I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times

Vol 2 Chapter 223: Xuanhua Joins, Visitors from the Hundred Immortals

Afraid Zhenren Qian would say too much, Zheng Fa hurriedly sent him away.

He walked alongside Senior Sister Zhang toward the main hall of Heavenly Palace Island. She didn’t say much, but Zheng Fa, for some reason, felt a little guilty and changed the subject: “Zhenren Tongming already replied. They’re willing to pay using Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiend essence. Anything lacking will be made up with spirit stones or materials.”

Senior Sister Zhang glanced at him and kept walking ahead. She didn’t mention Tang Lingwu at all, just nodded and said, “That is convenient.”

Zheng Fa thought so too—it saved them the trouble of acquiring it themselves.

“They’ve got quite a lot of Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiend stocked up,” Zheng Fa couldn’t help sighing.

“As they should,” Senior Sister Zhang nodded. “These days... the Hundred Immortals Alliance has lost quite a few disciples.”

Senior Sister Zhang said it slowly, and at first Zheng Fa didn’t fully grasp her meaning. But then it sank in—and the realization felt a bit grim:

Many disciples had died... which meant some spiritual materials, oddly enough, were now in surplus.

Though the Hundred Immortals Alliance had lost a lot of resources, especially spiritual fields, Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiend essence was typically something cultivators collected early in preparation for Core Formation... Some even stored it for their junior disciples.

When those sects fled, it was hard to take spiritual fields or veins with them.

But this stuff? Easy to carry. So any short-term shortages weren’t immediately visible.

In fact, because many disciples had died... the essence was more plentiful.

How to describe it...?

The person’s gone, but the money’s unspent.

That’s probably why the Hundred Immortals Alliance was even more willing to use these temporarily useless materials to settle accounts—they’d already sold quite a bit of Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiend essence before.

Zheng Fa suddenly felt like he was profiting off their misfortune...

“What about Madam Xuanhua—what do you plan to do with her?”

Senior Sister Zhang suddenly asked.

Zheng Fa went a bit silent.

Madam Xuanhua... was currently quite important to Jiushan Realm.

The eleven newly-developed Golden Core methods needed to be tested—which meant more external pill trials.

Jiushan Sect could do it themselves, but having Madam Xuanhua onboard would make a big difference.

But that was the minor part.

Zheng Fa’s life-bound treasure—now that needed a master artifact forger.

“Since we’ve worked together before, continuing would be best. If not, no need to force it,” Zheng Fa said.

Senior Sister Zhang nodded slowly.

“That matches my thoughts. Madam Xuanhua is capable, and we get along well...”

“More importantly, she’s alone.”

Zheng Fa blinked—not because he didn’t understand her meaning, but because... once again, she was thinking exactly the same way he was!

The Hundred Immortals’ letter, whatever was behind it, he couldn’t see through, but he was sure Jiang Chengkong was involved somehow.

Given that, Jiushan Realm’s plan to remain quietly neutral might not hold—

The tree may wish to stay still, but the wind will not stop.

These past days, Zheng Fa had been thinking about one question:

Who were Jiushan Sect’s enemies, and who were its allies...

Of course, without proper investigation, he lacked sufficient information—he could only guess.

Still, Zheng Fa had reached some conclusions:

The Five Great Sects of the Xuanyi Realm, plus the Demonic Sect, were the ones to be most cautious of—unless it was someone like Yan Wushuang or Elder Han, who’d eat at the table and flip it over afterward. Ř𝔞ΝỐ₿Εs

This wasn’t about good or evil, but practicality—based on what the Tianhe Venerable had said, the new laws and systems Zheng Fa envisioned might not be acceptable to these powerful forces.

Beyond the top five, other sects should still be approached carefully:

Like the Hundred Immortals Alliance, which had someone from Supreme Dao lurking in the background—still, they weren’t as worrisome. For example, in the case of the Tianhe Secret Realm, the Alliance probably didn’t even know about it beforehand.

Most trustworthy were people like Madam Xuanhua—strong, yet not closely tied to any major factions.

Of course, everyone had different personalities. Rogue cultivators could be just as immoral.

But in terms of the new system, they were less risky.

Going further down were the ordinary people of Xuanyi Realm—they hadn’t benefited from the Five Sects, and often lived hard lives, so naturally they wouldn’t be loyal to the Big Five.

The most trustworthy of all? Jiushan disciples and mortals.

Which is why Zheng Fa’s entire strategy had been bottom-up—

Because he didn’t trust the ones at the top!

Madam Xuanhua’s greatest value was her strength—and her lack of ties to big powers.

This line of thinking had only recently become clear to him. He hadn’t shared it with anyone yet.

And now Senior Sister Zhang had... pointed it out directly!

Zheng Fa looked over at her. She glanced back, her eyes full of meaningful depth...

“I think Madam Xuanhua’s been quite happy in Jiushan Realm,” Zheng Fa cleared his throat. “How about we let her take a look at those eleven external pill methods first?”

Senior Sister Zhang smiled, clearly seeing through him—this was the same old trick: lure with knowledge.

And annoyingly, it worked every time.

...

Same old trick, my a**. Didn’t even need to use it!

“Madam, what did you say?”

Zheng Fa held a jade slip in hand, stunned.

“I... would like to serve as an Elder of Jiushan Sect. Sect Master, would you be willing to take me in?”

Madam Xuanhua had thought it over for days and had finally made up her mind. She said it to Zheng Fa without hesitation.

Standing beside them, Xiao Yuying had expected it—this woman had gone back and forth about it for days, driving her crazy... Today, she’d finally made up her mind.

“Uh...”

Zheng Fa glanced at the jade slip in his hand—it contained the newly compiled eleven external pill methods.

He’d prepared it specifically to tempt Madam Xuanhua.

But...

I didn’t even get to seduce you yet and you’re already taking off your clothes... huh?

He looked at Madam Xuanhua, and saw that her face was calm, as if she had long resolved this—her calmness carried a kind of resolute finality.

And that, ironically, made Zheng Fa hesitate.

“Madam... may I ask why?”

“To be honest, Sect Master—I’m envious of the Golden Core Project,”

Madam Xuanhua replied frankly. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novel★fire.net

“I wouldn’t keep the Golden Core Project from you.”

“And the principles behind it?”

Madam Xuanhua smiled faintly.

“...”

Zheng Fa stayed silent for a moment. Honestly, he hadn’t intended to hide anything.

But this stuff wasn’t something Madam Xuanhua could just learn in a few days.

It involved knowledge from mathematics, to physics, and finally engineering...

One could say the brain behind the Golden Core Project was still very much in the modern world.

But he understood what Madam Xuanhua meant—she was worried Zheng Fa might hold something back from her.

That was honestly overestimating her brain and underestimating Zheng Fa’s generosity...

Still, Zheng Fa wasn’t angry. Madam Xuanhua was simply projecting the usual logic of the Xuanyi Realm onto him.

After some thought, he said:

“If you are now one of Jiushan Sect, then Madam, do you understand our rules?”

“I do...”

Madam Xuanhua couldn’t help but show a slight pained expression.

Zheng Fa knew why she was pained:

Because with the upcoming opening of Jiushan Sect and the development of the Economic Development Zone Island, he and Senior Sister Zhang had just finished working out the taxation and leasing regulations.

The rules were divided into two main areas:

One was consumption tax for the Economic Zone Island, similar to the old Jiushan Sect market policies.

The other had also existed before, which was the taxation on trades between Jiushan disciples and the outside world—including trades made outside the economic zone.

In short, any production incurred a tax.

Each product had a specified tax rate, based on internal Jiushan policy.

Put simply: value-added tax.

There were many reasons for this, the biggest one coming from Martial Uncle Pang: spiritual energy consumption.

Whether it was talisman crafting or artifact forging, it all consumed the spiritual energy of the Jiushan Realm.

For Jiushan disciples, this wasn’t too different from past rules—they had benefited from sect training anyway.

From the knowledge at University Island to the very land they stood on, all of it was priceless in the Xuanyi Realm.

This was essential for the normal operation of Jiushan Sect—truthfully, the sect was investing more and more in its disciples now, but receiving relatively little in return.

But for Madam Xuanhua... this felt like someone was prying meat from between her teeth. She’d done business for years without anyone ever taxing her.

Seeing her like this, Zheng Fa smiled slightly, and only then handed her the jade slip.

Madam Xuanhua accepted it and immersed her divine sense into it...

Slowly, a smile began to bloom on her face. When she opened her eyes again, the pain had vanished. Her eyes were shining, and she sighed:

“Only after seeing this did I realize—joining Jiushan Sect wasn’t a loss.”

Zheng Fa understood what she meant:

Those eleven simplified Golden Core methods were certainly valuable.

But what Madam Xuanhua truly valued was the ability to systematically optimize Golden Core methods in bulk!

The fundamental theory of the Golden Core Project!

That was the real reason she had voluntarily joined.

But Zheng Fa just smiled and said, “This was something we had agreed upon before... Even if you hadn’t joined Jiushan Sect, I would’ve shown it to you.”

Madam Xuanhua froze, then her face showed a hint of regret.

She looked like she felt she’d taken a loss after all.

“There’s just one thing—if you hadn’t joined Jiushan, I would never have let you see it.”

“What is it?”

Madam Xuanhua blinked and asked.

But Zheng Fa didn’t answer her directly. Instead, he turned to Xiao Yuying and said candidly, “This is a top secret of Jiushan Sect, so... I’m afraid Fairy Xiao, you can’t be privy to it.”

Xiao Yuying: “...”

She silently took two steps back. Then saw Zheng Fa give her an apologetic smile, and lead Madam Xuanhua off toward University Island.

Watching their figures disappear into the distance, Xiao Yuying narrowed her eyes, feeling deeply displeased inside...

I was here first!

...

What Zheng Fa was keeping from Xiao Yuying really was top secret—he was planning to test out electron microscopy and even particle collider–style equipment in the Jiushan Realm.

Naturally, this hadn’t been possible before.

But ever since Senior Sister Zhang and Xiao Yuying had discovered that shielding talisman pattern in the Message Talisman, it had become possible.

Zheng Fa’s idea was to use its principles, combining thunder techniques and artifact crafting, to create Jiushan-style experimental instruments.

It wasn’t that he was trying to reinvent the wheel—but to study spiritual materials, you first had to have the materials.

In the modern world, the only thing he could examine was the particles produced by his own Golden Core—he had nothing to compare them to.

So analyzing spiritual materials within the Jiushan Realm had become absolutely necessary.

Frankly, even in the modern world, this stuff was considered high-tech—it wasn’t like the Golden Core, which was a known concept in the Xuanyi Realm.

Zheng Fa valued this far more than anything else...

When classifying all branches of knowledge in Jiushan Sect, there were certain things he and the sect would never reveal—

For example, the secrets of the stone from the Tianhe Secret Realm.

Or the new laboratory, and the theories behind various experimental instruments.

These were classified at the highest level—even within Jiushan Sect, anyone below Nascent Soul would likely never be allowed to access them.

Honestly, he trusted Xiao Yuying—but... she had a Soul Formation–level master, and she wasn’t a Jiushan Sect member.

He handed several jade slips to Madam Xuanhua.

Inside were the theoretical foundations and design blueprints for various experimental devices.

“Madam, what do you think?”

“I can mostly understand the structure... but I don’t really get why you need these things,” Madam Xuanhua replied.

It was clear she was genuinely confused.

After all, these instruments and designs were mostly intended for observation, measurement, and experimentation.

Totally unlike artifact designs in the Xuanyi Realm.

Most magic tools in the realm were combat-oriented. Some could observe, but even those had to be useful in combat—like telescopes.

But the designs Zheng Fa gave her had zero combat use, yet were highly specialized for measuring and observing.

That was where Madam Xuanhua’s confusion came from.

“Madam...” Zheng Fa thought for a moment, then said, “Observation, hypothesis, verification. This is the foundational principle behind all immortal arts in the Jiushan Realm.”

“...” Madam Xuanhua looked dazed. She was, after all, new here.

Seeing her confusion, Zheng Fa rephrased:

“Madam, you are a master artifact forger. So tell me...”

“What are spiritual materials made of?”

“Why do magical treasures have to be forged from spiritual materials?”

“What’s the difference between a spirit treasure and a magic tool?”

“And a life-bound treasure—how is that different from an ordinary artifact?”

Madam Xuanhua stared blankly at Zheng Fa, visibly on the verge of mental collapse—

If I knew all that... do you think I’d be standing here right now?!

“Can I change your title to Fairy Venerable Xuanhua?”

“This,”

Zheng Fa pointed at the jade slip in her hand and smiled,

“is the tool I use to explore those questions.”

Madam Xuanhua’s expression shifted—she was beginning to understand: “Observation...”

Zheng Fa nodded with a smile.

Madam Xuanhua fell silent, as if wanting to believe, yet also hesitant.

Seeing her say nothing, Zheng Fa pulled out another jade slip.

“And also, this contains a few of my ideas... for your reference.”

“Ideas?”

Madam Xuanhua blinked. She noticed that Zheng Fa didn’t seem to think it was all that important—like this slip didn’t matter much.

But once she took it and looked inside, her heart trembled. What was in it felt far more tangible than the previous experimental devices.

“Trains for mortals and low-level disciples?”

“A city that never sleeps?”

“Devices to examine disciples’ health?”

“...”

Madam Xuanhua read as she spoke, her voice growing quieter and quieter.

“This is...”

“Just some of my silly thoughts,” Zheng Fa said with a smile. “Just for you to see. If they’re viable someday, we can give them a try.”

Now that the shielding talisman had been discovered, it wasn’t just experimental instruments—Zheng Fa wanted to try building modern creations in Jiushan Realm too. Like street lamps in Half-Mountain City, or even maglev trains for mortals.

Of course, not everything would be suitable for Jiushan Realm—

The shielding talisman had limits in both range and effectiveness, and it still required spiritual power. It wasn’t cost-free, and thus not without constraints.

That’s why Zheng Fa said these were just his wild ideas.

Madam Xuanhua slowly nodded. Then Zheng Fa said:

“Madam, I’ve always believed... the purpose of artifact forging shouldn’t be to kill, but to help people live better lives.”

“...” Madam Xuanhua stayed quiet for a while, then gently nodded.

...

Because all of this was top secret, not even the jade slips could be taken out of the lab. Madam Xuanhua remained there for more than half a month, reading and rereading the slips until her head spun before finally returning to her courtyard.

There, Xiao Yuying was already waiting.

“Well?”

Seeing her clutching her head like it might explode, Xiao Yuying asked curiously.

“Exhausted! I’ve never been this tired in my life!”

Those jade slips—trying to realize them with thunder techniques and artifact crafting—were no easy task.

And in Jiushan Sect, the only one skilled enough to pull it off was Madam Xuanhua... naturally, the capable had to work harder.

“And?”

“I never knew... Zheng Fa had so many bizarre ideas.”

“Hm?” Xiao Yuying raised an eyebrow, not quite understanding.

“I should’ve made up my mind sooner!” Madam Xuanhua suddenly laughed. “...Let me tell you, that Zheng Fa...”

She seemed to want to say more but quickly covered her mouth,

smiling sheepishly.

Xiao Yuying rolled her eyes.

Madam Xuanhua sighed and said, “If I’d known it would be like this, what was I even struggling with? Should’ve just joined Jiushan Sect earlier!”

“...”

Xiao Yuying stood up.

“I’m telling you, now I finally get what they mean by ‘to take, one must first give’... This time, I didn’t lose out!”

“Ugh, you leaving?”

Xiao Yuying’s face was stiff. She didn’t want to respond to anything.

“I’m just saying, you used to talk just like this.”

Xiao Yuying’s eyes widened—she pointed at herself.

Madam Xuanhua gave a small nod.

...

“You look like it hurts just to part with a spirit stone—do you even have the bearing of a Soul Formation cultivator? Do you understand what it means to give before taking?”

In the skies, dozens of flying vessels were heading toward Jiushan Sect.

At the center was a grand building-ship, and atop it, Zhenren Chengkong was cradling a pot of spiritual bamboo as he scolded Zhenren Tongming:

“Whatever Jiushan Sect wants—just give it to them!”

“If Jiushan Sect returns to the Hundred Immortals Alliance one day, won’t it just be like passing from the left hand to the right? Why be stingy?”

Zhenren Tongming mumbled without reply.

But in his heart, he muttered—Left hand to right? The entire Hundred Immortals Alliance is about to be handed over to them!

“I know you’re not convinced...” Zhenren Chengkong shot him a glance and snorted, “With Zheng Fa’s talent, do you really think he’ll care about the Hundred Immortals Alliance in the future?”

“...”

Zhenren Tongming’s eyes slowly widened.

“When all this is over, I’ll bring him back to Supreme Dao. With Supreme Dao’s foundation, you think he’ll still care about some puny alliance? The Hundred Immortals Alliance will just be yours to run—just a name!”

Zhenren Tongming nodded repeatedly. He looked at the bamboo in Chengkong’s hands and asked curiously: “Envoy, what kind of spiritual bamboo is that, for you to value it so much?”

Zhenren Chengkong thought for a moment, then said, “No harm telling you—it’s called Tranquility Bamboo, a secret treasure of our Supreme Dao... particularly effective against the Great Freedom Demonic Sect.”

Zhenren Tongming’s expression changed in alarm: “What if the bamboo fails?”

“Then forget the alliance—start thinking about how you’re going to survive.”

“...”

Zhenren Tongming stared at the bamboo.

The yellow splotches on its leaves...

were growing more and more eye-piercing.