I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times

Vol 2 Chapter 254: Experiment Success, Unparalleled Inner Eye

Ancestor of the Blood River floated inside the agronomy lab on University Island, looking around at everyone present.

Zheng Fa, Zhang Wuyi, and Zhenren Pang—these three were the pillars of Jiushan Sect's laboratory. Nearly every experiment had their involvement, and all three showed faint expressions of anticipation.

Zhenren Qian, along with two disciples, wore faces full of excitement. Cultivating spiritual roots was one thing.

Cultivating Heaven and Earth Spiritual Roots was a whole different story.

If the former meant catching up to the sects skilled in spiritual agriculture, then the latter—if successful—would mean trampling over Taishang Dao, kicking aside Tianhe Sect, making Leiyin Temple weep with envy, and leaving Haori Mountain green with jealousy.

Zhenren Qian looked like he was dreaming—and for good reason. Just a few years ago, when Qianhe Sect was destroyed, he had been a miserable, downtrodden figure, like a stray dog.

Ancestor of the Blood River understood the look on his face all too well: I can't believe I'm part of this.

Because, honestly, Ancestor of the Blood River felt the same.

Imagine—a Soul Formation cultivator from the Demonic Sect helping cultivate Tranquility Bamboo, a treasure revered by the Buddhist sects? It felt just a little... inappropriate, didn’t it?

Especially since Tranquility Bamboo was basically created to counter the Demonic Sect.

The more he thought about it, the more uneasy Ancestor of the Blood River became—he hadn’t betrayed a single member of the Demonic Sect, hadn’t revealed a single secret, and still held 100% loyalty and, uh, 10000% fear toward the Holy Ancestor...

So why did it feel... like there was no going back?

Yet, refusing to cooperate wouldn’t help much—according to Zhenren Qian, the knowledge of how to create those hormones wasn’t really a secret for Zheng Fa’s group. Without his help, it would just be slightly more troublesome.

Ancestor of the Blood River followed everyone's gaze, looking at the Tranquility Bamboo cells under the microscope formation.

The cells had incredible vitality—or rather, the Tranquility Bamboo itself had astounding vitality. Even without roots, it hadn't withered a bit after all these days;

it simply couldn’t grow or repair itself.

Zheng Fa spoke: "Although Heaven and Earth Spiritual Roots differ from ordinary spiritual roots—and even more so from normal plants—since they exist in a cellular form, there's a good chance they share similar properties."

Even Senior Sister Zhang didn’t fully grasp what he meant.

But Zheng Fa had always felt it—modern knowledge and the Xuanyi Realm often mirrored each other.

The missing piece was usually just one variable: spiritual energy.

Thus, applying modern ideas often yielded good results.

Suppressing his thoughts, he nodded lightly to Zhenren Qian.

Zhenren Qian took out a pill, crushed it with spiritual power, and placed it into the petri dish containing the Tranquility Bamboo cells—adding nutrients. ŗ𝘈ɴ𝐨ᛒƐṣ

Ancestor of the Blood River, setting aside his chaotic thoughts, skillfully cast a spell, adding some hormones to the dish.

Zheng Fa stared intently at the Tranquility Bamboo cells.

Even with his usual composure, he couldn't help feeling a bit nervous. The Tranquility Bamboo was vital to Jiushan Realm's safety:

According to Zhenren Chengkong, a single Heaven and Earth Spiritual Root in the Cave-Heaven World could bring about growth and prosperity.

At first, Zheng Fa naturally thought of the Fusang Tree inside his own cells.

But now, having the Tranquility Bamboo was like having an extra layer of insurance—and frankly, it was much easier:

Cultivating a Fusang Tree would require first creating Fusang Tree cells from the spiritual energy structures in Zheng Fa’s own cells, and only then growing the plant.

Here, they already had the Tranquility Bamboo cells—skipping the hardest first step.

If even this failed... growing the Fusang Tree would be even more impossible.

On the other hand, if the Fusang Tree couldn’t be cultivated—having the Tranquility Bamboo was already a victory!

He stared at the petri dish, where the Tranquility Bamboo cells were slowly, slowly starting to change.

First, the shape and internal structure of the cells showed small changes.

"Dedifferentiation!"

Zhenren Qian whispered, as if afraid his voice might disturb the changing cells.

Then, the spiritual energy nucleus inside the cells began to change too—the nucleus seemed to swell slightly, and the spiritual energy patterns inside became more complex and harder to see clearly.

"Cell division..."

Zheng Fa murmured.

The changes were minute—only visible through the microscope formation—but in the Xuanyi Realm, this was a monumental breakthrough!

But... after just three breaths, everyone’s smile froze.

"Dead?"

Zhenren Qian said blankly.

"Dead,"

Zhenren Pang said dejectedly.

Ancestor of the Blood River had a complicated expression—everyone knew that if this experiment succeeded, Jiushan Sect would achieve a miracle unseen in tens of thousands of years.

And being part of it... yes, he couldn't deny he felt a flicker of expectation.

Now that it had failed, though, he felt a wave of relief:

The result was perfect!

He hadn’t sabotaged anything—he had worked diligently.

Zheng Fa couldn't blame him.

And since it didn’t succeed, the Holy Ancestor couldn’t blame him either.

He was probably the biggest winner in this whole lab!

Even Zheng Fa was speechless—for the earlier changes in the Tranquility Bamboo cells had been so successful, so promising.

The dead cells, losing their vitality and leaking spiritual energy, left him feeling a little disheartened.

A hand touched his shoulder—Zheng Fa turned to see Senior Sister Zhang looking at him with a comforting gaze, saying nothing.

He exhaled lightly, and as he looked at her, he suddenly thought of Tang Lingwu...

Er, mainly he thought of the three reasons Tang Lingwu had previously suggested:

First, the theory might be wrong—but that seemed unlikely now. The Tranquility Bamboo cells had clearly undergone expected changes.

Second, the species might be wrong—again unlikely, since these were original Tranquility Bamboo cells, not something pieced together.

Third... environmental factors!

Environment, nutrients, hormones—and most importantly... spiritual energy!

Spiritual plants required spiritual energy.

Heaven and Earth Spiritual Roots would naturally require even more!

Zheng Fa turned to Senior Sister Zhang and said, "Senior Sister, could it be that the spiritual energy isn't enough?"

She immediately understood. The Mountain and River Seal flew out, and the lab’s spiritual energy density skyrocketed by a hundred times.

The Mountain and River Seal contained the spiritual veins of Jiushan.

Because Jiushan Realm already had abundant spiritual energy, those veins had been kept as a strategic reserve—now gathered into a small petri dish, the change was immediate.

The dish seemed to be filled with liquefied spiritual energy.

Martial Uncle Pang swapped in new Tranquility Bamboo cells, and Zhenren Qian and Ancestor of the Blood River tried again.

This time...

"It worked!"

Zhenren Qian raised his arms and shouted.

Martial Uncle Pang pounded his back, laughing heartily, almost killing the poor Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Senior Sister Zhang smiled as she gently stroked the Mountain and River Seal.

Zheng Fa stared at the petri dish where the Tranquility Bamboo cells were tenaciously dividing.

The Tranquility Bamboo was important.

But its greater meaning—to Jiushan Realm—was even more critical.

The flying sword beneath Ancestor of the Blood River hummed lightly.

He had always seen himself as a genius—reaching Soul Formation in a Demonic Sect environment—but even he had to admit:

He had achieved something he had never dared imagine.

This wasn’t just about talent:

Across the countless years of Xuanyi Realm, there had been thousands of geniuses—but none had ever achieved this!

Although he hadn’t contributed much, at this moment, he still felt a surge of pride... and frustration.

It felt like he was about to become the greatest traitor the Demonic Sect had ever known...

Even though he hadn’t betrayed the Holy Ancestor yet.

Now, there was truly no going back!

...

"So slow..."

Several days later, the number of Tranquility Bamboo cells still hadn’t even reached double digits, leaving the anxious Zhenren Qian restless.

"Tranquility Bamboo growth must require an enormous amount of spiritual energy,"

Senior Sister Zhang said. "Or rather, the environment for Heaven and Earth Spiritual Roots to grow is extremely harsh. This slow growth may be due to spiritual energy limitations."

"Senior Sister is right... On the other hand, Heaven and Earth Spiritual Roots probably take a long time to develop anyway."

"It’s fine. As long as the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor hasn’t revived, we still have time."

Although comforting words, it was also reality.

Jiushan Realm’s spiritual energy wasn’t lacking.

With the Mountain and River Seal’s veins added, the Tranquility Bamboo cells were enjoying a spiritual density most Soul Formation cultivators could only dream of.

If even this wasn’t enough... Zheng Fa himself had no better solution.

Old Yuan also leaned in to look, then turned to Zheng Fa, suddenly taking on a somewhat teacherly tone, asking:

"Now that the spiritual roots are on track, how’s your cultivation?"

"?"

"You’re still a Golden Core," Old Yuan stroked his chin. "What if the Tranquility Bamboo doesn’t mature before you die?"

"..."

Zheng Fa twitched at the corner of his mouth. This old man was being a bit dramatic.

His cultivation progress had indeed slowed—because the higher one went, the more accumulation was needed. Forming a Nascent Soul wasn’t something that could be rushed.

Right now, Zheng Fa was roughly at early-stage Golden Core by Xuanyi standards.

Golden Core cultivation in the Xuanyi Realm was divided into early, middle, and late stages, with different sects having slightly different terms, but essentially meaning the same thing.

For instance, in the Divine Thunder of Shenxiao, the stages were called:

Spirit Nurturing, Infant Cultivation, Core Shattering.

Spirit Nurturing was about the soul—the merging of soul and core into one point, causing qualitative transformation.

Thus, a Golden Core cultivator’s soul underwent a fundamental change during this period.

Infant Cultivation was the slow shaping of the Nascent Soul.

Core Shattering... was self-explanatory.

By Zheng Fa’s understanding, these stages were roughly:

Fertilized egg → Ten months of pregnancy → Birth...

Actually, he was already progressing quite fast—his divine soul was much stronger than ordinary cultivators', and his Golden Core was powerful.

He was close to perfecting the early-stage already.

It was just that compared to his battle strength and the current chaos in the Xuanyi Realm, his cultivation still felt... a bit lacking.

At least, no one treated him like an ordinary Golden Core anymore.

Was Old Yuan bringing this up just on a whim, wanting to act like a teacher again?

"Disciple, you must work hard..."

"Huh?"

"I was planning to wait for you... but if you keep slacking, I’m going to reach Soul Formation first!"

Zheng Fa was stunned, then suddenly understood why Old Yuan was acting so strange—he had come here to show off!

"Soul Formation? Master, you’ve made progress?"

"It’s thanks to that Immortal Formation—the Thunder God formed by the formation is basically a kind of Soul Formation state," Old Yuan said seriously, not joking. "I’ve also understood your Senior Sister Zhang’s spiritual energy circuits."

"And your Martial Uncle Pang’s Linked Talisman Technique, and Martial Aunt Huang’s Fleeting Radiance Technique—I’ve learned those too."

"Plus, after experimenting with the Immortal Formation, I’m now fifty percent confident in reaching Soul Formation!"

Zheng Fa nodded slowly.

Old Yuan wasn’t untalented—he had just been limited by accumulation before.

Now, after absorbing so much new knowledge, he was truly enriched.

At least... he could finally see the path ahead.

"Fifty percent... isn't that a bit low?" Zheng Fa thought for a moment and asked.

Ancestor of the Blood River twitched at the corner of his mouth. For more chapters visıt Novᴇl_Fire(.)net

Fifty percent still too low?!

Reaching Soul Formation was a life-and-death ordeal!

As he was grumbling internally, he saw Zheng Fa looking at him with a smile and saying, "Master, isn’t there still another Soul Formation cultivator’s method you haven’t learned yet?"

Ancestor of the Blood River opened his mouth wide: "That’s the Holy Ancestor’s True Method! If I leak it, the Holy Ancestor will be enraged, and when he revives, he’ll definitely punish me!"

"...And if you don't leak it, he won't be angry?"

"?"

Ancestor of the Blood River looked at Zheng Fa, his mouth slowly gaping wider.

Zheng Fa nodded with a smile. "Mm, that’s exactly why I asked."

...

Ancestor of the Blood River hadn't yet surrendered... not yet.

As long as the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor wasn’t truly dead, he would remain entangled.

Zheng Fa wasn’t expecting him to spill all the Demonic Sect’s secrets anyway—even if he did, Zheng Fa would only treat it as reference material.

But the experience of a Soul Formation cultivator was still immensely valuable.

After all, one could always use a stone from another mountain to sharpen one's tools.

Old Yuan was his master—and Jiushan Sect’s first Soul Formation cultivator.

Zheng Fa wanted to give him the best possible preparation—even recruiting Ancestor of the Blood River back then was partly with this in mind.

As for how much he could actually wring out of Ancestor of the Blood River, that would depend not just on tricks and scheming, but on whether Ancestor of the Blood River himself truly came to favor Jiushan Sect... and whether the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor was truly, irreversibly dead.

Some people, like Ancestor of the Blood River, refused to say a word.

But others... were willing to say anything.

"Brother Yan... what's this?" Zheng Fa asked, flipping through the small booklet in front of him, frowning in confusion.

The booklet had no title, and its contents were scattered—talisman diagrams, ancient scripts, even drawings and symbols that made little sense.

"I secretly copied them down," Yan Wushuang said, his heroic face now full of a kind of secret agent-like resolve.

"Copied them down?"

"Yes, whenever my father or my Senior Sister said something that I thought might be related to the Sect Ancestor... I wrote it down."

Zheng Fa’s eyes widened slowly.

"I didn’t even tell Elder Han about this. I was afraid he couldn’t keep it secret," Yan Wushuang whispered. "Only I know what’s in this."

Zheng Fa suddenly understood why most of the intel from Elder Han had seemed so irrelevant.

He had thought Yan Wushuang just hadn’t managed to get anything useful.

"And..."

"My father wouldn’t search my soul, right?"

For a moment, Zheng Fa felt a rare flash of sympathy for the Tianhe Sect Master.

"There might be secrets of the Sect Ancestor in here. Elder Han's relationship with the sect members was never good—but I’m different..."

Zheng Fa believed him—Yan Wushuang wasn’t bragging.

Besides his special identity, his own open, bold personality made him naturally charming.

Otherwise, he couldn’t have gathered the Wushuang Society around him.

Zheng Fa even suspected—his father’s tolerance toward Yan Wushuang probably included some measure of pride.

"Brother Yan, giving me this..."

To be honest, Zheng Fa didn’t quite understand Yan Wushuang’s motivation. Wasn’t this betraying his own side?

"I’m not like Elder Han," Yan Wushuang said suddenly. "Elder Han believes, like himself, that he can sacrifice everything for the Ancestor's will... I used to think so too. But when I went back and saw my father, I realized I’m not."

"Brother Yan?"

"Elder Han wants the Ancestor to return and set things right," Yan Wushuang said softly. "But I..."

Zheng Fa listened quietly, realizing that perhaps only without Elder Han present could Yan Wushuang say these things.

"I’m my father’s son. No matter how much he scolds me, beats me, or looks down on me... I’m still his son," Yan Wushuang said with a faint smile. "Honestly, I don't want the Sect Ancestor to return. But with the decline of spiritual energy looming, without someone like the Ancestor... where will Tianhe Sect go?"

Zheng Fa nodded slowly, starting to understand—whether the Tianhe Venerable returned or not, Tianhe Sect was doomed either way.

"That’s why I’m giving you this."

Zheng Fa was stunned.

"Elder Han always said one thing I believe," Yan Wushuang stared at him and said, "You’re more talented than the Sect Ancestor ever was."

"..."

"Elder Han keeps hoping you’re the Ancestor reborn..." Yan Wushuang gave a bitter little laugh. "But I don’t know whether I should hope for that or not."

He fell silent, staring at Zheng Fa for a long moment, then slowly exhaled.

"If you're not, and I gave you this booklet, then when spiritual energy declines, if you have the power... I hope you’ll remember this favor and help my father."

Zheng Fa laughed lightly. "Brother Yan, you really think too highly of me."

Yan Wushuang waved his hand, signaling he wasn’t finished, and continued:

"If you are... then for the sake of this booklet, please spare him."

"..."

Before Zheng Fa could say anything, Yan Wushuang changed the subject abruptly, as if unwilling to force a promise right now.

"My contact with you has already been discovered by my father. Elder Han can’t approach me anymore..."

Zheng Fa nodded.

It made sense—Yan Wushuang was now constantly watched by his Senior Sister. Elder Han naturally had to keep his distance.

Passing information was impossible now.

"If I want to contact you in the future, what should I do?"

Zheng Fa thought for a moment, then pulled out a Tongjian and handed it to him.

"What’s this?"

"With this, you’ll be able to contact me."

Zheng Fa explained how to use the Tongjian and added, "I’ll also teach you a cipher spell. If you need to send something confidential, use that."

This Tongjian was originally designed for external contacts—unable to access Jiushan’s knowledge intranet.

Giving it to Yan Wushuang only added a private channel between the two.

Yan Wushuang buried his head, seemingly not paying attention.

Zheng Fa was a little speechless—this guy was already surfing!

"Are all the users in here Jiushan disciples?" Yan Wushuang suddenly looked up and asked.

"Yeah. Brother Yan, you're the first non-Jiushan member to have one."

Yan Wushuang’s expression shifted slightly.

He stared at Zheng Fa, seeming to realize what Zheng Fa was hinting at—

Zheng Fa hadn't given him any explicit promise.

But this Tongjian—spoke volumes.

Even though Yan Wushuang could only see the Jiushan forum, a keen observer could still catch glimpses of Jiushan’s internal workings...

Zheng Fa hadn’t said a word.

But this act alone was worth more than ten thousand promises.