PCJ – Chapter 682 Those Are the Key Points

Two cultivators immediately entered and took the person in charge away. Under their grip, that person collapsed instantly—just like Wei Chenguang earlier when Zhang Jiaohua had crushed him with a single gesture. His eyes were filled with despair; he didn’t even have the chance to beg for mercy before being dragged away.

Mei Qing originally wanted to plead for leniency, but the words got stuck in her throat and she swallowed them back down.

“Professor Mei, should we continue?” the assistant asked nervously, afraid he might end up just like the person who was taken away.

“Continue. Isolate this participant immediately. Raise the protection level and begin all forms of testing to monitor the virus development inside his body,” Mei Qing ordered.

“Understood.” After the assistant left, the special test subject was quickly transferred into a highly secure isolation chamber. Actually, all participants were already in individual observation rooms, but this one now had even stricter quarantine protocols.

Soon, all kinds of reports on the special test subject were delivered to Mei Qing.

“Viral activity increased. Drug resistance enhanced.”

“Virus reproduction capacity and activity increased…”

“Penicillin resistance doubled. Streptomycin ineffective…”

…

“Looks like the virus is consuming the optimization reagent…” Mei Qing muttered as she compiled all the reports.

“Professor Mei, this experiment is unnecessary. Stop it. Hand the person over to someone else. What really matters now is the group in the hibernation state,” Zhang Jiaohua interrupted her research again.

“But—?” Mei Qing hesitated. The viral changes in this participant seemed like a promising direction for further research. Her instincts as a scientist were once again triggered.

“That’s not the key right now. After this experiment is over, you can explore that line of research. But this person cannot be our subject,” Zhang Jiaohua said firmly.

Mei Qing finally snapped out of it. For the Meishan Sect, diseases of the mortal world were irrelevant to cultivators. A cultivator’s inner energy formed a natural protective barrier that viruses couldn’t penetrate. Mortal poisons and pathogens posed little threat to cultivators.

This test subject had thought he was being clever—he snuck into the trial hoping to cure his disease. But he didn’t consider that even if he recovered, his blatant disregard for Meishan Sect rules would still bring harsh consequences. After both he and the responsible official were taken away, they vanished. No one ever saw them again. Where they ended up, no one could say.

Wei Chenguang, in response, did more than just punish the rule-breaker in his family. He replaced the position with someone from a humble background and warned everyone in the Wei family: if anyone dared repeat this offense, the family wouldn’t protect them.

Wei Chenguang wasn’t just frightened—he was truly shaken. Although the Meishan Sect was still in its early stages, he knew too many of its secrets. To someone like him, the Sect’s future held immense potential.

Once this optimization reagent was proven effective, Wei Chenguang clearly understood its implications. The young people in his family would have a real chance of becoming cultivators. He was desperate for the experiment’s success—how could he tolerate anyone sabotaging it?

The 80% of participants who had fallen into a hibernation-like state remained unconscious until early the next morning. The first one to wake up, however, was not the participant from Bed 20.

Their heart rate and breathing returned to normal, and various physiological metrics were slightly improved compared to before the trial. The only difference was a slightly slower heartbeat. But while the participant had awakened, whether the experiment had truly succeeded remained unclear.

These individuals had no innate cultivation aptitude and no spiritual roots. To an ordinary person, this was undetectable. Even low-level cultivators wouldn’t be able to tell. But for someone like Zhang Jiaohua, who had already reached the Qi Refining to Spirit Transformation stage, identifying spiritual roots was child’s play.

In truth, Zhang Jiaohua had already noticed the changes in these participants. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have told Mei Qing to leave them be. Although they weren’t born with top-tier talent, they were still above average. Under the influence of the optimization reagent, some of their dormant spiritual roots had been activated. Once awakened, these roots absorbed spiritual energy from within the body like a sponge. Even the medicinal components were gradually assimilated.

The experiment was a success! The participants’ aptitude for cultivation had significantly improved. While most of them wouldn’t reach great heights, they had at least become cultivators—and that meant an extended lifespan. With more time, anything was possible.

Zhang Jiaohua had his reasons for supporting this experiment. His grandparents were aging. His parents were getting older too. If they couldn’t become cultivators, one day they would all be gone. Even though Zhang Jiaohua was now a cultivator, he couldn’t sever his ties to the mortal world, especially not familial bonds.

“The spiritual roots of these people have indeed been greatly improved. Next, we can work on optimizing the reagent combinations and also test its effects on different age groups,” Zhang Jiaohua said.

Mei Qing nodded. “That’s exactly what I was planning to do.”

Zhang Jiaohua then turned sternly to Wei Chenguang. “I don’t want a single word about this experiment—its content or results—leaked. If it spreads, the Meishan Sect will be doomed.”

“I understand. All the participants in this experiment were specially selected by Meishan Sect elders. That earlier incident was an exception, and I’ve already taken care of it. There won’t be any more surprises. Also, all participants and assistants involved in the experiment have been quarantined. From now on, they’ll only be involved in work related to the trial. No one unrelated will be able to contact them. Only after the sect has fully developed will these people be allowed freedom,” Wei Chenguang explained quickly.

“For now, that’s the only way. Everyone who participated in the experiment has the right to use the optimization reagent to improve their cultivation aptitude. We shouldn’t treat them unfairly,” Zhang Jiaohua said.

“That was our plan too. I’ll go explain everything to them right away,” Wei Chenguang replied.

Zhang Jiaohua nodded. “Professor Mei, after your current phase of the experiment is done, prepare some optimization reagent for me.”

Mei Qing immediately understood what he meant. “You want to give it to your family?”

Zhang Jiaohua nodded.