher, known associates, and even special skills.

“Senior Brother, all of them admire you sincerely and pledged loyalty! Anyone questionable—I ignored them!”

Zheng Fa gave her a complicated look. After a long pause, he asked, “What did Master say?”

“Senior Brother?” Junior Sister Ye’s eyes widened, stammering, “H-How did you know?”

Too fast…

Li Hao’s rise in Zhongxuan Sect had been too fast—

So fast, it felt like someone was deliberately spreading his fame.

After all, Zheng Fa had been extremely low-key during his time in Zhongxuan, barely speaking to anyone.

And Junior Sister Ye’s recruitment of disciples had happened far too quickly.

If it were five or ten disciples, Zheng Fa might not have questioned it.

But over fifty? That was nearly a quarter of the sect’s entire disciple count.

Only three people in the sect could amass that kind of influence so quickly:

The Sect Master, the Eighth Elder, and the Ninth Elder.

Combined with Junior Sister Ye’s background, Zheng Fa naturally figured out who had given her that roster.

“Junior Sister Ye… you said you got close to those disciples, but that was all fake, right?”

Junior Sister Ye’s expression turned even more shocked.

“At first I thought it was all normal—you were giving me insider info on sect disciples…”

“But then, you knew the movements of even the visiting Nascent Soul cultivators down to the detail.”

“Some things… are simply beyond the knowledge of a Golden Core like you.”

Junior Sister Ye lowered her head, silent.

So that was the answer.

Zheng Fa took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled.

What was this “cheap master” of his really thinking?

…

Atop the mountain, Shi Nandang and the six other Soul Formation cultivators stood around the volcano crater, their positions forming the Big Dipper as they cast spells into the depths.

Zheng Fa walked to the Ninth Elder’s side, pulled out a spirit stone, and began carving formation runes into it with spiritual sense sharp as a blade.

Beside him stood not only the Ninth Elder, but also the Zhongxuan Sect Master and the Eighth Elder.

Just like Zheng Fa, these three Nascent Soul cultivators were now relegated to support roles.

Zheng Fa couldn’t help but glance at the Ninth Elder.

She showed no signs of strangeness—just quietly focused on inscribing the formation into her spirit stone.

Zheng Fa pushed aside his thoughts and concentrated on imprinting the runes of the Heaven-Earth Godfiend Grand Formation.

By now, he had figured it out—

Calling a spirit stone a “chip” wasn’t quite accurate.

Calling it the raw material for a chip was closer.

Only once a cultivator carved runes into it could the spirit stone become a functioning part of a formation.

Right now, their job was to make “chips” out of these stones, connect them to the earth veins, and expand the formation.

As Zheng Fa carved, he memorized every rune in the formation.

It was incredibly complex—far from easy to retain even with his memory—so he focused harder, even forgetting to watch the Ninth Elder for signs of unusual behavior.

Shi Nandang cast another spell, then exhaled and turned to the four of them.

Seeing Zheng Fa’s focused expression, he smiled.

“Li Hao, have you gained any insight into the Heaven-Earth Godfiend Formation?”

Zheng Fa returned to himself and replied,

“Disciple has… grasped a little.”

“Oh? Do tell.”

Shi Nandang seemed to be testing him.

And Zheng Fa had to maintain his “genius” persona.

He carefully chose what to say—avoiding anything that involved Tianhe Sect techniques or Jiushan talisman secrets—

And still ended up revealing over half of what he’d understood.

At first, Shi Nandang looked impressed, nodding as he listened.

Then he began to look confused.

And then… he just stared blankly at Zheng Fa’s mouth moving, completely lost.

Zheng Fa felt something was off.

It was too quiet.

He glanced around—

Everyone’s faces were frozen.

And in that moment, he knew:

He’d said too much.

He might have just started learning formations, but his foundation in talisman arts and experience with immortal formations had allowed him to intuit far more than anyone expected.

Realizing this, Zheng Fa gave Shi Nandang a sideways look, tinged with disdain.

—Forget the others. Even a true disciple of Haori Mountain doesn’t know better?

Shi Nandang was silent for a long time.

Then he suddenly snapped out of it, his gaze at Zheng Fa turning speculative and gleaming with greed.

“You figured all that out yourself?”

Zheng Fa nodded.

“You ever studied formations before?”

Then, seeing the spirit stone in Zheng Fa’s hand, he answered himself:

“No, you didn’t even know how to use spirit stones before.”

Once that clicked, Shi Nandang’s interest intensified.

He stared at Zheng Fa for a good while, then finally said,

“I thought you just had some potential. But I didn’t expect… you’d have formation talent too!”

“Excellent!”

The other six Soul Formation cultivators and the three Nascent Souls nearby could all hear the genuine praise in his tone.

Their gazes at Zheng Fa shifted again.

Zheng Fa bowed, keeping up his silent-and-solemn persona.

“Do you have any difficulties in cultivation? Speak, I’ll help you.”

Shi Nandang seemed to be getting excited, like a hunter who had found a rare beast.

He started offering direct guidance.

The others exchanged glances.

This disciple was clearly winning Shi Zhenren’s favor fast.

The way they looked at Zheng Fa became even more respectful… and a little wary.

By dusk, Shi Nandang finally waved them off to rest and cultivate.

Zheng Fa followed the Ninth Elder, and once they had parted from the others, the two of them slipped silently into her cave.

Only the two of them inside.

Silence.

“…Is the real Li Hao still alive?”

“Yes.”

“Good.” The Ninth Elder nodded gently.

Then she said, “Do you know what will happen once the Heaven-Earth Godfiend Grand Formation is complete?”

“The Hundred Immortals Alliance’s earth veins will be destroyed.”

“No—Zhongxuan Sect will be annihilated.”

Zheng Fa’s eyes flew wide open.

“What you’ve seen is just a fraction of the formation.”

The Ninth Elder sat on her ice-cold bed, gaze unfocused.

“When the formation is truly activated, every disciple who’s cultivated Haori Mountain’s secret arts… will become its fuel.”

Zheng Fa finally understood.

That was why Haori Mountain was so “generous” with spirit stones and secret techniques—

It wasn’t because they were rich and generous.

They needed sacrifices to finish the formation.

“…Including you?”

The Ninth Elder gave a faint smile.

“Those allowed onto the mountaintop all have a way to survive. That includes me. And you.”

“Does the Sect Master know?”

“What do you think?”

So this… was why she always said Zhongxuan disciples would all die.

Why she had fought so hard to get him onto the mountaintop.

The Ninth Elder lowered her gaze and said softly,

“The Sect Master and the Eighth Elder… they’ve already let go. But what else could they do? Could they go against Haori Mountain?”

Zheng Fa said nothing.

“But I was born in Zhongxuan—not Haori Mountain.”

“They’ve given up. I haven’t.”

“I want to save a few lives for Zhongxuan.”

She looked at Zheng Fa and smiled.

“That roster?”

The Ninth Elder nodded. Her smile was calm and clear.

“Whatever you want to do, Alliance Leader Zheng, I’ll help you.”

“…How did you figure it out?”

The Ninth Elder shook her head gently.

“I don’t know Zheng Fa. But I know my disciple. His dumbness isn’t an act.”

…Wasn’t trying to act dumb, really sorry about that.

“Then how did you know it was me?”

“In the Hundred Immortals Alliance, who else could sneak past Shi Zhenren and the other Soul Formations and infiltrate Zhongxuan Sect?”

“Just days ago, you were here. And Zhenren Zhang was seen back in the Alliance.”

Yeah… can’t underestimate any Nascent Soul cultivator. They’re all sharp.

“Why didn’t you report me?”

“One of the disciples sent into the Jiushan Realm back then… is from my clan.”

She looked up and smiled faintly.

“Between Jiushan and Haori Mountain, I choose Jiushan.”

Zheng Fa hadn’t expected that—

Those “exchange students” had even “converted” a Nascent Soul elder?

This Ninth Elder was a much bigger surprise than expected.

Of course, Zheng Fa didn’t fully trust her.

No Nascent Soul would betray their sect just for a distant family tie.

She might be telling part of the truth. But how much was real was unclear.

Dealing with clever people like this… was always trouble.

He glanced toward the mountaintop and subtly pressed the Boundless Sea Pearl hidden at his chest.

Whether or not the Ninth Elder really wanted to help him, she was keeping his identity secret for now—so he was safe for now.

But in the future… that was anyone’s guess.

“Since Elder is so supportive, then I do have a favor to ask.”

“Oh?”

“Do you have a way to send someone to Taishang Dao for me, to transport some things?”

“…”

Zhongxuan and Jiushan were cut off by the blockade.

He had no good method for covert delivery.

But this cunning Ninth Elder… might have her own channels.

Working with her was risky—

But also very useful.

“…I can try.”

Sure enough, she frowned, but didn’t push back. Instead, she nodded.

Zheng Fa stepped out of the cave and felt her gaze following him, sharp and thoughtful.

…

In the modern day, at the nursing home.

“You’ve got a big project and need programmers?”

Old Bai stared at Zheng Fa, utterly confused.

“Mm… I need people who can learn fast.”

“How many?”

“As many as I can get!”

No matter what the Ninth Elder was planning, Zheng Fa wasn’t going to bet his safety on her discretion—

He was going to quietly add a backdoor to the Heaven-Earth Godfiend Grand Formation.