Book 2: Chapter 354: Soul Formation Technique, A Precious Gift |
Vol 2 Chapter 354: Soul Formation Technique, A Precious Gift
"Any progress on the genetic research into spiritual roots?"
As soon as the lecture concluded, Zheng Fa found Teacher Tian to ask about the previous spiritual root research.
For the modern Immortal Dao to develop rapidly, exploring spiritual roots was extremely important.
But it had been over half a year since this matter started, and there seemed to be no progress at all. It seemed they had encountered difficulties.
Zheng Fa hadn't asked much about it before, mainly because he didn't understand this area of research well and was afraid of an amateur trying to guide professionals.
On the other hand, he also didn't want to pressure the researchers.
Now that the Creation Jade Slip had evolved and was loaded with a lot of biological knowledge, even if he couldn't guide the research, understanding it shouldn't be a problem.
Asking Teacher Tian about this now was also to see if he could help.
"What kind of progress?"
Tang Mu Dao spoke up: "Using a spectrometer, we have a more precise definition for single spiritual roots and multiple spiritual roots."
"How are they defined?"
"By measuring the spiritual energy content in spirit-testing jade, we found that if we set a person's total spiritual root capacity at one hundred, then a single spiritual root means that specific root's proportion is greater than eighty."
"What about multiple spiritual roots?"
"For each spiritual root to be detectable, its proportion must be greater than twenty."
Zheng Fa understood.
Everyone has the five elemental spiritual roots.
A dual spiritual root means two spiritual roots are both greater than twenty percent, while the other three are all less than twenty percent.
Following this logic, from dual spiritual roots downward, naturally no single spiritual root could have a proportion greater than eighty percent.
A triple spiritual root means three types of spiritual roots are greater than twenty.
The question was...
"What about five spiritual roots?"
Zheng Fa's mind raced and immediately spotted the problem. Could it be that a five spiritual root meant completely even distribution, each at twenty percent?
That would be too coincidental, much rarer than a single spiritual root.
"If according to our research, five spiritual roots do not exist," Tang Mu Dao said slowly. "At least, they don't exist within the nursing home."
Hearing this, Zheng Fa began to recall his experiences in the Xuanyi Realm:
He had never seen a five spiritual root cultivator either.
Even triple spiritual roots and below were almost unable to enter immortal sects in the past.
To be honest, five spiritual roots were too insignificant in the Xuanyi Realm; no one paid them any attention before.
Even though Zheng Fa, compared to other immortal sects, didn't place much emphasis on spiritual roots, he also didn't pay much mind to cultivators below triple spiritual roots.
He actually hadn't noticed this matter.
"Doesn't that mean everyone is quadruple spiritual roots or above?"
Zheng Fa frowned. This didn't quite match the reality of the Xuanyi Realm. Spirit-testing jade could detect five spiritual roots.
Tang Mu Dao explained: "Spiritual roots only represent the proportion of spiritual energy, not the total amount of spiritual energy."
Zheng Fa was stunned for a moment, then immediately understood: "Physical constitution difference?"
"Correct. We found that people who have practiced the broadcast calisthenics can absorb a slightly higher total amount of spiritual energy than others, though the increase might only be around three percent," Tang Mu Dao explained. "Also, some people absorb a small amount of spiritual energy and are quadruple spiritual roots. The spirit-testing jade's precision isn't high enough, giving inaccurate readings, so they are mistaken for five spiritual roots."
Broadcast calisthenics?
A flash of insight struck Zheng Fa's mind.
The broadcast calisthenics were, at their core, Dao-entry martial arts, and Dao-entry martial arts were related to Dao bodies.
He was almost certain what the so-called cultivation aptitude was:
Dao body and spiritual roots.
The Dao body was more precious and fundamental. It might increase the total amount of spiritual energy a cultivator could absorb, and of course, came with some corresponding extraordinary abilities.
Spiritual roots, however, determined the conversion rate of absorbed spiritual energy into spiritual power.
This was a bit like a car's fuel tank capacity versus its combustion efficiency.
He nodded at Tang Mu Dao, then looked at Teacher Tian.
"Genetic sequencing hasn't made much progress," Teacher Tian said helplessly. "The sample size at the nursing home is too small."
"The human genome is also too vast, billions of base pairs, and we've never fully understood the function of roughly fifteen percent of the genes."
Teacher Tian's tone carried a hint of frustration.
"What Professor Tang mentioned about spiritual root proportion, that data is too vague, not intuitive enough... We simply can't find a starting point right now."
Zheng Fa thought about it and also felt a headache.
The nursing home currently had only about a thousand people; the sample size was inherently insufficient.
On the other hand, judging from the so-called spiritual root proportion.
Spiritual roots probably weren't influenced by just one gene.
But if spiritual roots were the result of multiple genes working together, then it was almost impossible to make headway now.
"So the current problem is... we need more accurate characterization?"
Teacher Tian nodded: "Yes, it would be best to figure out what physical structure determines spiritual roots. Then we could leverage previous research findings, instead of being like we are now, like blind men trying to figure out an elephant."
Seeing Teacher Tian's look of discouragement, Zheng Fa smiled:
"It's fine, research can't be rushed. Actually, we haven't gained nothing."
"Hmm?"
"If we can't figure out spiritual roots for now, we can focus on developing the broadcast calisthenics for the time being."
Tang Mu Dao and Teacher Tian exchanged a glance and slowly nodded.
Zheng Fa's idea was simple. Since spiritual roots were a dead end for now.
The broadcast calisthenics were also a usable method to enhance the aptitude of modern people.
Nowadays, spiritual energy was everywhere in the modern world. Although it was still a bit thin for cultivation, it was sufficient for practicing Dao-entry martial arts.
...
"Use the Nine Chapters Calculation Formation to derive Dao-entry martial arts?"
In the Jiushan Realm, Senior Sister Zhang heard Zheng Fa's request, frowned in thought for a moment, and spoke:
"If Dao-entry martial arts can enhance cultivation aptitude, then they indeed have value."
"However, my understanding of Dao-entry martial arts isn't deep either. The effectiveness of deriving them is uncertain."
As a born Primordial Spirit Dao Body, Senior Sister Zhang had never practiced low-tier stuff like Dao-entry martial arts.
"And cultivators don't place much importance on martial arts either," Uncle Pang chimed in from the side. "A three percent cultivation boost, people didn't pay attention to that before."
This was indeed the case.
The Xuanyi Realm had almost never accurately quantified various aspects of cultivation.
A more important reason was that immortal sects still favored geniuses, or rather, they weren't short of cultivators; they could just pick the best of the best.
No matter how useful Dao-entry martial arts were, could they compare to a single spiritual root plus a Dao body?
Three percent?
Not worth the trouble for everyone.
Only someone like Zheng Fa, who wanted to popularize cultivation, would value Dao-entry martial arts so highly.
The derivation by the Nine Chapters Calculation Formation didn't come out of thin air either; it required a vast amount of corresponding data.
"I have some research data on Dao-entry martial arts." Zheng Fa took out a jade tube and handed it to Senior Sister Zhang.
This jade tube contained some of the modern research results on the broadcast calisthenics.
Senior Sister Zhang took the jade tube, glanced at it, and nodded: "Then I can give it a try."
"No, no need for you to try, Senior Sister."
"No need for me?"
"Look at the back part of the jade tube."
"The back?"
Senior Sister Zhang was taken aback. Her divine consciousness dove into the jade tube again. This time, however, she kept her eyes closed for a very, very long time.
Uncle Pang and Uncle Huang exchanged bewildered glances, their hearts itching with curiosity, yet they couldn't see what was in the jade tube.
But what they could see was that Wuyi's expression was extremely, extremely complex.
Senior Sister Zhang opened her eyes, holding the jade tube, looking at Zheng Fa, her gaze soft as water:
"Nine Chapters Calculation Spirit?"
Zheng Fa nodded:
"Senior Sister, from now on, you won't have to exhaust yourself controlling the Nine Chapters Calculation Formation!"
Uncle Pang couldn't contain his curiosity any longer and hurriedly asked: "What Nine Chapters Calculation Spirit?"
"The Nine Chapters Calculation Spirit, put in the easiest terms to understand, is a formation spirit. This formation spirit can replace me in controlling the Nine Chapters Calculation Formation."
Upon hearing this, Uncle Pang's eyes widened, his face a picture of ignorance as he exclaimed:
"There's such a thing as a formation spirit?"
He suddenly glanced towards the other side of the hall.
Xie Qingxue stood there, her eyes wider than his.
At this, Uncle Pang felt relieved in his heart: So even the Tianhe Sect people are this ignorant.
"Can I take a look?"
Xie Qingxue spoke up.
Ever since learning that her own sect had been restricted from researching formations, she had recently become extremely interested in formations, seeking out many ancient texts to study.
Senior Sister Zhang glanced at Zheng Fa, and seeing him nod, she simply handed the jade tube to Xie Qingxue.
Xie Qingxue held the jade tube, read for a long while, and then suddenly exclaimed: "Isn't this a Soul Formation technique?"
Uncle Pang and Uncle Huang were stunned, exclaiming in unison: "A Soul Formation technique?"
For the two of them at the Nascent Soul stage, the words "Soul Formation technique" were practically soul-stirring.
Senior Sister Zhang curled the corner of her mouth, even showing a very obvious hint of pride:
"It is a Soul Formation technique. Tailor-made for me, the Soul Formation technique most suitable for me."
Upon hearing this, Uncle Pang and the other turned to look at Zheng Fa, asking in unison:
"Really... a Soul Formation technique?"
"You could say that." Zheng Fa nodded. "This Nine Chapters Calculation Spirit originally came from Haori Mountain's 'Vermilion Heaven Jade Manual.' Its concept is no different from the Yang Spirit Method."
"Although it might not be complete, the direction should be correct."
Ultimately, this thing was a variant, simplified Yang Spirit Method.
The three of them, Uncle Pang and the others, fell silent upon hearing this.
After a while, Uncle Pang spoke with difficulty: "You just said you researched this thing to give Wuyi more rest time?"
"That was the initial idea."
"And then you came up with a Soul Formation technique?"
Zheng Fa nodded slowly.
Hearing this, Uncle Pang slowly raised his head, looked at the hall's ceiling, thought for a long moment, and suddenly said: "Is Senior Brother Yuan still in seclusion?"
Uncle Huang was taken aback, then his expression also turned odd: "Should we... call him out?"
"We should call him out." Uncle Pang sighed with emotion. "If he dies in seclusion, that's one thing. But if he succeeds in reaching Soul Formation, I'm afraid he might come out, look at this, and want to die..."
"..."
Uncle Pang's face was full of compassion: "No matter how many evil deeds that guy surnamed Yuan has committed, going through the Heart Demon Tribulation twice is a bit much."
...
The construction of the Nine Chapters Calculation Spirit would still take some time.
Because Tang Lingwu and the others had designed a brand new calculation symbol language, the entire Nine Chapters Calculation Formation had to be rebuilt from scratch.
And the algorithm of the Nine Chapters Calculation Spirit was dozens of times more complex than the previous calculation formation.
Therefore, the calculation formation on University Island not only had to be rebuilt from the ground up, but its complexity was also much higher.
Senior Sister Zhang naturally wasn't in a hurry to reach Soul Formation either—
For her, the Nine Chapters Calculation Spirit was more like a Soul Formation experiment.
By setting up the formation and observing the calculation spirit's condition, she could not only familiarize herself with the technique but also identify potential flaws in it, preparing for her future Soul Formation.
Thus, she took this matter extremely seriously.
This time, she didn't let anyone else handle the entire formation setup; even Zheng Fa couldn't get a word in.
The calculation formation had nothing for him to do, and his senior sister had no time for him. Zheng Fa found himself unexpectedly idle, with nothing to do.
He simply returned to Letu Island.
"Brother!"
Zheng Shan, who had already grown to Zheng Fa's collarbone height, came running over happily.
Zheng's Mother also hurried out from the house, looking at her son, and said: "You're back?"
"Mm."
"Then... should I make dinner?"
A small pang of guilt arose in Zheng Fa's heart:
It had been roughly half a year since he had properly eaten a meal at home.
Currently, Zheng Fa was dealing with matters of the Jiushan Realm, matters of the Hundred Immortals Alliance, and now he was also in charge of the Zhongxuan Sect.
Even without miscellaneous tasks, he still had to cultivate or engage in dual cultivation.
Ultimately, the pressure from Haori Mountain was too great, making him wish he could seize every single minute and second.
During this period, the time he allocated to his mother and sister had diminished significantly.
Although Letu Island was close, and he could get there in a few steps, eating wasn't really necessary for him anymore.
Moreover, with time being tight, he usually just exchanged a few words and left.
Meeting his mother's expectant gaze, Zheng Fa nodded and said:
"Alright."
Upon hearing this, Zheng's Mother was overjoyed, quickly running into the kitchen.
"Brother!" Zheng Shan waved her hand, and a grand armchair from inside the house flew under Zheng Fa's bottom. She said ingratiatingly, "Sit!"
"Hmm?"
Zheng Fa glanced at his younger sister.
Zheng Shan was seventeen this year. Although there was still a slight hint of baby fat on her face, she could be considered a young lady now.
With her single spiritual root, her cultivation wasn't slow; she was already at the early Foundation Establishment stage.
Her being this attentive today was quite strange.
"Something up?"
"Mm!" Zheng Shan nodded heavily. "Brother, I want to go work for the Hundred Immortals Alliance!"
"The Hundred Immortals Alliance?"
Zheng Fa frowned.
Currently, the Jiushan Realm disciples working for the Hundred Immortals Alliance were essentially two groups:
The Divine Thunder Warships merchant team led by Han Qi.
And some of Uncle Pang's disciples were out conducting investigations, but for safety reasons, the number of these disciples wasn't large.
"Why do you have this idea?"
"I... I'm afraid others will talk, talk about me."
"Talk about you?"
"Say I'm your sister."
Zheng Fa lightly frowned: "Someone has opinions? You heard something?"
"No, nobody." Zheng Shan shook her head, whispering, "But, I feel bad about it myself."
"Everyone else has to take turns going on missions. I've reached Foundation Establishment, but I've never left the Jiushan Realm."
Zheng Fa fell slightly silent.
He looked at Zheng Shan, also feeling helpless.
Ultimately, he wasn't some completely selfless person either.
Although Zheng Shan's resources within the Jiushan Realm weren't excessively tilted in her favor, she almost never encountered dangerous missions.
"Really no one said anything?"
"Really no one!"
"So you want to go out? To play?"
"Mm!"
Seeing his younger sister's resolute expression, Zheng Fa nodded again.
Zheng Shan's face lit up with joy.
"No."
"Brother!"
"I'm not being biased towards you." Zheng Fa's expression turned a bit cold. "Have you thought about it? If something happens to you, if you get captured, what should I do?"
"If someone uses you to threaten the Jiushan Sect, what about those disciples?"
"You've grown this big, only thinking about going out to play?"
Looking at Zheng Fa, Zheng Shan's little face froze.
Her lips quivered, unable to speak.
Zheng Fa also shook his head inwardly.
Of course he wanted to protect Zheng Shan, but with Haori Mountain watching from the sidelines, if something happened to Zheng Shan, the chaos would be immense.
Not just him, even Uncle Pang and the others wouldn't approve of letting Zheng Shan leave the Jiushan Realm.
His younger sister probably had no other choice but to come beg him.
Seeing his younger sister's aggrieved look, Zheng Fa wasn't in the mood to coax her either.
The siblings remained silent until dinner was served.
...
"What's going on with you two?"
At the dinner table, Zheng's Mother looked at the sulky Zheng Shan and the silent Zheng Fa, put down her chopsticks, and asked.
Zheng Shan didn't speak, just buried her head in eating.
Seeing this, and noticing his mother's genuine worry, Zheng Fa finally spoke up and recounted what had just happened.
Unexpectedly, after hearing it, Zheng's Mother sighed:
"This matter... Shan'er mentioned it to me... She doesn't want to go out to play."
Surprised, Zheng Fa glanced at Zheng Shan: "Then for what?"
"You've been very busy lately, right?"
"Somewhat."
"Shan'er can't see you, misses you a bit, and also wants to help you... She didn't think that far ahead."
Zheng's Mother looked at her daughter and said softly.
"..."
Zheng Fa also stopped his chopsticks, turning his head to look at his younger sister.
Zheng Shan slowly shoveled rice into her mouth, not saying a word.
"For the past six months, as soon as she gets back from school, she cultivates. She's been working harder than before, just thinking that after reaching Foundation Establishment, she could help you more."
"This child, she hasn't grown up yet... She secretly told me," Zheng's Mother let out a soft chuckle, "that if she could help the Jiushan Sect by going out to work, you would have time to come back."
She hasn't grown up yet.
Looking at Zheng Shan, who still kept her head down, Zheng Fa's heart softened.
...
After dinner, Zheng Fa walked into Zheng Shan's room.
Zheng Shan was sitting cross-legged on the bed in meditation, seemingly unaware that Zheng Fa had entered.
"What? Still angry?"
"Not angry!"
"You can't go to the Hundred Immortals Alliance."
"Brother, you were mean to me!"
"..."
Where did his little sister learn this?
Zheng Fa tapped Zheng Shan's little head.
Zheng Shan covered her head, her expression even more resentful.
"I brought you a gift."
"A gift? Something tasty?"
Zheng Shan's eyes immediately lit up.
"No." Zheng Fa took out a storage pouch and handed it to Zheng Shan, saying mysteriously, "Better than food."
Excited, Zheng Shan took the storage pouch and eagerly opened it.
A mountain-high pile of books cascaded onto her bed with a rustling sound.
Zheng Shan shrank into the corner of the bed, her gaze sweeping over the half-bed full of textbooks, her lips trembling slightly.
"This is... a gift?"
At this moment, she truly wasn't angry anymore.
Not only was she not angry, there was no life left on her face.
Or rather, she felt a bit like dying.
"Got the wrong one."
"Got the wrong one?"
Zheng Shan looked up blankly. Seeing the full smile on Zheng Fa's face, how could she not understand that Zheng Fa had done it on purpose.
"Brother!"
She leapt up from the bed, flailing her arms and legs as she pounced towards Zheng Fa.
Zheng Fa pressed his left hand against her forehead, while his right hand flashed something in front of his younger sister's eyes, laughing:
"The gift is this."
Zheng Shan swung her arms at the empty air for a while, giving the air a thorough beating, before looking at the thing in Zheng Fa's right hand.
"A Tongjian? I already have a Tongjian."
"This one is different from before. I just finished it. Yours is the first one."
Zheng Fa said with a smile.
Zheng Shan's eyes sparkled, but she still snorted at Zheng Fa before taking the Tongjian and tapping on it.
The patterns on the Tongjian's bronze surface shifted and slowly lit up.
"Huh?"
Zheng Shan looked at the image on the Tongjian and asked in surprise: "Why are there so many more things?"
There were six small icons on the screen.
"Brother, what's this?"
"Tap it."
Zheng Shan tapped the first icon. The screen changed again, displaying an interface.
In the interface, Zheng Fa's avatar was in the top left corner.
"Is this you, brother?"
"Mm." Zheng Fa patted his younger sister's head and said softly, "From now on, if you miss me, use this to find me... You can send me messages, and even talk to me directly."
"Really?"
Zheng Shan's face showed delight.
"Not just that. Tap this."
Following Zheng Fa's direction, Zheng Shan tapped again. The image on the Tongjian changed once more, and Zheng Fa's smiling face appeared on the screen.
Zheng Shan held the Tongjian in her hands, tilting her head to look at Zheng Fa.
"No matter when, if you want to see me, if Mother wants to see me, you can see me. It's the same even when I'm outside the Jiushan Realm." Zheng Fa said with a smile, "Do you like this gift?"
"I love it!"
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