Cultivation: I Have Studied Abroad in the Modern World
Chapter 344 - 212: Unrolling the Height, Qing Yan Presents a Map

Chapter 344: Chapter 212: Unrolling the Height, Qing Yan Presents a Map

In the alchemy furnace, the Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiend energies roiled, collided, and exploded.

Outside the furnace, the spellcasting motions of the disciples from Jiushan Sect were inexperienced, disorganized, irritating to the eyes.

Yet Lady Xuanhua didn’t even blink, her gaze fixed on the alchemy furnace.

The expressions on her face changed with the play of light and shadow from within the furnace, waxing and waning.

The feelings in her heart resembled the sounds emanating from the furnace:

Crackling, tinkling, booming, as if about to explode.

Could she not understand what Zheng Fa was doing?

Of course, she understood.

But the problem was, she understood too well!

Refining an outer elixir was no difficult task for her, having done it for others on numerous occasions, with a process she had mastered:

One first needed a fine alchemy furnace, the shape, patterns, materials of which must not have the slightest flaw—crafted by an Artifact Refiner with some skill.

Saying "some skill" might be putting it lightly; one needed an Artifact Refiner of the Golden Core Stage to possess such capability.

Next, you had to be proficient in various cultivation methods.

No, it wasn’t just proficiency, it had to become instinct.

To reach such a level generally meant possessing at least the strength of Golden Core or Nascent Soul.

She also knew some people, before refining such treasures, would need to bathe and fast to calm their minds, even seeking an indistinct blessing...

But what did Zheng Fa do?

An abomination so ugly it couldn’t rightly be called an alchemy furnace.

A group of disciples that looked utterly incapable of mastering the outer elixir cultivation method.

If these people were her disciples, she wouldn’t let them touch this task!

This was like commoners building a house where laying the foundation was a must, followed by finding timber for beams, hauling earth and stone for walls, hiring roofers and carpenters...

But what was Zheng Fa’s approach?

He pointed to a mud hut your three-year-old child raised only yesterday and told you the house was ready.

The most important thing, it was actually livable!

Watching the familiar flames within the furnace, Lady Xuanhua couldn’t help but cover her chest.

"What’s wrong?"

Xiao Yuying asked beside her.

Lady Xuanhua didn’t speak, just continued watching Zheng Fa and their actions, as if expecting something, yet also seeming to fear it.

She didn’t speak, yet Xiao Yuying opened her mouth again:

"I understand too."

"Hm?"

Lady Xuanhua involuntarily turned her head to look at Xiao Yuying.

"Broken."

"..."

...

However, Zheng Fa had no time to pay attention to these two spectators; his gaze was also fixed on the alchemy furnace.

For this alchemy team, Zheng Fa had essentially divided the process into three parts, corresponding to three challenges.

Zhang was exceptionally skilled in manipulating Essence Qi and was responsible for the first challenge—controlling the Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiend energies.

The Master, due to his profound understanding of Thunder Skill, took on the second challenge, which was the main content—controlling the fusion and fission processes.

Zheng Fa himself stood guard at the last challenge, mixing the new particles together.

They didn’t take action themselves, merely standing by, ready to bail out these disciples.

After all, it was like a nuclear reaction...

In some ways, Zheng Fa treated this experiment as an opportunity to train the disciples.

Master Pang’s eyes shone with a silvery light, scrutinizing the reactions within the furnace, his voice constantly calling out:

"First group!"

"Second group!"

"..."

His exceptional eyesight, further honed by his mastery of Linked Talisman Technique, granted perfect timing control, making Master Pang the metronome of the entire experiment.

To Lady Xuanhua, they seemed to be playing with mud like children.

But Zheng Fa knew just how much Jiushan Sect, from top to bottom, had prepared for this moment...

The spells in their hands were simple, but the coordination among them was not.

From the Supreme Elders to every disciple of the project team, they had gone over their tasks millions of times in their hearts.

Just the transition between groups alone had been practiced like a relay race for dozens of days.

Bathing and fasting?

Is that the respect for refining an outer elixir?

No.

The respect of Jiushan Realm was repeated training, repeated coordination, striving for perfection through practice, until every second was flawless.

No mysticism, only precision.

...

Three days later, the complexion of every disciple involved in the project appeared pale, withered, exhausted.

Yet the gleam in their eyes was even brighter than the "Shenxiao Outer Pill" within the furnace!

At the moment the outer elixir took shape, the courtyard fell silent.

Even their breathing was faint, as if afraid of shattering that reportedly indestructible pill.

Zheng Fa looked around at everyone.

All eyes seemed to fall on him.

With a gesture, the Shenxiao Outer Pill fell into his hand, and through the thick barrier of the Pill Fiend, he could feel its potent power.

"I announce, the first refinement of the Shenxiao Outer Pill is a success!"

Only then did the crowd smile.

Zheng continued: "This proves that the fundamental principles of our ’Golden Core Project’ are correct!"

This was the real reason why he refined that Shenxiao Outer Pill—to experiment and verify his various conjectures about the Golden Core rather than for the pill itself.

"This also means that you..." Zheng Fa looked towards the tired group of disciples, raising his voice a bit: "are impressive."

The disciples’ smiles froze, not expecting the Sect Leader to praise them first.

"I and Zhang proposed some ideas, shared a few approaches, perhaps even explained some principles to you."

"But..."

The Shenxiao Golden Core in Zheng Fa’s hand slowly rose up, illuminating every participant of the "Golden Core Project."

"Jin Fan, to practice the second cultivation method, you blew up your own house... If not for good fortune, you could have been grievously injured."

"Zhu Hui, you came from the Hundred Immortals Alliance, yet showed no sectarian bias, willingly teaching what others could not do, and I’ve learned so much about Artifact Refining from you..."

"Mu Qingyan... you are the great contributor to this project, you proposed many solutions to problems and shared several Secret Techniques..."