The purification of the material in the Azure Gold Spirit Ore had reached a bottleneck.
The core spiritual power inside the spirit ore could not be perfectly preserved when its material structure was destroyed.
Judging by past experimental data, less than three percent was retained.
A group of Group 749 researchers immediately tried a different approach.
"The spiritual power inside can't be perfectly retained because the stable material structure on the outside is destroyed."
"According to the documents Comrade Lu Li sent back,"
"Cultivators draw on the spiritual power in spirit ore by using their own spiritual power as a guide, thereby mobilizing the spiritual power inside the material."
"In a sense, this achieves the same result by different means as our concept for a spiritual solution."
Inside Group 749's underground research base.
Dozens of leading scholars and professors from across the country were hard at work on the problem.
Wang Zhiwen pinpointed the heart of the problem, and everyone agreed.
Zhou Mingyi, standing in a corner, was still feeling a little dizzy.
He seemed unable to believe what he had seen and heard these past few days.
All the talk of immortal cultivation and another world had dealt a tremendous blow to his worldview as a materialist.
But once the subject touched on his own academic field,
The gray-haired chemistry professor, who was among the best in the world, immediately fell deep into thought.
"The external material structure is destroyed, damaging the core inside."
"A spiritual solution... are they trying to formulate a liquid with the same molecular structure sequence as the solid material?"
"This liquid not only has to preserve the spiritual power inside, but also has to be convenient for cultivators to use."
"Then wouldn't it be enough to try melting the solid material into a liquid?"
Zhou Mingyi muttered quietly, then continued murmuring to himself.
He seemed to be checking the idea for himself.
His words reached the ears of a physics professor beside him, instantly catching the man's attention.
The professor seemed to have thought of that method long ago.
His voice was somewhat irritated.
"Impossible!"
"Once the material on the outside of the Azure Gold Spirit Ore melts, the spiritual power inside immediately escapes and is lost!"
"There's simply no way to make that method work."
The professor sounded a little anxious, but he wasn't being rude.
It was purely because he couldn't see any hope of solving the problem.
He looked quite frustrated.
Zhou Mingyi froze for a moment.
He stopped muttering and closed his eyes. A few seconds later, his eyes snapped open.
"Since melting the external material of the Azure Gold Spirit Ore causes spiritual power to be lost,"
"Why can't we prepare some already-melted Azure Gold Spirit Ore in advance?"
"Hmm? What do you mean?"
The elderly physics professor seemed a little confused.
But someone else had already caught on.
"That's right!"
"If we melt some Azure Gold Spirit Liquid beforehand,"
"Then use it as a base and place an unmelted piece of Azure Gold Spirit Ore inside the spirit liquid,"
"Couldn't we prevent the spiritual power inside from being lost by trying to melt the Azure Gold Spirit Ore inside the Azure Gold Spirit Liquid?"
As soon as those words were spoken, the entire laboratory fell silent.
Wang Zhiwen, the head of the research team and one of Great Xia's leading academicians, immediately considered the feasibility of the method.
Then he grew excited.
"Yes! If we could use the liquid form of its own material as protection beforehand..."
"By working inside it, we might really be able to purify the spiritual power!"
"And a spirit liquid that retains the core spiritual power would be easier to use and absorb than a solid material, no matter what."
"It's feasible! Feasible! We can try this method!"
"Now... our most important task is to find a way to design a purification machine that meets our requirements!"
Wang Zhiwen clapped his hands excitedly and hurriedly called several experts in mechanical engineering, mechanics, and even thermal engineering over from the back.
One mechanical engineer, whose skin was a little darker, asked out of professional habit,
"Then, Elder Wang, what's the design budget?"
"Budget? There is no budget!"
"Funding and personnel will be supplied unconditionally and without limit!"
"Listen carefully. I don't want numbers, I want blueprints!"
Only then did the mechanical engineer realize what was going on.
He hurriedly replied with excitement, "Yes! I guarantee we'll complete the task!"
He hadn't expected to receive such a generous order in his lifetime.
No, it should be called a task.
And while the experts and scholars designed blueprints for the new concept,
The other members of Group 749 weren't idle either.
The research team tackling the cultivation method used quantum computers to run simulations and optimize it day and night.
They repeatedly examined every minute detail that could potentially improve the cultivation method's efficiency.
They were afraid of missing any possible improvement.
Besides the research team, the field team was busy as well.
In a workshop at the Fengnan Machinery Factory on the outskirts of the capital.
Lu Dahai operated a punch press, his eyes somewhat unfocused.
Ever since their son Lu Li went missing, neither he nor his wife had slept a full night.
"Old Lu! What are you doing?!"
Workshop director Fatty Wang pointed at the control panel and cursed.
"How many times has it been this month? The part's dimensions are wrong again! If you don't want to work, get lost!"
A worker nearby couldn't stand it anymore. "Director, Dahai's child..."
"Does losing a child mean he can treat the factory like a charity?"
Spittle flew from Fatty Wang's mouth. "Are you and your wife the only special ones in the whole workshop? Half your performance pay is getting docked this month!"
He had disliked Lu Dahai for a long time. Why should the son of a mere laborer get into a top university and join a major company after graduation, while his own son, as outstanding as he was, was still lying around at home?
Fatty Wang spat and stared hard at Lu Dahai, still looking for a reason to pick a fight.
But he failed to notice, in a corner of the workshop,
A "new technician" was silently recording it all.
After work, the factory director received a special visitor in his office.
When the visitor took out the black credentials representing the state,
The factory director shot to his feet, spilling tea all over himself without even noticing.
"Se... Security Bureau?"
His voice trembled as he respectfully accepted the credentials with both hands.
He carefully checked the information on them, beads of sweat forming at his temples.
"Comrade, may I ask if something has gone wrong at our factory?"
"There's no need to be nervous."
The agent took back his credentials, his voice calm but leaving no room for question.
"Following an investigation,"
"Workshop director Wang is suspected of maliciously suppressing and bullying his colleagues. Please rectify the situation and promote Lu Dahai and his wife to technical director and head of quality inspection."
"Everything I have said is classified as a state secret and must not be disclosed. You have twenty-four hours to carry this out."
With that, the visitor turned and left briskly, leaving the factory director standing there in a daze.
A long while later, he finally came to his senses and fumbled to call Fatty Wang.
His voice was more panicked than ever. "You're fired! Pack your things and get the hell out!"
On the other end of the line, Fatty Wang was stunned.
"Director, wh-why? I've worked at the factory for more than ten years."
"Why, my ass! Get lost!"
The factory director panted and cursed, then hung up.
Even National Security had shown up. He couldn't figure out what that old bastard had done.
"What kind of background do Lu Dahai and his wife have?"