[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-cultivation-i-studied-abroad-in-the-modern-world":3,"chapter-cultivation-i-studied-abroad-in-the-modern-world-cultivation-i-studied-abroad-in-the-modern-world-chapter-142":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Cultivation: I Studied Abroad in the Modern World",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2263868,4418,"Chapter 142: Flown","cultivation-i-studied-abroad-in-the-modern-world-chapter-142",142,"\u003Cp>Zheng Fa never imagined that, in the dead of night, Zhao Jinglan would come to find him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was meditating in the quiet chamber.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he heard a soft knock at the door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had assumed it was Young Master Qi, but when he opened it, Zhao Jinglan stood at the threshold, watching him; seeing he seemed about to speak, she raised a finger to her lips and signaled for silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa glanced at the guest room and knew she likely had something she didn’t want Young Master Qi to hear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He quietly opened the door, invited Zhao Jinglan inside, and tossed a silence talisman toward the entrance before speaking: “Senior Sister Zhao, what brings you here?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Jinglan also turned to look at Young Master Qi’s guest room; seeing no movement from that side, she exhaled in relief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“When we mentioned Taiyang County yesterday, I noticed your expression—you probably know what happened there, don’t you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I know. The spiritual vein has surfaced.” Zheng Fa nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Jinglan gave a slight nod. “Then you also know why I’m going?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...To seize the spirit stone mine?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa’s tone was hesitant, as if uncertain of his own answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Jinglan snorted. “Do I look like I want to die?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa nodded. Even Senior Sister Zhang, a Golden Core rivaling a Nascent Soul, was being cautious about spirit stone mines.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Jinglan was merely Foundation Establishment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only a fool would covet such a thing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A spiritual vein surfacing isn’t just about spirit stone mines—it also brings other spiritual materials.” Seeing his genuine confusion, she added: “Of course, the valuable ones aren’t for me, but the low-value ones? I still have a chance.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...You didn’t tell Young Master Qi that, did you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa’s words left Zhao Jinglan speechless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Both knew the flaw in her statement—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yes, the big shots were after the high-value materials.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But once you’re there, you’re there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their storage pouches aren’t full—why not take the low-value stuff too?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa had once read an article in the modern world about a billionaire bending down to pick up a fallen coin—whether true or not, wouldn’t even the mighty value thrift?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides, spiritual plants are growing rarer by the day—they have serious appreciation potential.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who would ever complain about having too many?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Younger Brother, I’m not as lucky as you,” Zhao Jinglan said after a long silence. “You entered the sect and immediately won Senior Sister Zhang’s favor, then became the Sect Master’s disciple.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ve trained for ten years just to reach Foundation Establishment. I don’t have your talent for talisman arts, nor your aptitude for alchemy—the very thing Qingmu Sect values most.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If I don’t take risks, this might be as far as I go in my life.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa understood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Compared to Han Qi, Zhao Jinglan was far luckier—she had struggled to reach Foundation Establishment, but she had reached it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet her misfortune lay in this: unlike Han Qi, she could see hope—but that hope was so faint, it was sometimes worse than having none at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If Jingfan weren’t so incompetent, I wouldn’t risk this...” Zhao Jinglan suddenly spoke of Young Master Qi again. “But now that Jingfan has a Golden Core master protecting him, whether I, his Foundation Establishment sister, am around or not, makes little difference.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If the spiritual vein hadn’t surfaced, I’d have waited until Jingfan reached Foundation Establishment, then left the sect to seek my own opportunity.” Zhao Jinglan looked up at Zheng Fa. “Younger Brother Zheng, in this Xuwei Realm, the only thing I have to gamble with is my own life.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa stared at Zhao Jinglan, unable to speak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then why did you come here?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Jingfan and you are close friends. I only ask one thing of you...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ll look after...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If I die in Taiyang County, stop Jingfan from acting rashly... I’ve seen few in this world who can hold him back.” Zhao Jinglan made a request Zheng Fa had never anticipated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...” Zheng Fa frowned. “Is Taiyang County really that dangerous?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I don’t know for sure, but rumors say members of the Great Freedom Demon Cult have appeared.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Great Freedom Demon Cult?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa slowly furrowed his brow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Senior Sister Zhang had never mentioned this to him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now he understood why even Senior Sister Zhang had seemed troubled—the Great Freedom Demon Cult was the oldest branch among the demon sects.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How ancient?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Legends say the ancient cultivators who once slaughtered all life on earth were their ancestors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a sense, everyone in the Xuwei Realm today might be their descendants.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, now they looked down on each other.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xuwei Realm cultivators found such an ancestor embarrassing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Great Freedom Demon Cult considered these weaklings unworthy of being linked to them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No wonder Senior Sister Zhang seemed so uneasy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then, Senior Sister Zhao...” Zheng Fa tried to dissuade her further.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Younger Brother Zheng, the opportunity from the spiritual vein is too great...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Jinglan’s eyes glowed, her pupils burning like flames.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa fell silent. After leaving Zhao Fu, he finally understood this Zhao family’s eldest daughter—after ten years of grinding, she had become a typical Xuwei Realm cultivator:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Desperately chasing opportunity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Willing to sacrifice her life to advance her realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every resource gained came at the cost of sweat, even blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Zheng Fa seemed to understand,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Jinglan smiled faintly and repeated: “Younger Brother Zheng, not everyone is as lucky as you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Silence settled over the room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The door was softly knocked again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Young Master Qi crept in, whispering: “Zheng Fa? Zheng Fa?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My sister told me to go to bed early tonight for no reason.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I had so much more to tell you—she was around before, so I couldn’t!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He poked his head into the quiet chamber and saw Zheng Fa and his sister staring at him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...Sister?” Young Master Qi’s gaze turned complicated. “You have secrets to tell Zheng Fa behind my back?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After seeing off the Zhao siblings,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa returned to his seat in the quiet chamber.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The candle flame flickered, casting shifting shadows across his face, deepening the furrows on his brow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wasn’t overly concerned about Zhao Jinglan’s visit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though he disliked risk, everyone had their own path—this was her choice. All he could do, if disaster struck, was soothe and perhaps use his influence to protect Young Master Qi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What troubled him was Senior Sister Zhang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The name “Great Freedom Demon Cult” didn’t appear among the Xuwei Realm’s Five Great Sects.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Or rather, demon sects had been stripped of rankings—years of peace in the Xuwei Realm had made their survival difficult.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But that didn’t mean the Great Freedom Demon Cult was weak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the contrary, after years of restraint, their emergence signaled the end of peace in the Xuwei Realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Earlier, Senior Yuan had told him that even if Senior Sister Zhang encountered a Nascent Soul, she had ways to escape.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Senior Yuan had seemed perfectly at ease then.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because the major immortal sects had an unspoken agreement: Nascent Soul cultivators rarely intervened in conflicts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But such agreements were always unwritten.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And—what agreement could you possibly have with demon sects?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Senior Sister Zhang’s journey to Taiyang County might be far more dangerous than Zheng Fa had imagined.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even setting aside her care for him,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Senior Sister Zhang’s importance to Jiushan Sect was immense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa saw clearly: without Senior Sister Zhang, without Jiushan Sect,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was merely a Qi Refining cultivator.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Probably even less capable than Zhao Jinglan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, to leverage his modern advantages, he needed his own foundation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Translating research into practical application couldn’t happen without Jiushan Sect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His fate was bound to Jiushan Sect—and to Senior Sister Zhang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet Senior Sister Zhang told him nothing—perhaps she saw him the way Zhao Jinglan saw Young Master Qi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The only thing he could truly offer Senior Sister Zhang right now was refining the “Talisman Foundation Method.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He took out a Nianyuan Pill and swallowed it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was his sixth condensed talisman—there was little choice:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was now condensing his first Yang-type talisman, which, according to the Five Elements, was Earth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the Sect Master’s revised “Lingshan Method,” he had merged his talisman array techniques with Jiushan Ancestor’s original “Lingshan Method.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That meant to activate the “Lingshan Method,” he needed one talisman—the Awakening Talisman.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This kind of spirit talisman has little effect—it can infuse a bit of spiritual energy into lifeless plants, trees, mountains, and stones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Generally, cultivators of the Xuanwei Realm use this to leave marks, such as secret signals or directions for companions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the Sect Master used this to form arrays, perfecting the Spirit Mountain Method.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Awakening Talisman quickly sank into his dantian; within Zheng Fa’s spiritual sense, the lotus that had merely been a phantom image gradually revealed the original glyph of the Awakening Talisman.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a long while, he opened his eyes and took out the jade cylinder given to him by Master Pang, carefully memorizing its contents.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In modern times, at Old White’s house.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tang Lingwumin held the Pine Crane Stance, while Zheng Fa placed his hand on her spine and slowly infused spiritual energy into her body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These days, Zheng Fa had been helping Tang Lingwumin and Old White practice the Spirit Crane Body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Probably due to her youth, Tang Lingwumin progressed much faster than Old White.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa kept one hand on Tang Lingwumin’s back while still thinking about Zhang Shijie.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He naturally hoped to further decipher the talisman diagrams and give Zhang Shijie the greatest possible help.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he had little confidence in this—thinking of it, his face grew visibly troubled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old White watched the two from beside them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tang Lingwumin was lost in visualization.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was Zheng Fa, however, who was distracted, brow furrowed in worry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Zheng Fa? What are you thinking about?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m thinking our progress in studying the talisman diagrams is still too slow.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa sighed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Slow?” Old White blinked. “I’ve never seen you rush before.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa shook his head—he knew well that research couldn’t be hurried—but under these circumstances, he found it hard to calm his mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Old White stare at him in confusion,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa sighed again. “I’m trying to help someone.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Help someone?” Old White pressed. “Someone important?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Important to me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...Male or female?” Old White stroked his chin, suddenly asking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...Female.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa frowned at the old man—what did gender have to do with this?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old White snorted, glancing at Tang Lingwumin, who was still pretending to focus on her cultivation—could her ears be any more tilted?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, Tang Lingwumin’s shoulder blades surged, and her plump legs beneath her jeans kicked hard against the floor, leaping straight toward the ceiling of Old White’s house.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa reacted instantly, grabbing her ankle—otherwise, the girl would’ve smashed her head against the ceiling of this old apartment building.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is this... flying by accident?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old White stared blankly at Tang Lingwumin, who had opened her eyes in bewilderment, murmuring.\u003C\u002Fp>",1828,"2026-06-19T19:16:02.864Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","5e49785eebc155ee16e1b1c3e2a8eaa51265b6adb293d53570c7dcdceedc77b4","cultivation-i-studied-abroad-in-the-modern-world-chapter-143","cultivation-i-studied-abroad-in-the-modern-world-chapter-141",487,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fcultivation-i-studied-abroad-in-the-modern-world-cover.jpg"]