Cultivation: I Have Studied Abroad in the Modern World
Chapter 375 - 222: True Nature Reveals Itself, Jiushan Agricultural Manual

Chapter 375: Chapter 222: True Nature Reveals Itself, Jiushan Agricultural Manual

Upon entering the retirement home, Group Leader Yang had an epiphany—money is not that important!

In front of the main building of the retirement home, there’s an antique-looking pavilion planned by Tang Lingwu’s mother previously.

Zheng Fa and Tang Lingwu, among a few others, were sitting inside the pavilion, drinking tea.

He and Tang Lingwu had almost no time for an exchange in the last half year, and there was too much to catch up on, not to mention that Core Formation was truly a tough task, and he wanted to rest for a couple of days.

Hence, today, Zheng Fa was just chatting casually with them.

At times they would talk a little, the conversation lacked any clear thread, drifting wherever their thoughts went.

Sometimes they would just sit in silence, which felt surprisingly comfortable.

The weariness and irritation that used to trouble Zheng Fa’s heart had also dissipated a lot.

...

Old Man Bai, leading Group Leader Yang and one other, also walked into the pavilion.

Zheng Fa smiled at the two of them and gestured toward the two untouched teacups in front of him.

Group Leader Yang originally had a basketful of things to say, but upon seeing Zheng Fa’s face, somehow she felt that the person before her was both so near yet so far, ethereal.

At a loss for words, she could only lower her head and take a sip of tea.

The moment the tea entered her mouth, the fragrance of the tea carried a coolness that crisply spread from the tip of the tongue into the belly, floated and floated, and drifted into her mind.

It was as if she had regrown ears—she heard the tiny flowers in the grass before the courtyard blooming leisurely, the slow brush of the mountain breeze over the distant treetops, and the gentle rustling of birds in the trees, softly preening their feathers with beaks.

She heard the quiet of the mountains bathed in the sunset.

For a while, all the phone calls from above, responsibilities, and the worries and excitement she held on her way here—evaporated.

"This is..."

Group Leader Yang, looking at the teacup before her, asked in a daze.

"It’s rich in Spiritual Energy, a Spirit Plant that’s newly grown." Mrs. Tian said with a smile, "We call it Forget Machine Tea."

"Forget Machine Tea..." Group Leader Yang repeated the name, then nodded and sighed softly, "Carefree and forgetful, like an immortal’s abode..."

Cheng Yun beside her, nodding his head, let out an unimpressive ’dun dun dun...’ sound.

Zheng Fa was also quite pleased with this tea... It has great benefits for cultivation, it helps stabilize and calm the mind, improving the efficiency of cultivation.

Especially for modern people with relatively complex thoughts, it’s very helpful.

"Dean Zheng, you really gave us a start."

Perhaps because of the tea, Group Leader Yang’s many thoughts dispelled as well, no longer beating around the bush, she said frankly.

"Startled?" Zheng Fa looked puzzled: "I’ve only made a bit of progress in cultivation, how did I scare anyone?"

Group Leader Yang slightly widened her eyes, but also didn’t dare to keep looking at him, instead turned to Tang Lingwu and others to ask, "Don’t you feel... Dean Zheng has changed?"

The others had not yet spoken.

Zheng Fa then asked, "Changed in what way?"

"He seems... unapproachable. Looking at you now, Dean Zheng, it feels like I could almost touch you, yet you seem thousands of miles away."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Fa couldn’t help but speculate:

After his Core Formation, he felt some changes, but when he interacted with Zhang and others, they didn’t seem to notice anything different.

Now it seems they might have also gone through this phase, had anticipated it, so they saw his change as normal.

The Jiushan Sect disciples, due to his status, of course, wouldn’t dare to question this.

In modern times, it was Group Leader Yang who spoke out first.

He turned his gaze to Old Man Bai and others, only to see them nodding slightly, seeming to agree with Group Leader Yang’s words—clearly, they shared the same feeling.

Zheng Fa frowned slightly and asked, "You all feel that I’ve changed?"

It wasn’t that he was being overly self-critical or complaining without cause, but... regarding the path of cultivation, he always held a trace of fear deep in his heart.

After all, both the Nine Nether Demon Ancestor and the Tianhe Venerable, in their talks, had hinted that after extreme cultivation one might become unrecognizable.

He had to stay vigilant.

Old Man Bai slowly said: "You’ve certainly changed. Even if you don’t feel it, we can see clearly—you’ve gained... composure? Or confidence? Or perhaps indifference."

Listening, Zheng Fa slowly nodded, feeling it was indeed so in terms of his state of mind.

"If you ask me, that’s not a bad thing."

Seeing Zheng Fa’s brows were still furrowed, Old Man Bai seemed to understand what he was worried about, and his expression became much more serious than usual: "Change doesn’t mean you are not you."

"A vigorous person often has more robustness compared to a weaker one, isn’t that also common?"

Cheng Yun seemed to have thought of something, and suddenly chanted, "Suddenly the golden shackles are opened, and here the jade locks are snapped. Huh! Tidings of the tide from the Qiantang River, today I finally realize I am me!"

Everyone turned to look at him, only to see him laugh sheepishly, seemingly embarrassed: "I thought this line from ’Water Margin’ was really cool!"

Old Man Bai clapped his hands and sighed, "Exactly, you’ve only lost some mundane shackles, who says those shackles were your true nature?"

Zheng Fa couldn’t help revealing a smile in his eyes, and poured another cup of tea for Cheng Yun.

He also felt he was perhaps a bit too worried: from what he could tell from Zhang and others, at least before reaching the Nascent Soul Stage, there weren’t significant issues.

Group Leader Yang let out a sigh—Cheng Yun ’dun dun dun’ drank tea for so long, and yet said so little, but hit the nail right on the head.

He somehow managed to win over Zheng Fa’s favor much more than she did.

Which was quite maddening.

...

Zheng Fa is after all not a formal practitioner... doing research requires talking about money and costs.

"Dean Zheng, we’ve finished scouting the area behind the mountain, and it’s completely feasible to build a Particle Collider on Rainbow Mountain," Group Leader Yang reported, "As for the money, don’t worry about saving any..."

Zheng Fa shook his head: "It’s not that I deliberately want to save money, on the other hand, I want to save some time. Mainly, I have a method that can fulfill the energy requirements of a large Particle Collider with relatively simple equipment."