I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times-Chapter 392Book 2: : No Regrets, The Divine Being Holds the Sun

Book 2: Chapter 392: No Regrets, The Divine Being Holds the Sun

Vol 2 Chapter 392 No Regrets, The Divine Being Holds the Sun

"Uncle Pang and the others don't have selfish motives either."

Zheng Fa and Senior Sister Zhang walked out of Heavenly Palace Island, strolling side by side toward Zheng Fa’s courtyard.

They had been silent the entire way until they reached Rainbow Bridge, where no one else was around, and Senior Sister Zhang finally spoke softly.

“Senior Sister, I know.”

The cleansing of the Hundred Immortals Alliance, reforming the land tax, suppressing the clans—these matters had ultimately passed, but that didn’t mean Uncle Pang and the others fully agreed.

On the contrary, this was the first time the reform was almost entirely pushed through by Zheng Fa’s own prestige.

Not to mention others, just among the three elders:

Elder Yu and Uncle Huang didn’t care much, only feeling it was a bit troublesome.

Uncle Pang’s attitude was clearly somewhat opposed.

“Of course, I know Uncle Pang wants what’s best for the Jiushan Sect.”

Speaking of which, none of the current Jiushan Sect leaders cared much about family clans:

Senior Sister Zhang seemed to have lost her parents early, Elder Yu was a homebody, and Uncle Huang, despite being widowed, only cared about Senior Sister Zhang.

Uncle Pang seemed to come from a family, but apparently had few outstanding relatives;not a single disciple bore the Pang surname.

If anyone had selfish motives, it was unfair to blame them.

Uncle Pang was relatively conservative, and the previous disputes between his and Senior Sister Zhang’s factions weren’t purely about interests but also involved ideological clashes.

“He was just a bit too anxious.” Zheng Fa shook his head, his tone thoughtful and reflective. He never assumed he was always right but remained firm on this matter. “But if we don’t act now, it will be even harder to do later.”

Uncle Pang opposed because this system genuinely squeezed cultivators’ benefits.

Before, if cultivators couldn’t keep up, they could return to the mundane world, establish their lineage, and nurture disciples.

Zheng Fa’s reforms didn’t exactly cut off that retreat, but cultivators would no longer have it as easy as before—the most direct point being that these families were law in the mundane before, but now that was impossible.

Uncle Pang thought this was risky for this reason: in the world, when making a cake, everyone benefits;when dividing it, harmony is rare.

Zheng Fa was somewhat impatient, also considering that the Jiushan Sect’s top ranks no longer had family interests, but in the future, who knew? So he wanted to set the cake division rules from the start.

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“Senior Sister...” Zheng Fa seemed to be explaining to Senior Sister Zhang but also affirming his own resolve. “From the beginning, the Jiushan Sect only suits this path.”

“Only fairness, only letting everyone know that as long as they work hard and contribute, they can gain wealth, status, even immortality—that’s the only way to truly unlock people’s potential and gather collective wisdom...”

Senior Sister Zhang suddenly interrupted him. “I know.”

Zheng Fa was stunned and looked at her. She smiled at him: “I have long thought about it.”

“Thought about what?”

“I was thinking, if we have children, would I want them to be the same as others?”

“...”

Zheng Fa blinked, thinking, how did children come up?

Senior Sister might be overthinking...

“I know they can’t really be the same as mortals;our wealth, knowledge, even protection will make their path smoother than others.” Senior Sister Zhang seemed to have seriously considered this. “But on the other hand, I accept that within the sect, they should be treated like everyone else—rewards and resources only determined by merit and the Spirit Calculation.”

Zheng Fa fell silent.

Senior Sister Zhang stood firmly on Rainbow Bridge and looked around.

After the Yang Spirit body fused with the Sun and Moon Bell, the Nine Islands’ mist had long since cleared.

Now, as far as Senior Sister Zhang could see, Heavenly Palace Nine Islands lay before her, the busy Jiushan disciples, and the joyful laughter of Letu Island’s mundane folk all felt as if right beside her ears.

“I chose you, and you chose the Jiushan Sect as it is today.” Senior Sister Zhang turned her back to Zheng Fa, speaking softly, “That means I chose the Jiushan Sect today.”

“Whether we walk into a world where everyone is an enemy, or ultimately die and fade away into a handful of yellow earth, I have thought it all through.”

Listening to Senior Sister’s tone, gentle and clear, each word measured like a jade pearl dropping to the ground:

“I have never regretted it, nor will I ever regret it.”

...

Supporting Zheng Fa’s reforms was not only Senior Sister Zhang.

He concealed his figure and landed outside a courtyard on University Island.

He watched Mu Qingyan push open the door and stand at the entrance, as if expecting him, asking: “Senior Brother, you’re not sleeping again?”

Inside the courtyard, Gu Chang lowered his head and hummed softly, still staring at a spirit rat in a cage.

“How’s it going?”

Gu Chang stood and dusted off his clothes, his expression somewhat gloomy: “Not good. The nerve growth completion rate is ninety percent, but the nervous system is extremely delicate... even a tiny deviation is like a thousand miles apart.”

“Moreover, if applied to the human body, the effect would likely be worse.”

Mu Qingyan nodded, seemingly accustomed, saying: “Senior Brother, don’t be foolish. Your Dharmakaya body is already seriously damaged. Master instructed that if you’re not confident, you must not experiment on yourself.”

Gu Chang smiled and glanced toward Zheng Fa’s courtyard: “Don’t worry, I’m just a little anxious.”

He looked at Mu Qingyan and sighed: “Master has spared no effort supporting this project, but we still haven’t produced results.”

Mu Qingyan entered the courtyard.

The small courtyard had three rows of houses;the left wing stored various herbs delivered from the medicine garden, the right row looked like a small spirit beast enclosure, housing various spirit beasts bred by Jiao Wuji or purchased from outside.

The main house was a mixed style:

Three connected rooms resembling a modern chemical laboratory, with transparent bottles and jars of all sizes, connected to various metal observation instruments.

There was also a Pill Furnace in one corner of the main room.

This courtyard was allocated by Zheng Fa to the spiritual root modification project team. The team naturally had more than just these two disciples, but they were core members and always arrived earliest.

Gu Chang sighed again: “We have unrestricted use of spirit medicines. Whatever spirit beasts we need, regardless of cost, the General Affairs Hall will procure. When needed, Nascent Soul Elders come to assist. Not to mention Master’s occasional guidance.”

“I am already a ruined body, favored by Master. Even if the experiments fail, it’s fate. But I still feel I have let Master down...”

He paused, then said in a deep voice: “Last night I actually went back to rest, but in my dream... the experiment succeeded. I got up hurriedly, dressed, and rushed over, but it was only a beautiful dream.”

Mu Qingyan looked discouraged: “Didn’t Master say the experiments are getting more successful? Your theory is right;it’s just that I’m too slow developing the corresponding spirit medicines, holding back the project progress...”

The two talked while sorting through yesterday’s experiment results. Though discouraged, they did not mention giving up.

Zheng Fa did not show himself but silently left.

The biggest problem suppressing cultivation clans still lay with spiritual roots.

Spiritual roots are a physical attribute largely determined by heredity, meaning cultivators with high-quality spiritual roots tend to produce offspring with better innate talent.

This was why all sects in the Xuanyi Realm were more or less family-based: it was the easiest way to obtain high-quality cultivation seeds.

Zheng Fa clearly understood that spiritual root modification was the ultimate weapon to solve clan problems.

If Gu Chang’s theory hadn’t almost been confirmed correct and the technology implementation was just a matter of time, Zheng Fa wouldn’t have made this decision.

Not to mention, spiritual root modification would increase the proportion of selectable talent in the Jiushan Sect by ten or even a hundred times.

The Hundred Immortals Alliance’s territory was small, with relatively few people. Using traditional methods to select talent could never catch up to the Four Sects.

As Gu Chang said, Zheng Fa had high hopes and invested heavily.

But research was becoming more difficult with each stage, and now they were stuck at the final hurdle with no progress.

He glanced at the two disciples busy in the courtyard, knowing that if he appeared, it might only cause them more anxiety, so he chose to leave quietly.

...

What Zheng Fa didn’t expect was that while he was anxious, someone else was even more anxious.

In the modern nursing home, Elder Bai found Zheng Fa and asked: “How is the spiritual root modification research going on your side?”

Several core members of the nursing home knew Zheng Fa had another faction and had vaguely heard about the research there.

“We’ve hit a bottleneck;I’m afraid there won’t be results anytime soon.” Zheng Fa shook his head and then asked Elder Bai: “Are you anxious?”

Elder Bai’s spiritual root was relatively poor;his cultivation was slowing down.

His current cultivation was even weaker than Tang Mu Dao’s.

“Anxious... yes, a little.” Elder Bai touched his curly hair, frowning, then said, “Mainly because of Teacher Tian.”

“Teacher Tian?”

Zheng Fa was surprised;what did Teacher Tian have to do with this?

“She dislikes my low spiritual root and looks down on me!”

“...”

Zheng Fa recalled the two elders’ interactions and couldn’t see how Teacher Tian looked down on Elder Bai.

“Just these past six months, she’s been running to the new spiritual plant experimental fields every day!” Elder Bai seemed to feel Zheng Fa didn’t believe him, so he gestured dramatically, complaining: “Sometimes I don’t see her all day!”

“Wait...” Zheng Fa stopped Elder Bai’s complaints, frowning. “I remember Teacher Tian is also busy with spiritual root modification experiments?”

Spiritual root modification was more useful in the modern world.

So the two worlds were actually researching together, even exchanging information through Zheng Fa.

The problem here wasn’t much different from the Jiushan Realm: they couldn’t find suitable spirit medicines.

Therefore, a new experimental field was built behind Rainbow Mountain.

Many transplanted plants were cultivated—mainly rare seeds mostly drawn from seed banks across various places.

There were also some species genetically related to Jiushan Realm’s spirit medicines.

Elder Bai nodded vigorously: “Exactly!”

“So Teacher Tian is working for you?”

Teacher Tian had a decent spiritual root, even dual spiritual roots. If she cared only about her own cultivation, she wouldn’t be so obsessed with spirit medicines.

It was obvious who she was doing it for.

“For me... but it’s because she looks down on my low spiritual root!”

Seeing Elder Bai argue confidently, Zheng Fa rubbed his forehead.

He basically understood: this old man came to show off his love.

Elder Bai noticed Zheng Fa had seen through his intention, lifted his head high as if about to soar, and mockingly said, “My mind is now calm and detached;I no longer care about cultivation. The matter of spiritual root quality is like floating clouds to me... but Teacher Tian throws herself into it, and I feel heartache watching her, right?”

Zheng Fa’s divine consciousness passed through Rainbow Mountain and found Teacher Tian.

Sure enough, Teacher Tian stood in the field, her expression somewhat disappointed.

It was clear the spirit medicine cultivation had made little progress.

Zheng Fa looked at the triumphant Elder Bai and was silent a moment before suddenly saying, “I have reached Nascent Soul.”

“...”

“Dual spiritual roots plus Dao body, it’s just around the corner.”

Elder Bai lowered his head.

“Of course, with your calm detachment, Elder Bai, I suppose you don’t care much.”

“...”

Saying this, Zheng Fa gently patted Elder Bai’s shoulder. Above his head appeared an Auspicious Cloud. He intended to use the Lingshan Method but unexpectedly had a sudden insight and looked up at the sky.

Elder Bai was still in his own world when Zheng Fa suddenly stepped into the void and flew higher and higher.

This was the first time after reaching Nascent Soul that Zheng Fa came to the modern world. Upon first using spiritual energy, he immediately sensed something wrong—a pull from deep within his physical body. Upon sensing further, this pull came from... the sun.

Having cultivated the Yellow Court Scripture and condensed the Dharmakaya, he had truly merged with Fusang Wood.

And Fusang Wood had a close connection with the modern world’s sun.

Now, naturally, he was affected and even summoned by this sun.

So he abandoned Elder Bai and soared upward, wanting to figure things out.

...

Elder Bai looked up, watching Zheng Fa grow smaller and smaller, eventually disappearing from sight.

Curious yet worried, he stared intently, searching for Zheng Fa’s trace.

After a long time, even with his eyesight, he couldn’t see where Zheng Fa was and became increasingly anxious.

He activated a hand seal, casting the Spiritual Vision Technique to get a closer look, but suddenly his finger froze, mouth agape, staring at the sky.

No need for the Spiritual Vision Technique—anyone with eyes could see Zheng Fa:

Zheng Fa’s figure, like a massive divine being, covered half the sky.

He rose slowly, reaching out his hand, and held the setting sun suspended in the sky as if toying with it.

Elder Bai swallowed hard.

Suddenly, Zheng Fa sat cross-legged, eyes closed, seemingly immersed in comprehension.

His hands cupped before his abdomen, the sun spinning back and forth between his fingertips and palms like a toy.

Tang Lingwu flew down beside Elder Bai, looking up at Zheng Fa with confusion, then turned to Elder Bai with questioning eyes.

Elder Bai shook his head, signaling that he didn’t understand either.

About ten minutes later, Zheng Fa suddenly opened his eyes.

He stood tall, pointed a finger, and touched the sun.

The sun flickered gold and white as if breathing, growing brighter and brighter, then exploded at Zheng Fa’s fingertip!

In an instant, blinding light filled the sky. Even Elder Bai and Tang Lingwu couldn’t help but shield their eyes.

“Meteor!”

Tang Lingwu, already a Golden Core cultivator with superior vision, was the first to shout.

When the golden light dimmed slightly, Elder Bai also realized it was indeed meteors!

Countless golden rays shot out from the sun, flying in all directions.

The heads of these golden rays were not meteorites but clusters of talismans emitting dazzling light, trailing long tails, streaking across the sky, falling into various places around the world.

“So beautiful...”

Tang Lingwu murmured.

Elder Bai also felt dazzled, as if watching a magnificent fireworks display.

One firework even rushed toward Rainbow Mountain.

It landed in the forest of Rainbow Mountain, flickered a few times, then disappeared.

“Eh...” Tang Lingwu frowned, expanded her divine consciousness, and suddenly said, “Rainbow Mountain has changed!”

“Changed?”

Elder Bai asked confusedly. Before Tang Lingwu could reply, a ghostly image of a turtle and snake appeared on the mountaintop, facing Zheng Fa and bowing from afar.

He could also sense that Rainbow Mountain suddenly had spiritual energy, with a concentration no less than when Zheng Fa had performed the Lingshan Method before, but different from the usual spiritual energy.

He and Tang Lingwu exchanged a glance, recalling the meteor shower moments ago, and speculated: “This might not be limited to Rainbow Mountain.”

“Definitely not just Rainbow Mountain!”

Team Leader Yang hurried over, looking shocked as if also startled by the sky’s anomaly and wanting to understand.

Her phone vibrated continuously until she entered the nursing home, where the spiritual energy was stronger, and it finally quieted down.

“What’s going on?”

Team Leader Yang glanced at her phone, saw it was unusable, and resorted to memory:

“I received news, voice, and video from various places all along the way.” She spoke quickly. “Many famous mountains and rivers show slight anomalies.”

“What kind of anomalies?”

Team Leader Yang pointed to the turtle-snake image overhead, her tone tense:

“In the south, a blue dragon leapt from the river, able to summon wind and rain.”

“In the deep forests of Kangxi, a mysterious bird flew, followed by a myriad of birds. I just watched a video.”

“In the west, there’s a snow mountain, a sacred mountain, where a golden-winged white tiger has appeared. That place is nearly crazy.”

Elder Bai and Tang Lingwu were stunned, exchanging a look and recalling Rainbow Mountain’s changes, both saying in unison, “Spiritual veins awakening?”

“Spiritual veins awakening?”

Team Leader Yang didn’t understand. After Elder Bai explained Rainbow Mountain’s anomaly, she suddenly realized, “Maybe it really is.”

“Probably not just the country;it’s happening worldwide. Wherever there are mountains and rivers with spiritual veins, there should now be changes.”

Recalling the meteor shower spreading across the world, Elder Bai and Tang Lingwu nodded, thinking this guess very plausible.

Team Leader Yang sighed: “I didn’t expect the director’s Nascent Soul transformation to have such a grand spectacle...”

Elder Bai looked at Zheng Fa in the sky with an envious, scratching-head expression. He took two deep breaths and resolutely said, “I want to reach Nascent Soul too!”

“...”

Tang Lingwu and Team Leader Yang exchanged a glance, silently thinking:

There are probably very few people in the world whose Dao heart is strengthened by such grand Nascent Soul manifestations.

Suddenly, Elder Bai wailed mournfully: “With my broken spiritual root, who knows when I’ll reach Nascent Soul.”

...

In the newly built spiritual plant experimental field, Teacher Tian was also looking up at Zheng Fa, curious and worried.

Seeing Zheng Fa safe and the spiritual energy of Rainbow Mountain changing somewhat, she felt slightly relieved.

“Teacher!” Suddenly, a student shouted behind her, “Look!”

Teacher Tian turned in surprise and saw a patch of orchids blooming one after another in the field behind her.

She was slightly stunned, hurried forward, and bent to inspect the newly bloomed orchids. As if not quite believing it, she examined them again and again with the Spiritual Vision Technique, finally confirming: “There is spiritual energy!”

She straightened and shouted loudly: “These are spiritual plants! New spiritual plants!”