Chapter 620
Zheng Fa looked at Zhang Shijie, who remained silent, her gaze fixed on his face.
He understood very well how much she valued the Jiu Zhang Suan Zhen (Nine Chapters Calculation Array) and was acutely aware of her urgency for the rapid development of the Jiu Shan Realm.
Yet, in order to give her time to cultivate her spirit and to ensure she had more vitality in future conflicts, Zheng Fa chose to pause the operation of the calculation array.
"Actually, I'm not completely neglecting the Jiu Zhang Suan Zhen," Zheng Fa said, noticing the hesitation in Zhang Shijie's eyes. He smiled and added, "Haven't you already approved the textbooks for each subject?"
"The textbooks for the Array Dao Academy should be ready, right?"
Zhang Shijie replied, "It's just a draft. There are too few people in the Jiu Shan Realm who understand Array Dao, but it’s usable."
"That's good enough. Why not select some talented disciples to teach them how to operate the Jiu Zhang Suan Zhen? I believe in a year or two, there will be some capable individuals, and you can then feel at ease to step away."
After all, training someone to operate the Jiu Zhang Suan Zhen was relatively straightforward.
Even though the Jiu Zhang Suan Zhen was a new concept, a year or two would suffice.
Zhang Shijie responded, "Then I can prepare to cultivate my spirit in a year or two; that’s not too late."
"…"
Zheng Fa looked at Zhang Shijie as she continued, "As for the Jiu Shan Realm and me… you don’t need to choose."
… which meant she wanted it all.
To be honest, the sooner Zhang Shijie could cultivate her spirit, the more at ease Zheng Fa would feel.
However, seeing the determination in her eyes, he understood that sometimes, the decisions she made were beyond his influence.
He sighed inwardly, having anticipated this outcome.
Thus, there was only one way forward…
…
In the present, at the nursing home.
Zheng Fa entered Tang Lingwu's room, his eyes filled with anticipation as he asked, "How's the research on the artificial intelligence algorithms suitable for the Jiu Zhang Suan Zhen coming along?"
Little Lingwu.
Whether Zhang Shijie could cultivate her spirit soon depended on you!
Training disciples wasn’t something that could be accomplished overnight, but if they could enhance the intelligence of the Jiu Zhang Suan Zhen, even allowing it to develop its own consciousness, that would be a path to liberate Zhang Shijie.
"I’ve made some progress, but the logic of these symbols and the assembly language seem similar, yet they are vastly different… there are still some minor issues," Tang Lingwu replied helplessly.
Zheng Fa moved to stand behind Tang Lingwu's chair, glancing at the posts on her forum. Suddenly, he asked, "I have two documents; take a look. They might be useful."
He pulled out two books and handed them to Tang Lingwu.
She flipped through them, softly reading the titles: "Chi Xiao Yu Ce (The Jade Book of Chi Xiao)… Xian Xian Jian Dian (The Sword Classic of Immortal Traps)? These are manuals for cultivation? What do they have to do with the Jiu Zhang Suan Zhen?"
"These two books contain two approaches to constructing intelligent entities through symbols," Zheng Fa explained.
Seeing Tang Lingwu's eyes widen in surprise, he felt a surge of pride within:
Creating artificial intelligence… even the Xuan Wei Realm can do it.
With the brilliant minds of two worlds combined, he was confident they could develop an artificial intelligence that would allow Zhang Shijie to let go.
---
Chapter 446: Refining Qi to Transform the Spirit, Making Full Use of Everyone
"Dao Guo Gong Fa (The Method of Dao Fruit)?"
In the backyard of the nursing home, Bai Laotou and a few others sat together, examining the "Chi Xiao Yu Ce" and "Xian Xian Jian Dian."
From Zheng Fa's words, they had already understood that the so-called Dao Guo cultivators were the legendary immortals.
Naturally, they were curious and excited to see the Dao Guo methods.
Tang Lingwu had already read these two manuals. Now, her head was nestled against Zheng Fa's shoulder as she looked at the "Da Zizai Zhen Fa (The True Method of Great Freedom)" in his hands.
To speak of it, Dao Guo methods were extremely precious in the Xuan Wei Realm, and very few cultivators from the five sects had the chance to see such true methods.
Moreover, there were three of them.
In the Jiu Shan Realm, only a handful had read all three methods.
None of them were below the Yuanying (Nascent Soul) stage.
But the situation was different in the nursing home.
Teacher Tian and Tang Mu Dao had already earned Zheng Fa's trust.
Not to mention Bai Laotou and Tang Lingwu.
Zheng Fa naturally did not hide anything.
Although Bai Laotou was unaware of this, he was still intrigued. He quickly skimmed through the three true methods and exclaimed, "Cultivating immortality… truly miraculous."
Tang Mu Dao was equally excited:
"This 'Chi Xiao Yu Ce' primarily focuses on fire-based techniques, achieving the Yang God, akin to the Fire God."
"The physical body of the 'Da Zizai Zhen Fa' is not only powerful but also possesses various strange methods, with a resilient life force."
"Even the 'Xian Xian Jian Dian' seems incomplete, yet when combined with the sword, its power far exceeds the first two."
"Three completely different approaches, each with its own merits."
Zheng Fa shook his head, "They're not entirely different; the Yang God method is the source."
He had nearly confirmed this point through discussions with Zhang Shijie and others.
"The nervous system constructed by the Yang God method leaves traces in both the Dharma body and the Tian He method."
"Their differences lie merely in the choices of various techniques."
Upon hearing this, Tang Mu Dao frowned, seemingly recalling the three methods, and slowly nodded. He suddenly said, "Setting aside the Demon Sect and Tian He methods, the Yang God method… I feel somewhat familiar with it."
"Familiar?"
Zheng Fa was taken aback, looking at Tang Mu Dao.
"Just as you said, cultivating immortality is a form of spontaneous life evolution. The Yang God can be seen as evolving towards a form of spiritual life."
This perspective was quite fitting.
"I mentioned that this method sounded familiar because there’s a common term in Daoist texts."
"What term?"
"Refining Qi to Transform the Spirit."
Zheng Fa was taken aback; he had certainly heard this term before, but he hadn’t thought of it in this context, nor had he connected the Yang God method of the Xuan Wei Realm with it.
"This Yang God method actually resonates subtly with the phrase 'Refining Qi to Transform the Spirit,'" Tang Mu Dao pondered, "Speaking of which, 'Refining Qi to Transform the Spirit' is considered the most orthodox path of Daoist cultivation."
Tang Mu Dao's words seemed to validate Zheng Fa's assertion that the Yang God method was the root of the three methods.
"Then why are there Tian He and Demon Sect methods?"
Bai Laotou asked, puzzled.
"That’s the crux of the matter; I have a hypothesis." Zheng Fa looked up at the sky, as if counting the stars, and slowly said, "The Yang God method must have hidden dangers."
"Dangers? What kind of dangers?"
"I don’t know, which is why it’s just a hypothesis." Zheng Fa shook his head lightly, speaking candidly, "But the likelihood is high; otherwise, those cultivators wouldn’t have created the Demon Sect and Tian He methods."
The reasoning was simple: if the Yang God method were flawless, why would the Tian He Zun and Mo Zu go through all that trouble?
Or to put it more despairingly, the three methods currently in the Xuan Wei Realm likely all have issues; otherwise, the realm wouldn’t be in its current state.
Having gathered all three Dao Guo methods, Zheng Fa felt even more pessimistic, even convinced that the road ahead would have no references, and he would have to explore it on his own.
From now on, there might no longer be stones for him to feel his way along.
The difficulties and dangers that lay ahead were all too clear.
Noticing the uncertainty on his face, Tang Lingwu looked at him with a hint of worry, unsure of what to say.
Zheng Fa sensed her gaze and turned to smile at her: "With the Jiu Zhang Suan Zhen perfected, the efficiency of the method's deduction should be quite high, which will greatly assist me."
"Mm!"
Tang Lingwu nodded vigorously, gazing at her room as if she wanted to get back to work.
This wasn’t just Zheng Fa comforting Tang Lingwu.
He had his own plan, which was quite simple:
Using the Jiu Zhang Suan Zhen along with modern research to deduce the principles of the three methods, identifying their strengths and weaknesses, and improving upon them.
Then, relying on the "Tian Gang Di Sha Bian Hua" (Transformations of the Heavenly Gang and Earth Sha) and the Great Sun True Fire, he could conduct human experiments without leaving any hidden dangers.
In this way, while he might not create a perfect method, he could combine the strengths of all three and find the path that suited him best.
Bai Laotou glanced at Zheng Fa but said nothing.
…
"Detailed Explanation of the Symbols in 'Chi Xiao Yu Ce'?"
Ten days later, Zheng Fa looked at the black notebook in his hand, then raised his head to look at Bai Laotou, momentarily transported back to that old, dilapidated teacher's dormitory from years ago.
"Did you write this?"
Bai Laotou waved his hand dismissively, appearing unconcerned: "I had some insights while reading 'Chi Xiao Yu Ce,' so I jotted it down casually; it’s nothing significant."
Zheng Fa fell silent.
He turned to Teacher Tian, who chuckled, "He’s just pretending. He’s been scratching his head every night, and it’s been quite a struggle for him to write this."
"Xiao Tian!"
Teacher Tian rolled his eyes: "Who are you fooling with that acting?"
Bai Laotou stiffened, sneaking glances at everyone, only to find even the most innocent Tang Lingwu wearing a knowing expression.
"If you want to help, just help; stop being so coy," Teacher Tian muttered again, "The older he gets, the more awkward he becomes."
Zheng Fa looked at the silent Bai Laotou and opened the black notebook, realizing that Teacher Tian's description of the struggle was no exaggeration:
Using "Chi Xiao Yu Ce" to improve the Jiu Zhang Suan Zhen was not as simple as it seemed.
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