Cultivation: I Have Studied Abroad in the Modern World
Chapter 325 - 202 The Dao Heart is Broken

Chapter 325: Chapter 202 The Dao Heart is Broken

Inside a classroom on University Island, the first "Golden Core Project" seminar was being held.

Zheng Fa stood in front of the classroom, looking at the twenty-odd participants below.

Aside from Zhang, the Master, and Master Pang,

there were thirteen other Jiushan Sect disciples sitting in the classroom, all at the peak of Foundation Establishment.

They were designated by Zheng Fa as the Talisman Group.

Apart from the Talisman Group, there were two other groups - the Artifact Refining Group and the Alchemy Group.

These two groups had fewer people; they were mostly disciples from the Hundred Immortals Alliance with varying levels of cultivation:

The highest were no more than at Foundation Establishment.

The majority were in the Qi Cultivation stage.

There was no helping it; once these disciples entered the Jiushan Realm, they were meat on Zheng Fa’s chopping block, at his mercy.

Even with the Hundred Immortals Alliance’s generosity, the truly valued geniuses would be retained within their own alliance.

Most of these people were of average talent.

Therefore... the Artifact Refining Group and the Alchemy Group... could only be considered make-do.

"Everyone here has signed a confidentiality agreement and has taken the Heart Demon Oath, so I’ll skip the pleasantries," Zheng Fa said directly without fuss, "Let me first introduce what ’Golden Core Project’ is all about."

With a wave of Zheng Fa’s hand, a light screen appeared before everyone.

The screen was densely packed with a segment of a Secret Technique.

Aside from a few people like Zhang, the rest couldn’t help but be curious.

"This is the Core Formation Secret Technique from our Jiushan’s True Inheritor ’Divine Sky Thunder Control True Method’. If you cultivate this Secret Technique, you’ll be able to condense a Shenxiao Golden Core."

There was a stir among the audience below; even those Jiushan disciples at the peak of Foundation Establishment showed surprised expressions—

The "Divine Sky Thunder Control True Method" is deemed the highest-grade legacy of Jiushan, not to mention, the current Jiushan Realm is particularly suited for practicing this cultivation method.

What’s more, both past and present Sect Leaders of Jiushan were cultivators of this technique, making them the best endorsements.

Indeed, because of the environment in the Jiushan Realm and Elder Yuan’s frantic value increase, it’s on the verge of becoming the signature Cultivation Technique of the Jiushan Sect.

And Zheng Fa was just going to show it to them?

There used to be some complaints about the confidentiality agreement, but now they have to inwardly sigh like Mu Qingyan, thinking that it might be too lenient.

Who in the Xuanwei Realm doesn’t know the rules?

Willingness to keep a secret has never been a precondition for obtaining a Secret Technique.

If one could obtain such a lineage, what’s a little secrecy worth?

Some are willing to give up their lives for it.

"Of course, this technique..." Zheng Fa waved his hand, and the screen displaying the "Divine Sky Thunder Control True Method" flickered, transitioning into another set of text, "is merely unedited raw material, not significant enough to merit the full attention of my fellow Nascent Soul experts and me."

Below, Elder Yuan’s face was stern, his lips moving as though he wanted to curse someone.

The other disciples were speechless as well.

They looked at Zheng Fa with disbelief—

The Secret Technique they had just seen was more than enough to catch their attention!

And it needs revisions?

But looking at the new Secret Technique that had just appeared, they began to understand what Zheng Fa meant—

Not to mention anything else, just the length of the new Secret Technique was nearly two-thirds shorter.

And looking at the content, it indeed seemed more concise and more straightforward to understand.

"This is our revised new Secret Technique," explained Zheng Fa. "As everyone can see, the new Secret Technique is much simpler, but our requirement is not just simplicity—it must be perfect!"

"That is to say, the goal of this new Secret Technique is to condense a top-grade Golden Core with less Spiritual Power and a weaker Divine Soul!"

After Zheng Fa finished speaking, the light screen slowly disappeared.

Everyone looked disappointed, clearly reluctant to part with the new Secret Technique they had just witnessed.

Even if their own practice wasn’t the "Divine Sky Thunder Control True Method", just seeing such a Secret Technique was thrilling!

Zheng Fa laughed again: "A simplified new Secret Technique isn’t all that impressive."

The disciples below: "..."

There was a numbness on everyone’s faces as they listened to Zheng Fa continue:

"The purpose of the ’Golden Core Project’ course is to transform all the Golden Core legacies of our Sect in such a way!"

"Every single legacy?"

A Jiushan Sect disciple couldn’t help but blurt out, disregarding the presence of the few Nascent Soul Real experts below:

"Yes!"

"Does it include our Cultivation Techniques as well?"

The disciple again asked eagerly, showing how agitated he felt.

"’Golden Core Project’ is not limited to any specific Golden Core method—it’s a study that directly targets the essence!" Zheng Fa stated confidently.

He did have a reason for such confidence; the theoretical foundation of the "Golden Core Project" is actually based on the essence of the Golden Core, not on any particular cultivation method.

Now, the Jiushan disciples below were breathing heavily—their cultivation had already reached the peak of Foundation Establishment, and their methods were nearly set.

No matter how the "Divine Sky Thunder Control True Method" was changed, it would be difficult for them to start practicing it now.

But if other methods could be transformed like this...

"Doesn’t that mean anyone could condense a top-grade Golden Core?"

"Not everyone," Zheng Fa honestly replied, "but the difficulty would certainly be greatly reduced—even if you can’t condense a top-grade Golden Core in the future, the difficulty of Core Formation will decrease accordingly."

Even though Zheng Fa’s words were conservative, there was nothing but fervor in the eyes of these disciples—another way to put it would be, folks, he’s lowered the price of the Golden Core!

Who wouldn’t be excited about that?

Below, it wasn’t just the Jiushan disciples who were looking fervent; those from the Hundred Immortals Alliance were also extraordinarily excited:

Even though they were still far from Golden Core, they understood what a decrease in difficulty of Core Formation meant.

Seeing their eager expressions, Zheng Fa knew it was the right moment. He smiled and said, "We shall start by verifying the ’Shenxiao Golden Core Explanation’."

With a wave of his hand, three jade tubes flew in front of the disciples.

"I, along with the other Nascent Soul elders, have divided the task of verifying the Secret Techniques into three major parts—the Talisman Group needs to master the various cultivation methods in this ’Explanation’."

The Jiushan Sect disciples looked at the various methods inside the jade tubes and nodded slightly, seemingly confident.

Indeed, this was not difficult. These individuals were all elite disciples of the Jiushan Sect with profound expertise in talismanic magic.

Another jade tube flew to the Artifact Refining group.

"The Artifact Refining group should first familiarize themselves with the structure of the alchemy furnace. For this, I will have the Hundred Immortals Alliance and the Unrivaled Society procure more alchemy furnaces for your research. On the other hand, the most important task is to start researching outer elixirs."

The first task was straightforward.

Zheng Fa and others had already collected and sorted many rumors about the method of outer alchemy.

Among these was the requirement for an alchemy furnace:

In the Xuanwei Realm, alchemy furnaces have many particulars. One type is to mimic the human body by casting three gates and nine acupoints on the furnace to simulate the circulation of spiritual power.

Outer elixirs are often refined using this kind of alchemy furnace.

Of course, this was just a rumor, which is why Zheng Fa instructed the Artifact Refining group to start by familiarizing themselves with the structure of various alchemy furnaces.

Research into the method of outer alchemy was naturally the crux of the matter, but this was obviously more challenging—records of outer alchemy in the sect were mostly Xuanwei hearsay, mixed with truth and falsehood, and would naturally require trial and error.

He then addressed the Alchemy Group:

"Like the Artifact Refining group, your most important task is to research the method of outer alchemy. Of course, you also need to be familiar with the ’Shenxiao Golden Core Explanation’. You need to think about the Core Formation process of the Shenxiao Golden Core through the lens of alchemical thought."

From Zheng Fa’s task distribution, it was clear that the ’Golden Core Project’ was actually most reliant on the Alchemy Group.

Looking at these silent disciples, Zheng Fa couldn’t help but sigh—this was difficult!

Not to mention the unprecedented nature of the task that Zheng Fa had undertaken.

The ability of these disciples, especially those in the Artifact Refining and Alchemy groups, had not yet reached the requirements of the project.

But Zheng Fa did not despair—In his view, if their conjectures about the Golden Core were correct.

They would have grasped the fundamental principles.

As for whether they could succeed... it really just depended on whether they tried enough.

Even in Zheng Fa’s view—the principles of the Golden Core were somewhat related to atomic bombs, and the current situation was very much like the earlier development of atomic and hydrogen bombs:

The principles were clear, but the processes still needed to be figured out.

Back in the day, those great scientists were able to develop atomic bombs with just slide rules.

And now with their Golden Core pioneers and Zhang, a human-like calculator, to help.

He didn’t even need them to produce results quickly—just like he told his own master, a hundred years, he was willing to wait a hundred years.

Zheng Fa even had the patience to wait for the next generation if this one couldn’t do it.

It’s just a matter of hard work.

He had the patience to wait.

...

Stepping out of the classroom, Mu Qingyan heard her senior sister let out a breath.

She couldn’t help but turn her head and look at her senior sister, only to hear her say, "What Master Zheng just said was too impressive..."

"The secrets of the Golden Core are already enough."

"They’re going to simplify the Secret Techniques?"

"To allow everyone to achieve a top-grade Golden Core?"

"I was so astounded! I saw you were daydreaming too!"

Mu Qingyan didn’t respond, but in her heart, she mocked herself:

Daydreaming?

My Dao heart is about to shatter.

Her senior sister had never undergone Core Formation and found the ’Shenxiao Golden Core Explanation’ profoundly impressive, which possibly meant she didn’t understand what made it so remarkable.

But it was different for a cultivator who had undergone Core Formation...

In her previous life, her own Core Formation went smoothly, achieving a top-grade status by the age of two hundred.

But to undergo Core Formation, she didn’t just daily hone her Divine Soul and Spiritual Power; more importantly, she ventured through life and death, searching everywhere for spiritual materials and treasures that could further enhance her spirit and power.

It was a narrow escape from death.

But looking at the ’Shenxiao Golden Core Explanation’...

Two sentences echoed back and forth in her mind:

Can it really be like this? How can this be!

Isn’t this bullying the honest Golden Cores?

...

Holding a newly copied book, Mu Qingyan wrinkled her brows, seemingly in a struggle of hesitation.

The book recorded a method known as the ’Hanhai Outer Pill’...

This was an outer alchemy method not possessed by the Jiushan Sect!

She had studied the ’Shenxiao Golden Core Explanation’ for several days, and in her view, she had never seen a Core Formation method so profoundly simple...

If this so-called ’Golden Core Project’ could succeed, would her own future Core Formation be much quicker?

This thought inevitably stirred her heart.

Her current hesitation was still due to the caution in her heart... She even took pride in this caution, as had she not been this cautious, she would have died in her previous life.

"Qing Yan! Let’s go!"

"Hm?"

"Didn’t Master Zheng say he’s got some new invention? Everyone is going to check it out! Aren’t you coming?"

"A new invention?" She was somewhat puzzled, "What is that?"

"I’m not sure either, but I heard it’s something Elder Yuan created. Wasn’t the drama also his work? I’ve not seen a drama yet!"