Xiuxian: I studied abroad in modern times

Chapter 523 Heavenly River Preaching, Standing Out from the Crowd
Zheng Fa doesn't really like drinking and has almost never gotten drunk in the past.

But today, his wine cup was filled to the brim again and again, until he was dizzy. He felt that there were more and more people in the hall, each of them seemingly able to split themselves into multiple bodies, and they were all smiling at him.

Think about how these people are all dead...

It's not actually that creepy.

The cultivator who brought him in, a Nascent Soul cultivator from the Heavenly River Sect, was probably a very outgoing person. He put his arm around Zheng Fa's neck and said loudly, "In our Heavenly River Sect, this is the rule: when commemorating our senior and junior brothers, we can't cry, we have to drink."

"Come again!"

Zheng Fa smiled, raised his wine glass, clinked it with the other person's, and drank it all in one gulp.

These disciples are paying tribute to their deceased fellow disciples.

He was paying tribute to his disciples.

Venerable Tianhe also held a cup of wine, sat at the head of the table, and drank alone, seemingly lost in thought.

It seems these disciples were somewhat afraid of this Venerable One, and none of them bothered him.

Zheng Fa didn't step forward either, but instead chatted and laughed with the group of Tianhe disciples.

Listen to them boast, argue, slam their fists on the table, draw their swords and fight fiercely. After the fight, they drink together, inseparable.

Venerable Tianhe didn't seem to care, appearing quite used to it. However, he occasionally glanced at Zheng Fa and raised an eyebrow when he saw him blending in seamlessly among the Tianhe disciples.

After several rounds of drinks, Zheng Fa propped his head up and watched his two disciples fight in the hall, their swords flashing like dragons, their light shining in all directions.

In the midst of the commotion, suddenly the Venerable Tianhe heard him bend his finger and lightly tap the table.

dong dong.

Although the sound wasn't loud, the Tianhe disciples reacted as if they had heard two thunderclaps, and their movements froze.

In an instant, the hall became so quiet you could hear a pin drop, as if the previous liveliness had been a grand illusion.

Zheng Fa looked to his side and saw that the Tianhe disciple who had been arm in arm with him and seemed outgoing was now wearing a bitter face, as if he was worried.

What's there to worry about?
Zheng Fa looked at Venerable Tianhe and heard him say, "Have you finished drinking?"

A few scattered responses rang out: "Yes."

"Then we should get down to business."

Having said that, Venerable Tianhe was the first to stand up and walk out of the main hall.

The disciples of the Heavenly River Sect followed behind. Zheng Fa was a little puzzled and quietly asked the cultivator beside him, "What important matter is it?"

"Hmm, preaching."

"sermon?"

Zheng Fa frowned, thinking to himself, "Why are you all making such a fuss about something as good as preaching?"

He was very envious of Venerable Tianhe's lectures.

Besides, didn't he come to the Realm of Ten Thousand Swords to learn?
"Because the struggle between our Tianhe Sect and the Holy Dynasties intensifies, after each major battle, the sect leader would give us a sermon... personally guiding us."

"Personally...guide"?

"Yes, the sect leader is ruthless."

Zheng Fa grinned.

He could tell that Venerable Tianhe valued his disciples highly, liked to review their performance after exams, and seemed to believe that a sword's edge is honed through tempering and that great students are produced through discipline.

As an outsider, I don't need to be beaten like this, do I?
Ahead, Venerable Tianhe suddenly turned around and glanced at him.

Zheng Fa obediently followed the flow of people out of the main hall.

The landscape of the Myriad Swords Realm has changed again.

This time, Zheng Fa saw the Heavenly Sword Peak again, but it was not just the Heavenly Sword Peak:

They stood atop Sword Peak, with open, flat ground beneath their feet, but suddenly a nine-tiered, inverted bucket-shaped staircase appeared before them.

Ascending the steps, one finds a platform paved with blue bricks, surrounded by a jade railing engraved with densely packed star charts.

At the center is a huge stone disc resembling a sundial, on which various directional stars are also engraved.

Observatory?
Zheng Fa suddenly looked around and then realized where he was:
All around was a black, chaotic void, and the Xuanwei Realm was located below the Star Gazing Platform, like a lonely island in the hazy night.

The Sky-Piercing Sword Peak and this Star-Gazing Platform are like lighthouses on the shore of an island.

Looking upwards, you can see holes used for stargazing.

It was as if some kind of magic had been used on the hole, making it resemble an astronomical telescope, causing many stars to fly into Zheng Fa's eyes and appear in perfect detail.

Those that were glowing were sometimes humanoid, sometimes divine beasts or spiritual roots, and sometimes magical artifacts.

"Are these ancient immortals or gods?"

Zheng Fa couldn't help but ask.

He had long felt that the stars in the Xuanwei Realm were very strange, and now, looking at them from this star-gazing platform, he was certain of his opinion—they were the legendary ancient immortals.

Venerable Tianhe chuckled and said, "Today I will speak of what it means to be an immortal and what it means to follow the Dao!"

Zheng Fa was taken aback, thinking to himself that this didn't seem like an exam summary. Then, looking at the gazes of the Tianhe disciples around him, he suddenly understood:
Venerable Tianhe is about to transmit the Dharma!

To put it bluntly, whether it's the Heavenly River Method or the Yang God Method, it's all for the purpose of cultivating immortality and the Dao.

Venerable Tianhe started his explanation from here so that Zheng Fa would not only know what happened, but also why it happened, which shows his painstaking efforts.

Having figured this out, he couldn't help but prick up his ears and listen attentively.

……

Venerable Tianhe pointed to the stars in the holes and said, "When we cultivate, from the moment we attain the Dao Fruit, immortality and magic become one and inseparable."

"Therefore, immortals are law, and law is immortals."

This was a familiar saying to Zheng Fa, but he still listened very attentively.

It is truly a great opportunity to receive teachings from such a powerful being as Venerable Tianhe.

"Immortals are the embodiment of the law." Venerable Tianhe paused, then suddenly asked, "Can anyone tell me the difference between a wandering immortal and a true immortal?"

Zheng Fachao glanced around and saw that all the Tianhe disciples had their heads down, as if the blue bricks under their feet contained Daoist energy.

This scene was so familiar that it felt like he was back home.

Venerable Tianhe snorted lightly, seemingly disapproving of their behavior, and casually selected one of his disciples.

The disciple stood up and said somewhat uncertainly, "To go from a Loose Immortal to a True Immortal, one must undergo the Loose Immortal Tribulation?"

"Then why is there a Tribulation for Loose Immortals?" Venerable Tianhe, probably a strict teacher, pressed on, "Also, what is the difference between a True Immortal and a Loose Immortal!"

The disciple shrank back and remained silent.

Now Zheng Fa understood why these disciples were afraid of Venerable Tianhe's sermons:

The number one expert in Xuanwei stares intently at you, relentlessly questioning you; most people simply can't withstand that.

"Foolish! I have already explained the path of true immortality before, yet you cannot even comprehend this point?"

"I could have figured this out when I was at the Nascent Soul stage. Do you really need me to teach you step by step?"

"Alright! I'll just say it once, remember it!"

Zheng Fa wished he could bury his head in the ground.

The Tianhe disciples beside him seemed used to it all along, letting him be as strong as he wanted.

It's said that geniuses are not suitable to be teachers, and those with a bad temper are even less suitable.

"The Tribulation of a Scattered Immortal is not a traditional tribulation of thunder or wind, but a tribulation of Dao transformation!"

Zheng Fa was taken aback and looked up at Venerable Tianhe, listening intently.

"What is the tribulation of the Dao? It means that if you do not have your own method as a foundation and learn all the methods of others, then you yourself will become nourishment for that method!"

"Only by possessing one's own cultivation technique can one retain a trace of true spirit during the Tribulation of a Loose Immortal and transform into a True Immortal!"

"Do you understand?"

Got it. The Tribulation of a Loose Immortal (×)

Heavenly Tribulation (√)

Xuanwei plagiarized! That's outrageous!

Only now does Zheng Fa understand what this thing really is.

To put it bluntly, what true immortals look for is the innovativeness of a cultivator's methods.
Seeing his expression of sudden realization, Venerable Tianhe paused slightly.

"Sect Leader, where is that Golden Immortal?"

A studious disciple raised his own question.

"The Golden Immortals are those brightest stars."

Zheng Fa glanced at the holes and wondered what the stars represented, when he heard Venerable Tianhe explain.

“Golden Immortals are in charge of creation.” Venerable Tianhe seemed to know that his disciples were not up to the task, so he simply said.

good fortune?

“They created the world and ruled the universe so that all living beings could multiply and survive,” Venerable Tianhe explained.

parallel world?

Are these stars from parallel worlds?
Is the parallel world from which the inner demon originates created by the Golden Immortal?

Zheng Fa listened in a daze; these things were still somewhat distant from him, and for the time being, he could only listen.

Venerable Tianhe didn't say much, but simply brought the topic back to the original one: "In this way, the Golden Immortal's method becomes the Heavenly Dao of his world."

Therefore, the Law, the Immortal, and the Dao are actually one.

Not to mention Zheng Fa, even the disciples of Tianhe were somewhat confused yet yearning, secretly pondering the implications.

Venerable Tianhe suddenly added, "But this is not the essence of immortality."

Everyone fell silent and turned their gaze to him.

However, Venerable Tianhe's gaze fell on Zheng Fa.

Zheng Fa looked at Venerable Tianhe with some confusion, and listened as he said, "The essence of immortals is that they are more powerful beings that will not perish. Therefore, we say that the path of immortals values ​​life."

Zheng Fa nodded slightly.

This is hardly a new idea.

Even any cultivator of the profound depths could understand this if brought here.

But I imagine Venerable Tianhe would have a different perspective.

“The difference between immortals and humans lies in the fact that immortals are composed of Daoist laws, which are essentially the rules of heaven and earth,” Venerable Tianhe continued. “Cultivating immortality is about transforming a flesh and blood body into a being governed by laws.”

This statement is also very simple.

All the disciples nodded.

"Nod? You understand?"

"understand!"

"Do you really understand?"

"I understand now!"

"Very well, then let me ask you: since you want to become beings governed by laws, you must understand what a being is." Venerable Tianhe smiled, looking quite satisfied. "So, do you know?"

The disciples quieted down and began to meditate on the Dao.

Just as Zheng Fa was about to lower his head, Venerable Tianhe suddenly said, "Zheng Fa, why don't you tell us?"

Me, an auditor, in my first class!

Recalling the eye contact he had just exchanged with Venerable Tianhe, Zheng Fa couldn't help but feel a little regretful—he had committed a grave taboo.

Beside him, the Tianhe disciples who had just been drinking and chatting happily, calling each other brothers, all turned their heads and grinned at him, their expressions full of relief and joy.

Zheng Fa looked up and saw Venerable Tianhe staring at him with curiosity in his eyes.

He thought for a moment and said, “Your Excellency, many of my ideas actually come from the jade pendant.”

“It’s alright. Only because you came here could I glimpse a little about the jade pendant. It’s not complete.” Venerable Tianhe seemed to understand his meaning and waved his hand, saying, “The jade pendant is not mine.”

These words startled Zheng Fa, but he didn't have time to think about them carefully. Instead, he suppressed his doubts and said:
"I once heard a great master surnamed Xue say that the essence of life lies in order."

"Order?" Venerable Tianhe's eyes lit up, seemingly with some unexpected joy, and he asked, "What do you mean by that?"

Zheng Fa lowered his head and began to think about how to explain it more clearly.

He had read many books in the modern world, but the book that gave him the most insight into the essence of life was not the work of a biologist, but Schrödinger's "What is Life?".

This book appeared very early, so it naturally did not include later developments in biology, and even contained many theories that have been overturned.

However, Zheng Fa kept the description of the essence of life in his heart.

Now it's perfect to answer Venerable Tianhe's question.

To summarize later theories and Schrödinger's statement, the main characteristic of life is that it maintains its own order by absorbing energy, but at the same time it transfers the positive entropy it generates to the external environment.

Simply put, humans eat food and plants absorb sunlight to maintain the orderly operation of their own bodies and maintain a low-entropy state.

Dissipating heat means transferring its own entropy increase to the environment.

Of course, Zheng Fa couldn't say that, since the concept of entropy was too unfamiliar to Venerable Tianhe.

……

"Whether it's people, flowers, birds, fish, or insects, they are all products of the Dao." Zheng Fa explained in a way that Xuanwei cultivators could understand.

"The rules within living beings are actually the same as those within heaven and earth; all things are intertwined."

Venerable Tianhe listened quietly, then suddenly asked, "Then what do you mean by saying life is order?"

"Although all things in heaven and earth follow the Dao itself, living beings are the most complex and exquisite products of the Dao."

Zheng Fa explained.

"Like a stubborn rock, it is exposed to wind and sun and turns into soil, yet remains unaware and oblivious."

"Only life possesses the desire to survive, and is essentially self-replicating in an attempt to maintain its own order."

Silence fell over the observatory. These words seemed somewhat difficult for the cultivators of the Milky Way to understand.

"We cultivators can naturally understand that human growth is actually the self-replication of cells."

Venerable Tianhe frowned first: "Cells?"

Then, as if he had thought of something, he nodded.

Zheng Fa also expected that Venerable Tianhe had seen the cells. After all, the eyesight of cultivators is not to be underestimated. The loyal disciple of Tianhe who died back then had even fused his natal magic weapon with the cells.

He simply didn't know what Venerable Tianhe called cells.

However, judging from the situation, Venerable Tianhe seemed to understand.

"Therefore, the instinct of living beings is to grow and reproduce, which is actually the self-maintenance of order."

In simple terms, Zheng Fa believes that life lies in the division and recombination of DNA, and the essence of DNA is an orderly arrangement of matter.

However, Venerable Tianhe and others did not know what DNA was, so Zheng Fa could only use order instead of generalization.

"So, if Your Excellency asks me what living beings are, then in my view, living beings themselves are the highest product of the rules of heaven and earth, a self-replicating and self-maintaining order."

At this point, Zheng Fa stopped talking. Because Venerable Tianhe had never been to school, he really didn't know how else to explain it more clearly.

Venerable Tianhe remained silent for a while, then his expression suddenly turned somewhat disdainful.

Did I say something wrong?
Does Venerable Tianhe think he is stupid?
Venerable Tianhe gave him a deep look, his eyes revealing nothing, but his gaze swept across the faces of the other Tianhe disciples, his expression clearly showing dissatisfaction.

Zheng Fa turned his head and met the gaze of the Tianhe disciple who had just been pleasuring him with his arm around his neck. He saw only one thing written in the other's eyes:

Brother, you feel like a stranger to me.

(End of this chapter)