I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times

Vol 2 Chapter 107: Fortuitous Fate

"Junior Brother Zheng! Junior Brother Zheng!"

Senior Sister Yuan’s voice rang out just as Zheng Fa swallowed a Purple Cloud Pill. She walked in, staring straight at him—or rather, at the pill bottle in his hand.

"Senior Sister?"

Seeing her expression, Zheng Fa thought she was envious.

After all, it had probably been thousands of years since Jiushan Sect had seen a disciple treat spiritual pills like candy.

No matter how close their relationship was, seeing such preferential treatment was bound to stir some thoughts.

Senior Sister Yuan glanced at the pill bottle, then at Zheng Fa, and suddenly asked, "Does it taste good?"

"Huh?"

"…"

He had overestimated her—she was just drooling over the pills!

"…Senior Sister, what do you need me for?"

"Oh, right." Senior Sister Yuan reluctantly tore her gaze away from the pill bottle and finally remembered her purpose. "I overheard some disciples talking about Fairy Lingye. They say she’s very powerful and is planning to enter the Heavenly Monument… I came to tell you!"

"Fairy Lingye?" Zheng Fa asked, "Who is she?"

Since he had only recently entered the cultivation world and rarely left Jiushan Sect, he was unfamiliar with many of the Xuanyi Realm’s famous figures.

"Her?" Senior Sister Yuan explained, "She was even more well-known than Senior Sister Zhang back in the day… Some say that among their generation, Senior Sister Zhang had the greatest talent in talismans, while Fairy Lingye had the greatest talent in lightning techniques."

"Later, Senior Sister Zhang got stuck at the Golden Core stage, while Fairy Lingye successfully advanced to Nascent Soul. Some even believe Senior Sister Zhang is inferior to her."

Zheng Fa was slightly surprised.

He was well aware of Senior Sister Zhang’s incredible talent in talismans—although Talisman Foundation Establishment Method was perfected by Zheng Fa, the foundational framework had been laid by Senior Sister Zhang.

In other words, she had practically pioneered an entirely new path.

While others saw her bottleneck at Golden Core as a limitation, Zheng Fa saw it differently.

Sometimes, when talent is too overwhelming, it leads to dead ends.

But this Fairy Lingye’s talent was evidently not to be underestimated either.

"I heard…" Senior Sister Yuan’s tone was full of envy. "Fairy Lingye has been blessed with unparalleled fortune since childhood. Spiritual materials and treasures literally fall from the sky for her…"

"Huh?"

Having great talent was one thing—but luck too?!

"They say that when she was three years old, she was playing in her courtyard when a Thunder Essence Fruit fell right onto her head. She ate it and gained Qi Refining cultivation before even formally stepping onto the path of Dao."

"When she first started cultivating, a meteorite containing rare heavenly metal crashed nearby, and she refined it into her lifebound artifact."

"Everywhere she goes, she stumbles upon spiritual herbs, rare materials… She’s consumed an uncountable number of precious resources on her path to Nascent Soul…"

As she spoke, Senior Sister Yuan swallowed again, seemingly fantasizing about how much delicious food she could have eaten if she had such fortune.

"…"

Zheng Fa looked at the pill bottle in his hand and suddenly felt… a little inadequate.

He was overjoyed whenever his martial uncle gifted him some spiritual materials—meanwhile, Fairy Lingye was handed treasures by the heavens!

"Exactly," Senior Sister Yuan agreed enthusiastically. "Now, instead of calling her ‘Primordial Magnetic Dao Body,’ people call it the ‘Treasure-Attracting Dao Body’…"

"Wait… Fairy Lingye’s Dao Body is called Primordial Magnetic Dao Body?"

Zheng Fa was stunned.

"Yeah!"

…The way she attracted treasures—it actually sounded kind of scientific?!

…

As Zheng Fa stepped into the grand hall, he immediately sensed that Martial Uncle Pang was looking at him strangely.

"Martial Uncle?"

Zheng Fa was puzzled.

"Ahem, Zheng Fa, what brings you here?"

"Martial Uncle, I wanted to ask—has the Thousand-Year Yang Thunder Spider’s Inner Core appeared in the market recently?"

"The Thousand-Year Yang Thunder Spider’s Inner Core?" Martial Uncle Pang frowned. "That kind of beast is already rare. A thousand-year-old one is even more formidable… Not just in the Thunder Pool Market, but in the entire Xuanyi Realm, such things have been scarce for years. Why do you need it?"

"My master once gave me three secret techniques. One of them is called Heavenly Net Thunder Armor, and I happen to be at the stage where I need the Thousand-Year Yang Thunder Spider’s Inner Core to cultivate it."

"This technique… what does it do?" Martial Uncle Pang hesitated, as if debating whether it was appropriate to ask.

"Heavenly Net Thunder Armor provides excellent defense, and for those who practice Divine Firmament Lightning Control Technique, it allows them to refine lightning into silk threads."

This was the main reason Zheng Fa wanted to learn this technique.

Mastering the lightning techniques of the Heavenly Monument required precise control over lightning.

"So that old Yuan actually had such a treasure hidden away…" Martial Uncle Pang muttered. "But that core is extremely rare. Even if one were to surface, the price would be astronomical."

Zheng Fa nodded.

No matter how generous Martial Uncle Pang was with him, there were limits—and even if they could afford it, finding one was another matter.

"It’s fine, I was just asking… I’ll look for it in the Heavenly Monument myself." Zheng Fa still remembered Yan Wushuang mentioning that the Hundred Treasures Hall in the Heavenly Monument Realm contained many lightning-related spiritual materials that could be exchanged with Heavenly Credits.

"The Heavenly Monument…"

Unexpectedly, as soon as Martial Uncle Pang heard those words, his expression became conflicted, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

His face shifted several times before he suddenly said, "Our Jiushan Sect’s spiritual veins are actually quite good…"

"Hmm?"

Zheng Fa blinked, unsure where this was going.

"I’ve spent my whole life in Jiushan Sect. I have deep feelings for this place…"

Zheng Fa started to understand what he was getting at.

"Honestly… whether or not we gain control of the Heavenly Monument doesn’t matter much to our sect," Martial Uncle Pang finally said. "If we succeed, great. If not, it’s fate."

"I understand."

"Good, as long as you get what I mean." Martial Uncle Pang waved a hand dismissively. "I’ve already held off the Great Freedom Demonic Sect once—what’s one more time?"

As he spoke, his tone was full of bravado, as if the demonic sect was nothing more than a minor nuisance.

Standing by the Thunder Pool, Zheng Fa suddenly glanced toward Five Dragons Palace and chuckled.

This martial uncle of his… was he mentally preparing him in advance?

It seemed that Fairy Lingye’s reputation was truly formidable.

…

And it wasn’t just Martial Uncle Pang who was affected.

Yan Wushuang was even worse.

In front of the great hall of the Heavenly Monument Realm, Zheng Fa came across Yan Wushuang, who was looking utterly dejected.

Normally brimming with enthusiasm, Yan Wushuang barely managed a listless greeting.

"Brother Zheng… you’re here?"

"Brother Yan, you…"

Noticing his own unusual demeanor, Yan Wushuang sighed. "I must have made a fool of myself before you, Brother Zheng. Ever since Fairy Xiao arrived… my mind has been in complete turmoil."

"…That’s not like you at all, Brother Yan."

Zheng Fa had come to understand Yan Wushuang fairly well by now. He wasn’t the type to panic just because he heard someone’s name.

"You don’t understand…" Yan Wushuang hesitated before saying, "I rarely envy anyone’s luck, but… this Fairy Xiao is simply too enviable."

"…Fairy Xiao?" Zheng Fa was puzzled by his tone. "Brother Yan, do you know her personally?"

"Not exactly. But thirty years ago…" Yan Wushuang seemed lost in memory. "Back then, there was a great radiance over the Boundless Desert, visible for a thousand miles. Rumor had it that a supreme treasure was emerging… Cultivators from all over rushed there, and of course, I went too."

Zheng Fa already had a feeling about where this was going.

His expression even carried a trace of sympathy.

"I searched tirelessly in that endless desert until my eyes nearly went blind. I spent four full months… and didn’t even catch a glimpse of that treasure." Yan Wushuang forced a bitter smile. "Then Fairy Xiao showed up. She didn’t search at all—just wandered around for three days."

"Three days…" Yan Wushuang’s face held an unresolved confusion that had lasted for thirty years. "And that damn thing flew right to her feet like a dog."

Seeing Yan Wushuang’s utterly shattered state of mind, Zheng Fa didn’t even know how to respond.

"Brother Zheng, it’s not that my willpower is weak—it’s just that… Fairy Xiao’s fortune is so unreasonable!"

Zheng Fa opened his mouth, but in the end, he didn’t say what was on his mind—

Actually… there might be some scientific explanation for this…

…

Watching Yan Wushuang walk away in despair, Zheng Fa shook his head and stepped into the Hundred Treasures Hall.

At its center stood a jade tablet, glowing with flowing light. Names of various spiritual materials were inscribed on it, each accompanied by the Heavenly Credit required for exchange.

There were plenty of materials listed, and it took Zheng Fa quite some time to locate the Thousand-Year Yang Thunder Spider’s Inner Core.

"Five hundred Heavenly Credits…"

Zheng Fa frowned. That was no small amount.

For reference, after months of effort, Yan Wushuang and the others had only managed to accumulate about fifty credits.

According to the Fengshen Register, using Heaven’s Tribulation Lightning for righteous judgment could yield at most ten Heavenly Credits—but only against those of extreme wickedness.

For crimes that didn’t involve murder or arson, one might not even earn a single credit.

Of course, given Yan Wushuang and his group's limited control over Heaven’s Tribulation Lightning, they hadn’t been able to earn credits this way at all.

Looking at it this way, five hundred credits was a massive sum.

As Zheng Fa pondered his options, a tall woman walked into the hall.

Her gaze swept over him briefly, clearly recognizing his Foundation Establishment cultivation, but she paid him no mind. She walked up to the jade tablet and examined the listed materials.

As she looked through the names, she muttered under her breath, "Seriously… even this needs credits?"

Zheng Fa didn’t need to hear anything more.

He already recognized her.

With a respectful gesture, he cupped his hands toward this bold and uninhibited Fairy Lingye.

She nodded slightly in acknowledgment but didn’t say anything.

The gap in their cultivation levels was far too great—Zheng Fa hadn’t intended to start a conversation anyway. He simply turned to leave, but as he did, he couldn’t help but glance at her copy of the Fengshen Register.

Gold…

…

Zheng Fa’s divine sense attached itself to the idol.

His thoughts were still occupied with Fairy Lingye’s Primordial Magnetic Dao Body.

He had long suspected that the Xuanyi Realm did have electromagnetic induction—it was just unstable due to the influence of spiritual energy.

But based on Fairy Lingye’s history of "treasures falling into her lap," she likely possessed some form of innate talent in this regard—

Either she could attract those treasures,

Or she could detect the unstable magnetic fields they emitted.

Possibly both.

Realizing this, Zheng Fa felt a sudden sense of urgency.

Previously, he had assumed that Xuanyi Realm cultivators lacked the means to observe electromagnetic phenomena and therefore had no way to precisely control Heaven’s Tribulation Lightning.

But if Fairy Lingye could actually sense changes in electromagnetic fields…

Then she already had an incredibly sophisticated observation tool built into her body.

The only reason cultivators didn’t study this scientifically was probably because they simply regarded it as a talent.

As he was deep in thought, a loud rumbling sound came from below the idol.

Zheng Fa looked down.

His young temple attendant was clutching her stomach, her face scrunched up in distress.

She looked like she hadn’t eaten in days.

Zheng Fa thought back—indeed, it had been several days since anyone had offered sacrifices to him.

In fact, the entire day had passed without a single person entering the temple.

It was as if the place had been forgotten.

Just as he was feeling puzzled, he suddenly heard the temple attendant’s inner thoughts:

"Lord Thunder God, please… just show some divine power again."

"…"

Then he heard her continue thinking, "Even just making a sound like last time would be fine… They all said I imagined it, but…"

"…"

"If you don’t show some divine power soon, our Half-Mountain City is going to have a new Thunder God!"

Zheng Fa was momentarily stunned.

Another god?

But isn’t this my domain?

The little temple attendant seemed used to talking to herself and soon began speaking aloud.

"That Thunderstrike Sect has been stealing all our followers. Their believers keep saying that their sect leader is about to become a god… And I heard he really can control lightning." She grumbled, "Now the whole city is offering tributes to them, and there’s nothing left for our Lord Thunder God…"

Zheng Fa listened carefully.

Apparently, some ordinary mortal—who had somehow gained a bit of cultivation or maybe just learned a few magic tricks—was trying to steal his job.

Zheng Fa didn’t know who the previous Thunder God of this place had been, nor where they had gone.

But clearly, they hadn’t shown any divine power in a long time.

Over time, the people of this city had lost faith and were now turning to a living god instead.

"The sect leader said that once he ascends, all his followers will live in prosperity and abundance… A lot of people believe him."

Zheng Fa nodded thoughtfully.

Honestly, this sect leader seemed competent.

If he wasn’t engaging in crimes or deceit, Zheng Fa might have even considered recruiting him—maybe even replacing this temple attendant who just keeps stealing from my offerings.

"But I know he’s a fraud… What prosperity? All they do in that big house of theirs is run around naked, doing all kinds of indecent things!"

The temple attendant gritted her teeth in frustration.

…

Okay, this sect leader might be talented, but he’s a bit too talented. He can’t be allowed to stay.

"My family has served Lord Thunder God as temple attendants for generations. If only Lord Thunder God still displayed his divine power…" She sighed. "That sect leader would be scared out of his wits!"

"State your name."

Zheng Fa finally spoke.

"Thunder God?!"

The temple attendant leaped three feet into the air.

"It is I."

"…"

Her face turned pale.

Then—

She promptly fainted.

…

Wait.

Why are you panicking?

Are you the naked cult leader?!