With the Guardian Mountain Formation in place, the protection level of Dan Peak was raised by several degrees... From having absolutely no defensive capabilities to that of a common small sect.
However, things became so inconvenient with this newfound safety.
Li Shiyin had been busy with her cultivation these days and rarely went out, but that little tiger cub Chasing the Wind... If he didn't go out to wander around twice a day, he would feel uncomfortable all over.
Naturally, Chasing the Wind could not get through the mist of the Guardian Mountain Formation, so every time he went out, he had to find Qin Ran to open up a path in the mist for him. And when he came back, he would howl outside...
After two or three days of this, Qin Ran grew tired of it and realized it couldn't go on like this.
Right now it was just Chasing the Wind, but once Li Shiyin got through this busy period, she was not the sort who could stay idle at home either. By then, all he would be doing every day is just opening and closing doors for them.
Thus, after opening the door for Chasing the Wind to go out again, Qin Ran made up his mind to create talismans to pass in and out of the Guardian Mountain Formation for the silly cubs of Dan Peak, just like the Identity Tokens issued by sects to their disciples.
The Identity Tokens issued by sects like Dao Sword Sect to their disciples had many functions, such as collecting monthly allowances, receiving sect missions, providing identity information, and passing in and out of the sect's Guardian Mountain Formation as a token.
But the formation structure of those kinds of sect Identity Tokens was extremely complex, comparable to a mystic artifact. Qin Ran had no way of replicating it... All he wanted was a simple token to pass in and out of the Dan Peak Guardian Mountain Formation.
It was a sunny morning by the lakeside under the willow trees. Qin Ran leaned back in his chair, pen in hand, scribbling on the paper before him. To an outsider, he looked like an art student casually sketching the misty lake view in front of him.
But in reality...
"What are you drawing?" An enchanting voice called out from behind him, "A formation?"
Qin Ran looked back to see Tushan Youyou's alluring figure in a spotless white robe.
"Yes, this is a secondary formation I designed based on existing formation structures that can operate in parallel without affecting the main formation..." He explained, "In layman's terms, it's the inner formation that allows passage in and out of the Dan Peak Guardian Mountain Formation."
Tushan Youyou had read Formation Base and grasped the basics of formations. But she only had a fundamental understanding... Qin Ran's explanation was as clear as mud to her, like arithmetic to a first grader who had just learned numbers.
She nodded along uncomprehendingly.
"So you've finished reading Formation Base?" Qin Ran casually asked.
Tushan Youyou rarely left her cave and with her diligence, she must have finished it by now.
"Yes...I finished it."
"What are your thoughts?" Qin Ran glanced at his formation diagram and asked Tushan Youyou.
"Formations..." Tushan Youyou gazed at the still lake surface and sighed, "I'm afraid will take my whole life to learn."
"Very good... That's the right attitude," Qin Ran nodded, "It shows you absorbed quite a bit from reading it."
"Oh!" Tushan Youyou sighed deeply.
Qin Ran ignored her and continued calculating his formation structure.
Tushan Youyou watched from behind. She had an excellent memory and recognized every basic formation glyph, but...the complex combination structures and ways of combining them, and their potential effects overwhelmed her after a brief contemplation.
After a while, she suddenly asked, "I'm very curious, at your young age, how can you be so proficient in alchemy and knowledgeable about formations at the same time?"
"Well, that's because..." Qin Ran stopped writing and raised his eyes from the paper to gaze at the lake's surface, the mist beyond Dan Peak, and into the far distance as he replied, "I was a science student in my past life."
"Science student?" Tushan Youyou asked, puzzled.
"I excelled in mathematics and physics, and was decent in biology and chemistry..." Qin Ran murmured.
"The principles of formations can be calculated using math and physics; the intricacies of alchemy can be studied using biology and chemistry. Rather than saying I'm proficient in alchemy while knowing some formations, it would be more accurate to say I'm proficient in formations while knowing some alchemy."
He turned back to Tushan Youyou and smiled, "Too bad my master insisted on teaching me alchemy instead, otherwise I could have become a grandmaster of formations by now...enough to establish my own school."
"Mathematics, physics, biology, chemistry..." Tushan Youyou did not understand what these things were, but she recalled Qin Ran's words during the night of the full moon. "Are they related to that Probability Theory you mentioned before?"
"That's right!" Qin Ran nodded, "Probability theory is a small branch of mathematics. If you grasp probability theory, I can confidently say you will understand ninety-nine percent of all formations. Given enough time, you could set up any formation as well as break any formation."
Tushan Youyou's spirit was roused when she heard this and quickly asked, "Really?"
"Truly..." Qin Ran replied.
It was just permutations, combinations, and brute force after all. Even with three thousand basic glyphs and infinite variations that could crash a computer, everything could still be systematically enumerated.
The only problem was it might take quadrillions of years, possibly until the next cosmic renewal, to finish listing them all.
"Please teach me!" Tushan Youyou bowed solemnly as if asking a teacher for guidance, showing great respect.
Qin Ran looked at her, temporarily ignoring her beauty for once. A fox spirit? A nine-tailed fox? To think she was so studious and respectful of teachers?
It must be known that Long Qiqi, even after learning his scientific alchemy methods, still did not treat him with deference.
"As long as you are willing to learn... I will teach you." He turned away, gazing at the churning mist and said, "But it will be very difficult."
Those scientific concepts, the so-called biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, he had studied them for over twenty years in his past life and took over twenty years to rearrange them in this life.
Of course, this was also important. More importantly, this knowledge was the pinnacle of human civilization in his old world, crystallized by the brightest luminaries over thousands of years.
It could be said to contain the very essence of that civilization's knowledge.
He was willing to spread what he knew to the people of this cultivation world, to let them understand science.
But how arduous would it be?
To put it gravely, it would be a clash of two civilizations. To put it lightly, he carried the spark of one civilization...
Unaware of the deeper implications, Tushan Youyou was simply moved by Qin Ran's selfless magnanimity.
In this conceited world, cultivators all kept their mystic arts and secrets even more obscure, terrified that others might discern the strengths and weaknesses in their methods and find ways to counter them.
She had never imagined someone like Qin Ran existed.
Her respect for him grew.
"Master Qin!" She bowed again, though she wished she could address him as Teacher.
"Then let's start from the basics, with Arabic numerals..." Qin Ran took out a fresh sheet and wrote down the ten Arabic digits for Tushan Youyou.
Some say science and metaphysics are two opposite paths, even labeling them the scientific world and metaphysical world, but those who say so are laymen...
Science opposes nothing. If something cannot be explained scientifically, then science simply has not advanced far enough yet.
Science encompasses everything, including cultivation...
Why can't there be scientific cultivation?
Perhaps the fabled Great Dao is simply science developed to its utmost limits.