Chapter 418
Lin Bufan spoke earnestly.
“It’s fine, as long as they don’t cause trouble. In the Jiushan Realm, they won’t be able to stir up much of a storm…” Zheng Fa waved his hand, not insisting further. He added, “As long as the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor is still around, they can never turn their hearts toward our Jiushan Sect…”
Zheng Fa understood this matter very well:
According to the Blood River Ancestor, the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor had an exceptionally strong control over the disciples of the Great Freedom Demon Sect.
Currently, Lin Bufan hadn’t faced any reckoning, likely because the other party hadn’t been resurrected yet.
But the other disciples were different; they were probably still waiting for the Demon Ancestor to rescue them.
Among this group, Zheng Fa trusted Lin Bufan the most, and then there was the Blood River Ancestor, who might have offended the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor…
“I… will definitely keep a close watch on them!” Lin Bufan gritted his teeth and said.
“No, I’m not asking you to spy on them,” Zheng Fa waved his hand. “After all, you come from the Great Freedom Demon Sect, and the legacy of our Jiushan Sect is of no use to you…”
“Master?”
Lin Bufan’s eyes suddenly widened.
“Among these people, there are those with Golden Core cultivation, and even the likes of the Blood River Ancestor, who has reached the Transformation stage. Your status in our Jiushan Sect is special; they might try to curry favor with you…”
Lin Bufan hadn’t expected that Zheng Fa was actually planning for him…
He opened his mouth, speechless.
“Study hard; I’ll have tasks for you in the future…” Zheng Fa smiled, “I won’t let you sell your blood for the rest of your life.”
“Yes!”
Zheng Fa watched Lin Bufan turn away, stroking his face, and slowly left.
…
Three days later.
“Did it work?”
Zheng Fa didn’t expect the good news to come so quickly. The first step in cultivating the Qingjing Bamboo was completed by Qian Zhenren and his team in just three days, successfully achieving the dedifferentiation of plant cells.
“This isn’t difficult; I just hadn’t paid attention before,” Qian Zhenren explained. “The real challenge was the fusion of the primordial protoplast…”
Zheng Fa nodded slowly. Technically, dedifferentiation of cells was indeed simple…
As the saying goes, the hard part is understanding; it’s the knowledge system!
“Moreover, with the help of the Blood River and the others, we only had to experiment five times to succeed!”
Zheng Fa glanced at the Blood River Ancestor beside him and couldn’t help but nod in appreciation—every disciple of the Great Freedom Demon Sect was extraordinary and extremely useful.
What a waste for the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor!
“Since that’s the case, you and Blood River should try to see if the Qingjing Bamboo cells can dedifferentiate.”
Qian Zhenren wasn’t surprised, but the Blood River Ancestor looked completely bewildered. “What cells?”
“Qingjing Bamboo.”
The Blood River Ancestor fell into deep thought—this name sounded so familiar…
He looked down at the sword at his feet and remembered: Oh, it was this that killed me!
Zheng Fa felt a bit awkward, finally realizing his mistake—asking the Blood River Ancestor and the others to cultivate Qingjing Bamboo was somewhat like asking a hen to heat a pot, or a pig to sharpen a knife…
(End of this chapter)
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Chapter 348: Experiment Success, Unmatched Insight
The Blood River Ancestor floated in the agricultural laboratory on University Island, surveying the people around him.
Zheng Fa, Zhang Wuyi, and Pang Zhenren—these three were the backbone of the Jiushan Sect’s laboratory, participating in nearly every experiment. Their expressions were slightly expectant.
Qian Zhenren, accompanied by two disciples, looked somewhat excited. Cultivating spiritual roots was one thing.
Cultivating heavenly spiritual roots was another.
The former could still be said to be catching up with the various sects skilled in spiritual agriculture.
If the latter succeeded… they would be stepping into a realm that hadn’t been seen in the Jiushan Realm for at least several tens of thousands of years, making the Taishang Dao tremble, the Tianhe Sect weep, and the Leiyin Temple envious.
Qian Zhenren’s expression was as if he were dreaming. After all, just two years ago, the Qianhe Sect had been annihilated, and he had been left in despair, like a lost dog.
The Blood River Ancestor understood the unspoken words on his face: How could I be here?
Because he thought the same…
You say, I’m a holy sect’s Transformation stage cultivator, here to cultivate the Buddhist treasure, Qingjing Bamboo. Isn’t that a bit inappropriate?
Especially since Qingjing Bamboo was fundamentally opposed to the holy sect.
Thinking this way, the Blood River Ancestor felt even more anxious—though he hadn’t killed a single person from the holy sect, hadn’t revealed any secrets of the holy sect, and even maintained a hundred percent loyalty to the Holy Ancestor, along with a ten-thousand-fold wariness…
Why did it feel like… he couldn’t go back?
But not cooperating wouldn’t be of much use either—according to Qian Zhenren, that so-called hormone wasn’t a secret to Zheng Fa and the others. If he didn’t help, it would just be a bit of a hassle.
The Blood River Ancestor followed everyone’s gaze to the Qingjing Bamboo cells in the microscopic array.
These cells had a strong survival ability—or rather, the Qingjing Bamboo itself had an exceptionally strong survival ability. Even without roots, it hadn’t wilted at all after so many days; it just couldn’t grow or repair itself.
Zheng Fa spoke up, “Although heavenly spiritual roots are different from ordinary spiritual roots, and even more so from ordinary plants, since they exist in cellular form, there’s a good chance they share similar properties with ordinary plants.”
Zhang Shijie didn’t quite understand what this meant.
But Zheng Fa had a feeling—there seemed to be many parallels between the modern world and the Xuanwei Realm.
What was lacking was likely the variable of spiritual energy.
Thus, applying modern thinking to the Xuanwei Realm often yielded good results.
He suppressed his thoughts and gently nodded at Qian Zhenren.
Qian Zhenren took out a pill, crushed it with spiritual power, and placed it into the petri dish containing the Qingjing Bamboo cells. This was a nutrient substance.
The Blood River Ancestor also set aside his complicated thoughts, skillfully casting spells, adding more hormones to the petri dish.
Zheng Fa focused on the Qingjing Bamboo cells in the dish.
At this moment, even he couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous; the Qingjing Bamboo was crucial to the safety of their Jiushan Realm:
According to Cheng Kong, having a heavenly spiritual root in the cave world would allow for growth.
Initially, Zheng Fa had thought of the Fusang tree within him.
But now, with the Qingjing Bamboo, it not only provided an extra layer of insurance but also simplified the process:
Cultivating the Fusang tree required starting from the spiritual energy structure in Zheng Fa’s cells to cultivate Fusang tree cells.
Only then could the Fusang tree be grown.
Unlike now, where they directly had Qingjing Bamboo cells, which meant they skipped the first step.
If this didn’t succeed… then cultivating the Fusang tree would naturally be out of the question.
On the other hand, if they couldn’t cultivate the Fusang tree—then having the Qingjing Bamboo would still be acceptable, right?
He watched the petri dish, where the Qingjing Bamboo cells slowly began to change.
First, the shape and internal structure of the cells underwent slight alterations.
“Dedifferentiation!”
Qian Zhenren whispered, seemingly afraid that his voice would startle the Qingjing Bamboo cells undergoing transformation.
Then, the spiritual energy nuclei within the cells began to change—the nuclei seemed to have grown plumper, and the spiritual energy patterns inside became more intricate, making it harder to discern the real from the illusory.
“Cell division…”
Zheng Fa couldn’t hold back any longer, murmuring.
The changes were subtle, so small that they could only be seen with a microscopic array, but in the Xuanwei Realm, they were groundbreaking!
However… just three breaths later, the smiles on everyone’s faces froze.
“Did it die?”
Qian Zhenren said in a daze.
“It’s dead,” Pang Shishu replied, his tone dejected.
The expression on the Blood River Ancestor’s face was complex and inscrutable. Everyone knew that if this experiment had succeeded, the Jiushan Sect would have achieved a miracle not seen in the Xuanwei Realm for at least several tens of thousands of years.
As a part of this, he couldn’t help but feel a bit hopeful.
But now, seeing it had failed, he also let out a quiet sigh of relief:
This result was perfect!
He hadn’t done anything wrong, working diligently; Zheng Fa had no reason to blame him.
Not succeeding meant the Holy Ancestor couldn’t blame him either.
He was probably the biggest winner in this laboratory!
Even Zheng Fa was left speechless—just moments ago, the changes in the Qingjing Bamboo cells had been so successful, so smooth.
It had raised his expectations incredibly high.
Naturally, the now lifeless Qingjing Bamboo cells, with their spiritual energy slowly dissipating, left him feeling a bit disappointed.
A hand rested on his shoulder. Zheng Fa turned to see Zhang Shijie looking at him with a comforting expression, saying nothing.
He let out a gentle breath, looking at Zhang Shijie, and suddenly thought of Tang Lingwu’s face…
Well, mainly he recalled the three reasons Tang Lingwu had mentioned:
First, she said the theory was flawed, which was unlikely—because the Qingjing Bamboo cells had already shown significant changes, even aligning with theoretical expectations.
Second, the species might be unsuitable, which was also relatively unlikely—after all, these were original Qingjing Bamboo cells, not something pieced together by Zheng Fa and the others.
Third… the environment might be the issue!
The environment, nutrients, hormones, and… spiritual energy!
Spiritual plants need spiritual energy.
Heavenly spiritual roots naturally require even more spiritual energy!
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