Chapter 115
“Pah! What do you mean I don’t understand? I consider you a brother, and I know to avoid inappropriate thoughts!” Wang Chen said, keeping his gaze straight ahead, completely ignoring Tang Lingwu, his expression one of righteous camaraderie. “A friend’s wife is off-limits!”
(End of this chapter)
**Chapter 125: Invitation**
“I want to find a mountain.”
In the home of the old man Bai, Zheng Fa said seriously.
Hearing Zheng Fa’s words, both old man Bai and Tang Lingwu exchanged glances, momentarily stunned by his solemn demeanor.
“What mountain are you looking for?” Old man Bai asked, somewhat puzzled. “If you’re looking for that, why ask me? Go find a geography teacher!”
Tang Lingwu, standing nearby, also looked at Zheng Fa, seemingly confused by what he had just said.
These two were the most knowledgeable about him in the modern world, the ones who had helped him the most, and the ones he trusted the most.
Zheng Fa had some plans for the future that he needed to explain to them.
“If you want to cultivate immortality, you need to find a suitable mountain.”
Zheng Fa briefly explained.
It was really hard to summarize the concept of *Ling Shan Fa* (灵山法) in just a few sentences.
Old man Bai slowly furrowed his brow, muttering, “A mountain? A spiritual place? A dojo?”
Zheng Fa nodded. “That’s one way to understand it.”
But the spiritual energy of that place would be provided by Zheng Fa himself.
“Are we starting a sect with the Jiu Shan Zong? No, wait, are we reopening the mountain gate?”
Old man Bai’s eyes widened in excitement.
“... It’s not the Jiu Shan Zong; it’s just me,” Zheng Fa said after a moment of silence, explaining his thoughts to the two of them. “This isn’t a sect.”
“Not a sect?”
“I hope to find some scholars, like you, Professor Bai, to study immortality—uh, think of it as an immortality laboratory.”
“...” Old man Bai smacked his lips. “Those two words together sound a bit odd, but I get what you mean.”
Tang Lingwu nodded in agreement.
“So why are you telling us this today?”
Both of them could tell that Zheng Fa wouldn’t suddenly become so serious without a reason; he must have something else to discuss.
“I’m officially inviting you to join this laboratory.”
“Hey! Why so serious?” Old man Bai chuckled. “I thought I was already part of it; aren’t we in this together?”
Tang Lingwu nodded again.
“You didn’t understand my point,” Zheng Fa said softly. “I need to find a mountain with a unique terrain; wherever that mountain is, that’s where the laboratory will be—meaning, if you join this laboratory, you’ll have to go there together.”
“You mean…”
Zheng Fa nodded. “For example, Professor, you might have to leave your family, at least equivalent to going to work in another city.”
“And you, Tang Lingwu, if there’s no suitable mountain in the capital, then you won’t be able to attend Capital University.”
Upon hearing Zheng Fa’s words, old man Bai fell silent.
Zheng Fa wasn’t in a hurry; this was a significant life decision. He hoped both of them would choose to follow him.
Old man Bai not only had expertise in mathematics but could also help him build the framework for this research institution.
After all, he had worked at Capital University his entire life; even if he wasn’t a manager, he understood how to operate a laboratory better than Zheng Fa.
As for Tang Lingwu—well, her family background was currently her greatest asset.
But her efforts were enough for Zheng Fa to recognize her potential.
If she excelled in computer science, she would be a tremendous asset.
But Zheng Fa wouldn’t force her.
Given their friendship, he was willing to respect their choices.
After a long silence, old man Bai suddenly spoke up. “Actually, if you were really talking about joining the Jiu Shan Zong... I might hesitate; that sounds like no fun.”
“...”
Zheng Fa looked at him.
Old man Bai smiled broadly. “But when you say ‘immortality laboratory,’ that sounds much more interesting!”
“Do you know what the luckiest thing in research is?”
“What is it?” Zheng Fa asked.
“It’s discovering a previously unexplored field. Whatever you manage to research is like starting a new sect!” Old man Bai exclaimed. “The intersection of immortality and mathematics—now that’s a playground for me!”
As if struck by inspiration, a wild grin spread across old man Bai’s face.
“...”
Zheng Fa glanced at Tang Lingwu.
She had been silent, looking somewhat detached.
Tang Lingwu looked at the two of them, a bit confused. “Do I need to express my stance?”
“?”
“Am I not being clear enough?” Tang Lingwu frowned in surprise. “I never considered a second option!”
“Even if you can’t get into university?”
“... But this is about cultivating immortality!” Tang Lingwu’s eyes widened. “Can’t I just get a diploma online? Wait, I don’t even need to find a job; I don’t need a diploma at all.”
Well, hearing Tang Lingwu say that, Zheng Fa felt a bit speechless.
Rich girls can be so willful.
“Besides, if I don’t agree, my mom might kick me out!” Tang Lingwu said, her tone oddly serious.
“Your mom?”
Tang Lingwu sighed. “That bowl of soup? I didn’t get a single drop.”
“...”
“I’m starting to think that if you say you want to take me away, she might personally pack me up.”
“Is that... the test results are out?” old man Bai speculated.
Tang Lingwu nodded.
The three exchanged glances and burst into laughter.
“By the way, you mentioned establishing a laboratory—do you have any criteria for recruiting people?”
Zheng Fa pondered for a moment and replied, “Our advantage, of course, is immortality—eventually, I might even be able to treat other ailments.”
“Does that mean the most appealing candidates are... patients? The elderly?” old man Bai caught on.
“Exactly. I need outstanding talents from various fields, and those people are usually not too young—too young might mean their foundational knowledge isn’t solid enough.”
“On the other hand, older individuals, like you, Professor Bai, may have endured the pains of illness and fear death more, making this place more attractive to them.”
“And one more thing,” Zheng Fa paused for a moment before sharing his final consideration. “Time reveals a person’s true character.”
“True character?”
“If someone has maintained a good reputation for decades, they’re generally more trustworthy,” Zheng Fa explained.
Of course, this wasn’t a certainty.
But at least the probability of having good character was higher.
Old man Bai and Tang Lingwu understood Zheng Fa’s point—when recruiting, character matters.
“Well, our laboratory needs a name, right?” old man Bai said enthusiastically.
“What do you have in mind?”
It was clear that the old man already had some ideas.
“Dusk Retreat Society!” old man Bai declared loudly. “Just think about it—scholarly elders retreating to the mountains... how fitting is that name!”
“What kind of books do you usually read...”
“Is that not good?” old man Bai paused, muttering. “Yeah, it might be a bit too Westernized. How about calling it the Da Luo Dharma Assembly? That sounds classic!”
Tang Lingwu, as if struck by a thought, chimed in, “In my dad’s industry chain... places where people like that gather are generally called nursing homes.”
“...”
Zheng Fa and old man Bai looked at Tang Lingwu.
Tang Lingwu blinked and whispered, “... Ecological nursing home? High-knowledge elderly ecological nursing home?”
“...”
“What do you mean by wanting to find a mountain?”
Old man Bai fell silent for a long time, as if he had suddenly forgotten about naming the place and asked.
Zheng Fa took out the *Ling Mai Lun* (灵脉论) he had written from his bag.
In this book written by the sect leader, he summarized the forms of spiritual veins in the world, identifying some necessary characteristics, and stated in the *Ling Shan Fa* that only on mountains possessing these characteristics could the abilities of the *Ling Shan Fa* be fully realized.
“This book looks a lot like some theory of dragon-seeking and gold-finding…”
Zheng Fa couldn’t help but wonder what kind of books this old man usually read.
“This seems quite troublesome; we don’t understand feng shui, nor can we observe mountain ranges.”
Old man Bai flipped through the *Ling Mai Lun* in his hands, sighing.
Zheng Fa felt a bit troubled too.
It was not just complicated in the modern world; it was even more so in the Xuan Wei realm.
The Xuan Wei realm was vast, and mountains often housed cultivators or demon beasts.
Completely observing the mountain ranges was extremely dangerous—who knows what trouble it might stir?
Fortunately, the Jiu Shan Zong had quite a few topographical maps of the Xuan Wei realm.
The sect leader had summarized the *Ling Mai Lun* based on these materials and revised the *Ling Shan Fa*—according to the sect leader, if it weren’t for the fact that the Jiu Shan Zong was originally a spiritual vein, finding a suitable place to cultivate the *Ling Shan Fa* would have been quite a hassle.
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