I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times-Chapter 307Book 2: : Risk Transfer, A Team Effort

Vol 2 Chapter 307: Risk Transfer, A Team Effort

Tianhe Sect.

Xie Qingxue’s thoughts stirred, and the Tongjian in her hand flew back to her waist, transforming into a delicate, compact sword pendant.

Just now, she’d chatted with Zheng Fa via the Tongjian, and had more or less understood what the Five-Element Orchid was.

“The Nine-Turn Golden Core Method…”

She looked toward the door, brows lightly furrowed, her slender fingers still fiddling with the now-miniaturized Tongjian, her mind silently pondering:

Zheng Fa had explained things quite clearly.

The Five-Element Orchid might be related to the Nine-Turn Golden Core Method, and now, it was probably a taboo in the Xuanyi Realm.

Asking Xie Qingxue for help was clearly a last resort:

It was likely that the Five Sects had deliberately erased certain records—there were just too few mentions of the Five-Element Orchid.

But, if any sect might still retain fragments of the records—

It had to be the Tianhe Sect.

In fact, according to rumors, Zheng Fa wasn’t the only Tianhe cultivator who had ever used the Five-Element Orchid.

That was why he’d come to her.

Zheng Fa hadn’t hidden anything, so Xie Qingxue naturally understood the danger:

The Nine-Turn Golden Core Method itself was forbidden, and the Five-Element Orchid’s existence had been deliberately scrubbed from memory…

Still, Xie Qingxue wanted to investigate—after all, perfecting the Jiushan Golden Core Method had long been a dream of her lineage.

Moreover…

Xie Qingxue glanced at the Qingping Sword.

She could feel it—ever since she started cultivating the Jiushan Golden Core Method, the Qingping Sword was becoming more and more attuned to her will.

Maybe, someday, she, the sword spirit, could truly turn the tables and become the master!

What taboos? What forbidden knowledge?

Could anything they’d done possibly be more taboo than what her lineage had already undertaken?

After pondering a while, Xie Qingxue stepped out of her courtyard and headed for the Transmission Tower.

The Tianhe Sect’s Transmission Tower was divided into three sections. The main tower had five floors, each storing cultivation techniques by realm: Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, and Soul Formation. The top floor housed the true inheritance techniques of the Tianhe Sect, a place no ordinary person could access.

She didn’t enter the main tower. Instead, she turned right at the entrance and walked to a two-story side building.

This small building stored records of various Immortal Arts and disciplines.

Since the Five-Element Orchid was related to alchemy, this would be the most likely place for any references.

Xie Qingxue entered the building. On the first floor, a middle-aged male cultivator quickly stood and bowed, “Senior Sister!”

She nodded faintly, saying nothing. The man didn’t seem to mind, just smiled, “Senior Sister, are you looking for a specific text? I can help.”

“Thank you. I’ll look myself.”

Xie Qingxue’s tone was polite, but her expression carried an unmistakable air of distance.

The man hesitated but didn’t press further, only watching as the Senior Sister walked deeper into the building. His face showed a mix of pity and unsurprised resignation—after all, this particular Senior Sister was known for being hard to please.

As soon as Xie Qingxue walked in and stood behind a bookshelf, she pulled out her Tongjian and eagerly messaged Zheng Fa:

“I’m in the Transmission Tower looking through the records. Let’s see what I can find.”

A moment later, Zheng Fa replied: “Fairy Xie, your safety comes first.”

“I understand.”

Zheng Fa added: “Be extremely cautious. Perfecting the Jiushan Golden Core Method is not a task completed in a day. Don’t rush it.”

Xie Qingxue read the message twice. The corners of her mouth lifted, and the frosty look she wore in the sect softened into a slight smile as she replied: “I’ll be careful. The Jiushan Golden Core Method isn’t yours alone—it’s very important to me.”

With that, she stopped chatting and walked to the shelf labeled “Alchemy,” picking up a jade slip and began reading.

She read for an entire month.

With only the three characters “Five-Element Orchid” as a clue and no one she could ask, she had no choice but to go through every jade slip one by one.

What made it even more taxing was her fear of missing something—so she couldn’t skip anything related to alchemy:

That meant she had to read every pill recipe.

Even certain alchemical techniques couldn’t be ignored.

Eventually, she even read travelogues and anecdotes from past alchemists.

Xie Qingxue didn’t eat, drink, or return home—just read day after day, her expression growing colder and colder—

She found nothing about the Five-Element Orchid.

Not a single word.

This certainly left her frustrated, but at the same time, it deepened her curiosity about the spiritual plant.

After putting down the final jade slip, Xie Qingxue bowed her head in thought:

Even if the Five-Element Orchid had nothing to do with the Nine-Turn Golden Core Method, it was clearly related to the Ancestor…

Otherwise, how could the records of such a spiritual plant completely vanish?

Moreover, the Five-Element Orchid must have been vital to one of the Ancestor’s techniques… otherwise, of all the plants the Ancestor had used, why was only this one’s record missing?

But how could she find more clues?

She looked up, somewhat lost.

At that moment, the middle-aged man at the entrance cautiously asked, “Senior Sister, are you looking for a specific pill recipe?”

Xie Qingxue paused, then nodded slowly, though she didn’t say what she was looking for. She only asked, “Are all records on spiritual plants and alchemy kept here?”

“Most of them are.”

The man answered honestly.

“Most?”

“Some alchemy texts are kept in the Secret Pavilion,” he quickly explained, not suspecting a thing from this sect Senior Sister, “But that place is restricted. Others can’t enter. But Senior Sister, you would have no trouble…”

“Secret Pavilion…”

Xie Qingxue looked out the window.

The Transmission Tower had three sections: the five-floor main tower in the center, the right wing with knowledge of various arts, and the left wing—the Secret Pavilion.

Entry was only allowed to those with special status.

Xie Qingxue considered for a moment, then nodded slowly to the gatekeeper, taking out a sword talisman and saying, “Thank you, Junior Brother. Take this.”

Without waiting for thanks, she turned and left quickly.

Behind her, the middle-aged man stared at her retreating figure, holding the sword talisman, his face showing a mix of confusion and delight—

Wasn’t this Senior Sister supposed to be impossible to please?

All he’d said was something utterly ordinary, and he got a treasure for it?

…

But Xie Qingxue didn’t head to the Secret Pavilion right away. She first returned to her courtyard, thought for a while, and summoned Yan Wushuang.

“Senior Sister?”

“Zheng Fa asked me to look into a spiritual plant called the Five-Element Orchid. I’ve searched for a month with no results,” Xie Qingxue said bluntly. “I want to check the Secret Pavilion.”

Yan Wushuang’s expression immediately turned serious.

“The Five-Element Orchid… it might be related to the Ancestor?”

Xie Qingxue nodded.

“Then you really must be cautious. There’s always an elder watching the Secret Pavilion…”

“Zheng Fa said the same.”

“So he also thinks it’s dangerous!”

“Which is why I’ve decided to send you.”

“…Huh?”

Yan Wushuang’s eyes went round, his jaw dropped, staring at his Senior Sister in disbelief.

“Yes, you.” Xie Qingxue said firmly, adding, “Master probably suspects me.”

“……”

Yan Wushuang understood her concern.

The Secret Pavilion was a high-security area in the sect, always guarded by a Soul Formation-level elder. Normally it wouldn’t be an issue for Xie Qingxue to go, but now caution was necessary.

“Father… has been acting strange lately.” Yan Wushuang frowned, his face also showing unease. “After being injured by Zheng Fa, he keeps going into seclusion, but he doesn’t seem to be recovering…”

“But when I ask, he says he’s fine… and that he’s found a chance to break through.”

“Breakthrough?”

Xie Qingxue raised an eyebrow—this was unexpected.

“Yeah, now I don’t even know how to yell at Zheng Fa anymore.”

Yan Wushuang muttered.

“A breakthrough for Master is of course good news, but… he probably does suspect me now…”

Xie Qingxue was also conflicted. Her master advancing in cultivation was great, but in the current situation, who knew how he’d treat her—the ‘traitor’—afterward?

Yan Wushuang agreed that her worry was valid.

The only issue was—

It’s fine to be cautious, but why throw your junior under the bus?

Xie Qingxue saw the discontent on his face, then said after a pause, “You’re Master’s biological son. I’ll be there persuading him too…”

“……”

“You probably won’t die.”

Yan Wushuang’s expression went blank. He really wanted to argue, but didn’t know how.

Of course, Xie Qingxue didn’t recruit him just for that reason. She further explained:

“I’m sending you because you’re currently at the Golden Core stage. You can reasonably search the main tower for Golden Core techniques and stories without drawing attention.”

“Also, you have a bad reputation in the sect, and your cultivation is low.”

“Huh?”

“Small misdeeds probably won’t even reach Master’s ears.”

Yan Wushuang slowly furrowed his brows. After thinking for a moment, he said, “So what you’re saying is—you attract too much attention?”

“It’s not me. It’s the Qingping Sword… I was going to go to the Secret Pavilion myself, but I realized someone was watching me.”

Yan Wushuang’s expression grew even stranger:

Senior Sister’s meaning was clear. His cultivation was too low to matter—after all, to a Soul Formation or Dao Fruit cultivator, who cared what a Golden Core cultivator was doing?

Xie Qingxue, on the other hand, was different.

As the master of the Qingping Sword, she was too conspicuous. Some things, she simply didn’t have the freedom to do.

“Of course, this mission is also quite dangerous for you…” Xie Qingxue added, “If you don’t agree, I’ll find another way.”

Yan Wushuang was silent for a moment. Then he said:

“Senior Sister, there’s no turning back for us now, is there?”

“There isn’t.” Xie Qingxue nodded calmly, stroking the increasingly attuned Qingping Sword, then added, “And I never planned on turning back.”

“And you…”

Xie Qingxue looked at her junior brother and said slowly,

“You were the first in the sect to make contact with Zheng Fa…”

“Mm.”

“You’re also cultivating the Jiushan Golden Core Method now, and you’re close to perfecting your Golden Core? Seems like you picked up a few good thunder techniques on the Jiushan Forum too?”

Yan Wushuang muttered, “There were some pretty decent posts on that forum, so I learned a couple… The Jiushan Golden Core Method is incredibly helpful for cultivation.”

“Zheng Fa is getting stronger and stronger. In the future, you might gain more and more. Maybe one day, you’ll surpass me, even surpass your father. That would be your fortune—but some fortunes come at a price.”

“Senior Sister…”

“I’ve already paid the price for the Qingping Sword… what about you?”

“……”

“We who walk the sword path… must forge ahead without hesitation.”

…

A few days later, Xie Qingxue returned to the Transmission Tower—not to the Secret Pavilion, but once again to the right wing that housed records of the Immortal Arts.

“Senior Sister?”

The middle-aged man looked surprised.

“I found something useful last time, just came to look again.”

The man nodded in realization, watching Xie Qingxue approach a bookshelf again. He was curious but didn’t dare ask.

Xie Qingxue picked up a jade slip and once again felt the Qingping Sword tremble faintly.

She knew—some Dao Fruit-level cultivator in the sect was watching her.

Her expression remained blank, but her mind was half on the jade slip, and half focused on the Secret Pavilion’s entrance—and the Tongjian.

Now, a new post had appeared in the Jiushan Forum, one not open to outsiders.

Its view permissions were limited to Zheng Fa, Yan Wushuang, Xie Qingxue, and a few others.

Yan Wushuang had posted first: “Senior Sister, I’m in.”

Xie Qingxue immediately replied: “I’ve drawn the elders’ attention. If anything goes wrong, I’ll block them.”

Zheng Fa had apparently been monitoring the two of them and now added, “Brother Yan, Fairy Xie, I’m ready on my side too.”

In the Jiushan Sect’s Celestial Palace, a new project team was forming.

There were few members.

Besides Zheng Fa, there was Xiao Yuying and a few disciples—the ones sent over from the Hundred Immortals Alliance.

They had some skill in alchemy—not profound, but good enough for Jiushan Realm.

He glanced at them and posted: “Brother Yan, I have Fairy Xiao and some alchemy-trained disciples here.”

Seeing this, Xie Qingxue felt a little amused—there was a certain thrill in this “organized crime.”

She was the lookout.

Zheng Fa was in charge of logistics and command.

Yan Wushuang was the one in the most danger—the unlucky one.

Said unlucky one soon appeared at the entrance to the Secret Pavilion. Though only a Golden Core cultivator, as the Sect Master’s son and a true disciple, he had the right to enter.

He showed a token and entered the hall smoothly.

“There aren’t many texts in here.”

Yan Wushuang reported.

“Brother Yan, remember—don’t read any pill recipes!”

Zheng Fa immediately replied.

“But… is that really okay?”

Yan Wushuang hesitated. How could he find the purpose of the Five-Element Orchid without reading the recipes?

Zheng Fa glanced at Xiao Yuying. Seeing her nod, he replied in the thread:

“Fairy Xiao once said that sometimes travel notes, personal observations, or incidental mentions contain more clues.”

“Besides, I suspect all pill recipes involving the Five-Element Orchid have been destroyed.”

“More importantly, I don’t want anything to happen to you, Brother Yan.”

Yan Wushuang didn’t reply. He quietly put away his Tongjian and looked at the bookshelf in front of him.

The Secret Pavilion had only one floor, and not many jade slips. Limiting the search to travel notes and miscellaneous writings made them even rarer.

He picked up a jade slip but barely glanced at it before tossing it back on the shelf with a bored look, even curling his lip like he was annoyed.

There were other disciples in the hall. Seeing this, they just thought the Sect Master’s son was bored and playing around.

Even the elder on duty only watched him for a moment, then ignored him after seeing he merely skimmed each jade slip.

But in the Tongjian thread, Yan Wushuang was posting like mad.

“This one’s a travel note from a Soul Formation senior…”

“This senior was, uh, a Supreme Elder’s…”

“Never heard of this one…”

This was a little misdirection Xie Qingxue and Zheng Fa had planned:

For a Golden Core cultivator like Yan Wushuang, he might not be able to fully comprehend the contents with a glance, but it was enough to remember and mentally record them.

To outsiders, it looked like he wasn’t even using his brain.

But the truth was—

Zheng Fa had a whole team acting as his brain.

Xiao Yuying, as an archaeologist, wasn’t professionally trained, but her textual analysis skills weren’t bad.

Add in a few disciples knowledgeable in alchemy to interpret unfamiliar terms…

These travel notes—written in varying styles across different eras—were quickly deciphered.

Thanks to the Jiushan Forum, Yan Wushuang got to enjoy Zheng Fa’s privilege: becoming a tireless scanner.

Soon, Yan Wushuang had scanned dozens of jade slips—but still no trace of the Five-Element Orchid.

Two more hours passed. Suddenly, Xiao Yuying shouted:

“This one!”

Zheng Fa looked at Yan Wushuang’s newest post.

It was a long, long journal entry, but with Zheng Fa’s spiritual sense far beyond normal Golden Core level, he quickly found the part Xiao Yuying had pointed out.

“…I heard that one of the ingredients for the Clear Spirit Pill was something called the Five-Element Orchid, sadly extinct. However, the Clear Spirit Pill is of great importance to cultivators, so a great alchemist spent a hundred years revising its formula…”

Five-Element Orchid!

Zheng Fa was elated but quickly posted: “Brother Yan, don’t turn around!”

In the Secret Pavilion, Yan Wushuang was also getting excited, wanting to examine the jade slip that mentioned the Five-Element Orchid—but at Zheng Fa’s warning, his body froze and he moved straight to the next shelf.

Thank goodness Zheng Fa spoke up in time.

Otherwise, he really would’ve picked up that jade slip and examined it more closely…

Xie Qingxue swept the area with her spiritual sense and secretly cursed her junior for being dumb—but also sighed in relief.

…

Zheng Fa turned to Xiao Yuying, who said after a moment’s thought:

“The wording and style of this travel note suggest it was written early in this era.”

Hearing that, Zheng Fa perked up—it made the account more credible.

But her next words were disappointing:

“Still, the Clear Spirit Pill isn’t exactly rare.”

Zheng Fa said nothing and looked toward the disciples skilled in alchemy.

“Fairy Xiao is right,” one of them, the strongest Golden Core disciple, stood up nervously and explained, “The Clear Spirit Pill purifies spiritual power. It’s suitable for cultivators at Foundation Establishment or above.”

“We don’t know the exact recipe, but we’ve never heard of any sect purchasing Five-Element Orchids.”

Zheng Fa understood what that meant:

If Clear Spirit Pills weren’t rare, and no one was seeking out Five-Element Orchids, there had to be a reason—probably what the journal said: the recipe had been altered.

Its popularity meant demand was high and the formula had been modified accordingly.

Then, a message from Xie Qingxue appeared in the thread:

“I saw the Clear Spirit Pill recipe a few days ago!”

Zheng Fa’s eyes lit up, waiting for more.

Xie Qingxue walked a few steps along the bookshelf, picked up a jade slip, confirmed it, and said, “There’s no Five-Element Orchid listed in the ingredients.”

Seeing that, Zheng Fa thought for a while and slowly posted:

“Fairy Xie, the one you saw must be the current version—in other words, the revised formula.”

“Brother Yan’s journal described the original Clear Spirit Pill, which used the Five-Element Orchid.”

Yan Wushuang quickly replied: “So the pill the Ancestor used back then… was it the Clear Spirit Pill?”

Zheng Fa pondered a moment before answering: “I don’t think so. Since even the Five-Element Orchid is unrecorded, that kind of pill probably isn’t made anymore.”

“That means… it was all for nothing!”

Yan Wushuang’s words were filled with deep disappointment.

Not just him—even Xiao Yuying and the others in the hall looked a little disheartened.

But Zheng Fa didn’t seem so discouraged. He even tried to cheer them up: “At least we figured out there was a connection between the Clear Spirit Pill and the Five-Element Orchid…”

“What good does that do?”

“No idea,” Zheng Fa replied, then added, “But we’ll find out soon.”

Not only Xiao Yuying, but even Xie Qingxue and Yan Wushuang—far away in Tianhe Sect—looked puzzled.

Zheng Fa, meanwhile, sent a message to another one of his inside men:

“Seventh Young Master, do you know… the Clear Spirit Pill?”

Xiao Yuying watched him take out the Jade Slip of Creation, and seemed to guess what he was up to. Her expression was shocked—

You’ve already roped in Tianhe Sect’s Senior Sister and the Sect Master’s son, and you’re still going?

Zheng Fa smiled sheepishly, almost embarrassed: at home, I rely on Senior Sister Zhang;when out, I rely on my undercover friends—cough, I mean, good comrades.

Research had always required gathering information, and Jiushan Sect just happened to lack that—

So he had to… borrow.

As it happened, Seventh Young Master Zhao Jingfan’s Qingmu Sect was highly skilled in alchemy!