Plans

The Xuanhuan world and the Sci-fi world are completely different systems, a fact Ye Yun deeply understood. For instance, in the Sci-fi world, to forge steel, one first needs a blast furnace before starting the process. However, the Xuanhuan world doesn't require such tools; they can easily reach terrifying temperatures with flames, or even extract steel directly from ore without fire. This is precisely what Ye Yun was doing now.

For the past three years, besides cultivation, Ye Yun had spent most of his time researching the properties of various herbs and ores, as well as different talismans and formations. Although most of it involved reading books rather than practical application, it had accumulated a vast amount of knowledge for him, making refining iron ore a piece of cake.

The reason Ye Yun studied these subjects wasn't just to pass the time, but to prepare for his future path. After all, he was someone who would travel through the myriad worlds. Without some discernment, he might not even recognize a treasure trove even if it was placed right in front of him. Therefore, in addition to cultivation, he planned to become an alchemist, an artifact refiner, a formation master, and more.

Ye Yun's decision was well-considered. He wouldn't remain in just one world. Each of the myriad worlds possessed unique characteristics, meaning their contents had one-of-a-kind properties. Since he could traverse the myriad worlds, if he could mix spiritual medicine and immortal delicacies from different worlds to concoct pills, they would surely have miraculous effects. To achieve this, he had to rely on himself. He couldn't possibly keep an alchemist or artifact refiner by his side at all times. Furthermore, if he handed over herbs or rare items to alchemists or artifact refiners from other worlds, they might not understand them. Thus, he could only depend on himself.

Moreover, there was a crucial point: cultivation is essentially cultivating the heart and the Dao. What is the Dao? Lao Tzu's Dao De Jing states:

"There is a thing, chaotic and complete, born before heaven and earth. Silent, empty, it stands alone and does not change. It moves everywhere and is never exhausted. It can be regarded as the mother of the world. I do not know its name; I call it Dao. Forced to give it a name, I call it Great. Great means going on. Going on means far. Far means returning."

"Thus, the Dao is great, Heaven is great, Earth is great, and Man is also great. The universe has four greatnesses, and Man is one of them. Man models himself on Earth. Earth models itself on Heaven. Heaven models itself on the Dao. The Dao models itself on what is natural."

What did this mean? Ye Yun's interpretation was as follows:

There exists a unified entity that predates the existence of heaven and earth. It is silent and empty, existing independently without change, circulating endlessly, and serving as the origin of all things. I do not know its name, so I tentatively call it "Dao." I further name it "Great." Greatness implies boundless movement, and boundless movement implies vastness, which in turn implies a return to the origin. Therefore, the Dao is great, Heaven is great, Earth is great, and Man is also great. There are four great entities in existence, and Man is one of them. Man imitates Earth, Earth imitates Heaven, Heaven imitates the Dao, and the Dao imitates its own natural state.

In essence, Lao Tzu's passage describes his conception of the universe's evolution. The "Dao" refers to the changes and laws of the world, and cultivating the Dao means mastering these laws for one's own use.

But how does this relate to Ye Yun's ambition to become an alchemist and so on? It's directly related. The essence of being an alchemist or artifact refiner lies in understanding and mastering the properties and transformations of herbs and materials. This knowledge might just contain the "Dao" he needs, sometimes leading to unexpected results. After all, the Dao gives birth to one, one gives birth to two, two gives birth to three, and three gives birth to all things. All methods share a common origin; with more paths available, one is bound to reach the pinnacle. As for time, being able to travel through the myriad worlds makes him an eternal existence transcending worlds, so the issue of insufficient time is practically non-existent.

Returning to the main topic.

Although steel had been refined, it still contained many impurities and lacked sufficient hardness. However, this did not trouble Ye Yun. He had learned quite a few formations during this period. With a few hand seals, streams of light flew from his hands, arranging themselves above the refined steel in a peculiar pattern, quickly forming a hexagonal mystical formation. This was a formation specifically designed to refine impurities, although its level was not high. Still, it was sufficient for Ye Yun, as he wasn't forging divine weapons, merely some small items.

Ye Yun was unsure if storage equipment existed in this world. He suspected it didn't, as he noticed that in novels and TV shows, people always carried their weapons. If storage equipment existed, it wouldn't be like that. Ye Yun detested this lack of convenience, as it meant the items he tinkered with would disappear one by one.

"It seems I need to find a world with storage equipment in the next one. Otherwise, having to carry everything on my person is a disgrace to travelers," he mused. Ye Yun picked up a steel block about the size of an adult's fist, used the formation to break it down into smaller pieces, and then melted it into the desired shape.

An hour later, he assembled something that resembled a fan from the modern world by about seventy to eighty percent. In fact, it was a fan. However, while modern fans were powered by electricity driving a motor, this magical fan was driven by spiritual energy.

Ye Yun looked at the all-steel fan, which, apart from lacking a plug and having numerous mysterious patterns, was otherwise nearly identical to a modern fan. He nodded in satisfaction. Fans were inherently simple, consisting of just a motor and a few capacitors. Using the methods of the Xuanhuan world made it even simpler. It didn't even require capacitors or motors. He simply inscribed a few formations on the blades and the bearing, then etched two or three miniature spirit gathering formations on the base, and finally added a formation on the knob to control the spiritual energy input.

After briefly playing with the silver fan he had created, Ye Yun placed it on the ground and turned the knob on the magical fan. As the knob rotated, the fan's silver metal blades whirred to life, blowing Ye Yun's long hair back.

Looking at the fan, a fusion of sci-fi and Xuanhuan, Ye Yun's eyes welled up slightly. "I can't believe it's already been three years since I arrived in this world. I wonder if you are all well in the other world."

After a moment of reminiscing about the past, Ye Yun continued his work. He wasn't just building a fan today; he also wanted to build a refrigerator. Otherwise, food would spoil too easily in the summer, and more importantly, he craved popsicles. He missed the days when he used to freeze mung bean popsicles.