PCJ – Chapter 679 New Medicine

Mei Qing had been staying in the Xiyun Secret Realm for nearly a year. During this year, she was almost always confined within this secret realm. After the last incident, Ji Jiaxin also barely left the secret realm. Both Ji Jiaxin’s and Mei Qing’s families were well protected. Over the course of this year, no further accidents occurred.

Both Mei Qing and Ji Jiaxin showed some talent in cultivation, especially Ji Jiaxin. In just over a year, Ji Jiaxin had already reached the equivalent of the initial stage of refining essence and transforming qi. Their temperaments underwent a huge transformation at this point. Originally, they were both very beautiful women. But now, they were not only beautiful but also possessed an otherworldly, refined aura.

Most of Mei Qing’s time was still spent in the laboratory. For her, the interest in the lab far exceeded cultivation. If it weren’t to deepen her understanding of the Spirit Spring, Mei Qing might not have bothered with cultivation at all.

On the other hand, Ji Jiaxin was quite the opposite—her interest in cultivation surpassed everything else. In her words, some people pursue the pinnacle of technology, some pursue the pinnacle of political power, some pursue the pinnacle of fame and wealth… but these are all superficial pursuits. The most fundamental pursuit of humanity should be the eternity of life. The universe is infinite, yet human life is but a fleeting spark within it. It is foolish for humans not to spend their limited lives pondering and exploring the essence of life. Chinese cultivators, in their cultivation process, are essentially chasing the eternity of life and probing the nature of existence.

“Teacher Mei, why do you think Zhang Jiaohua suddenly went into politics? Has the guy gone mad? Cultivation is the root of us cultivators. What’s the point of going into politics?” Ji Jiaxin still couldn’t grasp Zhang Jiaohua’s mindset. She had never reached a critical state and naturally couldn’t understand his current intentions.

Mei Qing smiled: “When you reach his level, maybe you’ll understand.”

Although Mei Qing didn’t fully understand Zhang Jiaohua’s intentions either, she knew he must have his reasons for doing so.

“Then what’s the use of your research? You’re already at the early stage of refining essence and transforming qi. Even if your research yields results, it won’t improve our cultivation one bit. Plus, the most crucial element in your research is the Spirit Spring. We didn’t know about it before, but now we all do. Even cultivators prize the Spirit Spring so highly. Even if your research succeeds, there won’t be enough Spirit Spring for you to lavish on,” Ji Jiaxin said.

“Jiaxin, have you noticed that even cultivators have their own circles? Cultivators’ circles are not pure utopias; they are also full of struggles for interests. Right now, the Meishan Sect is still in its infancy but holds a huge secret. It’s like a toddler who’s just learned to walk but holds millions in cash. Once the secret is revealed, countless sharks might come flying at it,” Mei Qing said, clearly feeling the tension in the Xiyun Secret Realm.

In fact, the Xiyun Secret Realm was not only under such pressure but also faced many other pressures. For example, Mei Qing’s experiments had long attracted attention from some foreign forces. At first, it was just pressure from pharmaceutical groups, but later, even some organizations and countries took notice. Besides, were there any cultivation sects abroad similar to those in China? If so, would those sects also be interested in Mei Qing’s experiments? Moreover, they might not be ignorant of the Spirit Spring. If such forces did exist, they might already be eyeing the Spirit Spring in the Xiyun Secret Realm.

Ji Jiaxin was much younger than Mei Qing and lacked social experience, so her understanding of these matters was naturally limited.

“How is your experiment progressing?” Ji Jiaxin asked.

“There’s already some promising progress,” Mei Qing replied.

Mei Qing had significantly adjusted the direction of her experiments. Previously, she hoped to develop a drug that could dramatically enhance human physical fitness, similar to those optimization drugs used for super soldiers. But after coming into contact with cultivation, she changed her research direction. During this time, Mei Qing frequently consulted Kong Jiyuan and Kong Fangzhou. Using modern precision instruments to analyze the elixirs refined by cultivators was pioneering work in the cultivation world.

If a drug could greatly improve an ordinary person’s cultivation potential, the cultivators in the Xiyun Secret Realm would cultivate faster. The Meishan Sect’s growth would accelerate as well. Although Mei Qing was a pure scientist, she clearly understood that for a sect to grow strong, it wasn’t just about having a tall pyramid top—its base also had to be large and solid. This was the foundation of a sect.

As a newly established sect, the Meishan Sect lagged far behind ancient sects in this regard. Mei Qing also hoped her cultivation could accelerate so she could accomplish many things she currently could not.

The early stage experiments had been thoroughly conducted over the year. Mei Qing recorded a lot of data. These data gave Kong Jiyuan and his son quite a headache. Their traditional method of refining elixirs relied heavily on years of experience rather than strict scientific methodology. Their methods often lacked reproducibility. The same formula, the same elixir, and the same alchemist could produce wildly different results—some batches failed, some produced low-quality elixirs, while some surprisingly yielded superior-grade elixirs.

Mei Qing’s scientific approach, however, emphasized reproducibility. Under the same conditions and strict protocols, the same results would be obtained. This required rigorous experimental procedures.

A row of transparent PE tubes contained a clear agent—Mei Qing’s latest creation: the Spirit Root Optimizer. This reagent was no longer limited to use during an organism’s embryonic stage but could also be applied after the organism was fully formed.

Mei Qing had already tested this reagent on mice, though in very low doses. It was indeed effective. Among the mice treated with the Spirit Root Optimizer, over ten percent transformed into quasi-Spirit Beasts during domestication, and many more might transform over time. None of the control group mice succeeded in transformation. Even those that did not succeed showed significant improvements in intelligence and physique.

Human trials were about to begin, and Mei Qing felt quite nervous.