Chapter 500
"Previously, you completed the theoretical research for the Golden Elixir Project. Now, I want you to lead a team to study the transformation processes between various cultivation methods. Can you do it?"
Cheng Yun's heart raced, and his mouth felt dry. He was just a caretaker in this retirement home, but in this room, who was he really?
For a moment, he felt a bit intimidated.
Slap!
His advisor, Professor Wang, patted him on the back and whispered, "What are you dawdling for? Just agree!"
"Ah? Yes!"
Cheng Yun jolted, quickly responding.
Professor Wang cursed his student for being foolish but felt an inexplicable envy—opportunities like this, where one could lead a project despite similar intellectual levels, were crucial for someone to stand out.
Such experiences were also a necessary process for future greatness.
Even though Cheng Yun was his student, he couldn't help but mutter a curse under his breath: Damn it! What luck!
Zheng Fa smiled. He favored Cheng Yun, not out of bias, but because the task required a deep understanding of various Golden Elixir techniques, which Cheng Yun possessed.
Moreover, his greatest asset in this area was his senior sister, Zhang, from the Yuanling Dao body.
In simple terms, this research was actually the least difficult, given that Cheng Yun was already familiar with it.
However, the other sub-projects would not be so easy.
"The second part involves using the Five Elements Sub-Charms to simulate various non-spiritual materials."
"Everyone, I’m not very knowledgeable, and I’ve only divided it into two categories—non-biological and biological."
"The research direction is clear: using the Five Elements Sub-Charms to simulate various molecular and atomic structures."
"In terms of difficulty, we’ll start with non-biological..."
Zheng Fa paused and began calling out names:
"Wu Academician, Gao Academician..."
He rattled off dozens of names, including around thirty academicians, while the rest were prominent figures in various fields, all influential and formidable.
"Your task is to develop this technique concerning the non-biological part."
Seeing everyone nodding obediently, he turned to another group and said, "As for the biological part, that will be your responsibility."
Most people in the room exchanged glances, suddenly realizing a problem:
Zheng Fa seemed to be casually pointing out names, but each of the three project teams he formed was filled with strong contenders. In the domestic research community, no one had ever fought such a rich battle!
Not only were there few projects that could gather so many scholars, but there were also some more practical reasons:
To be frank, the domestic scientific community is filled with factions, and some of the people in this room would never have worked together in the past—just avoiding stepping on each other's toes would have been a victory.
But under Zheng Fa's arrangement, a group of rivals awkwardly looked at each other, unsure of how to face the situation.
As he interacted with more scholars and learned the gossip within the circle, Zheng Fa naturally became aware of much.
Competing for titles, projects, funding, and honors...
Scholars are human too; how many are truly paragons of virtue? Many have rather unscrupulous methods.
But Zheng Fa didn’t care at all.
"This project is our Hongshan Research Institute's first large-scale collaborative project..." Seeing that they seemed a bit uncomfortable, Zheng Fa slowly continued, "Professor Tang will record each of your contribution points. Based on those points, I will teach you techniques and distribute various spiritual herbs from the retirement home."
"The sooner we break through this topic, the sooner you can get your contribution points."
The scholars in the room suddenly brightened up.
Zheng Fa looked at two rival fluid physicists, and as they exchanged glances, they unexpectedly broke into smiles, standing together like good buddies.
Zheng Fa's meaning was clear: the sooner they perfected this technique, the sooner they could touch the true essence of cultivation.
What funding, what titles, what honors!
In the face of the temptation of immortality, let alone burying the hatchet, becoming sworn brothers wouldn’t be a problem at all!
At this moment, there were no enemies in the room, only fellow cultivators!
The group spontaneously divided into several clusters, exchanging ideas and engaging in lively discussions.
Seeing this, Zheng Fa couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly—
Ten great masters... is that too many?
He gazed at the conference room, feeling a sense of satisfaction, having planned everything up to this day... The best minds in the world are now in my grasp!
(End of this chapter)
---
Chapter 386: Modern Future, Expressing Gratitude
Leaving the group of brilliant minds to discuss or argue, Zheng Fa stepped out of the retirement home, transforming into a rainbow and swiftly arriving at the foot of Hongshan.
This used to be a village, one Zheng Fa had visited before.
Earlier, when he and Tang Lingwu were searching for suitable mountains, they had stayed at a guesthouse in this village.
Now, the villagers had been relocated, reportedly for a good sum—Old Bai and the guesthouse owner still had some contact, and it seemed that the relocated residents even expressed a bit of envy in their words.
Especially after seeing the owner’s extravagant social media posts...
It wasn’t that Zheng Fa was boasting; the sudden wealth of these people was probably somewhat related to him:
The relocation was initially to keep Hongshan a secret.
Now, many houses in the village were gone, but the fields outside remained intact, stretching from the foot of the mountain to the horizon, neat and lush.
Today, this place could be considered an agricultural research base for the Hongshan Research Institute.
The agricultural research at Hongshan had previously focused on two main areas—spiritual plants and non-spiritual plants.
The cultivation base for spiritual plants was within Hongshan, where the spiritual energy was abundant, leading to high cultivation efficiency.
Non-spiritual plants were what Old Hou and his team had been working on, using spiritual plants as parent stock to cultivate varieties that didn’t require a spiritual energy environment but were more productive, nutritious, and delicious than current crops.
That was in the past; now, things had changed.
Since the great sun phenomenon, the Fusang tree had gained a slight connection to the modern world, and now there was spiritual energy outside of Hongshan!
The only difference between inside and outside the mountain was that the spiritual energy inside was extremely dense, while outside it was less, perhaps only a fraction of what was found within Hongshan—no, even a ten-thousandth of it.
But that was enough to change the agricultural research system at Hongshan.
Walking along the ridge, Zheng Fa took a few steps forward and saw a group of people standing in the fields.
Old Hou was crouched down, seemingly observing the wheat ears.
Teacher Tian stood beside him, quietly asking something.
Tang Lingwu also had her head down, listening intently.
Behind them, a group of agricultural researchers whispered among themselves.
Zheng Fa approached, and surprisingly, they didn’t notice him.
He moved through the crowd and reached Tang Lingwu's side. She seemed to feel someone getting too close and thought it was one of the researchers. She took a small step back, frowning and looking at Zheng Fa with cold eyes.
But upon realizing it was Zheng Fa, she gently stepped back, leaning her shoulder against his as they both looked into the field.
Seeing Old Hou and Teacher Tian engaged in a lively discussion, Zheng Fa didn’t want to interrupt them. He quietly asked Tang Lingwu, "How's it going?"
Tang Lingwu nodded slightly, leaning closer to Zheng Fa's ear and deliberately speaking softly, "It's really good!"
No need to be so discreet.
Her actions caught the attention of the two men, and upon seeing Zheng Fa, Old Hou smiled, "This Spirit Wheat No. 1 is better than all the varieties we’ve researched before!"
His voice was loud, completely different from the sickly tone he had when he first arrived at the retirement home. Now, he stood up with vigor, striding toward Zheng Fa.
"That revised version of 'Nine Mountains Agricultural Classic' saved us a lot of trouble! That Master Qian is truly a genius!"
Old Hou was not just praising the newly cultivated Spirit Wheat; he also spoke highly of the 'Nine Mountains Agricultural Classic (Revised Edition).'
The original version of the 'Nine Mountains Agricultural Classic' was edited by Old Hou along with modern agricultural scholars, primarily based on contemporary academic research, but the subjects were changed to spiritual plants.
However, the current 'Nine Mountains Agricultural Classic (Revised Edition)' included many new elements—mostly contributions from Master Qian's team.
In terms of theoretical depth, they had yet to reach the level of modern biology.
But in practical terms, especially regarding knowledge related to spiritual plants, Old Hou and his team were far behind.
Especially after cultivating the Qingjing Bamboo and Fusang tree, if there was any field where the Nine Mountains Sect could claim to be the best—
It would undoubtedly be Master Qian and his perfected 'Nine Mountains Agricultural Classic (Revised Edition).'
This point could be attested to by the likes of Master Mingde, the Ascended One, and the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor!
When Zheng Fa presented this revised version of the 'Nine Mountains Agricultural Classic' to the modern world, it marked the first true integration of technology between the modern and Nine Mountains realms.
In fact, it could be said to be the first time the Nine Mountains Sect gave back to modern science!
And the result was the Spirit Wheat No. 1 standing before them.
Table of Contents
