Cultivation: I Have Studied Abroad in the Modern World
Chapter 323 - 200 Dislike

Chapter 323: Chapter 200 Dislike

Elder Yuan, leaning on the window, wore a gloomy expression on his face, clearly indicating that his defenses had been breached.

Master Pang glanced at Zheng Fa, then at Elder Yuan, the corners of his mouth arching high.

"When I achieved full Foundation Establishment, although I already had sufficient Spiritual Power, I still didn’t dare to try Core Formation rashly."

Elder Yuan muttered.

"Later, I spent thirty years refining my Spiritual Power and Divine Soul."

"Then, I spent another forty years getting familiar with the secrets of Core Formation, striving to avoid any mistakes."

"Finally, after more than thirty years of seclusion, I managed to create a top-grade Shenxiao Golden Core."

"..."

It has always been said in the Xuanwei Realm that successfully creating a Golden Core leaves no regrets; such caution from the old man was a common thing.

"Now you’re telling me..." Elder Yuan’s gaze became increasingly sorrowful, "there’s a shortcut?"

"..."

"Other cultivators focus on refining their Spiritual Power and Divine Soul when forming their Golden Core, but you, instead, choose to refine the Cultivation Technique?"

"..."

Master Pang’s gaze towards Zheng Fa changed too, appearing to find him rather absurd.

Seeing that Elder Yuan was genuinely distressed, he cleared his throat and said to his elder brother, "Either way, Zheng Fa is still your disciple... and the future Jiushan disciples will remember this!"

Unexpectedly, Elder Yuan became even more morose upon hearing this, saying, "Do you know why I’m upset?"

"Hmm?"

"In the future, Jiushan disciples will be able to cultivate a simplified version of the Shenxiao Golden Core!" Elder Yuan lamented, "Why is that?"

Zheng Fa couldn’ help but twitch the corner of his mouth.

Since stepping down as Sect Leader, the old man showed increasing signs of ’letting himself go’—he had even discussed it with Zhang, who guessed that this might be a way of cultivation directly reaching the heart prior to Divinity Transformation.

But still...

Think about Elder Yuan’s words.

Umm, it kind of feels like graduating from a school that renovates its sports field...

Starting university only to hear that the entrance exam no longer includes math...

Buying a house...

Indeed, it feels a bit like a breach of defenses.

"Brother, are not the Jiushan disciples also our descendants?" Master Pang consoled, "Try to relax your mind."

"Do you think your Longhu Yuan Dan can escape?" Elder Yuan, with a curled lip, looked at Master Pang, "Do you not know what this Golden Core Project is?"

"..."

The smile gradually vanished from Master Pang’s face, and his gaze towards Zheng Fa seemed to carry a hint of sorrow.

"Cough!" Zheng Fa hurriedly said, "Master, Zhang and I have already selected a group of participants for the Golden Core Project..."

The Golden Core Project is currently the core research task within the Jiushan Realm.

Not merely involving Zheng Fa and Zhang.

Three Supreme Elders were also participating.

Especially Elder Yuan, who had experience cultivating Shenxiao Golden Core and could provide considerable help to the project.

Seeing him talking about serious matters, Elder Yuan no longer quibbled and began scrutinizing the list Zheng Fa had given him.

"There are thirteen cultivators, including you, at full Foundation Establishment within the sect? All participating?"

"Yes, they were already about to form their cores, naturally interested in this project." Zheng Fa responded.

Previously, Jiushan Sect had roughly a thousand disciples, less than twenty of whom were above the Golden Core level; the vast majority were either at Foundation Establishment or Qi Cultivation Stage.

Of those remaining, Foundation Establishment disciples accounted for nearly one hundred.

Only about ten or so had reached the peak of Foundation Establishment.

They naturally found the Golden Core Project attractive.

"If this project really succeeds, then... won’t my Jiushan Sect have thirteen more Golden Core disciples? Ah, fourteen including you, wouldn’t that be double?"

Elder Yuan, after doing some quick math, was even more amazed.

Master Pang was also moved when he heard this.

Including Elder Yuan, there were only twelve Golden Core cultivators in the Jiushan Sect.

If the Golden Core Project truly succeeded...

That would more than double the number of Golden Core cultivators in Jiushan Sect!

Zheng Fa smiled and kept silent...

What he wanted was not just to doubles the number of Golden Cores, but for these disciples to achieve top-grade Golden Cores!

You see, without a top-grade Golden Core, achieving a Nascent Soul is nearly impossible—just look at Zhang, how challenging it was for her—even with such accumulation.

Elder Yuan tsk-tsked for a while, then looked at the other names on the list, taking special note of these individuals’ backgrounds and specialities.

"These disciples sent by the Hundred Immortals Alliance... are still too green, it’s probably too soon for them to achieve anything significant."

Zheng Fa understood what his master meant, knowing that these disciples, both in terms of cultivation and knowledge, were actually not yet sufficient to meet the requirements of the Golden Core Project.

If one were to expect them to produce results in the short term, it would be quite difficult.

He smiled and said, "Step by step is fine, starting with small projects, gradually accumulating techniques and experience, at least..."

"Hmm?"

Zheng Fa, with a sincere expression, said: "It won’t take a hundred years."

"Rebel!"

...

In the residence area of the Hundred Immortals Alliance disciples, Mu Qingyan lay on the bed, her youthful brow furrowed tightly as if she were in a nightmare.

A moment later, she slowly opened her eyes.

She was currently only in the Qi Cultivation stage, still unable to replace sleep with meditation.

That wasn’t a problem.

But...

She blankly stared at the ceiling beam above her, her face pale as if she was still standing in that desolate wilderness filled with bones...

Since her rebirth, she hadn’t had a single good night’s sleep.

The millennium following the Xuanwei Realm was filled with bloodshed, desolation, displacement, and scars.

Even though she was exceptional in opportunity, talent, and temperament compared to others, achieving Nascent Soul in just a few centuries,

she inevitably lost too many friends and witnessed too many horrors.

If she were still a Nascent Soul, her powerful Divine Soul, coupled with some Secret Techniques, would naturally prevent these memories from disturbing her.

She wouldn’t even need to sleep.

But now, with her weakened cultivation, these memories felt overwhelmingly heavy.

So heavy that she had nightmares every night, never achieving a night of peaceful sleep.

Mu Qingyan hugged her knees, sitting in front of the window, gazing at the foggy sky outside Seeking Immortality Island, waiting for the sky to brighten, just as she used to.

The Heavenly Palace Nine Islands were always shrouded in fog, with the sun often just a blurred outline, the day and night distinguished only by the dimming and brightening of light.

"Qing Yan, you woke up so early again?"

Her neighbor, Zhang, saw her looking out the window and greeted her.

"Yes, I couldn’t sleep."

"How about we go to class together?"

Mu Qingyan nodded, and walked out the door with Zhang, who said, "I wonder what you see every day, everything is fine in the Jiushan Realm, it’s just that the scenery is pretty monotonous."

She smiled without responding, only to hear Zhang continue: "But life here is simple, either we attend classes or we go to Heavenly Palace Island to take on some tasks and accumulate good deeds... I quite like it."

"..."

Seeing that she wasn’t responding, Zhang asked again, "What about you?"

Mu Qingyan was silent for a moment before responding,

"I don’t like it."

...

The two made their way to University Island, where today’s lesson was a class on talismanic magic taught by Supreme Elder Pang.

There are three teachers serving the talismanic magic class in the Jiushan Realm, with Master Zheng being the most popular, followed by Master Zhang, but they also enjoyed Supreme Elder Pang’s class.

Each teacher emphasized different aspects, but each was profound, so not only Jiushan Sect disciples loved attending, but those from the Hundred Immortals Alliance never missed a class either.

Entering the classroom, they found Zheng Fa sitting in a corner, with Master Zhang next to him, seemingly also waiting for the class to start.

They were not surprised, merely offered a slight bow to the two and then took their seats to listen.

After class.

As they walked towards Heavenly Palace Island, Zhang suddenly said,

"Actually, the Jiushan Realm is really nice."

"..."

"Think about it, Supreme Elder Pang is a genuine Nascent Soul, and he never avoids us outsiders in his lectures..." Zhang continued, "And it’s not like he’s just muddling through, didn’t you see even Master Zheng and company attend his classes?"

"Yes."

"Our Hundred Immortals Alliance isn’t that generous."

Zhang’s words left Mu Qingyan with nothing to say.

"And I heard that if Master Zheng isn’t busy, he shows up early and usually sits in the corner..."

"Why?"

Mu Qingyan had never heard this before and was also a bit curious.

"I heard he’s afraid of being too conspicuous if he arrives late, disrupting the teacher’s lecture, that’s why he sits in the corner too."

"..."

Mu Qingyan pursed her lips, remaining silent.

"I’ve never stayed with this kind of sect before," Zhang said, "If I hadn’t come to the Jiushan Realm, I would never have known there were such Sect Leaders in the world... nor would I know if other sects in the Xuanwei Realm have similar ones."

"There aren’t."

Mu Qingyan whispered.

"What?"

Mu Qingyan shook her head, and her Zhang didn’t pursue the question, just continued,

"Since we’ve entered the Jiushan Realm, haven’t our days been much better than before?"

Zhang kept talking.

"Sister, what exactly are you trying to say?"

Mu Qingyan felt a bit bewildered while listening.

"I mean, I know you are young, you miss home, and you can’t sleep well at night," Zhang took a glance at her and sincerely said, "But the Jiushan Realm is really good, why don’t you like it?"

After a long silence, Mu Qingyan could only respond with a wry smile, "Sister, I barely left the Hundred Immortals Alliance through great efforts, how could I possibly miss home?"

Seeing her like this, Zhang also smiled without saying more, and the two arrived on Heavenly Palace Island, with Zhang taking up a task to manipulate weather on the mundane world.

Her cultivation still low, Mu Qingyan accepted a task teaching children how to read and write on Paradise Island.

When she returned to her dwelling, she still wore a crude wreath of wild grass and flowers on her wrist.

"Where did you get this?" Zhang asked upon seeing it.

"The children gave it to me."

Zhang looked her up and down before nodding,

"It has a bit of a wild charm."

Mu Qingyan didn’t respond, just walked into her room, sat at the table, lifted her wrist, and looked at the wreath.

After a while, she gently removed the wreath, examining it for a long time.

Suddenly, she placed it in her palm, lightly pressed her palms together, and the wreath turned into powder in her hands.

She opened the window, gazing into the foggy outdoors.

Everything I liked... is gone.

So...

I don’t like it.