I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times

Vol 2 Chapter 230: Guaranteed Profits, Reproductive Isolation

Lightning surged across the sky, and on the ground sat a metal sphere.

Inside the sphere, Madam Xuanhua crouched with a bracelet on her wrist, looking up as she waited for the thunderbolt to strike—she still didn’t fully trust the cage’s mysterious properties. In the Xuanyi Realm, even what you see might be false, but lightning striking your body? That’s always real enough.

So she had to test it herself.

One incense stick later, Madam Xuanhua stepped out of the cage, looking dazed, like a large macaque from the zoo that had suddenly begun to understand humans...

After coming back to her senses, she excitedly turned to Zheng Fa and said, “This bracelet is just a cheap magic tool, and that metal mesh isn’t even a magic tool at all. But when combined, they can actually block thunder techniques at Golden Core or even Nascent Soul level…”

“I’ve seen my fair share of magic tools, but never anything so cost-effective!”

These two items, while extremely effective against thunder techniques, weren’t without their flaws—as Madam Xuanhua had said, they weren’t perfect:

First, the bracelet was only a magic tool, and its spiritual shielding naturally had limits. Thunder techniques above the Golden Core stage could bypass its defense.

Second, the Faraday cage itself had limitations: For example, it could only block electromagnetic waves with wavelengths larger than the mesh gaps.

And the metal’s conductivity also determined how strong of a thunderbolt it could resist—in simple terms, whether the metal had enough free electrons to generate a counter electric field. That’s also why a grounded Faraday cage worked best, since it could draw on free electrons from the earth.

But grounding naturally limited its mobility.

Still, as Madam Xuanhua said—this few spirit stones, and you expect a miracle?

After listening to Zheng Fa’s explanation, Madam Xuanhua nodded, looking somewhat appeased. Not only was she not disappointed, she even said:

“Even if it can’t move, it still has great uses… for example, crossing a lightning tribulation!”

Her eyes sparkled as she immediately came up with a use for it.

Zheng Fa had thought of this too—after all, not everyone was a weirdo like Yan Wushuang. Getting struck by lightning wasn’t exactly a mainstream hobby.

From Golden Core to Nascent Soul, one had to undergo a lightning tribulation, and during it, no one dared move around recklessly.

This thing was perfect.

Even Senior Sister Zhang nodded from the side, smiling as she said, “Just this one feature alone makes it immeasurably valuable. It will be a great help to our Jiushan Sect in the future.”

“That’s not all. If we make it into protective clothing…” Madam Xuanhua was, after all, an artifact crafting expert. Her mind now branching out, ideas flooding in: “Standing on the ground, paired with your Sun and Moon Bell, it would be…” ṙ𝙖Νȯ𝐛ĚⱾ

“Unfair to the heavens!”

Zheng Fa thought for a moment—yeah, it kind of was bullying.

Even Xiao Yuying sighed from the side, “I feel like this thing is bullying thunder cultivators like me…”

Zheng Fa glanced at her silently. Seriously? You’re a Nascent Soul cultivator—you even understand the underlying principle.

What’s there to feel bullied about?

But judging by Xiao Yuying’s expression, he got it—

She was being bullied by science.

Fair enough. No matter how much of a genius she was, mastering thunder techniques all the way to Golden Core level wasn’t easy.

And now, a simple mesh basically rendered all that effort worthless…

Even the most talented person would mentally collapse a bit, okay?

...

After talking about the Faraday cage for a bit, Zheng Fa looked at the group of disciples he’d gathered and suddenly remembered something.

“You all participated in the ‘Golden Core Project.’ I have a core design here—see if there’s any way to make it a reality.”

Zheng Fa took out a jade slip from his storage pouch and passed it over to them.

Just as he finished speaking, he heard soft footsteps and the gentle breeze they brought. Then something soft bumped into his arm, with a sweet scent wafting to his nose.

Turning his head, Madam Xuanhua was reaching out curiously, clearly wanting to take the jade slip from his hand.

He flicked his arm slightly, avoiding her grasp.

Madam Xuanhua’s eyes widened. She stared at Zheng Fa, full of confusion and suspicion—maybe even a little anger:

I’m part of the ‘Golden Core Project’ too!

I contributed to your Jiushan Sect!

I even invested my own spirit stones to help you refine external pills!

I even sold myself to you, Zheng Fa!

And now you won’t even let me look at a jade slip?

So in the end, you still see me as an outsider?

Seeing her expression, Zheng Fa couldn’t help but laugh. He explained, “This is a mortal thing. I thought you wouldn’t be interested, Madam Xuanhua.”

“A mortal thing?” Madam Xuanhua was stunned. “How could a Golden Core be a mortal thing?”

Zheng Fa thought for a moment, then handed the jade slip to her.

He hadn’t lied—what the jade slip contained was Zheng Fa’s concept of… a nuclear reactor.

Or rather, a simplified Golden Core.

Through the ‘Golden Core Project,’ Zheng Fa now understood that the reactions inside a core were essentially threefold—fusion, fission, and finally, the fusion of new particles with spiritual energy.

But if the goal was just a reactor, the final step wasn’t even necessary—possibly even counterproductive, since he suspected that fusion of new particles with spiritual energy actually consumed energy.

The Golden Core design in the jade slip eliminated that final step, aiming to create a core with only fusion and fission—essentially a nuclear reactor.

As Zheng Fa had said to Madam Xuanhua—this kind of design was of little use to cultivators. Golden Core cultivators already had powerful spells and more flexibility.

But for mortals, this was a leap in civilization.

Especially for mortals in the Jiushan Realm—it was like jumping from the hunter-gatherer era straight into the nuclear age…

After reading the jade slip with her divine sense, Madam Xuanhua looked up, her expression strange as she stared at Zheng Fa:

“That town you designed at the end… no, that city—what’s that about?”

Zheng Fa hadn’t expected that what caught her attention most was the part of the jade slip that discussed how to apply the core…

“I plan to implement this kind of Golden Core on Letu Island first…”

Currently, Letu Island was like a special zone in the Jiushan Realm—er, a test field. Of course, part of the reason was the separation of mortals and cultivators in Jiushan Sect, but more importantly, testing ideas on Letu Island made it easier to gather residents’ feedback and gain experience for future rollout across the mortal world of Jiushan Realm.

In the jade slip, Zheng Fa had outlined a modern city.

Well—calling it a “city” was a bit much. It was more like a well-lit town.

The energy source for the lighting would be that Golden Core.

On Letu Island, the actual utility of this setup wasn’t that high.

But again, Letu Island was meant to serve as a model for the mortal world of Jiushan Realm.

The mortal regions of the Jiushan Realm were vast, but the population was very spread out. Commercial exchange was poor, and education even worse.

If cities could be built, there’d be better commerce, fairer education, more interaction and division of labor.

The benefits to civilization didn’t need further explanation.

Zheng Fa’s understanding of core energy was still primitive. In the jade slip, he only talked about lighting.

But even just lighting was a big deal—

City residents could better manage their time.

In agriculture, controlling light could increase crop yields to some extent.

And as for future Jiushan industry—lighting would be even more important.

The cultivation world wasn’t incapable of achieving this—they just didn’t bother.

Across several epochs of the Xuanyi Realm, maybe the cultivation world evolved, but mortals remained stuck in an agricultural society.

What Zheng Fa wanted… was to modernize the Jiushan Realm!

Madam Xuanhua wasn’t stupid. While she couldn’t fully grasp Zheng Fa’s ideas, she could vaguely sense the earth-shaking transformation within them.

She looked at Zheng Fa, her expression complex.

Nearby, Senior Sister Zhang and Xiao Yuying looked curiously at the two of them. They took the jade slip from Madam Xuanhua, read through it, and then looked at Zheng Fa again—the surprise on their faces couldn’t be hidden—

Maybe Zheng Fa only drew a blueprint in the jade slip.

But they could see the power to reshape the world in it!

Facing their gaze, Zheng Fa smiled and said, “I told you before, Madam Xuanhua—artifact crafting can lead to many more possibilities.”

“It’s just… this really is for mortals. If Madam Xuanhua isn’t interested…”

“...Who says I’m not interested?” Madam Xuanhua interrupted him, her eyes shining as she snatched the jade slip from Xiao Yuying and said rapid-fire, “I’ve got a heart to save the world too!”

Zheng Fa: …Seriously? I don’t buy it! You sure didn’t act like it when I said it was a mortal thing!

He thought about it and still tried to talk her down: “Madam, your main task right now… is to build experimental instruments.”

This simplified core was still ultimately for developing Jiushan Realm, and through the Sun and Moon Bell, generating more spiritual materials.

But he hadn’t forgotten… his main goal was crafting his life-bound treasure!

To do that, he needed experimental instruments—that’s why he hadn’t intended for Madam Xuanhua to take on the simplified core project.

“It won’t delay anything!” Madam Xuanhua patted her generous chest and said something that actually moved Zheng Fa: “I’ll just spend more time on it!”

You’re not just bringing your own food to work—you’re volunteering to do overtime too?

…

Madam Xuanhua walked back toward her courtyard with Xiao Yuying, jade slip in hand.

Her divine sense was still immersed in the jade slip, as if she were racing against time to comprehend its contents. She truly was racing against time, just like she said.

Xiao Yuying kept glancing at Madam Xuanhua, clearly wanting to ask something.

“What are you staring at me for?”

“I’m looking at you like you’ve gone crazy…” Xiao Yuying said bluntly. “You’ve practically sold yourself after coming to Jiushan Realm!”

She knew this woman too well—never the type to sacrifice or give selflessly!

Xiao Yuying was starting to feel like she didn’t even know her anymore.

“You’re the crazy one!”

“So… you’ve fallen for Zheng Fa?”

Xiao Yuying’s eyes flickered as she looked at Madam Xuanhua in surprise.

“…Men? Do men feel better than spirit stones?”

“？”

Madam Xuanhua curled her lip and gave her a sideways glance, then said, “You don’t get it. Forget the external pills from the ‘Golden Core Project,’ that cage and this simplified Golden Core… they’re all groundbreaking inventions!”

“What does groundbreaking mean? It means if I master this, I’ll be a founding ancestor… or at least one of them!”

Xiao Yuying was stunned at first, then seemed to understand and said,

“That’s true. If you can forge this simplified Golden Core… you might actually make it into the history books of this era.”

As she said this, her gaze toward Madam Xuanhua carried a touch of awe: “Who would’ve thought you had this kind of ambition…”

“Well, even Nascent Soul cultivators—no, even those former Soul Formation powerhouses—have perished inside various secret realms and hidden grottos, completely unknown to the world… If you can create these unique magic tools, future generations might never forget you.”

Madam Xuanhua fell into thought upon hearing that. Then she furrowed her brows and asked, “Why should I care if future generations remember me?”

“……”

“These innovations are a monopoly! Don’t you know how much spirit stones you can make from exclusive business?!”

“Right now I’m earning less than before on each external pill… but I’ve heard a bunch of cultivators have already placed orders with Zheng Fa! That proves how well it sells! I’ll probably make even more in the future!”

“Think about it—that cage, a defensive treasure… and this simplified Golden Core—if both succeed, I…” A wave of joy spread across Madam Xuanhua’s face, “I’ll become the richest artifact master in the realm!”

Xiao Yuying: Yep, no possession going on here.

“I’m telling you, this time I sold myself, and it’s a guaranteed win!”

The way Madam Xuanhua said it, she looked like she wanted to plant her hands on her hips and lift her chin—proud to be the ultimate working woman.

…

The ultimate working woman really was strong…

“What… are these?”

Zheng Fa looked at the experimental data in his hand, a bit bewildered.

“It’s the electron microscope results you asked for—we checked the new particles generated inside the Divine Thunder External Pill.”

“You actually did it?”

Zheng Fa asked in surprise.

Honestly, he hadn’t expected it to be done this fast.

“We couldn’t get the sample you mentioned for transmission electron microscopy,” Madam Xuanhua frowned, still sounding dissatisfied.

“But for the scanning electron microscope, we figured out a way.”

Zheng Fa nodded slightly. Transmission EM needed ultra-thin samples, at the nanometer level… Jiushan Realm didn’t have that level of precision yet.

But still—

Scanning electron microscopy wasn’t exactly easy either!

“Based on what you said, scanning EM has three main components:”

“An electron emission system, a vacuum tube, and a detection system.”

“The first two are easy—we can use thunder techniques and spells to simulate them.”

As she spoke, Madam Xuanhua pointed, and Zheng Fa saw a weird contraption on the table—

It looked like a glass tube, with a boxy transparent container attached at the back. Kind of like an ugly water kettle.

Both the box and the tube were covered in various diagrams, including two shielding talisman patterns and several others—probably to create the vacuum.

“What about the detector?”

Zheng Fa had initially been most worried about this part—modern detectors required highly sensitive sensors, and even computers to interpret the data.

Madam Xuanhua raised her finger again and pointed at Xiao Yuying beside her.

Zheng Fa: …

Primordial Magnetic Dao Body… terrifying!

Xiao Yuying, however, pointed at the data and said, “These readings—I can sense them, but I don’t understand them.”

Zheng Fa nodded. He understood what she meant—her Dao Body could detect extremely subtle changes, but asking her to explain them would be too much.

The data was basically Xiao Yuying’s sensory notes:

For example, how strong the thunder energy was in a given spot, roughly equivalent to which thunder technique…

In other words, after electrons collided with the sample, how strong the electromagnetic waves were in the surrounding space.

As for what that meant—

Xiao Yuying didn’t know.

Zheng Fa didn’t know either.

But… someone modern would know!

…

“Dean Zheng, I’ve already asked someone to process the experimental data you provided, but…” Team Leader Yang looked at Zheng Fa with a strange expression, “The person wants to know how you got such detailed and yet primitive experimental data…”

Zheng Fa looked up at the sky.

Primordial Magnetic Dao Body—I don’t get it either!

“What’d they say?”

Old Bai asked from the side.

“They said… they’ve never seen someone who could afford an electron microscope but not a computer…”

“……”

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Team Leader Yang didn’t push the issue. Seeing Zheng Fa unwilling to explain more, he changed the subject: “Dean Zheng, Jiushan Martial Hall has finished summarizing the first general martial arts curriculum. Would you have time to take a look?”

Zheng Fa nodded. “Have the Martial Hall apprentices come to the nursing home.”

“Alright!” Team Leader Yang agreed cheerfully and walked out, seemingly to make arrangements.

…

At this moment, Old Bai finally spoke: “We could run this analysis in the nursing home too, right?”

Zheng Fa understood what he meant—analyzing products from the Shenxiao Golden Core was perfectly doable in the modern world.

After all, Zheng Fa had a Shenxiao Golden Core, and the modern world had proper electron microscopes.

The reason he gave Xiao Yuying’s test results to Team Leader Yang was to compare the Divine Thunder External Pill with his own internal core—see if they were the same.

After all, one was refined in a furnace, and the other was self-cultivated. Plus, he had a Fusang Tree inside him…

It was hard to say whether the two were identical. In science, assumptions just didn’t cut it.

“By the way, your Golden Core… can it really create matter out of nothing?”

Tang Mu Dao stared at Zheng Fa, seemingly still in disbelief.

Zheng Fa smiled. With a flick of his divine sense, the core flew from his dantian to hover above the nursing home.

It lit up the whole area.

As Zheng Fa’s will moved, a lump flew out of the core—a chunk that looked like metal, yet not metal, like stone, yet not stone.

“What is that…”

“A product of the Golden Core.”

Since he hadn’t started forging his life-bound treasure yet, the particles produced by his core were randomly merged into a lump—meant to be taken to the modern world for testing.

Most people wouldn’t be willing to do this—a standard core had limited spiritual energy and had to carefully calculate every particle to forge a life-bound treasure.

But Zheng Fa… was a spiritual energy tycoon!

So this wasn’t a big deal for him.

Old Bai looked at the lump and clicked his tongue, sighing, “Give it some time, and you’ll be birthing a Monkey King…”

“I’m not birthing a Monkey King, but… I really do want to grow a Fusang Tree.”

Zheng Fa answered casually.

“Huh?”

Everyone stared blankly at Zheng Fa, not sure what he meant.

“I want to see if it’s possible to grow a Fusang Tree.”

“That thing… it’s mythical, right? How do you plant it?”

Old Bai asked dumbly.

Since the topic was out, Zheng Fa began to explain: “Remember when I cultivated the Qingyang Dao Body, and I gained a new organelle in my cells?”

“I remember.”

Old Bai and the others all nodded.

They’d all tested their own cells back then and remembered Zheng Fa’s anomaly clearly.

“Later on, didn’t we examine the cells of that pea sprout too?”

“Mm…”

Old Bai’s expression slowly changed.

He seemed to understand what Zheng Fa was getting at.

“The structure in my cells… isn’t it similar to what we found in the pea sprout’s cells?”

Old Bai raised a hand and covered his forehead, stopping Zheng Fa from continuing: “Wait a minute.”

“I get what you’re saying… you want to fuse your own cells with other plant cells—specifically mulberry cells—and see if you can create a Fusang Tree?”

Zheng Fa smiled. “Professor Bai, your understanding is really fast!”

Old Bai was silent for a long moment, then turned to his wife, Teacher Tian: “I wasn’t good at biology. People and trees… they have reproductive isolation, right?”

“……”

Teacher Tian nodded silently.

“So people can’t… or at least shouldn’t… try to reproduce with trees, right?”

Old Bai’s tone grew increasingly weird.

“Mm…”

Everyone looked at Zheng Fa like he was a madman.

Zheng Fa: “I’m doing this for science…”

Old Bai rolled his eyes. “So you form a Golden Core and suddenly think it’s fine to stop being human?”

…

After the joke, Teacher Tian nodded thoughtfully and said, “You want to use protoplast fusion technology?”

“Yes… or rather, I want to transplant that spiritual-energy organelle in my cells into a plant and see what happens.”

This idea came to Zheng Fa precisely because of that structure in the pea sprout.

And because he’d recently been reading about protoplast fusion—otherwise he wouldn’t be acting so insane…

If spiritual roots of Heaven and Earth could be considered spiritual plants, then their cells should have similar structures.

Could that structure be the same as the one in his Qingyang Dao Body?

That was the reason Zheng Fa wanted to stop being human.

“This is very difficult… animal and plant cells are very different. To succeed, you’d probably have to extract that organelle from your cells and transplant it alone. I don’t even know how to do that yet—we’ll have to ask others.”

Zheng Fa nodded too. This idea… did sound insane.

On the other hand, he didn’t know enough about spiritual roots yet—not even whether they counted as spiritual plants…

Which is why he kept wanting to get two leaves from Zhenren Chengkong to study.

“This method is naturally a last resort. The usual method would still be planting more mulberry trees around Hongshan,” Zheng Fa said. “If we can cultivate one naturally, that would be even better.”

After all, the spiritual energy in Hongshan carried the talisman patterns produced by the Fusang Tree inside his body… who’s to say, maybe just like that pea sprout, something might mutate on its own.

Trying to create a Fusang Tree would be an earth-shattering feat in the Xuanyi Realm.

Whatever methods existed—he’d try them all…

…

Zheng Fa took the block produced by his Shenxiao Golden Core and went into the lab with Tang Mu Dao.

Outside, Old Bai suddenly glanced at Tang Lingwu with a look full of sympathy.

Tang Lingwu: ?

“I’ve read those cultivation novels… The male protagonist not only gets favored by immortal fairies, but also gets tempted by demonesses,” Old Bai said slowly. “Some even get into fights between female monsters over them.”

Tang Lingwu’s lips gradually pressed into a tight line.

“Humans and animals, sure. But now Zheng Fa’s trying to have a child with a tree. The competition you’re facing is just… too broad!”

“……”

Tang Lingwu scrunched up her little face, on the verge of tears.

Old Bai patted her shoulder and sighed deeply, full of sympathy.