PCJ – Chapter 564 Taking the Fight to Their Doorstep

The reason why Hua Zhaoyang and Hua Shaobo changed their attitude toward Zhang Jiaohua so drastically was mainly because they initially believed Zhang Jiaohua had a powerful force backing him. Later, after the steward investigated, he found that the people around Zhang Jiaohua were all ordinary, and he had no sect or backing at all.

Since he wasn’t backed by a sect, there was only one possibility left: Zhang Jiaohua had encountered some kind of extraordinary fortune. From that point on, Hua Zhaoyang and Hua Shaobo set their sights on whatever fortunate encounter Zhang Jiaohua had received. But who could’ve predicted that Zhang Jiaohua’s strength would far exceed the expectations of both father and son?

The steward, face gloomy and not daring to lift his head, said, “I deserve to die, I truly do. But this Zhang Jiaohua really doesn’t have any sect behind him. I just didn’t know he possessed such terrifying power.”

Hua Zhaoyang slumped weakly into his chair. “Pity that I, clever all my life, made one foolish mistake. If I hadn’t been so impulsive, how could Shaobo have lost his life? Zhang Jiaohua likely won’t let us off now. After all, we violated the rules of the cultivation world and targeted his parents. I fear he won’t spare the Xiyun Sect.”

“But Sect Master,” the steward said doubtfully, “even though Zhang Jiaohua is strong, our Xiyun Sect isn’t easy to mess with either. Can’t we deal with him, just one person?”

“I fear I still underestimated him,” Hua Zhaoyang shook his head.

The steward looked at Hua Zhaoyang in disbelief, feeling like his master had been completely frightened by a young boy.

“But we still have the Mountain-Protection Formation, don’t we? No matter how powerful he is, can he really break through our formation on his own?” the steward said, quickly reminding him.

“We can only rely on the Mountain-Protection Formation now,” Hua Zhaoyang nodded.

The Xiyun Sect soon gathered everyone into their secret realm and activated the formation, sealing off the area completely. The Mountain-Protection Formation wasn’t easy to activate—it continuously consumed spiritual energy. Given the remaining spiritual energy in the Xiyun Sect’s spirit spring, it wouldn’t last long before the formation collapsed.

Zhang Jiaohua wasn’t someone who would tolerate being bullied. Now that he was certain nothing would go wrong at Meizi’ao, there was no need to rush back. So, he headed directly for the Xiyun Secret Realm.

The entrance to the Xiyun Secret Realm was on an island in the middle of the Xiyun Reservoir. But now, with the formation fully activated, the island had vanished from sight. Even with the most advanced instruments on the planet, no one would be able to detect it.

Three tourists who had been playing near the reservoir were shocked.

“Hey! Look! Just now I clearly saw an island in the middle of the reservoir, but now it’s gone—without a trace.”

“I saw it too. I even took a photo of it. Once I develop the photo, we can confirm it.”

“This is so strange. There’s no fog here. How could an island just disappear? Could it be a mirage?”

“That’s possible. Maybe the island wasn’t actually in the reservoir, but far away, projected here somehow, and we were mistaken.”

Zhang Jiaohua walked to the edge of the reservoir, eyes locked onto the lake’s center.

To him, the island looked like it was under a glass dome—blurry yet visible. He could see it clearly even if others couldn’t.

He walked straight into the lake, a sight that startled the three tourists.

“Oh no! That little boy’s going to kill himself!”

“Hey, don’t do it! Life is beautiful—why give up now?”

“Kid, come back! It’s dangerous!”

The three tourists had kind hearts. They rushed toward Zhang Jiaohua but failed to notice how close they were to the water’s edge. One step, and they slipped into the steep-sided reservoir. Unlike a pond, the reservoir dropped off sharply, and they fell straight into deep water.

These northern tourists didn’t know how to swim. As panic set in, they thrashed about and quickly began to sink.

Zhang Jiaohua, seeing their good intentions and how they had fallen because of him, turned back halfway across the lake. The water actually parted before him as he walked. The three struggling tourists were now flailing around in the parted water but suddenly realized they were no longer submerged. They opened their eyes and saw the lake split in two.

“What… what is this? Is this the effect of a Water-Avoiding Pearl?”

“Who has a Water-Avoiding Pearl?”

“Stop talking nonsense—let’s get out of here. Didn’t you notice? That little boy walked on the water the whole time! We thought he was trying to kill himself, but now it’s clear he’s the one who saved us!”

“Ah! Ah! Ah!”

Suddenly, all three of them shouted in unison.

Columns of water shot up beneath their feet, lifting them out of the lake. In moments, they were back on shore.

“This is… this is…”

They were too overwhelmed to speak—such a miraculous scene had shocked them to their core.

Zhang Jiaohua, after sending them ashore, continued toward the island.

“Hey! Are you a celestial immortal?!” one of the tourists cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted.

Zhang Jiaohua didn’t respond and instead dashed onto the island. From the shore, the tourists watched as he suddenly vanished.

Once on the island, Zhang Jiaohua wasted no time. He began throwing talismans one after another, causing a continuous series of explosions. Though he couldn’t destroy the protective formation yet, he was quickly depleting the spiritual energy in the secret realm. Since he had begun visualizing the Daoist cultivation diagram, Zhang Jiaohua no longer worried about spiritual energy depletion—he could quickly replenish it through the diagram.

Zhang Jiaohua was calm and unhurried, but inside the secret realm, panic had set in.

“Sect Master! This is bad!” The steward rushed into Hua Zhaoyang’s room, panting.

“Why are you panicking? The sky isn’t falling,” Hua Zhaoyang snapped, displeased.

“It’s not falling yet, but it’s close,” the steward said with a wail.

Hua Zhaoyang’s eyelid twitched. “What happened? That Zhang kid can really break the formation on his own?”

“Even if he can’t, it’s nearly the same result. The problem is that the spirit spring’s energy supply is about to fail,” the steward said miserably.

Hua Zhaoyang could no longer remain calm. “What did you say?”

The steward was nearly in tears. “Originally, the spirit spring could last a long time, but at this rate of depletion, we won’t even last an hour!”