Chapter 478
No wonder even Teacher Tian and Old Hou were so flustered.
Zheng Fa didn’t waste any time and followed Teacher Tian to the experimental field. Sure enough, among the plants, two types of medicinal herbs were already exuding spiritual energy.
One was a fruit and vegetable, while another, a yam, seemed to be slowly transforming.
At this moment, Zheng Fa had no doubts left—this was indeed the effect of the Fusang wood!
The extraordinary power of Fusang wood was precisely what the demon race needed to achieve enlightenment. For plant demons, it was essential to first transform from spiritual plants before gradually developing intelligence.
With that in mind, it was no surprise that this thing could stimulate the growth of spiritual plants.
Even the tranquil bamboo seemed to have received a boost from the Fusang wood within Zheng Fa’s body...
...
"Based on what you’re saying... I think the most suitable role for this Fusang wood might actually be in agriculture?" Old Bai commented.
Teacher Tian’s eyes sparkled with excitement as he nodded vigorously, saying, "If we can fully utilize the capabilities of this Fusang wood, the speed of cultivating spiritual plants will greatly accelerate!"
"Grains, medicinal herbs..." Teacher Tian counted on his fingers, "Even livestock..."
"There are so many applications!"
It was clear that Teacher Tian was genuinely thrilled, and even Old Hou was breathing heavily beside him.
It wasn’t that the Jiushan Grain Company hadn’t developed well before, but with the addition of Fusang wood, there would likely be a massive breakthrough in the future!
Zheng Fa also came to a realization. The title of Demon Emperor was a designation for the leader of the demon race, but he didn’t want to be that.
In fact, the Fusang wood itself had little to do with the demon race.
Considering the changes it brought to the modern world, it had clear benefits for all living beings. It was just that the demon race was too fragmented; apart from humans, there were mostly demons, which led to this thing becoming the greatest common denominator among them.
What this meant was...
I’m not a Demon Emperor... I’m a God of Medicine?
No, a God of Agriculture, and maybe a God of Livestock... ugh, a God of Animal Husbandry?
If he could really change his vocation, honestly, this would suit him far better than being a Demon Emperor.
In that case, wouldn’t he have no conflict with the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor?
As the saying goes, "Knowing there are tigers in the mountains, one should avoid the mountains..."
But... the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor probably wouldn’t acknowledge this.
...
However, the surprises that the Fusang wood brought to Zheng Fa were not over yet.
The final surprise came from the stubborn Tang Lingwu—
"I think I might know what the Dao Fruit is!"
(Zheng Fa’s heart nearly shattered at her words. The Dao Fruit... objectively speaking, even Xie Qingxue probably had a vague understanding of it.
For a genius like Xie Qingxue, even a Transformation Stage master would be uncertain.
And here was Tang Lingwu, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, daring to claim she understood what the Dao Fruit was...
It truly astonished Zheng Fa.
Perhaps noticing Zheng Fa’s expression, Tang Lingwu’s voice dropped a little, her cheeks puffed up as she said, "Maybe... maybe..."
Seeing that this girl was losing confidence, Zheng Fa quickly reassured her, "It’s not that I don’t believe you; I’m just shocked."
Regardless of whether she was right or wrong, having a thought process like this was no easy feat.
He glanced at Tang Lingwu’s face. After all, she was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and despite her tiredness, her complexion was still rosy, her cheeks soft and plump like milk jelly.
Yet the lingering fatigue in her eyes made Zheng Fa feel her stubbornness and struggles.
"Thank you..."
Tang Lingwu wrinkled her nose slightly, looking a bit unhappy.
"I don’t need your thanks!"
...
But she really should be thanked!
Not only that, Zheng Fa felt like he wanted to respectfully offer incense to Tang Lingwu.
She had truly come up with something remarkable!
The group stood in front of the computer, watching the patterns on the screen as Tang Lingwu explained:
"I’ve been using the Spirit Eye technique to record the symbols in the spiritual energy of Hongshan."
Zheng Fa was aware of this; the Sanzi Symbol Theory had hit a bottleneck, but the corresponding research hadn’t stopped.
Moreover, symbols were highly related to various spells.
Tang Lingwu recorded new symbols she observed almost every day and stored them on the computer.
"In the past few days, I discovered some new symbols. There are many of them, and they’re newly appeared, so I studied them a bit more."
Zheng Fa and Old Bai exchanged glances, understanding the underlying message from Tang Lingwu—these new symbols had appeared because of the Fusang wood.
Tang Lingwu continued, "I thought I’d study these new symbols first."
This was quite understandable—since she couldn’t figure out what the Dao Fruit was, she might as well examine these newly emerged symbols in hopes of making some new discoveries.
At this point, Zheng Fa found Tang Lingwu’s idea interesting.
But the next second, he was stunned.
Not just him; Old Bai and the others were also staring blankly at the screen.
Just then, Tang Lingwu clicked on the computer, and the new symbols she had collected over the days quickly combined into something Zheng Fa and the others were very familiar with—
"It looks a bit like the structure in the spiritual energy cell nucleus!"
It looked very similar!
Due to technical limitations, they couldn’t clearly see the essence of the spiritual energy cell nucleus within Zheng Fa’s body, but they could grasp its general shape.
According to Zheng Fa’s understanding, the structure of the spiritual energy inside was likely equivalent to DNA in biological organisms, though the specifics were hard to discern.
Tang Lingwu naturally couldn’t see that.
But after combining these new symbols, everyone could see it—these two things bore a resemblance.
Not that the internal structures were identical.
Rather, the way these spiritual symbols were stacked together, when scaled down, looked remarkably similar to the structure within the spiritual energy cell nucleus.
"So I think it’s possible..." Tang Lingwu said softly, "I’m wondering if these symbols come from this spiritual energy cell nucleus."
Teacher Tian paused, as if finally grasping what Tang Lingwu was saying:
"You mean, the spiritual symbols are actually... biological macromolecules from this spiritual energy cell nucleus? Or perhaps genes?"
Tang Lingwu nodded.
Zheng Fa felt an inexplicable shock in his heart.
He glanced at the screen again. To be honest, the evidence was insufficient.
Tang Lingwu’s method of combining these symbols seemed a bit deliberate; perhaps she was mimicking the spiritual structure within the energy cell nucleus.
Yet it was indeed... very similar!
On the other hand, Tang Lingwu’s proposition was quite intriguing.
"So, what we call spells are actually a form of trait expression?" Tang Mu Dao also understood, organizing his thoughts as he slowly said, "If we delve deeper, we could say that spells alter the physical rules."
"Then this thing... could be considered a form of cosmic genetic information?"
This statement was a bit convoluted, but Zheng Fa immediately understood:
Biological genetic information determines how an organism’s organs grow and how various systems within it operate.
The cosmic genetic information that Tang Mu Dao referred to would determine how particles operate, how planets rotate, or essentially, how various cosmic constants function.
Was Tang Mu Dao... viewing the universe itself as a form of life?
Old Bai suddenly seemed to realize:
"So the Dao Fruit can only be life, cultivators, or the spiritual roots of heaven and earth? Only they possess the spiritual energy cell nucleus."
"That’s why the symbols are so complex; the molecular structure is inherently complicated."
Following this line of reasoning, Zheng Fa gained a different understanding of many things:
"So when Dao Fruit cultivators pass on their teachings, every time a cultivator uses their spells... it’s essentially a form of genetic replication?"
"No wonder Dao Fruit cultivators don’t die..."
Tang Lingwu hadn’t finished her thoughts: "Not just that."
"I’ve always thought of symbols as equivalent to software in a computer, capable of invoking various materials."
"But if we view it as a gene, I’m thinking... when cultivators use various symbols, it can almost be seen as genetic replication, and these cultivators, based on these methods, create new spells. I even think it can be viewed as a form of genetic mutation."
This statement stirred waves in Zheng Fa’s heart.
He had always wondered why Dao Fruit cultivators, even immortals, needed to pass on their teachings, ascend to divinity, and even leave descendants to create their own races.
For an immortal being, this seemed like a highly unreasonable behavior.
If we follow Tang Lingwu’s reasoning:
Dao methods and Dao Fruit cultivators are essentially one and the same.
As long as the Dao methods don’t perish, the Dao Fruit cultivators won’t perish.
Anyone who cultivates using their methods can be considered their descendants.
Even... if we understand it through the lens of genetic mutation, the creations and advancements of these cultivators could, in turn, empower the Dao Fruit cultivators, making them even stronger.
Thus, spreading their own Dao methods becomes a means of sustaining their existence, even evolving.
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