I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times-Chapter 269Book 2: : Trial Boat Ceremony, I’m About to Attain Enlightenment!
Vol 2 Chapter 269: Trial Boat Ceremony, I’m About to Attain Enlightenment!
University Island of the Jiushan Realm, inside a classroom.
Eighty or ninety Jiushan cultivators were seated within. No one spoke, only the soft rustling of pages being turned could be heard.
Yan Wushuang sat beside a group of disciples working on the Golden Core Project, his gaze resting on the paper before him for a moment, zoning out for a while, before lifting his eyes to look at the people in the classroom.
Up front, Sect Master Yuan was resting his head on his hand.
Beside him, Madam Xuanhua was scratching her head in frustration.
Around him, Jiushan disciples looked like their minds had drifted far away.
Only Zhang Wuyi beside Zheng Fa looked particularly insane—she was reading the paper in front of her with glittering eyes, utterly engrossed and enjoying it.
“Sigh…”
A sigh drifted out. Yan Wushuang followed the sound and saw that the one who sighed was none other than Old Yuan.
That sigh seemed contagious. In no time, the classroom was filled with one sigh after another, like a sorrowful choir echoing nonstop.
Caught in the middle of it, Yan Wushuang felt even more miserable—he almost wanted to cry.
He regretted it!
The disciples of Jiushan Sect were forced into this by Zheng Fa’s tyranny;they couldn’t escape, fine.
But he, a disciple of the Tianhe Sect, what the h*ll was he thinking, getting involved in the research of Tianhe Sword Dao?
Was this something he could even handle?
He looked at the paper in front of him. He recognized every word on it, but… strung together, what the f*ck was it saying?
Zheng Fa was also reading, thinking carefully about how to improve the current Golden Core Project. Hearing the round of sighs, he looked up at Old Yuan.
“What? You don’t understand it?”
Yan Wushuang nodded silently.
But Old Yuan curled his lip, seemingly unwilling to be underestimated, and said loudly:
“Don’t understand? How could I not understand? I understand perfectly!”
“You do? Then, Master, what do you think of these papers?”
“Excellent!” Old Yuan stroked his long beard and said, “Absolutely excellent!”
Zheng Fa nodded slightly, a smile creeping onto his face.
But Old Yuan’s smile grew even brighter and more urgent: “Exactly! After reading these excellent papers, I suddenly had an epiphany—I gained some insight into the path of Soul Formation!” ȒΑ𝐍ŐΒƐ𝓢
“So?”
“I’m planning to go into seclusion!”
As he spoke, Sect Master Yuan stood up, as if the inspiration had come too suddenly to hold back.
Yan Wushuang stared hard at him—he hadn’t even escaped yet.
How could he let this old guy slip away?
Zheng Fa was still nodding, smiling: “Master truly has great comprehension and extraordinary talent. But I still have a few things I don’t quite understand…”
“……”
“Before you go into seclusion, I’d like to ask you a few questions…”
Hearing this, Sect Master Yuan’s footsteps halted. He sat back down. Yan Wushuang clearly heard him mutter under his breath—“You little b*stard!”
Staring at the old man’s defeated figure slumped in his seat, Yan Wushuang couldn’t help but grin. Suddenly feeling a bit rude, he turned his head and found that the disciples who had just been sighing were now laughing even harder than he was.
In an instant, the classroom once filled with sorrow turned into one filled with joy.
Zheng Fa laughed too and cleared his throat: “I know these papers are tough for everyone. This group study session is meant to help tackle that.”
“On one hand, if anyone has questions, feel free to bring them up. Don’t hold back.”
“On the other hand, if anyone has insights, feel free to share them with everyone.”
Zheng Fa looked at everyone expectantly. These were currently the most gifted disciples of Jiushan Sect. One goal was to research the Tianhe Sword Dao.
Another was to train them—oftentimes, participating in a real project and applying knowledge practically is an excellent way to learn.
No one spoke for a while.
Then Madam Xuanhua pulled out a paper and said, “I think this one makes a lot of sense. I’d always overlooked the difference in alchemical furnaces…”
Zheng Fa nodded and said, “I’ve been thinking about that too. The Shenxiao External Pill has its own alchemical furnace, which might not be suitable.”
“This article about interactions—or perhaps the soul theory—can’t be ignored either,” Senior Sister Zhang said, just like Zheng Fa, placing great importance on Professor Wang’s paper. “I’m wondering if our failure is due to having too many people involved in the refining process.”
“That’s likely. If the first Sub-Talisman contains the soul of one disciple, then the second Sub-Talisman probably also needs to contain the same person’s soul.”
Zheng Fa responded immediately.
That was also the first issue he thought of when reading Professor Wang’s paper.
It’s clear the Tianhe Venerable didn’t treat sword cultivation like an assembly line. He must have done it alone.
When Zheng Fa practiced the Talisman Foundation Establishment Technique, he also condensed each Five-Elemental Sub-Talisman on his own, with only his soul embedded in them.
From that perspective, for Sub-Talismans to link, they likely need to contain the same person’s soul.
Yet Jiushan Sect’s Golden Core Project is a collaborative effort—this might be where the conflict lies.
Yan Wushuang, comparing their discussion to his own refining of his life-bound flying sword, also thought these two reasons were very plausible. He added, “The Tianhe Sect’s sword-refining method… I can’t speak on the specifics, but it definitely can’t be done by others.”
“Also…” he pulled out a paper and said after thinking for a bit, “I didn’t realize it before, but this paper reminded me.”
“The second Five-Elemental Sub-Talisman likely has to go through the Golden Core condensation process all over again. In other words, start from step one.”
“Do it all over again?”
Madam Xuanhua frowned, seeming confused.
Yan Wushuang hesitated a long while, then explained: “This… might have to do with how the Tianhe Sect wasn’t very powerful back then.”
Zheng Fa paused, seeming to understand what he meant: “You’re saying the Tianhe Sect didn’t have a Nascent Soul cultivation method before the Tianhe Venerable?”
Yan Wushuang nodded slowly.
Madam Xuanhua also caught on. Her mouth fell open in shock: “So the Tianhe Venerable didn’t have a Nascent Soul method to practice, and tried to refine another Golden Core method, and that’s how he created Tianhe Sword Dao?”
Zheng Fa found it ridiculous too—this Tianhe Venerable’s story was a bit too inspirational.
According to Yan Wushuang, this first person of Xuanyi Realm probably had no path forward, so he tried to cultivate a second Golden Core method to strengthen himself… and accidentally created the world-shaking Tianhe Sword Dao.
And to think this person had to create his own spiritual materials just to condense his life-bound treasure.
Zheng Fa used to think the Tianhe Venerable had uncovered some profound truth, plotting carefully and relying on nothing else.
Now? Cough, maybe it was just because… he was broke?
…
Yan Wushuang left the Jiushan Realm, his head full of new knowledge, and returned groggily to the Tianhe Sect residence.
Originally, after defeating the Netherworld Immortal and resolving the crisis in the Xuanyi Realm, Xie Qingxue was supposed to escort him back to the sect. But now the Blood Fiend Banner was missing, and the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor might be resurrected…
So now, Xie Qingxue couldn’t leave either.
She was still sending messages to the sect, hoping they’d send reinforcements.
But Soul Formation cultivators entering the Xuanyi Realm came at great cost—the stronger the cultivator, the steeper the price. Even sending a powerful figure in wasn’t something that could be done in the short term.
Now, aid from the Five Sects would take time.
With the Netherworld Immortal hiding in the shadows and the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor possibly reviving, they didn’t dare move recklessly, fearing an ambush.
These days, all the Soul Formation forces of the Immortal Sects had gathered at Mount Tongming, watching and supporting each other.
As he entered the courtyard, he heard a voice from Xie Qingxue’s room: “Went to Jiushan Realm again?”
“Mm.” Yan Wushuang headed toward his Senior Sister’s secluded chamber, asking excitedly, “Senior Sister, you finished your seclusion?”
Xie Qingxue sat on a meditation cushion, the Qingping Sword still resting on her knees, her expression neither pleased nor angry.
Ever since learning that the Netherworld Immortal might have escaped and the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor might return, she had gone straight into seclusion. That’s why Yan Wushuang had been so carefree lately, running off to the Jiushan Realm almost every day.
“Senior Sister… did you comprehend something?”
Yan Wushuang looked hopefully at the Qingping Sword, then at Xie Qingxue.
Xie Qingxue nodded lightly, a smile appearing on her face: “Last time, when we broke through the Five-Point Blood Fiend Formation, I finally got to go all out once. I’ve grown a bit more attuned to the Qingping Sword…”
“These past few days, I’ve started to faintly comprehend something…”
As Yan Wushuang listened, he looked at the Qingping Sword with even more envy. The Qingping Sword!
The personal sword of the Sect Ancestor—its power was immense!
With this magic treasure in hand, Senior Sister’s status in the Tianhe Sect had become extraordinary. Now, with newfound comprehension from the Immortal Sword, her strength might climb even higher.
As long as she gets through this tribulation, her future will be limitless!
As the Sect Master’s son, Yan Wushuang couldn’t help but feel some admiration in his heart.
Seeing his expression, Xie Qingxue smiled: “Do you know what I comprehended?”
“What is it?”
“The true Tianhe Sword Dao!” Xie Qingxue’s eyes gleamed so brightly it made Yan Wushuang a little scared.
“Or rather, it’s the long-lost Nine-Turn Golden Core Method of our sect!”
Yan Wushuang slowly withdrew the smile from his face, falling into complete silence.
“With the Nine-Turn Golden Core Method, even if the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor were to be reborn, I could still protect your life! I might even be able to repel him!”
Seeing the excitement on his Senior Sister’s face, Yan Wushuang asked quietly, “The Nine-Turn Golden Core Method... is it really that powerful?”
“Of course it’s powerful,” Xie Qingxue nodded, but then shook her head as she explained, “But the method alone isn’t enough to go against the Demon Ancestor.”
“But... the Qingping Sword can!”
Xie Qingxue gently stroked the Qingping Sword on her knees, her eyes sparkling—she seemed to love it dearly. Seeing Yan Wushuang’s confused expression, she added, “The Qingping Sword has a spirit and naturally senses the Ancestor’s secret technique. Lately... I can feel it’s been restless…”
“Restless?”
“It’s like it’s alive—sometimes it hums softly for no reason, sometimes it even flies off on its own…”
There was some confusion in Xie Qingxue’s gaze. She clearly had never seen the Qingping Sword act like this before.
“I think… maybe I’m truly close to fully comprehending the Nine-Turn Golden Core Method this time, and the sword spirit…”
“Is cheering me on!”
Yan Wushuang silently lowered his head.
“By the way, what have you been doing these past couple of days in the Jiushan Realm?”
“Doing? Oh…” Yan Wushuang thought for a long while before finally squeezing out an excuse, “Zheng Fa’s working on some kind of flying vessel—they’re about to do a test launch.”
“I went to check it out.”
“Flying vessel? Don’t we already have flying magic tools?”
Yan Wushuang explained, “Zheng Fa’s thing… he says it’s for mortals to ride.”
“Mortals?”
Xie Qingxue looked a bit confused.
…
Jiushan Realm, Half-Mountain City.
Zheng Fa stood in front of a temple with Senior Sister Zhang, Yan Wushuang, and others. Xiao Qing and the rest stood respectfully around them, staring at a long metal house before them.
This house was shaped like a vessel above and below, even its roof had a strange curve. Its entire body was silvery white, gleaming brightly and intimidating to look at.
To Zheng Fa, this was a segment of a high-speed rail car—or rather, a maglev train car.
After successfully refining a simplified Golden Core in the modern world, Zheng Fa handed it over to Team Leader Yang to research. The main task was singular: design a transportation tool suitable for the mortal world of the Jiushan Realm.
The development of Jiushan’s mortal realm was tied to how much spiritual material the Sun and Moon Bell could generate—whether it could sustain itself.
Now that the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor might be reborn, this task was even more critical: if the Demon Ancestor truly returned, at least the Jiushan Realm could shut its doors and live self-sufficiently, without lacking cultivation resources.
If you want prosperity, build roads first. For the mortals of Jiushan, their greatest development obstacle now was the vast land and sparse population.
Thanks to the efforts of Jiushan disciples, the realm now had favorable weather and fertile lands.
But the population of Jiushan was far too small, and their efficiency in using resources and land was low.
Zheng Fa had observed the development of Half-Mountain City and found that their reach was severely limited by transportation tools.
With that in mind, even basic commerce was hard to develop, let alone industry.
That’s why the first industrial product Zheng Fa designed for Jiushan’s mortal world was the Shenxiao Airship.
This thing was, in a way, a product of cooperation between the two worlds—the design came from the modern side, but the construction was done by artifact-crafting disciples of the Jiushan Realm.
“Master…” Xiao Qing asked timidly, “Does Half-Mountain City have to move down the mountain?”
Zheng Fa looked at her. There was a hint of reluctance on Xiao Qing’s face.
She always stubbornly called him ‘Master.’ Zheng Fa had tried to correct her a few times, but it didn’t work. He knew—though he didn’t want Xiao Qing to treat him like a god, she’d been influenced by her parents since childhood, and her life had been changed by Zheng Fa.
So she was even more stubborn than others.
“There’s too little land on the mountainside…” Zheng Fa shook his head. “It’s inconvenient for you to climb up and down, even getting water is troublesome.”
He had already drawn up plans. After consulting with Zhenren Han and Senior Sister Zhang, they decided to divide the Jiushan Realm into twelve prefectures, each with a prefecture capital.
Half-Mountain City would be one of them.
He continued explaining: “There have been a lot of newborns in recent years—many more people than before. Have you thought about where all these people will live in the future?”
Xiao Qing paused. They were inexperienced and had never thought about such things before. Hearing this reason, her face showed some understanding.
She glanced at the temple behind her.
The statue inside the temple was gone, and she was no longer a temple attendant. The Lord Thunder God no longer needed a temple attendant…
And now, even Half-Mountain City was going to relocate. For a moment, Xiao Qing’s face was filled with confusion.
“There’s no more space for houses on the mountain. It’s better to move now than face problems later,” Zheng Fa added, pointing at the carriage. “And it’s not just about houses—once the Shenxiao Airship is running, Half-Mountain City might see lots of merchants from other places. A commercial district will be necessary.”
“There might even be an industrial district…”
With transportation, population agglomeration would grow even stronger. Based on the current population of Jiushan’s mortal world, each prefecture capital would need to accommodate at least a million residents.
“People from other places?” Xiao Qing blinked. “What do you mean by other places?”
Because the Jiushan Realm used to be so chaotic with uncontrolled thunder, the people of Half-Mountain City had no idea there were even other cities.
“The nearest one to you is about five hundred li away.”
“Five hundred li…” Xiao Qing’s eyes revealed a trace of longing. She whispered, “I’ve never gone that far before…”
Zheng Fa smiled and pointed at the Shenxiao Airship: “With this, it won’t even take half an hour.”
Hearing that, the confusion on Xiao Qing’s face faded quite a bit. She couldn’t help leaning her head toward that strange-looking metal house.
The Shenxiao Airship was actually simple. It used the electromagnetic force from a simplified Shenxiao Golden Core as propulsion.
Its design was very similar to modern maglev trains—aside from differences in the energy system.
The shielding talisman patterns ensured that the magnetic field strength remained stable—in some sense, within the range of the talismans, the airship didn’t need other energy sources, only power from the Shenxiao Golden Core.
According to Zheng Fa’s measurements, the shielding rune’s effect range depended on the quality of the Golden Core. A low-grade Golden Core had a range of about two hundred li.
Which meant, placing one low-grade Shenxiao Golden Core every two hundred li would power the airship.
Right now, of course, they didn’t have that many External Pills available, which is why they needed to establish prefecture capitals.
The first priority would be building the transportation lines between prefecture capitals—the mortal world’s main arteries of travel.
Seeing the curiosity in Xiao Qing and the others’ eyes, Zheng Fa smiled and said, “Wanna try it?”
Xiao Qing nodded.
The other residents of Half-Mountain City also nodded one after another.
Even Yan Wushuang was nodding…
“This airship is still just a prototype and can only hold a hundred people…” Zheng Fa thought aloud, “Alright then, the top hundred from the last exam…”
“……”
Yan Wushuang sighed softly. Even though he’d only been in the Jiushan Realm a few days, he’d already figured out Zheng Fa’s preferences…
“Brother Yan, you wanna try it?”
Yan Wushuang blinked: “Didn’t you say there were only a hundred spots?”
“There are standing tickets too…”
Not only was Yan Wushuang standing, but Zheng Fa and Senior Sister Zhang were also standing inside the carriage—as it was the first flight test, Zheng Fa was worried something might go wrong. By riding along, they could help prevent casualties among the mortals.
The one piloting the airship was a Jiushan disciple.
He pressed a button, and a beeping sound rang out inside the vessel.
Xiao Qing looked around curiously and saw the airship’s hatch slowly closing.
“Sit tight,” Zheng Fa said softly. “Fasten your seatbelts.”
Xiao Qing obediently sat down and immediately felt a pushing force come from beneath her seat.
“We’re flying!” someone shouted.
“Waaa! Waaa!”
A few little kids, probably scared of heights, started crying loudly.
Xiao Qing pressed her face against the glass window. The ground beneath them grew smaller and smaller. Half-Mountain City became a tiny speck, and she could no longer make out the faces of people in the streets.
Eventually, even the mountain where Half-Mountain City stood looked tiny.
And then, all they could see was a sea of clouds—the ground had completely disappeared.
Her eyes were filled with clouds. She felt like she was flying higher than any bird.
Crack!
Suddenly, a soft cracking sound came from the glass window in front of her.
Xiao Qing instinctively pulled her head back.
A golden light flashed past her ear and landed on the glass. In the blink of an eye, the web-like cracks on the window vanished completely.
Xiao Qing turned her head and saw the beautiful fairy who always stood beside Lord Thunder God watching her.
“The strength of the window isn’t enough…”
“Yes…” Zheng Fa nodded as well, then thought aloud, “Still, it’s not too bad. We can try other materials later—this test flight is meant to uncover problems anyway.”
Yan Wushuang, however, frowned as he looked at the mortals inside the carriage. Suddenly, he asked, “Does this airship need to be piloted by a cultivator?”
“It needs to be maintained by a cultivator, but it can be piloted by mortals.”
Hearing Zheng Fa’s reply, Yan Wushuang’s expression slowly changed: “So you're saying… a single mortal can take a hundred other mortals… and fly faster than a Qi Refining cultivator?”
His tone was full of surprise. “Is this airship expensive?”
Zheng Fa glanced at him and replied honestly, “The cost of the Golden Core is high, but the airship itself isn’t.”
Aside from the shielding talismans, the materials for the Shenxiao Airship were all mundane. The cost was roughly equivalent to a dozen spiritual talismans.
Of course, factoring in labor, it wasn’t exactly cheap for now. But in the future, Zheng Fa planned to have it mass-produced in the mortal world—after all, only a few parts of the airship actually required spiritual energy.
As for the Shenxiao Golden Core… that was essentially the most basic energy infrastructure. It could power not just one airship, but also streetlights on Letu Island, and future industrial systems.
Yan Wushuang nodded, falling silent, lost in thought.
The airship slowly landed on the ground.
The hatch opened. Inside, the mortals were still seated, all wearing expressions as if they’d just woken from a dream.
“Master…” Xiao Qing suddenly asked, “Will we be able to ride it again in the future?”
“In the future?” Zheng Fa chuckled. “In the future, not only can you ride it, you’ll be able to build one yourself.”
“Build?”
Xiao Qing touched the glass window beside her, blinking in confusion. “Us?”
“I told you already, didn’t I? There’s no difference between you and me.”
Xiao Qing wasn’t sure if she understood. She stayed silent for a moment, then suddenly looked up and said, “Master, I want to learn!”
“……”
Zheng Fa looked at Xiao Qing and heard her say: “I want to fly up into the sky. Higher and higher, until I find you, Lord Thunder God!”
…
When Yan Wushuang returned to the residence, his expression was full of thought.
Due to its unique lineage, the Tianhe Sect had always had some exclusive methods in artifact crafting.
But something like the Shenxiao Airship—a thing made entirely for mortals—had never appeared in the Tianhe Sect.
He had so much he wanted to say, he didn’t even know where to start. After holding it in for a long time, he finally couldn’t take it anymore and walked into his Senior Sister’s secluded chamber.
“Senior Sister, today I…”
“Don’t speak!” Xie Qingxue raised a finger to her lips and said softly, “Listen!”
“……”
Yan Wushuang froze and looked down at the Qingping Sword.
The Qingping Sword was humming softly.
“What… what’s going on with it?”
“It’s been getting more active these past few days…”
Yan Wushuang was even more puzzled. “Why?”
Xie Qingxue smiled. “I think it’s a sign—a sign that I’m about to comprehend something!”
“……”
Yan Wushuang’s expression shifted slightly. Suddenly, he turned to look in the direction of the Jiushan Realm.
In his ear, he could still hear Xie Qingxue’s slightly puzzled voice:
“But… what exactly have I comprehended?”
“Why does my mind feel completely blank?”
