[{"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-187":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},2263913,4418,"Chapter 187: Foundation of Charms","cultivation-i-studied-abroad-in-the-modern-world-chapter-187",187,"\u003Cp>\"The heavens?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa looked up; the golden crow had already sunk westward, the mountains grew ever more serene, and the sky appeared no different from usual.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet now this vast, ordinary dome seemed draped in a mysterious veil within his heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Zhang Shijie...\" he paused, then asked: \"In the records of the Xuanwei Realm, is there any description of what lies beyond the heavens?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No,\" Zhang Shijie shook her head gently: \"At least, I’ve never read any. No one knows how many layers the sky holds, or what lies above.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Not quite... someone should know.\" Zheng Fa suddenly recalled something: \"The River Heaven Master once tried to break the celestial chains.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Zheng Fa first discovered the jade pendant in his mind sea, he had seen a figure flying toward the heavens, never to return, leaving behind only this jade pendant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had always suspected that man was the River Heaven Master.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Shijie nodded slightly, seemingly agreeing with Zheng Fa’s judgment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This...\" Zheng Fa frowned and shook his head: \"So there may be secrets above the sky—but those secrets killed even the River Heaven Master.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Shijie’s expression grew heavy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa’s heart too grew solemn.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The celestial chains...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What exactly had the River Heaven Master understood at that time?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was he truly without any other path, so he sought to cleave open heaven and earth?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You’re only at Qi Refining, and I’ve just reached Nascent Soul,\" Zhang Shijie said, seeing his puzzled expression: \"If even the River Heaven Master couldn’t solve this, we’re powerless.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Zheng Fa set aside his doubts and asked Zhang Shijie: \"You said the Five Elements Sub-charms resonate with the heavens—how so?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Shijie frowned, as if recalling the sensation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I can’t quite describe it... when I formed my Nascent Soul, you saw those twin heavenly tribulation eyes, right?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I felt as if it glanced at the Five Elements Sub-charms on my Nascent Soul—those sub-charms even momentarily detached from my Nascent Soul... before settling back down.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After hearing Zhang Shijie’s description, Zheng Fa fell into thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing he still looked confused, she comforted him: \"At least I’ve proven that the Foundation Establishment via the Dao of Charms is now safe.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hmm...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two spoke earnestly; beside them, Yuan Shijie had long finished eating the wild fruits and was now plucking at the grass nearby, her expression distant, filled with deep thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This unusual look on her face piqued Zheng Fa’s curiosity:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yuan Shijie, do you have any thoughts?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Thoughts?\" Yuan Shijie blinked at the two, bewildered: \"I don’t have any—I don’t understand what you’re saying.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Then what were you thinking about just now?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I was thinking about the Heavenly Stele,\" Yuan Shijie’s eyes lit up: \"The Heavenly Stele is so fun.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Fun?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa glanced at Zhang Shijie; he had been preoccupied with her escape and hadn’t cared much about the Heavenly Stele.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But for most people, the most important thing in the Lei Chi was truly the Heavenly Stele.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes, now it’s called the Divine Sealing Stele!\" Yuan Shijie said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Divine Sealing?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa froze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Xuanwei Realm knew no gods.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had only heard this word in the modern world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes, that’s what everyone calls it,\" Yuan Shijie explained: \"It seems there’s a small world inside the Heavenly Stele, and the great beings within it are called gods—anyone who enters the stele... seems to be enshrined as a god.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Enshrined?\" Zhang Shijie frowned: \"Like how mortal dynasties enshrine ministers? Can gods even be enshrined?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I don’t understand either—it’s what they say,\" Yuan Shijie shook her head: \"They say the divine ranks have hierarchies; everyone entering the stele starts with different ranks, and those ranks can change after entry—what’s even more fun is that the rankings appear atop the stele, visible to all.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa could already imagine why Yuan Shijie thought this was fun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A leaderboard!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the modern world, even billionaire rankings made headlines daily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I go to the Heavenly Stele every day just to watch the spectacle—people even place bets on the rankings,\" Yuan Shijie said excitedly: \"Right now, Yan Wushuang is temporarily ranked first, but it’s not stable.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within the Five Dragon Heavenly Palace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Master Pang’s banquet had not yet ended; the grand hall remained noisy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Zheng Fa did not join the revelry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sat in his room, eyes closed, spiritual sense fixed on the Yin-Yang Fish jade pendant in his mind sea.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His conversation with Zhang Shijie and Yuan Shijie had filled his mind with thoughts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Shijie said she knew nothing of what lay beyond the heavens.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Zheng Fa knew—the River Heaven Master had gone beyond the heavens, yet dropped this very pendant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And this pendant allowed him to travel back and forth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So... the things beyond the heavens were likely deeply connected to the modern world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially those two words Yuan Shijie mentioned: \"Divine Sealing.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This struck Zheng Fa deeply—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the modern world, immortals and gods were spoken of as equals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But in the Xuanwei Realm, only immortal sects existed; he had never heard of gods.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This word’s connection to the modern world was even stronger than its connection to the Xuanwei Realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After thinking for a while, he smiled and let go of his thoughts—Zhang Shijie was right: problems even the River Heaven Master couldn’t fully solve couldn’t be understood by mere speculation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He directed his spiritual sense into his dantian, observing the floating Dao of Charms Foundation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet he still had some thoughts regarding Zhang Shijie’s words—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In three-dimensional space, chiral objects cannot be flipped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But higher dimensions differ—each additional dimension adds a degree of freedom, so chirality in three dimensions can be reversed in higher-dimensional space.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the mysterious sky were viewed as a higher-dimensional space.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa’s heart stirred; his Foundation began to change.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ring formed by the Five Elements Sub-charms detached from the lotus platform and settled at its center.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What is a mirror...\" Zheng Fa frowned, pondering the old man’s question, and began manipulating the ring.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mirror...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Reflection... ultimately, it’s a shadow...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shadow... projection?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The chirality of the charm diagram is actually a projection of some higher-dimensional object from different angles?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His Foundation... was it itself a mirror?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa suddenly looked up, as if seeing through the roof into the boundless night sky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With this thought,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The spiritual energy around the Five Elements Sub-charms slowly coalesced, becoming viscous, like jelly; it slowly deformed and hardened, truly resembling a mirror surface—or rather, a ring-shaped double-sided mirror.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now the sub-charm ring resembled a bracelet with mirrors on both inner and outer surfaces; the Five Elements Sub-charms appeared to drift within the mirrors, becoming ethereal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Double-sided mirror—one side yin, one side yang?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An idea spontaneously arose in Zheng Fa’s mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the essence of yin-yang unity might simply be that it is one single higher-dimensional object.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet why does this phenomenon also occur in the dantian...?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even these two \"mirrors\" never intersect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Intersect?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His mind stirred; the \"bracelet double mirror\" suddenly split in the middle, twisted, then reattached.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A Möbius strip...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two mirrored surfaces, through this structure, perfectly fused—if one could say so.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa frowned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the charm diagrams have different projections because of different \"mirror\" angles—then these two mirrored surfaces, through this configuration, are indistinguishable, even inseparable as yin and yang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But... is this really correct?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Fa felt like scratching his head; his doubts had not diminished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It felt like a legendary program had started running, and he didn’t know why.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next moment, he felt the \"Möbius double mirror\" tremble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Spiritual energy in the void surged wildly toward his dantian.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Foundation Established?\" Zheng Fa’s eyes widened; suddenly, his soul felt yanked by something, shooting out of his body, piercing through the roof of the Five Dragon Heavenly Palace, soaring into the heavens.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sky was already very late.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sun had long set.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the sky was bright—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Zheng Fa’s “eyes,” a vast, majestic purple qi stretched thousands of li, obscuring the dim stars and blocking the moon’s glow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This commotion... is a bit too big.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the grand hall, Master Pang and several others had been drinking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Master Pang, how did you discover that the Black Tortoise Immortal was from the Great Freedom Demon Cult?” someone asked. “I thought you were quite friendly with him at first.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You underestimate Master Pang,” another chuckled. “Master Pang always has a deep plan—he likely saw through that man’s deceit from the start and simply played along.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Exactly! Otherwise, how could he have eliminated the scoundrel in one stroke!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Master Pang truly holds wisdom in his grasp, concealing his sharpness...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Master Pang listened to their flattery, raising his cup with a smile but saying nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The speakers exchanged glances, silently cursing inside—this man is truly deceitful at heart, smiling with a knife behind his teeth!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet precisely because of this, they grew even more respectful toward Master Pang, even showing faint traces of awe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Master Pang watched coldly, his face growing ever gentler, while inwardly he felt a touch of pride.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, an unusual phenomenon appearing in the sky caught the attention of these Nascent Soul True Persons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Purple qi stretching three thousand li... what kind of omen is this?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though each of the Nascent Soul True Persons had seen much, they now looked at one another in confusion, unsure what had occurred.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No! Look!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Someone pointed to the sky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the east, a great sun rose.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the west, a new moon appeared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sun and moon shining together...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this, the group of Nascent Soul True Persons could no longer sit still.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They crowded at the hall’s entrance, staring at the sky, their faces bewildered and stunned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clearly, even for Nascent Soul True Persons, such an omen still shook them deeply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Could this be... someone undergoing Soul Transformation?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Soul Transformation brings heavenly tribulation—besides, it would never produce such an omen.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No, I just felt a disturbance in spiritual energy,” one Nascent Soul True Person suddenly spoke. “That disturbance seemed to originate from the Five Dragon Heavenly Palace.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this, everyone recalled the earlier commotion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The scale of that spiritual energy had been small; they hadn’t paid much attention.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now, with this disturbance coinciding with the celestial omen, speculation naturally arose.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They all turned to the host—Master Pang, whose face wore a smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under their curious gazes,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>he smiled even more brilliantly, refusing to utter a single word, his expression clearly saying: This is our sect’s secret.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What are you staring at? I know nothing!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That Zheng Fa kid—why is his Foundation Establishment causing such a racket!\u003C\u002Fp>",1769,"2026-06-19T19:16:02.864Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","5b1290945a16e976f99d7e745ed75f8130e7eb2749f32b40b9a74bc348ea624d","cultivation-i-studied-abroad-in-the-modern-world-chapter-188","cultivation-i-studied-abroad-in-the-modern-world-chapter-186",487,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fcultivation-i-studied-abroad-in-the-modern-world-cover.jpg"]