Cultivation: I Have Studied Abroad in the Modern World

"So that's how it is..."

Xie Qingxue lowered her eyes, unsure of what to say.

Could she say that the Ancestor Master was wrong?

It seemed there was no issue, for the Ancestor Master didn't want to annihilate all cultivators, but rather to set rules for the Immortal Dao, pacify the calamity of the Ancient Immortals, and shape an Xuanwei Realm according to his vision.

But could she say that the choice of the Four Veins Ancestor was unreasonable?

What does one seek in cultivation...

Nothing but eternal life and freedom.

The Ancestor Master being isolated and deserted by others was quite normal.

"Thus... the four Ancestors, who merged with the Four Swords, conspired with the four sects to start the Tianhe Chaos."

"After the chaos, the Four Swords were split in two, with the sword embryos held by the four sects, while the four Ancestors remained in the Tianhe Sect."

After listening, Xie Qingxue still had some doubts, and asked:

"Why go to such trouble?"

"The Four Immortal Slaying Swords are incredibly powerful, and naturally, the four sects were unwilling to let them remain in our sect."

"Even though the four Ancestors could jointly control the Four Swords, doing so might awaken the Ancestor Master... Moreover, they were unwilling to be bound by the Four Swords, desiring a way to transcend."

"Thus, they requested the four sects to suppress or even refine the swords' main bodies."

"Our Tianhe Sect and the four sects had secret agreements."

Listening, Xie Qingxue somewhat understood the situation:

After the rebellion in the Tianhe Sect, the four sects and the four Ancestors were mutually wary, each seeking their own ends.

The four Ancestors had the power to wield the Four Immortal Slaying Swords, but this might relate to the Dao Fruit of the Tianhe Ancestor, thus could only be used as a desperate measure.

On the other hand, they were unwilling to be restrained by the Four Immortal Slaying Swords, and naturally, the four sects were also uneasy having such things in the Tianhe Sect—fearing that they might go mad.

Therefore, the Four Swords were taken and suppressed by the four sects individually, while the four Ancestors stayed in the Tianhe Sect, seeking a way to transcend.

"How can one transcend..."

Xie Qingxue couldn't help but ask, as her relationship with the Qingping Sword was the same.

But even the master who openly shared such secrets now remained silent, changing the topic:

"Today's Haori Mountain is either suppressing the Immortal Trapping Sword or refining it..."

"Refining?"

"They have studied the Immortal Trapping Sword for an epoch; as the foremost sect of artifact refining in the Xuanwei Realm, perhaps they indeed have found some methods..."

"Then why place the Immortal Trapping Sword in the Hundred Immortals Alliance?"

Sect Leader Yan shook his head lightly: "That I do not know."

Upon learning that the Four Veins Ancestor was still alive and even within the sect... Xie Qingxue, being the primary traitor of Tianhe Heaven and Earth, dared not stay longer, quickly taking her leave from Sect Leader Yan.

As she departed, she suddenly heard a question from Sect Leader Yan directed at her: "If you were one of the five Ancestors... what would you choose?"

Xie Qingxue's heart trembled as she turned to look at her master, only to find Sect Leader Yan had already closed his eyes, not looking at her anymore.

...

When she returned to the Jiushan Realm from the Tianhe Sect, Zheng Fa was in the Heavenly Palace, holding a jade tube as he read intently.

Seeing her return, he merely greeted her, seemingly too engrossed to pay her much mind.

Xie Qingxue was surprised, understanding that her presence could be overlooked, but she brought back news of the Immortal Trapping Sword!

What could be in that jade tube that made Zheng Fa ignore even this?

Divine Skills and Secret Techniques?

A new artifact refining secret?

After a while, Zheng Fa reluctantly looked up, noticing her curious gaze at the jade tube in his hand, and explained with a smile: "This is the 'Hundred Immortals Alliance Survey Report' sent by Master Pang."

"So soon?"

Xie Qingxue was taken aback.

"This is a preliminary survey, mainly aimed at the various cultivation sects and their spiritual material reserves."

Xie Qingxue understood.

She was also aware of the Jiushan Sect's survey endeavors, even knowing how detailed the data Zheng Fa required:

According to Zheng Fa's idea, it would be best if Master Pang and the others could ascertain even mundane details like the population size, occupations, and incomes of common folk.

This was naturally a time-consuming task.

However, this preliminary report, if it only pertained to the various cultivation sects and spiritual materials, was different.

Compared to mortals, the number of cultivators could be one in ten thousand, or even one in a million.

It was also understandable to gauge the reserves of major spiritual materials—spiritual materials were indeed rare.

"Master Pang intended to gather this data first since we are to conduct business with major sects."

Xie Qingxue initially nodded nonchalantly, then suddenly realized something, biting her lip and reaching out to Zheng Fa: "May I... take a look?"

Zheng Fa was slightly surprised but handed the jade tube to her readily, smiling: "It's not clandestine."

Xie Qingxue immersed her divine sense into the jade tube, discovering that the survey report was distinctively composed, probably taught by Zheng Fa.

The content of the jade tube bore a major title, 'Hundred Immortals Alliance Cultivator Survey Report.'

It was divided into four major sections:

The first section was an overview of the Hundred Immortals Alliance, containing the geographical environment, area, and power dynamics within and around the Hundred Immortals Alliance.

This Xie Qingxue was familiar with, though the data here was more detailed.

She glanced at it momentarily and then moved on.

The second section was the distribution of wealth within the Hundred Immortals Alliance, which she studied very seriously:

"All spirit fields are controlled by major sects... with ninety percent of superior spirit fields in the hands of sects above the Golden Core level."

"The magical treasure, pill workshops, and spirit talisman markets are over eighty percent monopolized by Nascent Soul sects."

"Over ninety-five percent of all major spirit ore outputs flow to Nascent Soul sects?"

Xie Qingxue murmured softly.

She glanced back at the first section of the Hundred Immortals Alliance overview, where Master Pang had clearly stated that after the demon calamity, there were over sixteen hundred sects or families of various sizes within the Hundred Immortals Alliance territory.

Among these, forces at the Nascent Soul level, including the Jiushan Sect, were reduced to only five.

Excluding overlapping calculations, Golden Core forces numbered merely thirty-one.