Chapter 639 - 85: News
Fang Zheng leaned against the stone wall, his eyes seemingly closed yet not entirely shut, his breathing steady and slow, as if he were in a state of half-sleep.
From the outside.
He looked like a person recovering from a severe injury.
Within.
A world-altering change was taking place.
Luotian Cave Temple!
Celestial Secret Compass!
The Luotian Cave Temple was a Divine Soul Secret Technique of the Yama Sect, capable of consuming a cultivator’s Divine Thought to evolve into a phantom world.
Theoretically,
as long as the Divine Thought is sufficient, this phantom world can infinitely approach reality.
There are records that a rogue immortal from the Yama Sect once enveloped a village with this technique, with hundreds of people trapped in the illusion, unknowingly living and multiplying for dozens of years, all eventually dying of old age.
In reality.
Only a week had passed outside.
A thousand-year dream, a worn-out chessboard.
The Celestial Secret Compass was crafted by Master Jiuyuan over his lifetime, capable of deducing all things and divining the great principles of heaven.
If not for Master Jiuyuan’s insufficient cultivation base, escaping calamity might have secured him a position among the world’s top cultivators.
The fusion of these two techniques instantaneously manifested a phantom realm within Fang Zheng’s Sea of Consciousness.
Using these two secret arts, he wanted to deduce and perfect his Heart Martial True Skill and seize the opportunity to recreate his physical body.
The technology on Earth can already map the complete gene sequence, even allowing the knocking out of certain inferior genes and enhancing certain superior genes.
Theoretically,
it can significantly enhance future generations in every aspect.
However, scientific technology is constrained by ethical realities, and currently, no research department has passed the review to conduct such experiments.
But...
Some are doing it privately.
Though hidden from the public, these do propel the progress of biological sciences on a certain level.
For Fang Zheng, this is crucial.
Inside the phantom realm of the Sea of Consciousness, beside hundreds of altered gene sequences, sat a phantom shadow.
As time passed, the shadow gradually solidified, while the consequences of gene changes began to reveal themselves.
Discard the bad, keep the good, select the best among the best.
"Earth’s technology has gene sequences, the Otherworld has Primordial Spirit Secret Technique, merging them can optimally enhance the physical body’s potential."
"Compared to the physical body, the Primordial Spirit possesses immortal attributes; Heart Martial True Skill should focus on the latter."
"The physical body can change, the Primordial Spirit is hard to alter."
......
"Hoo..."
Xue Rong held onto a rock, trembling all over.
Ever since eating that leaf, she had been having diarrhea for three days and nights, on the verge of collapse.
Strangely,
despite not eating or drinking, even with overwhelming excretion, her belly in tumult, her spirit remained intact.
With no feeling of hunger.
It seemed that the small leaf provided enough nutrition for an adult’s wild expenditure.
"Pitter-patter..."
Torrential rain fell from the sky.
Xue Rong staggered out, raising her hands to the rain, groaning:
"Damn it..."
"Finally made it through."
Beyond vomiting and diarrhea, her body had also unknowingly accumulated a layer of black mucous.
The rain not only washed away the grime but revived her spirits with its chill, brightening her eyes.
"Huh?"
She raised her arm, gazing at the tender, elastic skin; Xue Rong looked incredulous.
"Rebirth?"
"No way!"
She turned to look at Fang Zheng in the stone chamber, then licked her lips looking at the room where the plants were grown.
However, recalling Fang Zheng’s warning and the suffering over the past days, she sighed, abandoning the idea of secretly trying a piece.
"This person is truly mysterious."
She murmured softly, stepping toward the stone chamber.
Upon reaching the door.
"Woo!"
A gust of wind rose abruptly in front, black smoke emerged, and a blue-faced, tusked monster appeared out of nowhere.
The extreme chill froze Xue Rong in her tracks, turning her face ashen, plunging her consciousness into deep fear.
Wh...what is this?
"Come back."
Fang Zheng’s voice rang out.
The monster squinted at the sound, circled Qingfeng like a breeze before suddenly vanishing.
For a long time.
Xue Rong regained her senses, swallowing, and stammered:
"What...what was that?"
Ghost?
Are ghosts real in this world?
In her mind, Xue Rong had quietly come to a conclusion about Fang Zheng.
A legendary Martial Arts Master!
An ascetic in the mountains!
A hermit.
His extraordinary martial arts, the miraculous effect of a single leaf in transforming her body, and other oddities.
Yet.
All these although mystical did not shatter her worldview, just sparked more curiosity.
But the scene just before seemed like a bolt from the blue, making her realize the person she ’rescued’ was no Martial Arts Master.
Martial arts she could accept, but...
Ghosts?
Are ghosts real?
Her worldview shattered completely.
"Is something the matter?" Fang Zheng didn’t reply.
"..." Xue Rong parted her lips, her voice hoarse:
"What about food?"
The room was running low on food.
"There’s a telephone in the corner next door; pressing one will have someone deliver food." Fang Zheng had no intention of opening his eyes:
"Remember, don’t press randomly."
"Also..."
"If nothing urgent comes up, don’t disturb me; if bored, there are books in the hall for you to read."
"Oh!"
Xue Rong turned around silently; hesitating, she couldn’t resist opening her mouth:
"Was that a ghost just now?"
"Yes."
Fang Zheng’s response was short and direct.
*
*
*
Two years later.
On the stone, Xue Rong sat cross-legged, gently forming a Dharma Seal with her hands while meditating.
Her appearance had significantly changed over the years.
The short hair that once clung to her scalp had grown to her waist, the strands dark and lustrous, dancing in the wind.
Her looks had also changed subtly.
Still distinct in features, but now bearing a unique, handsome charm different from the rugged masculinity of before.
Her large pores tightened, rough skin became delicate, and her physique transitioned from robust to streamlined.
On closer inspection,
she was quite the handsome fellow.
"Buzz..."
A helicopter parted the clouds, flying towards the mountaintop.
The sound made Xue Rong furrow her brow slightly, opening her eyes to gaze upwards with a hint of confusion.
She hadn’t called for anyone; why come today?
The helicopter remained dozens of meters above the peak, as its cabin doors opened, a figure leapt out.
Hmm?
Xue Rong raised her eyebrows.
Even she couldn’t ensure a safe landing from such height.
The figure rapidly descended, swaying at the last moment, lightly landing before the stone.
The agile, swift movements were astonishing.
Xue Rong rose, looking at the person cautiously:
"Who are you?"
The visitor was a dignified middle-aged woman, her wide dress fluttering in the wind, incongruous with the surroundings.
"Miss, you must be Elder Fang’s new disciple?"
The woman smiled warmly, speaking familiarly:
"I am Zheng Yi; I once had the honor of learning from Elder Fang; I am now the Patriarch of the Zheng Family."
"Zheng Peipei?" Xue Rong shook her head:
"Never heard of you."
"Understandably, Elder Fang isn’t talkative." Zheng Yi didn’t find it odd, continuing:
"I have a matter to see the elder."
"He... my master is in seclusion." Xue Rong’s eyes danced, lifting her chin, declining:
"He doesn’t see outsiders."
This person was clearly of high status; her clothes and jewelry looked affluent, denoting high position.
Falling unscathed from such a height meant her martial arts surpassed mine.
But,
You’ve only followed the teachings for a few days; though I haven’t fully apprenticed, I’ve been here for over two years.
By that measure, I’m more advanced than you.
Thinking thus, Xue Rong instinctively lifted her head.
"It’s important."
Zheng Yi sighed:
"Relates to elder’s daughter."
Hmm?
Xue Rong was taken aback.