Cultivation: I Have Studied Abroad in the Modern World
Chapter 133 - 38 Learn and Learn

Chapter 133: Chapter 38 Learn and Learn

In recent days, Zheng Fa felt that the spiritual power in his Dantian was gradually overflowing,

with a premonition that he was about to break through the fifth level of Qi Refinement.

He sat on the meditation cushion, swallowed a Yuan Condensing Pill, and prepared to condense the fourth Primordial Talisman.

He already had a certain plan in his mind regarding the selection of the ten Primordial Talismans——

They could be roughly divided into three categories:

First and foremost are those ensuring his own safety, such as the first Primordial Talisman, the Right Stand No Shadow Talisman,

and even the second, the Frost Blade Talisman, which were not entirely useless in the modern times.

At least for now, he would be excellent at assassinations, making it impossible for anyone to find not only the perpetrator

but even the weapon.

Perfect crimes were a piece of cake.

The second kind of Primordial Talisman he sought were those that could acquire resources in modern times.

Represented by talismans like the Nourishing Spirit Talisman.

The third kind, which Zheng Fa had not yet condensed but had long planned, was a class of Spirit Talismans——those that could be used to

construct nursing homes, cultivate influence, and even aid in research.

Especially the Spirit Mountain Technique, modified by the Sect Leader, also required the use of Spirit Talismans in some aspects.

After some thought, ten Spirit Talismans actually seemed a bit too few.

Among the first three Spirit Talismans, Zheng Fa had condensed the Right Stand No Shadow Talisman, the Frost Blade Talisman, and the Nourishing Spirit Talisman,

which belong to the Yin elements of earth, metal, and water, respectively.

Therefore, the Spirit Talisman he planned to condense this time could only be of the Yin Wood Element.

Zheng Fa had originally had other plans, but at the last minute he changed his mind and chose a Primordial Talisman called the Evergreen Talisman.

This was a talisman commonly used by Spirit Farmers in the Xuanwei Realm——with a very broad range of applications,

capable of promoting growth, nourishing, and healing Spirit Plants.

Although its effects were not that strong.

But among Spirit Farmers, as a multipurpose Spirit Talisman, it was very popular.

Zheng Fa wished to condense this Primordial Talisman not only because its attributes were a good fit,

but also with the future development of the nursing home in mind——he wanted to create a spirit field in the nursing home to see.

On the one hand, if spirit grain and Spirit Plants that do not exist in the modern world could be cultivated in the spirit field,

even simple sales to the outside world could bring huge returns.

But the most important factor for Zheng Fa in choosing this talisman was actually due to the debate between Zhang and Master Pang.

Zhang wished to forge a new path, so she sought to create new talismanic Dao.

Zheng Fa agreed with her philosophy, but didn’t share her optimism—could the mastery of talismanic Dao truly solve the decline of the Spiritual Mechanism?

Even Zhang herself may not have such confidence.

Choosing the Evergreen Talisman, it was because he wanted to see if in the future it was possible to combine Spirit Plants with modern agriculture,

research agricultural techniques suitable for cultivating Spirit Plants, and thereby give back to Jiushan Sect and the Xuanwei Realm.

Not to mention resolving the issue of Spiritual Mechanism decline, just being able to research a method to improve the yield of Spirit Plants would be of great use to Jiushan Sect.

He wasn’t sure if this would be successful.

But having one more possibility was deemed worthwhile by Zheng Fa.

Very soon, the Evergreen Talisman was condensed in Zheng Fa’s Dantian, and settled next to the Nourishing Spirit Talisman.

With the successful condensation of the Evergreen Talisman, a small vortex of Spiritual Energy appeared above Zheng’s Courtyard—he has broken through to the fifth level of Qi Refinement.

...

"Zheng has made another breakthrough."

Above the Eighth Peak, Master Pang sighed and turned his head to look at Zhou Qianyuan beside him.

Zhou Qianyuan’s expression was a little awkward—he knew what his Master meant, he hadn’t broken through to the fifth level of Qi Refinement yet.

Zheng Fa was far less talented than him, yet now he had surpassed him.

"I have been a little negligent these past few days," Zhou Qianyuan said with shame.

"It’s not all your fault," Master Pang did not press him at this moment: "These past days, things have not been going well under my tutelage,

it’s understandable that you’ve lost the heart to cultivate."

"You also spend your days learning talismanic magic and evenings studying talismanic Dao, leaving no time for cultivation."

Zhou Qianyuan’s face relaxed slightly.

"But... Qian Yuan, you have to understand, whether it is Nephew Zheng or Nephew Zhang, they are the brightest talents of our Jiushan Sect’s current generation,"

Master Pang’s tone carried a hint of admonishment: "Right now, they value you because of your talent, but if you fall too far behind..."

"I understand, Master!" Zhou Qianyuan’s expression tightened.

"Look at Nephew Zheng, do you think he doesn’t have more on his plate than you do? The workshop, the theater, and talismanic Dao..."

Master Pang continued: "But in my eyes, he has never slacked off a single day in cultivation."

"Disciple..." Zhou Qianyuan became even more ashamed.

"I asked you to follow him, not just to learn talismanic Dao, but more importantly, to see for yourself how Nephew Zhang and Nephew Zheng treat cultivation,"

Master Pang said softly.

"Yes!"

"A few days ago, you mentioned that Nephew Zhang intended to have Zheng manage the Talisman Magic Pavilion,"

Master Pang nodded and said: "Just watch, if he has the ability to gain the loyalty of your fellow disciples—if he does, then you may hand it over to him."

Master Pang took out a jade tube and handed it to Zhou Qianyuan.

"Master?"

"Consider it payment for my theater ticket," Master Pang said with a smirk.

...

"All set!" In the Ninth Peak, the Sect Leader triumphantly announced to Zheng Fa, Zhang, and the others.

Zheng Fa was stunned.

This old man finished so quickly?

Cultivation is indeed the primary productive force!

"Why don’t we give it a try?" Yuan became eager to try upon hearing this.

She had been interested in this game when she first heard Zheng Fa’s ideas.

Zhang’s face also showed an interested expression.

The Sect Leader threw out a dozen Spirit Talismans.

Zheng Fa’s vision flashed—and noticed no change.

It was still the same Jiushan Sect.

Now he had some understanding of why this old man was so eager.

"I have set up the illusionary environment based on the Jiushan Sect." He heard the voice of his own master: "In this environment, you have your own cultivation, magical treasures, and spirit talismans—the only difference from reality is that you are not afraid of death!"

For some reason, Zheng Fa sensed a strong malevolence in the old man’s voice.

...

Half an hour later, Zheng Fa looked pale as he faced the three individuals before him.

The Sect Leader had a satisfied smile on his face.

Zhang was looking at the sky.

Yuan was looking at the ground.

But neither of them looked at him.

These three people, two Golden Cores, and one Nascent Soul—what experience was it for him, a Qi Refinement Realm disciple, to play games with them?

Let’s put it this way—

For him, this was like Granny Liu entering the Lion Camel Ridge for the third time.

For the three of them, this was like the three heroes battling Lin Daiyu.

A good several hundred spectacular deaths!

The one with the darkest moves was his own master.

"Cough..." The Sect Leader couldn’t sit still under his resentful gaze and turned to Zhang and Yuan: "What do you two think?"

"Pretty good."

"I think it’s not bad!"

Both nodded in agreement.

"No way!" Zheng Fa spoke up: "It needs to change."

"I know you had it a bit tough just now..." The Sect Leader said somewhat unwillingly.

Clearly, the old man didn’t want to make changes.

The looks in Zhang and Yuan’s eyes also conveyed this message—they all thought Zheng Fa opposed it because the game experience was too poor.

"...It’s not that, the whole set of rules needs to be changed."

Zheng Fa’s expression was very serious.

"Firstly, there are too few maps in this illusion, and the Jiushan Sect is too familiar with them, which doesn’t test the disciples’ adaptability in unfamiliar places."

Upon hearing this, Zhang and Yuan couldn’t help but nod gently.

They started taking Zheng Fa’s suggestions more seriously.

"Secondly, we can’t let the disciples fight on their own." Zheng Fa added: "The reason we created this thing was to cultivate the disciples’ real combat abilities, and we also want to encourage teamwork, especially for the lower-level disciples. Teaming up increases their survival rate significantly compared to going solo."

"You’re saying..." The Sect Leader also began to ponder.

"Form teams and compete against each other in small groups."

Seeing that the three seemed convinced by his argument.

Zheng Fa brought up his most important consideration: "Lastly, there’s the issue of cost, Master. How much did it cost to set up this talisman formation?"

"Fifteen Earth Grade Talismans."

The Sect Leader frowned, seemingly understanding his point.

"The cost is too high." Zheng Fa said: "A trial is more expensive than a stage play... this contradicts our original intention to let the disciples undergo more trials—it’d be better off making them risk their lives for real."

"Add maps, change the mechanism, reduce the cost." Zheng Fa looked at his master with a hint of resistance on his face: "Master, it’s all up to you."

...

Modern times.

After another monthly test, the atmosphere in the classroom was oddly cheerful—

Of course, exams can’t be said to be pleasant.

But the brief relaxation after the exams was treasured all the more, and the classmates knew that at this time, the teachers would be a little more lenient on them.

Zheng Fa put down his textbook and suddenly turned to Wang Chen behind him: "Do you have time?"

"...Whether I do depends on what it’s about." Wang Chen said warily.

"I just want you to teach me how to play games."

Zh Fa’s words made Wang Chen’s eyes widen, and after a moment’s thought, he asked: "What game? Match-matching? Finding Mommy Tadpole?"

"The hot games on the market, preferably the competitive ones."

Zheng Fa had been focused on hard study in the past few years and hadn’t played many games.

He couldn’t help with changing the maps and reducing costs, but he could draw inspiration from game mechanics.

Hearing this, Wang Chen got excited. He sneakily took out his phone from his desk and said: "Come on, I’ll teach you!"

Zheng Fa also took out his phone and followed him in downloading several popular games from the app store and started to play.

"Zheng Fa, my mom said the inspection team has sent back their report."

As he was engrossed in his phone game, Tang Lingwu’s voice came from above.

"Then let’s go to Mr. Bai’s place to check it out later." In the midst of a tense moment, Zheng didn’t lift his head as he replied.

Tang Lingwu didn’t leave, just standing next to Zheng Fa, curiously staring at his phone screen.

It was evident that she hadn’t played many games either.

"Wang Chen! What are you doing?" Just as Wang Chen was immersed in his game, Mr. Chen’s dark voice came from behind him: "Playing games?"

Wang Chen shuddered, looking fearfully at Mr. Chen with an angry face.

"Did you do well on the test? Or are you already guaranteed to enter a top university? What are you thinking, playing games at this time?"

After Mr. Chen finished scolding, he looked up and saw Zheng Fa and Tang Lingwu with their heads together, seemingly studying together, then he scolded Wang Chen with a tone of disappointment: "Look at Zheng Fa and Tang Lingwu! They’re once again the top two in the class! What are they doing? Why can’t you learn from them?" As he spoke, he walked forward to Zheng Fa’s desk.

Seeing the familiar scenes on Zheng Fa’s phone screen, Mr. Chen’s mouth twitched as he said: "Can’t you learn from them how to balance work and leisure?"