Chapter 272
"I've come this time to discuss the collaboration we talked about earlier, Mr. Zheng."
Zheng Fa nodded, maintaining his composure.
"To be honest, this matter... has significant implications," Director Yang said, a hint of a wry smile appearing on his face. "Mr. Zheng, you might be our greatest opportunity in a thousand years, but on the other hand, we must tread carefully."
"My visit serves two purposes. First, it's essentially a formal introduction... Some people wish to meet you, but of course, if you prefer not to, we will respect that."
"Second, I want to inform you of my new position. We now have a liaison team within our organization, and I am the team leader—if you have someone else in mind, we are open to that as well."
"This liaison team could also be called a service team—whatever you need, as long as it doesn't harm the nation's interests, we can accommodate you. If you wish to research something, we can mobilize all necessary resources to support you."
"Third, we seek your opinion on a matter—there's an intention from above to designate the area around Hongshan as a nature reserve to prevent disturbances to the nursing home. However..."
Yang handed over a document.
Zheng Fa took the document and was somewhat surprised—it outlined a large area around Hongshan designated under the nursing home's name.
It had a sense of private territory.
"What is this?"
"The people down the mountain are merely trying to reduce your troubles. Now, this is all your territory, which means—if you feel uncomfortable, you can ask them to leave."
"Mr. Zheng, we have only one principle—maintain communication, express goodwill, and eliminate misunderstandings."
Zheng Fa pondered for a moment and replied, "None of this matters to me; I have just one question."
"Please, go ahead, Mr. Zheng."
"What do you want?"
Yang was taken aback for a moment, then smiled wryly. "Mr. Zheng, do you still not understand? The only thing we care about is—"
"Yes?"
"What you want."
...
Zheng Fa flipped through some materials provided by Yang, or rather, Team Leader Yang.
Among them, he was most interested in the information about Lingmu Lei (spiritual wood thunder)—indeed, after collaborating with the authorities, research on Lingmu Lei faced no further obstacles.
Additionally, the special electromagnetic waves of the eighteen solar terms were listed, each with three or four alternative waveforms.
However, the project of constructing advanced artificial intelligence using circuits had yielded fewer results—mainly because the algorithms for advanced AI were already quite diverse.
There were simply too many options.
According to Team Leader Yang, they were collaborating with major universities and research institutes to select the most comprehensive solutions.
Teacher Tian flipped through the materials in her hands and smiled. "This plan is quite interesting."
"Really?" Zheng Fa looked up at Teacher Tian, who continued, "It seems they have recognized the benefits of Lingzhi (spiritual plants) and are now more eager than we are. They want to collaborate with us... mainly, they will provide the seeds, and we will try to cultivate the Lingzhi, after which they will conduct various studies."
Zheng Fa felt indifferent.
If the essence of Lingzhi was as he suspected—then controlling the source of modern spiritual energy meant he essentially controlled the output of Lingzhi.
Such collaboration would only benefit him, not harm him.
Teacher Tian seemed to understand this as well. She flipped through the materials again and added, "This is also interesting... because we can use the Evergreen Talismans to accelerate the growth of ordinary crops, and they hope we can assist in agricultural breeding experiments..."
Zheng Fa thought for a moment and nodded. "Collaboration benefits both parties, so it's certainly possible, but we need all experimental data and research reports."
For him, since he was collaborating with the authorities, there was no need to hide anything—
He just needed to understand all the relevant technologies and materials to serve the Tianbei Realm (Heavenly Tablet Realm) and even the Xuanwei Realm (Mysterious Micro Realm).
After all, the other party craved spiritual energy.
He was also eager for those big shots.
It's hard to say who would come out on top.
...
In the Tianbei Realm.
This time, it was still Master Huang and Senior Sister Yuan accompanying him to collect Tian Gong points (Heavenly Merit Points).
After a month of hard work, they had gathered over twenty thousand points.
If they were aiming for a hundred thousand points to level up the Golden Seal, they should have enough for now.
"There's still no news from Senior Sister Zhang..."
On the way to the Baobao Hall, Senior Sister Yuan suddenly sighed.
Zheng Fa and Master Huang exchanged serious glances—if Senior Sister Zhang had succeeded, the emergence of a new transformation would surely have stirred some rumors...
Master Huang continued, "The messages from Jiushan Sect are dwindling day by day, mostly just safety reports, with no other news."
"Perhaps Senior Sisters are afraid of being intercepted," Zheng Fa said, feeling a bit frustrated.
He had a wealth of knowledge but was unsure how to impart it to Senior Sister Zhang—
Those concepts might be beyond Master Huang's understanding, as she was merely a nascent soul.
But Jiushan Sect was currently facing enemies at the transformation stage.
Some of the knowledge might be comprehensible to them, and transmitting it via messaging talismans was too risky.
"Some of the messages are quite strange, even urging us to return—I suspect someone is impersonating Senior Brother Yuan to send us messages," Master Huang added, frowning.
Zheng Fa was taken aback again—though messaging talismans were basic, they contained the cultivator's soul and spiritual energy, making them hard to counterfeit.
Especially impersonating a nascent soul master like his own mentor.
"Can you tell if the messaging talismans are real or fake?" Zheng Fa asked.
Master Huang shook her head.
Zheng Fa's expression darkened; this was a bigger problem.
"Are Senior Sister Zhang and the others really safe?"
Senior Sister Yuan, who had been quiet, finally voiced Zheng Fa's concern.
If the demonic sect's monsters could impersonate the sect leader, then the safety messages they had received these days—were they real or fake?
Master Huang sighed. "I sought help from everywhere a few days ago, but no one was willing to assist us..."
Zheng Fa wasn't surprised by this.
Master Huang had few friends, and even if she did have close ones, with two transformation stage enemies targeting Jiushan Sect, they would have to consider their own strength before stepping in.
"I wonder how Senior Sister Zhang is doing now..."
Senior Sister Yuan said with a hint of worry.
...
At Jiushan Sect.
"Senior Brother, what are you doing?"
Seeing the busy sect leader, Master Pang asked.
"Can't you see? It's the world in the hut! The next play!"
Sect Leader Yuan glanced at him before adjusting the talismans in his hands.
"At a time like this, you're still thinking about plays!"
Master Pang muttered.
"If I don't do it now, when will I?"
"..."
"I've already decided; this time, I want to be the main character!" Sect Leader Yuan declared. "When I'm gone, this play will live on, and future generations will remember me!"
"..."
"You, on the other hand, have already made a name for yourself in the history of plays!"
"…Senior Brother, I still want to live in reality." Master Pang held back for a moment before speaking.
"Then you should ask Senior Sister Zhang."
Upon hearing this, the sect leader looked up at him and shook his head.
"Senior Sister Zhang..." Master Pang sighed. "These days, the worry on her face has only grown."
The Jiushan Ancestor, standing nearby, also gazed at the peak of the Ninth Peak.
It seemed he wanted to see how their true form was faring.
After a while, Senior Sister Zhang slowly descended from the peak. She looked exhausted, lacking even the spiritual energy to fly, relying solely on her legs to descend.
The sect leader and Master Pang exchanged glances, shook their heads, and finally asked, "Still no success?"
"Not yet..." Senior Sister Zhang frowned. "Actually, the things Zheng Shidi taught me, I’ve only just begun to grasp..."
"Then why did you come back?"
Senior Sister Zhang shook her head. "Before I returned, I was confident I had a fifty percent chance... I wasn't trying to perfect the Mountain River True Form Talisman; I just wanted to awaken the Ancestor. In other words, I was merely looking for a way to communicate with the Ancestor, to find an interface."
"..."
The sect leader and Master Pang listened, looking bewildered, as if they didn't understand what Senior Sister Zhang was saying.
"But no matter how I tried to convey the information, the Ancestor did not respond..."
As she spoke, Senior Sister Zhang's brow furrowed deeper.
After a while, seeing the confused expressions on the faces of her elders, she sighed in disappointment, "If only Zheng Shidi were here..."
The sect leader and Master Pang exchanged glances, and in their eyes, there was a hint of... shame.
...
Zheng Fa had just selected the spiritual materials he needed at the Baobao Hall.
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