Cultivation: I Have Studied Abroad in the Modern World
Chapter 227 - 120: Planting the Sun

Chapter 227: Chapter 120: Planting the Sun

The owner of the homestay was driving on the mountain road, already regretting it in his heart.

The mountain road was treacherous to begin with, with one careless move potentially leading to a plunge into the abyss, let alone now as the rain was getting heavier and the mist in the mountains was blurring the view even more.

Despite the windshield wipers swinging vigorously, along the way, he still broke out in a cold sweat all over.

"Granny, if it weren’t for me growing up in this area since I was a kid, we would’ve been done for at that last bend!"

Gripping the steering wheel tightly, he spoke to his grandmother in the back seat.

"Isn’t it exactly because the Goddess protected us that we didn’t fall?"

His grandmother seemed to pick up on the blame and resentment in his tone and retorted confidently.

The owner shook his head, not wanting to argue with his own grandmother, and simply slowed down the car a lot more.

They finally managed to reach the Goddess Temple with great difficulty.

The temple was newly built, and parking was convenient; he followed his grandmother into the temple.

In the temple, the deity statue was adorned with gold and red, her features gentle and compassionate, looking down at the hall. The owner’s grandmother knelt devoutly on the cushion, her lips murmuring prayers.

The owner looked at the increasingly heavy rain outside and began to worry not about business, but about how they would make it down the mountain.

He heard his grandmother’s prayer:

"Goddess, look at this heavy rain, and it’s only us who have come to see you, it’s only us who have you in our hearts."

"I’m not asking for much."

"My grandson, he still doesn’t have a wife, please, Goddess, be kind and find him a good match."

"Granny!"

"Be quiet! The Goddess will be offended if you’re too loud," his grandmother hissed back at him, then continued, "His business is also tough, live streaming and all, I don’t understand, I don’t ask for him to be rich, just for him to live a bit more comfortably, not so hard."

The owner of the homestay pursed his lips.

"He hasn’t enjoyed much fortune in his life, and he’s a filial child, with his parents falling sick one after the other, he had to come back to care for them, work and marriage both put on hold..."

"Now he even has to support an old one like me who won’t die..."

"Granny, why do you say these things?" the owner said, feeling a bit embarrassed, "The Goddess doesn’t care about all that, does she?"

"Oh, and one more thing," his grandmother ignored his words, "If my time under the sun is up, I pray the Goddess ensures I pass away cleanly and quickly, not to burden this boy any longer."

"Granny!"

"You come here!" his grandmother stood up and said to him, "You pray too, work, marriage, say it a few more times, just keep mentioning it and the Goddess will remember."

The owner was silent for a moment.

Suddenly, he knelt on the cushion and simply prayed in his heart:

"Let my granny live a hundred years."

He didn’t wish for anything else, and immediately stood up.

"That was quick? Did you pray seriously?" his grandmother muttered, "What did you pray for?"

"I have nothing to pray for," the owner smiled and said, "I don’t believe in this anyway."

"You ungrateful brat!"

"Let’s descend the mountain! The rain is getting heavier!"

The owner pulled his grandmother into the car.

The rain became even more intense, the roads in the mountains dark and slippery, even more difficult to navigate.

After half an hour of driving, they were still winding through the mountains.

Suddenly, a blinding flash of lightning struck the mountaintop, thick and long.

The bright flash startled the owner, who hit the brakes and looked towards the mountaintop.

"What’s wrong?" his granny asked from the back seat.

"Granny... the rain has stopped."

"Stopped?"

Both looked up at the sky.

The thick cloud cover, like a cotton blanket, had indeed torn open to reveal a large hole, through which sunlight poured down, conveniently covering Rainbow Mountain.

The rest of the mountains were still caught in a torrential downpour.

But Rainbow Mountain was now calm, with still winds and no rain.

"The Goddess... She has shown a miracle!"

His grandmother called out tremulously.

The owner watched the scene with his mouth agape, his heart beginning to side with his superstitious granny.

"I told you to pray more!"

His granny added.

"I did," the owner pressed the gas pedal, seizing the moment of stopped rain to make his way out of the mountains: "I said everything that needed to be said."

...

"Amazing, huh..." said Old Man Bai, looking up at the sky, clicking his tongue in wonder.

"This Cloud Rain Thunder system is indeed very complex," Tang Lingwu noted on the side, "We have now summarized three of the most useful trajectories."

"Moving clouds, deploying rain, and the Rain Stopping Thunder from just now, of which deploying rain requires a higher control over the Thunder Skill, while Rain Stopping Thunder has a lower control requirement, but demands more Spiritual Power."

Zheng Fa nodded his head.

After a period of experimentation, they had compiled the Cloud Rain Thunder system entirely from a laser perspective.

For instance, moving clouds and deploying rain create rainwater, with the only difference being the energy intensity and duration.

As for stopping the rain - it’s even more brute force – it is entirely achieved by using the heat generated by high-energy lasers to re-vaporize and disperse raindrops in the cloud.

Just now, Zheng Fa used nearly one-tenth of his Spiritual Power just to disperse the rain clouds over a single mountain peak.

Now, Zheng Fa faced two challenges.

The first was his precision in controlling the rain, which still could not achieve the level of millimeter accuracy.

The second challenge was that Rain Stopping Thunder was not something he could use on a large scale, and of course, he also couldn’t create rainwater on a large scale.

In essence, both his ability to control Spiritual Power and the total amount of Spiritual Power had yet to meet the standard.

...

Xuanwei Realm.

Jiushan Sect was already in sight.

After telling the group about the differences between the new and old methods, Elder Han left with Yan Wushuang, who was lost in thought.

And Sister Zhang hadn’t talked deeply with Zheng Fa either, as if she too was digesting this astonishing fact.

Even Yuan, who was carrying them, seemed somewhat silent.

Not until they saw the familiar nine mountain peaks, did Sister Zhang speak to Zheng Fa, "How do you see the Green Sun Dao Body now?"

She didn’t even ask what Zheng Fa’s choice was, as if she was confident about what it would be.

"One shouldn’t forgo food for fear of choking, I don’t know what Tianhe Venerable’s new methods entail," Zheng Fa pondered aloud. "But if we want to create another path, the current Immortal Laws are still an important reference—after all, Spiritual Energy is external."

This had always been Zheng Fa’s blind spot:

Any discussion about Immortal Laws actually has a major premise—

Spiritual Energy is inherently external, and now Zheng Fa even suspected that the rise and fall of Spiritual Energy had something to do with this fact.

What exactly did Tianhe Venerable create that made the old method Cultivator intolerant?

Thinking of this, Zheng Fa suddenly had a notion:

Could it be that Tianhe Venerable wants to completely localize Spiritual Energy?

This was a bit like in the modern world, where one country invests in another country, originally aiming to reap profits and then pull out.

But the invested country says no, the profits are there, but not only can the profits not be taken away, the principal must stay as well...

The more Zheng Fa thought about it, the more bizarre his expression became.

Could it be that Tianhe Venerable can also travel to the modern era?

Only traveling to a place slightly southward from where he was...

...

Jiushan Ancestor remained the same as ever—it was Sister Zhang’s form.

Seeing "herself" squatting on the ground playing with ants using a dry twig, Sister Zhang’s face darkened.

"Yo? You two came together?" Jiushan Ancestor turned her head to see them and happily said, "Have you two come up with another good idea?"

"Disciple has a matter to consult the Ancestor about."

"To consult?"

Jiushan Ancestor tossed the twig aside and dusted off her hands, asking, "What’s the matter?"

"Previously Disciple was graced by your kindness, Ancestor, and I have now cultivated the Green Sun Dao Body."

Jiushan Ancestor nodded, signaling for him to continue.

"But now I am also cultivating the ’Divine Sky Thunder Control True Method’, Ancestor, are you familiar with this Cultivation Technique?"

"Of course, your master is cultivating that, isn’t he?"

"Now, there’s a problem with this Cultivation Technique..."

Zheng Fa talked about how his Thunder Seed was replaced by the budding sprout.

Jiushan Ancestor also looked a bit puzzled, and after thinking it over, said, "I’m not sure about that; the Green Yang Qi... in fact, it was prepared by my original self."

"The original Ancestor?"

Zheng Fa remembered that Jiushan Ancestor once told him that he was a part of the original Jiushan Ancestor’s soul, and that the original Jiushan Ancestor had already merged with the Mountain and River True Form Talisman.

"Yes, he had thought of abandoning the Jiushan Spirit Vein and switching his support; he actually made a lot of preparation." Jiushan Ancestor explained, "Using the Green Yang Qi to transform into the Green Sun Dao Body was one of the strategies."

"It seems the Green Sun Dao Body is indeed extraordinary..."

Sister Zhang said softly from the side.

Zheng Fa also silently nodded his head.

He didn’t know what cultivation level the original Jiushan Ancestor had—but it must have been stronger than the Nascent Soul.

Though Jiushan Ancestor was a different species that underwent Transformation, likely more special than average Cultivators, it was difficult to measure his strength.

But note, the Jiushan Spirit Vein he abandoned had sustained the Jiushan Sect for tens of thousands of years, and it gave birth to not just one or two Nascent Souls.

Such a person, who could treasure this Green Yang Qi, even as an option for remaking his support—showed that the Green Sun Dao Body was truly extraordinary.

"As for the Green Sun Dao Body... the original self only heard a phrase which seemed to be passed down from the ancient times, and felt that this was a treasure..."

Jiushan Ancestor frowned, as if deep in thought, and slowly said,

"Purple Mansion Cave Heaven, Green Yang transforms into Qi. Possess all Immortal books, open and elucidate the beginnings of cultivation methods..."

He recited a passage, but seemed to have forgotten the next part, scratching his ear in annoyance.

Under normal circumstances, Zheng Fa might have appreciated seeing "Sister Zhang" with this expression, but at that moment he was completely preoccupied and continued,

"Purple Qi Linked City. Great Compassion and Great Vow, Great Saint Great Compassion. Green Yang Sect start, Emperor Donghua..."

"Eh? You’ve heard it too?"

Jiushan Ancestor said in surprise.

Zheng Fa muttered dreamily, "Seen it..."

He saw it in the modern era.

These words came from the "Emperor Donghua’s Treasure Proclamations."

Before he came here, he had specially looked up information about "Green Yang" online and came across this passage.

Emperor Donghua, also known as East King.

Rumored to be the first among ancient male immortals.

His other title—Emperor Fusang.

He looked at the Spiritual Bud within his body; was this thing—Fusang Wood?

Was he preparing to plant a sun?

"Sister, what are you thinking?"

Zheng Fa shook his head, facing his most trusted Sister Zhang, he didn’t know how to start.

He had known that the modern world and the Xuanwei Realm were closely related; the laws of physics, the forms of life were all the same.

When he initially received the Positive and Negative Five Elements Divine Light, he thought it sounded familiar and had looked up some ancient books and runes passed down in the modern world.

Those things were only somewhat plausible, no help for cultivation, so he kept his suspicions to himself.

But now, unexpectedly, he heard from Jiushan Ancestor’s mouth a passage that was almost exactly the same as in the "Emperor Donghua’s Treasure Proclamations"...