Chapter 463: Great Immortal Fate Arrives

At the suggestion of True Lord Tianzhang, Zhang Yu activated the magic power within his body and infused it into the Transcendence-grade Yin Artifact in his hand.

He only felt the rhombus-shaped crystal in his hand vibrate slightly, and after a burst of his magic power surged through it, it quickly reversed the flow of the magic power Zhang Yu had injected, sending it back into his body.

But when Zhang Yu tried to inject magic power again, this Yin Artifact directly refused, as if it had sealed itself off, making it impossible for him to infuse any more magic power.

Watching this scene, True Lord Tianzhang narrowed his eyes slightly and thought to himself, "Another power backflow. So indeed, Lord Qiongjiang's Transcendence-grade Yin Artifact does not unilaterally drain Zhang Yu."

"But later refusing the injection of power... Why is that?"

"Is it some kind of restriction?"

True Lord Tianzhang thought for a moment, then looked at Zhang Yu and asked, "How is it? Did you feel anything special? Has there been any improvement in your martial arts?"

Upon hearing True Lord Tianzhang's question, Zhang Yu hesitated at first.

Should he take this opportunity to continue raising his martial arts level in others' eyes by a few more grades?

"But if I keep raising it, this project will draw even more attention. What if I get exposed later?"

Thinking that even the Transcendence-level principal of Wanfa University was paying attention to this Yin Artifact project, Zhang Yu grew even more hesitant.

Seeing Zhang Yu's expression, True Lord Tianzhang assumed that he hadn't felt any changes yet and comforted him, "It's fine. This time the reaction was very small, so the effect might not be obvious."

"We'll do a physical examination later. Go back and observe carefully, feel for any changes in your body."

"If there are any changes, you can contact me anytime."

On the way out of the laboratory, Zhang Yu was still thinking about how to handle his relationship with this experimental project.

He said in his heart, "Fuji, what do you think about using this Yin Artifact experiment to continue raising my martial arts level in others' eyes and whitewashing my cultivation? How feasible is it?"

Fuji said, "In the short term, there will definitely be no problem."

"After all, I can see that this True Lord Tianzhang, and even your teacher True Lord Ciji, don't have full control over this Yin Artifact."

"It's very likely... this thing isn't a technology they created, but something they stole from somewhere and are still trying to crack."

"Under these circumstances, as long as they haven't yet uncovered its secrets, you can take the opportunity to whitewash your cultivation without being exposed."

Fuji chuckled and said, "In fact, because of the 'results' you've shown, maybe more people will invest in this project. Once it becomes more popular and attracts more funding, even if True Lord Tianzhang and True Lord Ciji later find out that your results are fake, they might have to help you cover it up."

"Or perhaps... in the end, because of such a scam, it attracts tens of thousands of spirit coins, even gets a company established and listed, yet after years without delivering any products, it becomes a pure scam project. That's not impossible either."

"Of course, while the risks are great, as the key person in this project, you won't be short of various benefits."

Zhang Yu frowned, thinking that while this might bring many benefits, wouldn't it eventually spiral completely out of control?

Fuji said with experience, "The key to how such a scam ultimately plays out lies in whether, at the very end, you can actually manage to contain it."

"And whether you can contain it depends on two points."

"First, how long can this scam drag on? Two or three months, two or three years, or more than ten years?"

"Second, during that time, how far can you ultimately grow? How much can your strength, connections, and background expand?"

Fuji chuckled and said, "Handle it well, and the project will just be abandoned. Everyone pretends nothing happened, everyone makes money, and no one gets punished."

"Handle it badly, and you might end up as the scapegoat, owing a debt you can never repay in a lifetime."

Zhang Yu frowned slightly and said, "You make a good point, but regarding those two points... the second depends on the first, and the first..."

"How long can this setup drag on? How can I estimate that?"

Zhang Yu asked Fuji, "Fuji, you have a lot of experience in this area. Can you estimate it?"

Fuji said, "This isn't about experience; it's about information."

"We know too little about the information on this project right now. Any judgment we make would just be a shot in the dark."

"So the first step you need to take now is to gather information."

"And your sister over there is an excellent channel for gathering information."

"Wasn't she sending you messages during your experiment earlier?"

Zhang Yu's eyes flickered as he remembered Zhang Pianpian sending him messages in the laboratory, giving him various reminders.

Those messages sent to his Dharma Skeleton had also been seen by Fuji, which was why she could give this reminder now.

Zhang Yu immediately sent a message to Zhang Pianpian and asked, “Senior, how much do you know about the experiment?”

Zhang Pianpian: Let’s talk when I’m back in the dorm.

So that night, taking advantage of the chance when Yu Xinghan and Le Mulan were both working overtime, Zhang Yu met with his sister and inquired about the yin artifact project. Zhang Pianpian first examined the spiritual network in the dorm, then went together with Zhang Yu into the Taiqing Realm.

Gazing at the mist-shrouded clouds in the distance of the Taiqing Realm, she said, “The yin artifact in this project was not made by Wanfa University; it came from Qiongjiang Lord.”

Hearing this, Zhang Yu felt a jolt and exclaimed in surprise, “This is Lord Qiongjiang’s yin artifact?”

The mere thought that he had once communicated with a Nascent Soul Lord’s dharma remains made Zhang Yu’s heart stir with excitement.

Zhang Yu then asked, “But how did Lord Qiongjiang’s yin artifact end up here?”

Recalling all the rumors before, many guesses surfaced in Zhang Yu’s mind, and he felt that the crash of the Qiongjiang Coins… behind it there seemed to be no escaping the shadow of Wanfa University.

Zhang Pianpian said, “It is said that this Nascent Soul yin artifact escaped from Hehuan University and was picked up by someone from our Wanfa University.”

Zhang Yu twitched the corner of his mouth, feeling this statement was utterly nonsensical.

“I know what you’re thinking.” Zhang Pianpian waved her hand. “But since this matter involves a Nascent Soul, don’t dig too deep into the specifics. You only need to know that this Nascent Soul yin artifact came from Lord Qiongjiang of Hehuan University.”

“Wanfa University’s technology in this area is certainly behind Hehuan University’s, and so far it hasn’t been able to unlock the mysteries of this Nascent Soul yin artifact.”

“Especially its artifact spirit has been seduced by an evil cult and has fallen completely into madness.”

“Therefore, to prevent the artifact spirit from affecting the outside world, Ciji Lord not only sealed most of its intelligence but also cut off its ability to transmit information outward.”

Zhang Yu thought to himself, “Mad? Artifact spirits can go mad too?”

In Zhang Yu’s view, artifact spirits were like AI; could even that go crazy?

Zhang Pianpian walked to the main hall of the Taiqing Realm, looked at the statue with a blurry face in the hall, and said blandly, “When you go back to your dorm and find the furniture suddenly shouting and demanding a vacation, what would you think?”

Zhang Yu paused for a moment, then slowly said, “These pieces of furniture have gone mad.”

Zhang Pianpian sighed, “The thinking of advanced intelligent beings is inevitably driven by desires and emotions. And once there are desires and emotions, feelings are bound to arise.”

“It is said that an immortal once said that feelings are inevitably born with intelligence—there is no way in this world to create a being that has intelligence without feelings.”

“How to create a highly intelligent artifact spirit that can maintain intense thinking and work for long periods without emotion or desire has always been an industry challenge.”

Zhang Yu nodded slightly and stated his plan, then asked, “Sis, do you think I can use this opportunity to pass off as the project team’s ‘achievement’ and whitewash my hidden cultivation level, while also gaining some benefits?”

He said with some worry, “But I’m afraid the project might stall later and cause big trouble.”

Zhang Pianpian had long known that her younger brother, like herself, was hiding his true strength.

Hearing that he wanted to use this chance to whitewash his cultivation, she nodded slightly in approval.

But when she heard the latter part of Zhang Yu’s words, Zhang Pianpian let out a light laugh, turned to look at the sea of clouds beyond the temple, and said, “Stalled project? Big trouble?”

“Do you know how many research topics and projects Wanfa University has every year?”

“Two, three, four, five, six… In these layers of university campuses, how many people produce all kinds of garbage every year?”

“Expert discussions, academic forums, technical reports… all kinds of worthless immortal cultivation garbage are used to get money and cheat funding. Do you think such things are rare?”

Zhang Pianpian sighed, “Even those professors at the Nascent Soul stage—how many of the papers under their names were actually written by them? Sometimes they just sign their name and take the money.”

Zhang Yu was hearing about such situations for the first time, and asked in surprise, “Is that so? But this project… is under Lord Wanhua’s watch.”

Zhang Pianpian shook her head with a smile. “A project under a Lord’s watch won’t get stalled? Besides, as long as you can get the money, what does it matter even if it stalls?”

She turned to look at Zhang Yu and said, “As for this Nascent Soul yin artifact project, as long as you release some so-called ‘results’ every now and then, stir up some hype and publicity, it can be sustained for seven or eight years without any problem.”

Zhang Yu felt a stir of excitement and secretly calculated, “Seven or eight years? By seven or eight years from now, I should have a chance to enter the sect.”

Zhang Pianpian, standing beside him, fixed her eyes on Zhang Yu and said, “Although this path has a chance of success, it is not without risk.”

“One accident, one crisis, and the trouble inside might be triggered ahead of time, bringing you immense danger.”

“Think it over carefully.”

After exiting the Taiqing Realm, Zhang Yu exchanged thoughts with Fuji about the situation.

Fuji first sighed, “It seems the corruption and monopoly in the field of immortal cultivation research are even worse than I previously knew.”

Then she said, “Go for it, Zhang Yu. Seven or eight years is enough time for you to grow strong. By then, you will surely have become a towering tree in the Artifact Refining Department, with a deep background.”

"If you want to seize the time to step into the sect, you'll have to explode your speed—in Kunxu, for a poor person who wants to improve faster in university, the only way is to cheat!"

"Cheating for funding is the best immortal opportunity for Kunxu university students!"