I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times-Chapter 311Book 2: : Really Not Important, Above or Below Deck

Book 2: Chapter 311: Really Not Important, Above or Below Deck

Vol 2 Chapter 311: Really Not Important, Above or Below Deck

Zhao Jingfan’s expression was just too obvious.

The medicinal herbs grown in Jiushan Sect’s test field were clearly planted with an agenda.

But Sect Master Song had to admit, it was hard for both himself and the other elders of Qingmu Sect to look away from the test field in front of them—or from the vibrant spiritual herbs growing within it.

Especially the Grand Elder of Qingmu Sect, who had a sharp nose and was deeply familiar with these herbs. His eyes narrowed, nostrils flaring, with an intoxicated look on his face—like a hopeless drunk who had stumbled into a century-old distillery.

“This Fuyao Leaf… must be ten years old…”

“This Everlasting Ivy’s spiritual energy is top-grade, you can smell how potent it is! It’d be perfect for refining Fenghua Pills…”

Even though they were still several zhang away from the test field,

He relied solely on his sense of smell and seemed to have grasped the quality of the spiritual herbs growing there, clicking his tongue in admiration.

“Hm?”

The Grand Elder of Qingmu Sect sniffed again, a puzzled look flashing across his face as if he wasn’t quite sure—

“No, something’s off…”

“This one’s not right.”

Everyone else looked confused.

Sect Master Song asked, “Which one is it?”

The Grand Elder’s eyes snapped open, and despite their withered appearance, they glinted sharply as he pointed at a type of spiritual grass in the test field. “That Dotstar Grass—something’s off!”

Hearing that, Sect Master Song was even more confused.

But Senior Sister Zhang and Zhenren Qian exchanged a glance, both showing faint smiles.

Zhenren Qian said with admiration, “The elder’s knowledge of spiritual herbs is truly astounding.”

Senior Sister Zhang looked just as approving—if her junior brother was short on alchemy talent, then the stronger this old man was, the better.

As for his eccentricity—well, her junior brother was good at handling strange old men.

“This Dotstar Grass is unique to our Jiushan Realm!”

“I just finished cultivating it.”

The Grand Elder’s eyes lit up even more. He stared longingly at that unassuming row of spiritual grass.

“This is my first time cultivating Dotstar Grass. Elder, perhaps you could offer me some guidance?”

Zhenren Qian, who had once managed the Market District and was naturally clever, knew exactly what this test field was for—it was bait.

Now that the fish had arrived, was he really worried it wouldn’t bite?

The moment the words left his mouth, the elderly Grand Elder launched himself with surprising speed into the test field.

He crouched beside a stalk of Dotstar Grass, nose twitching, eyes scanning from tip to root. Judging by his expression, he looked like he wanted to dig it up and dissect it on the spot.

Sect Master Song looked a bit embarrassed and softly explained, “Elder Xiong is being a bit rude…”

Senior Sister Zhang waved it off, clearly not bothered.

Jiushan Sect had already investigated Qingmu Sect’s situation—or rather, they’d had no choice, given how fast Zhao Jingfan had sold them out.

This Grand Elder of Qingmu Sect, surnamed Xiong, was the stabilizing pillar of the sect, often referred to simply as the Grand Elder.

His mastery of alchemy was said to be second to none within the Hundred Immortals Alliance.

Naturally, Senior Sister Zhang was willing to be more tolerant.

“This Dotstar Grass…” Elder Xiong spoke again, frowning in confusion as if he just couldn’t make sense of it. “It’s definitely different.”

Zhenren Qian smiled with clear pride.

After Zhao Jingfan had sent over the "glorious state" of Qingmu Sect’s Herb Garden, Zheng Fa had gone around collecting similar spiritual herbs from the market—not purely to bait Qingmu Sect, but because developing the pill industry meant medicinal herb cultivation was essential.

Coincidentally, Jiushan Sect’s agricultural foundation was already solid. In the area of spiritual plant breeding and improvement, they were on a groundbreaking level even within the Xuanyi Realm.

In other words, even without the Jiushan Golden Core Method, Jiushan Sect’s development of alchemy research would’ve followed naturally from the rise of Jiushan Agricultural Science.

Given the short time frame, there weren’t many cultivation successes just yet—but the one standout was this Dotstar Grass.

“Elder, your insight is remarkable.” A habitual flatterer, Zhenren Qian added, “This Dotstar Grass is a new variety we’ve recently cultivated. It does differ from the ones outside.”

All the Qingmu Sect cultivators stared at him.

At that moment, despite being only at Foundation Establishment Stage, Zhenren Qian became the center of attention among a group of Nascent Soul cultivators.

Gone was the earlier timid air of someone who hadn’t entered the Jiushan Realm. He didn’t exactly appear smug, but he now exuded confidence and composure.

“We’ve compared them—our Dotstar Grass grows a bit faster than other varieties. After about three years, it’s on par with what takes five years outside.”

“Is that true?”

Elder Xiong pressed.

The Qingmu Sect group exchanged stunned glances.

Three and five years didn’t sound like much… until you said sixty and a hundred.

That difference was huge!

They were buyers of spiritual herbs, and the price difference between a hundred-year-old Dotstar Grass and a sixty-year-old one was vast.

“The one in front of you now—under the effects of the Sun and Moon Bell—has essentially matured for twenty-seven years.”

Everyone from Qingmu Sect was speechless, simply staring at the Dotstar Grass.

Even without Elder Xiong’s discerning eye, they could see the herb’s potency… It closely resembled a fifty-year-old Dotstar Grass from their old Herb Garden.

“How long did it take to develop this variety?” Elder Xiong asked the key question.

Every sect with spiritual herb expertise had at least one or two unique breeds—Qingmu Sect included.

“Half a month.”

Zhenren Qian uttered three words—and the Qingmu Sect delegation went blank, eyes wide in disbelief.

They had their own unique strains—but they were bred over generations!

Half a month?

That’s barely a blink!

Seeing their stunned faces, Zhenren Qian felt a little guilty and mumbled, “Er… actually it was eighteen days.”

Sect Master Song twitched at the corner of his mouth—clearly not comforted.

Seeing that they were too stunned to speak, Senior Sister Zhang spoke up:

“Sect Master Song, my junior brother has always been straightforward and open. I won’t hide it from you—Jiushan Sect is urgently in need of alchemy talents.”

Sect Master Song and the Qingmu Sect delegation listened intently.

“That’s why we invited you here to tour.”

“These herbs in the garden were just planted recently—we put a lot of effort into this.”

“To put it simply—we are eager to find worthy talents.”

Elder Xiong’s expression shifted slightly, as if moved by her honesty.

Even Zhenren Qian was a little surprised.

Zhang Zhenren’s posture today was quite humble—especially considering her usual pride.

Senior Sister Zhang’s expression was sincere.

She wasn’t the type to bow and beg—but now her junior brother was waiting on alchemy talents to refine pills and complete the Jiushan Golden Core Method, which was essential for Zheng Fa’s Nascent Soul breakthrough…

She pulled out an account book and pointed to the test field:

“We’ve calculated—the ten-year Fuyao Leaf in this garden can be offered at five-tenths of a spirit stone per stalk.”

“The Dotstar Grass is a bit pricier…”

Sect Master Song mentally did the math. That price was thirty percent cheaper than their own cultivation cost!

Some herbs were even half the price!

Closing the account book, Senior Sister Zhang seemed a bit dissatisfied: “Zhenren Qian’s cultivation and improvement work on these herbs is just beginning. The price should go even lower in the future.”

Even lower?!

Sect Master Song’s heart thudded, his gaze growing hotter as he looked at Zhenren Qian.

A medicinal herb cultivation powerhouse like this—any alchemy-focused sect would want to worship him as an Immortal.

Too bad… this Immortal belonged to Jiushan Sect.

Or rather—he finally understood.

Zhang Zhenren had shown them the Market District, then the Herb Garden—and what they were really seeing was dazzling spirit stones.

An endless stream of customers. Cheap, high-quality medicinal herbs.

All of it, tied to those four words: Technical Alliance.

He looked toward Elder Xiong.

Unexpectedly, the Grand Elder didn’t look at him—he just stared longingly at the Dotstar Grass.

Noticing his gaze, Elder Xiong turned to him and snapped, “He made this thing in eighteen days… what, you want to wait around and die instead?”

Sect Master Song was stunned.

And suddenly, he understood what his Grand Elder meant.

He’d only seen the benefits of joining—while Elder Xiong saw the consequences of not joining.

If Qingmu Sect couldn’t get cheap, high-quality spiritual herbs from Jiushan Sect, while other sects could, the outcome would be…

Their pill costs would be crushed by competitors!

Forget revival—Qingmu Sect’s very survival would be in question.

“But what about our ancestral methods…”

“I know all our ancestors. I’ll tell them myself when I die!”

“……”

Well, fair enough.

Qingmu Sect hadn’t even been founded for twenty thousand years—this Grand Elder really had met the founding ancestor.

He’d have face in the afterlife…

Seeing that their strongest objector now agreed, Sect Master Song cupped his hands toward Senior Sister Zhang. “Zhang Zhenren, we are willing to join the Technical Alliance.”

Senior Sister Zhang nodded, her expression kindly. “Then come with me to meet Junior Brother Zheng, and we’ll sign the agreement.”

Sect Master Song, now used to it, followed her as they stepped onto the Rainbow Bridge and headed toward the heart of Gongkai Island—the industrial production base of Jiushan Sect.

Seeing her warm demeanor, he grew bolder and asked along the way, “Zhang Zhenren? Is Qingmu Sect the first to join the Technical Alliance?”

Senior Sister Zhang glanced at him, half-smiling: “No, the first was Jingguang Sect.”

He knew of Jingguang Sect—a Golden Core sect with some skill in talisman crafting.

Made sense. When it came to talismans, Jiushan Sect was already top-tier in the Hundred Immortals Alliance. Those talisman-focused sects weren’t as afraid of leaking ancestral secrets.

He felt a bit disappointed inside.

As expected, they were still too reserved.

“Then among Nascent Soul sects, are we the first?”

“No. The first was Sunu Pavilion.”

…

Those women from Sunu Pavilion, who dealt in flesh trades, really had no restraint!

“For this visit, we actually only invited you and Chongxuan Sect. Sunu Pavilion asked to come on their own initiative.”

When Senior Sister Zhang said the word initiative, her expression turned strange.

As a female cultivator herself, she didn’t particularly like Sunu Pavilion, but the problem was—they knew how to read the room way too well…

Even she had to admire them. In the art of understanding people’s hearts, Sunu Pavilion… really was ahead of everyone else.

But Sect Master Song didn’t have time to grumble about Sunu Pavilion.

His voice suddenly dropped.

“What about Chongxuan Sect…”

“They politely declined.”

Senior Sister Zhang still wore a pleasant smile.

But that smile made Sect Master Song lower his head slightly, too afraid to speak further.

…

As they stepped onto Gongkai Island, the first thing they saw were twelve towering… candied hawthorns.

Curious, Sect Master Song gathered his courage and asked, “What are those?”

“External Pill Factories.”

“Factories?”

Senior Sister Zhang didn’t elaborate further and simply continued walking.

Zheng Fa was standing beneath one of the towering “candied hawthorn” columns, speaking in low tones with Madam Xuanhua.

Now that Senior Sister Zhang had brought the resource data of Jiushan Realm, the six major industries of the realm had officially been scheduled.

The most important of which were the three industries based on Gongkai Island:

Talisman Imprints, External Pills, and Shenxiao Airships—or rather, now they could be called shipbuilding.

And the Shenxiao Airships were based on External Pills.

Thus, the core industry of Jiushan Sect was now the External Pill Factory.

The reason Zheng Fa hadn’t had time to receive Sect Master Song and the others in recent days was precisely because he was overseeing the factory’s construction.

These twelve towering “hawthorn sticks” were actually External Pill production workshops—each one corresponding to a different type of External Pill.

Sensing Senior Sister Zhang bringing Sect Master Song, Zheng Fa looked up and gave them a nod, then turned back to Madam Xuanhua, Head of the Heavenly Works Pavilion, and said, “I’ll leave it to you.”

Madam Xuanhua swept her gaze across the factory, where over two hundred disciples stood.

Some were nervous, some timid, but all met her gaze, holding their breath.

About half of them were the earliest members of the Golden Core Project team.

These veterans were now the backbone or management of the factory—leading the newcomers and forming a decent team.

Madam Xuanhua exhaled slowly—more nervous than when she forged artifacts herself.

She pushed away her stray thoughts, raised her chin, and said in a firm voice, “Ignite!”

The disciples split into teams, calmly casting their incantations.

One of the “hawthorn stick” workshops lit up.

It was nighttime in the Jiushan Realm. The workshop's glow shone onto the disciples, casting long shadows across the ground.

These shadows moved in unison, as if a single entity, making Sect Master Song and his group feel a tightness in their chests.

Sect Master Song understood what External Pills were—a secret method that combined the Alchemy Path and Artifact Crafting.

He couldn’t say he was an expert, but he could refine one type himself. He knew very well: normally, refining External Pills required extremely high cultivation—usually only Nascent Soul cultivators could manage it.

Yet before him…

All of these disciples were Foundation Establishment stage—not even a single Golden Core!

By cultivation level alone, they absolutely should not be able to meet the requirements to refine External Pills!

And yet…

They did!

One month later, staring at the Shenxiao External Pill glowing with violet-gold radiance, Sect Master Song pursed his lips. He finally understood why they’d had to sign a confidentiality agreement to enter the Jiushan Realm.

One External Pill.

An External Pill that could bankrupt a typical Golden Core cultivator in the Market District.

Was actually refined… by a bunch of Foundation Establishment disciples.

He looked at Madam Xuanhua, silently pondering. He knew her and was aware of her prowess in artifact crafting.

But… was she really this good?

Unexpectedly, Madam Xuanhua turned to Zheng Fa and smiled: “Sect Master was right. The Golden Core Project can indeed be combined with Immortal Formation Techniques!”

“The disciples used to have conflicts in their spiritual power, but now they’re unified.”

“It’s a great boon to External Pill refinement.”

Zheng Fa smiled as well: “That’s also thanks to Martial Uncle Pang.”

He was different from the cultivators of the Xuanyi Realm.

Xuanyi cultivators, upon discovering a useful spell, would first think of using it in combat—which wasn’t wrong.

But Zheng Fa would think one step further: Could the spell be used in production? Could it boost productivity?

For example—could Immortal Formation Techniques be combined with assembly lines?

Wasn’t the core idea of an assembly line very similar to Martial Uncle Pang’s Linked Talisman Technique?

Though Martial Uncle Pang had left the Jiushan Realm, he was still active in the Jiushan Forum, helping to refine this idea.

Now, it had shown early results.

In Sect Master Song’s eyes, this was just a group of over a hundred Foundation Establishment disciples. But under the influence of Immortal Formations, their spiritual power was blended together—equivalent to three or four Golden Core cultivators working in tandem.

With the manufacturing process of the External Pill simplified, refining it wasn’t difficult at all—there wasn’t even a need for Golden Core disciples anymore.

Madam Xuanhua looked at the Shenxiao External Pill in her hand and said, with a hint of dissatisfaction, “Still not quite good enough—only equivalent to a low-grade Golden Core…”

Sect Master Song was stunned. A group of Foundation Establishment disciples made an External Pill—and you’re still not satisfied?

Even if he made it himself, this would be about the level he'd reach…

Thinking that, his face involuntarily clouded over.

Zheng Fa chuckled: “Xuanhua, could you please wipe that smirk off your face when you say that?”

Everyone looked up at Madam Xuanhua. Despite her critical tone, the corners of her lips were curled ever so slightly. Her gaze toward the disciples even carried a faint glint of pride—clearly, her words didn’t match her heart.

Sect Master Song sighed inwardly. This lone-wolf rogue cultivator of the past was now… proud of a group of Foundation Establishment disciples?

But Zheng Fa understood her.

This Golden Core Project team—she had brought most of them up. She’d poured her heart into them. Calling them her disciples wouldn’t be an exaggeration.

Moreover, as Head of the Heavenly Works Pavilion, these disciples were its backbone.

How could she not care?

The pride in Madam Xuanhua’s eyes faded quickly. She looked sternly at the now-grinning disciples and said:

“Not enough!”

“According to Sect Master’s plan, we still need to upgrade the Shenxiao Warship. The goal is for it to have the ability to harvest spiritual ore!”

“Also, all of you must become proficient in refining other types of External Pills. You’ve learned about spiritual materials—External Pills are the foundation for producing all sorts of them!”

As Sect Master Song listened, he was confused at first—but soon deeply shaken.

He understood—

Jiushan Sect was aiming to solve the spiritual material problem!

Traditional sects acquired common materials by mining spiritual ores.

Jiushan Sect seemed to want to use these so-called Shenxiao Warships?

He wasn’t sure if it was feasible—but each warship's External Pill was basically a Golden Core cultivator.

If a Golden Core cultivator went mining…

And if they could produce an External Pill every month…

Thinking that, Sect Master Song couldn’t help but tremble.

They might even be able to manufacture spiritual materials themselves?

Maybe one day, Jiushan Sect would be able to mass-produce all kinds of spiritual materials at extremely low cost—just like their improved medicinal herbs.

Zheng Fa had no idea what he was thinking. He simply led the group to another factory.

It was a rectangular workshop, vast in scale, with two Golden Core disciples and over twenty others inside—busily building Shenxiao Warships.

The demand for Shenxiao Airships within the Jiushan Realm was huge.

Even more so outside the Jiushan Realm—after all, the Xuanyi Realm was dangerous.

Luckily, the difficulty of building both types of ships wasn’t high. The real challenge was in External Pill refinement.

The disciples just had to work extra hard.

When Zheng Fa and the others arrived, a Shenxiao Warship was just being completed.

A Golden Core disciple cast a spell, and the rectangular workshop’s roof opened like a gate.

A brand-new Shenxiao Warship slowly rose from the factory, its massive frame hovering in midair.

Zheng Fa looked up and smiled. “The Shenxiao Warship design is finally finalized…”

It hadn’t succeeded in one go—this was already the fourth version.

The main advantage of the current design was its resemblance to the Shenxiao Airship—eighty percent of the parts were interchangeable, drastically reducing repair and production costs.

Senior Sister Zhang was also watching the Shenxiao Warship but brought up something else:

“Chongxuan Sect likely harbors disloyalty.”

Sect Master Song trembled. He had long suspected that Zhang Wuyi was keeping an eye on Chongxuan Sect—but hadn’t expected her to open with a straight-up accusation.

And she was right—Chongxuan Sect did have ulterior motives.

They were probably backed by someone too.

But Zheng Fa’s tone remained calm:

“Whether they’re loyal or not… really doesn’t matter.”

He spoke so vaguely, yet Sect Master Song felt like he somehow understood. He looked up at the Shenxiao Airship overhead.

If—just as he imagined—Jiushan Sect could one day mass-produce Shenxiao Warships…

If they could use those ships to mine spiritual ore at low cost…

If they could even start producing spiritual materials on their own…

Then Chongxuan Sect really didn’t matter.

He looked up at the massive vessel above and felt a strange sense of relief—

Thank goodness he got on this ship.

Thank goodness he didn’t respond to the Chongxuan Sect Master’s message talisman.

He was relieved, because once the Jiushan Sect’s great vessel began sailing forward, it would likely crush many other sects and cultivators beneath it—

By then, Qingmu Sect would be on the ship.

But some people… would be underneath it.

Thinking this, he glanced at Zhao Jingfan beside him. This kid… had really done the sect a huge favor!

Zhao Jingfan noticed his sect master smiling more and more kindly at him—and felt a chill down his spine.

He’d been so blatantly betraying his own sect, and now the Sect Master looked more affectionate than he would at a son…

Scary. Maybe I’d better just stay in the Jiushan Realm?