I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times-Chapter 318Book 2: : Research Difficulties, Parallel Experiments
Vol 2 Chapter 318: Research Difficulties, Parallel Experiments
In the pill room on Gongkai Island in the Jiushan Realm, the furnace blazed, and so did Elder Xiong’s temper.
He’d been studying that unnamed pill recipe for over two months now.
“With Five-Element Orchid as the primary herb, supplemented by Frostleaf and Spirit-Transforming Grass, and assisted with... can produce a major pill, extremely beneficial for our cultivation—pity that the Five-Element Orchid is rare.”
That was the original wording of the recipe.
Jiushan Sect had only changed the Spirit-Converging Flower mentioned in it back to its actual name—Five-Element Orchid.
Perhaps due to taboo, or simply ignorance of the complete formula, the predecessor from the Tianhe Sect had left behind no dosage information, nor any alchemical procedure.
That was why Zheng Fa had sought help from the Qingmu Sect—
A veteran like Elder Xiong, even if he didn’t know the exact method, could often infer the concept and process from the listed ingredients.
The recipe was a Golden Core-grade elixir, not particularly complex—only eight herbs in total including monarch, minister, assistant, and courier ingredients. Elder Xiong was familiar with six of them, and just from their combination, he could roughly determine the effect and treatment method.
So initially, the research progressed smoothly.
But soon, they hit a wall. For over a month, not a single breakthrough—failure after failure, deeply frustrating.
The alchemy flames, shifting from purple to gold, cast flickering light on Elder Xiong’s face.
The hand seals in his fingers changed faster and faster.
Half an hour later, the lid of the pill furnace suddenly popped open.
The flames went out, the pills emerged—but only about ten blackened, lumpy pills lay at the bottom.
Elder Xiong’s face turned even darker. One sniff, and his expression soured. With a flare of spiritual fire in his palm, he moved to burn the waste pills— ṝ𝐚Ɲọ₿Ёṡ
But suddenly froze, as if remembering something. He glanced to the side.
There stood four disciples from Jiushan Sect, all at Foundation Establishment level. One of them had a silvery glow in his eyes.
Elder Xiong paused for a while, then waved his hand dismissively in their direction, but turned his head away—clearly didn’t want to look at them.
Zhao Jingfan, standing nearby, noticed it right away.
Their Grand Elder had clearly wanted to destroy this failed batch of pills. But… Zheng Fa had set a rule:
Whether successful or not, all pills must be collected and studied.
Zhao Jingfan couldn’t help but chuckle quietly.
This Grand Elder, despite his high status and skill, had always been straightforward and unrestrained.
What amused him more was the rumor: Elder Xiong held himself to insanely high standards. Whenever he failed a batch of pills, he would destroy every last one and thoroughly scrub the furnace.
He wouldn’t just fume—he’d explode.
And when he did, that rage would spill onto those nearby.
Zhao Jingfan had experienced it firsthand just days ago:
One failure, and Elder Xiong scolded him—because Zhao had rubbed his sore eyes after watching the furnace too long. The Elder accused him of disrupting the process.
That failed batch? Supposedly his fault!
Utter injustice!
No wonder everyone said Elder Xiong was hard to get along with. Most disciples wouldn’t even breathe loudly around him.
But faced with Jiushan Sect disciples—whom he clearly disdained—Elder Xiong didn’t dare curse them out…
Ridiculous!
“What are you laughing at? Did you learn anything worth laughing?”
Zhao Jingfan blinked and looked up—Elder Xiong was glaring at him, scolding, “Every day in the pill room messing around—what have you learned? Useless!”
I didn’t even blink too hard for fear of extinguishing the spirit fire—how am I messing around?
But following the Elder’s gaze, Zhao Jingfan looked over at the four Jiushan Sect disciples and instantly understood—
Elder Xiong was venting indirectly.
Everything about those four rubbed him the wrong way.
The one with the Void-Gazing Spiritual Eye finished inspecting the failed pills with silver-lit eyes, then took them to the newly built Spiritual Energy Scanner to measure readings.
Then the group huddled to scribble notes on paper, appearing very serious.
Zhao Jingfan could see the irritation on Elder Xiong’s face.
And he understood why.
When those disciples first arrived, Elder Xiong didn’t mind.
If they wanted to learn, fine.
He was even willing to pass down ancestral techniques—he didn’t care.
But then things changed—one of them, a brash rookie, had boldly suggested Elder Xiong adjust his alchemy methods.
The other three even nodded in agreement.
That was the last straw!
Setting aside the power gap between Jiushan and Qingmu Sects, these four disciples had far lower cultivation and alchemical mastery than Elder Xiong.
Elder Xiong was the Grand Elder of Qingmu Sect, a Nascent Soul cultivator and top alchemist in the Hundred Immortals Alliance.
These Foundation Establishment juniors thought they could advise him?
How dare they?
Since then, Elder Xiong couldn’t stand the sight of them. Though he didn’t openly insult them—out of respect for Zheng Fa—he couldn’t contain his frustration. So he lashed out at others instead.
Zhao Jingfan? He was the scapegoat.
The four disciples clearly knew Zheng Fa valued Elder Xiong. Fearing to offend a Nascent Soul expert, they said nothing—
And just quietly did their work.
There had been no arguments lately, but not a single friendly word either.
Their written notes kept piling up—no one knew what was in them. Elder Xiong never glanced at them, completely dismissive.
Zhao Jingfan was honestly curious.
After the four finished their notes and saw that Elder Xiong wasn’t about to start a new batch, they sensibly saluted and quietly exited the pill room, even closing the door behind them.
They left their research notebook behind.
Zhao Jingfan craned his neck, sneaking a peek.
“Ahem!”
Elder Xiong’s loud cough startled him. Turning around, he saw the Elder glaring like a predator, eyes sharp as blades—looking at him like he was a backstabbing traitor.
Old fossil!
Zhao Jingfan cursed silently.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“I just wanted a look…”
“What’s there to look at!” Elder Xiong’s tone bristled with resentment toward Jiushan Sect. “Just a few Foundation kids talking nonsense—what if it misleads you?”
Zhao Jingfan blinked. Just a glance—how could that mess him up?
Elder Xiong continued:
“Alliance Leader Zheng placed them here, I don’t mind. But the Dao of Alchemy cannot be sullied by ignorant bluffers!”
“If not for my promise to Alliance Leader Zheng, I’d have left long ago…”
“Jiushan Sect’s disciples… they have no reverence for the Alchemical Dao!”
“They don’t know sht*…”
Suddenly, he stopped speaking and looked toward the door—footsteps approached.
The figure stood there silently—no knock. Elder Xiong’s eyes flashed with a hint of satisfaction. With a wave, the door opened.
It was Zheng Fa.
Seeing him, Elder Xiong’s expression softened considerably.
Zhao Jingfan inwardly rolled his eyes.
Those four were his disciples. Their arrogance came straight from Zheng Fa. Got the guts to yell at him?
Still, he knew: Elder Xiong smiled at Zheng Fa not just out of fear, but because Zheng Fa always showed him respect.
For instance—just now, Zheng Fa stood at the door, neither knocking nor using divine sense to peek in.
He didn’t want to disturb Elder Xiong’s work.
Considerate.
Even Elder Xiong, with his difficult temper, had nothing bad to say about him.
“How’s it going?”
Zheng Fa scanned the room—already had a guess—but still asked.
“Failed. Still some problems,” Elder Xiong admitted with a sigh. “The elixirs we’ve made can interact with the External Pill… but the potency’s lacking.”
Zheng Fa nodded.
He’d heard the same from Madam Xuanhua.
They were testing the pills through her Golden Core Project, tossing them into a cauldron running the Jiushan Golden Core Method to observe any effects.
“There’s a reaction—that’s progress.”
Elder Xiong sounded anxious, but Zheng Fa smiled: “It’s already much more promising than before.”
At least now they’d confirmed the pill interacted with the Jiushan Golden Core Method!
Compared to the older, inert formulas, this was a major breakthrough.
Zheng Fa cupped his hands and bowed: “We owe this progress to you, Elder Xiong.”
Hearing that, Elder Xiong beamed, his anger from earlier gone without a trace.
Zhao Jingfan watched silently, stunned.
Just earlier, Elder Xiong was grumbling nonstop about Jiushan Sect…
Now, one not-even-flashy compliment from Zheng Fa, and he was smiling like a child?
But he understood why.
One, Zheng Fa really did respect Elder Xiong—rarely overstepped.
And two… it was who the praise came from.
As the leader of one of the Six Great Sects, Zheng Fa’s compliment filled Elder Xiong with pride. His chest puffed up as he declared boldly:
“Alliance Leader, give me some more time. I will refine this elixir for you!”
“I have complete faith in you, Elder.”
Zheng Fa was satisfied as well.
Thanks to Elder Xiong’s systematization, they’d worked out the basic structure of the recipe.
The problem was, elixirs were precise and intricate—“basic” wasn’t enough.
Right now, you could feed it to the spirit pigs—those bred by Jiao Wuji as Jiushan’s lab animals.
And this elixir? Every time one of them ate it, they dropped dead.
Zheng Fa wouldn’t dare eat that pill himself.
Of course it had to be revised.
“Elder, do you have any ideas for improvement?”
“Well…”
Elder Xiong opened his mouth, but seemed at a loss for words.
“Just… keep trying.”
Zheng Fa nodded, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, but the pressure made Elder Xiong break out in a cold sweat. He awkwardly explained, “Alliance Leader…”
“The Five-Element Orchid is already extinct in the Xuanyi Realm.”
“And this Frostleaf—I’ve scoured all the ancient texts and haven’t found a single mention of it.”
“There’s really nothing else I can do but treat a dead horse like a live one.”
In other words, he was relying on trial-and-error based on his existing alchemical knowledge…
Success or failure depended on luck.
Zheng Fa said nothing. Elder Xiong’s smile slowly faded, his voice turning frustrated: “Alliance Leader, perhaps you don’t understand. Alchemy is not something that can be rushed.”
“To perfect a pill formula takes insight, opportunity—it absolutely cannot be forced.”
“From ancient times till now, the Xuanyi Realm’s alchemical path has always been like this.”
His tone turned tense. Zhao Jingfan glanced at Zheng Fa, a little worried.
But Zheng Fa didn’t look angry. Instead, he picked up the record notebook left behind by the four disciples and started flipping through it.
Elder Xiong had already been annoyed. Now, seeing Zheng Fa reading the notes he held in such low regard, his face darkened further despite his fear of Zheng Fa.
Zheng Fa glanced at him. “Elder Xiong, why not take a look at these disciples’ ideas?”
Elder Xiong didn’t outright refuse, but he dodged the suggestion:
“Alliance Leader, I already have some ideas I’d like to test first.”
“If those don’t work, I’ll then consider observing how your sect’s Foundation disciples approach the alchemical path.”
Though he didn’t dare talk back to Zheng Fa directly, he couldn’t resist pausing on the words “Foundation disciples,” clearly venting his dissatisfaction.
Zheng Fa showed no anger—just nodded, spoke of some other matters, and took his leave.
Zhao Jingfan looked at Elder Xiong worriedly.
“Go prepare more spirit herbs.”
“Huh?”
“What do you mean ‘huh’? Didn’t you say you didn’t want to offend Alliance Leader Zheng? If we refine the pill, that’s not offending!”
“But…”
“But what? Zheng is desperate and grasping at straws—but he’s not petty. If I make a contribution, he won’t hold anything against me.” Elder Xiong was full of confidence.
Zhao Jingfan opened his mouth, realizing now that Elder Xiong dared act this bold because he had judged Zheng Fa’s temperament as generous.
“Can we really refine it?”
“I wasn’t lying to Alliance Leader Zheng. I do have a bit of confidence,” Elder Xiong chuckled, then muttered, “If we reference those guys’ notes and it helps, we’ll have to share the credit.”
“…”
Zhao Jingfan hadn’t expected Elder Xiong to be this petty.
“Listen, this elixir—other than me, no one else in the Jiushan Realm could refine it. What’s there to be afraid of?”
…
Except there was someone else.
Not a stranger—Zhao Jingfan himself.
He had been called to another pill room by Zheng Fa and was now staring at him in disbelief.
“You want me to help?”
“Yes,” Zheng Fa nodded, explaining, “Didn’t Elder Xiong teach you everything hands-on? You know how to refine this elixir, right?”
Still in a daze, Zhao Jingfan nodded.
Zheng Fa spoke seriously: “In addition to Elder Xiong’s alchemical testing, we’re launching a second alchemy experiment.”
“…”
Zhao Jingfan remained silent.
Zheng Fa had thought this through carefully.
He had already received reports from the four Foundation disciples and knew about the tension between them and Elder Xiong.
Truthfully, in the culture of the Xuanyi Realm, the disciple who had spoken up was overstepping.
But Zheng Fa didn’t blame him—he had raised that disciple himself. In fact, he often encouraged them to “overstep,” or rather, to voice their thoughts boldly.
But Elder Xiong couldn’t tolerate it.
Zheng Fa had visited the pill room to try and mediate—to see if Elder Xiong might be willing to incorporate some of the disciples’ ideas into his experiments—but clearly, that wasn’t going to happen.
Most Nascent Soul cultivators had lived thousands, even tens of thousands of years, revered by nearly everyone in the Xuanyi Realm.
They were not only proud but often mentally rigid.
Zheng Fa knew he could likely convince—or pressure—Elder Xiong.
But after weighing the matter, he gave up.
“But Elder Xiong says he has ideas…”
Zhao Jingfan unintentionally threw Elder Xiong under the bus.
Zheng Fa smiled: “Then I’ll wait for Elder Xiong’s good news. But we’re still running the second experiment.”
“Why?”
“I believe Elder Xiong is trying hard. I know he’s confident. But relying on one approach is never as good as trying two.”
Zheng Fa explained:
“If Elder Xiong succeeds, that’s great.”
“But if he doesn’t, I want to try Jiushan Sect’s own method of improvement.”
Zheng Fa’s approach was simple—parallel experiments!
Perfecting the Jiushan Golden Core Method was the most important project in the Jiushan Sect. It affected not only Zheng Fa’s ability to form his Nascent Soul, but also the foundation of the sect’s core cultivation path.
In the long run, it would determine whether the Jiushan Sect could rapidly cultivate large numbers of Nascent Soul cultivators.
All the sect’s resources and manpower were being poured into this task, with the recipe research at the center.
They had enough capacity to pursue both paths!
Path one: follow Elder Xiong’s traditional Jiushan alchemist logic to decipher the recipe.
Path two: combine observational data with the methods Zhao Jingfan had learned and slowly improve upon them.
Put simply, it was using the limited chemical knowledge Zheng Fa had picked up to refine the formula.
He didn’t actually think his path would definitely be better. He didn’t even want to “prove Elder Xiong wrong.”
He just… wanted to raise the odds of success.
Right now, the whole sect was burning through funds and manpower, all waiting on this experiment to succeed—and they were already in debt from building the Shenxiao warships.
He was anxious, yes—but this wasn’t about ego.
Two legs walk steadier than one.
If one path failed, maybe the other would work.
That’s why Zheng Fa had ultimately let Elder Xiong pursue his method—maybe Elder Xiong was right, and his results would come faster.
Understanding Zheng Fa’s reasoning, Zhao Jingfan nodded. Then asked with uncertainty: “What do I need to do?”
“Our experiment also builds on Elder Xiong’s results. So I need you to teach the disciples how to replicate the current batch of failed pills.”
To improve something, you first need to understand the baseline.
The disciples had recorded every one of Elder Xiong’s techniques, but having Zhao Jingfan—a direct student—personally guide them would be much better.
From earlier tests, this elixir required at least Golden Core-level alchemists.
But the Jiushan Sect had none right now.
According to Zheng Fa and Madam Xuanhua’s assessment, with the Golden Core Project experience and help from immortal arrays, Foundation-stage alchemists could just about meet the experimental threshold.
Zhao Jingfan looked conflicted.
“Go ask Elder Xiong,” Zheng Fa said, seeing his hesitation. “If he agrees, come help us. If not, we’ll figure things out ourselves.”
Zheng Fa wasn’t forcing it.
Zhao Jingfan nodded. After a long pause, he added, “If he says no, I’ll ask the Sect Master to talk to him.”
He returned to his residence and explained everything to Elder Xiong.
“Of course I agree! Why wouldn’t I?” Elder Xiong leaned back in his chair with a cold smile.
“Now Alliance Leader Zheng wants to use a bunch of Foundation disciples to go head-to-head with me, a Nascent Soul cultivator.”
“If I say no, wouldn’t that disgrace Qingmu Sect’s entire alchemical legacy?”
“Go teach them. Teach them properly—no holding back!”
“So later, no one can say we won by foul play!”
