Vol 2 Chapter 84: Doubt
Zheng Fa slowly walked toward the place where Senior Sister Zhang was trapped.
Just as he reached three zhang away, she opened her eyes.
Neither of them spoke a word, as if they had an unspoken agreent.
Zheng Fa opened the Topology book in his hands and picked up where he had left off the previous day.
Sotis, Senior Sister Zhang would interrupt with questions about things she didn’t quite understand.
So questions were due to gaps in her knowledge, things she simply hadn’t encountered before. Those, Zheng Fa could answer with ease.
Others were questions that even Zheng Fa himself had never thought deeply about. Those would leave him montarily speechless, his brows furrowing in thought.
Senior Sister Zhang never rushed him. She simply watched him quietly, a mysterious smile playing at her lips.
And when she stumped him completely, her smile carried a hint of smug satisfaction.
Both of them were cultivators. Their thinking speed far exceeded that of ordinary people.
In just ten days, they had gone through the entire Topology book—though it was only a surface-level understanding, at least Senior Sister Zhang now had a basic frawork in her mind.
"Senior Sister Zhang, has this field of study been helpful to you?" Zheng Fa asked eagerly.
"Yes."
"Really?"
Zheng Fa’s face lit up.
"You’ve had so insights?"
"Not exactly."
"…Then doesn’t that an it wasn’t very helpful?" Zheng Fa was a little confused.
"It was helpful," Senior Sister Zhang said, pointing at the Topology book in his hands. "Because of this book, you co here every day at this ti."
"And every day at this ti, my mood improves."
"…"
Alright. That was a kind of help.
But not the kind Zheng Fa had been hoping for.
Seeing his slight disappointnt, Senior Sister Zhang smiled. "This field of study is vast and profound. I’ve only just started learning it. Connecting it to talisman diagrams is still beyond for now."
Zheng Fa let out a slow breath.
He had been too impatient.
If understanding Topology was all it took to fully grasp talisman diagrams, Old Man Bai would have done it long ago.
Senior Sister Zhang had a deeper foundation in talismans than Old Man Bai, but far less in mathematics.
It was hard to say who had the advantage.
"Don’t be discouraged. This knowledge has great potential. At the very least, it has given a new perspective on talisman diagrams," Senior Sister Zhang reassured him. "Like I said, I still have nine hundred years—more than enough ti to gain so insights."
Zheng Fa nodded.
That much was true.
As Zheng Fa walked into the Five Dragons Heavenly Palace, his brows furrowed slightly.
Teaching Senior Sister Zhang Topology had been his last resort.
To be honest, it had felt a bit like trying to save a dying horse with a desperate cure.
Now, he wouldn’t say it was useless—but it certainly didn’t seem like it would help her in the short term.
He had faith in her mathematical talent. Given enough ti, she could probably master this subject and even push it further.
But…
The ergence of the Heavenly Stele made him uneasy.
And sothing else was nagging at him.
Senior Sister Zhang’s warning had made him more alert—
If he didn’t fully understand the Yin-Yang Talisman Diagram, then the foundation of the Origin Talisman Dao would be flawed.
According to her, even if she ford her Nascent Soul, she would have to pay a price for that flaw.
That ant that before establishing his own foundation, he had an urgent need to perfect the Talisman Dao Foundation Establishnt thod.
For both him and Senior Sister Zhang, this was critical.
"Zheng Fa, co here for a mont."
As soon as he entered the Five Dragons Heavenly Palace, he heard Uncle Pang’s voice in his ear.
Zheng Fa hesitated for a mont before heading toward the main hall where Uncle Pang was.
"You went to see Junior Sister Zhang again today?" Uncle Pang asked as soon as he saw him.
"Yes."
Uncle Pang studied Zheng Fa, his expression holding sothing unspoken.
"Uncle Pang?"
"Sit down," Uncle Pang said after a brief silence. His tone carried a hint of warning. "Junior Sister Zhang’s current situation is stable for now. You should focus on yourself."
"Uncle Pang?"
"You and Junior Sister Zhang aren’t officially Dao partners, but you might as well be," Uncle Pang said suddenly. "Cultivators prioritize wealth, companions, law, and land—but you must understand, your own cultivation cos first."
"Yes."
Zheng Fa didn’t understand why Uncle Pang was suddenly saying this, but he responded respectfully.
"…Jiushan Sect’s two most outstanding disciples—one is Junior Sister Zhang, the other is you," Uncle Pang said bluntly. "Junior Sister Zhang has already run into trouble. I don’t want you to be affected as well."
Zheng Fa was stunned.
That… almost sounded like he was being told to abandon Senior Sister Zhang.
"Of course, I will do everything I can to save her," Uncle Pang said softly. "But if it hinders your own path, I won’t allow it."
"…"
Zheng Fa didn’t know how to respond.
"Do you know who was the most famous Daoist couple in Jiushan Sect’s previous generation?"
"I don’t."
"Your Martial Uncle Huang and her husband."
"Her… husband?"
Zheng Fa was taken aback.
Martial Uncle Huang had been secluded on Jiushan’s Seventh Peak for as long as he could rember, rarely descending the mountain. He had never heard of her having a husband.
"Her husband was the most talented direct disciple of our generation," Uncle Pang sighed. "And he was my closest friend."
"Your Martial Uncle Huang used to be ten tis more hot-tempered than Junior Sister Zhang—reckless and impulsive. Later, she encountered an accident, and as her husband, my friend, of course, sacrificed himself to save her."
"…"
"And as you might have guessed, she survived. He died."
Zheng Fa suddenly noticed the hint of anger in Uncle Pang’s expression.
"If not for that, Jiushan Sect could have had another Soul Formation cultivator."
Only now did Zheng Fa understand why Uncle Pang treated Senior Sister Zhang with relative kindness but referred to Martial Uncle Huang so distantly—only by her surna.
"Later, that woman ca back seeking revenge and created the Xuanguan Mirror…" Uncle Pang sighed again. "And now, Junior Sister Zhang is trapped in that very Xuanguan Mirror. But is it truly just a mirror? No—it’s a lesson learned the hard way."
"Besides, you haven’t even established your foundation yet. What help can you really offer her?"
Zheng Fa understood.
Uncle Pang’s warning wasn’t without reason.
He had already done everything he could.
From here on out, Senior Sister Zhang had to rely on herself.
In his room, Zheng Fa imrsed himself in cultivation.
Though he spent ti teaching Senior Sister Zhang daily, he had never neglected his own progress.
In fact, he was training harder than ever.
Right now, the Xuanguan Mirror could only be broken from the inside. But since it was located within the Thunder Pool, if the pool underwent any changes, the Nascent Soul cultivators of the Grand Freedom Demon Sect would be able to intervene.
At that point, Jiushan Sect and the Grand Freedom Demon Sect would inevitably clash.
And he was far from ready for that battle.
As the night deepened, a sudden vortex of spiritual energy ford in Zheng Fa’s room.
This vortex was larger than any before, even disrupting several disciples cultivating in the Five Dragons Heavenly Palace.
In the main hall, Uncle Pang and several of his disciples all sensed the disturbance.
They turned their gazes toward Zheng Fa’s room.
"That’s Junior Brother Zheng?" One disciple exclaid in surprise. "He’s reached the peak of Qi Refinent already? How is that possible?"
A more senior disciple was equally astonished. "I’ve never seen anyone cultivate faster the further they progress… His talent is truly extraordinary."
"Extraordinary talent…" Uncle Pang’s eyes grew distant, as if recalling soone from the past. "Yes, just like him."
"Master?"
"You’ve reached the peak of Qi Refinent?"
The next ti he visited Senior Sister Zhang, she imdiately noticed the change in his cultivation and looked pleased. "That’s half a month faster than I was."
Zheng Fa shook his head.
If he counted the ti from his previous life, she was still faster.
"You must think carefully about Foundation Establishnt," Senior Sister Zhang reminded him again. "If you feel the Talisman Dao Foundation Establishnt thod is incomplete, you can always buy a Huayuan Pill to dissolve your current rune-based foundation. Your cultivation level will drop slightly, but you have enough spiritual energy—it won’t take long to rebuild your foundation the traditional way."
It was clear that she had considered this issue carefully for him.
From her perspective, the Talisman Dao Foundation Establishnt thod was rely a cultivation accelerator—use it, then discard it.
Zheng Fa nodded lightly.
That was indeed an option.
Even though he had finished teaching her Topology, his visits were still worthwhile. In fact, Senior Sister Zhang provided him with valuable insights, both in talisman studies and mathematics.
"I’ve been thinking these past two days," Senior Sister Zhang mused. "This field of study you taught —it’s incredibly rigorous. Everything is derived from a few so-called axioms. Apart from these axioms, every other theorem has a logical foundation."
Zheng Fa agreed.
That was one of the defining characteristics of modern mathematics.
"This approach actually originated from a great scholar," Zheng Fa explained. "He was the first to propose these fundantal axioms."
He began explaining the five postulates from Euclid’s Elents, leading into the eventual questioning of the parallel postulate and how that led to the developnt of non-Euclidean geotry.
"Axioms can be questioned?" Senior Sister Zhang’s eyes glead with admiration. "That’s an incredible wisdom."
"Of course they can," Zheng Fa said. "In fact, questioning established truths is the driving force behind progress in this field."
He paused.
Questioning…
All this ti, he had accepted Senior Sister Zhang’s perspective without doubt—
That the foundation of the Origin Talisman Dao was built upon talisman diagrams.
But what if… that assumption was like the parallel postulate—sothing that could be challenged?
In the Talisman Dao Foundation Establishnt thod, Yin-Yang talisman diagrams were supposed to generate and reinforce each other.
But in the void of the Xuanyi Realm, the observed behavior of talisman diagrams did not align with that theory.
That was practically the equivalent of an experint contradicting an established theory.
Were the two types of talisman diagrams truly the sa?
"If not talisman diagrams, then what? But we are condensing talisman diagrams," Senior Sister Zhang pointed out.
"Yes… but if we set that assumption aside," Zheng Fa’s eyes sparkled with excitent, "and only examine the premise that Yin and Yang interact through mirroring—what conclusions can we reach?"
Senior Sister Zhang furrowed her brows, still not fully grasping his point.
"Only the Five Elents sub-talismans exhibit mirroring properties," Zheng Fa said boldly. "The other two types of sub-talismans influence the nature of talisman diagrams but are not fundantal to their essence!"
Senior Sister Zhang’s eyes lit up.
She understood what he was getting at.
"You’re saying… the Five Elents sub-talismans are the essence of spiritual talismans?"
"No, what I’m saying is—the Five Elents are an inherent property of spiritual energy itself," Zheng Fa stated his theory. "No matter what cultivation thod we use, we ultimately absorb spiritual energy. But spiritual energy and spiritual talismans are not the sa."
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"Spiritual energy contains the Five Elents, but it does not contain the other two types of sub-talismans!"
"The foundation we condense within ourselves might be closer to spiritual energy itself, rather than spiritual talismans!"
"Seeing through illusion, discarding the false and preserving the truth—only then can one grasp the Dao…"
After a long silence, Senior Sister Zhang sighed deeply.
"Today, you have achieved that."
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