Chapter 640 Unraveling the Mystery, Severing One's Own Path
When Zheng Fa asked the question, everyone was stunned, even the jellyfish.
As if she hadn't heard clearly, Ni Chang Yuan Jun asked blankly, "Not Lady Jellyfish? Then who is she?"
The Moon Fairy even began to speak in support of the jellyfish phantom: "We all have a connection to the jellyfish; she is definitely the jellyfish..."
"Qing Nu's method of summoning gods cannot possibly involve the wrong person."
Both of these points are very important. After hearing this, Zheng Fa could understand why Qing Nu and the other woman trusted the jellyfish so much and had no guard up at all, and why the Moon Fairy would even hand over the Moon Laurel Seed.
Who would have thought that the jellyfish would trick them?
Hearing their words, the jellyfish's smile seemed to carry a hint of mockery: "That's what all the cultivators of Yaochi say, and you, Sect Leader Zheng, have never even seen me, so how dare you say I'm not the jellyfish?"
Everyone looked at Zheng Fa with a puzzled expression.
Zheng Fa held the Star Banner and looked at the thirty-six stars, seemingly oblivious to the doubts in their eyes. He simply asked an unrelated question: "I've been wondering how you got in, Jellyfish."
Everyone looked even more bewildered, and Ni Chang Yuanjun couldn't help but ask, "What do you mean by 'how did you get in'?"
"The question is, how did the jellyfish get trapped in this formation?" Zheng Fa explained. "Who ambushed them? Did they accidentally trigger the formation?"
As Zheng Fa spoke, he tapped the Star Banner with the knuckle of his index finger: "It's actually unlikely that it was ambushed by someone."
Ni Chang Yuanjun was even more puzzled: "Isn't this Lu Yao's conspiracy?"
“As you all know, the jellyfish is very powerful,” Zheng Fa explained. “No ordinary Golden Immortal could defeat her.”
"Couldn't we use the Zhou Tian Star Array?"
Zheng Fa smiled, looked at the Goddess of Resurrection, and asked, "If Lu Yao knows how to enter this Zhou Tian Star Array and how to control the Star Banner, then why doesn't this person know how and has to come with us?"
Ni Chang Yuanjun was stunned for a moment, but was immediately convinced: "That's right, they can't even get into this formation, let alone set up an ambush."
The goddess of warding off the year looked very unpleasant, but she couldn't utter any words of rebuttal.
To put it bluntly, the entry threshold for this Zhou Tian Star Array is too high, essentially an intelligence filter. Apart from cheaters like Zheng Fa, it is extremely difficult for others to get in.
"Of course, I'm not saying there's absolutely no chance the jellyfish could be ambushed, just that the probability is very low. On the other hand, I find it hard to imagine that Lu Yao would just leave the jellyfish alone after trapping it. I can understand leaving the jellyfish alone, but would he really just abandon such a treasure as the Zhou Tian Star Array?"
Listening to his analysis, even the Goddess of Longevity was captivated.
“There’s a second possibility,” Zheng Fa continued. “The jellyfish is trapped by the formation itself and can’t escape.”
"There is a distinction between intentional and unintentional actions in this regard."
"Intentional? Unintentional?"
The Moon Fairy murmured, as if she had thought of something and suddenly realized something.
Ni Chang Yuan Jun's expression remained one of confusion and bewilderment.
“Unintentionally, which means that when the jellyfish was comprehending the Zhou Tian Star Array, it accidentally entered the Zhou Tian Star Array and got trapped inside,” Zheng Fa continued. “However… I think that’s unlikely.”
"Why?"
“This is an unowned formation.” Zheng Fa waved the Star Banner in his hand and explained, “From my perception, this thing wouldn’t be so powerful if no one controlled it. At least someone like Jellyfish wouldn’t be completely helpless against it.”
This is, after all, just a remnant formation. If someone were controlling it, that would be fine, but without anyone controlling it, its power is naturally greatly reduced.
If the Star Banner had such power, why would Zheng Fa need to keep babbling on here?
"For example, the Goddess of Resisting the Years was previously cast into Chaos, but she was already inside the formation, and she was still safe and sound, wasn't she?"
Zheng Fa then gave another old example.
The Moon Fairy and her companions were increasingly convinced of their virtues.
When Zheng Fa finished speaking, even Ni Chang Yuan Jun understood: "You mean, the jellyfish deliberately walked into the Zhou Tian Star Array? And then got trapped inside?"
Zheng Fa nodded.
The jellyfish phantom suddenly chuckled and questioned, "According to you, I should be the jellyfish imprisoned in this formation."
The others agreed with this statement and looked at Zheng Fa.
Zheng Fa smiled and said, "Even if you are a jellyfish, why do you imprison yourself?"
The jellyfish's expression darkened slightly, and it remained silent.
The crowd looked even more puzzled.
"The following is a speculation."
Actually, this is the most likely scenario that Senior Sister Zhang and the others deduced.
"Back then, the fake Fairy Lingxi gave the token and array diagram of the Zhou Tian Star Array to the jellyfish. This was Lu Yao's conspiracy."
The Moon Fairy and the others nodded in agreement.
“Lu Yao’s idea was to use the Zhou Tian Star Array to prevent the jellyfish from achieving enlightenment,” Zheng Fa added. “I previously thought that he had set a trap in the Zhou Tian Star Array, causing the jellyfish to fall into an ambush.”
The Moon Fairy said, "That's what we think too."
“However, based on the previous analysis, this possibility is unlikely.” Zheng Fa smiled and then said, “Then there is another possibility, another one, which is extremely unlikely, but the most reasonable possibility.”
Ni Chang Yuan Jun asked impatiently, "What?"
"Lu Yao believes that the jellyfish will waste time on this Zhou Tian Star Array and use this to hinder the jellyfish from attaining enlightenment."
"But what Lu Yao didn't expect was that... the jellyfish actually figured out how to break the Zhou Tian Star Array."
"..."
"There's even a possibility that, with the help of the Zhou Tian Star Array, the jellyfish is preparing to break through to the Golden Immortal realm and attain the Taiyi or Daluo realm."
"It could even be said that Lu Yao's scheme this time backfired spectacularly."
A hint of longing appeared on Ni Chang Yuan Jun's face. After seemingly lost in thought for a while, she came back to her senses and asked, "Then why is the situation like this now?"
The Moon Fairy also looked puzzled.
According to Zheng Fa, the jellyfish is using the Zhou Tian Star Array to prepare for advancing to the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm, and possibly even the Daluo realm...
Then there was no further news. Yaochi was usurped by Leiyin Temple, and the jellyfish phantom in the great formation was still calling out "Rare World Honored One".
No matter how you look at it, the jellyfish doesn't seem like someone who has fully comprehended the Zhou Tian Xing Chen Grand Array and attained the Dao of Da Luo.
Zheng Fa remained silent for a moment, glanced at Ni Chang Yuanjun and the others, seemingly reluctant, before looking at the ethereal jellyfish and saying in an almost sighing voice, "The Divine Path Law, is there a problem?"
The jellyfish's expression slowly changed, and she spoke in a tone completely different from before.
The resentment in that tone seemed to have accumulated over thousands of years, sending chills down one's spine.
“I am her… yet she is afraid of me.”
"How ridiculous!"
"She's actually afraid of herself!"
Her voice was shrill and high-pitched, as if it were tearing apart the surrounding chaos.
Immediately afterwards, from the place in the chaos where the jellyfish had been imprisoned, came loud laughter, howls, curses, and cries of joy or pain.
When everyone looked over, they saw that there was a layer of dark, matte light, which looked like a black egg. Inside the eggshell was a phantom of a divine tree.
"Ren Water Peach Tree..."
"The Moon Fairy murmured."
Zheng Fa's heart stirred slightly. He had long heard that Yaochi was unparalleled in the Xuanwei realm for its methods of cultivating spiritual plants, primarily due to its two top-tier Heaven and Earth Spiritual Roots—
The Moon Laurel Tree of the Moon Fairy.
The jellyfish's Ren water peach tree.
The Ren Water Peach Tree is a top-tier water-element spiritual root, best at nourishing spiritual plants and nurturing life, which is why Yaochi has an advantage in cultivating spiritual plants.
Logically, the Ren Water Peach Tree should be full of vitality, nourishing all things and making people feel as if they are bathed in a spring breeze.
The sight of the Renshui peach tree that appeared before them made Zheng Fa feel nauseous.
Within the texture of the tree bark are distorted, pained, and angry human faces.
The tree roots were intertwined and wriggling, looking like dozens of white pythons, while the thick branches resembled the tentacles of a mollusk, constantly twisting and turning.
As the branches swayed, those irritating sounds drifted to everyone's ears incessantly.
At first glance, Zheng Fa felt that his eyes and mind had been polluted, and many thoughts surged uncontrollably in his mind.
"How could the peaches be like this?"
"The Goddess of the Rainbow Robes murmured."
The Moon Fairy seemed to have understood, but she didn't seem to want to understand: "The divine way of magic has a big problem..."
Zheng Fa nodded silently, sighing inwardly.
Judging from the jellyfish phantom's reaction, his and Senior Sister Zhang's predictions were probably 70-80% correct. This didn't make him happy; on the contrary, he felt a little regretful.
Being able to comprehend the Zhou Tian Star Array is already quite remarkable; Zheng Fa himself couldn't have done it without the Tianyan Array Plate.
Moreover, the jellyfish actually took Shinto magic to an even higher level.
Judging from Zheng Fa's perspective, Jellyfish's talent and achievements seem to subtly surpass those of Lu Yao and Venerable Tianhe.
Unfortunately, she cultivates divine methods, which are inherently flawed from the start.
Ultimately, she failed to break free from the constraints of divine law, leading to irreversible chaos.
Unfortunately, the jellyfish was not defeated by Lu Yao's schemes.
The moment she comprehended the Zhou Tian Star Array was the moment her path to enlightenment was severed.
“Losing me…” Fairy Taiyin said heavily, “We thought the jellyfish wouldn’t do this. So, Sect Leader Zheng, this is what you meant.”
"No wonder you targeted us first; you couldn't hide it from us."
She looked at the jellyfish phantom with a complicated expression.
The jellyfish phantom's face was full of chaos, as if it couldn't control its mouth at all, chattering incessantly. Among the chattering characters were the jellyfish itself and many strange people, men, women, young and old.
"A rare and precious World Honored One!"
The goddess of warding off the year chanted softly.
As she uttered this praise, the faces on the peach tree began to sing her praises of Lu Yao, and the jellyfish phantom returned to its calm state, even becoming gentle.
Zheng Fa was stunned.
So, the Heavenly Maiden of Bliss promoting the Buddhist teachings of Leiyin Temple in Yaochi can actually cure the jellyfish's mental illness?
To put it bluntly, the jellyfish is now essentially suffering from a split personality.
The countless believers and endless desires overwhelmed her.
But the Buddhist teachings of Leiyin Temple—no matter what—do have the function of unifying people's hearts.
Even if it can't be cured, it can at least provide relief.
Now Zheng Fa finally understood why the jellyfish was also calling him "Rare World Honored One"—this thing really has healing properties!
...
The jellyfish regained its composure and looked at Zheng Fa and the others, its eyes filled with anger: "I am clearly her... but she won't admit it."
“I am the result of her cultivation of the Divine Path, the supreme fruit of the Divine Path. What makes her think she can call me an evil god? Say that I will destroy the entire Divine Path?”
"Why would she rather stop advancing her cultivation level than keep me trapped here!"
Zheng Fa listened and finally understood the jellyfish's choice back then—
She did indeed walk into the Zhou Tian Star Array on her own back then, and even trapped herself inside.
The reason can be guessed from the words of this evil jellyfish:
This thing is probably a product of her advancement to the Great Luo realm. Its intelligence is unknown, but its strength is extremely high. In fact, it can be considered a chaotic evil god.
If they were to cause trouble outside, it could easily disrupt the entire Jade Pool and implicate all the cultivators practicing divine arts.
Even the destruction of the Jade Pool Wonderland might be attributed to this thing.
Not only did the jellyfish give up on advancing, it even used the Zhou Tian Star Array to trap itself here, severing most of the connection between Yaochi and the jellyfish.
The Moon Fairy understood, and she looked at the figure of the Evil Jellyfish with particular disgust.
The evil jellyfish seemed to understand her thoughts and sneered, "Whether you admit it or not, I am the jellyfish, the one who taught you the divine way and has done you a great favor!"
The Moon Fairy closed her eyes.
The evil jellyfish sneered, looked at Zheng Fa, and suddenly asked, "So you don't want to let me out either?"
Zheng Fa remained silent.
Of course he didn't want to.
He was willing to help Jellyfish escape before because Jellyfish was Lu Yao's greatest enemy. The problem is, now that the other party has taken Lu Yao's form, how dare Zheng Fa let him go?
This evil jellyfish may look disgusting, but its strength is absolutely not to be underestimated. It is a top-level Golden Immortal, a half-finished product of the Great Luo Dao – if placed in the current Xuanwei realm, probably no one could defeat it!
He was holding the Star Banner, about to say something more, when suddenly the Ren Water Peach Tree began to shake its branches wildly. Leaves fell one after another, branches began to wither, and even the thick root system shrank, looking like it had suffered a great loss of vitality.
What is this jellyfish going to do?
As Zheng Fazheng wondered, the black eggshell seemed to receive some kind of nourishment, suddenly growing larger and covering all directions.
The bronze platform beneath his feet seemed to be gripped by something, and it began to fly into the black hole.
Caught off guard, Zheng Fa and his companions dared not leave the bronze platform and the star banner, and could only follow the bronze platform straight to the black hole.
Behind him, the jellyfish's cold laughter came: "If you won't let me out, then we'll all stay here together."
Zheng Fa was stunned for a moment before he understood the evil jellyfish's idea—she had dragged them all into this cage as well.
If they want to escape, they must break this great formation.
However, if this great formation is broken, the evil jellyfish will also break free of its cage.
A group of people flew on the bronze platform for an unknown amount of time, only to find themselves surrounded by complete darkness, with no light whatsoever.
The phantoms of demon gods on the bronze platform wailed, and the entire bronze platform seemed to be squeezed by a giant hand, creaking and rattling, while the star banner fluttered incessantly.
Zheng Fa maintained his Golden Crow form, suppressing the agitation of the demon gods, and said to the three Fairy Taiyin, "Let's hide inside the Bronze Platform for now... It's hard to survive in this place without the strength of a Golden Immortal."
The Moon Fairy nodded. She and Qing Nu were both Golden Immortals, but now they were both seriously injured. If it weren't for the protection of the Bronze Platform, they would probably have been crushed into dust by this place long ago.
"Thank you for your protection, Sect Leader Zheng."
Zheng Fa shook his head and said, "We've been through thick and thin together, so there's no need for thanks... I never expected this evil jellyfish to have this ability."
This was something Zheng Fa had never expected:
This evil jellyfish couldn't get out on its own, but it could pull others in. Now, thinking back, he understood—this evil jellyfish actually did the opposite of what was expected. Not only did it fail to break free of the cage, it also found a way to sacrifice itself to increase the black hole's range and gravity.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
