Chapter 326
"I know!"
Tang Muda suddenly spoke up, "The three gates refer to the Wei Lu Gate, the Jia Ji Gate, and the Yu Zhen Gate. The Wei Lu Gate is where innate vital energy is stored, the Jia Ji Gate is the place of yin and yang harmony, and the Yu Zhen Gate is..."
"As for the nine orifices, different schools have different interpretations..."
Having once served as the president of the Taoist Association, Tang Muda spoke with a confidence that made his explanations sound quite professional.
Old Bai nodded repeatedly in agreement.
A hint of pride crept onto Tang Muda's face.
"Who would have thought..." Old Bai smiled at him, "Old Tang, even though your cultivation is low, you know so much!"
"..."
Tang Muda rolled his eyes, not wanting to engage with the old man.
Tang Lingwu, standing nearby, chimed in, "But this... doesn't it just make us more confused?"
The group fell silent. To be honest, anyone could throw around Taoist terminology—the real challenge lay in understanding these terms.
Zheng Fa looked around at the group, noticing the perplexed expressions on their faces.
He gently tapped the table.
Everyone looked up at Zheng Fa.
"Don't let the terminology intimidate you. If we return to the essence of things, setting aside these terms and the idea of the Dan Ding (alchemy furnace)—what if we consider the essence of external elixirs?"
His words caught everyone at the table off guard.
"You mean?"
Zheng Fa shared a thought he had pondered for a long time: "In our understanding, what kind of reactions occur within the golden elixir?"
"Fusion, fission, mixing..."
Old Bai summarized with a frown.
Cheng Yun nodded and spoke up, "According to our analysis of the 'Shen Xiao Golden Elixir,' the first reaction is fusion, producing new particles and excess neutrons, then using high-speed neutrons to bombard heavy nuclei to create fission reactions..."
"What about the Dan Ding?" Zheng Fa asked again.
"A manufacturing tool..." Cheng Yun instinctively replied. Suddenly, he looked up at the diagram of the Dan Ding on the screen and exclaimed, "Director Zheng, are you saying that the so-called three gates and nine orifices are corresponding assembly workshops?"
"I think that’s the most plausible explanation," Zheng Fa elaborated. He recalled the changes that occurred when Senior Sister Zhang practiced those three techniques and glanced at the structures of the three types of Dan Ding. He suddenly added, "I believe it’s not that the Dan Ding mimics the human body, but rather that the cultivation process is about refining the human body to resemble a Dan Ding. Each technique strengthens the corresponding acupoints to facilitate the creation of the golden elixir..."
Considering the differences between Senior Sister Zhang and those ordinary people, Zheng Fa shared his thoughts with the group at the nursing home: "To say that the Dan Ding simulates the human body, I think there’s a logical error..."
Old Bai and the others looked at him, puzzled.
"In our earlier conclusions about the cultivation process, every step has its purpose. Forming the elixir is to create new particles, and the Yuan Ying (primordial infant) is a new form of life..."
"Any cultivation method is rooted in this purpose."
Old Bai immediately grasped Zheng Fa's meaning: "You’re saying that the method of cultivation is top-down, that more powerful cultivators created the golden elixir techniques?"
"Exactly!" Zheng Fa agreed. "So, rather than saying the Dan Ding mimics the human body, it’s more accurate to say that the cultivation process is about cultivators refining their bodies into a kind of Dan Ding!"
Zheng Fa paused, then continued, "I’m thinking... the golden elixir method might have originated from the process of alchemy, so the Dan Ding came first, followed by the golden elixir method. It’s not that the Dan Ding simulates the human body; rather, the human body simulates the Dan Ding."
This was the crux of Zheng Fa's doubts...
The various methods in the Xuan Wei realm were not inherently existing.
For instance, the Tian He Zun Zhe (Heavenly River Honored One) likely created the method for life-bound treasures based on the concept of divine spiritual treasures.
"..."
Zheng Fa's idea was rooted in one thing—the golden elixir is essentially a nuclear reaction.
The human body is merely a specific reaction space.
In simple terms, Zheng Fa believed that the great being who created the golden elixir method thought along these lines: I want to use the human body to create a nuclear reactor!
He had already validated this idea through Senior Sister Zhang, as each of the three techniques strengthened specific acupoints.
This strengthening was clearly intentional; for example, each technique reinforced the same number of acupoints, corresponding to the three gates and nine orifices of the Dan Ding.
But as this concept spread to later generations, it morphed into the idea that only by mimicking the human body could one create a nuclear reactor!
"So, this makes things simpler!" Cheng Yun's eyes lit up.
"So, we just need to design a suitable reactor?" Tang Lingwu also understood and asked directly.
Zheng Fa nodded. The biggest advantage of shifting this perspective was that it freed them from the constraints of the "mimicking the human body" shell, allowing Zheng Fa and Cheng Yun to consider the process of external elixirs from a purely engineering standpoint.
Cheng Yun smiled and said, "With these three external elixir methods as references, and the 'Shen Xiao Golden Elixir,' creating a new external elixir method is indeed not difficult..."
The group chuckled.
To be honest, setting aside the limitation of mimicking the human body and designing a reaction vessel was indeed a piece of cake for Cheng Yun and the other nuclear engineers.
...
"Group Leader Yang?"
After the meeting dispersed, Zheng Fa called out to Group Leader Yang.
She turned around to see Zheng Fa handing her a few books.
With a hint of confusion, she accepted them and noticed that these books seemed to be handwritten, with no titles on the covers.
Opening one, she found illustrations of human postures inside.
"What is this?"
"Martial arts classics."
For Zheng Fa, this was no trouble at all... Ordinary martial arts manuals were practically worthless in the Xuan Wei realm.
Now, as the master of the Jiu Shan realm, Zheng Fa didn’t even need to leave Jiu Shan; he simply issued a task within the sect, and dozens of disciples offered up many manuals.
What he had copied were just a few of the simplest techniques.
Group Leader Yang flipped through a few pages, her face lighting up with joy.
"Director Zheng..." she said sincerely, "I thought I’d have to wait a while longer."
"These few manuals are nothing..." Zheng Fa replied candidly, "However... before promoting them, anyone who wants to practice martial arts must first come to the nursing home."
"This..."
Zheng Fa looked at Group Leader Yang, his gaze leaving no room for doubt.
Group Leader Yang forced a smile.
She understood Zheng Fa's point—if these were promoted widely, he likely wouldn’t care and wouldn’t have the energy to manage it all.
But if some people wanted to hoard these things for themselves...
Zheng Fa would not allow it.
"Director Zheng... why must you be this way?"
In a sense, Group Leader Yang's words validated Zheng Fa's thoughts...
Zheng Fa glanced at her and said, "Jiu Shan No. 1 sells so quickly, and aside from the so-called aphrodisiac claims, some people... are not being honest, but they’re not crossing the line, so I let it slide..."
"But I’m not collaborating with those people; I’m cooperating with this country. What I care about has never been them..."
"Do you understand?"
Zheng Fa's tone was gentle, and there was no hint of anger on his face. After speaking, he didn’t wait for Group Leader Yang's reaction and turned to walk back into the nursing home.
But Group Leader Yang stood there, stunned.
The hot sales of Jiu Shan No. 1 were indeed due to the aphrodisiac claims, which was true.
But she also understood some of the insider information, knowing that this claim was half true, half false—much of Jiu Shan No. 1 was not actually purchased by ordinary people.
She had heard about this but felt powerless.
Unexpectedly, Zheng Fa had not mentioned anything before, but now he suddenly brought it up—thus starting to restrict the spread of martial arts.
Standing there, she bit her lip, feeling a bitterness in her mouth.
At that moment, Zheng Fa suddenly turned back, gave her a gentle nod, and smiled.
Group Leader Yang straightened her back—she knew Zheng Fa still believed in her; his dissatisfaction was directed at certain individuals.
In other words, some people were about to face consequences.
But she, on the other hand, remained the little cotton-padded jacket of the nursing home!
Thinking this way, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride.
Wait?
No, wait a minute?
Had she just been pua'd?
...
Chapter 303: Observations at the Nursing Home, The First Experiment
A new group of guests arrived at the nursing home.
They stood outside the gate, a mix of men and women, young and old, gazing at the main building of the nursing home with expressions of curiosity, confusion, and unease.
Zheng Fa was in the midst of discussing the various structures of the Dan Ding with Cheng Yun and the others when he sensed the newcomers with a sweep of his consciousness. He turned his gaze to Group Leader Yang and pointed toward the entrance.
Group Leader Yang was taken aback, then slapped her forehead, saying, "I’ve been listening to you all talk so much that I got a bit lost myself and almost forgot about this. Didn’t we say earlier that the martial arts practitioners would be coming today…"
Zheng Fa wasn’t surprised; he simply nodded at Old Bai standing nearby.
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