Book 2: Chapter 222: True Nature Revealed, Jiushan Agricultural Canon |
Vol 2 Chapter 222: True Nature Revealed, Jiushan Agricultural Canon
The moment Team Leader Yang stepped into the nursing home, she understood—money or not, it didn’t matter!
In front of the main building of the nursing home, there was a small, antique-style pavilion. This had been part of the plan Tang Lingwu’s mother had made earlier.
Zheng Fa was sitting in the pavilion with Tang Lingwu and the others, sipping tea.
He had hardly had time to talk with them over the past six months, and there was too much to catch up on. Besides, forming a Golden Core was no easy task—he wanted to rest for a couple of days.
So today, Zheng Fa was just chatting with them casually.
Sometimes they’d say a few things, topics without any particular focus, just whatever came to mind.
Sometimes they’d fall completely silent—and even that felt comforting.
The weariness and restlessness in Zheng Fa’s heart had faded quite a bit.
Old Bai led Team Leader Yang and Cheng Yun into the pavilion.
Zheng Fa smiled at the two of them and gestured at the two untouched teacups in front of him.
Team Leader Yang had a whole basket of things she wanted to say, but as soon as she saw Zheng Fa’s face, she suddenly felt that the person before her was both near and far, ethereal and transcendent.
She found herself unable to say a single word, and simply lowered her head to take a sip of tea.
As the tea entered her mouth, the fragrance of the leaves carried a refreshing coolness. It traveled from the tip of her tongue into her stomach, and then floated... floated... floated into her mind.
It was like she had grown a new pair of ears—she could hear the tiny blossoms in the grass in front of the courtyard slowly blooming, hear the mountain breeze brushing gently across the distant treetops, hear the rustling of birds adjusting their feathers in their nests.
She could hear the silence of the sunset shining on the mountain.
In that moment, all the phone calls from the higher-ups, all the duties and responsibilities, all the worry and excitement she felt on the way here—vanished.
“This is...”
Team Leader Yang stared at the teacup in a daze and asked.
“Newly grown spiritual plant, thanks to the rich spiritual energy,” Teacher Tian smiled. “We call it Wangji Tea.”
“Wangji Tea...” Team Leader Yang repeated the name, nodded, and sighed softly, “Forget all schemes, like a celestial paradise...”
Next to her, Cheng Yun nodded while gulping it down ton ton ton... looking thoroughly unpresentable.
Zheng Fa was quite pleased with this tea too... It was very helpful for cultivation—it calmed the mind and improved focus, thereby enhancing cultivation efficiency.
Especially for modern people, whose thoughts tended to be complex—it was even more useful.
“Director Zheng, you really gave us a scare.”
Maybe it was the tea, but many of the thoughts in Team Leader Yang’s mind also dispersed. She no longer beat around the bush and said it directly.
“Scare?” Zheng Fa looked a little confused: “I merely made a bit of progress in cultivation. How did I scare anyone?”
Team Leader Yang gave a slight glare, then quickly looked away, not daring to meet his eyes. Instead, she turned to Tang Lingwu and the others: “Don’t you all think... Director Zheng has changed?”
No one else had spoken yet.
Zheng Fa asked again: “Changed how?”
“Became... untouchable. At this moment, I feel like I could almost reach you, but somehow you’re a thousand miles away.”
Hearing this, Zheng Fa couldn’t help but speculate:
After forming his Golden Core, he had felt that he’d changed somewhat. But when he interacted with Senior Sister Zhang and the others, they hadn’t seemed surprised.
Now that he thought about it, they had probably gone through this themselves and were already prepared. To them, Zheng Fa’s transformation was perfectly normal.
Other disciples of the Jiushan Sect, bound by his status, naturally wouldn’t dare to question it.
Here in the modern world, it was Team Leader Yang who had been the first to say it out loud.
He looked at Old Bai and the others—only to see them nodding slightly, as if agreeing with Team Leader Yang’s words—clearly, they’d felt the same.
Zheng Fa furrowed his brows and asked, “You all feel that I’ve changed too?”
It wasn’t that he was being sentimental or neurotic—it’s just that... when it came to the path of cultivation, he had always harbored a faint sense of dread.
After all, whether it was the Great Freedom Demon Ancestor or the Tianhe Venerable, they’d both spoken of how cultivation could lead one to become unrecognizable from their former self.
He couldn’t help but stay vigilant.
Old Bai spoke slowly, “You’ve definitely changed. Even if you don’t feel it yourself, it’s obvious to us—you’re more... composed? Or confident? Maybe even detached.”
Zheng Fa nodded as he listened. In terms of mindset... it was true.
“If you ask me, it’s not a bad thing.”
Perhaps seeing Zheng Fa still frowning, Old Bai’s face turned more serious than usual. “Change doesn’t mean you’re not you anymore.”
“A strong body often comes with a more robust spirit—isn’t that common?”
Cheng Yun seemed to remember something and suddenly recited: “Suddenly I break free of golden shackles, here I tear apart jade locks. Aha! As the tide surges on the Qiantang River, only today do I truly know I am myself!”
Everyone turned to look at him, only to see him grinning sheepishly: “Read that line in Water Margin before—thought it was really badass.”
Old Bai clapped his palm and sighed: “Exactly! What you’ve lost are just mundane shackles—who says those were your true self to begin with?”
A smile appeared in Zheng Fa’s eyes, and he poured Cheng Yun another cup of tea.
He felt he had indeed been worrying too much. From the looks of Senior Sister Zhang and the others, at least up to the Nascent Soul stage, things should still be fine.
Team Leader Yang sighed—Cheng Yun had only said two lines after guzzling tea for so long, yet they had been perfectly timed.
Watching Zheng Fa clearly more pleased with him than with her...
It was very annoying.
...
Zheng Fa, after all, wasn’t a typical cultivator... doing research meant talking about money and cost.
“Director Zheng, we’ve already surveyed the back of the mountain. Building a particle collider in Rainbow Mountain is completely feasible,” Team Leader Yang said. “As for money, you don’t need to worry about that...”
Zheng Fa shook his head, “I’m not trying to save money on purpose. On the other hand, I want to save some time. Mainly, I have a way to use relatively simple equipment to meet the energy needs of a large particle collider.”
He was, of course, talking about thunder techniques.
“In that case...” Team Leader Yang thought for a bit and proposed, “We’ll divide the project into three phases—conduct experiments while upgrading along the way. That way, we won’t lose time either...”
“That... sounds great. Team Leader Yang, can you make that call?”
“Director Zheng, I’m riding your coattails now—feeling pretty high and mighty,” Team Leader Yang laughed and spoke frankly. Her tone made it sound like she already considered herself part of the nursing home.
Zheng Fa gave her a glance.
Team Leader Yang added, “Director Zheng, I actually looked into this later—working with you is good for the country too.”
Zheng Fa was taken aback.
“This particle collider is expensive, and once it’s built, we want results. Now with a large one in place, plus your spell techniques...” Team Leader Yang said, “We might be able to achieve some experiments that were previously impossible.”
“This is a win-win.”
Zheng Fa paused, then slapped his forehead. He’d indeed been thinking too narrowly—just like the planned controlled nuclear fusion external pill project: if science could aid cultivation, then why couldn’t cultivation aid science?
Old Bai even sighed: “Now that you put it that way, it really makes sense. Still, Team Leader Yang, you’re the one who thought it through.”
Team Leader Yang smiled smugly: “I’m the head of the liaison group. It’s my job to think about how both sides can benefit.”
She couldn’t help but glance at Cheng Yun, and her expression blatantly said—I may not have your luck, but I’ve got brains.
Cheng Yun gently adjusted the imaginary glasses on his nose, then pulled a hard drive from his backpack...
Team Leader Yang’s expression froze. She suddenly remembered—D*mn, Cheng Yun’s the one with the brains too!
Sure enough.
Cheng Yun spoke: “Director, based on the Divine Thunder External Pill’s experiment results, we’ve optimized the other eleven Golden Core methods over the past six months.”
Zheng Fa’s eyes lit up as he accepted the hard drive, looking even happier than before.
Team Leader Yang bit her lip on the side.
“I’ve made quite a few discoveries during Core Formation too—let’s talk in a bit.”
Zheng Fa said warmly to Cheng Yun. Having personally formed a Golden Core, he naturally had new insights and some ideas for improving the Golden Core Project.
More importantly... he still hadn’t figured out what exactly the Nine-Turn Golden Core Method was.
Cheng Yun’s research couldn’t be allowed to stop—it would probably be of great use in the future.
Seeing this, Team Leader Yang couldn’t help but feel a bit dejected. Cheng Yun looked visibly smug. Just then, a screech of brakes sounded from outside the gate.
Everyone paused for a moment, and then saw Elder Hou getting out of a car.
Team Leader Yang and Cheng Yun exchanged glances—The person Zheng Fa really cares about has arrived!
Sure enough, as soon as Elder Hou entered, the smile on Zheng Fa’s face deepened... It wasn’t that he was playing favorites, but he remembered how Tang Lingwu had been keeping things under wraps—apparently, the Jiushan Grain Company had made some breakthroughs and was being all mysterious about it.
Naturally, he was a little curious.
Elder Hou entered and winked at Tang Lingwu, clearly finding the whole thing amusing.
Just like Cheng Yun, he carried a heavy-looking backpack. He placed it on the stone table in the pavilion, unzipped it, and Zheng Fa saw it clearly—inside were more than ten brand-new books.
“What’s this?”
“Couldn’t farm the spiritual fields these past six months, but compiling past experiment data wasn’t a problem,” Elder Hou smiled. “These were written by me, Little Tang, and some other experts—a full set of agricultural textbooks tailored to spiritual energy environments.”
“Of course, our understanding of spiritual plants is still limited, but these books already include previous findings and summarize modern theories adapted to spiritual-energy conditions.”
“If we make any new discoveries later, we can just revise this edition.”
Zheng Fa’s smile deepened. He flipped through the ten or so volumes and saw that they were well-organized, ranging from Botany to Genetics of Spiritual Plants... even discussions on gene theory.
Looking through the content, it was practically encyclopedic—definitely not something Elder Hou could’ve done alone.
Previously, Elder Hou had written some summarizing articles, which had already benefited Jiushan Sect quite a bit. But a comprehensive textbook like this, suited for spiritual environments, had never been compiled—mainly due to lack of time.
Apparently, he’d had nothing better to do over the past six months, and with loads of data at hand and Tang Lingwu’s coordination, naturally they had pulled this set together.
Zheng Fa couldn’t help but glance at Tang Lingwu, only to see her eyes shining, full of anticipation—radiating with a girl’s clear and sincere feelings.
Zheng Fa felt a wave of warmth in his heart.
Old Bai curled his lips and muttered, “Detached, my a**. As long as it’s a guy, even if he becomes an immortal, he’ll still have a mortal heart.”
Team Leader Yang glanced at Tang Lingwu and shook her head—Old Bai had it wrong. If it were a girl, she’d still be moved too!
...
In the Jiushan Realm, Zheng Fa said to Senior Sister Zhang and the others, “I’m preparing to send a letter back to the Hundred Immortals Alliance, agreeing to host the Hundred Immortals Conference here.”
Senior Sister Zhang nodded without asking further.
But Martial Uncle Pang frowned and asked, “Why do that? Isn’t Jiang Chengkong suspected of having ulterior motives?”
“It’s not just the Hundred Immortals Alliance... I’m planning to partially open up the Jiushan Realm to the outside world,” Zheng Fa said slowly. “Jiushan Realm is too poor. That planned Economic Development Zone Island... needs to be set in motion.”
Farming is one thing, but the saying ‘No wealth without commerce’ has never been false.
Martial Uncle Pang nodded slightly.
“I’ve now developed improved methods for eleven other Golden Core techniques, but the sect’s resources aren’t enough...”
Zheng Fa explained further.
With Core Formation methods in hand, the next step was to try refining some external pills. After that, it would be time for the Foundation Establishment disciples to form their cores.
The required resources were no small amount.
Back then, Senior Sister Zhang had even had a falling out with Martial Uncle Pang’s disciples over this...
Martial Uncle Pang was struck by realization, his face showing mixed emotions—he had never imagined that Jiushan Sect would face this kind of "problem"...
“Our Jiushan Sect doesn’t have many specialties these days... but we do still have some strengths. Stage plays, a safe environment, thunder-element spiritual materials, even our self-refined external pills... all can be sold,”
Zheng Fa said, outlining his thoughts.
“A safe environment...” Martial Uncle Pang rubbed his chin, understanding Zheng Fa’s implication. “You’re planning to rent again?”
Zheng Fa nodded and turned to Senior Sister Zhang: “I’m starting with the Hundred Immortals Alliance.”
In short, Zheng Fa was planning to rent out a venue to the Hundred Immortals Alliance to hold their conference...
If it went well and gained a good reputation, he planned to turn Jiushan Realm into a mobile neutral marketplace—
As for returning to the Hundred Immortals Alliance? Zheng Fa wasn’t even considering it. Go back just to fight the Great Freedom Demonic Sect to the death?
“As for Jiang Chengkong, let’s just see what he’s up to.”
Senior Sister Zhang nodded lightly, agreeing with Zheng Fa’s thinking: “With someone like that... hiding is no use, it’ll only make him suspicious...”
“The Hundred Immortals Conference often draws many visiting experts... I’m planning to host an auction. We can sell our external pills and the magic treasures we recovered from the Tianhe ruins.”
“Now that you say it, this really could work.”
Martial Uncle Pang thought it over and found the idea sound.
After sorting it all out, a Message Talisman flew from Zheng Fa’s sleeve toward the Hundred Immortals Alliance.
...
Mount Tongming.
Zhenren Tongming received Zheng Fa’s Message Talisman, read it, and sighed.
One of his disciples asked, “Master?”
“Zheng Fa wrote back. The letter was very polite—he said it would be an honor to host the Hundred Immortals Conference...”
“Then why the sigh, Master?”
“They want money.”
“...” The disciple held it in for a while before finally speaking: “How can they do that? Aren’t they one of us...”
“They don’t see it that way...” Zhenren Tongming thought for a bit, then sighed again.
“Could they still be holding a grudge?”
“A grudge? I don’t think so. It seems more like pure business now,” Zhenren Tongming said after some thought.
The disciple had no response—he understood this kind of reply meant Zheng Fa truly no longer saw himself as part of the Hundred Immortals Alliance.
“Then why bother...” the disciple muttered.
“Do you think this is something we can decide?” Zhenren Tongming rolled his eyes and shook his head. “We still have to listen to Envoy Chengkong, don’t we? Oh—speaking of which, is that Chengkong fellow still fiddling with his spiritual bamboo?”
The disciple nodded and chuckled awkwardly: “Qingmu Sect and Baicao Gate have tried everything, but none of them can do a thing about that bamboo’s issue...”
Zhenren Tongming also shook his head. Qingmu Sect was the best at alchemy among the Hundred Immortals Alliance, and Baicao Gate was deeply knowledgeable about spiritual plants and woods... Their eagerness toward that spiritual bamboo clearly showed their intent to curry favor with Jiang Chengkong.
And honestly, their strategy made sense.
Ever since Jiang Chengkong had arrived at the Hundred Immortals Alliance, he had spent most of his energy on that almost yellowing spiritual bamboo.
But...
“How could Envoy Chengkong not know cultivators who specialize in spiritual plant cultivation? Those two sects... are getting ahead of themselves.”
“True, but we still don’t know what that bamboo is for, for him to be so invested...”
Zhenren Tongming shook his head again. He didn’t know much about spiritual plants.
Naturally, he couldn’t understand it at all.
...
In the Jiushan Realm, Zheng Fa arrived at Heavenly Palace Island and slowly entered the Hall of Esteemed Sages.
There weren’t many people in the hall right now—after all, no one came here every day... Still, as soon as they saw Zheng Fa enter, the few disciples inside looked over curiously.
Zheng Fa glanced around at the various statues, then pulled a special sculpture from his storage pouch—
It was a sculpture of a box, filled with ten or so books. On the outer shell of the box were four carved characters: Jiushan Agricultural Canon.
Beside those four characters, there were rows upon rows of tiny carved words:
At the top was: Compiled by: Tang Lingwu.
Below it were dozens of contributors' names, the first of which was Elder Hou.
With a wave of his hand, the sculpture was placed into the Hall of Esteemed Sages, positioned right next to the statue of Daoist Qian.
This sculpture had been carved by Zheng Fa himself—not for any lofty reason, but because he didn’t want those who had made great contributions to the Jiushan Realm to go unrecognized by its people.
In the future, when other forms of knowledge became systematic, he would do the same—especially for names like Old Bai... He didn’t know if he would be able to bring Old Bai and the others to the Jiushan Realm someday, but if he couldn’t, at least he would leave their names behind.
Just then, Senior Sister Zhang, who had been working in the main hall on Heavenly Palace Island, walked in. She glanced at Zheng Fa, then shifted her gaze to the book-box sculpture—
Especially on the name Tang Lingwu, where her eyes lingered for quite a while.
Zheng Fa... suddenly felt a little guilty.
At that moment, Zhenren Qian hurried in and asked, “Sect Master! What is this Jiushan Agricultural Canon? May I take a look?”
Naturally, he had good reason to be excited. After all, Zheng Fa had previously given him various materials, which had all turned out to be incredibly valuable.
And now, suddenly, there were ten more volumes...
How could he not be tempted? How could he not be thrilled?
Zheng Fa waved his hand, and a copy of the Jiushan Agricultural Canon appeared in front of Zhenren Qian.
Zhenren Qian didn’t even return to his quarters. He picked up a volume on the spot and started reading—he probably couldn’t understand all of it, sometimes frowning deeply.
Other times, he suddenly looked enlightened, even visibly shocked.
Cultivators read quickly to begin with. Zhenren Qian skimmed through most of it within half an hour.
“Well?”
Zheng Fa asked.
To be fair, Zhenren Qian, though originally an outsider, had such a good attitude toward learning that he was practically turning into a copy of Zheng Fa himself—he’d earned Zheng Fa’s trust.
This set of books was mainly prepared for him.
“I’m slow-witted—I understood maybe twenty to thirty percent...” Zhenren Qian said honestly, then couldn’t help but praise, “But it was already immensely beneficial!”
“This Fairy Tang... compiled the books in such a clear and accessible way. She truly wants to spread the Great Dao of Spirit Farming—she is without doubt a person of great virtue!”
Zheng Fa glanced at Senior Sister Zhang.
Mm... not a bad compliment. Just... wrong audience.
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