Xiuxian: I studied abroad in modern times

Chapter 590 Yu Xu Reports, Yuan Shi Changes Face

Before Zheng Fa stood a magnificent palace.

The palace as a whole resembles a flawless piece of jade, with a warm, lustrous glow flowing across its walls. Even without lamps, the interior is exceptionally bright.

Dozens of wooden tables were placed in the hall, divided into left and right sides. The people sitting on the left were dressed as Taoists, while those on the right were dressed as Buddhists, clearly distinguishing them.

At the end of the wooden table, six seats were placed side by side, where Nuwa and six other powerful beings sat.

It was clear that, apart from the Six Saints and himself, everyone else in the hall was an elite disciple of both Buddhism and Taoism. They had just been chatting happily, seemingly exchanging pleasantries and making friends.

Even Nuwa and the others were whispering to each other.

After all, given their status and strength, there are very few people in this world with whom they can have equal communication; almost all of them are in this main hall.

The hall was bustling with activity.

But just now, as soon as Zheng Fa entered, the entire hall seemed to have been muted.

In silence, everyone watched as Zheng Fa stepped into the hall.

If it were before, Zheng Fa would have been somewhat unaccustomed to it, but when he thought about Nuwa's finger just now, he felt a little numb, as if the silence and scrutiny were pressing down on him like a mountain.

"Greetings, Your Majesty."

Nuwa looked at him, chuckled, and said, "That ill-mannered Peng bird forced its way into the Jade Void Palace, so I had to punish it. What are you afraid of?"

Zheng Fa grinned and spoke his mind: "No matter how kind Nuwa is, it would be hard for any cultivator not to feel apprehensive when facing six of them."

Tongtian laughed: "It's because we joined in the fun."

Zheng Fa did not answer, but tacitly agreed.

It's not that he's trying to shift the blame. Among this group, he's dealt with Nuwa before. He wouldn't say he's familiar with her, but he's not afraid of her either.

He rarely saw these five people in the past, only exchanging a few words with them at Zixiao Palace.

The Taoist Master Tongtian suddenly said, "In that case, why not add a little prize?"

"The prize?"

"Today, Junior Sister Nuwa is testing this person. Although we are just bystanders, we can still make a judgment. If he fails the test, then naturally we will stop talking about it."

"If he passes the test, we'll join in the fun and give him some benefits."

The other sages exchanged glances, also finding it somewhat interesting. Yuanshi Daoist nodded slightly: "Junior Brother's idea is good."

Zheng Fa was also delighted to hear this; Tongtian was truly a great person!

The disciples below the stage shifted their gaze from scrutiny to envy.

But Tongtian Daoren hadn't finished speaking: "Just one point: all five of us have given benefits, so this person can only choose one."

No, I was just praising you!
The hall was silent for a moment, then Zhunti laughed: "So that's what you were planning, Brother Dao!"

Before Zheng Fa could understand, the Supreme Elder spoke again: "Is this a benefit for him, or is it to find us a successor?"

Tongtian looked at Zheng Fa: "Whether or not to pass on the knowledge depends on him. He can be given magic treasures or cultivation techniques, but he has to choose one."

Zheng Fa understood. This meant that if he passed the defense, he could voluntarily choose someone as his supervisor.
But he didn't think that these six sages had no successors:
The relationship between the Supreme Dao and the Supreme Daoist should be extremely deep.

Leiyin Temple and Jieyin Zhunti need no further introduction.

Even Yuanshi and Tongtian might exist in some scattered inheritances, such as the Zhuxian Sword Formation of Tianhe Venerable.

However, it must be said that each of these people possesses an extraordinary lineage, and to inherit one of them would indeed be an immense opportunity.

The other four also looked at Zheng Fa. Yuanshi shook his head and said, "Junior brother, you've misunderstood. This person has performed exceptionally well in Zixiao Palace. If he can also pass Junior Sister Nuwa's test, then he'll be an even more talented individual. Wouldn't we be stealing Junior Sister's thunder...?"

Nuwa smiled and shook her head: "My path does not lie in the inheritance of the Daoist lineage. This matter is not a problem, and I will not compete with my senior brother."

Tongtian Daoren nodded and said, "Then he will choose from among the five of us."

Yuanshi Daoist raised his eyebrows slightly: "He's choosing us?"

"I just want to see who he chooses!" Tongtian grinned, seemingly finding it amusing.

Yuanshi glanced at him, his eyes filled with speechlessness: "We, the Three Pure Ones, are being picked and chosen by others. What kind of behavior is this?"

After thinking for a moment, the Supreme Taoist actually spoke up: "I think it's fine."

Yuanshi said helplessly, "Since you've said so, then count me in."

Zhunti glanced at Jieyin, then looked at Zheng Fa and said, "I felt long ago that this boy was a talented person, and that he was destined to be with my Western Paradise."

In an instant, all five sages except Nuwa agreed.

Zheng Fa could tell that, apart from Zhunti who seemed genuinely interested, the other four were probably just having fun.

As for Tongtian, who made this suggestion, he was a real entertainer!

He wasn't trying to offer Zheng Fa any benefits; he just wanted to see who he would choose!

……

After explaining the prize, Nuwa looked at Zheng Fa with a hint of anticipation in her eyes: "Have you thought about how to answer my question?"

Zheng Fa cupped his hands and said, "I have my own answer, but I dare not say that it will satisfy Your Majesty."

"Tell me more."

Zheng Fa waved his hand, and a light screen appeared behind him, displaying the paper he had brought.

Tongtian read out the title of the paper: "A Species Design Based on the Propagation and Deduction of Daoist Methods? That's a novel name."

The other five people also became interested and watched the light screen intently.

Zheng Faxin's mind raced, he turned a page of the paper, revealing the introduction, and began to explain:

"In the beginning of time, creatures such as dragons, phoenixes, and unicorns were born. These creatures, based on their bloodline, ruled the four seas, suppressed the nine heavens, and dominated the earth, possessing boundless supernatural powers."

"However, the 'bloodline specialization' of innate beings creates inherent limitations in the spread of Taoist teachings."

Zheng Fa continued, "The limitation is that the inheritance of the Daoist lineage is restricted by racial talent, and the techniques are difficult to spread across races. They are few in number and costly to maintain. The inheritance model is fixed as 'bloodline replication,' and the Daoist techniques are difficult to break through and evolve."

The six sages listened intently and nodded gently.

Zheng Fa looked at Nuwa: "This is also why Goddess Nuwa created a new race."

Nuwa laughed and said, "You're right."

Zheng Fa breathed a sigh of relief. Nuwa had asked him three questions, which, when broken down, were actually just three:
First, why did she create a new race?

Second, why is this new race human?

Third, is creating humans right or wrong?

He had just answered the first question, and it was clear that Nuwa was quite satisfied.

"Since we are going to create a new race, and this new race has to solve these problems, I think we need to think about it from three dimensions: compatibility, cost, and the iteration of Taoist methods."

Tongtian murmured, "Compatibility, cost, iteration..."

His expression was full of thought, a far cry from the carefree attitude he had shown when he was just joking around.

The same applies to the other five saints. After the introduction, the images and text on the screen changed again, and we arrived at the main text.

“Let’s talk about compatibility first.” Zheng Fa pointed to the light screen and explained, “Compatibility means that this race can cultivate most of the common techniques passed down by Daoist Hongjun. In this way, they can inherit the Daoist teachings.”

Everyone nodded.

The so-called universal cultivation methods are the content of Hongjun Daoren's first sermon, as well as some cultivation methods used by all races in the prehistoric world.

"General cultivation techniques correspond to most of the spiritual energy in the world, so this new species should possess a structure that can absorb most of the spiritual energy in the world—a spiritual root."

A complex diagram of the human body appeared on the light screen, with densely packed neural networks on the pattern, making it extremely intricate.

But Nuwa watched very carefully.

"Compatibility also has another advantage."

"what?"

"He ensured that this species could exchange their techniques with each other, thereby merging and innovating."

To put it simply, the human body is a unified hardware platform.

Nuwa and the others slowly finished reading this part of the paper. Although the wording was a bit strange, they all understood it after Zheng Fa's explanation.

Tongtian asked excitedly, "What else?"

"Secondly, it should be easier for this race to reproduce and grow than for the current race."

"While innate divine power is strong, it comes at an extremely high cost. Just considering reproduction, the dragon race needs specific spiritual veins and conditions to be born. The phoenix race, on the other hand, needs the sacred parasol tree to conceive offspring."

Zheng Fa's expression was somewhat complicated as he spoke, "The Nine Mountains Sect is truly raising dragons."

He has firsthand experience of the high cost of raising children for these races.

"And after the birth of a Primordial Saint, the cultivation resources they occupy are even more enormous."

"Therefore, the new race should control costs, and ideally, its birth and growth should not require spiritual materials or even spiritual energy."

Although it's hard to admit, the main advantage of the human race over other races in the prehistoric world was its affordability.

Yuanshi frowned and said, "If we're only talking about cost, then why create the human race? There are far more beasts, insects, and birds that are better at reproducing than humans."

“This is the third point,” Zheng Fa said, responding to the question, “the iteration of the Dao.”

"The so-called iteration is about creating new methods and discarding old, useless ones," Zheng Fa said. "And creation requires human talent and supernatural abilities."

"Innate supernatural abilities? Humans have innate supernatural abilities?"

Zheng Fa let out a soft breath and spoke his long-held thoughts: "A person's innate supernatural ability is wisdom, a kind of innate supernatural ability that does not require spiritual energy."

"..."

Zheng Fa pointed at the light screen again, and the human figure appeared on the screen once more.

He pointed to the complex neural pathways and said, "I used to think that spiritual roots only referred to the five elements of spiritual roots. Later I realized that these neural pathways of the five elements of spiritual roots are only part of the nervous system. The neural structure that generates intelligence is the most important thing for the human race."

"To only see the five elements of spiritual roots is to be blinded by a single leaf."

This is Gu Chang's recent theory: the nervous system is actually a dual system of spiritual root and wisdom—in other words, this is the basic hardware for cultivation. Having only spiritual root is not enough, nor is having wisdom alone. Only when the two are combined can a person be guaranteed to cultivate.

Nuwa listened, a faint smile appearing on her lips.

The other five saints also nodded slightly.

"Humans are a rare race that can acquire advanced intelligence within one or two years from conception to birth," Zheng Fa continued. "For animals like birds, beasts, fish, and insects to develop intelligence, they need opportunity, a long time, and even more spiritual energy."

"Therefore, although it may seem that the cost of human reproduction is higher than that of these races, if we consider the generation of intelligence as the basis, then the cost of human reproduction is actually the lowest."

In fact, even with the advancements in artificial intelligence in modern society, it cannot be said that it has fully reached the level of human intelligence, not to mention its enormous cost.

Zheng Fa paused, wanting to give the Six Sages some time to absorb and understand.

This was his usual way of lecturing, but unexpectedly Tongtian shouted, "Continue!"

The other five saints also looked reproachful and were very dissatisfied.

"To rapidly iterate on the Dao, one needs not only wisdom, that is, the ability to understand and reason, but more importantly, the ability to transform the bloodline inheritance of one's innate race into the Dao."

"Our predecessors summarized the 'Basic Techniques Version 1.0' through practice. Later generations discovered its flaws during the training process and adjusted the mental techniques and moves, thus forming the 'Basic Techniques Version 2.0'..."

"This cycle of creation and correction is the essence of the iteration of Taoism."

As Zheng Fayue spoke more and more fluently, he added, "This iterative mechanism relies on personal wisdom on the one hand, and on the compatibility and low cost mentioned earlier on the other."

"Compatibility ensures that the techniques of our ancestors can be learned by later generations."

"With costs guaranteed, the human race has enough individual resources to iterate on the Dao and its methods."

At this point, Zheng Fa thought for a moment and concluded, "These three points are where the value of the human race lies."

He looked at Nuwa, observing her expression.

What he just said was actually answering the most important question of this defense—why create humans.

Nuwa suddenly laughed and asked, "This, is this all what you thought?"

“No,” Zheng Fa said without hiding anything, “at least half of it is the credit of others.”

Putting aside everything else, the dual system of spiritual root and spiritual intelligence was the brainchild of his eldest disciple, Gu Chang.

Nuwa looked at him and asked, "Why don't you take credit?"

Zheng Fa thought for a moment and then spoke his mind: "No matter how powerful or talented I am, what can I do? Can I compare to those innate beings? Even if I am arrogant, can I still compare to Your Majesty?"

He looked at the paper on the light screen, a hint of emotion in his eyes: "This paper made me understand the supernatural powers of the human race. Conversely, isn't this paper also a manifestation of the supernatural powers of the human race?"

Nuwa laughed: "What do you mean?"

"Compared to naturally born races, the advantage of the human race lies in wisdom, in communication and interaction," Zheng Fa said softly, "and in the strength of the many overcoming the few, and the future surpassing the present."

"The strongest among the innate races are their ancestors. When they cultivate, they are actually reverting to their ancestral ways."

"But the human race started from humble beginnings and has no powerful ancestors. The strongest one should be..."

"The next generation."

Silence fell over the hall for a moment, as everyone stared blankly at Zheng Fa.

After a long while, the Supreme Taoist suddenly turned his head and asked Nuwa, "Junior Sister, is this what you think?"

Nuwa's expression was very complicated. After a long while, she smiled and shook her head: "No."

Zheng Fa's heart sank slightly. Was the answer he had given not to the Goddess Nuwa's expectations?

“I didn’t think that much about it.” Nuwa shook her head, seemingly mocking herself, yet also seemingly proud. “I originally thought I was testing him, but I didn’t expect… indeed, the future surpasses the present.”

Upon hearing this, the other five saints looked at Zheng Fa.

Yuanshi suddenly said, "Your idea is in line with the philosophy of my sect."

Tongtian suddenly turned his head, his eyes wide, and looked at Yuanshi. "Weren't you being hesitant and unwilling to be picked over before?"

brazen!
(End of this chapter)