Book 2: Chapter 170: Zheng Fa’s Idol |
Vol 2 Chapter 170 Zheng Fa’s Idol
The sun was setting outside the mountain, casting a warm twilight glow.
In the nursing home, Zheng Fa was cultivating.
He had reached the late Foundation Establishment stage earlier, but had been delayed in cultivation due to teaching Senior Sister Zhang, so now he was trying to make every second count.
While cultivating in the modern world didn’t increase the total amount of spiritual power, the purity of the power seemed to improve, helping to stabilize his foundation and making future breakthroughs smoother.
So Zheng Fa never slacked off.
“Zheng Fa, Aunt Yang called just now.”
“Aunt Yang?”
“Oh, I mean Team Leader Yang.”
Tang Lingwu tapped her forehead as she spoke.
Zheng Fa was confused. How were these two already so familiar…
“What did she say?”
Because spiritual energy interfered with electromagnetic signals, Zheng Fa kept his phone far away while cultivating, and always on silent mode.
Generally, no one would call him during that time.
Most likely, Team Leader Yang couldn’t reach him and so called Tang Lingwu instead.
“She didn’t say, just that it seemed pretty urgent. Told you to call her back after you finish cultivating.”
Zheng Fa walked back into his room and picked up his phone.
Sure enough, there were three missed calls from Team Leader Yang.
Zheng Fa called back.
…
Team Leader Yang was in the middle of comforting an elderly man beside her.
The old man was thin and dark-skinned, wearing a not-so-new button-up shirt—he looked like someone straight out of an oil painting.
“Elder Hou, you’re already at this age and still came all the way to the capital… Zheng Fa’s not the social type, you know…”
She spoke to the old man with a bit of helplessness.
Elder Hou smiled and said, “My hybrid rice research team got a few key members transferred away by you people…”
“Well, Elder Hou, you know the situation,”
Team Leader Yang explained helplessly, “I can promise you were one of the first in the country to know about this whole thing. You’ve even seen the pea sprout yourself…”
“I know. That’s why I want to take a look.”
Elder Hou said softly.
Team Leader Yang had no choice.
Elder Hou didn’t hold any official position or power, but he had great prestige—and his health wasn’t great either.
When he got stubborn, she really didn’t dare push back.
“You know, there were a few people before who tried to visit Zheng Fa—those few.” Team Leader Yang sighed, “He didn’t meet any of them.”
“Oh? That hard to approach?”
Elder Hou finally spoke, his voice dry and raspy.
“He’s actually got a good temper, quite easygoing…” Team Leader Yang thought for a moment, then said honestly, “But you know how it is—once someone has real confidence, they stop caring about the usual stuff.”
Elder Hou nodded slightly, seeming to take that in.
“Why are you so set on meeting him anyway?”
Elder Hou glanced at her, apparently sensing that she didn’t want to offend Zheng Fa, and just said, “Just help me ask.”
Just as Team Leader Yang was about to respond, her phone screen lit up—it was a call from Zheng Fa.
“Zheng Fa? Yes, yes, I did try to reach you.”
“Someone wants to visit you… I know, I know.”
“Elder Hou—you’ve heard of him, right, it’s…”
“You know him?”
“Welcoming? Oh, oh, alright!”
Team Leader Yang put down the phone, her expression blank for a second, then she smiled to herself.
…
After hanging up, Zheng Fa thought for a moment, then walked toward Teacher Tian’s lab.
“Teacher Tian, you got a moment?”
He called into the lab.
“What’s up?”
Not just Teacher Tian—others also came out.
“I was hoping you could cook a few dishes,” Zheng Fa said. “We’ve got a guest coming.”
“Who is it? Someone that important to get you this worked up?”
Teacher Tian asked curiously.
“Elder Hou.”
Teacher Tian paused, “He’s coming?”
She actually looked like she knew him—and respected him quite a bit. Smiling, she stepped out of the lab and hurriedly said, “I’ll go cook!”
Tang Lingwu came over, tilted her head, and stared at Zheng Fa’s face. “You look kind of excited.”
“It’s not excitement. It’s respect,” Zheng Fa thought for a moment and said, “He was my idol when I was a kid.”
Back when he was a child in the Xuanyi Realm, going hungry,
when he couldn’t sleep at night because his stomach was empty—
he would think of the name he had seen in his modern textbooks.
Back then he thought, if there were such a thing as an immortal,
it must be someone like that.
Now, having truly embarked on the path of cultivation,
that thought only felt even more profound.
…
Team Leader Yang was driving toward the nursing home.
In the rearview mirror, she glanced at Elder Hou.
Elder Hou sat in the back seat, staring blankly out the window.
Outside the window, it was all spring colors—trees in red and green bloom,
in stark contrast to the bleakness of the mountains outside.
On Elder Hou’s face, Team Leader Yang actually saw a bit of nervousness.
She was utterly confused:
Zheng Fa needed agricultural talent—fair enough,
the higher-ups had already made preparations for that.
After all, agricultural collaboration was something they’d brought up long ago.
Elder Hou’s team was among the most elite in the country and also the one the higher-ups trusted most.
Just like she’d said before.
Elder Hou was one of the first scientists in the country to learn about the nursing home.
What she didn’t expect was for Elder Hou to insist on visiting the nursing home in person after hearing about it.
She’d thought about it a long time but still didn’t know why.
Now, seeing that nervous look on Elder Hou’s face,
she was even more puzzled.
Elder Hou seemed to notice her gaze, turned his head,
and smiled at her through the rearview mirror.
“That’s the place?”
He pointed ahead.
The car had just arrived at the nursing home.
And Zheng Fa was already standing at the entrance.
Team Leader Yang was startled and slammed on the brakes.
...
Zheng Fa watched as Elder Hou slowly and unsteadily stepped out of the car.
The old man’s steps were a little strange—one foot light, one foot heavy—seeming like his legs or back were having issues.
“Thank you for the trouble,” Elder Hou said as soon as he got out.
Teacher Tian stepped forward to help support him and said, “Why didn’t you give me a call if you were coming?”
“I was afraid it’d be inconvenient for you,” Elder Hou replied, glancing at Zheng Fa, as if implying something else.
“I heard you got married. I didn’t even send a red envelope.”
“At my age, I didn’t invite anyone.”
It was clear that Teacher Tian and Elder Hou were well acquainted; the two started chatting like family.
Zheng Fa quietly observed Elder Hou.
The old man’s health really didn’t look good.
Especially after the long journey, his face had taken on a waxy pallor.
Teacher Tian introduced everyone briefly, but seeing how unwell he looked, she skipped the small talk and hurriedly led him inside.
Zheng Fa lingered behind and, watching Elder Hou walk ahead, finally turned to Team Leader Yang and asked,
“Elder Hou’s here? Is it for medical treatment?”
Team Leader Yang hadn’t explained clearly on the phone, and Zheng Fa had no idea what they were doing at the nursing home.
Seeing Elder Hou’s poor condition, that was the natural guess.
Team Leader Yang shook her head. “How would I know? Elder Hou insisted on coming himself, but…”
There was a hint of hope in her eyes, clearly worried about Elder Hou’s health but, perhaps not knowing Zheng Fa well enough, she didn’t dare speak too directly.
Zheng Fa gave a nod.
Team Leader Yang brightened immediately, secretly starting to understand a little more about Zheng Fa’s preferences...
“As for the circuit modeling of artificial intelligence, there’s been some results—I brought them for you,” Team Leader Yang added, as if she hadn’t come solely for Elder Hou. “There are quite a few proposals, and they’re all pretty complex.”
Zheng Fa felt a surge of excitement.
He’d been keeping this in mind all along.
Senior Sister Zhang’s spiritual energy circuit theory had been partly validated by the Jiushan Ancestor himself.
That made him even more invested in the research.
But the complexity was extremely high—from logic gates to computing modules, Zheng Fa could follow at first.
But once it got to neural network circuitry… it gave him a headache.
The stuff was just too intricate—if they wanted to reach a decent level of intelligence, the circuits would be practically endless.
Even Senior Sister Zhang admitted there was a bit of luck involved in her breakthroughs.
Only in the modern world, with access to computational platforms and cost-no-object research, could they see some glimmers of hope.
As they talked, the two of them reached the main hall of the nursing home.
Dishes had already been set on the table, and Teacher Tian was saying, “You came at the perfect time. Try my cooking.”
Elder Hou nodded with a smile, but his gaze kept drifting toward Zheng Fa.
During the meal, Zheng Fa could feel that Elder Hou was constantly glancing at him,
as if he had something he wanted to say but didn’t know how.
“Elder Hou, is there something you’d like to say?”
He asked directly.
“I came here… with a bit of a presumptuous request.”
Off to the side, Team Leader Yang smiled, “Zheng Fa already agreed to treat your illness.”
“Treat my illness?” Elder Hou froze, surprised. “What illness?”
“……”
Zheng Fa paused, glancing at Elder Hou.
“I came to ask for seeds.”
“Huh?”
Elder Hou’s hands gestured animatedly in the air, clearly excited: “The rice seeds you’ve grown in your fields—whether in terms of quality or yield—far surpass the world’s mainstream crops.”
“I came here to see if we could use your rice as parent stock, to cultivate even better mainstream crops.”
Teacher Tian said, “We’ve discussed this before…”
Zheng Fa nodded as well.
He’d thought about it before—
The crops in the nursing home were of extraordinary quality, largely thanks to spiritual energy.
But on the other hand, if these crops were used as parent stock, could the offspring be tastier, higher-yield than current mainstream crops?
Back then, they didn’t have the resources—or honestly, the need.
He hadn’t expected Elder Hou to come seeking it out himself.
Team Leader Yang seemed to understand now, her face showing excitement as she looked at Elder Hou. “You came for this?”
Elder Hou nodded lightly.
“When you told me about the situation at the nursing home, that’s what I thought of.”
“The rice I cultivated before still had some flaws, especially in taste. But the rice from your garden here…”
Elder Hou glanced at the bowl of rice in front of him, his eyes almost entranced: “It’s nearly perfect.”
After he finished speaking, Team Leader Yang looked eagerly at Zheng Fa.
And then Elder Hou added, “If this succeeds, in a way, it could secure the nation’s food supply!”
At that, everyone at the table turned their eyes to Zheng Fa.
Zheng Fa gave a small nod.
Elder Hou suddenly stood up and bowed to Zheng Fa, as if to give a formal salute.
Zheng Fa raised his hand and caught him mid-bow.
Seeing Elder Hou’s surprised expression, Zheng Fa smiled, “A man with a full stomach can’t bear to accept such a grand courtesy.”
“……”
“Of course, I have my own requests as well,”
Zheng Fa added.
“I can make the call on this. Just say what you need.”
“I want all the research data, and—on top of that—I want you and your team to help compile a full textbook.”
“…A textbook?”
“Or rather, a universal breeding method under spiritual energy—part experimental, part documentation,”
Zheng Fa explained.
Now that the Jiushan Sect was undergoing reform, what they lacked most was textbooks.
Especially for agriculture—Zhenren Qian was probably crying by now.
“That’s easy!”
Team Leader Yang responded immediately.
After thinking for a moment, she added, “I’ll report this to the higher-ups right away!”
Clearly, the normally steady Team Leader Yang was visibly excited.
“Right, Team Leader Yang, besides that research direction, I have another idea for agriculture...” Zheng Fa continued, “The reason I was originally looking for agricultural experts was for a different project.”
“What project?”
“I want to run hybridization experiments on that pea sprout, even conduct genetic research.”
Zheng Fa laid out his thoughts.
Right now, cultivating spiritual plants in the Jiushan Realm faced a major issue—Jiushan Sect didn’t have spiritual grains, oh, or spiritual wheat either.
In other words, there were no staple foods for cultivators.
Spiritual grains might seem ordinary, but for low-level disciples, they were one of the most important spiritual resources—cheap, abundant, and capable of boosting cultivation.
The medicine garden had all sorts of spiritual plants, but none that could be considered staple food. In fact, even in the Xuanyi Realm, there were virtually no lightning-element spiritual crops that served as staple food.
Zheng Fa’s current thinking was—try applying modern agriculture, especially genetic-level research, to see if this problem could be solved.
The simplest example: try hybridizing Yellow Sprout Rice with a type of lightning-element spiritual material, and see if it could yield a lightning-element spiritual grain.
But that line of thought came with one key premise—
Spiritual plants must be capable of genetic inheritance.
Which meant genes needed to be taken into account.
In Zheng Fa’s view, agriculture in the Jiushan Realm—or in the Xuanyi Realm—could follow two paths:
One was research on ordinary crops under spiritual energy environments.
The other was research on spiritual plants.
Both were important.
Between these two research paths, the first one was simpler. What Zheng Fa valued more in that case was textbooks.
Through breeding experiments conducted by Elder Hou and his team in the nursing home, they could summarize agricultural procedures under spiritual energy conditions—
and then implement those in the Jiushan Realm.
The second path was more difficult, because in the modern world, the only spiritual plant available for research was the pea sprout in the courtyard.
Zheng Fa wasn’t even sure if the emergence of spiritual plants was the result of genetics.
Team Leader Yang nodded and quickly rushed outside, likely to report or coordinate resources.
Elder Hou couldn’t wait either—he had Teacher Tian take him to the test fields to inspect the rice crops.
Watching the two of them—eager and excited—Old Bai rubbed his chin and suddenly said,
“Why do I get the feeling that, in the future, we’ll have to talk about three academicians…”
Tang Lingwu blinked curiously and looked over.
Then she heard Old Bai count on his fingers:
“Academy of Sciences, Academy of Engineering… Nursing Home?”
“Should we change the name or something?”
“……”
Absurd—
But it made a lot of sense.