Chapter 417
What if we could find a close relative of the Fusang tree? Would the outcome be different?
In that case, hope might still rest with the Five Sects of Xuanwei—if the roots of heaven and earth truly have relatives, they must be a rare kind of spiritual plant.
The ones most likely to know this information would be the Five Sects of Xuanwei.
"Thirdly, there's the issue of the environment, such as the concentration of spiritual energy, which may not be sufficient for the roots of heaven and earth to survive."
After Tang Lingwu finished summarizing, everyone felt that the problems might lie within these three points.
Old Bai glanced at Zheng Fa and suddenly said, "Zheng Fa, you don't seem anxious at all?"
"Not at all," Zheng Fa replied with a smile. "Research always comes with layers of difficulties."
"You were in quite a hurry a few days ago..." Old Bai muttered.
...
Zheng Fa truly wasn't anxious.
While he couldn't cultivate the Fusang tree, he thought of another technique.
Having returned from his studies, Zheng Fa summoned Senior Sister Zhang, Uncle Pang, and Master Qian to his courtyard—his courtyard in the Jiushan Realm.
"Cell dedifferentiation?"
After Zheng Fa finished explaining, Master Qian scratched the back of his head, his face clearly displaying one thought—how did I not think of that!
Zheng Fa had recalled the concept of plant cell dedifferentiation when Teacher Tian first mentioned cloning.
In simple terms, plant cell dedifferentiation involves using the totipotency of plant cells to take some root tip or stem leaf cells, place them in a petri dish, and, with the help of various hormones and nutrients, transform them into undifferentiated cells capable of developing into a complete plant.
To put it plainly, it's like taking a single leaf and cultivating an entire plant from it!
"You mean... Qingjing Bamboo?"
Uncle Pang's voice was barely above a whisper, trembling slightly as if afraid of being overheard.
Seeing his uncle's flushed face and the dreamy look in his eyes, Zheng Fa couldn't help but notice that Senior Sister Zhang's breathing had also quickened.
Clearly, she was stirred as well.
"Exactly... I don't know how similar the roots of heaven and earth are to ordinary plants, but as long as their cells possess totipotency..."
"If we can't cultivate the Fusang tree, then Qingjing Bamboo will do, right?" Zheng Fa said with a smile.
This was why he suddenly felt less urgency; perhaps cultivating the Fusang tree was too difficult.
But Qingjing Bamboo seemed much simpler!
"Qingjing Bamboo... will do?"
Uncle Pang's face twitched; if this reached the ears of the Master of Taishang Dao, he would surely cry!
Seeing the three of them so excited, Zheng Fa poured cold water on their enthusiasm:
"There are two main challenges. First, how to achieve plant dedifferentiation."
This technique is certainly mature in modern times.
But in the Jiushan Realm, it could only be said to be in its infancy. While it had been attempted before, it had not been thoroughly researched, and Master Qian only regarded it as a spell's effect.
"The second and most important question—can Qingjing Bamboo be cultivated this way?"
Hearing this, Senior Sister Zhang calmed down a bit and spoke up:
"Then let's tackle both at once—Fusang tree and Qingjing Bamboo!"
"At least having Qingjing Bamboo gives us a much better chance than just trying to cultivate the Fusang tree!"
Upon hearing this, Uncle Pang couldn't help but exclaim:
"When you first mentioned borrowing Qingjing Bamboo, I didn't quite understand and thought it wasn't worth it, but now it seems incredibly valuable!"
"Zheng Fa, did you have this plan all along?"
Master Qian's gaze turned to Zheng Fa with newfound respect...
Indeed, he hadn't thought of it, or rather, he hadn't recognized this technique, but the Master certainly remembered!
To outsiders, the Master's choice seemed like a huge loss; who would have thought it could lead to the return of a root of heaven and earth?
Zheng Fa remained silent, a knowing smile on his face.
Senior Sister Zhang shot him a glance, biting her lip as if trying to suppress a smile.
...
On Tongming Mountain, the Master of Chengkong couldn't find a reason to smile; instead, he wore a frown.
"What do you think I should say to Zheng Fa?"
The Master of Tongming sighed beside him and asked, "Is the Head coming in half a month?"
"Yes! The message has already been sent; at most, half a month!"
"Is the transformation from God to human coming this quickly?"
"Master... is the teacher of Qin Mu..."
Now the Master of Tongming understood.
The implication from the Master of Chengkong was clear—this esteemed Head was coming not just for the sect's mission but also for personal grievances.
Qin Mu, the Ghostly Immortal, was a traitor of Taishang Dao.
The urgency of this Head's visit was naturally to resolve this grudge.
"Do you want to retrieve that Qingjing Bamboo?"
The Master of Tongming nodded slightly, his worry still evident on his face: "I borrowed Qingjing Bamboo, and the elders in the sect will definitely not allow it. If the Master arrives and finds Qingjing Bamboo in Zheng Fa's possession..."
"I might just face some punishment."
"But Zheng Fa will be in serious trouble."
The Master of Tongming paused, "Is this Head difficult to deal with?"
"I know that Taishang Dao has always been willing to accept disciples from outside, as you know."
The Master of Tongming understood; he was one of those disciples.
"But now, some people have different ideas. With the decline of spiritual energy approaching, Taishang Dao's resources have diminished."
"Moreover, in the Dongtian world, there are now many disciples of Taishang Dao. Accepting outsiders naturally makes some people unhappy."
The Master of Tongming began to grasp the situation, realizing, "This Head does not approve of accepting disciples in the Xuanwei Realm?"
"Yes..." The Master of Chengkong sighed, "He has another reason: Qin Mu, the Ghostly Immortal, was his only disciple in the Xuanwei Realm..."
"......"
The Master of Tongming grimaced: this...
He could understand the Head's perspective.
The problem was, the reason the Master of Chengkong made an exception to lend Qingjing Bamboo to Zheng Fa was to draw him into Taishang Dao.
But for this Head:
Accept disciples?
What disciples?
Retrieve the Qingjing Bamboo from the sect!
"I promised Zheng Fa that this Qingjing Bamboo could be borrowed for at least two months..." The Master of Chengkong sighed, "And now it's only half a month..."
The Master of Tongming was at a loss.
The Master of Chengkong wanted to befriend Zheng Fa; if he went back on his word, wouldn't that backfire?
"Actually... it might not be a big deal?" The Master of Tongming furrowed his brow, thinking for a long time before suddenly speaking, "That Qingjing Bamboo has no roots left; whether Zheng Fa has it for half a month or two months... it doesn't seem to make much difference?"
The Master of Chengkong paused, suddenly realizing.
"That's true; he should have figured out by now that he might have lost out on the Qingjing Bamboo and might even regret it. Tongming, prepare some medicinal pills for cultivation... I'll go talk to Zheng Fa!"
"Right, who knows, Zheng Fa might even be hoping you’ll offer him a different reward!"
...
Zheng Fa was staring intently at Blood River Old Ancestor and the few disciples behind him, his expression somewhat complicated.
He glanced at Master Qian beside him.
Master Qian nodded at him.
"...Are you saying that the enchanting techniques of your Great Freedom Demon Sect also work on trees?"
"Not all of them are effective..." Blood River Old Ancestor quickly replied, "Most are ineffective, but there are a few methods that can stimulate plant growth."
As he spoke, he cast a spell that landed on a blade of grass at his feet.
This grass, which was only about an inch tall with delicate leaves, seemed fragile, but after a moment, it transformed into a green python as thick as a bowl, writhing on the ground, looking fierce and ready to devour.
Zheng Fa watched for a long time before turning to Master Qian.
"I observed under the microscope that this spell produces the growth hormones you mentioned, Master..."
Zheng Fa sighed inwardly at the proud expression on Blood River Old Ancestor's face—this Great Freedom Demon Sect was indeed a bit too wild.
From a scientific perspective, enchanting techniques involve controlling nerves and hormones.
Now it seemed that the Great Freedom Demon Sect's enchanting methods leaned more towards hormone production?
It was even reasonable that they could produce growth hormones...
What was unreasonable was that they didn't spare the birds...
"Where did this spell come from?"
"It's all created by our predecessors..."
Blood River Old Ancestor was momentarily taken aback, not understanding why Zheng Fa was asking this.
"I’m just curious... what did your predecessors in the Demon Sect intend to do when they invented this spell?"
"What did they intend to do... um..."
Blood River Old Ancestor was left speechless.
Behind him, Lin Bufan lowered his head slightly, feeling a deep sense of shame for his demonic heritage for the first time...
Zheng Fa let Master Qian take Blood River Old Ancestor away but kept Lin Bufan behind.
"How's it going?"
During this time, Zheng Fa had kept Lin Bufan and Blood River Old Ancestor together, partly because they shared the same background, allowing Lin Bufan to act as a guide.
Secondly, he felt relatively at ease with Lin Bufan, after all, this person’s soul imprint was in his hands.
"Nothing unusual, but they don't seem to have any loyalty to Jiushan..."
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