I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times-Chapter 89Book 2: : Cooperation

Vol 2 Chapter 89 – Cooperation

Inside the Great Freedom Demonic Sect’s secret realm.

Lin Yangtian staggered back with his remaining forces, battered and humiliated. His robes had been shredded by heavenly lightning, leaving his exposed skin blotched with scorched black and raw white patches.

Looking at the few people left standing, his frustration only grew.

They had set out with forty disciples.

Now, fewer than ten had made it back—every single one of them injured.

And among the dead, most were his personal subordinates.

While the lives of Holy Sect disciples weren’t worth much in the grand scheme of things, these were still men he had trained for years—whether strong or weak, at least they understood his commands.

Losing them all in such a short time… hurt.

Beside him, the previously confident Golden Core cultivator looked just as miserable. Blood stained the corner of his mouth—not his own, but that of a Foundation Establishment disciple who had dared to block his escape. That disciple had been cleaved in half on the spot.

Even Lin Yangtian had to admit—

It was only because this senior brother had acted so decisively that they had managed to carve a path through the panicked rabble and flee the thunderstorm hell outside.

“…What now?”

The two exchanged bitter glances.

They had never expected Jiushan Sect to be bold enough to block their gateway.

And even worse—

They actually couldn’t get out.

“These Jiushan Sect bastards… they’re too devious!” one of their surviving comrades spat through gritted teeth.

If they were fighting inside the Thunder Pool, their numbers alone would have overwhelmed Jiushan Sect despite the power restrictions.

But because the gateway itself had entry and exit limitations, the situation had flipped—

The outnumbered Jiushan disciples had managed to turn this into a battle of attrition in their favor.

If it weren’t for the Thunder Pool, a mere gateway wouldn’t have stopped them.

Hell, they wouldn’t even need their sect’s Nascent Soul elders—just the two of them alone would’ve slaughtered all those Foundation Establishment weaklings.

Yet with the restrictions in place, they were completely out of options.

They stared at each other, both equally lost.

A cold, aged voice suddenly echoed from above.

“…What’s going on here?”

The group immediately looked up.

A withered old man hovered in the air, half his hair white, half black. His sunken features and shadowed eyes gave him a skeletal appearance.

His expression was dark with displeasure.

“The sect commanded you to attack Jiushan Sect. Why have you not moved out?”

“Elder Chi!”

Both Lin Yangtian and his companion immediately bowed deeply.

There was no doubt—their Elder Chi was a Nascent Soul cultivator.

With his arrival, their situation had changed.

Hurriedly, they explained the predicament.

"Jiushan Sect…"

A strange glint flickered in Elder Chi’s eyes. He turned toward the gateway, his gaze sharpening.

“…How bold.”

His expression twisted in anger.

“A bunch of Foundation Establishment brats… and they dare to oppress our Holy Sect?”

The other disciples nodded fervently.

If it were the Five Great Sects of Xuanyi Realm, that would be one thing.

But Jiushan Sect?

What the hell were they compared to them?!

“Send more people out. I want to see exactly what they’re relying on.”

Elder Chi’s voice was icy.

Lin Yangtian and his fellow Golden Core cultivator hesitated.

They glanced at the terrified subordinates around them.

No one wanted to go.

“…What? Unwilling?” Elder Chi’s tone dropped ominously. “Perhaps you two should go?”

Lin Yangtian immediately stiffened.

Without a word, he picked out two unfortunate souls and signaled them forward.

The two chosen disciples turned ashen.

But defying a Nascent Soul elder’s order?

Impossible.

Trembling, they stepped out of the secret realm.

The moment they did—

A rainstorm of thunder talismans descended from above.

Their deaths were instant, almost poetically clean.

Elder Chi narrowed his eyes.

“Soul-Piercing Talismans… Mind-Shock Talismans… Soul-Destroying Talismans…”

He muttered under his breath.

His brows furrowed deeply.

“They were each hit by at least thirty or forty talismans. And all of them… were Mysterious-Grade Talismans.”

A moment of silence.

Then—

“…Jiushan Sect is this wealthy?*”

Lin Yangtian and his senior exchanged glances.

They were just as confused.

They knew the market rates.

That single barrage had cost at least dozens of spirit stones.

This was pure money-burning warfare.

Meanwhile, outside the gateway—

Zheng Fa stared at the two fresh corpses.

Seeing that no one else was coming out, he signaled to two of his senior brothers.

“Drag them back. Send them to the weapon workshop in the rear.”

Sun Daoyu exhaled.

“Junior Brother Zheng… I never expected talisman inscription to be this effective here.”

Zheng Fa smiled.

Another senior brother chimed in, nodding.

“If we were making these Mysterious-Grade Talismans ourselves, we’d only manage three or four a day. And even then, it’d drain our spiritual power and divine sense.”

“Buying them isn’t exactly cheap either.”

Zheng Fa didn’t respond immediately.

Instead, he glanced back—

At the mass production line of disciples furiously crafting talismans behind him.

Unlike other cultivators, Jiushan Sect wasn’t depending on individuals.

They were relying on industrial-scale talisman warfare.

And it was working.

“Yes, a single spirit stone can buy three to five talismans,” Sun Daoyu mused. Then, after doing some quick calculations, he added, “But producing Mysterious-Grade Talismans with talisman inscription techniques is not only faster but also cheaper—all it costs is talisman paper and spirit ink! When you think about it… it’s actually cheaper than Yellow-Grade Talismans!”

Zheng Fa shook his head slightly.

It wasn’t that simple.

After all, the Great Freedom Demonic Sect’s lives were a form of cost, too.

Still, this method was proving extremely effective.

For every thirty to fifty Mysterious-Grade Talismans they used, they gained another brave martyr who had selflessly contributed to the talisman inscription industry.

If you rounded up, it was practically free.

More importantly, this method didn’t drain the spiritual power or divine sense of his fellow disciples, making it exceptionally useful in battle.

At this rate, talisman inscription techniques could practically be considered the bane of the Great Freedom Demonic Sect.

Inside the secret realm.

“They’re actually… using our disciples’ bodies to make talismans?!”

Elder Chi’s face twisted in fury, his hair practically standing on end.

Lin Yangtian’s expression shifted in realization.

“…So that’s why the Thunder Pool Market was buying our sect’s blood?”

A heavy silence fell over the group.

They exchanged glances, each showing visible discomfort.

“This Jiushan Sect… why do their methods feel so similar to ours?”

One of their subordinates muttered the thought that had been lingering in all their minds.

Lin Yangtian silently agreed.

Corpse refinement, blood sacrifice, weapon forging from the fallen—

Those were their specialties!

And yet, now Jiushan Sect was using their own tactics against them… and doing it better!

“Martial Uncle, if we send more people out, we won’t just fail to kill them—we’ll only give them more materials for their talismans.”

Elder Chi was silent for a long moment.

Then—

“F**ing hell, Jiushan Sect is absolutely disgusting!*”

“…”

“Now I understand why everyone hates our sect so much!”

Lin Yangtian blinked.

…And found himself instinctively nodding in agreement.

Come to think of it, when they used to pull these tactics against the so-called righteous cultivators, it had never really felt like much.

But now that the roles were reversed…

Even they had to admit—

This was beyond excessive.

Outside the gateway, Zheng Fa studied the silent entrance to the Great Freedom Demonic Sect’s secret realm.

It seemed they had finally realized what was happening.

No one else was coming out.

They had completely blocked the sect inside.

“Junior Brother Zheng, we’ve really provoked the Great Freedom Demonic Sect this time.”

Sun Daoyu, realizing the full consequences of their actions, looked worried.

“Senior Brother,” Zheng Fa said calmly, “whether we provoke them or not… we never had a choice.”

He fully understood—

Now that their talisman inscription technique had been exposed, Jiushan Sect and the Great Freedom Demonic Sect were locked in a fight to the death.

But the reality was—

The Great Freedom Demonic Sect had already drawn their blades.

At this point, talisman inscription was merely a countermeasure.

Sure, their method was unorthodox, but so far, no one outside of the demonic sect would care much—at most, people would just want a share of the profits.

As for destroying the Great Freedom Demonic Sect completely…

Well, unless Jiushan Sect was willing to surrender the Thunder Pool, give up its spiritual veins, and sacrifice Senior Sister Zhang, there was no room for reconciliation.

Sun Daoyu still looked uneasy.

Seeing this, Zheng Fa sighed.

“Senior Brother Sun, talisman inscription is a good thing. Without it, we wouldn’t have been able to stop those demonic sect disciples at all.”

“Exactly! Why are you all worrying so much?”

An excited voice rang out.

Zheng Fa turned and saw three figures approaching.

It was Yan Wushuang and his companions.

“Brother Yan?”

Yan Wushuang clasped his hands in greeting but kept his gaze fixed on Li Nuo and the other talisman-makers.

“So this is why the Thunder Pool Market was buying demonic sect blood?”

“Yes.”

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Since they had already been seen, Zheng Fa didn’t bother to hide it.

“…I see. I see.”

Yan Wushuang let out two sighs before looking at Zheng Fa again.

“You Jiushan Sect are sitting on a gold mine!”

Zheng Fa raised an eyebrow. “Li Nuo Senior Brother is indeed quite innovative.”

“No, no, no.” Yan Wushuang shook his head, eyes gleaming. “I mean literal gold!”

“…?”

His excitement was almost unnerving.

“Brother Zheng, this business—can I have a share in it?”

Zheng Fa suddenly remembered…

Hadn’t this guy mentioned he was broke?

“This…”

Talisman inscription was, first and foremost, a sect secret.

And second—Yan Wushuang wouldn’t be of much help here.

Zheng Fa had a decent impression of him, but that alone wasn’t reason enough to share this.

Noticing his hesitation, Yan Wushuang quickly added,

“I won’t just be taking profits for nothing. First of all, I can provide talisman paper and spirit ink.”

Zheng Fa paused.

That was a tempting offer.

Right now, talisman paper and spirit ink were the main costs of their mass-production efforts.

Even though they weren’t expensive individually, their sheer volume was becoming an issue.

But in the end, this was just a small incentive.

After a long silence, Zheng Fa finally spoke.

“Brother Yan, it’s not that I don’t want to work with you, but… this alone isn’t enough.”

Yan Wushuang was certainly from an extraordinary background.

But in the end, he was still just a True Disciple of Tianhe Sect.

And merely at the Golden Core stage.

What could he actually bring to the table?

Yan Wushuang seemed to understand Zheng Fa’s hesitation.

He studied him for a moment before asking,

“You’re trying to block the Great Freedom Demonic Sect from sending reinforcements so that Senior Sister Zhang can safely complete her Nascent Soul breakthrough, correct?”

“…Yes.”

“Then you’re already too late.”

Zheng Fa’s eyes flickered.

He immediately turned his gaze toward Five Dragons Palace.

Yan Wushuang smirked. “You guessed right.”

“The Great Freedom Demonic Sect’sNascent Soul cultivators left the Thunder Pool days ago. Right now, they’re preparing to attack your Martial Uncle Pang.”

Zheng Fa’s expression darkened.

He wasn’t surprised.

Senior Sister Zhang’s Nascent Soul Phenomenon had lasted for days.

There was no way the Great Freedom Demonic Sect would sit idly by without making a move.

They had been too late to block them.

Five Dragons Palace was already in grave danger.

He had taken these lower-realm disciples out of the palace to reduce the burden on Martial Uncle Pang—

But he had no way of helping Pang himself.

In the Thunder Pool, even a Nascent Soul cultivator would be in danger.

And at that level of battle…

He was completely powerless.

Zheng Fa turned back to Yan Wushuang.

“…What are you suggesting?”

Yan Wushuang smiled.

“I’ll save your Martial Uncle Pang’s life. In exchange—”

“I get a share of this business.”

Silence.

Zheng Fa glanced around.

Half of the disciples here were Martial Uncle Pang’s people.

They were all looking at him, waiting for his decision.

After a long pause—

Zheng Fa nodded.

“If my Martial Uncle survives… then we have a deal.”