I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times-Chapter 296Book 2: : All Special Effects, For Preaching the Dao

Book 2: Chapter 296: All Special Effects, For Preaching the Dao

Vol 2 Chapter 296: All Special Effects, For Preaching the Dao

Now came the moment for Zheng Fa to show off his acting skills!

The spiritual power in his Golden Core, aided by Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiend Transformation, was already circulating according to True Explanation of Ten Thousand Beasts.

According to Jiao Wuji, aside from a few minor differences, it was ninety percent similar to the original cultivation method.

Of course, just that alone couldn’t fool the Five Sects’ Dao Fruit cultivators.

But as luck would have it, he also had the Fusang Tree!

With the inheritance of two generations of Demon Emperors combined, even if the Great Freedom Demon Emperor himself showed up now, he’d dare to curse him: “Where did this fake come from?”

The Ten-Thousand-Beast Banner in his hand—an imperfect analogy, but it was like a simp meeting a goddess. Zheng Fa didn’t even need to speak;the artifact had already opened its arms, seemingly eager to carve Zheng Fa’s name right into its pole…

With the power of both Dao Fruit creations—the Fusang Tree and Ten-Thousand-Beast Banner—Zheng Fa’s aura was no weaker than that of the original Great Freedom Demon Emperor!

The old monk’s eyes were full of suspicion, staring hard at Zheng Fa, seemingly not convinced—after all, for a mere Golden Core cultivator to wield the power of a Dao Fruit was beyond belief.

It was hard not to raise doubts.

But then his gaze shifted to the Ten-Thousand-Beast Banner, and he recalled the unfortunate Great Freedom Demon Emperor, who not only died, but whose painstakingly refined treasure was now in Zheng Fa’s obedient possession—a tragic tale indeed.

Looking up again, he saw Zheng Fa’s faintly confident smile.

And once more, he couldn’t figure Zheng Fa out.

The Tianhe Sect Master Yan and the other Four Sects’ Dao Fruit cultivators were also watching Zheng Fa with astonished and suspicious eyes.

Zheng Fa could pretty much guess what they were thinking—

The death of the Great Freedom Demon Emperor had already passed for some time. As shocking as it was, they were now starting to second-guess, their minds filled with all sorts of messy conjectures.

On another note, the high-and-mighty Five Sects didn’t really want another sect to be on equal footing with them—obviously contrary to their collective interests.

Their earlier probing—had he shown the slightest fear or flaw—the consequences were easy to imagine.

Zheng Fa’s gaze swept left to right across the Taishang Dao priest, Sect Master Yan, the Yaochi Dao Fruit, the old monk, and those from Haori Mountain. His eyes didn’t flinch;instead, he chuckled lightly and said:

“Since we’re debating the Dao, I have a few tricks of my own. I’d like to invite the venerable monk from Leiyin Temple to appraise them!”

As soon as he spoke, he and Senior Sister Zhang transformed into a rainbow and, in a flash, appeared before the old monk.

The old monk hadn’t expected this Golden Core brat to not only remain calm but to strike at him—and with Rainbow Transformation, the fastest technique between Heaven and Earth, the two were already upon him before he could react!

On the Ten-Thousand-Beast Banner, myriad beasts rose up, howling furiously at the heavens. The roar of beasts rippled in waves.

The space around the banner's shaft shimmered like the surface of the sea, rippling with wave-like distortions, as though about to collapse under the weapon’s might.

A heaven-shaking, earth-shattering display—truly a Dao Fruit artifact!

Between heaven and earth, aside from the violent soundwaves, there was no other noise.

Zheng Fa actually went all out against the old monk from Leiyin Temple!

Shocked and enraged, the old monk refused to retreat—he wouldn’t!

Despite his unease, against a mere Golden Core cultivator, there was no way he would retreat without a fight!

His shriveled hands pressed together, and the Buddha behind him stepped across the sea of clouds to shield him. One finger pointed out, meeting the Ten-Thousand-Beast Banner. Ṝ𝖆N𝐨𝐛Ęš

But Zheng Fa’s banner suddenly halted just before touching the finger.

The Buddha stood frozen in mid-air, as if its old back had been pulled.

Zheng Fa then turned into a rainbow again, disappearing in a blink, and landed far away with a laugh: “Just a Dao debate—we’ll stop here. My little technique wouldn’t dare clash head-on with Leiyin Temple’s great Dharma.”

Whether this was modesty or just preserving harmony—it was unclear.

But in the next moment, the old monk’s eyes were drawn to a string of prayer beads in Zheng Fa’s hand.

Behind him, Wuzhi’s face changed;he reached toward his wrist and grabbed at air, then shouted, “My…”

Zheng Fa smiled at Wuzhi, “Apologies.”

Then, with a casual motion, the prayer beads floated back toward Wuzhi.

Wuzhi caught the beads, and seeing his Martial Uncle looking at him, his face flushed bright red.

Everyone fell silent.

The banner's might had been overwhelming earlier—only a few noticed that a flash of Reversed Five Elements Divine Light had flickered in Zheng Fa’s hand, stealing the prayer beads.

Now, all understood—though Zheng Fa claimed inferiority, he had in fact won a move or two.

The Taishang Dao priest suddenly chuckled, “Chengkong said you were capable, and he wasn’t wrong!”

“This flying movement technique is hard to guard against!”

“And your treasure-snatching move… impressive as well.”

Sect Master Yan and the others nodded too, the phenomena above their heads slowly dissipating, their expressions now showing a bit of amusement.

The old monk, on the other hand, didn’t look so good.

Strictly speaking, Zheng Fa had used a trick. He’d appeared to attack, but instead snatched Wuzhi’s beads.

But the issue was—whether in status or strength, Zheng Fa was far inferior.

If he cried about fairness or deception now, with all eyes upon them—Five Sects present and thousands of cultivators below—what could he even say?

The result was clear: despite their probing, Zheng Fa had outmaneuvered him under his very nose.

Especially since Zheng Fa had stopped short, declared his inferiority, and been completely polite—giving plenty of face to Leiyin Temple.

To press the matter further…

Unless he was confident he could crush Zheng Fa with a single slap, he’d only become a laughingstock—or worse, make a mortal enemy.

He stared at Zheng Fa for a long while, remembering that Zheng Fa’s last enemy… had really died. He hesitated.

Moreover, the other Four Sects didn’t exactly look like they’d support him either.

Zheng Fa, as if unaware, simply smiled at him.

Even the sea breeze above the water seemed tense, utterly silent.

Finally, the Buddha manifestation around the old monk slowly dispersed. His dry lips curled into a flower on the brink of withering, and he actually praised, “Sect Master Zheng, well done!”

As he spoke, Zheng Fa clearly saw disappointment flash across the faces of Sect Master Yan and the others—they seemed almost eager for a fight.

Bunch of old foxes!

His heart was filled with relief…

Because that whole performance, while seemingly effortless, had actually been rehearsed with Senior Sister Zhang over a hundred times!

When to smile, how to conceal the Reversed Five Elements Divine Light, when to advance, when to retreat—he’d memorized it all!

He hadn’t even used Rainbow Transformation on the journey, hitching a ride with the Beihe Sect for a bit—

Just to conserve every bit of spiritual power.

Even so, he’d nearly depleted his reserves.

For a Golden Core cultivator to wield a Dao Fruit artifact like the Ten-Thousand-Beast Banner…

Especially since Zheng Fa hadn’t truly cultivated the True Explanation of Ten Thousand Beasts.

The experiment showed—he could only play with the special effects.

If he really clashed with that Buddha image—it would’ve all fallen apart.

But Zheng Fa knew, the goal of this summit wasn’t to prove how strong he was, but to make them believe he was strong!

Special effects were the real key!

As for using the Reversed Five Elements Divine Light to seize the artifact… how should he put it?

Everyone thought Zheng Fa feinted just to grab Wuzhi’s prayer beads and show off.

Zheng Fa knew—he snatched the beads to cover up the fact that he didn’t dare to truly fight the old monk!

Just picked a poor sap at random…

Happened to be familiar with Wuzhi, and figured he wouldn’t mind.

In fact, if Wuzhi hadn’t been distracted by the banner, the theft wouldn’t have been so easy!

He had no choice—outmatched, the kitten had to play tiger.

Zheng Fa gently held Senior Sister Zhang’s hand. Her face was calm, but her palm was drenched in sweat.

The most nervous one was actually Senior Sister Zhang.

They’d even rehearsed the worst-case scenario—if exposed, her Tranquility Bamboo would be the final fallback, buying them time to escape with Rainbow Transformation.

Yep, they’d practiced escaping… three hundred times.

Now, the Taishang Dao priest’s tone grew friendlier. Seeing they didn’t intend to fight, he smiled, “Didn’t expect you inherited the Demon Emperor’s legacy…”

“Well, with one Dao Fruit, you contend…”

“Losing the struggle for the Dao—it’s no wonder the Great Freedom Demon Emperor died.”

Zheng Fa was momentarily stunned. So the Demon Emperor’s death… could be explained this way?

But his face remained placid as a still lake. He neither confirmed nor denied. The others looked at him and believed the Taishang Dao priest had guessed the truth. Their suspicion eased.

The Yaochi Dao Fruit also smiled and nodded, “Then it’s surely better for Sect Master Zheng, an Immortal Sect cultivator, to become the Demon Emperor, than that Great Freedom Demon Ancestor.”

Now that hit the mark! She truly understood Zheng Fa’s thinking!

Zheng Fa’s Demon Emperor disguise served two purposes—

First, to wield the Ten-Thousand-Beast Banner, get more special effects.

Second, to implant this image into the Five Sects’ minds—

Your granddaddy is the Demon Emperor!

If the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor, with blood feuds against the Five Sects, could be tolerated as Demon Emperor,

Then he, a proper Immortal Sect disciple, should be damned for the same?

That’s bullsh*t!

So which would the Five Sects choose—a Demon Emperor born of the Demonic Sect, or Zheng Fa, who had risked his life for them time and again?

Sure enough, with Yaochi’s logic of “choose the lesser evil,” Sect Master Yan and the others first grew thoughtful, then softened visibly when looking at Zheng Fa.

Seeing the mood lightening, the Yaochi Soul Formation cultivator smiled again, “This Xiaguang Island is nearest to Yaochi. Let me play host—please, everyone, come ashore.”

With a wave of her sleeve, the long ribbon at her arm transformed into six rays of glowing clouds, one of which stopped beside Zheng Fa.

Before he could move, the Taishang Dao priest laughed and stepped into his own ray. Zheng Fa only saw his silhouette for a moment before it vanished.

Exchanging a glance with Senior Sister Zhang, they stepped shoulder to shoulder into the crimson light.

Watching the two disappear into the radiance, Deng Yan on the deck below exhaled deeply.

Though young, she could tell Zheng Fa had clashed with someone earlier.

“Daddy? Is he okay now?”

Deng Cheng stared dumbly at the fading silhouettes, silent for a long time before answering:

“Daddy doesn’t know.”

Deng Yan blinked.

“To enter that portal—not only is he fine, he likely found great opportunity… From today on, I fear there won’t be a soul in the world who doesn’t know Sect Master Zheng.”

Deng Yan nodded in dazed agreement.

After a while, she looked up at her father and saw a silly grin spreading across his face—

"Who would’ve thought that a moment of impulse would lead to meeting such a figure!"

"Truly, when traveling, one must be kind to others!"

"I wonder about that recommendation letter… could Sect Master Zheng really be serious?"

...

Zheng Fa couldn’t hear that last question anymore.

He stepped into the radiance with Senior Sister Zhang, and immediately, everything before him lit up so brightly he could barely see.

In an instant, the light faded, and the world before them seemed completely transformed.

They appeared to still be on Xiaguang Island.

But where it had just been remote and desolate, now it was filled with people and buildings.

The people were fairies, the ground beneath his feet was soft clouds, and dozens of Yaochi fairies moved gracefully through the cloudmist.

The buildings were palaces—on top of the clouds stood a shimmering palace, its grand doors wide open. Inside were six wooden desk tables. That Daoist reclined beside one, holding a pristine white teacup and guzzling it down like water.

At another desk, the Yaochi Dao Fruit chided him: "This Hundred-Flower Spirit Tea is a secret brew of my Yaochi. While not exceedingly rare, it still can’t stand being wasted by Immortal Li like this."

The others from the Three Sects were also Dao Fruit cultivators sitting at the tables, with their disciples standing behind them in three groups.

Zheng Fa entered the hall and sensibly chose the outermost desk. As soon as he sat, a rich, almost intoxicating fragrance surged toward him.

At first, he thought it was the Hundred-Flower Spirit Tea, but upon closer sniff, the scent came from the wooden table itself.

The aroma entered his body, rushing straight through his meridians, organs, and bones.

Zheng Fa quickly turned to look at Senior Sister Zhang. She was nodding at him, eyes wide with shock.

The scent from the wooden desk could actually enhance the Dao Body!

Even the Fusang Tree within Zheng Fa was slowly growing!

Were the Five Sects really this rich?

Using such a miraculous item… as a table?!

He turned again and saw the Five Sects cultivators all watching him with faint smiles. Some faces even showed a bit of mockery, especially the younger monks from Leiyin Temple, clearly still salty about being outmaneuvered earlier—their sneers were the most obvious.

He simply smiled, took a deep breath of the scent, and when the others looked slightly puzzled, he calmly said:

"My Jiushan Sect is poor—we’ve never seen such fine things before. Apologies for losing composure."

With that, they all suddenly found it less funny.

Especially when they remembered how poor Jiushan Sect was, and how unrefined Zheng Fa must be—yet now he was sitting here, almost on equal footing with their elders, while they themselves had to stand.

Their smiles faded.

Zheng Fa chuckled to himself. No wonder all those rich folks loved saying they came from nothing...

Wasn’t this also a kind of humblebrag?

The Yaochi Dao Fruit’s smile became more sincere. She turned to Zheng Fa and said, "It’s just wood. As for this Hundred-Flower Spirit Tea, please have a taste, Sect Master Zheng."

Zheng Fa followed her lead, picked up the teacup before him, and took a sip.

In the next moment, silver light flickered in his eyes—Void-Seeking Spirit Eyes began to activate on their own—he was breaking through!

"This..."

"The Hundred-Flower Spirit Tea is best suited for Spiritual Eye Techniques… Sect Master Zheng, the first time you drink it, the effect is at its peak."

She then glanced at that Taishang Daoist Immortal Li and sighed, "But if you drink too much, it doesn’t do much anymore."

Zheng Fa was even more delighted.

To perfect Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiend Transformation, he needed the Spiritual Eye Technique, but his Void-Seeking Spirit Eyes had been stuck for some time.

With just one sip of this Hundred-Flower Spirit Tea, there was already a noticeable change.

On the table, a small hand gently pushed another cup toward him.

Zheng Fa turned to look at Senior Sister Zhang.

She said softly, "I don’t like tea."

...Senior Sister Zhang also cultivated Void-Seeking Spirit Eyes, and she too was stuck at a bottleneck.

Moreover, with her Yuan Spirit Dao Body, she was even more compatible with Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiend Transformation.

This Hundred-Flower Spirit Tea was extremely valuable for her.

Their eyes darted back and forth, and everyone else watching felt sick of it.

They only had two thoughts:

First—Jiushan Sect is truly poor, so poor they couldn’t even each enjoy a cup of tea.

Second…

So poor, yet this Senior Sister still chose to give hers away.

Looking at Zheng Fa, they simply couldn’t bring themselves to laugh anymore…

...

The Yaochi Dao Fruit clapped her hands, pointed to Zheng Fa and his companion, and instructed a nearby Yaochi female cultivator:

"Bring a pot of Hundred-Flower Spirit Tea for Sect Master Zheng."

Zheng Fa didn’t decline. He simply cupped his hands and said, "Many thanks, Immortal. Forgive my ignorance—how should I address you…"

The Yaochi Dao Fruit smiled, "My Daoist title is Baihua (Hundred Flowers). This Hundred-Flower Spirit Tea was created by me."

Seeing Zheng Fa respectfully bow, she also returned the courtesy, treating him as an equal.

The Taishang Daoist laughed heartily and said, "Our Five Sects have long been acquainted—you just don’t know us yet. My surname is Li. This one from Leiyin Temple goes by the Dharma name Zhi Xu."

"Those from Haori Mountain and Tianhe Sect—you know them, don’t you?"

Zheng Fa blinked—he did know them:

There was Zhenren Luo, whom he’d met before.

And Sect Master Yan, who looked just like Yan Wushuang.

He bowed to each one in turn. The four Dao Fruit cultivators, whether sincerely or not, all returned the salute.

Even Wuzhi, whose prayer beads had been stolen, had nothing left to be angry about now—

From the moment the old monk Zhi Xu didn’t retaliate and Zheng Fa was invited onto Xiaguang Island, he’d already been treated as a true… Dao Fruit cultivator.

Was the Hundred-Flower Spirit Dew not valuable?

Well, none of the many who were standing around had been offered a pot by Fairy Baihua…

It was just that, for Dao Fruit cultivators, the stuff wasn’t so rare—and sharing it gained her favor.

Giving it to them, though… would’ve been a waste.

...

As they sipped tea, the Five Sects’ Dao Fruit cultivators exchanged small talk, as if they hadn’t seen each other in ages.

Zheng Fa knew to keep a low profile. He listened quietly to their conversation about people and events from who knows how many years ago, not daring to appear impatient.

Then Immortal Li from Taishang Dao snorted and said, "Enough nonsense."

"Are the Five Sects so idle?"

Zheng Fa instantly felt respect—this guy seemed really straightforward… and if someone like that was still alive and thriving, he must be seriously powerful.

Sure enough, Fairy Baihua looked a bit embarrassed, but then smiled again:

"The Five Sects Alliance was my Yaochi’s proposal…"

Zheng Fa hadn’t known that.

"You all know… the great tribulation is coming."

Zheng Fa’s expression also turned serious.

"After we form Dao Fruits and attain the status of Loose Immortals, we face nine Loose Immortal Tribulations. Each one is near-certain death."

Because she believed Zheng Fa had inherited the Demon Emperor’s legacy, this Yaochi Fairy Baihua began to share secrets Zheng Fa had never heard before.

"A Taishang Dao elder once said that cultivators are indebted to Heaven and Earth—hence the many tribulations."

"Spreading the Dao to the world is how we repay that debt."

"Only then can our Loose Immortal Tribulations lighten, and maybe even be easily overcome."

He felt like he had just heard something incredible.

Seeing the other four Dao Fruit cultivators remain calm as ever, Zheng Fa resumed his acting, pretending to be completely unfazed too…

But in his heart, he was shocked. This was different from his earlier theories with Tang Lingwu about Dao Fruits.

Also, he still didn’t quite understand—what did this have to do with the great tribulation?