I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times-Chapter 313Book 2: : The Joy of an Elder, Xuanhua’s Request
Vol 2 Chapter 313: The Joy of an Elder, Xuanhua’s Request
Zheng Fa felt like Elder Xiong’s look toward him was filled with insults—just incredibly foul, unspoken ones.
Madam Xuanhua was watching from the side, visibly moved, as if recalling what it felt like when she first entered the Jiushan Realm. Her expression seemed to say—this Jiushan Realm, truly is a place you can’t leave once you enter...
Elder Xiong lowered his head and carefully examined the pill formulas in his hand. After hesitating for a long time, he finally asked, “Why… do the Five Sects not want people to know about the Five-Element Orchid?”
Zheng Fa could tell that although he was scared, he had also realized the value of the Five-Element Orchid—surely the Five Sects wouldn’t embargo a mere weed?
“This plant… is probably related to the Tianhe Venerable.”
Elder Xiong suddenly raised his head, then lowered it, then raised and lowered it again, his eyes bouncing between Zheng Fa and the formulas in his hand—his heart was clearly in turmoil.
Maybe this Grand Elder of Qingmu Sect felt like he had been duped, but Zheng Fa was pretty relaxed about it… Recruiting Qingmu Sect was always about getting them to do this job.
In fact, if Zheng Fa hadn’t truly been unable to find decent alchemy talent, he wouldn’t have even let Qingmu Sect see this—there were plenty of reckless folks in Xuanyi Realm who sought fortune in danger. If offending the Five Sects could grant them the Tianhe Venerable’s secret art…
Quite a few might take that deal.
Even taking a step back, the fact that Zheng Fa had tacitly agreed to let Qingmu Sect dominate the Pill Master Guild wasn’t out of charity, was it?
Zheng Fa felt he’d paid a life-saving fee!
You can’t just talk about loyalty when it’s convenient!
Elder Xiong seemed to have come to terms with this as well. His expression was a mix of pain and glee, like someone who realized they were stuck on a pirate ship—only to discover the cargo hold was full of spirit stones, and everyone was preparing to split the loot, inviting him to join.
He took two deep breaths and spoke in a resigned tone, “What do you need me to do?”
“All I have are these pill recipes, and I’m not even sure which one is correct… or if any of them are usable.”
That was the frustrating part for Zheng Fa.
All they had after their search was fragments and scraps.
Whether any of these were actually the kind of elixir the Tianhe Venerable used—no one knew for sure.
“So…” Elder Xiong understood, “I need to first refine and perfect the methods to make these elixirs, then figure out which one is actually usable?”
Zheng Fa knew he got it.
In short, the only clues they had about a compatible elixir for the Jiushan Golden Core Method were these pill recipes.
In other words, they probably had the ingredients, but not the production process—let alone any finished product.
What Zheng Fa wanted was to rely on Elder Xiong’s expertise in alchemy to reconstruct the process—of course, this wasn’t easy. But these were Golden Core–level pills, so at least they weren’t beyond Elder Xiong’s Nascent Soul comfort zone, right?
But Elder Xiong clearly didn’t find it “comfortable”—his face was full of bitterness, looking like he wanted to back out.
At that moment, Zheng Fa could understand him. Wasn’t this just like having a great idea, and being one programmer short of execution? Elder Xiong was that programmer—and if he resisted a bit, that was perfectly normal. ȑ𝐚Ｎố𝐛Ɛʂ
Honestly, Zheng Fa was worried he might drag his feet on the job.
They knew too little about alchemy, and these pill formulas were far too risky. If Elder Xiong and the Qingmu Sect folk pretended to work while not putting in real effort—just going through the motions—they could easily fool Zheng Fa and Jiushan Sect.
He had to motivate him somehow…
“Elder Xiong, for this elixir research project, Jiushan Sect has… no spending limit.”
Zheng Fa wasn’t bluffing.
This elixir was vital to the Jiushan Golden Core Method, which was already Jiushan Sect’s foundational technique.
It wasn’t just about Zheng Fa forming his Nascent Soul.
Not to mention, Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiend Transformation was based on the Jiushan Golden Core Method. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞
As Senior Sister Zhang said—this was the Dao of Jiushan Sect. Nothing could stop it!
Elder Xiong’s mouth twitched—he seemed only mildly comforted.
“Also… Elder Xiong, if the elixir research is successful, Jiushan Sect will grant you a massive amount of Merit Points.” Zheng Fa added, “Of course, those points also serve to buy the patent rights to these pill formulas…”
At least in the early stages, Zheng Fa had to keep these recipes under control.
Otherwise, they might get leaked and discovered by the Five Sects.
Elder Xiong nodded, but didn’t seem that moved. He simply shook his head and admitted:
“Merit Points or whatever… I don’t have much life left. I don’t really care anymore…”
“But leaving them for Qingmu Sect wouldn’t be bad.”
Zheng Fa smiled slightly. “And what if I told you those points could be exchanged for Soul Formation resources?”
“Soul Formation!” Elder Xiong’s eyes went wide. “Jiushan Sect is willing to teach me Soul Formation techniques?”
He didn’t seem to doubt that Jiushan had them—after all, the sect was considered on par with the Five Sects.
But…
Soul Formation techniques were never shared lightly.
Zheng Fa, however, knew that his own Soul Formation method hadn’t even been created yet—Old Yuan was still in seclusion, and the promise he made hadn’t even been fulfilled.
Though based on the spiritual fluctuations, the breakthrough seemed to be going smoothly.
Worst-case scenario, he could give Elder Xiong the Great Freedom True Technique…
Just moments ago, Elder Xiong was calm and collected—now, his breathing had turned rapid. Clearly, he was very tempted…
No cultivator willingly dies of old age.
No Nascent Soul cultivator doesn’t long to reach Soul Formation.
What he didn’t expect was that the opportunity he had nearly given up on… would suddenly appear in front of him!
Tianhe secret technique. Soul Formation opportunity.
These two things lit up Elder Xiong’s eyes like fire. Clutching the formulas, he no longer hesitated:
“Alliance Leader, rest assured… I will devote my life to this!”
Seeing that he was truly persuaded, Zheng Fa finally relaxed a bit. He gestured toward Madam Xuanhua and Jiao Wuji and said, “For this elixir project, you’ll have their help as well.”
Elder Xiong looked even more confused.
Madam Xuanhua was a master of artifact refinement.
Jiao Wuji was a Soul Formation demon cultivator.
But for alchemy research—they were needed?
Zheng Fa pulled out a jade slip from his robe and handed it to Elder Xiong. “Elder, you’re new to Jiushan, so you don’t yet know about our research system. Especially… we’ve developed a few thoughts about alchemy as well.”
Elder Xiong’s expression darkened—clearly displeased. It felt insulting, as if a professional like him was being “guided” by amateurs.
But he wasn’t a real bear. In the blink of an eye, his expression returned to normal. He accepted the jade slip and began to study it carefully.
After reading for a while, his expression eased a bit. “So I just need to refine the pills like normal?”
“Yes.” Zheng Fa nodded. “All we want to do is record your process and analyze the resulting pills.”
“This… what’s the point?”
“If you want to learn, I could teach you myself.”
Elder Xiong didn’t seem to mind anymore.
But he still doubted the point of all these steps.
He probably thought Zheng Fa just wanted to steal Qingmu Sect’s techniques.
Zheng Fa thought about it, then decided talking wouldn’t make things clearer. He simply smiled and said, “I can’t very well test the pills on myself, can I?”
That wasn’t wrong either.
In the end, any alchemy experiment must verify a pill’s effects.
Right now, the only one in Jiushan Sect cultivating the Jiushan Golden Core Method… was Zheng Fa.
And knowing how cautious—er, timid—Zheng Fa was, there was no way he’d test the pills himself.
That’s where Madam Xuanhua and Jiao Wuji came in.
According to Zheng Fa’s plan, Madam Xuanhua would use the Golden Core Project to simulate the Jiushan Golden Core Method and test whether the pills had any effect.
In simpler terms, it was in vitro testing.
As for Jiao Wuji, he was currently raising some spirit beasts to use for animal testing—these beasts couldn’t cultivate the Jiushan Golden Core Method, but at least they could prove the pills weren’t lethal…
Madam Xuanhua would test efficacy. Jiao Wuji would test safety.
Only after passing both tests would Zheng Fa dare try the pill himself.
Once Elder Xiong understood all this, the way he looked at Zheng Fa changed completely.
After reviewing the formulas and jade slip, he took Zhao Jingfan with him toward the Herb Garden, preparing to gather the necessary ingredients. Midway there, he suddenly burst out laughing.
The kind of laugh that had been held back for too long—and finally broke free.
“Grand Elder?”
“…I’ve never seen anyone be this cautious just to take a single pill…”
“You mean Zheng Fa?”
Zhao Jingfan was baffled. Was it really that funny?
“All that talk about recording my pill refining—just to make sure I don’t pull any tricks. After the pill is done, one round of testing, two rounds of testing… This Zheng Fa fellow is truly… er, cautious.”
Zhao Jingfan wanted to defend Zheng Fa, but thinking of how he always tried to avoid standing out…
Yeah… it’d be hard to argue that in good faith.
“That’s a good thing!”
Unexpectedly, Elder Xiong praised him.
“Huh?”
“We’ve joined the Hundred Immortals Alliance, and these pills are already violating the Five Sects’ taboos… If he weren’t this careful, I’d be scared he’d drag us all down with him.”
Zhao Jingfan heard that and felt it made perfect sense. He then heard Elder Xiong sigh:
“This is… a wise ruler!”
Zhao Jingfan found that phrase a bit odd. A wise ruler, just like that?
He looked up and saw Elder Xiong staring at the Herb Garden filled with spirit herbs, grinning like a fool—and instantly understood…
Whoever can let Elder Xiong trash all these spirit herbs without hesitation…
Is the wise ruler!
From Elder Xiong’s perspective, joining Jiushan Sect was a fantastic deal:
Unlimited access to spiritual herbs. Tianhe Venerable’s secret elixir to research. Even a chance to reach Soul Formation…
The only downside? The Five Sects might kill him.
But the kicker?
Elder Xiong didn’t have much time left anyway…
He was already near the end. What’s a second death?
No wonder he couldn’t stop laughing.
Seeing Elder Xiong growing happier by the second, his face even glowing with bliss, Zhao Jingfan couldn’t help but have a thought:
He didn’t want to be a traitor anymore.
But the Grand Elder… kind of seemed like he did. Who knew if their Sect Master could hold him back?
…
Zheng Fa had no idea what kind of joy Elder Xiong was experiencing.
“Sect Master, the contents of that jade slip—it’s not just about you being afraid of dying, is it?”
Madam Xuanhua suddenly asked, eyes filled with a strange anticipation, as though what she truly wanted to ask wasn’t that.
“Oh? What do you think it is, Xuanhua?”
Zheng Fa turned to Madam Xuanhua.
Jiao Wuji also looked at her curiously.
At this point, she was already the Pavilion Master of the Heavenly Works Pavilion. In Jiushan Sect, she was second only to Zheng Fa and Zhang Wuyi in power. Especially these days, her influence seemed to be steadily growing.
Even though both he and the Blood River Venerable were Soul Formation cultivators, their positions were awkward—they were, after all, prisoners.
Strictly speaking, they were still Zheng Fa’s servants. So for a Nascent Soul like Madam Xuanhua to have this much power, Jiao Wuji naturally felt curious… and somewhat resentful.
And it wasn’t just him.
There was talk within the sect:
On one hand, Madam Xuanhua was an outsider.
On the other, the number of disciples under her command was frankly too large.
These days, almost all of the sect’s elite disciples had gathered at Gongkai Island.
Naturally, not everyone in Jiushan Sect was happy about that.
Madam Xuanhua didn’t seem to notice Jiao Wuji’s gaze. She turned to Zheng Fa and said:
“I thought… Sect Master intended to rebuild alchemy from the ground up.”
Zheng Fa nodded. That much was public knowledge.
The Pill Master Guild was a brand-new thing, after all.
Jiao Wuji’s face betrayed a trace of disdain.
But Madam Xuanhua continued: “Or perhaps, to create a new system of alchemy based on Jiushan Sect’s Dao.”
Now that was an interesting take.
“Jiushan Sect’s Dao?”
Zheng Fa looked at her, now with a hint of evaluation in his gaze.
“I always thought the Dao of Jiushan Sect was about one thing: repetition.”
“Repetition…”
Jiao Wuji looked confused.
But Zheng Fa was already staring at Madam Xuanhua with a bit of admiration.
He hadn’t expected her to grasp it so clearly.
Whether it was artifact refining in Jiushan Sect, or in Zheng Fa’s view—scientific experimentation itself—its core was repetition.
Scientific theory, at its heart, was causal logic.
Experiments were simply ways to verify that causality.
Based on prior experience, you form a theory. Then you design an experiment… to reproduce phenomena from that experience.
Put more simply, all experiments are just ways of repeating a phenomenon under changing conditions—so you can identify the most essential condition at play.
“So Sect Master, what you really want to steal…” Madam Xuanhua continued, “is not just Elder Xiong’s secret techniques, but every single piece of data from his alchemy process…”
“With that data, we can reconstruct the exact environment required to reproduce a specific elixir.”
“In time, our understanding of every pill will become more precise—more fundamental.”
Her expression grew a little strange: “Eventually, our method of alchemy may be more effective than their so-called orthodoxies…”
Zheng Fa suspected Madam Xuanhua had some beef with the Tianhe Sect…
“Sect Master, what you’re after is far beyond what Elder Xiong even realizes.”
Jiao Wuji looked at her again, a trace of realization in his eyes—finally understanding why Zheng Fa had entrusted something as critical as the Heavenly Works Pavilion to her.
Zheng Fa was also a bit resigned…
Madam Xuanhua really had seen right through him.
Ultimately, he was leveraging this alchemy project with Elder Xiong to gather data.
From Zheng Fa’s perspective, alchemy was nothing more than a combination of ingredients, environment, technique, and pharmacological study.
Previously, Jiushan Sect had been weak mostly due to lack of experience.
Now, by partnering with Qingmu Sect, Zheng Fa didn’t just want their existing knowledge—he wanted to collect the knowledge they didn’t even know they had, and integrate it into Jiushan’s research system.
Zheng Fa deeply understood: individual experience is often unreliable.
Put simply, he wanted to steal—not Elder Xiong’s techniques, but the buried treasures even Elder Xiong wasn’t aware of.
“Xuanhua, you truly are the most suited to lead the Heavenly Works Pavilion…” Zheng Fa said, sensing that she was being unusually talkative today, as if trying to prove something. So he consoled her directly: “Those rumors within the sect—they just don’t understand you.”
“They’ll fade with time.”
Madam Xuanhua went silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, “I don’t care about that.”
“Hm?”
“Sect Master, everyone calls me Madam Xuanhua. Do you know who my husband was?”
Zheng Fa shook his head.
He’d never asked, and frankly, he had a guess.
“My husband died when I was still in Foundation Establishment.”
“Hm?”
Zheng Fa looked at her, puzzled by her strange behavior today.
“At the time, he was a Golden Core cultivator, heir to a renowned refining technique, with some reputation.”
“……”
Zheng Fa’s expression turned odd. This story sounded familiar.
“Then a Core Disciple from Chongxuan Sect tried to seize the technique, falsely accusing him of stealing it from their sect. They ambushed him… He was gravely injured trying to protect the secret.”
“But in the Hundred Immortals Alliance, the public opinion had already turned against him. He was slandered beyond recovery.”
“In the end, he passed the technique to me… and died in despair.”
Zheng Fa listened without much emotion. Frankly, things like this were common in the Xuanyi Realm.
But since it involved Madam Xuanhua’s husband, he asked one more question:
“And that Chongxuan Sect Core Disciple?”
“He’s now the Grand Elder of Chongxuan Sect.”
Very familiar. Extremely familiar.
“So, you…”
“It’s been three thousand years—I barely remember his face anymore…” Madam Xuanhua shook her head honestly, then added, “But all my skills come from my husband.”
“So…”
Zheng Fa assumed she wanted revenge.
“Sect Master, when you destroy Chongxuan Sect someday, and get their refining techniques…”
“Ah?”
“I always thought—my husband shouldn’t have died with that false reputation. When we study and refine their techniques into something stronger, something greater for Jiushan Sect, I want to present it right in front of that Chongxuan Grand Elder.”
Zheng Fa finally understood—what Madam Xuanhua was so eager about was… the idea of stealing Qingmu Sect’s alchemy secrets!
And now she wanted to apply the same idea to Chongxuan Sect!
He looked at her. Though she was smiling, her eyes held so much more…
Forgotten?
If she’d truly forgotten… would she still dream of striking her enemy in the heart?
And in the past, Madam Xuanhua had kept her distance from the major sects despite her extraordinary skills—Zheng Fa now understood why.
But if she said she’d forgotten, so be it.
After all, he never took Chongxuan Sect seriously.
Truth be told, someone like him—modern and methodical—was the natural counter to a sect focused on artifact refinement.
…
“What’s this?”
In a modern retirement home, Team Leader Yang stared at a massive stack of documents, dazed.
“I need to contact every mechanical design institute…”
“Mining specialists…”
“Shipbuilders…”
“Textile and food processing industries…”
This was the First Five-Year Plan—and this time, there was foreign aid.
Zheng Fa was not planning to fight this war alone.
With allies like these, Chongxuan Sect… truly wasn’t worth his attention.
Team Leader Yang stared at the overwhelming work request. She could barely breathe.
“They tracked me down even here at the retirement home?”
So many people…
“No… We’re placing orders.”
“Orders?”
Standing behind Zheng Fa, Tang Lingwu stepped forward, radiating the confidence of a CEO from Jiushan Grain Company.
“We’ve got money.”
She thought about it, then added:
“A lot of money.”
Team Leader Yang knew exactly how profitable Jiushan Grain was… She looked down at the documents in her hands, and for the first time, it felt like some industries had just met their God of Wealth.
