I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times-Chapter 112Book 2: : Writing the Heavens and Earth

Vol 2 Chapter 112: Writing the Heavens and Earth

The atmosphere in the Five Dragons Palace was somewhat eerie.

Zheng Fa stood to the left with Senior Sister Zhang.

Sect Master Yuan and Martial Uncle Pang were on the right.

Between the four of them lay a bronze coffin, and standing beside it was Lin Bufan, his expression extremely uneasy.

At the bottom of the bronze coffin burned a cluster of azure-gold flames.

This fire was none other than Senior Sister Yuan’s life-bound spiritual flame. She was currently sitting cross-legged on the ground, attempting to melt the remnants left behind by the old man of the bronze coffin.

"This bronze coffin is a Nascent Soul artifact, but since the old man of the bronze coffin is dead, the treasure is now ownerless," Senior Sister Zhang said. "Senior Sister Yuan’s life-bound spiritual flame is quite extraordinary. By our original estimation, it should be enough to melt this coffin."

Zheng Fa nodded.

An ownerless artifact, if it hadn’t developed sentience, was nothing more than a lamb waiting for slaughter—far weaker in comparison.

Yet, in the eyes of the four present, dense silver talisman diagrams gradually emerged across the surface of the bronze coffin amidst the flames.

As the diagrams appeared, the coffin trembled slightly, and from within, hundreds of withered black hands reached out, grasping at the spiritual fire.

Along with these hands came an icy chill that penetrated to the bone.

The temperature in the hall plummeted instantly, and the azure-gold flames at the coffin’s base stopped flickering, as if they had been frozen.

Senior Sister Yuan opened her eyes and shook her head at Zheng Fa and the others, indicating that she was powerless against this.

"This… is the great secret of the Great Freedom Demonic Sect that you spoke of?" Martial Uncle Pang asked. "What does this prove?"

After all, he wasn’t as familiar with Zheng Fa’s research as Senior Sister Zhang was and didn’t understand much of his explorations.

"You know about talisman imprints as well, Martial Uncle," Senior Sister Zhang glanced at Lin Bufan and said, "The blood in his body, besides being used to craft talisman imprints, also contains some unique talisman diagrams. According to the Three-Sub-Talisman Theory, one type of sub-talisman is actually identical to the ones appearing on this bronze coffin."

Zheng Fa looked at the bronze coffin, then at Lin Bufan.

He had just confirmed that the talisman diagrams on the bronze coffin, when analyzed through topology, divided into two types—precisely the same two types of sub-talismans found in Lin Bufan’s blood.

"And what does that prove?" Martial Uncle Pang still didn’t understand. He glanced at Lin Bufan and said, "Does it mean that if we roast him over a fire, he won’t die either?"

"……"

Cold sweat instantly broke out on Lin Bufan’s face.

He glanced at the coffin beside him, suddenly feeling as if this thing had been prepared specifically for him…

To be fair, Martial Uncle Pang was quite good at drawing inferences and had a very experimental mindset.

Zheng Fa shook his head and suddenly extended his hand, sweeping a stream of Reversed Five Elements Divine Light toward the bronze coffin.

The bronze coffin trembled slightly, as if resisting, but after being touched twice by the Five Elements Divine Light, it hesitated, seemingly reluctant yet ultimately yielding, shyly accepting the caress of the Five Elements Divine Light.

But Zheng Fa seemed insatiable today—one pass of the divine light wasn’t enough. He went at the bronze coffin three times, each time more ruthless than the last.

Had it not been for the immense consumption of the Five Elements Divine Light, leaving his spiritual energy and soul nearly drained, he might not have stopped.

"Junior Brother?"

"This bronze coffin… seems to still have an owner."

After the third pass, Zheng Fa carefully analyzed the sensation he had just felt and suddenly came to a conclusion.

"An owner?" Martial Uncle Pang was stunned. "The old man of the bronze coffin isn’t dead?"

"He should be completely annihilated—both body and soul," Senior Sister Zhang affirmed.

"When I used the Five Elements Divine Light, I felt someone contesting me for control over this artifact. That feeling seemed to be coming from…" Zheng Fa lifted his head upward, as if he could see beyond the ceiling of the Five Dragons Palace to the sky outside. With a hint of confusion in his voice, he said, "The heavens."

"The heavens…"

Everyone raised their heads, their expressions varied.

"Junior Brother, are you saying…" Senior Sister Zhang understood Zheng Fa’s speculation. "This person—is the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor?"

"Mm," Zheng Fa murmured. "Now, I believe these two sub-talismans point to the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor."

This suspicion had been there from the start.

When he first discovered the identical sub-talismans in Lin Bufan’s body, two possibilities came to mind.

One was that the two sub-talismans pointed to Lin Bufan himself.

The other was that they pointed to the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor.

Now that the same two sub-talismans had appeared on the bronze coffin, the first possibility was ruled out.

That was precisely why Zheng Fa had never dared to study these two sub-talismans in the modern world—if he accidentally summoned the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor, that would be a sight to behold.

His actions just now had merely been a means of verification.

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……

Senior Sister Zhang and Zheng Fa’s faces both looked grim.

The others, however, remained clueless.

"What are you two going on about?" Senior Sister Yuan was utterly confused and pressed them for an answer.

"It’s not a riddle—just that this idea is simply too shocking," Senior Sister Zhang explained. "Back when the Three-Sub-Talisman Theory was proposed, we had a hypothesis that one type of sub-talisman corresponded to things in the world… for example, a sub-talisman representing a drop of water, another representing a stone…"

Since the Xuanyi Realm lacked concepts like molecules and atoms, Zheng Fa could only use terms they understood to explain.

The others slowly nodded as they listened.

"But now… if these two talisman diagrams correspond to the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor," Zheng Fa said in a heavy tone, "then the question arises—what about the other sub-talismans of the same type? Do they each correspond to a different Demon Ancestor, or rather, a great being?"

"In other words, are the talisman diagrams we comprehend actually creations of these powerful beings?"

"If so… how are we any different from the followers of the Great Freedom Demonic Sect?"

"Where are these powerful beings now?"

"And, if the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor has already created his own sub-talismans… just how powerful is he?"

Zheng Fa’s questions were simple, yet they plunged the entire hall into a deathly silence.

"Are you saying…" Even Sect Master Yuan’s face had stiffened. "These talisman diagrams, and perhaps even the very laws of our world, were… artificially created?"

"I’m not certain, but I wouldn’t rule out the possibility," Zheng Fa replied cautiously.

"…It does make sense," Martial Uncle Pang suddenly spoke. "After reaching the Nascent Soul stage, all of us have felt it—that something above, in the heavens, is guiding us, pulling us in, even… shaping us."

As soon as he said this, both Sect Master Yuan and Senior Sister Zhang nodded.

Zheng Fa had heard about this sensation from Senior Sister Zhang before.

"We always thought this feeling was enlightenment…" Martial Uncle Pang said slowly. "But what if… the thing pulling us isn’t the Dao—but a person?"

His words made the hall’s atmosphere grow even colder.

"Martial Uncle, are you saying… someone in the heavens is watching us?"

Senior Sister Yuan stammered.

Even Zheng Fa felt a chill run down his spine.

"No, there’s another possibility," Senior Sister Zhang suddenly said. "These talisman diagrams may have been created by people, but whether those people still exist is another question."

"Junior Brother Zheng, I’ve pondered over your experiences in the Heavenly Monument Realm—especially the so-called fall of the Immortals and Gods."

Zheng Fa was stunned.

He had never linked the Heavenly Monument Realm to the Xuanyi Realm before, but now, Senior Sister Zhang’s words made him realize—

The two might not be unrelated.

"Immortals or Gods…" Senior Sister Zhang voiced her speculation. "If they were the ones who created these second-type sub-talismans, then perhaps… they no longer exist—or at least, they can no longer influence our world."

Zheng Fa nodded slowly.

The group exchanged glances, feeling somewhat relieved, even though what Senior Sister Zhang had said was merely speculation.

But a great being that had died was far preferable to one that was watching them.

As he walked out of the great hall, Zheng Fa couldn’t help but look up at the sky again.

The sky was a vast, brilliant blue, the sunlight bright yet gentle.

Turning his head, he saw Senior Sister Zhang and the others also gazing at the sky. He knew that, deep down, they were all asking the same question:

"Beyond the dome of the heavens, who writes the laws of the world?"

——

Modern day.

"You’re saying… the second type of sub-talisman doesn’t represent matter itself, but rather… some kind of immortal or god?"

In the nursing home, Old Bai’s eyes widened in disbelief as he listened to Zheng Fa’s words.

"It’s possible," Zheng Fa nodded. "We’ve never been able to find a consistent pattern for the other two types of sub-talismans, and maybe that’s because they don’t correspond to some physical substance, but rather, to a certain… existence."

"Wait a second, let me process this," Old Bai furrowed his brows. "Spiritual energy can control matter, right?"

"Yes."

"And now you’re telling me that one type of sub-talisman isn’t natural, but was created because someone—no, because some existences—established certain rules?"

"Yes."

"Then…" Old Bai shrank his neck back. "What does that make us? Bacteria in a petri dish?"

Zheng Fa shook his head. "At first, I thought the same thing. But later… I had another idea."

There were two key points that kept Zheng Fa from falling into despair:

First, the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor.

If the legends hadn’t been distorted, then the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor should have originated from the Xuanyi Realm. The fact that he could now create his own sub-talismans proved one thing—

Cultivators were not merely following rules set by others. As their cultivation progressed, they could create their own rules.

And that was an entirely different matter.

A lab rat in an experiment could never turn into the scientist conducting the experiment.

At least for now, the path of cultivation did not exclude the possibility of becoming a rule-maker.

The second point was the current state of the Heavenly Monument Realm.

As Senior Sister Zhang had said—if the so-called immortals and gods were the rule-makers, then what he had heard in the Investiture Hall about the heavens falling into dust and the immortals losing their place—could that mean they had encountered some kind of problem?

At the very least, they were no longer able to influence the Heavenly Monument Realm.

And compared to the Heavenly Monument Realm, the Xuanyi Realm seemed to be of a higher level, even harder to interfere with—so much so that it didn’t even retain the term "god."

As for the modern world, it was even more peculiar. If it weren’t for Zheng Fa, there wouldn’t even be spiritual energy in the first place.

"What idea?"

"I was thinking… if we view the world the way Tang Lingwu does, as a computer, then these spiritual talismans seem—more like manually written programs." Zheng Fa summarized his thoughts. "The programs are still running, but whether the programmers are still around… that’s another question."

"Even the way these programs are used—or whether they even work at all—is something we have to explore ourselves."

As he said this, Zheng Fa couldn’t help but find it a little amusing—this really was just like a trademark.

The others nodded at his words.

Thinking about it this way, it did make them feel a little better.

"So what you’re saying is," Old Bai muttered in a daze, "I, a cultivator, have suddenly turned into a programmer?"

"Not just that," Tang Lingwu’s expression darkened. "You’re the kind of programmer who’s stuck debugging a giant pile of legacy code left behind by seniors—without any comments."

"……"